World Championship Wrestling presents Power Hour
Date: 7/18/1992
Matches:
1.) Marcus Alexander Bagwell defeated Diamond Dallas Page
2.) WCW Television Champion Steve Austin defeated Brian Pillman to retain the title
Angle Developments/Notes:
1.) Jim Ross hosts the Power Hour. Ross lets us know that Vader is the new WCW World Champion. Terry Gordy and Steve Williams are the new NWA Tag Team Champions, as well.
2.) They aired a match between Barry Windham and Richard Morton that originally aired on the June 27th edition of WCW Pro.
3.) Bagwell gets a headlock on DDP, but DDP breaks free with a hip toss. Bagwell kicks DDP away and hits an arm drag to keep control on the mat. They trade hammerlocks for a moment. DDP elbows Bagwell and hits a shoulder block. DDP hip tosses Bagwell again, but is kicked away and Bagwell arm drags DDP. Bagwell keeps wrist control on DDP and yanks down on the arm. DDP counters, but Bagwell reverses again to take DDP down to the mat and leg drops DDP on the arm a few times. Bagwell ducks a clothesline, but DDP nails Bagwell on a second clothesline attempt followed by a couple of elbow drops leading to a two count. DDP kicks Bagwell on the mat in the ribs. DDP chokes Bagwell over the bottom rope. DDP forearms Bagwell on the lower back several times. DDP chokes Bagwell over the top rope and leaps over the top rope to drop Bagwell throat first over the ropes again. DDP covers Bagwell for a one count. DDP keeps Bagwell on the mat with a sleeper. Bagwell elbows free from DDP, but DDP yanks Bagwell back down to the mat. Bagwell atomic drops DDP and runs into a knee lift, but Bagwell almost wins with a rollup. Bagwell shoulder blocks DDP, but DDP recovers with a clothesline for a two count. DDP strikes Bagwell in the corner and sends Bagwell into the corner, but misses a splash. Bagwell atomic drops DDP followed by a few clotheslines. Bagwell backdrops DDP coming off the ropes. DDP tosses Bagwell to the floor. DDP suplexs Bagwell from the apron into the ring, but Bagwell counters with a cradle to win the match. After the match, DDP plants Bagwell with a reverse DDT to leave Bagwell laying. (**1/4. I enjoyed this a bit more than I thought I was going to. They made good use of their time and there wasn’t an extended period of rest holds or anything. A clean finish for Bagwell is the right call since Bagwell is often times involved with the main event heels on TV.)
4.) Footage from Great American Bash ’92 is shown where Terry Gordy & Steve Williams won the NWA Tag Team Championships by defeating Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham in the finals of the tournament. Williams pinned Rhodes following a clothesline.
5.) Austin backs Pillman into a corner, but Pillman breaks free and avoids Austin. Pillman avoids an elbow drop attempt and they have a standoff. Pillman puts a headlock on Austin, but is met with an elbow coming off the ropes. Austin forearms Pillman and rams Pillman into the corner. Austin strikes Pillman over the back, but misses a clothesline. Pillman head scissors Austin followed by a dropkick and head scissors Austin for a near fall. Pillman regains control with a headlock on the mat. Pillman gets a rollup for a two count, but Austin counters with a head scissors. Pillman regains controls with a headlock on the mat. Austin tries to roll Pillman over on a cover, but Pillman quickly keeps control on the mat. Austin rams Pillman into the corner a few times, but Pillman monkey flips Austin across the ring. Austin drops Pillman with an electric chair slam. Austin continues with a swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Austin knee drops Pillman on the back leading to a near fall. Pillman fights back with a few chops, but Austin kicks Pillman and nearly wins the match with that strike. Austin controls Pillman on the mat with a chin lock. Austin keeps Pillman on the mat with a sleeper. Dangerously taunts Pillman with the championship on the floor. Pillman elbows Austin a few times, but runs into a powerslam by Austin for a two count. Austin keeps Pillman on the mat with a sleeper. Austin uses the ropes for leverage to keep Pillman on the mat.
Pillman strikes Austin to break free, but is rammed into the corner. Pillman hits a springboard back elbow strike, but misses a middle rope missile dropkick. Austin tries to cover with a handful of tights, but only gets a two count. Austin hits a vertical suplex, but misses a middle rope clothesline. Pillman strikes Austin and hits a backdrop. Pillman fires back with chops, but Austin eye rakes Pillman. Pillman nails Austin with a spinning heel kick for a two count. Pillman hits another spinning heel kick on the back of Austin’s head for a near fall. Pillman strikes Austin, but Austin is able to throw Pillman to the floor. Pillman shoulder rams Austin, but Austin stops Pillman with the Stun Gun and picks up the win to retain the title. (***1/2. That was a highly enjoyable TV title match on Power Hour. Pillman’s offense was fun in the quick instances he had it and Austin was able to cut Pillman off in a heel manner that didn’t hurt the flow of the match. The crowd was eating this up, as well. Matches like this make watching all the syndication shows worth it. This is apparently also on Worldwide, but this may be the full match compared to what aired on Worldwide.)
6.) Missy Does The Mail with Missy Hyatt is up next. Hyatt talks about the Great American Bash PPV being a great show, but also notes that Brad Armstrong won the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship from Scotty Flamingo at the Omni recently. We see footage of the title change. Hyatt is happy for Armstrong winning his first title and thinks Armstrong will represent WCW well and promotes his match against Great Muta on WCW Saturday Night, but it’s actually Jushin Liger and not Muta.
7.) We see footage from Great American Bash 1992 where Vader won the WCW World Championship after hitting a powerbomb on Sting. Ross knows that Sting is looking forward to a rematch against Vader. Ross also knows that Sting is disappointed in letting his fans down.
Final Thoughts:
A good episode this week with Austin/Pillman being better than I remembered on my Worldwide review from a decade ago. An easy episode to watch.
Thanks for reading.