WCW Worldwide 6/16/1996

World Championship Wrestling presents Worldwide
Date: 6/16/1996
From: Orlando, FL

Matches:
1.) Hugh Morrus defeated Butch Long
2.) Chris Benoit defeated Kensuke Sasaki
3.) Diamond Dallas Page defeated Bobby Walker
4.) Lord Steven Regal defeated Cobra
5.) Harlem Heat fought Faces of Fear to a double disqualification
6.) WCW Television Champion Lex Luger defeated Craig Pittman

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Sasaki backs Benoit into a corner and they trade a few chops until Benoit eye rakes Sasaki followed by several forearm strikes. Sasaki boots Benoit followed by a press slam to send Benoit bailing to the floor to regroup. Benoit takes Sasaki down to the mat grabbing his hair, but denies it to the referee. Sasaki works over Benoit with several boots to the gut followed by a scoop slam. Sasaki delivers another scoop slam for a two count. Benoit quickly counters a headlock and scoop slams Sasak a couple of times. Sasaki rolls to the floor to recover. Benoit forearms Sasaki a few times and nails Sasaki with a back elbow strike for a two count. Sasaki back elbows Benoit for a near fall. Sasaki puts an abdominal stretch on Benoit, but isn’t able to get a submission. Benoit yanks Sasaki down by his hair and tries for a clothesline, but Sasaki doesn’t budge and powerslams Benoit for a near fall. Sasaki powerboms Benoit for a two count. Sasaki locks in an arm bar, but Benoit reaches the ropes quickly. Sasaki has Benoit over his shoulder, but is sent into the corner chest first. Benoit hits a dragon suplex for the win! (***. They got some quality time here and they provided a fun Worldwide match. The action was pretty much non-stop and they held my interest. It’s matches like this that make it worth it to watch some Worldwide. Plus, a clean finish is really refreshing.)

2.) Booker and Barbarian kickoff the tag match. Barbarian works over Booker with knee lifts and strikes in the corner. Barbarian runs into a boot in the corner and manages to powerslam Booker coming off the ropes for a two count. Booker forearms Barbarian and hits a leaping side kick for a near fall. Ray enters and beats on Barbarian with strikes. Barbarian knee lifts Ray and tags in Meng. Meng works over Ray with strikes, but Ray fights back, as well. Ray shoulder blocks Meng coming off the ropes. Meng rams Ray into the corner face first and Ray delivers more right hands. Meng hits a springboard crossbody off the middle rope for a two count. Ray atomic drops Meng followed by a big boot. Booker tags into the match and forearms Meng to the mat for a near fall. Booker rams Meng into the corner, but Meng slams his head into the turnbuckle to no sell it. Meng atomic drops Booker and tags in Barbarian. Barbarian sits Booker on the top rope and hits an overhead belly to belly suplex for a near fall. Meng tags in and works over Booker with strikes and a scoop slam. Booker misses a spin kick, but hits a savant kick and clothesline. Meng clotheslines Booker coming off the ropes, but Ray gets involved. All four men are in the ring brawling and the referee calls for the bell. (**. Another feature match that got some decent time and the action was solid throughout. This was better than I was expecting, and I’m not sure why I would think it wouldn’t be as good as it was.)

3.) Pittman starts off by doing some pushups, which apparently confuses Luger. Pittman takes Luger down to the mat and Luger reaches the ropes to break the hold. Luger stalls by hiding behind the referee. Luger knee lifts Pittman followed by a few strikes to the back. Pittman yanks Luger down by his arm and keeps arm control on the mat. Pittman leg drops Luger on the arm. Pittman punches Luger on the arm a few times and continues to wrench Luger’s arm until Luger gets to the ropes again. Luger knee lifts Pittman, but misses a splash in the corner. Pittman continues to work over the arm, but Luger knee lifts Pittman against the ropes. Pittman delivers a headbutt ram into Luger’s midsection to keep the advantage. Pittman has a hammerlock on Luger, but Luger breaks free with a back elbow. Pittman hits a belly to belly suplex for a near fall. Pittman misses an elbow drop coming off the ropes. Luger knee lifts Pittman from behind sending him to the floor. Luger follows with stomps on the floor and rams Pittman into the ring post back firs. Luger hits a vertical suplex for a near fall. Pittman boots Luger in the corner followed by strikes. Pittman nails Luger with a spinning elbow strike. Pittman backdrops Luger and works over the arm. Pittman misses a splash attempt hitting the ropes and Luger manages to get a rollup with a handful of tights to win the match. (*. I can appreciate the story of Pittman working over Luger’s arm preventing the Torture Rack finish and having Luger needing to pull through with a rollup finish. The action just wasn’t very good at all.)

Final Thoughts:
Despite a lackluster main event, I thought this was a strong episode of Worldwide with some quality matches.

Thanks for reading.