World Championship Wrestling presents Pro
Date: 6/1/1996
From: Orlando, FL
Matches:
1.) Alex Wright defeated Manny Fernandez
2.) Pat Tanaka defeated Chip Minton
3.) Disco Inferno defeated Billy Kidman
4.) Sting defeated Hugh Morrus
5.) VK Wallstreet defeated Sgt. Craig Pittman
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Chip Minton is a very pro-USA type of character. Considering Jim Duggan is the ultimate pro-USA, Minton is already a lesser character to Duggan. To make things worse for Minton, Tanaka wins the match with a thrust kick out of the corner. I was not expecting Tanaka to win a match. He’ll likely lose a bigger match later in the month to someone on Pro.
2.) Kidman takes Inferno down with a head scissors in the opening moments of the match, but Inferno is more concerned about his hair being messed up. Inferno knee lifts Kidman followed by a strike to the back. Inferno slams Kidman and misses an elbow drop. Kidman dropkicks Inferno a couple of times sending Inferno to the floor. Kidman hits a crossbody on Inferno for a two count. Kidman bulldogs Inferno out of the corner. Inferno is sent into the corner several times and Kidman almost wins the match. Inferno jabs Kidman leading to the swinging neckbreaker to win the match. (*1/2. I liked this largely because of Kidman’s offense. Inferno was just along for the ride.)
3.) Sting plays to the crowd and that cracks Morrus up because Sting screams. Sting gets on his knees and laughs with Morrus. Morrus tries to do the taunt, but the crowd boos him instead. Morrus rolls on the mat laughing and Sting does the same leading to Morrus missing an elbow drop. Sting backdrops Morrus coming off the ropes and Morrus regroups on the floor. Sting takes Morrus down with a headlock, but Morrus breaks free quickly. Sting goes back to the side headlock on the mat. Sting tries for a shoulder block, but Morrus counters with a powerslam for a two count. Morrus delivers a kick to the ribs. Morrus runs into a boot in the corner and Sting delivers a running clothesline. Sting hits a top rope crossbody for the clean win. (1/2*. I mean it’s hardly a match and just a short showcase for Sting.)
4.) Pittman backs Wallstreet into a corner, but backs away as Wallstreet hides between the ropes. Wallstreet gets taken down to the mat, but gets out of a pin attempt. Wallstreet takes Pittman down to the mat with a headlock, but Pittman breaks free and Wallstreet goes to the floor, again. Pittman slams Wallstreet to the mat for a two count. Pittman goes behind Wallstreet, but doesn’t get any control on VK. Pittman controls Wallstreet with a headlock. Pittman shoulder blocks Wallstreet, but VK drop toe holds Pittman to the mat. Pittman has a hammerlock on VK for a moment. Pittman yanks Wallstreet down to the mat and keeps wrist control. Wallstreet bails to the floor to regroup. Pittman follows and hammers away on Wallstreet. VK gets Pittman back into the ring and follows soon after. Wallstreet hammers away on Pittman, but Pittman hits a belly to belly suplex for a near fall. Wallstreet is knocked to the floor following a headbutt by Pittman. Pittman decks Wallstreet on the floor and rams VK onto the apron face first. Teddy Long gets on the apron to distract the referee. Pittman is crotched over the top rope by VK to get out of a headlock and VK wins the match. (1/2*. Well, maybe the feud between these two is over now. I don’t recall anyone ever winning a match that way before, so that’s cool to have a unique finish.)
Final Thoughts:
I was mostly bored by this weeks episode. I was hoping for a better match between Sting/Morrus. Kidman stood out as being the best part of the show, actually.
Thanks for reading.