Sunday, June 18th, 1995
Hara Arena
Dayton, Ohio
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Off The Grid, Volume 35:
Brian Pillman vs. Alex Wright
They do the fancy start to the match and a handshake. Pillman hits a headscissor and then goes to work on the arm of Wright. It's always so fun to see Pillman back at his peak, as he could really work so many different styles. Wright goes for a surfboard, but isn't able to get Pillman up on his knees, so he has to improvise. We then get a sequence of pin attempts before Pillman hits him with a right hand to gain the approval of the crowd. Pillman drops Wright on the top rope, but when he goes to suplex him back in the ring, Wright blocks it and suplexes Pillman to the floor. Wright then hits a dive and throws Pillman back in the ring. Wright hits a missile dropkick, but Pillman kicks out at 2. Pillman suckers Wright in and throws him through the ropes. Pillman then hits a suicide dive, but then misses off the second rope and hits the guardrail. Wright goes up top again and misses with a shoulder tackle. Pillman is definitely bringing out the best in Wright here. They both go for a dropkick and fall to the mat. Pillman props Wright up top, but Wright blocks it and drops him face first. Wright hits a dive and Pillman kicks out at 2. Wright tries to send Pillman off the ropes, but Pillman's legs are giving out. Wright goes up top and Pillman hits a beautiful dropkick on the way down. Pillman now goes up top, but Wright throws him off and crotches him on the top rope. Wright hits a nice German suplex into a bridge, but Pillman is able to get out of it. Pillman goes for a variation of the sunset flip and Wright blocks it to pick up the victory. This was a really good match that had the crowd into it from bell to bell.
Match Rating: ***3/4
We get a kind of strangely produced video of Diamond Dallas Page and his arm wrestling challenge. We then go to Evad Sullivan and I'm still shocked that anyone thought this was good. He's holding a rabbit named Ralph.
Arm Wrestling Challenge
Diamond Dallas Page vs. Evad Sullivan
What a drop in quality from the opener to this. I mean, there isn't much to recap here. DDP gets close and Maxx Muscle is standing on DDP's foot to help cheat. He turns around and bumps into Kimberly and he bumps into DDP and Evad gets the win. He now earns a date with Kimberly. Gripping TV. After the match, DDP wants a rematch.
Match Rating: No Rating
Jim Duggan vs. Sgt. Craig Pittman
Schiavone and Heenan talk about how great the Power Plant is. They have lots of time to talk because this match is full of stalling. Pittman is able to trip up Duggan, rips off his kneepad and slams it onto the ring post. This match couldn't be off to a much worse start and it's putting me to sleep. Pittman slaps on Code Red, but Duggan is right by the ropes. Duggan grabs the bottom rope, but Pittman wouldn't release the hold, so we have a DQ finish here. They really couldn't have had Duggan lose to him on pay-per-view? This was awful.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Mean Gene is with the Blue Bloods. He says that the Nasty Boys are in for the thrashing of their lives.
Harlem Heat vs. Dick Slater & Bunkhouse Buck
Bunkhouse Buck is one of the more surprisingly good wrestlers of this era of WCW. I don't really care for the all black attire here from the Heat. These two teams are showing no chemistry here though. This very much feels like a Saturday Night match. Buck and Slater eventually go to work on Stevie Ray and the crowd is silent. Stevie hits a double clothesline on the double team and tags in Booker. Booker gets a small package on Buck, but the ref doesn't see it. Col. Parker rolls them over, but the ref still doesn't see it. Sherri runs in and rolls him back over and they pick up the victory. This was not good at all.
Match Rating: 1/2*
They show Vader attacking Nick Bockwinkle and then Hulk Hogan making the save. Bockwinkle is now with Schiavone and Heenan. Poor Bockwinkle forgets the name of the next show, but Vader will face Hogan in a cage.
We go to Mean Gene with Ric Flair and he refers to taking his wife back in '92, which is kind of funny. Not his best promo here, but good enough.
Television Championship Match
Renegade vs. Arn Anderson
It doesn't get much more WCW than Renegade. No one cares about him and this match is already dead. I'm not sure how this was the best way to book Renegade here. It's almost all rest holds here. Arn hits a big spinebuster to the delight of the fans on the floor. Arn tries to climb up top, but Renegade knocks him down and hits a splash off the top to win the title. Gross.
Match Rating: 1/4*
They show the Giant in the crowd watching. He tries to go for Jimmy Hart, but he gets away. With the way that they filmed him here, he didn't even look as big as he should have.
WCW Tag Team Championship Match
Blue Bloods vs. Nasty Boys
They start brawling right off the bat. This will be an interesting styles clash here. It stays a brawl for the opening minutes and Regal's selling from the Pit Stop is classic. Eaton gets one for good measure. Regal finally gains control after a one sided start. Regal throws Sags over the top rope, but the ref doesn't see it and because it's a stupid rule. The Nasty Boys seem to have no interest in having this be a traditional tag team match. Regal misses with a somersault leg drop and that allows the tag to Knobbs. Regal and Knobbs collide and both men are down. Out comes Stevie Ray and Sherri. Booker T sneaks out after while they have the referee distracted and hits the Harlem Hangover. Eaton is up top, but when Booker leaves the ring he hits the rope and Eaton falls. Sags hits an elbow off the top and Knobbs covers to retain their championships. This was pretty good at first, but lost its luster as it went on.
Match Rating: **
We get a recap of the United States Championship tournament. From there we go to Meng and Col. Robert Parker and then Sting after. Nothing to note here.
United States Championship Match
Meng vs. Sting
The battle of the -ng's. Meng gets in a cheap shot when the referee comes between them and we are underway. Meng stops a Sting comeback by rolling out of the ring and regrouping before coming back and hitting a few power moves. After a lengthy heat segment, Sting hulks up and hits a leaping clothesline to knock Meng off his feet. Sting clotheslines him over the top rope and both men are on the floor. Sting goes after Parker and gets in a shot. Meng tries to sneak attack him but leaps into the ring post. Sting puts on the Scorpion Deathlock in the middle of the ring and Meng powers his way out of it. Sting hits a chop block and a top rope clothesline. He goes up top again and hits a splash, but Meng is out at 2. Sting hits a leaping DDT and that's enough. The matches tonight just have had no flow to them outside of the opener. This wasn't bad, but it really had no story or drama. It felt more like a TV match.
Match Rating: **
We get a recap of the Ric Flair/Randy Savage saga. We go to Mean Gene and Savage. He congratulates Renegade. Yes, really.
Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage
Surprisingly, Savage is not running out to the ring. He brings out his dad, Angelo. Savage is intense once the match begins and clotheslines Flair over the top. He hits the double ax handle from the top to the floor, but then Flair gets a thumb to the eye in. Savage comes back and hits a back body drop, but then gets thrown into the ring post. Flair comes back and hits a double ax handle of his own off the apron. Savage is back on the attack and Flair tries to escape, but Savage leaps over and rams him into the guardrail. Flair tries to go up top, but as usual, Flair is thrown across the ring. Flair drops Savage's knee on the guardrail and is back in control. We get a crazed one legged Savage, which is always fun. Flair slaps on the Figure Four as Angelo tries to will Randy to get out of it. Flair is using the ropes behind the referee's back. Savage is able to reverse the hold and is able to break it. Savage battles back and hits a clothesline on a leaping Flair. Savage hits the top rope elbow drop, but he pulls Flair up before the 3 count. Savage grabs a ring bell, but the referee takes it away. Savage goes for the ax handle off the top, but Flair moves and Savage legit looks like he overshot it. Either that or he's crazy, which is probably more likely. Angelo gets involved and starts choking Flair with his cane. Flair gets it away and knocks Angelo down. Savage gets Flair away and checks on his dad. Back in the ring, Flair hits him with the cane and steals the victory. That was quite the brawl from these two. This wasn't as good as WrestleMania VIII, but this was a worthy chapter in their story.
Match Rating: ***3/4
These are always the toughest shows to rate. It was bookended by two very good matches, but the rest was just absolute garbage. The undercard was just very weak at this point for the company, but that will change soon. Do not waste your time by watching anything other than the opener or main event.
Overall Rating: 50%
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