WCW Saturday Night 4/27/1996

Written by: Bob Colling

World Championship Wrestling presents Saturday Night
Date: 4/27/1996
From: Anderson, SC

Matches:
1.) Randy Savage defeated Shark
2.) Public Enemy defeated Nasty Boys by disqualification
3.) Bobby Eaton defeated Steve Doll in a Cruiserweight Title Tournament match
4.) Belfast Bruiser fought Lord Steven Regal to a no contest
5.) The Giant defeated Dick Slater
6.) Chris Benoit defeated Alex Wright in a Cruiserweight Title tournament match
7.) Booty Man defeated Ted Allen
8.) Meng defeated Steve Armstrong
9.) WCW Tag Team Champions Sting & Lex Luger defeated Harlem Heat to retain the titles

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Savage starts off with an eye rake and strikes to Shark for the early advantage. Shark gets the advantage with a powerslam. Shark misses a leg drop and Savage knee lifts Shark to the floor. Savage sends Shark into the railing and sends Shark into the ring post. Savage tries to slam Shark, but Shark lands on top for a near fall. Shark elbow drops Savage. Shark comes off the middle rope missing a splash. Savage heads to the top rope and hits the elbow drop for the win. (1/2*. That went exactly as I expected it to go.) After the match, Savage wants to hit another one, but referees stop Savage allowing Shark to roll to the floor.

2.) Public Enemy attack the Nasty Boys during their entrance and send Knobbs into the ring steps. Sags has his ribs taped and is double teamed on the floor before being rolled into the ring by Rock. Rock delivers a few headbutts to Sags ribs. Grunge elbow drops Sags on the ribs. Sags continues to get his injured ribs beaten on. Rock comes off the ropes to deliver a headbutt to Sags ribs. Rock hits a middle rope splash onto Sags. Sags backdrops Grunge, but can’t follow up and Rock hits a somersault splash. Sags avoids both men and they collide in the middle of the ring. Knobbs has not moved since being sent into the ring steps. Rock hits a top rope swanton and lands on his feet. Knobbs has gotten up and uses a trash can on Public Enemy. (*. Not a bad segment to continue the issue. I feel like these two are going to have stipulation matches all year long.)

3.) Tony Schiavone interviews the Steiner Brothers regarding Slamboree. Rick doesn’t sound interested in wrestling Scott at the event. Scott notes that they’ve never put anything in front of their relationship. Scott pokes at Rick saying he took Rick down, but Rick denies that. We’ll find out the tougher Steiner at Slamboree.

4.) Bruiser backs Regal into a corner and delivers a forearm strike to the chest. Bruiser keeps a headlock on Regal for a few moments and takes Regal down to the mat before delivering a high knee. Regal atomic drops Bruiser followed by a boot to the gut. Regal has an under hook on Bruiser and hits a suplex. Bruiser works over Regal with strikes and an elbow drop. Bruiser rams Regal chest first over the apron and more strikes on the floor. Regal uppercuts Bruiser and they trade strikes on the floor. Bruiser misses a spear and hits the post. Regal knocks Bruiser off the apron with a strike. Regal drops Bruiser throat first over the railing. Regal has a chair and misses a chair shot against the post. Bruiser exposes the floor by lifting the pad. The referee clearly puts his foot on the pad to make sure it remains exposed. Bruiser plants Regal with a tombstone onto the floor as the referee calls for the bell. (*1/2. It’s a fun brawl, but it feels like they are dragging out a lot of the feuds with non-finishes.)

5.) Tony Schiavone interviewed The Giant and Jimmy Hart. Giant gets a shot at Ric Flair for the WCW World Championship on Nitro. Hart is confident that Giant will win the championship on Nitro. Giant chimes in and says that Flair has made a giant mistake because he’s going to be champion. Giant is not happy about having coffee thrown into his face.

6.) Wright backs Benoit into a corner and delivers a few chops for the advantage. Benoit knocks Wright down to the mat, but Wright hits a spin kick and pummels Benoit with right hands. Wright back elbows Benoit to the mat for a two count. Benoit clotheslines Wright to the mat and keeps control of the contest by working over Wright’s leg over the middle rope. Benoit takes Wright down to the mat with a Boston Crab, but Wright doesn’t give up. Benoit splashes down onto Wright’s knee and delivers a few stomps. Benoit locks in a half Boston Crab and steps on Wright’s face. Benoit plants Wright with a back suplex. They trade strikes on the mat until Benoit chokes Wright over the bottom rope. Benoit misses a dropkick on Wright’s knee over the middle rope. Wright continues with strikes to keep Benoit on the mat. Wright almost wins with a belly to belly suplex. Wright uppercuts Benoit several times. Wright heel kicks Benoit. Wright shoulder rams Benoit in the corner followed by a slam. Wright goes to the top rope hitting a splash for a near fall. Wright knee strikes Benoit in the corner and tries for a rollup, but Benoit sits down and holds the ropes to win the match. (**1/4. I liked the wildest of the match and constant strikes on the mat. Benoit winning is the right decision and the Cruiserweight tournament is shaping up well.)

7.) Tony Schiavone interviews Chris Benoit, but Arn Anderson enters the scene. Anderson tells Benoit that everything is looking good. Benoit reminds Anderson that he never got a straight answer regarding the Dungeon of Doom. Kevin Sullivan enters the scene and tells Benoit that if he has a problem then talk to him directly. Benoit tells Sullivan the next time he hit a Horsemen to make sure he gets knocked out. Sullivan will hit Benoit with a right instead of a left.

8.) There’s some footage of Diamond Dallas Page picking up a cigar off the ground to smoke it. Page is washing cars and wants $5. Page threatens the customer and runs off when he hears police cars.

9.) Sting and Booker kickoff the tag title main event. They shove each other until Booker delivers a strike and a scissors kick after Ray hit Sting from the apron. Booker works over Sting with strikes to the back, but misses a strike. Sting delivers a running clothesline to knock Booker down followed by a slam. Sting comes off the ropes to hit an elbow drop. Luger tags in, but Booker delivers a knee lift and tags in Ray. Ray beats on Luger with strikes against the ropes. Luger powerslams Ray followed by a clothesline for a near fall. Luger works over the shoulder of Ray followed by a snapmare. Sting tags in and leg drops Ray’s arm. Luger stomps on Ray to maintain control. Ray eye rakes Luger followed by a few right hands. Booker tags in and slams Luger, but misses an elbow drop. Sting tags in and elbows Booker to the mat for a near fall. Booker eye rakes Sting and delivers a few strikes. Booker runs into a boot in the corner and Sting connects with a clothesline before tagging in Luger. Luger hooks Booker for a vertical suplex and drives Booker down to the mat for a near fall.

Luger works over Booker in the corner, but is met with a boot to the face. Ray clotheslines Luger from the apron. Luger is nailed by a double clothesline. Ray decks Luger to the mat with a right hand for a near fall and delivers an elbow drop for another near fall. Booker tags back into the match and nails Luger with a leaping side kick. Booker keeps a sleeper on Luger for a brief time. Luger battles to his feet and elbows free from Booker. Luger ducks a clothesline and is met with a forearm smash. Ray tags in and leg drops Luger a few times for a two count and locks in a chin lock. Luger elbows free and they collide on a double clothesline. Jimmy Hart runs down to the ring and has a white towel in his hand. Luger is knocked to floor, but Hart throws the towel into the ring to end the match. Hart runs off. Apparently, the referee took it as if Harlem Heat gave up while in control of the match. (**1/2. The match as actually a solid one and the crowd was hot for it. The finish is lame and continues the trend that WCW is bad at finishes for their main event matches.)

10.) Mean Gene interviews the WCW Tag Team Champions Sting & Lex Luger. Gene mentions Hart threw the towel into the ring. Sting promises to knock Hart to the moon the next time he sees him. Luger says they are champions because they are great wrestlers. Luger doesn’t want to win a match like that. Sting assures us that a match will never end like that ever again. There will be a rematch on Nitro in two days.

Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed the episode this week as there was some decent action and they use Saturday Night very well to promote their Nitro shows.

Thanks for reading.