Written by: Bob Colling
World Championship Wrestling presents Pro
Date: 4/20/1997
From: Orlando. FL
Matches:
1.) Jeff Jarrett defeated Maxx
2.) WCW United States Champion Dean Malenko defeated Bobby Eaton
3.) Mike Enos defeated Robbie Brookside
4.) Chris Benoit defeated Bunkhouse Buck
5.) Public Enemy defeated Amazing French Canadians & High Voltage
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Malenko backs Eaton into the corner but quickly backs away cleanly. They trade hammerlocks until Malenko takes Eaton down to the mat for a moment. Malenko keeps a front face lock on Eaton, but Eaton breaks free to put a hammerlock on Malenko followed by a knee drop to the arm. Eaton keeps a hammerlock on Malenko until an elbow stops his momentum. Malenko knee lifts Eaton followed by stomps in the corner and Eaton lays on the apron trying to recover. Malenko heel kicks Eaton leading to a near fall. Malenko scoop slams Eaton and keeps control on Eaton’s leg with a leg lock on the mat. Eaton punches Malenko in the corner and delivers a knee drop to the back of Malenko’s head. Eaton works over Malenko in the corner with more strikes and a snapmare for a two count. Eaton keeps a body scissors on Malenko, but doesn’t get a submission. Malenko clotheslines Eaton in the corner, but Eaton stops Malenko with a right hand and a scoop slam for a two count. Malenko tries for a sunset flip, but Eaton sits down and they trade pin attempts. Eaton hits a swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Eaton misses a dropkick and Malenko gets the win with a rollup. (*1/2. A rather slow match and it was an obvious outcome.)
2.) Buck works over Benoit with several strikes in the corner for the early advantage. Benoit rams Buck head first into the corner to get control of the match followed by strikes and chops. Benoit runs into a boot in the corner and Buck goes to the top rope, but Benoit slams Buck to the mat. Benoit locks in the Crossface and quickly wins the match. (NR. Well, I was thinking that Buck would have put up a little bit more of a fight there.)
3.) Pierre and Rocco start the triple tag team match. Rocco decks Pierre with a clothesline and Jacques decks Rocco with a clothesline. High Voltage get involved and clothesline Jacques and Rocco. Rocco works over Rage with right hands to keep control of the match. Rage showcases his strength by press slamming Rocco to the mat. Rage holds Rock for Kaos to hit a springboard clothesline. That leads to all three teams in the ring brawling. Pierre is sent into Public Enemy and High Voltage deliver clotheslines. Canadians send High Voltage into each other. Pierre gets yanked off the top and Jacques helps Rocco hit the Drive By, which he didn’t know. Jacques is pulled out by Grunge and Rocco pins Rage to win the match. (1/2*.I like the finish as it was creative and fun. There wasn’t a whole lot of action here, though. I’m not sure why this was a three team match as that seemed a bit unneeded.)
Final Thoughts:
For the first time in a while I’m going to consider this a skippable show for WCW Pro.
Thanks for reading.