World Championship Wrestling presents Pro
Date: 9/8/1996
From: Orlando, FL
Matches:
1.) Alex Wright defeated Scott Armstrong
2.) Sgt. Craig Pittman defeated Chad Brock
3.) Chris Benoit defeated Ron Studd
4.) Dean Malenko defeated Brad Armstrong
5.) Glacier defeated The Gambler
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Wright backs Armstrong into a corner, but cleanly backs off. Armstrong backs Wright into a corner, but also cleanly backs off. Armstrong gets wrist control, but Wright kips up and counters with a wrist lock of his own. Wright takes Armstrong down, but Armstrong counters with a head scissors on the mat. Wright arm drags Armstrong and keeps arm control. Armstrong slams Wright to the mat, but Wright arm drags Armstrong and maintains arm control. Armstrong shoulder blocks Wright, but Wright hip tosses Armstrong followed by an arm drag. Wright knee drops Armstrong’s arm, but doesn’t get a submission. Wright nails Armstrong with a spinning heel kick and an uppercut. Wright slams Armstrong and goes to the apron looking for a splash, but Armstrong got his knees up. Wright ducks a strike and hits a German suplex for the win. (*. That was a mostly generic match. I don’t know why, but Wright doesn’t seem to be the same wrestler that he was in 1995 or earlier in 1996. Wright appears to be lost in the shuffle at this point.)
2.) As always, Chad Brock would end up being a country music singer. He also lost to Sgt. Craig Pittman on WCW Pro. Brock submitted to the Code Red.
3.) Armstrong starts off with a hammerlock, but Malenko counters with a drop toe hold. They counter each other on the mat until Armstrong gets a hammerlock on Malenko. Malenko backs Armstrong into a corner to break free from the hold. Malenko shoulder blocks Armstrong, but Armstrong comes back with a hip toss and a slam. Armstrong misses an elbow drop. Malenko maintains arm control and delivers knee drops to Armstrong’s arm while in a hammerlock. Malenko falls backwards to wrench Armstrong’s arm. Armstrong tries for a sunset flip, but Malenko doesn’t go down. Malenko avoids a dropkick by holding the ropes. Malenko slams Armstrong and goes back to work on the arm with a crossface. Malenko dropkicks Armstrong’s shoulder in the corner. Armstrong knee lifts Malenko in the corner and boots Malenko in the corner. Armstrong punches Malenko followed by a backdrop. Armstrong hits the side Russian leg sweep, but goes to the top rope hitting a crossbody. Malenko rolls through and pins Armstrong to win the match. (*1/2. A decent match with a good closing sequence.)
4.) This is Glacier’s WCW debut after months of vignettes.
5.) Gambler cheap shots Glacier, but Glacier delivers a standing side kick. Glacier takes Gambler down to the mat and hits a couple of arm drags. The lighting has remained blue that was used during Glacier’s entrance. Glacier leg sweeps Gambler to the mat. Glacier delivers several strikes and a rolling thrust. Glacier kicks Gambler and plants Gambler with a powerbomb. Glacier heads to the top rope hitting a missile dropkick for the win. (*. Honestly, that wasn’t a bad debut for Glacier. I don’t think I like the blue lighting for his matches and hopefully that doesn’t stick. Anyway, I like Glacier.)
Final Thoughts:
A fine overall episode with some decent action and the debut of Glacier. It still blows my mind that Glacier debuted on WCW Pro of all shows.
Thanks for reading.