Written by: Matt Peddycord
WCW Worldwide
December 7, 1991
Gainesville, GA
Georgia Mountains Center
(Taped on November 5, 1991)
The current WCW Champs were as follows:
World Champion: Lex Luger (7/14/1991)
U.S. Champion: Rick Rude (11/19/1991)
World Television Champion: Steve Austin (6/3/1991)
World Light Heavyweight Champion: Brian Pillman (10/27/1991)
World Tag Team Champions: Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes (11/19/1991)
U.S. Tag Team Champions: The Young Pistols (11/5/1991)
Your host is Tony Schiavone!
We start off the show with the finish of the Luger/Steiner match from the Clash! It’s one of the most controversial world title matches of all-time, says Tony! I mean, honestly, who else would say that?
- The Diamond Studd vs. Ian Westin
Tony announces that Studd now has a tag team partner. It’s Diamond Dallas Page! He’s become a wrestler now. Anyways, those two become known as the short-lived “Diamond Exchange”. Studd runs through his usual and finishes with the DIAMOND DEATH DROP. (2:12) DDP would make his WCW wrestling debut at Starrcade in a few weeks.
The Steiners cut a promo on Luger and Hughes. Rick made no sense and Scott appeared persistent about returning to tag-team action.
- Mr. Hughes (w/Harley Race) vs. Buddy Baker & Scott Sandlin
Hughes is still undefeated (at least on TV) at this point. ANGRY BLACKMAN SLAM pins Sandlin effortlessly. (1:15) How you gon’ mess wid da big cat?
- Steve Austin & Bobby Eaton (w/Madusa) vs. The Freebirds
Rather bland match to start with armbars and headlocks, but the heels make the best of it by complaining about every little thing. The ‘Birds do a couple illegal switches to make the crowd giggle. Hayes becomes face-in-peril when Eaton catches him coming off the ropes with a knee. Austin dumps him out for Madusa to hit a plancha (!!) on Hayes. Back in, Hayes comes back with a left jab on Eaton and hot tags Garvin. He goes forearm-crazy and has Eaton pinned, but the ref is with Hayes and that allows Austin to break up the pin attempt. STUN GUN follows and the Dangerous Alliance pick up the win. (10:29) Like I said before, it was rather bland. Oddly enough, Michael Hayes would join up with the scrapings of this great group by summer. *½
Let’s head over to the WNN newsroom to hear what Gordon Solie has to say today. He brings up the WCW World tag titles controversy and says that the titles will stay with Steamboat and Rhodes. We go to the new champs for a comment. Steamboat tells the Enforcers to take their complaint and sit on it! Wow, I think that’s the meanest thing I’ve ever heard him say! Next, Solie announces the passing of Dick the Bruiser. We last saw him refereeing the infamous Sting/Black Scorpion cage match back at the last Starrcade.
It’s promo time with WCW U.S. Champ Rick Rude & Paul E. Dangerously! Paul E goes nuts and says a phrase in Latin, which Rude translates for us kids in the hood as “You be in some deep dog doo-doo, Sting!” Rude says you can’t blame him for beating a wounded man. Anybody else would’ve done the same thing when the U.S. title is on the line. Oh yes, he will use and abuse you.
- WCW U.S. Champion Rick Rude vs. Larry Santo
Rude screws up his intro speech by saying, “putrid —-”. It sounds like the word was edited and played backwards instead. Who knows what he could’ve said there. Apparently, Tony didn’t know what he said either. He comments that, “The U.S. Champion is coming up with new words!” Rude destroys Santo with a knee to the gut, backbreaker and then the RUDE AWAKENING. (1:19) A Rick Rude appearance wouldn’t be complete without some hip-swiveling, which he does after the match.
- Cactus Jack vs. Van Hammer
Hammer isn’t messing around this week, but he still gets nailed before the bell. He’s just not that smart of a guy to learn from his mistakes. This is a rematch from the Clash, by the way. Cactus literally has to talk Hammer through this match. Hammer comes back with a back suplex, then Cactus falls through the ropes and falls into the guardrail. Back in, Cactus hits a baseball slide on Hammer and knocks him out to the floor. Suplex back in gets two for Cactus. He grabs a chinlock, but Hammer elbows out. Hammer catches a kick, but Cactus gets spun around into a clothesline. The spot he invented, as a matter of fact. Back to the chinlock we go. Hammer fights out into a slugfest, but then Cactus hits a bulldog for two. Cactus chokes Hammer in the ropes to do his crazy squeals and then hits the Cactus clothesline. Hammer backdrops out of a piledriver and hulks up, but forgets about the ten-count and they both lose.(7:42) This was all Cactus having to carry this fool. After the match, Hammer smashes Jack’s face into the guitar so hard, it breaks and he has to get a new one! ½*
Eric Bischoff meets up with Paul E. Dangerously for his second promo of the night. Bischoff mentions how honest Paul E has been about everything in the last couple weeks concerning his Dangerous Alliance, which goes against his character or lack thereof. Paul E says if Bischoff was fired unnecessarily, he’d probably do something about it too. Paul E has put together the greatest group of wrestlers ever and the WCW board of directors will regret the day they ever treated the “psycho yuppie from Wall Street” bad.
Got to correct a mistake I made on my Clash 17 review. I mentioned during the Liger video that he was shown facing Naoki Sano, but it was actually AKIRA from the New Japan Starrcade show that occurred early in the year. Those two look alike to me, but all I had to do was look at the mat where it says Starrcade. Duhhhhh.
Final Thoughts: No Luger this week, which was definitely different. You can already tell that Luger was being phased out as his contract was up in February and he wasn’t planning to resign. Regardless of the fact Luger is still the champ, the Dangerous Alliance are the #1 heels in the company.