WCW Pro 2/24/1996

World Championship Wrestling presents Pro
Date: 2/24/1996
From: Orlando, FL

Matches:
1.) Arn Anderson defeated Steve Armstrong
2.) Scott Norton fought Ice Train to a draw
3.) Belfast Bruiser defeated Brad Armstrong
4.) WCW World Champion Ric Flair defeated Scotty Riggs

Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Anderson and Armstrong shake hands to show mutual respect. Anderson knee lifts Armstrong followed by an axe handle to the back. Anderson shoulder rams Armstrong in the corner followed by left hands. Armstrong elbows Anderson in the corner and trips Anderson to the mat. Armstrong wraps Anderson’s leg around the ring post and kicks the knee a few times. Armstrong slams Anderson and goes to the top rope hitting a flying clothesline for a two count. Armstrong plants Anderson with a suplex and goes to the top rope hitting a splash for a near fall. Armstrong takes Anderson down to the mat and elbows the knee, but Anderson fights back with a kick to the head a few times. Anderson rakes Armstrong’s eyes over the ropes. Anderson misses a splash in the corner and Armstrong hammers away on Anderson. Arn delivers an atomic drop and a quick DDT for the win. (**1/2. I thought this was a really fun sprint of a match. They didn’t waste a moment and Armstrong’s offense kept me interested. The booking is a little weird that they’ve been promoting Arn as a guy who has two wins against Hogan and he kind of struggled here. Anyway, it’s nice to get a surprise fun encounter on WCW Pro.)

2.) Norton elbows Train several times in the corner followed by chops. Norton goes chest first into the corner and Train fights back with right hands. Norton tries to clothesline Train, but he doesn’t budge. They collide on stereo clotheslines and they both go down to the mat. They do a test of strength with both men struggling to get the advantage. Norton kicks Train to the mat and gains the advantage in the test of strength. Norton stops Train trying to get to his feet with another knee lift to the midsection. Train breaks free with a shoulder block after a headbutt to the midsection and drops Norton to his knees. Train clubs Norton over his back. Train keeps a wrist lock on Norton and stomps on his wrist. Train has an arm bar on Norton before delivering a headbutt to the shoulder followed by a knee drop to the shoulder. Train keeps a hammerlock on Norton, but doesn’t get a submission. Train continues to keep the hammerlock on Norton. Norton boots Train in the corner followed by a scoop slam. Norton drops Train to the mat with a forearm to the lower back. Norton elbow drops Train on the lower back. Norton drives Train down to the mat with a suplex. Norton keeps Train on the mat with another strike to the back and a stomp. Norton casually tosses Train with a vertical suplex. Train hammers away on Norton with several right hands and drops Norton to the mat. Train nails Norton with a middle rope clothesline. Train elbows Norton, but Norton comes back with a splash in the corner. Norton slams Train to the mat. Train powerslams Norton for a two count. Norton powerslams Train for a two count. The time limit for the match expires and the match ends in a draw. After the match, they have a stare down and shake hands. (**. It was pretty clear early on that the story was going to be that neither man could get the advantage over each other. They did a fairly good job with their big man moves and I found myself paying attention even for an extended period of time for WCW Pro standards.)

3.) Bruiser forearms Armstrong in the corner, but backs off. Bruiser controls Armstrong with a hammerlock before leg sweeping Armstrong to the mat. Bruiser keeps leg control on the mat. Armstrong manages to flip Bruiser to the mat and they have a standoff. Bruiser takes Armstrong to the mat with a nerve hold and an elbow strike to the neck. Bruiser brings Armstrong to the apron and rams Armstrong chest first onto the apron. Bruiser uppercuts Armstrong a few times. Armstrong kicks Bruiser over the top to the floor and hits a suplex from the apron into the ring. Armstrong pulls Bruiser off the ropes and Bruiser bails to the floor. Armstrong hammers away on Bruiser in the corner followed by a hip toss. Armstrong continues with a strike to the chest, but runs into a boot by Bruiser. Bruiser misses a knee drop and Armstrong goes to the top hitting a flying crossbody for a two count. Bruiser kicks Armstrong and spikes Armstrong with a tombstone piledriver for the win. (*1/2. There was a fine closing sequence to the match and the crowd seemed to get more interested in the match as it went along. I dig Bruiser and would get behind a serious push for him.)

4.) Flair takes Riggs down with a headlock, but Riggs breaks free three times leading to a standoff. Flair is shoved by the referee. Riggs is shoulder blocked by Flair, but Riggs nails Flair with a dropkick and backdrops Flair out of the corner. Riggs clotheslines Flair and Flair begs off in the corner. Flair bails to the floor to regroup with Woman. Riggs drop toe holds Flair to the mat and keeps arm control. Flair elbows Riggs followed by right hands in the corner and a stomp to the knee. Riggs runs the ropes and is met with an elbow to the chest. Flair sends Riggs to the floor. Woman eye rakes Riggs on the floor. Flair chops Riggs in the corner several times. Riggs fights back with strikes to stagger Flair. Riggs knocks Flair to the mat and hits a backdrop. Riggs dropkicks Flair, but misses a dropkick and crashes to the floor. Flair flops to the mat face first. Riggs almost wins with an inside cradle. Flair plants Riggs with a back suplex. Flair locks in the figure four in the middle of the ring forcing Riggs to submit. (*1/2. It’s a fairly basic match for Flair enhancement matches. Flair seemingly never really wins with the figure four and certainly not cleanly. So, that should show you where Riggs stands on the booking sheet if he’s losing like that. For a basic match, it wasn’t too bad and these are the kinds of matches Flair should be winning cleanly anyway.)

Final Thoughts:
The matches were worthwhile with some good talent and it was a quick watch. I’ll give it a thumbs up this week for WCW Pro.

Thanks for reading.