Superbrawl VII

Legacy Review

Superbrawl VII

February 23, 1997 from the Cow Palace in San Francisco

Commentary: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Dusty Rhodes

The show opens with another of WCW's legendarily awful mini-movies, this one Roddy Piper "escaping" from Alcatraz. You may recall Piper defeated Hollywood Hogan at Starrcade in the "Match of the Decade", but unfortunately no one put anything in the contract about it being a World title match. Mostly because Piper didn't ask. Now after being the first man to beat Hogan since his heel turn he's getting the title shot. To get ready, Piper decided to spend a week- A WEEK- in Alcatraz. To, I dunno, psyche himself up or something. Thing is, Alcatraz hasn't been a working prison for decades. Far from being "seven days of hell", he'd have gotten the same effect if he'd gone and sat in a cave by himself for a week or had one of those Aaron Rodgers darkness retreats.

WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Syxx def Dean Malenko (c) in 12:00- After running an angle of Syxx stealing the US title belt from Eddie Guerrero, they're now running an angle of Syxx stealing the Cruiserweight title belt from Malenko. Starting to think Syxx needs professional help for his kleptomania. Or a stint in a real not Alcatraz prison. At least the Cruiserweight title is much more on his current level, the US title was reaching way too high. If possible Malenko looks even more serious than usual on his entrance. As soon as Malenko hits the ring it's on. Malenko is full of fire, hitting a ton of high impact stuff early instead of his usual meticulous body part working, and even more he keeps pulling Syxx out of covers, wanting to do more damage. Syxx tries to fight back but Malenko hits a powerslam for 2. Syxx crashes in the corner into the tree of woe. Malenko dropkicks his knee, then quickly goes for the Cloverleaf. Syxx fights it off. Malenko hits a crossbody against the ropes and both guys tumble to the floor. Malenko goes and gets the belt. While he's posing with it Syxx tries to hit him with a roundhouse kick. Malenko ducks and puts Syxx back down with a punch, then sets the belt down in the corner. Circle that for later. Syxx continues to sell the knee, but manages to hit Malenko with a misdirection kick. He lays in his corner kicks and hits the bronco buster. Sleeper from Syxx. Malenko quickly counters out. Syxx gets it back on. Malenko back suplexes out. Chops from Syxx. He sets Malenko up on the apron then hits an elbow off the second rope. And still remembering to sell the knee. Pleasant surprise. Syxx hits a suplex and legdrop off the top for 2. He puts the sleeper on again. The match stalls for a minute when one small but VERY loud row of the crowd opposite hard camera starts chanting "123 SUCKS". Malenko works his way into his own sleeper and we get a midring collision. Syxx gets crotched on the top rope. Malenko goes for a back superplex. Syxx sort of counters it but I don't think they pulled that off how they intended. Syxx takes the belt from the corner where Malenko left it. Eddie Guerrero runs out to ringside. He and Syxx play tug of war with the belt, with Malenko joining in to pull Syxx in a triple threat tug of war. After a minute Guerrero loses grip on the belt, and it snaps back right into Malenko's face! Syxx covers and gets the pin, and the title for real! Guerrero is furious with himself. Not up to your established Cruiserweight or Malenko title match standard but it was still a good one. ***1/4

Mean Gene is in the back with tonight's hotline shill: apparently a VERY PROMINENT WCW wrestler was seen HAVING BREAKFAST somewhere in suburban San Francisco that morning WITH HIGH LEVEL MEMBERS OF THE NWO! I guess they've run out of promotion jump teases. DDP comes in and uses some logical deduction to figure out who his mystery NWO opponent will be tonight. Okerlund confirms his guess is right, that it will indeed be Buff Bagwell.

 

Konnan, La Parka and Villano IV def Juventud Guerrera, Ciclope and Super Calo in 9:52- Lucha trios rules for this one so tagging and selling are optional. Mike Tenay joins the booth. Ciclope and Villano start with some good back and forth mat wrestling. They shove a bit then tag out. Konnan and Juvy run through some speed counters before Konnan hits a clothesline. Funny little bit in there where Heenan shouts "JUVY!" like he's surprised to see him, maybe a little dig at Juvy no showing the last Clash of the Champions. Juvy gets a flying headscissors and springboard missile dropkick. Konnan German suplexes Ciclope than gives him a powerbomb. Parka and Calo take their turn. Heenan marveling at Calo's hat staying on never gets old. Parka gets kicked to the floor and Calo hits a slingshot senton. He goes for another dive but Parka lets him splat on the floor. He gets a chair (padded because he's a nice guy), sets Calo in it, then hits him while seated with a tope suicida. Villano and Ciclope resume their counterwrestling. Ciclope tries coming off the top but crashes on the floor. Juvy completely misses a 450 splash on Villano but it's sold anyway. Juvy no sells a German and hits a back kick. Parka hits a corkscrew off the top on Juvy for 2. Juvy springboard hurricanranas Parka off the top for 2. Konnan and Villano hit the doomsday device on Juvy. They both tie Juvy up in a submission, and more guys run in to make it a giant daisy chain cradle. The ref counts 2 on someone. If that had been 3 good luck figuring out who the winner was. Konnan lifts Juvy up and TOSSES him down to the floor. Villano and Konnan hook up what Tenay calls "the star". In the middle of that Parka surfboards Juvy. The rudos get knocked out to the floor, and the technicos hit a triple tope suicida on them! Juvy cradles Konnan for 2. Konnan drops Juvy with the Razor's Edge powerbomb. Juvy kicks out, but the ref counts 3 anyway. Oof. No one looks happy after that. Lucha style in general is not my cup of tea, but that was fun enough minus the botched finish and a couple of other rough spots. ***

 

WCW World Television Championship: Prince Iaukea (c) def Rey Mysterio Jr in 8:52- One of the staples of the Bischoff era is young wrestlers pushed beyond their experience, and ultimately their abilities, only to flop spectacularly. There was the Renegade, Alex Wright, and now upstart TV champ Prince Iaukea. Mysterio was scheduled to challenge Steven Regal tonight, but Iaukea pulled the monumental upset on him at Nitro the week before the PPV thanks to distraction help from Mysterio. Tenay stays in for this one since it's a ReyRey match. Tony speaks for everyone by saying straight up "No one thought Iaukea would come in as TV champ". Zero reaction for him on his entrance. Both guys are faces so Code of Honor handshake to start. Lockup! Basic arm wringer start. Shoulderblock standoff but Iaukea falls down anyway. Speed run, Iaukea gets tossed on the apron, he springboards over Mysterio and hits a superkick for 2. Mysterio goes outside and Iaukea hits a crossbody off the top to the floor. Legdrop back in for 2. Iaukea works through some basic power moves while the crowd gets distracted by something else going on. Press slam into a backbreaker and Iaukea poses a bit. The crowd wants nothing to do with him. He tries coming off the top but Mysterio dropkicks him in midair. He headscissors Iaukea over the top to the floor. Tope senton! Springboard moonsault back in. Mysterio counters a corner lawn dart and hits a heel kick. Split legged moonsault for 2, followed by a good old drop toe hold. Iaukea hits an avalanche Samoan drop. Regal comes out, in glasses and a suit. Mysterio hits a floppy thing off the top that I'm not sure Iaukea did what he was supposed to do with. Mysterio sets up on the apron. Regal pulls him down, sending Mysterio into the apron face first. As we all know, that's the hardest part of the ring. No recovering from that. All of Regal's anger is directed at Mysterio for costing him the title, proving again no one gives a shit about Iaukea. Regal slides Mysterio's limp body back in, and Iaukea covers for the pin. THEN wonders what and why the hell. After he won the match of course. He sees Regal and figures it out. Iaukea then goes so far as refusing the belt and tries to give it to Mysterio. Mysterio also refuses to take it that way and hands it back. Hell, give it to me, I can stall enough to get 15 minute time limit draws and keep the belt for years. Mysterio did the best he could but even he's only so much of a miracle worker. **1/2

Side thought, it's a damn shame Regal had another relatively long run with the TV title the second half of '96 and couldn't get a single PPV match booked. He'd been off PPV so long I was trying to remember if he was even still with WCW or not.

 

Diamond Dallas Page def Buff Bagwell by DQ in 9:45- DDP is seriously getting big time thanks to his "fuck the NWO" face turn. The crowd is borderline bonkers for him. After the bell DDP chills in the corner while Bagwell jaws. DDP with a slap! Drop toe hold into an arm wringer tradeoff. Bagwell pulls hair then hides in the corner like the little bitch he is. DDP cranks a headlock for a bit. After a speed run Bagwell blocks a hiptoss. DDP turns it into a swinging neckbreaker to another huge pop. Bagwell rolls out and DDP doesn't even hesitate chasing. Bagwell snaps DDP over the top rope. The usual dull Bagwell beatdown follows. He hits a tornado DDT, then poses and talks into the camera. Back elbow for 2. DDP hits a borderline low blow and small packages Bagwell for 2. Bagwell argues with the ref and DDP rolls him up for 2. Now Bagwell's really arguing with the ref. Shove. The ref shoves back and Bagwell goes down! The ref gets Bagwell in the corner and yells at him so much he's cowering! Like I said, little bitch. DDP hits a clothesline. Inverted atomic drop with a crazy Bagwell sell. About .4 Rick Rude. Sit out powerbomb for 2. Bagwell hits a back elbow in the corner and tries a leverage pin for 2. DDP dodges in the corner and gets another roll up for 2. He drops Bagwell on the top turnbuckle. Diamond Cutter time. Bagwell counters it into a backslide for 2. He hits the perfectplex. Instead of going for the pin he demands that the ref does a 10 count KO on DDP. While that's going on he poses some more. DDP gets up with little drama and Bagwell kicks him. He goes for a Rude Awakening style neckbreaker. DDP counters into the Diamond Cutter! The NWO B team runs in and DDP exits into the crowd. Kind of a quick trigger on the DQ call since no one actually touched DDP but whatever. The match was as much as DDP was going to get out of Bagwell. **3/4

 

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship: Eddie Guerrero (c) def Chris Jericho in 12:00- Now this has potential, even though both guys are still years away from their respective peaks. Lockup and Guerrero hits an armdrag. Jericho grabs a waistlock. Guerrero counters into an arm wringer. A counter series leads to Jericho holding a hammerlock. Guerrero gets a leg takedown. Speed run and Guerrero goes for a spinning heel kick but his whole body accidentally hits Jericho. He plants Jericho with a Saito suplex for 2. Jericho responds with his own Saito. A Jericho abdominal stretch leads to a test of strength. Jericho works it into a northern lights suplex, which leads to the bridge up spot and a Jericho backslide for 2. Delayed suplex. More back and forth takedowns and stalemate reset. Jericho hits a spinebuster into a not Walls of Jericho Boston crab. Jericho tiltawhirls Guerrero into a torture rack! He drops Guerrero down on his shoulders and covers for 2. Lex Luger is in the back drafting a move stealing case for kangaroo court. Guerrero dodges a springboard crossbody and hits a clothesline. Powerbomb for 2. Brain buster. Guerrero goes up top. Jericho dodges, but Guerrero rolls through the landing. HUGE release German suplex from Jericho! Another tiltawhirl into an attempt at a not yet named Codebreaker but Guerrero flips over it and hits the ropes. Jericho gets a snap belly to belly suplex and covers. Guerrero gets a foot on the ropes. Jericho crotches Guerrero on the top rope and knocks him to the floor with a springboard dropkick. Big splash off the top to the floor! He comes off the top again in the ring. Guerrero catches him into an inverted atomic drop! Backslide for a long 2. Both guys swing spinning heel kicks, then collide midring. Jericho hits a powerslam for 2. Guerrero rolls Jericho up out of a suplex for 2. Jericho superkick with a great Guerrero delayed sell flop. Magistral cradle from Jericho for 2. Guerrero tries a tornado DDT but Jericho blocks it into another northern lights suplex for 2. Guerrero goes through another series of rapid fire counters, gets Jericho into a sunset flip cradle, and that gets the pin! After the match Jericho is clearly frustrated but they handshake it out. There's a few rough patches due to inexperience, but it's still a fantastic match from two future legends. Jericho worked in a lot of early teases for his future heel turn and that only makes it better. ***3/4

 

Three Way Dance: Public Enemy def The Faces of Fear and Harlem Heat (w/Sister Sherri) in 7:41- This was supposed to be a four way for the #1 contender's spot with the Steiners in the match, but on Nitro recently the Steiners were involved in an NWO caused car crash that apparently was so gruesome Tony says they'll never show footage of it on TV again. Probably means it was crap more than anything else. I don't remember. He also says the Steiners will be back in action soon so it can't have been that bad. Because of all that this is no longer a #1 contender's match. Barbarian and Rock start with Barbarian dominating with his power. Ray blind tags in and barely gets Rock up for a press slam. Heat kick Grunge from both sides. Booker hits the scissors kick for 2. Rock takes a few step towards Sherri before getting cut off. Long beatdown of Grunge by Heat. Booker spinaroonies and hits a heel kick. Grunge and Booker almost legit run into each other during a whip reversal. Meng tags in and works Booker over. The FOF beat Booker down in their corner. Barbarian hits a superplex. Meng piledriver. Double flying headbutt from FOF. Everyone kind of meanders around for a minute after that before the FOF hit Booker with their double team powerbomb finisher. The cover is broken up. Barbarian big boots Booker out to the floor. Rock tries coming off the top rope but Barbarian scoops him out of midair. Grunge follows up with his own crossbody off the top, and gets the upset pin! Not the worst WCW three way tag match. The FOF were actually a fairly underrated team at this time because they worked the power game so well. *1/2

 

Jeff Jarrett def Steve "Mongo" McMichael (w/Debra McMichael) in 8:09- After months on the periphery, if Jarrett wins this match he officially becomes a member of the Horsemen. Tony asks the logical question, will he be a 5th Horseman or is someone going to get kicked out if Jarrett wins? The weird thing is, Jarrett had been a face (with zero traction because no one took him seriously as a face) his whole WCW run to this point, but he wrestles this match very much as his old heel self. I can't remember if he officially turned on weekly TV or if it was just something for the night. Jarrett does his strut to boos before the bell. Mongo throws the 4 up to a small pop. Basic start, Jarrett hits a hiptoss and struts again to more boos. Another lockup, Jarrett gets an armdrag and hops on the corner to chill Tyler Breeze style. Mongo catches Jarrett on a floatover and powerslams him. Chop blocks to Jarrett's knee. Jarrett rolls out and Debra blocks Mongo from attacking. Oh yeah, they were also doing a thing where Debra, Mongo's wife, was clearly into Jarrett. We all know how that turned out. Jarrett uses the distraction to get a cheap shot. He wraps Mongo up in an abdominal stretch and gets extra rope leverage. Debra very playfully teases hitting Jarrett's hand with the briefcase. When Jarrett doesn't let go she goes ahead and does it. Mongo hiptosses, then misses a legdrop. He gives Jarrett a press slam and 360 clothesline to the floor. Debra goes over and gives Jarrett a towel. Mongo grabs it, chokes Jarrett with it, and gives him a couple of guardrail shots. A Jarrett faceplant back in gets him back in control. Short clothesline that Mongo has no idea how to sell. Jarrett hooks on the sleeper. Mongo quickly powers out and puts on his own sleeper. Jarrett back suplexes out. Mongo hits some forearms and barely gets Jarrett up for a side suplex. A Rock Bottom style slam gets 2. The match is getting really disjointed because Mongo is constantly losing his place more the longer it goes on. Jarrett hits a crossbody off the top for 2. The ref takes a shot on the kickout. Mongo wants the briefcase. Debra refuses to give it to him, then blind tosses it away, conveniently right into the ring and Jarrett's waiting arms. Briefcase shot on Mongo and Jarrett gets the win. He's now officially in the Horsemen. Details to follow. It's a Mongo match. 3/4*

 

San Francisco Death Match: Chris Benoit (w/Woman) def Kevin Sullivan (w/Jimmy Hart and Miss Jacqueline) in 8:33- The feud that just won't end. Haven't these people's personal lives been ruined enough by this going on so long? Obviously not. What exactly is a San Francisco Death Match? Do they wrestle in the poop and used needle strewn streets of San Fran because that is dicing with death. Turns out that even though death match is in the name it's not regular death match rules, it's your basic no DQ street fight. The extra twist is the women are tied together during the match with a leather strap, meaning that they're having an impromptu strap match at the same time. As soon as the strap is on everyone starts fighting and it's on! Sullivan no sells Benoit chops. Benoit goes up top but Sullivan slams him off, then hits a double underhook suplex. The women, who'd been whipping each other on the floor, get back in the ring still fighting. Sullivan tries to intervene and gets the leather strap right up his ghoolies for the trouble. Benoit then gets in and is smart enough not to straddle the strap, but Jacqueline does whip him in the back. Sullivan chokes Benoit with the strap and hangs him over the top rope. Jacqueline gives him a swift kick in the nads to even things up on that score. Woman jumps on her ex fists flying. The dream of many a divorcee. The women momentarily team up to clothesline both guys with the strap then get right back to fighting each other. Sullivan tights pulls Benoit to the floor. They brawl up the aisle and into the crowd while the women are still whipping each other in the ring. Knowing the history of this feud they're probably going right to the nearest public bathroom. No, they go into the main backstage area. Benoit gets slammed on a flatbed cart. A trash can gets thrown. The guys slowly work back through the crowd, up the aisle and back in the ring. The women swap out with them. Yes they were fighting the whole time in there. Sullivan gets Benoit in the tree of woe. He hits the running knee and double stomp. Woman gets in and whips Sullivan before he can cover. Benoit hits a piledriver. On Sullivan, not Woman. Benoit gets a table and sets it up in the ring. He puts Sullivan on top of it and goes up top. Jacqueline gets in and drapes herself on top of Sullivan. Benoit says what the hell and splashes them both off the top rope! The table didn't break, but it's so thick it wasn't supposed to. Benoit covers Sullivan under the table and gets the pin. Everyone worked the match fine, but it was a bit too chaotic to really be any good. I'd say they would have been better off having two separate matches, but then they wouldn't be able to do the postmatch angle. **1/4

Everyone but Woman is down and out in the ring. Arn Anderson comes out to survey the damage with a "My God" look on his face. Everyone is still out in the ring so we get a gaggle of officials running in: Paul Orndorff, Lee Marshall and Terry Taylor. There's a nice bit where Jimmy Hart actually consoles Woman it looks so serious. After a bit they do what I'm pretty sure was a first in wrestling: a triple stretcher job. The cameras follow the stretcher trio all the way to the back, into the ambulances, and out of the arena. The match didn't come together all that great for me, but that was a damn fine piece of business. But unfortunately it also means this feud will still continue.

Ad for the next PPV, Uncensored. Hopefully this will be the first Uncensored without a match so hideously awful it will make you want to swear off wrestling forever.

 

WCW World Tag Team Championship: The Giant (and "The Total Package" Lex Luger) def The Outsiders (c) (w/Syxx) in 8:52- Luger was recovering from a broken arm (real or kayfabe I'm not sure) so Giant, being the Giant, is perfectly willing to go after the tag champs alone in a handicap match. The bell rings with no Luger so I guess we really are doing this. Hall starts for the champs with a toothpick flick and doing his Frankenstein's monster like walk to mock the Giant. He tries knees to the gut and a hammerlock but Giant quickly puts him down with a back elbow. Hall retreats to his corner and the champs stall a bit. Hall tries some corner chops. Giant flips him around and hits chops of his own. He tosses Hall across the ring with a slam. Hall gets up, spits in Giant's face, and tags Nash in. Nash has a quick flurry and hits a corner clothesline. Giant responds with one of his own. Giant dropkick! That sends Nash to the floor. Giant posts Nash's back. Elbow drop. Syxx comes in and hits Giant off the top rope with the Cruiserweight belt. Hall hits the bulldog off the top and Nash covers for 2. The Outsiders work together to beat Giant down. Syxx completely whiffs on a kick from the floor that Giant kind of sells the wind gust from. Hall tries mounted punches but Giant shoves him out of the corner, more and more forcefully each time. Syxx tries coming off the top again. Giant catches him and throws him into Nash. Now Hall has the Cruiserweight belt and he nails Giant in the back with it. Nash hooks Giant up, and hits the jackknife! That understandably hurt him too. Here comes Luger, in street clothes and wearing a cast. Bischoff tries to stop him and gets tossed aside. Luger hops in the corner and wants a tag! And gets it! Cast shots on Nash and Hall! Right in front of the ref. He gets Nash up in the Torture Rack. Nash submits! We have new champs! The crowd goes nuts. For good measure Giant chokeslams Hall and gets the ref to count 3 on him. *3/4

But once again, it was not to be. For the second straight PPV, the next night on Nitro Bischoff reversed the decision, this time because Luger wasn't medically cleared, and handed the titles back to the Outsiders.

 

WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Hollywood Hogan (c) (w/Ted DiBiase and Vincent) def "Rowdy" Roddy Piper in 10:54- Piper comes out in the same torn shirt he was wearing in the "escape from Alcatraz" bit. Commentary says he's a total wild man, feral, rabid, animalistic, etc. It's all very subtle. Hogan spits on Piper's kilt and that really sets Piper off. Hogan, to the shock of no one, stalls. After a bit Piper jumps out and attacks him in the aisle. Almost as soon as they get back in the ring Piper goes straight to a low blow. He chokes Hogan with his shirt. And bites him. More choking in the entrance aisle and Piper taps Hogan with a pathetic chairshot. Back in it's Hogan's turn for a low blow. Piper doesn't care and keeps on attacking. He gouges Hogan's face. Michael Wallstreet runs in and gets taken out. Vincent is down. Hogan uses the distraction to give Piper a throat shot. Piper again shrugs it off and does the old two finger eye poke. Hogan begs off. Piper gives him the two arm bell ring. Hogan tries to hit Piper's knee on the apron but yet again Piper acts like it didn't happen and he slugs away on Hogan on the floor. Hogan gets bounced on the top rope because there haven't been nearly enough low blows in this match yet. Sting and Randy Savage come out on the entrance stage. After his feud with Hogan the previous fall Savage left WCW for a time due to them being deadlocked on contract negotiations. They finally hammered a deal out and Savage returned to WCW in late January, claiming he'd been blackballed by Bischoff and joining Sting in the "we might be on one side, we might be on the other" club. Savage starts to walk to the ring but Sting stops him. When Sting turns around Savage keeps right on walking and goes all the way to ringside. Sting watches from the entrance area but doesn't do anything. All this intrigue is WAY more interesting than anything going on in the actual match. Hogan breaks out the big guns with the dreaded back rake, then posts Piper's back. And his knee. More slugfest with Piper completely forgetting the knee. Hogan hooks on a bear hug. He jaws at Savage a bit. Piper goes down for a 2 count. After a couple of arm drops Piper bell rings out. Piper dodges an elbow drop. Yet another low blow, this time from Hogan. There's more low blows in this match than an entire AEW PPV, and that's saying something. Piper gets the sleeper on! Arm drops. Hogan's arm goes down three times and the ref calls for the bell! Piper wins the title! Or does he? Savage pulls Hogan toward him. The ref stops everything, talks with Piper, and rings the bell to restart the match for no apparent reason. Commentary has no clue, that's for sure. With the camera on Savage almost the whole time so we barely see any of it. What a clusterfuck. Savage is digging in his pocket. He hands Hogan something. Hogan waffles Piper with one punch, covers him, and gets the pin, then quickly hands the knucks back to Savage. Savage and Hogan then confirm everything by hugging. Savage has joined the NWO. I guess Savage has forgiven Hogan for torturing him for months by stealing Elizabeth. Savage gives Piper a spraypaint job, then they hit Piper with the elbow off the top and legdrop. The show closes with a 5+ minute long NWO celebration and nothing else happening. Commentary says the match was restarted because Hogan's feet were under the bottom rope. Well they weren't there until after the ref had already called for the bell. I guess Savage was supposed to pull Hogan under the ropes before the third arm drop and messed up. Yet another NWO Hogan disaster of a main event. DUD

OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS- Another NWO era show that might have scraped the good/very good line with a main event that wasn't a total train wreck. Still, there's some good quality earlier in the card, mostly in the first half, before it gets there and is mostly a good recovery after the disaster that was Souled Out.

OVERALL SHOW GRADE: C