WWE's Top 100 (Part 2): 80 to 89

Old WCW contests -- from the time immediately before Eric Bischoff and Ted Turner tried to take the company head-to-head with the WWE -- dominate this set of matches .  These were the last days when WCW was basically a "southern" promotion, doing half their shows out of the Omni in Atlanta.

The champion

Not surprisingly, there are a few hidden gems in this particular collection, and as I go back through and explore some of those old WCW Pay-Per-Views (PPVs), man, there are some really amazing match-ups that I didn't know existed.

WWE's Top 100 (Part 2): 80 to 89

89. The Nasty Boys vs. Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne – WCW Tag Team Championship Falls Count Anywhere Chicago Street Fight: Spring Stampede 1994

I hated this match.  Honestly, the whole thing is a leadership failure on the part of the promoters.  The guys beat each other with pool cues for ten minutes, then they put each other through tables, and eventually the match ends when one of the Nasties hits Mick Foley in the face with a shovel -- much harder than necessary.  Cactus can't get up afterwards because, of course he can't.  Everyone involved got carried away and forgot that it's supposed to be a work.

The rest of the card is amazing, by the way.  Flyin' Brian Pillman vs. Lord Steven Regal, Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat vs. Rick Flair, Stunning Steve Austin vs. the Great Muta and Sting vs. Ravishing Rick Rude in the Main Event.  It's probably worth watching the PPV at some point.


88. Christian vs. Randy Orton – World Heavyweight Championship No Holds Barred Match: SummerSlam 2011

I've never cared much for Randy Orton.  I mean, I just don't think he's entertaining.  Sorry, folks.


87. Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude – 30-Minute Iron Man Challenge: Beach Blast 1992

Another terrific WCW PPV card.  Cactus Jack vs. Sting in a "falls count anywhere" match immediately proceeds this match between Steamboat and Rude.  I watched both, obviously.

I've watched a half-dozen of these old Cactus Jack matches now, and it's depressing because Cactus keeps taking increasingly dangerous falls, and he never wins.  They're using him like a crash-test dummy to put over the top guys.  Here he takes a series of hard falls onto concrete, one of which visibly injures his knee.  Eventually Cactus hits a double-underhook DDT on the champ, but it's not enough, and Sting gets the victory despite the match being a non-title street fight.

Ugh.

On to the main match.  I've always liked the multi-fall format.  I feel like promotions should use it way more often.  I sort of prefer 2-of-3 falls, but this one's fine, and it gives the match more of a traditional sports feel.  Rude goes up 3 falls to 1 with the Dragon's only point coming off a disqualification before the Dragon starts coming back.  The end is a little over-the-top, but the match itself is outstanding.

I should say, too, that I'm surprised how obviously Steamboat has built his gimmick around having a look like Bruce Lee's.  The Dragon isn't using a particularly martial arts-based move-set, but he came out wearing a full-on black silk kimono with matching headband.  He looks like an extra from Enter the Dragon.

Thankfully, both Rude and Steamboat are good at selling consistently.  That's the point; this is built as an endurance race.  This whole match format works like a lost art form.


86. Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Super Crazy: ECW Guilty as Charged 1999

I almost skipped this match, and I'm so glad I didn't.  It was a thousand times better than I thought it would be.  It's a fast-paced lucha-style contest, but the guys give their big moves a moment to resonate with the crowd, and they sell the moves long enough and consistently enough to give this some legitimate psychology.  You don't see that all the time with lucha libre.  The match is also just eleven minutes long, which was a good choice.

Taz as ECW World Champion

The main event in the PPV is also really good.  It's Taz's first ECW title win.  I'd never actually seen a Taz match that I liked, and I'm not sure that Taz himself was the main selling point in this match, either, but whatever.  There were two separate run-ins, including one blistering, scorched-earth attack by Sabu, and that's where this one caught fire.  Well worth a watch just because it's maximum ECW insanity.


85. Sasha Banks vs. Bayley – NXT Women's Championship Match: NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn

There were a couple of really amazing spots in this match, and Sasha Banks goes to a huge amount of trouble to build up some tension around an injury to Bayley's hand.  However, Bayley goes over here even though Banks is clearly the better wrestler of the two, and I hate that.

I can't make myself like Bayley.  The hugs gimmick is great, but I get the sense that you have to have watched her grow up to really appreciate what she's doing, and I have neither the time nor the patience.  Also, they keep selling her as some kind of physical powerhouse, which is weird because she's, like, 5'8" and a buck-twenty at most.  I could believe that Bayley used to be some kind of collegiate endurance racer, but you'll never convince me that she was on any power-lifting team.


84. Sting, Brian Pillman & The Steiner Brothers vs. The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Barry Windham & Sid Vicious) & Larry Zbyszko – WarGames: WrestleWar 1991

This match is supposedly notable because the guys spent five full minutes putting Brian Pillman over despite the fact that he's much, much smaller than any of the other participants.  And yeah, that might be interesting in a historical sense, but I just can't bring myself to care in 2020.


83. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. Dude Love – WWE Championship No Disqualification Falls Count Anywhere Match: Over the Edge 1998

I remember watching this match back in the day and liking it a lot.

Vince MacMahon is the special guest referee.  Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco are the guest ring announcer and time keeper, respectively.  Foley is out in his Dude Love persona, which is awesome as always.  Finally, the Undertaker comes out to keep things "fair".

Patterson introduces Austin as "a beer-swilling fool," which is fine in concept, but Patterson is no one's idea of a talker, and his into nearly puts a very hot crowd to sleep.  Unbelievable.  Thankfully, business picks up once they put things into Austin's and Foley's hands.

I've seen some comments from younger wrestling fans calling Austin the Attitude Era's John Cena.  That's not remotely true.  Austin has a half-dozen or more matches on the Top 100 list, not all from the Attitude Era.  That's about as many as Rick Flair has.  I think the Undertaker might actually have the most just because he was such a good foil for the other top guys, but Austin and Foley are both on here as many times as Flair or Shawn Michaels, and they both have more matches than Bret Hart.  Hell, Hart's best match was with Stone Cold Steve Austin.

For what it's worth, my favorite PPV from the Attitude Era was SummerSlam 1998.  This match actually serves as part of the build to that, but the match itself is excellent as well.  They spill out into the crowd then fight up the concrete walkway onto a series of junked parked cars.  WWE makes sure that can see all of this clearly despite all the people.  Both guys take a half-dozen falls onto concrete, and Austin gets busted open before they head to a strong finish with lots of extracurriculars.  The Undertaker and MacMahon both have a lot to do here, which is good because it validates their presence while building future angles.

I loved this one.


82. The Midnight Express vs. The Fantastics – NWA United States Tag Team Championship Match: Clash of the Champions I, March 27, 1988

I can't get up for this one.  Sorry guys.  I'm sure it's great in its own way, but I'm running out of steam for late-80s WCW/NWA stuff this week.


81. Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan – World Heavyweight Championship 2-out-of-3 Falls Match: Extreme Rules 2012

I never really thought of Sheamus as a particularly big guy by WWE standards, but he's a monster next to Daniel Bryan, and the guys use that to build this match's psychology.  The bout itself takes place shortly after one in which Sheamus pinned Bryan in 18 seconds -- that's weird, right? -- leading to this one, which is intended to give the advantage to Bryan because of its length.

I should note here that I am not a fan of Sheamus.  But the way this bout is constructed, it lets Bryan do pretty much everything, and that works better than you might expect.  The guys trade shots evenly through the course of the first fall, highlighting Bryan's attempts to lock in some kind of submission attempt despite his not quite having enough size or strength to wrestle it all the way on.  Eventually, though, Sheamus misses a shoulder charge into the ring post, and that sets up the rest of the match, with Bryan working the injured shoulder.  Good piece of storytelling.

Match psychology summarized in one pic.

I didn't love the ending -- Bryan is both astronomically more popular than his opponent and much smaller, too, but he still manages to work here as the heel -- but if you absolutely must watch a match with Sheamus in it, I suppose this ought to be that match. 

I still think Sheamus is a bad combination of stiff, dull, and mediocre, but Daniel Bryan made him look good, and that's not nothing, I suppose.


80. Harley Race vs. Ric Flair – NWA World Heavyweight Championship Steel Cage Match: Starrcade 1983

The match before this one is a "dog collar match" starring my all-time favorite professional wrestler, Rowdy Roddy Piper.  They Live is literally my favorite movie of all time.  Anyway, the guys are linked together by a heavy metal chain attached around the neck.  No disqualifications.  Piper is young and gigantic but also riddled with acne scars from obvious steroid abuse.  This must've been before Schwarzenegger redefined the way we think about bodybuilding because these guys are all chest, back, and gut.  Arnold's the one who got us thinking of out-sized arms as a key sign of strength, and to my eyes now, it seems like these guys' physiques just aren't well-balanced.

Anyway, the announcers call out the match for being "innovative".  I think that means it's a gimmick intended to counter the rise of Hulkamania.  Alas, they didn't quite pull that one off.  Lotta blood, but the match itself is kind of a slog.  Piper survives a sleeper hold before beating the Hell out of Greg Valentine with the chain to get the victory.  Typical Piper, really.

Pre-match interview with a young Tony Schiavone.

Onto the main match.  We start with a truly epic entrance from Flair.  Laser light on a mirror ball, accompanied by the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey.  The Man hits the stage through fog machines and sparklers wearing a brilliantly blue-sequined robe.  The crowd goes nuts, and this being the early-80s, they give it fully five minutes to milk the pop.  It's something.  Flair so over in front of his hometown crowd.

This is a weird match by modern standards.  The ref warns Flair against using a closed fist to punch right at the beginning, and the next few minutes actually look like a real wrestling match.  The longer it goes, though, the more it resembles professional wrestling.  Both guy blade about midway through, and though Flair can't quite get the win via the Figure Four, he gets it eventually off a cross-body from the top rope.

Rick Flair is great, but the match itself is a plodding affair by modern standards.  Being honest, I didn't love it.  It's not hard to see why this overall style got smoked by Hulkamania.  Flair's entrance is the best part of the show.


That's all for now.  See you next week!