World Championship Wrestling presents Pro
Date: 9/22/1996
From:
Matches:
1.) Faces of Fear (Meng & Barbarian) defeated Renegade & Joe Gomez
2.) Chris Benoit defeated Jerry Lynn
3.) WCW Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat defeated Scott & Steve Armstrong
4.) Dick Slater & Mike Enos defeated Casey Thompson & Cliff Sheet
5.) Diamond Dallas Page defeated Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Dusty Rhodes, Chris Cruise and Larry Zbyszko are on commentary and they discuss what is going on with Sting following his recent free agency announcement on Nitro.
2.) Leprechaun of the Dungeon of Doom come down to ringside during the Faces of Fear match to bite the leg of the referee, Nick Patrick. Faces of Fear don’t have too much of an issue against Renegade and Gomez. Barbarian hits an impressive overhead suplex off the top rope on Gomez. Meng nails Gomez with a savant kick and Barbarian got the three count.
3.) Lynn is wearing the mask this time, which tells you the difference in taping schedules, i guess. Benoit slams Lynn to the mat after a few chops. Benoit rams Lynn into the corner face first and tries for a powerbomb, but Lynn counters with an arm drag and a head scissors to send Benoit to the floor. Benoit avoids a crossbody attempt and sends Lynn into the ring post. Benoit knee lifts Lynn coming off the ropes. Benoit drops Lynn gut first over the top rope. Benoit slaps Lynn and Lynn almost wins with a rollup. Benoit stomps on Lynn. Benoit forearms Lynn, but misses an elbow strike. Lynn head scissors Benoit to the mat, but Benoit stops Lynn with a boot to the midsection. Benoit drives Lynn down to the mat gut first and hits a full nelson suplex. Benoit locks in the Crossface and wins the match. (**1/2. It’s a quick match and an extended squash for Benoit, but it’s entertaining and Lynn had a brief moment to shine.)
4.) Booker and Steve kickoff the tag match with Booker delivering a few right hands. Booker knee lifts Steve and keeps control with a hammerlock. Steve breaks free with a back suplex. Scott enters with an axe handle to Booker, but that doesn’t last and Ray tags in to pummel Scott with strikes in the corner. Scott fakes a crossbody out of the corner and dropkicks Ray instead. Ray catches Scott leaping off the top rope and hits a powerslam. Booker knee lifts Scott and hits a scissors kick. Booker taunts the crowd. Scott almost gets an inside cradle on Booker, but only gets a two count. Booker big boots Scott and tags in Ray. Booker has Scott over his shoulder and Ray comes off the top to deliver a forearm strike for the clean win. (**. Another short match, but solid regardless.)
5.) Guerrero attacks DDP on the floor as the stage is still circulating and the show goes to commercial. DDP stopped Guerrero with an eye rake. The ring is still moving in a circle. It finally stops moving as DDP keeps a headlock on Guerrero. Guerrero counters with a wrist lock, but DDP decks Guerrero to the mat with a strike. DDP puts an abdominal stretch on Guerrero and uses the ropes for leverage briefly. DDP uses the ropes again, and referee checks to force a break. DDP cheats again and this time the referee sees it and forces a break. DDP decks Guerrero to the mat. DDP chokes Guerrero on the mat and over the middle rope. Guerrero shoulder rams DDP a few times. DDP kicks Guerrero to avoid a backdrop. Guerrero hits a crossbody off the top for a two count. Guerrero dropkicks DDP into the corner. DDP takes Guerrero down in the corner and uses the ropes for leverage to pin Guerrero for the win. (1/2*. Okay, just watch their Fall Brawl match.)
Final Thoughts:
Benoit/Lynn was a fun quick match, Harlem Heat/Armstrong’s was fine, too. Hell, I even like the Enos/Slater tag team. I’ll give this a thumbs up despite the short matches and poor main event.
Thanks for reading.