World Championship Wrestling presents Power Hour
Date: 2/15/1992
From:
Matches:
1.) Ron Simmons & Abdullah The Butcher defeated Cactus Jack & Mr. Hughes
2.) Johnny B. Badd defeated Paul Lee
3.) WCW United States Champion Rick Rude defeated Brad Armstrong
4.) Sting defeated Vader by count-out
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Jim Ross is the host of the program and runs down what is scheduled to be on the show, which is going to see Sting battling Vader!
2.) Hughes and Simmons kickoff the tag match with Simmons delivering strikes and a powerslam as Hughes comes off the ropes. Hughes avoids a dropkick by holding onto the ropes. Hughes overhand strikes Simmons, but misses an elbow drop. Butcher tags into the match and strikes Hughes several times to the mat. Butcher chokes Hughes with his tie. Simmons returns to the match and is met with an eye rake by Hughes. Hughes tags out to Cactus. Cactus strikes Simmons a few times to keep control. Simmons runs into an elbow in the corner. Cactus delivers a knee drop for a near fall. Simmons overhead tosses Cactus, but Cactus prevents a tag out. Simmons sunset flips Cactus, but Hughes breaks the cover. Butcher enters and all four men are brawling. Simmons nails Cactus with a leaping shoulder block to win the match. After the match, Hughes decks Simmons to the floor. Butcher chokes Cactus, but Hughes attacks from behind. Cactus leg drops Butcher, but they bail when Simmons gets back in the ring. (*. There wasn’t much to this. The one thing that annoys me about Cactus is that the guy takes some severe beatings, but then loses to a shoulder block of all things.)
3.) We see footage from Halloween Havoc 1990 where the Steiner Brothers defeated the Nasty Boys.
4.) Johnny B. Badd wins his enhancement match following a left hook strike.
5.) Rude backs Armstrong into a corner to start the bout, but backs off cleanly. Rude puts a hammerlock on Armstrong, but Armstrong responds with a strike. Armstrong runs the ropes and Rude does his hip swirl taunt. Armstrong atomic drops Rude twice causing the classic Rude sell. Armstrong keeps wrist control and Rude drops to his knees. Rude backs Armstrong against the ropes and delivers a strike followed by a clothesline. Armstrong drop toe holds Rude and keeps arm control. Armstrong doesn’t get a submission despite having control for a bit. Rude forearms Armstrong against the ropes. Armstrong ducks a strike and arm drags Rude. Rude forearms Armstrong followed by an eye rake and more strikes in the corner. Rude elbows Armstrong in the corner followed by a forearm drop. Rude scoop slams Armstrong and heads to the top rope. Rude leaps off nailing Armstrong with a strike for a two count. Rude controls Armstrong on the mat with a sleeper. Rude is met with a strike after coming off the middle rope. Armstrong dropkicks Rude and climbs to the top rope hitting a crossbody, but the referee is distracted by Madusa leading to only a near fall. Armstrong clotheslines Rude and gets distracted by Madusa. Rude clotheslines Armstrong from behind and hits the Rude Awakening to win the match. After the match, Rude hit another Rude Awakening. Ricky Steamboat comes out and attacks Rude. Steamboat pummels Rude on the mat. Steamboat superkicks Rude to the mat. Madusa gets in and jumps on Steamboat’s back. Steamboat flips her over, but Rude hits Steamboat with an award. Rude stomps Steamboat on the mat. The locker room empties, but the enhancement guys and thrown to the floor. Sting, Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham chase Rude off finally. (**1/4. A decent match, but I didn’t like the need for a distraction finish for Armstrong. But, the action was solid for the most part. The rest holds may have been a little long, but the action held my interest. The aftermath was good and advances Rude/Steamboat well.)
6.) Jesse Ventura promotes Superbrawl II taking place on February 29th. Ventura says he’ll be there and talks about the WCW United States Championship match between Rick Rude and Ricky Steamboat. Ventura says Rude reminds him of himself. Ventura doesn’t think Steamboat’s ninja stuff will prevail because Rude is just too beautiful.
7.) Missy Does The Mail with Missy Hyatt is up next. Hyatt talks about Ricky Steamboat not showing courage due to getting the assistance from a masked ninja. Hyatt thinks Steamboat is scared and that’s why he got backup. We see footage of an interview where Steamboat explained why he has the masked ninja with him. Steamboat says the masked ninja is there to combat the Dangerous Alliance.
8.) Jim Ross notes that Harley Race was in Vader’s corner for the next match, and Race is associated with WCW World Champion Lex Luger.
9.) Vader strikes Sting to start off the match and taunts Sting by flexing. Vader clubs Sting with a strike across the face, but Sting doesn’t budge. Vader backs Sting into a corner and delivers several forearm strikes. Vader headbutts Sting in the corner. Sting punches Vader several times, but Vader responds with several forearm strikes. Sting fights back with a series of strikes. Sting splashes Vader in the corner followed by a clothesline. Vader bails to the floor, but Sting follows to deliver strikes. Sting is caught and dropped chest first over the railing. Vader nails Sting with a short arm clothesline. Sting crawls into the ring and Vader hits a back suplex. Vader misses a clothesline and decks Sting with a clothesline. Sting sunset flips Vader, but Vader delivers a sit down splash. Vader elbow drops Sting a couple of times. Vader clubs Sting in the corner several times and hits a running splash. Vader powerslams Sting and delivers a big splash for a near fall. Vader strikes Sting several times, but Sting tries for a slam and fails. Vader attempts a vertical suplex, but Sting counters with a German suplex.
Sting scoop slams Vader and heads to the top rope. Sting leaps off the top to splash Vader for a two count. Sting missile dropkicks Vader to the floor. Sting follows again and they trade strikes for a moment. Vader misses a splash and hits the ring post. Sting rolls back into the ring and manages to win the match by count-out. After the match, Harley Race gets in the ring, but Sting splashes Race in the corner. Sting locks in the Scorpion Death Lock, but lets go and dives onto Vader on the floor before departing the ringside area. (***. Just a little taste of what they can do, and I think it’s obvious that it’s the direction they need to go in after Superbrawl. Their chemistry is already there and this was a fun TV match.)
Final Thoughts:
A good episode that flew by this week. I enjoyed Rude/Armstrong and the main event, which those two matches were most of the show. Superbrawl II is shaping up to be a strong PPV.
Thanks for reading.