APRIL 11TH — TACOMA, WA — TACOMA DOME
MATCH #1: JUVENTUD GUERRERA VS. BLITZKRIEG — WCW CRUISERWEIGHT #1 CONTENDER
NOTE: The winner of the match gets a WCW Cruiserweight Championship match tomorrow night on Nitro.
FINISH: Guerrera spikes Blitzkrieg with a middle rope Juvi Driver to win the match
Bob’s Take: The finish is obviously an insane spot, and especially so in 1999. However, the action prior to that was fine, but maybe a little underwhelming. Yeah, there was a couple of good high risk spots, but it lacked intensity and quality overall action you’d expect from the division. I wish they’d try to elevate someone else in the Cruiserweight division. WCW feels as if it is constantly being repetitive and while Guerrera will likely have a good match in Nitro, it’s been seen and done a lot that it wouldn’t drive viewership to see it again on free TV. It’s not a bad match by any means, but I expected a bit more and a chance for Blitzkrieg to shine instead of the same old matches. 1 for 1
MATCH #2: BAM-BAM BIGELOW VS. HARDCORE HAK — HARDCORE MATCH
FINISH: Bigelow hit a middle rope Greetings From Asbury Park through a table to pin Hak
Bob’s Take: The first five minutes were enjoyable, and then they hit a lull before picking up for the final couple of minutes. They easily could have cut four minutes from the match and it would have been considerably better. For what it’s worth it’s probably the best hardcore match WCW has put together to this point. It’s also interesting to see how the WCW fans react to this sort of wrestling as if they are watching a comedy show. If it were happening in ECW they’d be craving for blood. Of course, the announcers don’t take any of it all that serious either. 2 for 2
MATCH #3: SCOTTY RIGGS VS. MIKEY WHIPWRECK:
NOTE: This is a bonus match as it was not advertised beforehand.
FINISH: Riggs nails Whipwreck with a flying forearm smash off the ropes to win the match
Bob’s Take: Riggs is basically a narcissist and came out with a mirror during his entrance. I’m not entirely sure how they came to the conclusion to add these two guys to the PPV for a bonus match when a guy like Buff Bagwell is not on the show. It’s not that I even dislike either guy, but this is not the kind of show to put two cold wrestlers on a show after two matches that fans responded well to. As soon as I wrote that sentence there was a noticeable “boring” chant. They were doomed in this spot. Riggs is doing a knockoff version of what Luger did in ’93 for the WWF including the same finisher. 2 for 3
MATCH #4: KONNAN VS. DISCO INFERNO
FINISH: Konnan nails Inferno with his own finishing move, the Chartbuster (stunner) to win the match
Bob’s Take: While the ring announcer announced Inferno as being part of the Wolfpac, Inferno isn’t even wearing the Wolfpac shirt anymore during his entrance. I’m starting to think that Inferno is no longer involved with the Wolfpac. The feud was based upon mostly comedy with Inferno mocking Konnan’s music video. There wasn’t a lot of comedy to the match, which may have been a misfire. Inferno had a better match last month with Booker T as I found this one to be dull and boring for the most part. 2 for 4
MATCH #5: WCW CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION REY MYSTERIO JR. VS. KIDMAN
FINISH: Mysterio hit a top rope hurricanrana to pin Kidman and retain the title
Bob’s Take: At one point during the match, Mysterio hit his head on the ring steps doing a head scissors. That may have impacted the flow of the match a little bit. Anyway, the action is pretty good as you’d expect, but the crowd came across a bit… deflated? While the action is solid, their match on Nitro a few weeks ago was a far better match and it’s almost as if the matches should be reverse. This match should have been on Nitro and the Nitro match been on PPV. It’s a good match, but you’d expect a bit more on PPV. That’s the risk you take when you have to put big matches on Nitro. 3 for 5
MATCH #6: CHRIS BENOIT & DEAN MALENKO VS. RAVEN & PERRY SATURN
NOTE: Charles Robinson is the referee for the match, who has been connected to the Horsemen as of late.
FINISH: Late in the match, Arn Anderson puts a chair over Raven’s head allowing Benoit to hit a diving headbutt onto Raven and Malenko pins Raven to win the match.
Bob’s Take: This is a quality tag match with plenty of good action. I’m not sure why, but I’m actually surprised with how well Raven & Saturn are seemingly connecting with the crowd and getting a positive crowd reaction. Horsemen winning doesn’t bother me as the unit needs momentum as heels. I still don’t like the shift in Benoit and Malenko to being heels and their need to cheat in order to win. They are far too talented to be presented in that manner. It’s a good match that held my interest throughout. 4 for 6
MATCH #7: SCOTT STEINER VS. BOOKER T — FINALS FOR WCW US TITLE TOURNAMENT
FINISH: Late in the match, Steiner hit Booker with a pair of brass knuckles leading to the pin.
Bob’s Take: Steiner blatantly using a steel chair on Booker T and the referee doing nothing about it was a confusing moment. Steiner also blatantly low blowed Booker right in front of the referee. I understand there being leeway, but when it’s several moments it kind of makes the referee look useless and the rules simply don’t matter so why even have them? I never thought Booker was going to win here since he’s already the WCW Television Champion and having a double champion wouldn’t be ideal. Watching Steiner in 1999 makes me miss the 1991/1992 version so much more. These two are capable of a lot, but Steiner relying on smoke and mirrors made this quite the disappointment. 4 for 7
MATCH #8: KEVIN NASH VS. GOLDBERG
FINISH: Late in the match, Kevin Nash leapfrogs to avoid a spear and the referee is taken out. Lex Luger whacks Goldberg over the back with a chair shot. However, in the end Goldberg is able to overcome the odds and prevails following a spear and the jackhammer.
Bob’s Take: A rematch that was highly anticipated following Starrcade ’98 and got the ol’ bait and switch on January 4th gets randomly booked six days before Spring Stampede because they don’t have anything of substance going on. As a result, the vibe isn’t a ‘big match feel’ for me. It should be, but it wasn’t given the proper build week to week to make that a reality. It’s fairly short and sweet, and it’s the result that needed to happen. I enjoyed this for what it was. 5 for 8
MAIN EVENT: WCW WORLD CHAMPION RIC FLAIR VS. DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE VS. STING VS. HOLLYWOOD HOGAN — RANDY SAVAGE IS SPECIAL ENFORCER —TORNADO RULES
NOTE: At about the midway point of the match, DDP put a figure four leg lock on Hogan around the ring post. Hogan is forced to leave the match due to a left knee injury. Eric Bischoff came out to check on Hogan, as well despite having been off television (for the most part).
FINISH: Late in the match, Flair has a figure four on DDP, but Savage hit Flair with a top rope elbow drop. DDP ends up hitting the Diamond Cutter on Flair to win the match and title.
Bob’s Take: Going the route of tornado rules was the best thing they could have done. Having there be zero structure and the match come across as a wild brawl between four top stars made this far more enjoyable than I thought it would be. DDP is a victim of bad timing. WCW is probably about nine months late on DDP winning the title and getting a proper pop. At this point, DDP is far more unlikable for whatever reason and the fans aren’t rabid for him in a babyface role. The fans were amped at the potential of Sting winning the title, but Sting is always more interesting chasing for the title rather than being the champion. In an era where the booking always short-term thinking, Sting winning may have been the best bet. The crowd was silent, but I don’t think it was stunned silence, but rather of disinterest of DDP winning the title. Regardless of the direction, I thought it was a good main event and the best main event on PPV for WCW thus far in 1999. 6 for 9
Spring Stampede is regarded as the last ‘good’ WCW PPV and I’m not entirely sure that’s accurate, but we’ll soon find out as we continue on. There’s some good wrestling, but I’ve seen better Nitro episodes in ’99 compared to the this PPV. It was a bit noticeable that the crowd started off hot for the show, and then around Konnan/Inferno they never rebounded and the interest from the live crowd seemed to dwindle a little bit until the main event.
Commentary tried to make it sound as if Randy Savage turned on Flair, but I never thought Savage was aligned with Flair. The way it was presented on Nitro I thought Savage was aligned with Sting since he voiced the video package after Sting returned and pointed to the video screen. If anything, I’d guess Savage betrayed Sting more than anyone else. Figuring that into the equation, I’d gather that Slamboree plans would involve DDP now defending the title against Sting. Goldberg once again doesn’t have a viable heel to go through, so maybe he’s stuck with Scott Steiner and the US Championship for a bit?
Goldberg’s the major draw and it’s as if they have no idea what they’re doing with him. The Bret Hart angle was fantastic a couple of weeks ago, but now he’s off TV for who knows how long to sell the quitting the company gimmick. If you want DDP to have any sort of meaningful title reign, you avoid Goldberg at all cost. If DDP is a short-term champion, then let Goldberg go right through him and put the title back the man who should have never lost it.
The other major happening is that Hulk Hogan is doing an injury angle and will likely be off TV for several months. No matter how I feel about Hollywood/Hulkster he’s a top name and he’s going to be noticeably missed on TV for the star power aspect.
Where does Flair go from here? Does he force himself into a rematch against DDP at Slamboree? That would make a lot of sense, but a DDP vs. Flair PPV main event at this point doesn’t seem to have much steam behind it, really. Perhaps Flair should focus on elevating his other Horsemen pals. Hopefully we get a clearer picture as to where they’re going to go on Nitro tomorrow night, but that’s not always an easy task for WCW.
Spring Stampede ’99 Buy-rate: 255,000 (down from 330k, 485k, and 325k for the previous three PPVs.)
Thanks for reading.