WCW Saturday Night 4/17/1993

Written by: Bob Colling

World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 4/17/1993
From: Atlanta, GA

Matches:
1.) Ron Simmons & Van Hammer defeated Tex Slazenger & Shanghai Pierce by disqualification
2.) Johnny B. Badd defeated Todd Zane
3.) Scott Norton defeated Scott McKeever
4.) Arn Anderson defeated Chick Donovan
5.) WCW Television Champion Paul Orndorff defeated Gunner
6.) Steve Regal defeated Bobby Baker
7.) WCW World Tag Team Champions the Hollywood Blonds defeated Chris Sullivan & The Italian Stallion
8.) The Cole Twins defeated Bob Cook & Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker
9.) NWA World Champion Barry Windham defeated Tommy Angel
10.) Cactus Jack defeated WCW World Champion Vader by count-out

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) The opening match goes for nearly ten minutes with the finish being that Tex and Shanghai used a bull rope to clothesline Hammer around the throat. Ron Simmons is seriously lost in the shuffle since he lost the WCW World Championship at the tail end of ’92.

2.) This is the WCW debut of Scott Norton. Norton had made a name for himself in Japan.

3.) Tony Schiavone catches up with Scott Norton for an interview. Norton says that the people are here to listen to him and not Schiavone. He is here to take respect if they aren’t going to give it to him.

4.) Arn Anderson and Ric Flair talk with Tony Schiavone. Flair says he has seen legends made and legends ruined in WCW. Flair chats about Barry Windham who is refusing to address the Horsemen reunion. Flair calls Windham a snake and notes that Anderson could have beaten Windham in thirty seconds. Anderson cuts off Flair and says the issue involving Barry Windham is now his deal. Anderson is done making a career making a career for other wrestlers. Arn says the existence of Windham fuels his fire and is ready to be the top guy in WCW.

5.) Tony Schiavone talked with WCW United States Champion Dustin Rhodes. Dustin talks about an apparent shoulder injury which was separated but he is back now. Dustin wants to talk to about Rick Rude and Paul Orndorff. Dustin has signed the contracts and puts over Steve Regal who comes over to talk as well. Regal says that Davey Boy Smith is looking forward to coming back to the States to see the fans. He is also gunning for Vader and WCW World Championship.

6.) Jesse Ventura attempts another interview with NWA World Champion Barry Windham. Barry decides to talk about Arn Anderson who he considers to be a wannabe who never got anything done. Barry says he did a lot of Anderson’s dirty work because he wasn’t capable of doing it himself. Ventura mentions Flair again and Windham just leaves without saying a word.

7.) Jack pummels Vader in the corner with several shots in the corner and plays to the crowd. Vader casually gets up and isn’t hurt all that much from the punches. Vader begins to punch Jack right in the face and we get a close up of Vader just smashing Jack’s face with forearm shots. Vader splashes Jack in the corner and continues with stiff shots to the face. Vader charges the corner but is caught and Cactus hits a power slam and a leg drop! Jack heads to the top rope and knocks Vader down with a clothesline! They go to the floor after a clothesline and Cactus clotheslines Vader into the guard railing which falls over! Cactus runs over Harley with a clothesline as well! We go to commercial!

Jack has Vader on the apron but lets him back in the ring and rams him head first into the top turnbuckle a few times. Jack has a sleeper hold on Vader until the champ falls backwards to break the hold. Vader continues to pummel Cactus in the corner with a series of forearm shots. The referee is distracted while Harley Race chokes Jack over the bottom rope. Vader drives Jack down with a Samoan Drop and heads to the middle rope where he hits a splash! Vader sends Jack to the floor where Race gets a few more shots in on Jack. Vader comes to the floor but accidentally hits Race with a clothesline. Vader recovers to knock Cactus off his feet with a shot to the head.

Cactus is trying to fight back in the ring but is sent over the top with another clothesline. Cactus is bleeding pretty decently at this point with the camera going to the fans when a shot of Jack’s face is visible. Jack avoids a splash and Vader hits the railing! Cactus comes off the apron with a somersault dive and Vader is rolling around on the floor holding his midsection with Cactus winning the match by count-out! (***. A good match that showed that Cactus will not die and just keeps coming back for more punishment. I think Vader was the perfect opponent to really get that point across considering his stiff style of wrestling. The first real good match on the show in seemingly four months, at least.)

8.) Vader wants a piece of Cactus Jack again and it doesn’t matter where it is. The match doesn’t need to have a contract. He won’t be hard to find and wants Jack next week.

Final Thoughts:
It’s amazing how much one good feature match can positively impact a show. I’m looking forward to next weeks show to see how their issues play out. Plus, the slow build to the Windham/Flair feud and the Dustin/Rude issues are interesting aspects of the show. The first solid show in a long time from WCW.

Thanks for reading.