Wrestling Recaps: WCW Saturday Night – January 1995

Written by: Bob Colling

World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 1/7/1995
From: Atlanta, GA

Matches:
1.) The Guardian Angel defeated Carl Fergie
2.) The Blacktop Bully defeated Barry Houston
3.) Harlem Heat defeated Brad Armstrong & Scott Armstrong
4.) WCW World Tag Team Champions Stars & Stripes defeated Lt. James Earl Wright & Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker
5.) The Nasty Boys defeated Ricky Santana & Bob Starr
6.) Alex Wright defeated David Young
7.) WCW Television Champion Johnny B. Badd defeated Paul Roma to retain the title

Angle Developments/Notes:
1. Tony, Bobby and Gene opened the show talking about what WCW United States Champion Vader did to WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan at Starrcade in December. We see footage of the interview with Hogan where Vader entered the scene and got in Hogan’s face saying that Hogan is afraid of him.

2. Guardian Angel didn’t have an easy time against Carl Fergie to open up 1995. Fergie worked on Angel with several blows and was able to avoid a splash in the corner. However, Guardian Angel hit a side slam to pick up the win. After the match, Mene Gene conducted an interview with Guardian Angel. He says that the past and future go hand in hand. He has answered every challenge that has come his way. He puts over WCW brining in the best wrestlers from all over. He is the toughest man to answer the challenges in WCW. He believes that he will be making big waves this year!

3. Nick Bockwinkel has an announcement regarding a rematch between Sting and Avalanche. At the January 25th Clash of the Champions event Sting will wrestle against Avalanche with the Guardian Angel being the special referee!

4. Blacktop Bully roughed up Barry Houston until he put the Breaker 19 on him to earn the submission win.

5. Tony Schiavone considers the next match to be one of the main events on tonight’s program. Booker and Brad Armstrong opened the bout working on each other’s arm. Neither man was able to get a clear cut advantage until Scott tagged in and kept Booker on the mat with an arm lock and tagged out to Brad to keep the quick pace. Ray tagged in but didn’t do any better until he tossed Scott across the ring and used his size advantage to give his team the upper hand. This is a really competitive match as neither team has had a long lasting advantage. Brad got a hot tag after Scott avoided top rope leg drop by Booker. Brad’s offense didn’t last as Stevie hit a big power slam and Booker followed up with a leaping side kick. Later on, Brad avoided a middle rope forearm shot by Booker and Scott got the hot tag. The Armstrong’s dropkicked Stevie and back dropped Booker! Brad distracted the referee on accident and allowed Stevie to leap off the middle rope to club Scott over the head while he had a pin and Booker got the pin. It was a good match with neither team getting a lasting offense which can sometimes hurt matches. Plus, it was paced well.

6. Mean Gene interviews Harlem Heat. Sister Sherri talks about their tag title match against Stars & Stripes at Clash of the Champions. Sherri isn’t impressed by Bagwell and Patriot. Stevie Ray says they are coming hard. Booker chimes in saying it will be all over.

7. Bagwell controlled Wright early on in the contest with a series of arm drags and a dropkick. Wright is able to poke Patriot in the eyes but when Parker enters Patriot regains control by controlling his arm. It seems like whenever someone tags out, their partner can’t keep the offense. Bagwell misses a springboard cross body attempt out of the corner and is met with a clothesline by Wright. Bagwell continues to be worked on with a face buster and a leaping elbow drop by the State Patrol. Bagwell makes his comeback with a double dropkick and tags in Patriot. Parker avoided a splash by Patriot in the corner to get the upper hand for his team. Seconds later, Bagwell gets the tag and cleans house with forearms. Parker gets sent to the floor and Bagwell pins Wright with a fisherman suplex for the win. Surprisingly a fun contest with Bagwell taking a few good looking bumps.

8. Mean Gene conducts an interview with Bagwell and Patriot. Bagwell doesn’t think they can lose with the United States behind them. Sister Sherri comes out to the interview area while Patriot muffles his promo because of his mask. Sherri rips on Bagwell saying that he is not a man! She says the same to Patriot. Sherri slaps Bagwell! Bagwell is held back by Patriot but they enter the ring and hear come Harlem Heat! The Nasty Boys come down to the ring as well! Harlem Heat end up leaving the ringside area.

9. Well, the Nasty Boys are in action this week anyway. They actually get an entrance instead of just staying in the ring. I didn’t understand that. Saggs ends up pinning Bob Starr following a top rope elbow drop.

10. Footage from Starrcade is shown where Dave Sullivan screwed Kevin Sullivan out of his match against Mr. T. So, Kevin attacked Dave after the contest on the floor. Kevin plants Dave with a pile driver and whipped Dave several times. Also, Hulk Hogan fought off the Dungeon of Doom until Randy Savage rand down to the ring and seemingly sided with the Dungeon until he swerved them and joined Hogan.

11. Everybody’s favorite dancing German guy, Alex Wright was in action against David Young. Yes, that is the same David Young from TNA but he is sporting a mullet. Wright wins the match following a springboard top rope cross body.

12. This week’s main event sees Paul Roma challenge WCW Television Champion Johnny B. Badd. Badd works on Roma’s left arm to kick off the contest. It’s a rather dull start to the match with each guy doing arm locks and hardly doing anything of note. Roma gets the first series of offense moves against the champ by hitting an atomic drop and goes back to work with several forearm shots. Badd nearly counters a suplex attempt with a rollup but Roma kicks out just in time. Roma power slams Badd but misses a fist drop off the ropes. Badd gets some quick offense in but is stopped with a shoulder ram by Roma. Badd avoids a leaping elbow drop and rolls Roma up for the win! Not that good of a match. I thought it was really slow and they didn’t offer much throughout.

13. To close the show we get an interview with the Monster Maniacs. Hogan talks about being reunited with Randy Savage at Starrcade. He felt the power of the Monster Maniacs when he looked into Savage’s eyes. Savage chimes in saying that the Clash of the Champions is their task to prove that the Dungeon of Doom don’t deserve to be in the ring with them. Hogan believes that the Dungeon of Doom will be shaking in their boots on January 25th! Oh yeah!

Final Thoughts:
A lot of focus was put on the tag team division this week. I’m not 100% on board with the choice of champions but I have to think that it’s just a matter of time until the Nasty Boys and Harlem Heat begin to feud over the championships. The main event of the show was overshadowed by the Heat vs. Armstrong’s tag match. I’d actually say that the Stars & Stripes tag match was better than the main event as well.

I should note that I am very interested to see how Hogan/Vader plays out of the next several weeks. This is Hogan’s first real competitor since his series of matches against Flair. Who really considered the Butcher to be a threat? Vader has the resume to go against Hogan and part of me wants to see Hogan be power bombed!

Overall, two solid tag team bouts on the show, but as a complete episode it was just boring to me. It seems rare that first episodes of the year are ever good anyway.

World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 1/14/1995
From: Atlanta, GAMatches:
1.) Jim Duggan defeated George South
2.) Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater defeated Mike Khoury & Gary Jackson
3.) Sting defeated Mark Kyle
4.) Bobby Eaton defeated Dave Sullivan
5.) Dustin Rhodes defeated Carl Fergie
6.) Kevin Sullivan & Avalanche defeated Bob Morgan & Al Phillips
7.) Harlem Heat defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Marcus Alexander Bagwell & The Patriot to win the titles

Angle Developments/Notes:
1. Tony announces that Vader will challenge WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan at Superbrawl V. Nick Bockwinkel recently made the decision to book the match for the pay per view.

2. Duggan starts off 1995 a lot better than he finished off 1994. I wonder if he is looking to get his hands on Vader again. Anyway, Duggan took care of business hitting South with a running clothesline to earn the win. HOOO!

3. Buck and Slater didn’t have any problems in their match against Khoury and Jackson. Khoury runs into a double right hand shot and is pinned by Slater. Those two just look dirty.

4. Mean Gene hosts the Control Center to promote the Clash of the Champions taking place in eleven days on TBS. WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan teams with Randy Savage against the Butcher and Kevin Sullivan. Sting meets Avalanche with the Guardian Angel as the special referee. Stars and Stripes square off against Harlem Heat for the WCW World Tag Team Championships. WCW Television Champion Arn Anderson defends against Johnny B. Badd and Alex Wright competes against Bobby Eaton. By the way, Anderson won the TV Championship last Sunday on the Main Event.

5. Even with Hulk Hogan in WCW and as the champion, I wouldn’t consider him to the top baby face. No, that honor belongs to Sting who was in action against Mark Kyle. People who have two first names are usually cursed and that rang true here as Sting quickly won by submission with the Scorpion Death Lock.

6. Mean Gene conducted an interview with Sting regarding his match with Avalanche at Clash of the Champions on January 25th. Sting talks about the Guardian Angel being able to go the distance when it comes to officiating their match. Sting says last time he almost had Avalanche in the Scorpion Death Lock and he will put the hold on him at the Clash!

7. Eaton nearly wins against Sullivan following a top rope elbow drop but Dave Sullivan popped up and apparently got a second wind from the move. Kevin Sullivan comes down to ringside after Dave hits a back suplex. Kevin holds Dave until Eaton charges but accidentally hits Kevin. Dave tries for a suplex attempt from the apron but Kevin holds Dave’s food to trip him and allows Eaton to get the win. Since Eaton has a match at the Clash of the Champions it made sense for him to go over here. It was a bad match but the booking made sense.

8. Mean Gene interviews WCW United States Champion Big Van Vader and Harley Race. Gene says that Vader and Hogan will not be allowed to be near each other until Superbrawl. Vader believes it was done to protect Hogan from him. Vader has two tickets for the Clash of Champions and makes it clear that Hogan will see him at some point. He even says that he could go to Hogan’s house!

9. ‘The Natural’ Dustin Rhodes was in action against Carl Fergie this week. After a minute or so, Col. Robert Parker, Meng and the Blacktop Bully made their way down to ringside to scout Rhodes. They leave without any confrontation with Rhodes. Ten seconds after leaving, Rhodes gets the win following a running bulldog.

10. Jimmy Hart, Randy Savage and WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan cut a promo regarding Clash of the Champions. Hart tells Vader that they want to know where he will be so they can get him a limo to come to the Clash! Hogan believes the only things on the line at the Clash are his relationship with Savage and the necks of the Butcher and Kevin Sullivan. Savage says he wants to be the special referee for Hogan vs. Vader.

11. Kevin Sullivan and Avalanche competed in tag team action. They dominated against their opponents until Sullivan got the pin on Bob Morgan following a double stomp.

12. The tag team championships are on the line eleven days before Clash of the Champions. I’m kind of surprised they couldn’t have had waited until the Clash for this to happen. There is a USA chant, but last time I checked all four men are Americans so the fans could be cheering for either team. Booker and Bagwell kick off the contest with Bagwell getting the better of Booker with a monkey flip, dropkick and an arm lock. Naturally, when he gets the advantage Bagwell tags out to Patriot who quickly gets worked on by Harlem Heat with right hands. Ray has entered and chokes the masked hero in the corner until he runs into a snap power slam by Patriot! Patriot turns Booker inside out with a left arm lariat and tags in Bagwell who kept the upper hand with arm control. Bagwell tries for a pin after a leaping cross body but that is prevented by Ray to allow Booker to regain control. Bagwell nearly pins Booker out of the corner with a roll up. Booker is being double teamed by the champs for a good amount of time, which is surprising to me since there is usually heel dominance. Ray clubs Bagwell over the head from the apron and Booker delivers a side kick to give his team the advantage. Now, Bagwell is being worked on with several blows mainly forearm shots and clotheslines by Harlem Heat. Ray is nearly rolled up by Bagwell after a sunset flip but only gets a near fall. Patriot got tagged in but the referee didn’t see the tag being made. Patriot enters anyway and cleans house with a scoop slam and clothesline. Ray rolls to the floor after colliding with Patriot. Booker rolls into the ring and pins Patriot after at least thirty seconds after the simply collision. It was a decent contest but the ending was ridiculous. The collision wasn’t all that impressive. Anyone in their right mind would know that Patriot could and probably should’ve kicked out of it. I’d imagine they are going into the Harlem Heat/Nasty Boys program really soon.

13. Mean Gene interviews the Faces of Fear, Kevin Sullivan, Avalanche and the Butcher. Avalanche warns the Guardian to stay out of his way at the Clash or he will get the Avalanche! Sullivan says he has made a deal with Randy Savage. Sullivan thinks that is the only reason the Butcher isn’t the champion. Butcher can’t wait for Avalanche to squash Sting. That’s it, folks!

Final Thoughts:
I’m not sure why they rushed the tag team title match, but it wasn’t all that spectacular. It was the only featured match on the show with everything else being squash matches. They tried to incorporate some kind of tension between Savage and Hogan heading into the Clash with Sullivan saying he made a deal with Savage at Starrcade. I would think Sullivan would’ve wanted Savage to come through on the deal at Starrcade. It doesn’t make sense, but the baby faces always have to be the underdogs, I guess.

Overall, I thought it was an underwhelming show, personally.

World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 1/21/1995
From: Atlanta, GA

Matches:
1.) Alex Wright defeated Lt. James Earl
2.) Bobby Eaton defeated Scott Studd
3.) Stars & Stripes defeated Rick Stockhauser & John Faulkner
4.) Blacktop Bully defeated Davey Rich
5.) Dave Sullivan defeated Kevin Sullivan by disqualification
6.) WCW United States Champion Vader defeated Alex Davis
7.) Paul Roma defeated Mike Davis
8.) The Guardian Angel defeated Bob Starr
9.) The Nasty Boys defeated Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater by disqualification

Angle Developments/Notes:
1. The Nasty Boys and the team of Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater cut pre-tape promos promoting the main event tonight.

2. Tony, Bobby and Gene promote the Clash of the Champions. Bobby announces that Ric Flair will be appearing at the Clash this Wednesday night! WOOO!

3. Wright uses his speed to hit a dropkick and a head scissors take down on Earl after a few moments into the bout. Earl stopped Wright with a clothesline followed by a power slam for a near fall. Wright battles back with a spinning wheel kick and moments later hits a top rope cross body for the win. After the match, several female fans jump the railing to celebrate Wright’s win. They were obviously actresses. Not too bad of a match here. Earl got some offense in and Wright looked solid in the ring this week.

4. Mean Gene hosts the Control Center to hype up the Clash of the Champions. There haven’t been any matches added from the last time Gene hosted the segment so nothing new here.

5. For those who don’t remember, Scott Studd is actually Scotty Riggs. Studd almost got some offense going until he was stopped by Eaton with a power slam. Eaton followed up with a discus clothesline. Eaton absorbs a dropkick before hitting a swinging neck breaker and picks up the win following a top rope leg drop. It’s good to see Eaton on a win streak before his Clash match against Alex Wright.

6. We see footage from last week where Harlem Heat won the WCW World Tag Team Championships from Stars & Stripes.

7. Speaking of Stars & Stripes, they were in action yet again this week. They got back on the winning track when both Patriot and Bagwell got pins after a full nelson slam and a fisherman suplex respectively. For a squash match the jobbers got some decent offense in against the former champions. However, since they are jobbers who really cares?

8. Mean Gene interviews Stars & Stripes. Bagwell talks about being slapped by Sherri. He says that being slapped by Sherri means she slapped everyone. Bagwell believes the luck is coming their way in Nevada. Patriot says they didn’t take away their heart and determination. They are coming for redemption! Patriot threatens to hit Sherri if she gets involved!

9. The Blacktop Bully continues to bully his competition by picking up another submission win with the Breaker 1-9. Mean Gene interviews Bully and Col. Robert Parker after his match. Parker thinks that 1995 is going to be the year of the bully. Parker isn’t worried about the time that Bully had done in jail. Apparently, Dustin Rhodes is the reason that Bully went to jail. Bully warns Dustin to be ready because he will end up like roadkill.

10. It’s brother vs. brother this week on Saturday Night. Dave cost Kevin his match at Starrcade 1994 against Mr. T. Kevin quickly attacked Dave as he slid into the ring. Dave fights back with a backdrop and mounts Kevin with right hands before choking Kevin with his ring jacket. They go to the floor where Kevin shoves Dave shoulder first into the ring post a couple times. Kevin misses a splash against the ropes and crotches himself after Dave moved. Dave hits the leg drop but the Butcher runs down and attacks Dave. Butcher puts Dave in the tree of woe so that Kevin can hit a running knee strike. Butcher rips the robe apart! Dave goes after them but Butcher puts the sleeper on Dave. Kevin plants Dave with a pile driver! Butcher cuts Dave’s hair off! Butcher cuts off Dave’s boots as some enhancement talents tried to make the save.

11. Mean Gene interviews Kevin Sullivan and the Butcher. Sullivan admits he has lowered himself to an all time low. Sullivan tells Savage and Hogan that he and Butcher have been wanting their whole lives to end Hulkamania. He tells a story about his mother being in the hospital where she told him that he was plain evil. Butcher says they are here to stay and Hogan will never escape them.

12. As if Alex Davis ever had a shot against Vader. Vader gets the pin fall win after a wheel barrow slam to the canvas. I was hoping for the power bomb, but whatever. Mean Gene interviews Vader and Harley Race. Race says that Vader does whatever he wants whenever he wants to do it. Vader says he doesn’t wait for anyone and confirms again that he will be at the Clash of the Champions. Vader doesn’t believe that Hogan will even make it to Superbrawl.

13. Paul Roma competed in singles action where he had his way with Mike Davis, but on a pin attempt after a fist drop off the top decided against the cover. Instead, he hit a top rope elbow drop to win the contest.

14. Up Close segment with Brian Pillman is shown. Pillman talks about college football where everyone thought he was too small to play. However, he earned several top awards for his play. Pillman went on to play for the Bengals and hitting Walter Payton on a play. Pillman used to be picked on and mentions having thirty-three throat operations causing his raspy voice. He admits to allowing the burden of Steve Austin hold him down. Pillman will have a gust spot on Baywatch. Pillman says he will do whatever it takes to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.

15. The Guardian Angel put Bobby Starr away with a side walk slam to pick up the win. The Guardian Angel will be the special referee for Sting vs. Avalanche at the Clash. Mean Gene conducts an interview with Angel. He says that the match between Sting and Avalanche may be the biggest match of all. He thinks it is an honor to be named the special referee for the match. Angel isn’t going to play any games and will call it right down the middle.

16. Saggs and Buck kicked off the main event. Buck actually drop toe holds Saggs which is surprising since these two teams are brawlers. Knobbs tags into the match and works on Buck’s left leg with a splash. Slater is sent butt first into Buck’s face in the corner. Slater legally tags into the bout but is met with a clothesline by Knobbs who then rubs Slater’s face into Saggs arm pit in the corner! Slater stops a charging Knobbs in the corner with a knee lift and works on him with right hands before he and Buck toss Knobbs over the top to the floor. Col. Robert Parker kicks Knobbs on the floor while Saggs chases Buck around. Buck ends up ramming Knobbs chest first into the guard railing. Knobbs tries to fight out of the corner where he is being choked with a rope and pummeled by Buck. Buck gets a two count on Knobbs following a dropkick. Knobbs slams Buck face first to the canvas to break free and tag in Saggs. Slater has removed his boot while Knobbs power slams Buck and Saggs hits a top rope elbow drop. Meng attacks Knobbs on the floor and Slater hits Saggs with his boot to cause the disqualification. Knobbs has taken off his boot and hits both Slater and Buck with his boot. It was a decent main event, which seems to be a trend on Saturday Night this month. I wasn’t all that interested in these two teams just wrestling a regular match, but there was some good brawling going on during moments of the match.

17. To close the show, we hear from the Monster Maniacs. Hogan is already at a fever pitch with what is going to be happening at the Clash. Hogan says they are going to take care of what happened to Dave in due time. Hogan believes all the major celebrities will be watching the Clash to see what happens. Savage can’t believe they are testing them by putting their backs against the walls. Savage says the Monster Maniacs are going to be wild at the Clash. Hogan tells Savage that they are going to fight side by side against the Faces of Fear.

Final Thoughts:
With this being the last show before the Clash of the Champions a lot of the guys competing on that show got some airtime and the hype for it was done nicely. I liked the advancement of the Kevin/Dave feud as the actions by Kevin sets up an encounter between himself and Hogan nicely down the line should that be a direction they decide to go in.

It’s also good to see that Brian Pillman is making a comeback to WCW. The Up Close video segment was informative on his background and I would be fine with him being the top face of the Cruiserweight division much like he was in 1992. Now, they just need to give Steve Austin some television time.

Overall, not a bad show but I felt it was really average at best. I’ll take nine matches any day of the week even if most of them are squashes.

World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 1/28/1995
From: Atlanta, GA

Matches:
1.) Stars & Stripes defeated Ricky Santana & Fidel Sierra
2.) Alex Wright defeated Rick Stockhauser
3.) Dave Sullivan defeated John Faulkner
4.) Dick Slater & Bunkhouse Buck defeated Mike Davis & Kenny Kendall
5.) Avalanche defeated Alex Davis & Mike Glory in a handicap match
6.) Dustin Rhodes defeated Jean Paul Levesque
7.) WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat defeated Barry Houston & Scott D’Amore
8.) Randy Savage defeated WCW Television Champion Arn Anderson

Angle Developments/Notes:
1. Arn Anderson and Randy Savage cut promos regarding their match. Anderson says he is going to destroy anyone coming for his WCW Television Championship. Savage believes he will beat Anderson 1-2-3 tonight.

2. Tony, Bobby, and Gene talk about Clash of the Champions where Vader attacked Hulk Hogan after the main event by hitting a power bomb! Bobby says he saw fear in Hogan’s eyes when Vader entered the ring.

3. Stars & Stripes are in action for the fourth week in a row. They are going against the Cuban Connection, so expect a lot of USA chants during this match. Bagwell showcases some high risk moves taking Sierra out with a slingshot cross body but Santana takes Bagwell out with a cross body on the floor as well, which looked dangerous to me. Patriot helped Bagwell by hitting a clothesline on Santana and they regained control of the bout. Bagwell is worked on for a few moments by the Cuban Connection. They actually hit a double team move on Bagwell that saw Bagwell on Sierra’s shoulder and Santana hit a cross body for a near fall! Santana misses a top rope splash and Patriot gets the hot tag cleaning house with strikes. Bagwell gets the pin after a double team move. Patriot set up for a suplex while Bagwell came off the top to hit a cross that was good enough for the three count on Santana. That was actually a lot better than I was expecting. Bagwell and Patriot are a solid tag team.

4. During Alex Wright’s match, Paul Roma walked out to the ring to watch him. Roma is apparently mad that the women are giving Wright attention after his wins. Wright pins Stockhauser following a top rope cross body. Roma grabs a female fan and degrades her for being excited about Alex Wright. He puts himself over and shows off his body to the fan. She isn’t interested in him and walks into the ring to be with Alex Wright! Oh the nerve of her!

5. Mean Gene hosts the Control Center for Superbrawl V. Gene hypes up the main event that will see WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan compete against WCW United States Champion Big Van Vader. Sting teams with Randy Savage against Big Bubba and Avalanche. Dustin Rhodes meets the Blacktop Bully. WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat defends the titles against the Nasty Boys. Kevin Sullivan will face his brother Dave Sullivan. Jim Duggan meets Bunkhouse Buck and lastly Alex Wright competes against Paul Roma (that was signed fast).

6. Dave Sullivan is sporting shorter haircut because of the haircut by Butcher. Dave wins the match with a full nelson submission hold. Mean Gene interviews Dave Sullivan after the match. Dave says that what Kevin did to him was rotten. He says that Kevin did horrible things to their grandma. He is going to fight fire with fire.

7. A video hyping up the WCW United States Champion Vader is shown. I don’t think the guy needs any help getting over a monster considering the things he has done in the past. Vader says that Hulkamania is dead!

8. Dick Slater and Bunkhouse Buck took care of business after they hit Kendall with a double right hand and Buck got the three count.

9. The ground his shaking as Avalanche makes his way down to the ring for a handicap match. Avalanche hits a double sit down splash after putting Davis on top of Khoury. Avalanche just dominated the whole match. For some reason I can always buy into Avalanche (Earthquake) as a dominate heel when he is a singles wrestler.

10. A video looking at Brian Pillman in California is aired. Good lord, Pillman is wearing really short shorts when he meets the Baywatch creator I think. He is going to be “Baywatch Brian”. They don’t show any of his acting or anything.

11. Yeah, Jean Paul Levesque is better known as being HHH. WCW sure let a lot of top talent go, didn’t they? He is in action this week against Dustin Rhodes. Rhodes absorbs a few punches before sending Levesque to the floor after an elbow strike. Rhodes goes back into the ring to deliver an arm breaker and keeps control of the arm for several moments. Levesque counters an arm drag after an atomic drop and hits Rhodes with a dropkick. Levesque continues his offense with a spinning heel kick but only gets a near fall. Rhodes battles back with a leaping lariat and a running boot to the head for a two count. Rhodes counters being tossed over the top rope with a roll up for a two count. Rhodes hits the running bulldog and wins the match! It was an average match, really. The last sequence was done nicely, too.

12. Mean Gene is standing with Randy Savage and Sting. Gene talks about the tag match at Superbrawl where they will face Big Bubba and Avalanche. Sting can’t stand still or smile. Savage says he has a great partner in Sting and says they are going to be victorious at the pay per view.

13. WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat had very little issue against Barry Houston and Scott D’Amore. Yes, D’Amore is the same guy from Team Canada in TNA. Booker pins Houston following the Heat Seeker.

14. Randy Savage goes for gold against WCW Television Champion Arn Anderson this week. Savage goes for a few quick pin falls to start the match but Anderson is able to kick out easily. Anderson bails to the floor after another near fall to kill sometime because there is a time limit for the match. Savage hammers away on Anderson while on the floor but Anderson rams Savage chest first into the ring post! Five minutes have gone by leaving Savage only five more minutes. Savage almost wins with a sunset flip but Anderson gets out and gets back in control. Savage drags Anderson to the floor but is stopped with a knee lift and Anderson rams Savage back first into the ring apron. Savage takes Anderson down with a snap suplex but they soon collide heads. Savage ducks a clothesline to put a sleeper on Anderson but doesn’t hold on long because Anderson delivers a jaw breaker to break the hold. Later on, Savage hit s a top rope cross body which Anderson rolls through to nearly pin Savage! Sixty seconds remain in the contest. Anderson attempts the DDT but Savage hooks the ropes and Anderson drops to the mat. Savage gets distracted by Parker and Anderson connects with a suplex back into the ring. Savage cuts Anderson off on the top with a slam but the time limit has expired. Savage hits a top rope elbow drop and pins Anderson but doesn’t earn the title. Dick Slater, Bunkhouse Buck and Blacktop Bully run in until Dustin Rhodes and Sting run in to make the save for Savage! I thought it was a fine main event. It was obvious that Savage wasn’t going to win the title and I liked that instead of a draw they just extended the match so Savage would get the win over Anderson. The near falls were fine throughout the match as well, maybe a little excessive in the early moments.

15. Mean Gene conducts an interview with WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan somewhere other than the studio. Hogan says everyone knows he is alive and well since being power bombed. Hogan believes he can survive anything done to him. Hogan is going to put everything on the line against the most powerful man in WCW. Hogan wants the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the line. Hogan tells Jimmy Hart to shut up when he talks! YES! Hogan says he is going squash Vader in the middle of the ring.

Final Thoughts:
I think this was the best episode of the month. It did a lot of good things with the opener making Stars & Stripes look good and the main event was a solid match. They are building Avalanche up as an unstoppable force, which they should be doing. The slow build for Hogan/Vader is fine by me as it adds anticipation and since Vader clearly has the advantage with attacking Hogan at Clash people are craving to see Hogan get his payback. I don’t have any problems with this episode.