Eric Bischoff was fired just days before Fall Brawl took place on September 12th, 1999. As a result, some of the plans and matches on the card were changed up and the show suffered. I’ve decided to re-book the event because it could’ve been a well rounded show but instead it was truly an awful all around show. So, let’s start off with some notes.
None of the matches that I have decided to book actually happened on the show. Some of the guys didn’t even appear on the show despite being 100% healthy. I hope you will find this entertaining and to be a better show then what actually occurred.
Opening Match: WCW Cruiserweight Champion Lenny Lane vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Lane was doing a homosexual gimmick with Lodi at this point and had pinned Rey on the August 19th edition of Thunder. It would be common sense to have these two compete once again on pay per view in my mind. Rey was popular enough and Lane was getting some good heel heat (so good they dropped the character days later). I think this would be a good way to start the program and a big win for Lane to get some respect as champion. The loss may hurt Rey in the short-term but he would be able to recover from it.
Second Match: Harlem Heat vs. Bam-Bam Bigelow & Chris Kanyon
Bigelow and Kanyon were associated with DDP and going around claiming to be the greatest tag team to ever live. Since Stevie and Booker had just reunited it would ideal to have these two teams square off. Harlem Heat having won the tag titles a boat load of times while Bigelow and Kanyon had been champions for a short period of time. I think this would be a solid tag team with Booker and Kanyon carrying the load spot wise. Harlem Heat would go over here.
Third Match: Berlyn vs. Buff Bagwell
Yes, this match was originally booked for the show, but Duggan ended up replacing Bagwell on the real show. I didn’t like the Berlyn character and didn’t see it having that much of a future. Bagwell on the other hand was a good talent for WCW and his baby face run was beginning to fizzle out. He would need to win this match and the Berlyn character would quietly disappear.
Fourth Contest: Disco Inferno vs. Juventud Guerrera
I would start Inferno’s quest for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship a month early. There needed to be a filler a match and this would be it. It would have some comical moments by Inferno, but at the end of the day still be a fun match with Guerrera flying around. In any event, Inferno would win here. It would sort of be like what Matt Hardy did on Smackdown in 2003.
Fifth Contest: WCW World Tag Team Champions West Texas Rednecks vs. Eddie Guerrero & Billy Kidman
This would be a continuation of their feud from the summer. It’s country vs. rap, basically. I know that Guerrero and Kidman weren’t exactly rap guys, but they associated themselves with guys like Rey and Konnan so it would work. I’d have the Rednecks retain the belts here since they were really over and fans were interested in them.
Sixth Contest: Goldberg vs. Lex Luger
You may be asking yourself why on earth would I book this. Well, it is quite simple, actually. Back on January 4th Luger turned on Goldberg to join the New World Order that had reformed for about the 50th time. When Luger makes his return to the ring it would make sense to finish off that angle. Perhaps some of the fans would’ve forgotten about what had happened, but a simple reminder would give them a reason to be interested in this. Obviously, Goldberg wins this.
Seventh Contest: Bret Hart vs. Sting
I’ll never understand why Hart wasn’t on more pay per views for WCW. It was as if they were wasting him on purpose. The main issue here was the fact that Hart was telling Hogan that he couldn’t trust Sting. Instead of doing a Sting/Hogan match so quickly, I would drag it out for a few months. Sting would still actually turn heel on the show by hitting Hart with a baseball bat and picking up the win.
Eighth Contest: WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs. Diamond Dallas Page
Back at Spring Stamped 1999 DDP took Hogan out by tearing Hogan’s knee when he put a figure four leg lock on him around the ring post. Hogan returns three months later and wins the title over Savage. This pisses off DDP who takes credit for nearly ending Hogan’s career and believes he can get the job done at Fall Brawl. They wrestle and Hogan retains the title. I think that makes sense, right?
Main Event: WAR GAMES
The Revolution (Shane Douglas, Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko) vs. Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Rick Steiner & Sid Vicious
This was actually the first year since Fall Brawl was created that War Games didn’t happen. No matter how bad WCW got the anticipation for a War Games match was always there. Now, the reasoning behind this is quite simple, actually. WCW needed to create young stars to build their promotion around. Obviously guys like Douglas and Malenko aren’t exactly young but they are young when it comes to main event status. The whole purpose behind the Revolution was to start their own uprising and take over WCW. The fans loved three out of four of them and hated Piper, Steiner and Sid with a passion. Yes, they still loved Flair. Anyway, the finish I would have here is have Benoit force Flair to tap out in the middle of the ring. It just would make sense and those four guys would get an enormous push in the process.
There you have it, my ideas for WCW Fall Brawl 1999. It’s quite different compared to what actually happened. If only WCW would’ve taken some chances.
Thanks for reading.