Written By: Bob Colling
World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 1/16/1993
From: Atlanta, GA
NOTE: My DVD of this show does not have a Bill Watts interview, which opened the show, nor does it have the beginning of the opening contest. Sorry about that, folks.
Opening Contest: Barry Windham/Steve Austin/Brian Pillman defeated Johnny B. Badd/2 Cold Scorpio/Brad Armstrong: Armstrong is able to dropkick Pillman to the floor after a series of leapfrogs and a failed hip toss. Armstrong also sends Windham to the floor with a dropkick, where Scorpio punches Windham. Windham and his partners regroup on the floor for a few moments. Pillman wants to shake hands with Armstrong but lures Armstrong in and shoulder blocks his former friend. Austin tags in and hammers away on Armstrong until Armstrong fights back with a series of right hands. Armstrong drop toe holds Austin and tags in Badd. Badd yanks on Austin’s arm with an arm bar for a few moments. Badd nails Austin with a drop kick and goes back to an arm bar. Austin manages to tag in Windham who works on Badd with several right hands. Badd recovers and arm drags Windham. Scorpio tags in but Windham backs way. They trade shoves but Scorpio gets the upper hand with arm drags and dropkicks. Pillman tags in and works on Scorpio with right hands. Pillman tosses Scorpio to the floor where Windham gets a cheap shot in. Scorpio leaps off the top connecting with a cross body on Pillman for a two count. Austin tags in and is rolled up by Scorpio in the corner for a two count. Badd tags back in but is sent chest first into a corner by Austin. Austin with a series of knee drops and tags in Pillman who gets a few shots in before tagging in Windham. Windham connects with a vertical suplex but only gets a near fall on Badd. Badd battles back with a few right hands but Windham eye rakes Badd. Windham tags in Pillman who scoop slams Badd and heads to the middle rope. Pillman leaps off but is met with a boot to the face from Badd! Windham tags in and so does Armstrong. Armstrong backdrops Windham and knocks Windham’s partners off the apron! Armstrong knee lifts Windham, twice to knock Windham down and gets a near fall. Armstrong rolls Windham up quickly for another near fall. Armstrong backslides Windham but Austin comes in and all six men are now brawling in the ring! Pillman cheap shots Armstrong and allows Windham to plant Armstrong with a jumping DDT to win the match. **3/4
Larry Zbyszko interviews Barry Windham. Windham puts over Pillman and Austin as great tag team partners while Steamboat and Rhodes let him down. Windham predicts that Ricky Steamboat is going to beat Rhodes later on. Windham hints at possibly getting involved in the match later on.
A video of WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vader inviting Sting to the White Castle of Fear is shown. Vader mentions that on February 21st at Superbrawl III they will meet again. Vader wants Sting to come and play his game!
Second Contest: WCW World Heavyweight Champion Big Van Vader defeated Tim Dickson in a non-title match: Vader absolutely destroys Dickson and wins the squash following a power bomb.
Backstage, Teddy Long is standing with Ron Simmons. Long talks to Simmons about what happened to him at COTC last Wednesday. Simmons says that whatever he wants to happen in 1993, will happen for him. Simmons has grown accustomed to winning and says having the championship is addicting. Simmons will get his championship back!
Backstage, Tony Schiavone is standing with Erik Watts. We see a video of Erik Watts giving a little girl an autograph at a gas station parking lot. Arn Anderson shows up and attacks Watts! Anderson slams Watts on the hood of a car but Watts battles back and hits Anderson on his knee. Watts puts Anderson in the STF! A worker at the gas station tries to pull Watts off but police officers come over and eventually manage to arrest Watts while Anderson is screaming in agony. Back to the interview, Watts says Anderson made a point that he would come after Watts at anytime. Watts gets paid to wrestle in the ring, not in the streets. Watts believes the police saved Arn’s leg from being broken.
Third Contest: the Wrecking Crew defeated Chris Sullivan/Keith Cole: Fury pins Sullivan following the Wrecking Ball to win the squash match.
Backstage, Tony Schiavone is standing with Dustin Rhodes. Schiavone talks to Rhodes about getting a chance to win the WCW United States Championship tonight. Rhodes hopes Steamboat is on the top of his game because he will be on his!
WCW Superbrawl III Control Center with Jim Ross is up next. Ross hypes up a singles match between Vader and Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Highlights from WCW Starrcade 1992 are shown. Footage of Vader regaining the WCW World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Ron Simmons is also shown. Ross also mentions that the Rock N’ Roll Express and the NWA World Champion Great Muta will be on the show.
Backstage, Tony Schiavone is standing with Ricky Steamboat. Steamboat tells Dustin that opportunities come once in a great while and wants Rhodes to try and pin him when he is down. Steamboat doesn’t want Dustin to let up for anything!
Fourth Contest: Max Pain defeated Rick Savage: Pain wins the match incredibly quick with a cross arm breaker.
Larry Zbyszko interviews Vinnie Vegas. Vegas has been challenging Van Hammer to an arm wrestling contest. Vegas believes that Hammer is a coward for not accepting his challenge. Vegas says Hammer beat him with his right arm, but Vegas is a lefty. Vegas doesn’t want to have to get some of his friends to force Hammer into an arm wrestling match with Vegas. Vegas makes it clear that he will arm wrestle Hammer anytime at anyplace.
Jim Ross and Larry Zbyszko talk about Cactus Jack and Zbyszko mentions that the fans are cheering for Jack. Footage from the Main Event on January 10th where Jack was beaten down by Vader, Race and Paul Orndorff is shown. Also, footage from Clash of the Champions where Cactus Jack interfered in the Thunder Cage main event is shown. Jack was able to pin Orndorff after hitting him with his boot. Jack cut a promo later on saying that Orndorff, Race and Vader don’t realize what they have gotten themselves into. Jack says they made the ultimate mistake by making the fans like him! Jack is going to feed his need for hatred on Vader, Race and Orndorff!
A video promoting the SMW Tag Team Champions, the Rock N’ Roll Express is shown. Highlights of a match between the Express and the Heavenly Bodies are shown, very briefly.
Fifth Contest: Chris Benoit defeated Marcus Alexander Bagwell: They trade go behinds and hammerlocks to kick off the contest. Benoit hip tosses Bagwell and keeps control of Bagwell’s left arm with a wristlock. Bagwell gets out of it with a wristlock of his own and slams Bagwell down to the mat. Test of strength sees Benoit get the advantage but Bagwell is able to come back but Benoit rolls Bagwell up for a near fall. Bagwell rolls Benoit up for a two count as well and they have a standoff. Bagwell spin kicks Benoit down to the canvas and avoids an elbow drop from Benoit. Bagwell dropkicks Benoit over the top to the floor. Benoit leaps off the top connecting with a spinning cross body but Bagwell kicks out at two. Benoit dropkicks Bagwell right in the face and connects with a vicious clothesline! Back suplex by Benoit but only gets a near fall on the cover. Bagwell and Benoit trade right hands with Benoit getting the better of the two with an elbow smash. Benoit lifts Bagwell up by the hair and slams Bagwell down to the mat, twice. Bagwell returns the favor and yanks Benoit down by the hair. Bagwell connects with a backdrop and drops Benoit with a running clothesline for a two count. Dropkick by Bagwell but isn’t able to get a three count. Bagwell springboards off the middle rope hitting Benoit with a cross body for a two count. Benoit takes Bagwell over with a full nelson suplex and picks up the win. *3/4
Larry Zbyszko is standing with Chris Benoit for an interview. Benoit has been wrestling seven years as pro. Benoit notes that the past four years he has been wrestling the very best and is doing the same here in WCW. Benoit’s goal in WCW is to beat as many WCW wrestlers as he possibly can.
WCW Up Close this week sees Tony Schiavone interviewing Steve Austin and Brian Pillman. Pillman tells Schiavone that their priorities are crystal clear as to what they need to be. Pillman puts over their athletic ability and believes we could be witnessing a dynasty in WCW. Austin chimes in and says people are right when they say Austin is the greatest singles wrestler in WCW. Austin doesn’t care who have the belts they cannot stand in their way of gaining the gold. Pillman says they welcome any challenge and want a best two out of three falls match against Steamboat and Douglas for the WCW World Tag Team Championships! Austin is confident that no one can beat them in a best two out of three falls match. Austin proclaims they will be the tag team champions.
Sixth Contest: Cactus Jack defeated Paul Orndorff by disqualification: They lockup before the bell with Orndorff backing Jack into a corner but Jack fights off Orndorff with right hands and knocks Orndorff down with a forearm shot. Jack bites Orndorff’s forehead but is stopped with by a knee lift from Orndorff. Orndorff knee lifts Jack off the apron and Jack crashes to the floor. Jack shoulder rams Orndorff from the apron and jabs Orndorff several times. Jack punches Orndorff to the outside but is soon dragged to the floor by Orndorff. Jack kicks Orndorff away and delivers several right hands. Orndorff leaps off the top rope connecting with an elbow smash back into the ring. Orndorff drops several elbows down onto Jack to keep the advantage. Jack fights out of a corner and rams Orndorff face first into the corner. Jack misses a splash in the corner and flips over the top rope, crashing to the floor! Orndorff grabs Jack’s hair from the apron and drops Jack face first onto the concrete floor! Orndorff drops Jack throat first across the top rope and continues to put the boots to Jack. Back in the ring, Jack clubs away on Orndorff with a few right hands until Orndorff hammers away on Jack in the corner. Jack hangs onto Orndorff’s leg to avoid a pile driver. Orndorff has a chin lock on Jack for a few moments. Jack battles back with a flurry of right hands and avoids a dropkick attempt from Orndorff. Jack connects with a running clothesline to keep the offensive control of the contest. Jack drops a staggering Orndorff with a right hand for a two count. Jack absorbs a few punches before knocking Orndorff off his feet with a forearm shot and a head butt. Jack connects with an elbow drop and goes for the cover but Vader runs into the ring and attacks Jack to cause the DQ. **
After the match, Vader holds Jack to allow Orndorff to knee lift Jack. Jack backdrops Orndorff as Orndorff attempted a pile driver. The Barbarian runs down to the ring and clotheslines Vader over the top to the floor!
Main Event: Dustin Rhodes defeated WCW World Tag Team Champion Ricky Steamboat by count-out to win the vacant WCW United States Championship: They shake hands before the contest to show respect for each other. Steamboat scoop slams Rhodes but doesn’t quickly follow up. Rhodes catches Steamboat coming off the ropes connecting with a power slam. Steamboat rolls to the floor to think things over and to recover. Steamboat arm drags Rhodes and ends up taking Rhodes down to the mat with a drop toe hold. Steamboat rolls Rhodes up for a near fall. Rhodes arm drags Steamboat after leapfrog and controls Steamboat with an arm bar. Steamboat comes off the ropes and hooks Rhodes arm to drive Rhodes down to the mat. Steamboat rolls Rhodes up despite being in a side headlock and gets a near fall. Steamboat drop toe holds Rhodes, again and keeps control with an arm bar. Two scoop slams and a backdrop by Rhodes before locking in an abdominal stretch. Steamboat hip tosses Rhodes and attempts a back suplex but his back is bothering him. Rhodes connects with a back suplex for a near fall. Rhodes goes back to an abdominal stretch submission. Rhodes scoop slams Steamboat for a two count and misses a standing dropkick. Steamboat works on Rhodes left arm for several moments. Hammerlock scoop slam by Steamboat for a two count. Rhodes ducks a chop and connects with a cross body for a near fall. Steamboat backs Rhodes into a corner while having control of Rhodes arm. Steamboat chops Rhodes and follows up with a hip toss for a two count. Rhodes comes off the ropes and nails Steamboat with a clothesline for a near fall. Steamboat runs the ropes and collides with the back of Rhodes causing both men to fall down. Rhodes is able to plant Steamboat with a running bulldog but Steamboat kicks out at two! Steamboat with a leg trip and gets a two count on a cover attempt. They try to bridge out but they fail. Steamboat blocks a backdrop attempt with a snap suplex. Steamboat leaps off the top connecting with a cross body but only gets a near fall! Steamboat collides with the referee after ducking under a leapfrog. Rhodes lands on the apron as Steamboat connects with a cross body and falls to the floor. Barry Windham comes out and DDT’s Steamboat on the concrete floor! The referee gets up and ends up counting Steamboat out to give Rhodes the win. **1/2
Jim Ross interviews Dustin Rhodes and shows Rhodes what happened to finish off the match. Rhodes sees what happened and claims that he didn’t know that happened. Rhodes wasn’t brought up to win a match that way and leaves to go talk to Steamboat. Ross and Zbyszko sign off to close out the show.
End of show
My Take: I’m not sure how much of the opening match I missed, but I thought it was a pretty contest for what I was able to watch. The babyfaces really got some good ovations, with Scorpio getting the loudest cheers of the three. I have to think that has a lot to do with the 450 splash as that is an impressive move. I hope Windham, Pillman and Austin remain some kind of faction because those three guys could be a serious force in WCW.
Who would honestly use a STF in a real life street fight? Watts is just awful and Arn Anderson is being wasted by WCW.
Vinnie Vegas needs to work on his fake accent. That was a pretty bad attempt at it, for sure. He is just working with whatever gimmick WCW gives him since that seems to change about every six months anyway. I have no interest in a Vegas/Hammer feud at all.
Benoit/Bagwell was a decent little match that was kind of repetitive. Benoit looked okay out there but given opponents who fit his style better than Bagwell, Benoit can deliver some top quality stuff. (go to the COTC review written by Matt for an example of that.) However, for as good as Benoit may be in the ring he is equally as bad with promos. I doubt and truly hope WCW officials don’t have him talk again. Benoit would be better suited just to kick ass and walk to the back. He sounds like a moron when he speaks.
Cactus/Orndorff was a decent brawl that kind of got boring after awhile. It’s a great decision to turn Jack into a babyface considering the reception he has been getting. I’m interested in Jack’s feuds with Vader, Orndorff and Harley Race.
Steamboat/Rhodes was a really average contest, honestly. Most of the match was just them working on the others left arm and working a slow match. I expected better than that, but it is what it is. I didn’t like the count-out finish as I think Rhodes needs to win the belt cleanly and by pin fall to be seen as a credible champion. I doubt in their eventual rematch next week that Steamboat will lose, though.
Overall, the opening contest was the match of the night. I thought everything following that kind of fell flat. This week’s show as a better than last week’s but I still can’t give it a thumbs up.
Thanks for reading.