WCW Worldwide 5/26/1996

Written by: Bob Colling

World Championship Wrestling presents Worldwide
Date: 5/26/1996
From: Orlando, FL

Matches:
1.) Eddie Guerrero defeated Steve Doll
2.) Alex Wright defeated Pat Tanaka
3.) Chris Benoit defeated Steve Collins
4.) Jushin Liger & Kensuke Sasaki defeated Steve & Scott Armstrong
5.) The Steiner Brothers defeated WCW Tag Team Champions Sting & Lex Luger by disqualification
6.) Randy Savage defeated the Barbarian

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Mean Gene interviews WCW United States Champion Konnan and Pedro Morales. They are promoting the return to NYC for WCW on June 30th. Konnan will be competing against Kevin Sullivan. Konnan called Morales to be in his corner to beat Sullivan. Morales knows Sullivan very well and he’ll do whatever it takes to win the match.

2.) Steve and Liger kickoff the tag match and show respect for each other. Liger has a headlock on Steve, but Steve quickly counters with a wrist lock. Liger arm drags Steve, but Steve head scissors Liger on the mat. Liger fights back with a head scissors of his own on the mat. Steve rolls through and they have a standoff. Sasaki tags into the match and kicks Steve a few times. Sasaki slams Steve and tosses Steve through the ropes to the floor. Sonny Ono gets a cheap shot on Steve as Sasaki held him on the floor. Scott delivers an axe handle followed by a dropkick. Sasaki atomic drops Scott to regain control of the contest. Sasaki has Scott over his shoulder and Liger delivers a strike from the top. Liger hits a standing senton and a handspring elbow, which looked a little weird. Sasaki plants Scott with a vertical suplex for a two count. Sasaki knee lifts Scott coming off the ropes. Liger returns to the match and hits a brainbuster. Scott dropkicks Liger and makes the tag to Steve. Sasaki gets tagged in and Steve enters to deliver several right hands. Steve backdrops Sasaki and decks Liger off the apron. Sasaki clotheslines Steve and Scott is decked, too. Sasaki drops Scott with a brainbuster for the win. (**1/2. A competitive match between these two teams and I was actually thinking that the Armstrong’s had a chance since Brad recently beat Liger on Worldwide. The right team went over in this fun match.)

3.) Rick and Luger kickoff the title match. Luger backs Rick into the corner and cleanly backs away. Rick ducks a clothesline and is met with another attempt. Luger hammers away on Rick to keep control of the contest. Luger rams Rick into the corner head first and misses a splash. Rick tosses Luger with a release German suplex. Rick continues to work over Luger with right hands. Rick rams Luger into the corner head first. Luger decks Rick with a clothesline and a scoop slam. Luger misses an elbow drop. Scott and Sting tag in with Sting playing to the crowd. Scott tosses Sting overhead. Sting big boots Scott followed by a clothesline. Luger delivers an axe handle to Scott and sends Scott into the corner. Luger runs into a big boot. Scott hits a belly to belly suplex before tagging in Rick. Rick gouges Luger’s eyes. Rick clotheslines Luger for a two count. Scott tags back in and keeps Luger on the mat with a sleeper hold. Scott elbow drops Luger a few times for a near fall. Luger knee lifts Scott and tags in Sting. Scott knee lifts Sting, but Sting delivers a bulldog and clothesline. Sting clotheslines both Rick and Scott. Sting hits Stinger Splashes in opposite corners. Scott takes Sting over with a hurricanrana, but Luger makes the save. Luger is sent to the floor as Sting is on Scott’s shoulders. Rick hits a top rope bulldog, but Luger tosses Scott over the top to cause a disqualification. (**1/2. The finish is just horrible and makes zero sense. I understand not wanting the titles to switch hands, but this is a prime example of booking yourself into a corner. They decided to work a solid match instead of stalling, which is appreciated.)

4.) Mean Gene interviews Randy Savage regarding the fact he’s been suspended from being in WCW arenas. Savage is a bobcat and he’s coming for his prey, Ric Flair.

5.) Savage goes right after Barbarian with jabs and boots in the corner. Savage rubs Barbarian’s eyes over the ropes, but Barbarian comes back with a powerbomb for a two count. Barbarian continues with a backbreaker. Barbarian delivers a kick to drop Savage to the mat after twisting his arm. Barbarian clotheslines Savage in the corner. Barbarian continues with a clothesline for another near fall. Barbarian puts an abdominal stretch on Savage. Barbarian drops Savage with a pump handle slam for a near fall. Barbarian slams Savage and heads to the top rope. Barbarian leaps off missing a headbutt. Savage slams Barbarian and goes to the top rope, but Barbarian crotches Savage. Barbarian hooks Savage hitting an overhead suplex for a two count. Savage punches Barbarian off the middle rope. Savage hits a top rope elbow drop and wins the match. (**1/2. I really enjoyed this action as Barbarian did a lot of power moves and held my interest. He looked really good in there. Savage gave a lot to Barbarian, but winning after one move was a little annoying.)

Final Thoughts:
A very good Worldwide episode with several fun matches and it was a complete breeze to watch.

Thanks for reading.