Wednesday, June 16th, 1993
Norfolk Scope
Norfolk, Virginia
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Off The Grid, Volume 47:
We get a quick intro video and then go to Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura. They talk about Ric Flair's return and announce that Paul Orndorff will not wrestle tonight due to injury. Dick Slater will take his spot against Ron Simmons.
Ron Simmons vs. Dick Slater
Orndorff is with Slater and he is getting a ton of heat. I have to say, for a guy who had a pretty big impact in the business, he really doesn't get talked about a lot. It's mostly all Simmons to start, but when he gets in the three point stance, Orndorff grabs his ankle and provides the distraction needed for Slater to clothesline him. A swinging neckbreaker gets Slater a 2 count. Simmons ducks a clothesline and hits a powerslam for the victory? Really? This was very short despite them having the crowd in the palm of their hands.
Match Rating: 1/2*
We go to Eric Bischoff and Larry Zbyszko. They say nothing of worth and then Bischoff interviews Michael Buffer, who is a much better ring announcer than he is an interviewer.
Marcus Bagwell vs. Steven Regal
This is the beginning of the Lord Steven Regal character for him. Regal goes to work on the leg of Bagwell. Bagwell is able to hit a mule kick to get out of a leg hold, but Regal slows down the momentum and goes back to work on the leg. Bagwell bounces back and gets a couple of quick pin attempts. Bagwell hits a clothesline, but then we get a total botched finish with Regal reversing a roll up and using the tights for the confusing finish.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Maxx Payne is with Bischoff and gives a terrible promo about giving Johnny B. Badd his Baddblaster back. Badd comes out and Payne shoots it in his face, leading us back to commercial again as Badd is in pain. Or is it payne?
When we come back, they announce Badd can't compete. Payne is in the ring and then Z Man comes out gets in his face. Z Man takes it to Payne, but they Payne slaps on the Payne Killer. Payne is just awful.
NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match
2 Cold Scorpio vs. Barry Windham
Any time that you see this title during this era is just a reminder of how dumb WCW was. After a pretty even start, Windham connects with a kick and a top rope clothesline to the approval of adult males in the crowd. He hits a DDT, but Scorpio is able to get his shoulder up at 2. They're doing a nice job of having Windham being the heavy favorite and Scorpio playing the role of the underdog that just won't quit. They sprinkle in some nearfalls, with Windham getting upset. Scorpio hits a back suplex and both men are slow to get up. Windham goes for the superplex, but Scorpio throws him off and hits a splash for a 2 count. Scorpio hits a hurricanrana and then a superkick. This is pretty great. Scorpio hits a slingshot somersault splash, but again Windham kicks out. He hits a missile dropkick and another 2 count. He goes for another slingshot move, but this time Windham catches him with a right hand. Windham hits the leaping DDT and retains his title. That was fantastic stuff in a spot where I was not expecting it.
Match Rating: ****
Bischoff talks with the team of Sting, Dustin Rhodes and British Bulldog and they think they are the greatest team of 3 in history.
Rick Rude, Vader & Sid vs. Sting, Dustin Rhodes & British Bulldog
The crowd is very much into this. They've been pretty great all night actually. This one does actually have some serious star power too. Sting tosses Rude into Sid and Vader, but they catch him. They throw him at Sting, but he moves out of the way. We get another miscommunication with Vader trying to splash Rhodes, but he moves out of the way and he lands on Rude. We then end up with Sid and Bulldog, with Sid ending up in the wrong corner and eating some clotheslines. We then get Rhodes hammering away on Vader in the corner and then he hits a vertical suplex. Rhodes misses with a top rope elbow drop and the heels finally get their spot. After taking a short beatdown, Rhodes is able to catch Vader off the second rope into a powerslam. Vader is able to tag in Rude, but Rhodes reverses a piledriver. Sid breaks up the pin before it happens and distraction prevents the referee from seeing the tag to STing. We get mayhem now and all six men are brawling. Sting misses a leap and lands on the guardrail. Vader smashes Rhodes with a briefcase behind the referee's back and picks up the win. After the match, Vader hits a powerbomb on Bulldog. I'm taking the announcers at their word because for some reason the cameras don't show it. Sting runs them out with the briefcase while his two partners are on the mat in pain. This was another fun match.
Match Rating: ***1/2
We go back to Bischoff and Zbyszko to talk about the main event. They add nothing.
Two Out Of Three Falls Match For The NWA And WCW Tag Team Championships
Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs. Hollywood Blonds
This is an ultimate "cool heel" match. Austin makes fun of Arn's gut and that leads to a hot tag to Flair and a strong reaction from the crowd. To say that Flair is over with the crowd is an understatement. He gets another hot tag and takes on both opponents. He ducks a clothesline and hits a leaping forearm on Pillman to pick up the first fall. I'm not sure that I remember Flair ever using a forearm like that before. We get a commercial break before the second fall starts. The Blonds take it to Flair outside the ring. After a heat segment, Arn gets a hot tag and hits the spinebuster on Austin, but Pillman breaks up the pin attempt. This leads to another beatdown on Arn and another hot tag to Flair. I think they may have gone this route one too many times here, as the crowd isn't quite as hot this time. FLair is setting up the Figure Four and out comes Barry Windham. He comes off the top rope and hits Flair, which causes a disqualification for the second fall. Since it was a DQ on the final fall, the belts do not change hands. Out comes Paul Roma and he helps make the save. He is everyone's favorite Horsemen after all. Windham cuts a promo on Flair, so Flair attacks him and we have a pull apart brawl to close the show. The match was solid, but lacked that little extra to make it great.
Match Rating: ***1/4
I am no diehard WCW fan, but this was really good. I loved that Windham match probably more than most and the six man tag was a lot of fun too. The first two matches were forgettable, but this was a really strong show for free TV. Thumbs up here.
Overall Rating: 81%
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