WCW Worldwide 5/12/1996

Written by: Bob Colling

World Championship Wrestling presents Worldwide
Date: 5/12/1996
From: Orlando, FL

Matches:
1.) Nasty Boys defeated Frank Lancaster & The Gambler
2.) Jim Duggan defeated Big Bubba Rogers by disqualification
3.) Cobra defeated Pat Tanaka
4.) Faces of Fear defeated Scott & Steve Armstrong
5.) Scott Norton defeated Bill Payne
6.) Men at Work defeated Bart Sawyer & Manny Fernandez
7.) Public Enemy defeated Blue Bloods (Dave Taylor & Earl Robert Eaton)

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Duggan pulls Rogers to the apron from the floor, but is decked when the referee is out of position. Rogers works over Duggan with right hands, but Duggan battles back with a backdrop and clothesline. Duggan atomic drops Rogers to the mat and plays to the crowd as Rogers rolls to the floor. Rogers pulls Duggan to the apron again and sends Duggan face first into the ring post. Rogers keeps control with a headbutt, but Duggan delivers a scoop slam. Duggan signals for a clothesline, but VK Wallstreet slides into the ring and attacks Duggan leading to a disqualification. Sgt. Craig Pittman runs into the ring and clotheslines Wallstreet and Rogers. Pittman takes Wallstreet over with a belly to belly suplex. Rogers decks Pittman from behind and Pittman is double teamed. Duggan gets his 2×4 and runs the heels from the ring. (*. The action wasn’t offensive and this was largely just an angle advancement segment for Slamboree, which I’m fine with.)

2.) WCW is returning to the Paramount Theater in New York. Mean Gene runs down some guys we’ll see. WCW World Champion Giant will defend against Sting and there will be a match between Randy Savage and Ric Flair as the main attractions.

3.) Meng and Steve Armstrong kickoff the tag match. Meng works over the left arm briefly, but Steve counters only to be met with a throat thrust. Barbarian tags in and delivers several strikes to keep Steve on the mat. Steve tries for a sunset flip and is met with a right hand. Barbarian slams Steve to the canvas and tags in Meng. Steve staggers Meng with a clothesline and Scott tags in, but is stopped with a headbutt from Meng. Barbarian tags in and Scott is met with a double clothesline. Barbarian press slams Scott to the mat. Barbarian tries for a slam, but Scott counters with a sleeper. Meng axe handles Scott from behind and delivers a few kicks to the midsection. Meng tags in Barbarian and Barbarian connects with a big boot for the win. (1/2*. A mostly dominate win for the Faces of Fear and I’m completely fine with it. I will usually watch Armstrong matches because they tend to be competitive, but that wasn’t the case here at all.)

4.) Backstage, Mean Gene interviews WCW TV/Tag Team Champion Lex Luger regarding the NYC return of WCW. Luger says there are a bunch of top names, but he says the TV Champion is on television the most and has the most wins. Luger knows that Arn Anderson wants the title back and it will be a match. Thanks, Lex.

5.) Men at Work actually win a match following a middle rope slam by Mark Starr on Fernandez. It’s called the Cement Mixer.

6.) Rock and Taylor kickoff the main event with Taylor delivering an uppercut in the opening moments. Grunge is tagged in and Taylor uppercuts Grunge a few times. Taylor keeps a standing submission on Grunge, but doesn’t get a submission. Taylor lets go and trades strikes with Eaton from the apron. Rock distracts the referee as Grunge is double teamed. All four men are in the ring brawling with Public Enemy getting the better. Grunge and Eaton go over the top to the floor. Grunge returns to the ring quickly and holds Taylor. Rock heads to the top and Regal gets shoved off. Rock accidentally nails Grunge with a somersault dive. Taylor tries for a vertical suplex, but Grunge chop blocks Taylor allowing Rock to get the three count. (1/2*. That was incredibly rushed and a bad match.) After the match, Grunge is attacked by Regal and Taylor on the floor. Rocco decks Regal and there’s another brawl around ringside. Eaton sends Rock into the ring post to end the segment.

Final Thoughts:
The matches were rushed and as a result they were not very good. I was hopeful for the Armstrong’s to have a fun underdog match, but they got destroyed and the main event was poorly done.

Thanks for reading.