WCW Pro 2/16/1997

Written by: Bob Colling

World Championship Wrestling presents Pro
Date: 2/16/1997
From: Orlando, FL

Matches:
1.) WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr.
2.) Alex Wright defeated Juventud Guerrera
3.) Jim Duggan defeated Dave Taylor
4.) Scott Norton defeated Casey Thompson
5.) Renegade & Joe Gomez defeated Bill Payne & Butch Long
6.) WCW Television Champion Lord Steven Regal defeated Bobby Eaton

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Malenko and Chavo have a standoff on the mat and they trade some holds on the mat. Chavo keeps a hammerlock on Malenko for a moment. Malenko counters with a snapmare and keeps a sleeper on Guerrero for a moment. Chavo goes back to using a hammerlock to control Malenko on the mat. Chavo hip tosses Malenko followed by an arm drag. Chavo dropkicks Malenko to the floor. Malenko keeps Guerrero on the mat with a headlock for a few moments. Malenko delivers a forearm drop to maintain control of the contest. Malenko drives Guerrero down to the mat with a vertical suplex. Malenko puts an abdominal stretch on Chavo but doesn’t get a submission. Chavo gets a sunset flip for a two count. Malenko stops Chavo with a shot to the back and a knee lift. Malenko clotheslines Chavo in the corner but runs into a boot. Chavo hits a middle rope dropkick to get some momentum. Chavo misses a wild right hand and nearly pins Malenko with a rollup. Chavo uppercuts Malenko and nearly wins with a wheelbarrow rollup. Chavo uppercuts Malenko a few times and tries for a scoop slam, but Malenko counters. Chavo back elbows Malenko and tries for a springboard, but loses his footing. Malenko takes advantage with a rollup and wins the match. (*1/2. The action is okay, but Chavo losing his footing and the finish being abrupt was a bit disappointing. I’m liking that they get a lot of time on Pro to develop matches.)

2.) Wright takes Guerrera over with a hip toss to start the match. Guerrera arm drags Wright and they have a standoff. Guerrera keeps a wrist lock on Wright, but Wright counters quickly with one of his own. Guerrera kips up and keeps a wrist lock on Wright. Wright backdrops Guerrera to the mat for a near fall while keeping control of the arm. Wright tosses Guerrera with an overhead suplex. Guerrera chops Wright and is met with a bridging suplex, which gets Wright the three count. (*. Well, that was a quick match and Guerrera didn’t get much of anything in. Wright was getting a lot of hype on commentary and seemingly teasing an attitude change of some kind.)

3.) Taylor attacks Duggan from behind and goes after the left knee. Taylor continues to stomp on the knee to keep control of the contest. Duggan rights back with right hands and Taylor trips Duggan. Taylor wraps Duggan’s knee around the post and taunts the crowd. Taylor has actually been working over Duggan’s ankle this entire time. Duggan wraps his fist with tape as Taylor is in the ring. Duggan decks Taylor twice and wins the match. The referee blatantly allowed that. (DUD. This is the kind of match that is incredibly frustrating.)

4.) Blue Bloods collide on WCW Pro!

5.) Eaton backs Regal into the corner, but Regal delivers a few palm strikes. Eaton decks Regal with a right hand and Regal retreats to the corner to regroup. Eaton shoulder blocks Regal and puts a headlock on Regal leading to a near fall. Eaton drops Regal with another right hand and Regal rolls to the floor to regroup again. Regal low blows Eaton and keeps control with stomps sending Eaton rolling to the floor. Regal rams Eaton onto a cameraman platform. Regal drops Eaton with an uppercut. Eaton comes back with another right hand to stagger Regal. Eaton backdrops Regal and delivers another right hand. Eaton hits a swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Eaton staggers Regal with a left hand and nearly clotheslines the referee. Regal gets a rollup on Eaton and has a handful of tights to win the match. (*1/2. I didn’t hate this as they were able to make a watchable match centered around Eaton’s punch. Regal sold the punches extremely well and believably.)

Final Thoughts:
I was really hopeful that Malenko/Chavo and Wright/Guerrera would have been hidden gem matches and sadly that was not the case at all. A rather disappointing episode of Pro.

Thanks for reading.