Johnny B Badd was always a strange character: He can make any other flamboyant wrestler look manly, and he relies on his boxing background to beat his opponents. Lots of people in The IWC look at Steven Regal like he's some kind of underrated gem, and I never found out why. Now I realize that he can work an engaging match with anybody. I'm not knocking on B Badd.
Prior to watching this, I didn't know that B Badd was a replacement for Sting. Those are some big shoes to fill, and I commend him for putting up a fantastic opening match.
2. The Guardian Angel vs Vader (with Harley Race).
The match itself was so-so, but the finish was well done. The Guardian Angel was holding a weapon that Vader or Race was going to use against him while the ref was down. The Angel wasn't going to use it on Vader, but the referee disqualifies The Guardian Angel upon getting up. This was a great way to get heat on both Vader and Race. We all knew that The Guardian Angel was too much of a goodie two shoes to actually use it, but the ref acted on his own judgement when he made the call.
3. Dustin Rhodes and Arn Anderson vs Terry Funk and Bunkhouse Bunk.
This match really established Dustin Rhodes as the underdog. He was a rookie at the time in a feud with a bitter family rival. The Funks and The Rhodes family had a past together. The first half of the match featuring Funk and Bunk torturing Dustin Rhodes, while the latter half featuring Rhodes taking on both of them at the same time with finesse. For a while it seemed like Rhodes was taking too long to tag Anderson, but as soon as he gets the tag in, Anderson attacks his own partner with the DDT and let's Funk get the pinfall.
All three of them proceed to systematically attack Dustin Rhodes, targeting his arm in the beatdown. It was a brilliant way to get heat on Terry Funk and to get Dusty over as a babyface. They all proceed to celebrate with Champagne and Hookers, The WCW way.
4. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs Stunning Steve Austin (C) For The WCW United States Championship.
Steamboat (allegedly) never had a bad match, while Austin was still a technically sound wrestler at the time. These two put on the match of the night. Austin does every cheap, underhanded thing to get the victory or keep the title, while Steamboat lays it all on the line to win the title.
5. Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan vs Pretty Wonderful (Paul Roma and Paul Orndorff) (C) For The WCW World Tag Team Championships.
I didn't really care for this match. Most of the matches in this ppv felt longer than they actually were, but in this case this match actually had some hangtime to it. Paul Orndorff's weird elbow drop and Spike Piledriver were the saving graces of this match.
6. Hulk Hogan (with Mr T and Jimmy Hart) vs Ric Flair (With Sensuous Sherri) for The WCW World Heavyweight Championship:
I knew going in to this match that it wouldn't be all that. Vince tried out Hogan vs Flair in a few house shows prior and realized that the matches weren't all that. This was the first time a large mass of people got to see the original dream match in action. Sherri Martel was much more interesting than the actual match. If it wasn't for the managers and valet's this match would have been nothing. The crowd itself wasn't feeling it once the hype dissipated and the match actually started.
I don't even dislike Hogan as an in-ring performer. He's okay when he's in Japan, or when he's working power matches at Wrestlemania, but against Ric Flair the styles do clash. Flair is doing his typical cowardly heel act, while Hogan continues to do the impossible (even power out of the figure four leglock). Check out his matches with Sting and Luger if you want a dream match vibe.
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