Written by: Bob Colling
World Championship Wrestling presents Pro
Date: 2/9/1997
From: Orlando, FL
Matches:
1.) Disco Inferno defeated Butch Long
2.) Hugh Morrus defeated Scott Armstrong
3.) Mark Starr defeated Juventud Guerrera
4.) Chris Jericho defeated Jerry Flynn
5.) Meng & Barbarian defeated Nasty Boys
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Morrus starts off with a scoop slam on Armstrong and laughs at the crowd. Morrus arm drags Armstrong and continues to taunt the crowd. Armstrong comes back with a few dropkicks, but Morrus plants Armstrong with a powerslam. Morrus delivers a leg drop to the lower midsection area. Morrus continues with a running clothesline in the corner. Armstrong fakes a crossbody off the middle rope and instead hits a dropkick for a two count. Armstrong hits a top rope crossbody for another near fall. Morrus counters a dropkick and catapults Armstrong into the corner. Morrus hits a side slam and proceeds to hit the Last Laugh for the win. (*1/2. It was just an extended squash, but I like that Armstrong had gotten a few quick spots to make it a little competitive. I’m a fan of Morrus as he’s got a good look and his moonsault is over. When you can get the Pro crowd to chant for the moonsault, you must be doing something right.)
2.) Guerrera takes Starr down to the mat for a quick near fall. They shove each other and Starr slaps Guerrera. Starr headbutts Guerrera into the corner and keeps control on Guerrera on the mat. Guerrera fights back with a few chops and a spin kick. Starr stops Guerrera with a powerslam for a near fall. Guerrera goes to the apron and hits a spinning heel kick for a near fall. Guerrera goes to the apron and springboards but is dropped over the top rope throat first. Guerrera tries for a backslide, but Starr counters with a bridging suplex to win the match. (*. I have no words. Starr was clunky in there and the flow wasn’t very good. Starr seemed out of place at times, too. I was not expecting for Guerrera to take the pin loss at all.)
3.) Knobbs and Barbarian kickoff the tag main event with Barbarian beating on Knobbs in the corner. Knobbs elbows Barbarian in the corner and delivers an elbow drop for a two count. Sags tags into the match and Barbarian is ran over with a shoulder block. Sags drives Barbarian into the corner and delivers more strikes. Sags clotheslines Barbarian in the corner. Barbarian stops Sags with a running body attack and Sags is double teamed against the ropes. Barbarian drops Sags throat first over the top rope. Meng continues to beat on Sags with strikes but misses a clothesline. Sags knee lifts Meng and delivers an atomic drop. Sags takes Meng down to the mat and delivers a headbutt to the groin. Knobbs enters the match and double teams Meng for a moment. Knobbs works over the left knee before tagging in Sags. Sags axe handles Meng to help his partner. Barbarian gets tagged in and strikes Sags several times before hitting a scoop slam. Meng returns to the match, but Sags drives Meng face first down to the mat. Knobbs gets tagged in and hammers away on Meng with right hands. Knobbs decks Meng and Barbarian with clotheslines. All four men are in the ring as Knobbs chops Meng. Knobbs decks Jimmy Hart off the apron and Meng connects with a savant kick to pin Knobbs! (1/2*. Nasty Boys didn’t look good here at all. Sags was clunky and while Knobbs seemed like he was motivated, he was too wild and sloppy for his stuff to even look good. I can totally get behind Meng and Barbarian getting a greater focus in the tag division.)
Final Thoughts:
There aren’t any standout matches this week, but if you like a weird upset it was kind of cool to see Mark Starr win a match that he really shouldn’t have had won.
Thanks for reading.