Written by: Bob Colling
World Championship Wrestling presents Main Event
Date: 7/31/1994
From: Columbus, GA
Matches:
1.) Johnny B. Badd defeated WCW United States Champion Steve Austin by disqualification
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Nick Bockwinkel announces that Ric Flair has used his rematch clause and he will wrestle WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan on August 24th at the Clash of the Champions.
2.) Early on, Austin and Badd trade hammerlocks with Austin getting control with a hammerlock on the mat. Austin quickly reaches the ropes to break the hold. Badd quickly puts a head scissors on Austin, but Austin reaches the ropes to break the hold. Badd decks Austin to the floor from the corner and Austin tries to regroup. Austin beats on Badd with a forearm strike and sends Badd through the ropes to the floor. Badd avoids blocks a strike on the floor and hammers away on Austin. They return to the ring where Austin kicks Badd followed by a chop. Austin misses a clothesline and Badd hits a dropkick. Austin nails Badd with a forearm strike in the corner. Austin runs into a snap powerslam and Badd nearly wins the match. Badd keeps a headlock on Austin for a few moments. Austin counters into a headlock of his own. Badd shoulder blocks Austin and avoids a rollup. Badd back elbows Austin and tries for a back suplex, but Austin lands on his feet. Badd decks Austin with a left hand punch for a near fall. Austin eye rakes Badd and gets the cheap advantage. Austin decks Badd with an elbow and goes to the middle rope managing to hit a knee drop for a two count. Badd elbows free from Austin but runs into a knee strike. Austin puts a chin lock on Badd, but Badd doesn’t stay down for long.
Badd runs the ropes to shoulder block Austin and they collide with clotheslines in the middle of the ring. Badd fires back with right hands to stop Austin and delivers an atomic drop. Badd continues with jabs to drop Austin to the mat. Austin is in the corner begging off, and Badd tosses Austin across the ring. Badd counters a suplex attempt and puts Austin on the top turnbuckle. Austin shoves Badd to the mat, but Badd crotches Austin and dropkicks Austin to the apron. Austin shoulder rams and decks Badd to the mat. Austin has a cover and uses the ropes for a leverage, but Ricky Steamboat comes out to stop that. Austin has a sunset flip and uses the ropes, but again Steamboat tells the referee. Badd almost wins with a rollup from behind. Badd has an inside cradle for a two count. They begin to trade strikes with Badd getting the advantage. Austin ends up sending Badd over the top to the floor to cause the disqualification. (**1/2. A solid TV match as they had good energy and the crowd was invested in the action. Once again, the finish is weak, but I guess there’s only so many times Badd can take a pin loss in a title match before fans were to lose interest in the idea of him being champion.) After the match, Austin escapes to the aisle way and celebrates retaining the title.
Final Thoughts:
A good match equals a good show, which is the trend for Main Event. The one feature match dictates how good the whole show is at this point.
Thanks for reading.