WCW Fall Brawl 95: War Games - Asheville Civic Centre, Asheville North Carolina, September 17th 1995

A continuous bombardment! Fall Brawl 1995! Nitro has adopted a cool almost late 90s vibe but somehow this PPV and theme song still feels very early 90s! I’m not mad at it.

The commentary duo for tonight is Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and Tony Schiavone. I’ll apologise in advance for how many times I’m sure to misspell his name; Maybe I’ll just call him Tony. He says that tonight’s main event was set up at the end of July but more fuel was added to the fire earlier today; The Giant ran over Hulk Hogan’s Harley Davis motorcycle with a monster truck! I beg your pardon? Hopefully we’ll hear more about that later.

Johnny B. Badd vs. Brian Pillman

Unofficially, the winner of this match will be the number one contender for the WCW United States Championship. Both men are babyfaces; Pillman is an awesome wrestler and had most of his success in WCW as one half of the Hollywood Blondes with the future Stone Cold Steve Austin. Johnny B Badd is known to WWF fans as Marc Mero, which is his real name but that’s still in his future. For tonight, they’re both young up-and-coming babyfaces. The ring announcer for the event is legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer (he’s the “Lets get ready to Rrrrrrrrumble!” guy) WCW paid a small fortune to have him announce for their PPV events to give them a big fight feeling. He does declare that the winner of this match will face Sting for the United States title so I guess it's no longer unofficial!

Flyin’ Brian gets booed early on so he settles into the role of default feel for this match. That’s wise.

They start slow and wrestle on the mat, shifting from arm logs to chin locks and neither man taking it out of first gear. It gives me a chance to listen to the commentary duo. Heenan and Tony are both good here; Tony says that if you miss out on a US title match it could take 6 to 12 months to get back into contention and Heenan debates which of the two Sting would rather wrestler; he knows Johnny best given that he “trained him” (he didn’t really, he’s only a year younger than Sting) but he has less connection to Pillman so might find it easier to fight him. Good analysis. Pillman takes control and grinds down Badd with a boston crab and works on the lower back. There’s a funny moment as Heenan spots a sign in the crowd which says “Bobby Heenan for President”. He says the fan used their own crayons and that it was the mayor of Asheville himself. If you want to show your support, send a donation to him! 

After more back and forth and trading submission holds, Pillman leans into being the heel and bails to the outside to regroup when Johnny has the advantage. He offers a handshake to get back in the ring and while the fans boo and tell Johnny not to trust him, Pillman gets a cheap shot. The action is slow but it's not bad. They do pick things up with a nice slingshot leg drop from Badd, a somersault dive to the outside and Pillman hits a tombstone piledriver for a near fall. The two of them go back and forth with rolls ups and frantically going for a cover after every move as the time limit counts down. Michael Buffer keeps giving us time calls and at the end of the 20 minutes, the match is ruled a draw. Referee Nick Patrick makes the decision that this match will be going to overtime and will continue until there is a winner. That gets a cheer from the crowd and from me - it was just starting to get really good! 

Pillman slows things down with a sleeper but it never gets boring; Johnny fights and struggles the whole time, getting out with a back suplex. Pillman is fired up and slaps Badd in the face as he puts him on the top rope for a superplex but it is countered and a big diving sunset flip off the top gets a heartbreaking near fall. Pillman counters a powerbomb into a hurricanrana and looks really frustrated when Badd kicks out again. Heenan says that as talented as both of these guys are, it’ll be the luckiest man who picks up the win. That is prophetic (he must have known the booking) as after more back and forth, more kick outs and near falls from slams, hurricanranas, crossbodies and dives the two men collide hard in the middle of the ring when they both go for a crossbody. Badd lands on top and gets the three count! This match ended up going almost 30 minutes and you know what? It was pretty good. Johnny B Badd will now get a shot at the United States title on WCW Saturday Night next week. Post match, Mero gets in close to the camera and tells his mom that the victory was for her. 

Backstage, Mene Gene interviews Nature Boy Ric Flair. We learn a little bit more about their issues; these two men who were closer than brothers were driven apart as Flair’s obsession with beating Hogan and winning the title overtook his soul. He became selfish and pushed everyone away from him with his singular focus. Flair doesn’t see it that way of course - he thinks that Anderson didn’t support him and so tonight they’ll go to the ring and see who the better man is. Gene asks Ric if he hates Arn now? Flair says that he LOVES Arn but one man can be the top of the sport and the symbol of excellence and it’ll be The Nature Boy. Wooooo! This was a great promo.

Cobra vs. Craig Pittman

Cobra is a special forces CIA agent apparently, and Craig Pittman was his Sergeant who “left him for dead” and so he came to WCW to get revenge the only way a man can - in the wrestling ring. Is it silly? Yes, enormously. I don’t think anyone cared about this feud and it certainly hasn’t come up on either episode of Nitro I watched. Pittman doesn’t come out and instead a decoy comes out to deliver a message first. It’s a distraction and from the roof of the arena, Pittman rappels down to the ring and attacks Cobra from behind! He wraps his belt around Cobra’s throat and strangles him - the bell rang while he was still going it, which surely must be a disqualification? Cobra fights back and sends Pittman into the ring post but Pittman fights back and locks in his Code Red armbar submission to get the victory in about two minutes. None of this really interested me and I could say that’s because I’ve not seen the feud but the fans were absolutely silent for all of this from start to finish too so it’s definitely not just me.

Before the next match we get some footage from WCW Saturday Night. Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff is in the midst of a losing streak and rants to himself that he doesn’t know who he is anymore - maybe he’s not Mr. Wonderful anymore? His pity party is broken up by Gary Spivy “of the Psychic Companions network” who was a minor celebrity, famous for giving psychic readings and pep talks to people on the home shopping network. He pumps up Orndorff and helps him find his inner confidence. He IS Mr. Wonderful. 

WCW World Television Championship

The Renegade © vs. Diamond Dallas Page (w/The Diamond Doll and Max Muscle)

My first look at DDP, which I’m happy about - I’m a big fan of his! The Diamond Doll is his real life wife Kimberly. The story of the Renegade is pretty hilarious - he was brought in to look and act like The Ultimate Warrior, in order to trick fans into thinking the Warrior would be coming to WCW and get some extra TV ratings and PPV buys. It was so blatant and uncool that it failed quickly - we’re now 6 months into his career and he’s still acting like the Warrior but the fans have more or less turned on him. He’s on his way down the card so guess who wins this match?

Page does some comedy selling, being knocked out of the ring and stumbling around and walking into the ring post and falling over the barrier into the crowd. He’s doing what he can to make Renegade look good. Page works over Renegade in the ring and chips away at him but the champion mounts a come back with a string of clotheslines and a really nice axe handle off the top rope. Page kicks out and the match is pretty even! Schiavone is worried for the Renegade - this is the longest match he’s ever had, usually it’s just a quick squash win. He hits the handspring back elbow in the corner and blocks the Diamond Cutter to follow up with a big powerslam. Renegade gets on the top rope but, when he sees Max Muscle about to attack his manager Jimmy Hart, he dives down on him instead. It costs him and when he’s re-entering the ring, Max grabs his ankle and he falls prey to the Diamond Cutter! DDP wins the TV championship and the Diamond Doll doesn’t look happy - she doesn’t like that her man cheated to win! Schiavone gets a bit personal and tells us that while he “despises DDP and everything he stands for” he is impressed with his victory. Bit harsh, no?

WCW World Tag Team Championships

Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater © (w/Col. Robert Parker) vs. Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray w/Sister Sherri)

Another guy I’m a big fan of in this match with Booker T. He and his brother Stevie have a chance to win the gold here but the story of his match is all about the managers. Col. Parker has been trying to win the affection of the lovely Sister Sherri to no avail but it seems like something has changed recently and she has warmed a little to Parker - maybe she is interested after all? 

The champions are such an old fashioned gimmick and I’m not really familiar with either man. It’s hard to get behind a guy named “Dirty Dick”. I do like Col. Parker though - he has bags of charisma. 

This is a slow match - Stevie and Booker are the bigger men but Slater and Bunkhouse only know how to work one style so they wrestle as the big men, dominating and working over the challengers. Some more good analysis from Bobby and Tony during this as they talk about what amazing athletes Harlem Heat are - you can’t just be a good street fighter and make it in WCW, you have to train and work on your craft. They say the same about big rough and tough country boys Slater and Bunkhouse. Sherri and Parker keep their distance from each other on the outside and the commentators recap the story so far - Sherri hasn’t been very good in Harlem Heat’s corner lately because she’s been so distracted by her love interest so this match is a big test for her. They keep Booker isolated and work him over in their corner while Slater yells at them in his thick accent - it sounds like gibberish to me! 

When the match breaks down, Sherri springs into action and distracts Col. Parker with a big kiss in the second ring (set up for WarGames). It totally distracts not just him but the commentators and fans too who barely react to The Nasty Boys coming down and knocking out Dirty Dick with a boot! Jerry Saggs and Brian Knobbs run off and Harlem Heat take advantage to win the World Tag Team Championships. Sherri and Parker are too busy kissing to even react! 

Afterwards as the former champions yell at their manager for letting them down, Booker T and Stevie Ray don’t seem to buy her Sherri’s claims that she only kissed him to help them win the gold; she is love sick, even if she won’t admit it! This is a glimpse of WCW’s Tag Team division where earlier tonight on the pre-show, Bunkhouse and Slater cost The Nasty Boys their own match to the American Males. Gene interviews Parker and his team at the top of the ramp. They tell him that he’s lovesick and let his heart cost them the Tag Team titles! He says that he is SERIOUS about that woman and they need to respect it. He’ll get them a rematch and see that gold back around their waist. He says that he’s torn between two feelings but his heart is soaring like an eagle! He feels like he’s 20 years old again! Gene has a good laugh and breaks character - I get the feeling that Rob Parker is a really, really funny guy behind the scenes. 

I forgot to even talk about that match - it was fine. It wasn’t good by any stretch but it wasn’t bad either. It was mostly long and a bit dull. I am happy to see Booker T leave with a Championship though! 

Before the next match, Gene talks to Arn Anderson and throws to a video package which I’ve linked to below. Arn says that Flair’s obsession with the gold has pushed everyone away and tonight he’s going to sort him out the only way he knows how - in the ring. This is a battle to see who is the better man between two men who have said they love each other more than family. 

Ric Flair vs. Arn Anderson

Flair and Arn both walk to the ring with serious looks on their face, not doing their normal entrances and pageantry. In a nice touch, multiple performers are shown sitting in the crowd watching this match - wrestlers who have nothing to do with this story and this feud are here just because it's the first time ever for these two men to wrestle. Bobby and Tony really hammer it home for us too; this match is a BIG deal, a match which we never thought we’d see. They’re really strong on telling us how WCW is the pinnacle of wrestling too with the array of names and talent they have. They’re not wrong! 

Bobby Heenan blames Hulk Hogan for all of the issues between these two men and calls him human garbage. Made me laugh. The two of them circle and take it easy, locking up and backing up quickly. They know each other better than anyone else but it still seems to shock Flair when Arn slaps him in the face! 

The story of this match is two fold - these two men know each other so well that they keep countering each other’s stuff (like Flair backing Arn into the corner when he puts on a sleeper, or Arn blocking Ric from going after his leg) and Anderson working on the Nature Boy’s arm and shoulder, grinding it and stomping on it. Flair can’t apply the Figure Four with only one arm. Tony has another meaning, telling us about how Arn and his brother Ole would dislocate and focus on opponents arms when they were a tag team so there’s a psychological meaning behind hammering on Flair’s arm and shoulder; he’s reminding him who he is. Flair tries to fight back with chops to the chest and the intensity picks up with punches and a spill to the outside. Flair takes an uncharacteristic risk with an axe handle from the rope rope all the way to the floor and lights up Arn with punches and chops - that’s classic Flair. 

They go back and forth and the story evolves into how evenly matched they both are scoring big moves and getting near falls. Flair tries for the Figure Four and while Arn blocks it at first, he manages to get it locked in. Arn screams in pain but gets his second (or maybe its third or fourth by this point) wind and rolls over to reverse the pressure. Flair breaks it and tries for it again but Anderson turns it into a small package for a two count! Arn’s leg is so hurt that he crumbles and collapses when Flair whips him across the ring and while the referee is distracted checking on him, Brian Pillman hops up on the apron and kicks Ric Flair in the back of the head! He stumbles into a DDT and Arn Anderson pins Ric Flair and wins this match thanks to Brian Pillman? Why did Flyin’ Brian get involved in this match? This was a great match and the interference at the end didn’t ruin it for me - it adds a bit of intrigue and this story clearly isn’t over! 

WarGames match

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan, WCW United States Champion Sting, Randy Savage and Lex Lugar 

vs.

The Dungeon of Doom (The Zodiac, Kamala, The Shark and Meng w/The Taskmaster)

As you’d expect, given that this is the main event, this match gets a video package and it does a better job of introducing the ridiculously goofy Dungeon of Doom than I ever could. It actually gets TWO video packages and you can also see The Giant crushing Hogan’s Harley Davidson with a monster truck. 

For anyone who hasn’t seen WarGames before, there’s two rings together encased in one, giant cage. It’s two teams of four with participants entering every two minutes. The Dungeon of Doom won the coin toss so will have a one-man advantage throughout the match, their man entering first. The match can only end by submission but not until all 8 men have entered and, in a special stipulation, if Hogan’s Team wins then The Taskmaster must fight Hogan immediately. The Hulkamaniacs cut a pre-match promo and they address Randy’s worries about Lugar’s loyalty right away - Sting straightened him out and they are a united force and together. Lugar is all in too and all four men say their piece. Hogan, of course, speaks more than everyone else and gets some pretty noticeable boos when he comes out - the fans were starting to get tired of his constantly being on top and were getting wise to his act. Hogan had it written into his contract that he had full creative control of his character, matches and feuds so it’s no secret why he always won, was always booked as the main guy and everyone else was made to look inferior to him at all times. I’m sure I’ll get plenty of chances to talk about Hogan as I journey through WCW.

The two men to kick things off are Sting and The Shark, aka Earthquake in WWF. The match kicks off and the big man dominates Sting initially. I’ll let all of you decide if the Dungeon of Doom all look too silly to be intimidating. 

Shark and Sting have a slow brawl for the first few minutes but do at least have some creative spots with the space between the two rings, jumping and throwing each other over the ropes into the gap. The Zodiac is next into the ring for DoD but Sting uses the roof of the cage to keep him at a distance.

 It is still two vs. one so Shark and Zodiac shut him down and work him over with elbow drops and slams. It’s just a slow brawl and there’s no drama as the match can’t end until everyone is in the ring. Macho Man is next in and goes after Shark and Zodiak with fury. Sting is selling anyway but Kamala and Meng manage to reach under the cage and grab his arm, holding him on the mat so that Randy is stuck fighting the same two vs. one odds. Michael Buffer keeps giving time calls for how long is left but he is doing it too often so there’s just a constant call of “1 minute remaining”, “45 seconds remaining”, “30 seconds remaining” which took me out of the match. Next in is the Ugandan Giant Kamala to make it three vs. two. The heels have the numbers advantage and dominate, grinding down the babyfaces until the next entry. There’s not a lot of spots sadly - it’s just a punch-kick brawl. Next in is Lex Lugar. Hilariously, Heenan guessed he’d be next because “Hogan is a coward and will always enter last”. The Total Package runs through everyone with clotheslines and gets a big pop for each one. It’s kind of wild that only two weeks ago, Lugar was appearing during the main event of WWF’s Summerslam! The Hulkamaniacs manage to get advantage but somehow, Lex and Randy had an issue and started fighting each other? I’m not sure what caused it but Sting does his best to keep them apart and then the entrance of Meng gets them back on task. The Dungeon of Doom has a four on three advantage and beat down the three babyfaces until the final man, Hulk Hogan enters the match and fairly effortlessly batters all four opponents. We’re now in the “Match Beyond” which means that with all eight men in the cage, the match can now be won or lost. Knock out or verbal submission are the only ways to win. Hogan throws handfuls of powder into the Doom member’s faces to blind them which isn’t very babyface. Heenen claims that the power smells like napalm or gunpowder and The Hulkster has fun rocking Zodiac with punches while he bounces back and forth between the ring ropes.

If you include Lugar and Savage briefly fighting each other then there’s only really been three or four “spots” in this match! After a few more minutes of brawling, Hogan bounces Zodiak off the cage walls, locks him in the camel clutch and he submits. The Hulkamaniacs win WarGames. This was pretty poor - the fans were really into it but it was just a long punch-kick brawl. Disappointing.

The Taskmaster tries to leave but security stops him and forces him back to the ring to fulfil his deal; he has to fight Hogan one on one inside the cage now! Sting helps out and the Taskmaster is left in the cage to face the music. Hogan beats him up for what felt like forever until finally The Giant comes down to rescue his leader. The Giant shows some really impressive agility hopping over the top rope twice and then locks Hogan in a choke. The Hulkster tries to fight the big man off but he continues to strangle Hogan. Amazingly the young Paul Wight had only had ONE professional match at this point and he found himself feuding with the biggest star in wrestling history. Giant and Taskmaster lay Hogan out and then run off as the rest of his team runs down to check on him. The PPV ends on a sad and dramatic note as the babyfaces tend to poor, injured Hogan while The Giant leaves. Michael Buffer actually announces that “We need a doctor to ringside immediately”

Was this a good show? Yeah! It was an easy watch with a couple of good matches and nothing terrible. The Tag team title match was a little boring, as was the main event but nothing dragged on long enough to lose my attention. I'm excited to see where the Dungeon of Doom goes from here.