Sunday, December 16th, 1990
Kiel Auditorium
St. Louis, Missouri
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Off The Grid, Volume 41:
Jim Ross and Paul E. Dangerously are here to welcome us to the show and run down the card. Missy Hyatt is with the "greatest promoter ever" Sam Muchnick. In true WCW fashion, the microphone isn't working great, so you can't hear him at first. They then talk about it being broadcasted in Saudi Arabia and have Marines here for the national anthem, which is already playing when they announce this.
Bobby Eaton vs. Z-Man
They're very proud of the stats they are showing on each wrestler here. They announce that due to injury, Ric Flair will not be wrestling in his tag team match against Doom and Barry Windham will replace him. Z-Man hits a reverse top rope crossbody to catch Eaton off guard. The big story they are trying to sell here is this is Bobby Eaton's first big singles match and Z-Man is on a 35 match win streak. We get a big spot where Z-Man reverses a suplex and he hits it onto the ring ramp. He then hits a leaping dive over the top rope. The ramp is a little different than usual, as there is a decline right before the ring. Z-Man runs into an elbow in the corner and Eaton hits a bulldog. He goes up top and hits the always nice leg drop. He misses Z-Man in the corner and gets hit with a dropkick. Eaton hits a neckbreaker and he goes back up to the top rope. He lands into a superkick. Now Z-Man goes up to the top, but Eaton moves out of the way. He uses an inside cradle and picks up the victory. That was a very 2023 type of finish for a match in 1990. Both guys gave a good effort here and gave us a nice opener.
Match Rating: **3/4
Tony Schiavone is with Dick The Bruiser to talk about refereeing the cage match tonight. He claims that he is the king of the cage match and has never lost a cage match. He will make sure Sting gets a fair shot tonight.
Now it's time for the Pat O'Connor Memorial International Cup Tag Team Tournament. They bring out the giant trophy and then a bunch of women with very 1990s hair come out with the flags of the countries represented in the tournament.
Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup 1st Round Match
Sgt. Krueger & Colonel DeKlerk (South Africa) vs. Steiner Brothers (USA)
DeKlerk is Rocco Rock and is 100% not from South Africa. Rick does all the dirty work, hitting some clotheslines. Scott gets tagged in and hits the Frankensteiner with the quick squash of a match. The crowd loves the Steiners, so this was the right move over the no name opponents.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup 1st Round Match
Norman Smiley & Chris Adams (United Kingdom) vs. Rey Misterio & Konan
Adams hits a big superkick early on to knock Misterio out of the ring. They're trying to cram a lot in here and it's working to varying results. For some reason they had Misterio listed as Misteric and even Jim Ross calls him that. Konan hits a reverse suplex on Smiley and then takes a long time to do a reverse pin and pick up the victory. For whatever reason, Misterio hits a dive over the top when the pin is already almost over and then they sell it as if he got hurt. There was some good action, but it was kind of sloppy and lacked a good flow.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Missy Hyatt is with Michael Wallstreet and Alexandra York. They talk about the computer predicting that Wallstreet will beat Terry Taylor in less than 8 minutes and 32 seconds. What a time to be alive.
Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup 1st Round Match
Rip Morgan & Jack Victory vs. Great Muta & Mr. Saito (Japan)
Muta is the star of the match, but Saito does look pretty good for his age here. Saito gets hit with a cheap shot when running the ropes and almost loses as a result. Muta hits the handspring elbow and then the match breaks down. Morgan accidentally clotheslines Victory and Muta hits a German suplex into a bridge for the win. This was pretty meh overall outside of the good Muta spots.
Match Rating: *
Paul E. Dangerously is with the winners and Saito says they are the best.
Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup 1st Round Match
Danny Johnson & Troy Montour (Canada) vs. Victor Zangiev & Salmon Hasimikov (Soviet Union)
I still have nightmares of this match. The Soviets are legit amateur wrestlers and the Canadians are nobodies. We get a nasty looking suplex where Johnson looks to fall right on his face. Are we sure that they smartened up the Soviet team? We then get another suplex and possibly a pin and the referee counts to 2 and then decides to just count to 3. This was just pathetic.
Match Rating: 0 Stars
We go back to Sting and Tony Schiavone. Sting says that he's back and he's going to find out who the Black Scorpion is.
They show a brief set up for the next match. Apparently that's enough to make us have to watch IRS and Red Rooster wrestle.
Terry Taylor vs. Michael Wallstreet
These two are supposedly 2 of the top 8 in the world. They have a countdown clock in the corner because the computer predicted Wallstreet would win in less than 8:32. This match is the definition of just generic action. Wallstreet drops Taylor on the top rope and then hits the Stock Market Crash for the victory. This was boring but at least it was better than the Soviet match.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Motor City Madman & Big Cat vs. Skyscrapers
Big Cat is Mr. Hughes and Motor City Madman is nobody. We get our first botch of the match about 15 seconds in when Sid ducks for a back body drop and Spivey doesn't. Sid goes for a powerbomb and Motor City Madman does nothing to try and help get up, so Spivey helps him and that's all. This roster sucks.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Tommy Rich & Ricky Morton vs. Fabulous Freebirds
This show is just so full of generic stuff. I actually like these guys, but they are following every cliche in the book in this match. The last few matches have really hurt my interest in this too. Garvin is arguing with his roadie for some reason and Rich rolls him up and they pick up the victory. I don't think anyone will mind that I skipped most of this. The Freebirds attack Robert Gibson after the match.
Match Rating: *
Stan Hansen gives a promo with nasty tobacco dripping out of his mouth.
Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup 2nd Round Match
Rey Misterio & Konan vs. Steiner Brothers
Oh good, more of this. Scott hits a powerslam on Konan and next thing you know Rick hits the bulldog from the shoulders of Scott. Konan rolls and tags in Misterio. Rick catches him and hits a powerbomb for the win. That was out of nowhere. Who was coming up with these finishes?
Match Rating: 1/4*
Barry Windham and Arn Anderson are interviewed while they show the clips of Ric Flair earlier. Arn should have worn a backwards hat more often.
Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup 2nd Round Match
Victor Zangiev & Salmon Hasimikov vs. Great Muta & Mr. Saito
Whatever they paid these guys, it was way too much. Saito looks like he gets mad at something and comes in and levels one of the Soviets with a clothesline. He hits a suplex and that's it thankfully.
Match Rating: 1/4*
Doom is out here with Teddy Long. Teddy is way too dorky to be their manager.
Texas Lariat Match For The United States Championship
Lex Luger vs. Stan Hansen
This is just a rope/strap match if you are wondering what a Texas Lariat match is. I haven't seen a ton of Hansen matches, but out of what I have seen, I have liked. That's pretty high praise because so many people have ripped him off. Luger is another one who has grown on me. We get a straight up brawl to start. The first memorable spot comes when Hansen hangs Luger over the top rope. I'm not sure if Hansen isn't super over or if it's that in between where they know they shouldn't cheer him, but they also don't hate him. Luger uses the rope to pull Hansen into the ring post shoulder first. We get Luger touching 3 corners and Hansen fights him on the 4th. Hansen lets go of the rope and Luger crashes into the 4th corner, but he knocks out the referee. Hansen then hits Luger in the back of the head with a cowboy boot. A new referee is out and starts counting Hansen and the crowd is very much into it now. Hansen touches all 4 and the new referee calls for the bell. The original referee tells him what happened. Luger clotheslines Hansen out of the ring and they announce Luger as the new United States Champion. There are only a few ways these matches can go, but this ending worked out well. This show was desperate for a decent match and these two delivered.
Match Rating: ***
Jim Ross is with Luger and he's fired up to be champion.
Street Fight For The NWA Tag Team Championships
Arn Anderson & Barry Windham vs. Doom
Shockingly, this is a brawl. Windham is busted open very early on. This type of match is almost impossible to recap, as it's mostly punches and weapons, but also filled with intensity. Simmons hits a big spinebuster on Windham for a 2 count. Simmons goes up top and Windham low blows him. He hits the superplex, but Simmons kicks out. Butch Reed hits a shoulder tackle from the rope. More brawling ensues. Windham holds Reed for Anderson, but Simmons hits Windham and Reed clotheslines Anderson. Windham pulls off an inside cradle on Simmons and Reed covers Anderson and both men get counted to 3 and we have a double pin. The bell rings and they keep brawling down the ramp. So I guess we have a draw in a street fight. I actually remember liking this better, but it was still a good match.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Pat O'Connor Memorial Cup Finals
Great Muta & Mr. Saito vs. Steiner Brothers
I know that my upcoming King Of The Ring 1995 tournament is about as pointless as it comes, but this one isn't far behind. We get a decent amount of stalling to start. The Japanese team is able to illegally hit Rick Steiner with the ring bell. This match has no juice to it so far. The finish just comes out of nowhere. Rick hits a sunset flip off the second rope and gets the win. This tournament sucked big time. I like the Steiners a lot, but this wasn't good.
Match Rating: 3/4*
Now we're stuck sitting through an award ceremony for this stupid thing. Thankfully it is brief and we can just pretend that it never happened.
Steel Cage Match For The NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Black Scorpion vs. Sting
I can't believe this is the main event of their WrestleMania. Four "Black Scorpions" are out to the ring during the entrance. They come out to no reaction whatsoever. We then get this stupid pod thing from the ceiling and some pyro. It opens up to unveil a guy in a shiny robe and he walks to the ring. Dick The Bruiser is the special referee, but there's nothing special feeling about this match. The start of this match is just absolutely terrible, with Flair trying not to wrestle like Flair. My god this match is just so slow and plodding. Sting finally makes a comeback and puts on the Scorpion Deathlock. Scorpion gets out of it and then gets thrown into the cage. Sting rips off his mask, but he has a second mask. You can see Flair's hair on the back of the mask. This main event is right up there with Hulk Hogan vs. The Butcher. Sting hits a top rope crossbody and picks up the win to put this out of its misery. Absolutely awful match between two of the all time greats. The other Scorpions run in And Sting and Dick attack them while Flair is trying to climb out. Out come Windham and Anderson to attack Sting. Windham hits a DDT on the chair and we only have 2 MINUTES LEFT! Flair starts hitting Sting with a chair while Arn and Windham hold him down. Some of the babyfaces come down, including the Steiners with bolt cutters. Sting finally rips the mask off and it's Flair. What a stupid idea and a stupid match.
Match Rating: 1/4*
This show sucks big time. There are a couple of good matches, but there are so many bad finishes and stupid booking decisions that there's no way I could ever recommend this to anyone. I hope to never see the Black Scorpion again in my lifetime.
Overall Rating: 28%
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