WCW Wrestlewar 1991 (2.24.91) review 

 

February 24, 1991 

 

We’re in Phoenix, Arizona at the Veterans Memorial Colisseum. This is the first WCW show after they broke away from the NWA. Although the NWA world champion is still Ric Flair, and he’s under contract to WCW. This will get complicated. I would try and explain it, but chances are it’ll confuse me before 1991 has ended. Hosts are Jim Ross and Dusty Rhodes. The latter now fully in control of creative, despite being shitcanned two years ago for being a terrible booker. The PPV is 2h43m, which is a long show for 1991. Let’s get into it!  

The show is on YouTube on the WCW channel in full. So, head over there and fill your boots.  

 

Incidentally there was a warm up match for the live crowd here. The participants? Huichol & Rudy Boy Gonzalez (yes, that one) vs. Ultraman & Eddy Guerrero. This is Eddie’s second WCW appearance. I actually reviewed the first one; vs. Terry Funk in 1989. It won’t be until 1994, and the AAA When World’s Collide show, that Guerrero gets the full attention of WCW’s powers that be. Presumably because he shows his range as a dastardly heel. He’s already a very solid worker at this point. 

 

WCW Six Man Tag Team Championship 

Junkyard Dog, Ricky Morton & Tommy Rich (c) vs. State Patrol & Big Cat 

The six-man belts were a briefly realised concept, which will be abandoned before the year is out. The concept is to hide people away where they can’t get exposed as washed, or just downright useless. I’m shocked El Gigante isn’t involved. State Patrol features Lt James Earl Wright and it’s in JR’s contract that he has to say “Lt James Earl Wright” every time he mentions Wright. Buddy Lee Parker has also become a Sgt. Does it make them better wrestlers? Nope.  

 

JYD is in rotten shape. He’s still in his 30s here. People aged differently in the 80s. WCW’s crack production crew miss Morton getting caught from outside the ring. That’s one of the key turning points of the match. At least with Morton in there proceedings kick up a notch. You can tell someone is a great worker when their very presence improves a match this much. Everyone in here stinks apart from Morton, and he carries this match on his back. JYD hits the powerslam on Parker, but Morton sneaks in and steals the pin. I’m pretty sure that’s not a legal pin. This was fine but my god, did Ricky Morton carry it. *¾ 

 

Video Control takes us to Tony Schiavone who has Alexandra York and the “computerized man of the 90s” Terry Taylor.  

It’s fair to say that Taylor was trying to imitate the ‘Ric Flair’ look. Dress like a champion. Shame he can’t cut a promo. 

 

Brad Armstrong vs. Bobby Eaton  

“He has a young brother fighting in Operation Desert Shield”. Oh, you didn’t know? Both these guys are really good pro-wrestlers. Nobody cares but they are. The match is smooth, neat, tidy and the strikes look exceptional. Especially compared to the crap being thrown in the first match. The only issue with the match is the insistence at grinding away at holds. They’re not out here to steal the show. Even with them only doing little bits and pieces, it’s still sensational work. The counter of the slingshot suplex is beautiful and gets people out of their seats.    

 

Eaton is working heel, but the crowd are popping his shit because it’s so strong. This is the start of guys who are talented getting popped by a certain segment of the crowd. Having done the slingshot suplex counter, Eaton hits the slingshot from a different angle into a backbreaker! Keen! Sadly, the match is littered with deliberate rest holds. It’s almost as if they’ve been told “you can do three cool spots, that’s it”.  

 

WCW knew Brad was talented but didn’t know what to do with him. Hence his 1991 stints as “Badstreet” and “Arachnaman*”. Eaton picks him off here with the neckbreaker and the Alabama Jam. Very solid match with cool stuff throughout. I can’t help but get the feeling this could have COOKED if they’d been able to try and steal the show. *** 

 

*Definitely nothing to do with Spiderman, Marvel, please don’t sue us.  

 

Miss A & Miki Handa vs. Itsuki Yamazaki & Mami Kitamura 

This is a totally random guest match from Japan as they were doing a show in the Dome soon. Miss A is the most obvious future star as she’s Dynamite Kansai. Compared to the first two matches this is very spot-heavy. Miss A throws heavy strikes in there and actually gets popped for it. The kicks are brutal. You can hear the reactions to them. Yamazaki catches Miss A with a victory roll, which has to be an upset. This was constant action and years ahead of American pro-wrestling. ***¼  

 

Video Control gives us Missy Hyatt who wants to go into the locker room to interview someone. A FIRST! Women? In the locker room? WCW busting down boundaries.  

 

Buddy Landell vs. Dustin Rhodes 

At this point in his career, it’s tough to see a career path for Dusty Jr. He stinks. He’s stringy, uncoordinated, and his work has zero flow. You have to remember, he’s already got a bunch of reps in at this point in his career too. For WWF, working house shows, and for USWA. Amazingly, by the end of the year, he’d be passable. I think it’s down to getting even more reps and working with guys like Steve Austin, Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton. Dustin has several shocking moments, presumably miscommunication. The worst is an Irish whip reversal. I think it’s supposed to be into a sleeper but that doesn’t happen. Bulldog finishes for Junior Dust. This was shit. Dustin would probably look back on this awkwardly because the execution is poor. He’s clearly not ready for the spot he’s been put in. DUD 

 

Video Control gives us Missy Hyatt for her exclusive locker room interview, but Stan Hansen kicks her straight out. “This is a man’s locker room!” Tony Schiavone pretends to find it very funny.  

 

Royal Family vs. Young Pistols 

The Good Ol’ Southern Boys have had a makeover as apparently someone decided the rebel flag wasn’t a good idea in 1991. Royal Family is Jack Victory and Rip Morgan with a different gimmick.  

Obviously, the Young Pistols have a gunshot in their music. I wasn’t prepared for how they’re attired. Glittery golden robes replace Ol’ Reb. So, two teams who’ve had makeovers. Who will be more successful? Stay tuned to find out! Even the electricity doesn’t want to hang around for this, and the lights go out.  

 

Quiz question for you…what were the WWF names of Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers? I’ll answer that at the end of this match.  

 

For some reason this re-tooling of the Young Pistols has made them goofier. The Kiwi team still sucks. The match doesn’t work at all. You could easily clip this off the show. It’s so long too. 12 minutes long. Someone should have called an audible. Let’s get this shitshow out of here. As Morgan applies a bearhug JR says “look at the pacing of the match”. Quite. It even has an ugly finish with a double suplex being broken up with a dropkick and Armstrong falls on top for the pin. Tracy hit a few neat superkicks here but good lord this STUNK. DUD 

 

Quiz answer: Lance Cassidy and Freddie Joe Floyd. I’m shocked they never hit the giddy heights of superstardom with those monickers.  

 

Video Control gives us an interview with the Fabulous Freebirds new manager. You may have heard of the guy. Diamond Dallas Page. It’s so odd for a guy to break into the business in his mid 30s but that was DDP. He’d end up being a pretty good worker and multiple time world champion.  

 

Terry Taylor vs. Z-Man 

Oh, fuck off. At least Zenk is slightly over with the fans. York’s computer has told her Taylor will win in less than 15:28. Hopefully 15 minutes less than 15:28. Ross suggests this could be the year Taylor “finds himself”. You’ll find Terry Taylor licking the boots of whoever has the pencil, brrrrrother. This may be harsh but Taylor is a corporate yes man and in the ring was never more than a talented enhancement guy.  

 

The match is so dull my mind drifts. You can be shit at wrestling. That’s fine. But at least be interesting. If you’re a boring worker, there’s nothing that can save you. They fall outside and a bout of fisticuffs gets the crowd going a little. Terry Taylor really reminds me of Triple H*. He wrestles like he wants to be Ric Flair, but he’s not got the personality for it. He also can’t hit strikes and can’t bump properly. He also slaps his thigh. In 1991. What a fucking cunt. York distracts the ref and Taylor rolls Zenk up with a handful of tights for the win. This was technically fine, unless all the things Taylor does badly pisses you off. ** 

 

*DEROGATORY.  

 

Stan Hansen vs. Vader 

This is a rematch from the NJPW Dome show match where Hansen punched Vader so hard in the face his eyeball came out. As you might expect, this is stiff. Vader’s clotheslines in this are brutal. Hansen doesn’t even bump them but it rearranges his neck. They spill outside and start throwing chairs and shit at each other. Not folding chairs, just whatever is within reach. It feels legit. Vader slams Hansen on the rail. FUUUUCCCK. They won’t stop brawling so Randy Anderson calls for a double DQ.  

 

What? Fuck off WCW. Well on it’s way to being ****+ before the booking kicked in. They only gave this 6 minutes. Once again, fuck off WCW. Probably still worth a look, ***.  

 

WCW United States Championship 

Lex Luger (c) vs. Dan Spivey 

WCW, well aware that Sid is about to jump to WCW, needed a new monster heel and thought; hey, why not Dan Spivey? Well, plenty of reasons gentle reader. I think, and let me know if I’m “off base” here, but the key reason was that he wasn’t very good at pro wrestling.  

Flexy Lexy is in training for a world title run here and is keen to prove he can carry someone. He certainly seems animated here. Explosive, exciting, able to tell a story. There’s never been a more obvious point where Luger wanted it. 1990 was a rough year for him as he saw Sting get a world title run and have a horrible time with it. Not only is Luger motivated here but so is Spivey, eager to prove he can slot into Sid’s spot as the “big blonde killer” in WCW.  

 

Spivey, at this point, is a much better worker than Sid. He just doesn’t have his presence. However, I am NOT used to seeing this level of effort from Big Dan. Luger is clearly channeling Hogan here and while he doesn’t quite Hulk Up, he tries bless him. Spivey amazes me with not only his effort but his range of attacks. He does still throw in chinlocks but otherwise it’s a minor miracle.  

Spivey even does little things really well here. Like his facial expressions, the way he throws himself into the ropes to gain speed, his little flop bumps. He feels more realistic than usual. Spivey goes to slam Luger off the ropes but Lex rolls through it into the pin for the win. What a cracking little match this was! Spivey’s best singles match, ever. ***¾  

 

How did WCW reward this sensational performance from Spivey? They had him squash Ricky Morton on the next PPV, which is fair, but then lost interest in him entirely. He would barely feature for the promotion again.  

 

Post Match: Nikita Koloff is here to present Lex Luger with the new US title belt. If you don’t know where this is going, you’ve not seen much wrestling. After he’s bashed Luger in the face with the new belt Nikita whips his shirt off so you can see how fucking JACKED up to the gills he is now. Holy shit, the dude went all out on the comeback trail, huh? I’m still shocked the WWF, short on top end heels, didn’t make a play for him. This would lead to a bunch of house show matches before they moved Koloff on to Sting and Lex into the title picture.  

 

WCW Tag Team Championship 

Doom (c) vs. Fabulous Freebirds  

This is the end of the line for Doom. They will team up in Tokyo on the Dome show but that’ll be the last ever match for Doom. I would question whether the Freebirds need a mouthpiece with Michael PS Hayes out here. Not content with having a manager, and a bevvy of beauties, DDP introduces the Freebirds other manager; Big Daddy Dink (Oliver Humperdink in leather). Really? Really?  

 

Speaking of WCW idiocy. This is a famous title switch. The Freebirds win here, as most people already knew, as they’d already dropped the belts to the Steiners on a TV taping the week before. Giving them a title reign of –6 days. A new record, WCW, great work.  

 

Doom are defacto babyfaces here as Ron Simmons kicks all kinds of ass. He’s being primed for a singles run. Doom would end up feuding, blowing that off at the next PPV, and then Butch Reed was toast. Because without Ron to carry him, there’s no need for him to exist. We’ll always have Doom, Butchy baby, we’ll always have Doom.  

 

The finish sees Reed accidentally bash Simmons with the “International object”. JR says both that and “foreign object” in quick succession, which is funny. Garvin falls on Ron for the pin. The entourage celebrate with the Diamond Dolls and Doom split up emphatically with Ron getting a beating from Reed. What WCW could have done here was just have the Steiners beat Doom and then have Doom on this show trying to get their shit together and then turn on Simmons. Instead of the negative days title reign. It’s easy, with hindsight, to say Simmons singles run was a failure, and they should have kept Doom together, but he also got a world title run out of it. So…. 

 

War Games 

Sting, Steiner Brothers & Brian Pillman vs. Four Horsemen & Larry Zbyzsko 

Larry is subbing in for the injured Arn Anderson. Pillman was also “injured” in an attack by the Horsemen but that’s a work, baby. I don’t really like War Games, in general. My favourite is GAB ‘87 (****¼). Barry Windham starts and Brian Pillman jumps in to start as he wants REVENGE!!! Pillman utilises the space and uses the cage to help him set up a rana. No one has explored the space thus far, and Pillman is eager to be the first. I love how Pillman is so aggressive that he changes the narrative and LACERATES Windham. Barry screaming out “NOOOOO” as Brian bites at his wound. 

 

It might be the best opening segment to a War Games. Fuck it, it is the best opening segment to a War Games. Obviously, the heels win the coin toss. When do the faces ever win a coin toss? Flair comes in himself, once again elevating the standard. Pillman goes toe to toe with Flair on the chops and he’s over as shit! It doesn’t last, and Pillman gets beaten senseless for the next 90 seconds or so. Sting evens it up, and he’s a house on fire. The structure of this is brilliant. Larry comes in third and stands around like a doofus so Sting can dive over the ropes from ring to ring onto him. Rick Steiner comes in and everyone has done great in this.  

 

Big Sid is the last man in for the heels, and he nearly falls between the rings immediately. I can’t help but chuckle. He looks like the GOAT; he moves like a goat. No, that doesn’t work, goats are surefooted. Final man in is Scott Steiner. It’s been all action, and nothing has dragged. Sid gets caught talking to Rick Steiner on camera. “Is he set up? Shall we go? Let’s do it”. The idea is that Sting is supposed to be trying to tap out Flair to earn a title rematch. However…the Pillman story comes to the forefront. 

 

Sid goes after Pillman, rips off his protective tape that’s been on his shoulder all match. The match rumbles on a lot longer than I remember with a lot more happening. Eventually though Sid isolates Pillman again.  

Oh no.  

 

Pillman’s feet catch on the cage roof and Sid drops him square on his head. Pillman just about tucked his head, or he’d have been paralysed. Sid, dumbass that he is, tries it again and just about manages an actual powerbomb. Pillman is dead. El Gigante then runs down, rips the cage door off, and submits on Pillman’s behalf. El Gigante then carries him out of there, and they don’t support his head AT ALL. Oh no. Good god this company is fucking stupid.  

 

That said, what a match this was. The flow was brilliant, and the finish was BRUTAL. One of the most brutal finishing spots you’ll ever see. Pillman was incredibly lucky. He only missed two weeks with the injury, which could have ended his career. This is better than I remember it, as the early parts of the match were dominated by good workers, instead of ‘saving them’ for the frantic latter stages. ****½. Best War Games ever?  

 

The 411: 

Given the general standard of 1991, this could easily win show of the year. War Games hit HUGE. Dan Spivey had the second best match of the night. The Japanese women’s tag was great. Armstrong vs Eaton was very good. Vader vs Hansen was brilliant for the 6 minutes it was on for. There are stupid matches and dumb shit, like the negative day title reign. However, the good outweighs the bad significantly. Given what a tumultous year WCW had in 1990, it’s refreshing to see so much stuff land here. It won’t last. Thumbs up though and one of those rare 1991 shows that’s actually worth watching.