World Championship Wrestling presents Worldwide
Date: 6/9/1996
From: Orlando, FL
Matches:
1.) Kensuke Sasaki defeated Cobra
2.) Craig Pittman defeated Hugh Morrus by disqualification
3.) WCW Cruiserweight Champion Dean Malenko defeated Mike Hayner
4.) Steiner Brothers fought Fire & Ice to a double count out
5.) Diamond Dallas Page defeated Belfast Bruiser
6.) Public Enemy defeated Faces of Fear & Harlem Heat
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Sasaki won his match in quick fashion with a modified arm bar in the middle of the ring.
2.) Scott and Norton start the match with Scott slamming Norton and hits a full nelson suplex. Norton misses a clothesline, but shoulder blocks Scott followed by a shoulder breaker for a two count. Rick and Train enter the match with Train hitting a belly to belly suplex and a vertical suplex for a two count. Train misses a splash in the corner and is taken down by Rick. Rick clotheslines Train for a two count. Scott tags in and tosses Train with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Rick tags back in and keeps a sleeper on Train in the middle of the ring. Train stops Rick with a jawbreaker. Rick hits a belly to belly suplex, but Train reaches the ropes. Scott tags in and delivers a belly to belly suplex on Train. That leads to all four men brawling to the floor and they are all counted out. (*1/2. They were mostly just tossing each other with suplexs and slugging it out before the cheap finish. I tend to enjoy these teams going at it regardless of the finishes.)
3.) Bruiser backs Page into a corner, but cleanly backs away. Bruiser goes for an arm, but Page breaks free and goes to the corner. Bruiser keeps a nerve hold on Page and gouges his eyes until Page rolls to the floor to regroup. Bruiser decks Page with a short arm clothesline. Bruiser beats on Page around ringside sending Page into the apron and chest first onto the railing. Bruiser eye rakes Page and they return to the ring. Bruiser scoop slams Page followed by an elbow drop for a two count. Page boots Bruiser in the corner, but Bruiser delivers another short arm clothesline. Bruiser misses a spear in the corner hitting the post allowing Page to hit the diamond cutter to win the match. (*1/2. For a quick match, I enjoyed the action. Give me more of Bruiser stiffing guys.)
4.) Booker and Grunge kickoff the main event. Grunge hammer away on Booker with right hands. Grunge shoulder blocks Booker, but is met with a leaping forearm shot by Booker. Booker knee lifts Grunge and tags in Ray. Ray scoop slams Grunge, but misses an elbow drop. Rock leaps off the top top hit a hurricanrana on Ray. Ray press slams Rock coming off the ropes and Barbarian is tagged in. Ray quickly goes after Barbarian with right hands in the corner. Booker tags in and double clotheslines Barbarian. Barbarian shoulder blocks Booker and hits a powerslam in midair for a two count. Barbarian works over Booker with more right hands. Booker nails Barbarian with a leaping sidekick. Ray tags into the match and Ray keeps control with a spin kick to the midsection. Barbarian clotheslines Ray coming off the ropes and tags in Meng. Ray is double teamed, but nails Meng with a flying clothesline. Booker punches Meng in the ribs. Booker misses an elbow strike in the corner. Meng chops away on Booker followed by stomps in the corner. Meng dropkicks Booker for a two count. Grunge tags into the match and goes after Booker with strikes against the ropes. Booker backdrops Grunge followed by a few clotheslines and a snapmare for a two count. Booker keeps a sleeper hold on Grunge, but doesn’t get a submission. Booker hip tosses Grunge, but Barbarian enters the match and beats on Grunge with strikes for a two count. Grunge boots Barbarian in the corner and tags in Rock. Barbarian is double teamed in the corner and met with a back elbow by Rock. Meng dropkicks Rock and hits a sit down powerbomb for a tow count. Meng atomic drops Rokc and Barbarian delivers a big boot. All six men are in the ring brawling at this point. Barbarian powerbombs Booker. Barbarian catches Rock coming off the ropes, but gets chop blocked by Booker and Rock pins Barbarian for the win! (*1/2. I was a bit surprises that Public Enemy won this match and did so relatively cleanly. The match felt a little clunky, but there were enough entertaining spots that it held my interest throughout. They surprisingly got a decent amount of time, too.)
Final Thoughts:
An average episode of Worldwide this week with a bunch of matches that were just ok for the most part. Bruiser/Page was fun and I tend to enjoy Steiner’s/Fire & Ice matches. Worldwide tends to be an easy 45-minute show to get through even if the matches are subpar.
Thanks for reading.