World Championship Wrestling presents Pro
Date: 7/11/1992
From:
Matches:
1.) Bobby Eaton defeated Larry Corey
2.) Cactus Jack defeated Larry Zbyszko
3.) Barry Windham defeated Don Childers
4.) WCW United States Champion Rick Rude & WCW Television Champion Steve Austin defeated Mark Addock & Billy Vincent
5.) Ron Simmons defeated Richard Morton
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Paul E. Dangerously is with Cactus Jack to cut a promo about Larry Zbyszko, whom Cactus is going to be wrestling on the program. Dangerously warns Zbyszko that they have went so low to hire Cactus Jack to eliminate Zbyszko. Cactus says he may be the shortest tenured Dangerous Alliance member ever, but he’s going to eliminate Zbyszko tonight.
2.) Tony Schiavone is at the UCI Pavillon to host the show, and there’s a match between Bobby Eaton and Larry Zbyszko taking place behind him.
3.) Bobby Eaton won his enhancement match following a middle rope Alabama Jam. Dangerously stopped Eaton from using the guard railing since he’d be DQ’s under the new rules. Dangerously also reminds Eaton to not come off the top rope. This was actually a good squash for Eaton.
4.) WCW Magazine is hosted by Eric Bischoff. Bischoff promotes the August 8th UIC Pavillon show and runs down the card scheduled to take place. Harley Race cuts a promo on WCW World Champion Sting saying Sting is walking with a bullseye on him. Race knows that Vader is going to be the man who beats Sting for the championship.
5.) Zbyszko chases after Dangerously on the floor and is stomped by Cactus upon returning to the ring. Cactus rams Zbyszko into the corner a few times. Cactus eye rakes Zbyszko in the corner. Cactus misses a splash in the corner and is kicked by Zbyszko. Zbyszko slams Cactus followed by a boot scrape. Zbyszko rams Cactus into the corner. Zbyszko rams Cactus into the corner, but Cactus elbows Zbyszko. Cactus gouges Zbyszko’s eyes over the middle rope and splashes onto Zbyszko’s back. Cactus stomps Zbyszko and chokes Zbyszko on the mat. Cactus snapmares Zbyszko and delivers a leg drop for a near fall. Cactus backs Zbyszko into the corner an delivers a few right hands. Cactus pummels Zbyszko in the corner several times. Cactus kicks Zbyszko followed by right hands to stagger Zbyszko. Zbyszko fights back with a flurry of blows in the corner and rams Cactus into the corner. Zbyszko chokes Cactus over the ropes and on the mat. Zbyszko kicks Cactus into the corner and hits a swinging neckbreaker. Zbyszko covers for a two count. Zbyszko throws Cactus to the floor. Zbyszko follows and strikes Cactus a few times. Zbyszko backdrops Cactus coming off the ropes. Cactus rams Zbyszko into Dangerously on the apron and hits a double arm DDT to pin Zbyszko. (**1/2. I thought Zbyszko did a great job as a veteran trying to fight his way past Cactus. The crowd responded very well to his flurry of strikes. I was a little surprised by Cactus prevailing, but it would appear that Zbyszko is in fact wrapping up with WCW so doing jobs on the way out makes a lot of sense.) After the match, Cactus carries Dangerously backstage.
6.) WCW Television Champion Steve Austin and Paul E. Dangerously provide pre-tape comments during Barry Windham’s enhancement match. Austin knows that when Windham wakes up he thinks he’s the second best wrestler and Austin will always be the WCW Television Champion. Windham wins his enhancement match following a superplex.
7.) WCW Magazine hosted by Eric Bischoff is up next. Bischoff continues to promote the August 8th house show. Harley Race and Super Invader cut a promo on Ron Simmons. Race says Simmons made a mistake slapping him and Invader knows exactly what to do to beat Simmons. Race claims Invader is being paid to take out Simmons. Ron Simmons also shared a promo saying that Harley Race has done whatever it takes to win. Simmons promises a fist in Race’s face at the UCI Pavilion. Simmons also referenced Invader not showing his face because of his looks or having too many bills to pay.
8.) WCW Television Champion Steve Austin and WCW United States Champion Rick Rude won their tag team enhancement match when Austin got the pin following the Stun Gun.
9.) Tony Schiavone is still at the UCI Pavilion with the same Eaton vs. Zbyszko still taking place behind him.
10.) Brickhouse Bonus with Jack Brickhouse focuses on the rematch between WCW World Champion Sting and Vader. Jack thinks Vader will focus on the ribs of Sting and suggests Vader’s size could be too much for Sting. However, Jack believes Sting will prevail and show why he’s the WCW World Champion.
11.) Back to the UCI Pavilion, Schiavone talks with Zbyszko after his win against Bobby Eaton. Zbyszko tells Schiavone that he’s still here and looking good despite Cactus Jack’s victory. Zbyszko talked with Bill Watts and reveals he’ll be co-hosting with Schiavone on WGN. Zbyszko puts his money on Vader in a match between Vader and Sting.
12.) Simmons shoves Morton to the mat into the corner and stands tall. Morton complains to the referee, but Simmons didn’t do anything illegal. Simmons shoves Morton to the mat a second time and poses for the crowd. Morton eye rakes Simmons, but Simmons backdrops Morton out of the corner. Morton regroups into the corner. Simmons puts a headlock on Morton, but Morton sends Simmons into the ropes. Simmons puts a full nelson on Morton, but doesn’t get a submission. Simmons drops Morton to the mat. Morton backs Simmons into the corner and delivers shoulder rams and strikes. Simmons works over Morton in the corner. Simmons press slams Morton to the mat and used his head to headbutt Morton on the way down. Simmons puts a wrist lock on Morton and strikes Morton over the shoulder. Morton backs Simmons into the ropes, but Simmons shoulder blocks Morton. Simmons keeps wrist lock control on Morton. Morton knee lifts Simmons in the corner, but misses a splash. Simmons goes back to wrist control and headbutts Morton over the shoulder. Simmons keeps Morton on the mat with an arm bar. Morton strikes Simmons several times and runs into a powerslam leading to a three count for Simmons. (*. A mostly one-sided encounter. It’s incredibly difficult for me to buy into Morton as a heel since he’s so much smaller than his opponents.)
13.) WCW Magazine hosted by Eric Bischoff is up next. Bischoff once against promotes the August 8th house show at the UIC Pavilion. WCW World Champion Sting provided comments about his match with Vader. Sting is ill thinking about handing the title over to Vader. Sting is here to stay, but he’s not sure about Vader.
14.) Jim Ross chats with Bill Watts about the Great American Bash Tour. On July 5th there were two title changes. Brad Armstrong won the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship from Scotty Flamingo. Steve Williams and Terry Gordy defeated the Steiner Brothers to win the WCW Tag Team Championships.
15.) We see footage of Brad Armstrong winning the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship from Scotty Flamingo. Armstrong countered a suplex with a side Russian leg sweep to win the title. Brad Armstrong cut a promo after the victory. Armstrong is a proud man to hold the title. Armstrong doesn’t care where he has to go to defend the title because he will defend it.
16.) We also see footage of Steve Williams and Terry Gordy wining the tag titles from the Steiner Brothers. Scott hit the Frankensteiner on Gordy, but Williams hit a clothesline Scott allowing Gordy to pin Scott. Gordy and Williams cut a promo after their victory. Gordy says this isn’s college, but the big boys now. Gordy puts over the WCW Tag Team Championships and declares they are coming after the NWA Tag Team Championships because they are the best tag team. Steve Williams want to prove who the real tag team champions are.
Final Thoughts:
A solid match between Cactus and Zbyszko along with footage from the Omni and the title changes make for this to be a good overall show.
Thanks for reading.