WCW Saturday Night 10/16/1993

Written by: Bob Colling

World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 10/16/1993
From: Atlanta, GA

Matches:
1.) Johnny B. Badd defeated Paul Orndorff via reverse decision
2.) 2 Cold Scorpio & Marcus Alexander Bagwell defeated Ron Munz & Bobby Baker
3.) WCW International Champion Rick Rude defeated TA McCoy
4.) WCW Tag Team Champions the Nasty Boys defeated Sam Houston & Pez Whatley
5.) Sting defeated Bobby Eaton
6.) Sid Vicious defeated Larry Santo
7.) Steve Austin & Brian Pillman defeated Joe Edwards & Dave Hart
8.) Cactus Jack defeated Yoshi Kwan
9.) WCW World Champion Vader defeated Ricky Steamboat in a lumberjack match to retain the title

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Orndorff attacks Badd right at the bell with right hands and knee lifts. Orndorff comes off the ropes to deliver a forearm drop and taunts the fans. Badd shoulder blocks Orndorff followed by a couple of scoop slams. Badd goes for a back elbow but Orndorff holds onto the ropes and bails to the floor. Orndorff drop toe holds Badd but Johnny counters with a hammerlock. Orndorff elbows out of a hammerlock and attempts a vertical suplex but Badd countered with his own for a two count. Badd scoop slams Orndorff but misses an elbow drop. Orndorff runs into a high knee from Badd in the corner. Badd punches Orndorff and misses a running cross body hitting the ropes chest first. Orndorff stomps on Badd to keep control of the contest. Orndorff dropkicks Badd and delivers a forearm drop to the back of Johnny’s head. Orndorff plants Badd with a side suplex and heads to the top turnbuckle. Orndorff comes off but is met with a double knee to the gut. Badd kicks Orndorff and follows up with a running knee lift for a two count. Badd elbows Orndorff to the apron and Orndorff falls to the floor. Orndorff gets on the apron and eye rakes Badd. Orndorff drops Badd throat first across the top rope and covers Badd with his feet on the ropes for the win. However, a second referee comes out and tells the original referee what happened. Badd ends up decking Orndorff with a left hook. Apparently, the match was given to Badd by reverse decision. (*1/2. It was an okay match, but the finish didn’t make much sense to me. They had some decent action going on before the weird finish.)

2.) We see footage from last weeks show where the Nasty Boys fought 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell. The match wasn’t shown on TV last week since the show was joined in progress. Scorpio and Bagwell were able to get an upset victory over the WCW Tag Team Champions. Bagwell pinned Sags with a fisherman suplex after Scorpio tripped the champions running the ropes.

3.) Tony Schiavone interviews 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell following their easy victory. They will be meeting the Nasty Boys for the WCW Tag Team Championships at Halloween Havoc. Bagwell credits the fans for their support and thinks they’ll win the titles. Missy Hyatt comes out and tells Bagwell he needs to worry about the Nasty Boys and they don’t deserve to be in the ring. Hyatt warns them to watch their backs. Scorpio believes they have their number and they’ll win at Havoc. I was kind of expecting a cheap attack from behind there.

4.) After their victory, the Nasty Boys get the microphone and they tell the fans to shut up and listen to them. They are calling out Scorpio and Bagwell saying that their luck has just ran out. They hate their guts and want them in the ring right now. Knobbs suggests they are cowards and will not come out. Bagwell and Scorpio get on the apron and are attacked by the champions. Scorpio avoids Sags in the corner and he crashes to the floor. Scorpio hits a sunset flip off the top on Knobbs and Bagwell makes a count to make it seem they beat the champs again. That was kind of corny, honestly.

5.) Sting shoves Eaton down the canvas at the start but doesn’t followup. Sting shoulder blocks Eaton and they have an awkward moment in ring settled with Sting hip tossing Eaton. Sting takes Eaton down to the canvas with a side headlock. Eaton fights out of the hold with an eye rake. Sting monkey flips Eaton as he ran the ropes and rams Eaton face first into the corner. Sting controls Eaton on the canvas with a headlock once again. Eaton knocks Sting to the floor with a few right hands. Sting and Eaton brawl on the floor where Sting backdrops Eaton on the floor and Eaton’s feet hit the camera man. Sting comes off the top to hit a cross body on Eaton for a two count. Sting controls Eaton again on the mat with a headlock. Eaton knee lifts Sting in the midsection and chokes him over the middle rope. Eaton rubs Sting’s eyes across the top rope and continues to strike Sting. They trade strikes until Sting drops Eaton face first across the top turnbuckle. Sting nearly wins with a rollup. Sting drives Eaton down with a gut buster in what may have been a botched gorilla press slam attempt. Eaton counters a hip toss with a swinging neck breaker. Eaton heads to the top rope and misses a knee drop. Sting gets up and puts the Scorpion Death Lock on Eaton for the submission victory. (*. I was surprised by how sloppy this was. They continually went to a headlock to slow the match down. I was disappointed by this as I was hopeful for a better match on the undercard.)

6.) Tony Schiavone conducted an interview with Paul Orndorff. Orndorff comes over and issues a challenge to Johnny B. Badd claiming he was sucker punched. He wants to battle Badd next week and settle their issue. Schiavone announces that the WCW Tag Team Champions the Nasty Boys will defend their tag titles against 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Alexander Bagwell next week on Saturday Night.

7.) Tony Schiavone interviewed Steve Austin and Brian Pillman following their victory. Pillman puts themselves over saying they are the best one-two punch. Col. Robert Parker comes out and says he had to celebrate with Austin for his win. He insults Pillman and his injured leg. Parker tells Austin they have to work together to get this done. Parker says that Austin won the tag match by himself and leaves the scene. Austin says he is making plans for his next tour as the WCW United States Champion. Austin is confident they will win the WCW Tag Team Championships soon enough.

8.) Kwan works over Jack with several strikes at the start but Cactus just absorbs them and pummels Kwan in the corner with right hands and stomps. Cactus tosses Kwan across the ring and stomps on him again. Cactus chokes Kwan over the middle rope and jumps onto Kwan’s back across the middle rope. Jack works over Kwan on the apron with elbow strikes and stares down Harley Race before returning to the ring. Cactus scoop slams Kwan and connects with a leg drop for a one count. Kwan stops Cactus with a leaping kick to the head followed by another kick to the chest. Kwan goes for the nerve hold but settles for several kicks to stagger Cactus. Kwan puts the nerve hold on Cactus, but Cactus reaches the ropes and goes to the floor. Kwan follows to the floor hitting a suplex on the floor. Cactus comes back with a running clothesline sending himself and Kwan over the railing. They return to the ring and Kwan is begging off. Cactus rubs Kwan’s eyes across the top rope followed by more strikes and knocks Kwan to the floor. Cactus stalks towards Race and is kicked by Kwan from behind. Kwan rams Cactus face first into the apron. Kwan goes to the top rope and nails Cactus with a spinning heel kick. Kwan distracts the referee to allow Race to choke Cactus. Cactus fights him off and is kicked by Kwan a few more times. Cactus ducks a kick attempt and plants Kwan with a double arm DDT for the victory. (*. Kwan is only capable of kicks and this was just not any good.)

9.) Ric Flair makes his way out to be interviewed alongside Fifi. Flair talks about how he said that in order to be the man you gotta beat the man. Flair admits that Rude is the man right now. Flair has to style and profile and doesn’t want Rude to worry about what he has to do. Flair says that staying the man is a different thing. Flair says that Fifi is going to walk in with the Nature Boy and walk out of Halloween Havoc with the Nature Boy.

10.) The WCW World Championship match is promoted as a Human Cage match instead of a lumberjack match, but it’s just a lumberjack match.

11.) Vader shows off his muscles to try and scare Steamboat, but that’s not going to happen. Vader backs Steamboat into a corner but Steamboat moves away. Steamboat gets tossed through the middle rope to the floor. The heels are trying to get their hands on Steamboat who is saying he can get back in the ring on his own. Vader works over Steamboat with body shots in the corner. Vader taunts the fans while Steamboat struggles to get up in the corner. Vader goes back to several forearm strikes and a short arm clothesline drops Steamboat. Vader continues to pummel Steamboat in the corner with several shots. Vader connects with a big splash in the corner and clotheslines Steamboat. Steamboat gets worked over in the corner with several shots to the gut. Vader tosses Steamboat to the floor where Steamboat is swarmed and rolled back into the ring. Vader connects with a vertical suplex for a two count. Vader clotheslines Steamboat over the top to the floor where Vader tried a splash off the apron but misses and hits the guard railing chest first! They are both rolled back into the ring and Steamboat attempts a sunset flip. Vader tries to hit a sit down splash but Steamboat moved. Steamboat splashes down onto Vader a few times. Vader rolls to the floor and is picked up by the good guys sending him back into the ring. Steamboat kicks away on Vader but gets held by Race on the apron. Steamboat avoids Vader and Vader splashes Race! Steamboat hits a DDT and a couple of big splashes. Steamboat puts Vader on the top turnbuckle and he hits a middle rope DDT of sorts. Steamboat puts the figure four leg lock on Vader! Vader is able to get to the ropes with help from Race and Sid, though.

Steamboat chops Vader in the corner and soon avoids a splash attempt in the corner. Steamboat continues to strike Vader staggering him. Vader stops Steamboat with a few right hands. Steamboat kicks away on Vader followed by more chops. Steamboat plants Vader with a back suplex for a two count. Steamboat splashes Vader for a two count. Vader headbutts Steamboat into a corner and Ricky gets taunted by heels. Vader slams Steamboat and goes to the middle rope hitting Steamboat with a double forearm shot. Vader controls Steamboat on the mat with an abdominal stretch. Vader picks Steamboat up and drives him down with a Samoan Drop. Vader goes for the cover but Steamboat kicks out. Vader comes off the ropes but misses a big splash. Steamboat gets to the top rope and nails Vader with an overhand strike and dropkick. Steamboat leaps off the top to hit a cross body for a two count. Steamboat comes off the ropes to hit Vader with an overhand strike. Vader shoves Steamboat away and kicks him. Vader continues to club away on Steamboat. Steamboat battles back with chops and strikes in the corner. Vader drops Steamboat with a standing body strike. Vader drives Steamboat down to the mat with a back suplex for a two count. Steamboat kicks Vader a few times in the ribs. Vader and Steamboat are both exhausted by this point. Ricky chops Vader several more times but Vader cuts him off with a strike and Steamboat falls to the apron.

Ricky is telling Vader to bring on more as Vader tosses Steamboat to the floor. Steamboat attempts a sunset flip off the apron and Vader misses a sit down splash attempt. Vader works over Steamboat with forearm strikes. Steamboat goes for a sunset flip but this time Vader hits a sit down splash. Vader scoop slams Steamboat and signals that this is the end. Vader comes off the middle rope but misses a big splash. Ricky comes off the middle rope to double stomp Vader. Steamboat chops away on Vader and hits a cross body sending them both over the top to the floor. Sid Vicious grabs Steamboat and hits a power bomb while the referee was distracted by Vader on the floor with the faces. Vader takes advantage hitting a big splash and gets the win. (***. I can’t say that I’m surprised by the cheap finish here. Despite that, I thought they worked a good match and they didn’t overuse the lumberjacks around ringside, which is a trap that a lot of times happens. Regardless of the finish, this is a good win for Vader and gives him even more momentum heading into Havoc. Steamboat seems to be falling down the card as he is scheduled to wrestle Yoshi Kwan at Havoc.)

Final Thoughts:
Four feature match quality matches just with name power alone on this show. I don’t know what WCW is doing but their shows this month have featured some strong matches. If you look at the guys who even had squash matches it’s evident that WCW had a stacked talent roster. So, it boggles my mind how they didn’t draw well on house shows. That’s probably a marketing issue. Anyway, I’d say this was a solid overall show with a good main event and touching base on the major storylines.

Thanks for reading.