Backstage: Tony Schiavone catches up with Nikita Koloff for an explanation on what just happened. He says Sting was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sting comes through and the former World Champ charges at Koloff. The two men have a vicious brawl and fight all the way outside.

Match #11 for the WCW Television Championship: WCW Television Champion Arn Anderson vs. ‘Beautiful’ Bobby Eaton
The crowd is behind Eaton. Collar and elbow and the two workers chain wrestle with multiple takedowns. Eaton lays in a right hand that stuns Anderson. Anderson gets a cheap boot to the gut and runs Eaton’s face across the top rope. He works on the ribs, Eaton reverses the Irish whip, Anderson climbs over him, but Bobby is blocks the charge and lands a big clothesline. Anderson kicks out at 2 before finding himself in an armbar. Nick Patrick tells them to break it up on the ropes and Arn takes a cheapshot. From the apron, Eaton’s head is driven into the turnbuckle. Eaton fights back with a right and he climbs to the top rope.

Anderson catches him and sends him face first onto the entrance ramp. Double A sets up for a piledriver and Eaton turns it into a back body drop. Double A charges Eaton and he’s back body dropped into the ring. Eaton lands a double axe handle from the top rope and continues to weardown the champ’s arm. Anderson is slow to get up from a hammerlock. The ref breaks it in the corner and Arn takes another cheap shot on the break. Bobby is taken down to his back and Anderson uses the ring post to do damage to the knee. Eaton is dragged to the middle of the ring and he receives knee to knee blows. Anderson uses the ropes for leverage as he bends Bobby’s left knee with a standing leg lock.

Anderson moves his opponent to the center of the ring and Eaton kicks him away and into the turnbuckle. Eaton limps to his feet and uses all 3 turnbuckles in the corner as a weapon. Anderson backs him off and uses the ring apron to do more knee damage. Eaton’s neck is straddled across and choked on the ropes. He pulls his opponent back into the ring, but Eaton fights him off with 3 rights. His knee is too rough to maintain the momentum and Anderson pulls him to the mat for more submission work. Anderson spins him into a half crab before stomping on the back of his leg. Anderson with a front face lock, but Eaton reverses it into a vertical suplex. Eaton can’t get up and Anderson goes right back to work on the leg.

Eaton uses his opposite leg to kick Anderson off and he staggers to his feet. Two rights from Bobby but it’s not enough. Snap mare takedown by Anderson. He attempts a splash from the second rope and Eaton gets his knees up. Anderson ducks a clothesline and hits a spinebuster. Eaton manages to kick out. Anderson back to the 2nd rope for an ax handle and Bobby gets a fist to the midsection. Eaton with a swinging neckbreaker and a scoop slam. He staggers his way to the top rope, Barry Windham rushes to the ring, but he’s cut off by Flyin’ Brian. He lands the Alabama Jam and we have a new champion.
Winner and NEW WCW Television Champion: ‘Beautiful’ Bobby Eaton (Alabama Jam)

• EA’s Take: These two rarely disappoint me, but this was a little flat. I could have bought in a little bit more if the plan was to kayfabe injure Eaton’s leg and further some angle, but I don’t get that idea. Eaton gets the big win here as WCW continues his singles push, but I just expected more out of these future tag partners considering their track records.

Backstage: Tony Schiavone is outside NWA World Heavyweight Champion Tatsumi Fujinami’s locker room, his handler explaining to Tony that they are heading back to Japan with the WCW Title as well.

Match #12 for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship & WCW World Heavyweight Championship: NWA World Heavyweight Champion Tatsumi Fujinami vs. WCW World Heavyweight Champion ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair
Collar and elbow tie up and Flair is taken down with a shoulder tackle. Some chain wrestling and Fujinami is taken down with a drop toe hold. Back to their feet, they tie up again. Flair with another toe hold, Fujinami reverses into a hammerlock. Vertical base and Flair goes to work in the corner with his chops. The two exchange rights and Fujinami gets the upper hand. Irish whip by Fujinami and Flair goes over with a backbody drop. Drop toehold by Fujinami and he locks in a bow and arrow submission. Flair kicks Fujinami into the turnbuckle and monkeyflips him, but his opponent rolls all the way over and onto the shoulders for a two count.

Back to their feet and Flair is chopped down. Fujinami applies a Boston crab. He converts it into a submission putting pressure on Flair’s knees. Flair works his way out and to a vertical base and he hits a modified suplex. Fujinami is up first, but Flair pokes the eyes. They run the ropes, a clothesline is ducked and Flair goes down with a shoulder block. Flair kicks out at 2 and rolls to the apron. Flair is suplexed back into the ring. He’s stood up and Fujinami sends him over the top rope with a clothesline. Fujinami gives chase, but Flair reverses the attack and atomic drops his opponent on the guard rail. Vicious chop by Flair and he rolls him back in the ring.

Flair has a noticeable limp, but he goes to work on Fujinami’s left knee. The champ locks in a figure four but Fujinami won’t quit. Flair slaps him across the face, but the hold is reversed and broken on the ropes. They exchange chops and rights, double leg pick up and Fujinami locks in a scorpion deathlock. Flair crawls under the ropes to cause a break. Belly to back suplex by Fujinami and Flair kicks out at two. Side headlock by Fujinami countered by Flair with a belly to back suplex of his own. Flair drops a knee across Fujinami’s forehead. Chain wrestling on the mat, Flair ends up on top and Fujinami bridges away from several pin attempts.

Flair tosses Fujinami out to the floor and gives chase. Fujinami blocks a shot to the railing and hammers Flair instead. He’s thrown into the ring post and Flair is bleeding. Back in the ring, Flair shoves Fujinami but is quickly knocked down. He chops the challenger when his back is turned but is struck down again. Chop to the head by Tatsumi and he sends Flair upside down into the corner. More chops by Fujinami and Flair reverses with an eyepoke. Fujinami is chopped down to his knees. Back to vertical, he blocks a left from Flair and delivers quick strikes. A big hiptoss from Fujinami, he charges Flair in the corner but the champ gets his boot up. Flair misses the Oklahoma roll and then crawls out to the apron.

He staggers out to the floor and face plants. He climbs back to the apron and baits him with a thumb to the eye. He goes to the top rope, Fujinami catches him and sends him over with a military press. Fujinami locks in an Octopus submission to the vulnerable Flair. Nature Boy breaks out of the hold and passes out on his back. The referees check Flair’s bleeding head but he says he’s fine. They exchange straight rights and Flair faceplants again. Side headlock by Fujinami. They go for a shoulder tackle and both men stumble out of the ring. Flair tumbles back into the ring. He scoops Fujinami up but can’t hold him. Fujinami lands on top of the champ and gets a very close 2 count. Slow to their feet, Flair hits a right and two chops.

He sends Fujinami to the ropes, sets up for a back body drop and it’s reversed into an inside cradle for 2. More quick strikes from Flair, they run the ropes, Fujinami takes him over with a waistlock rollup. Flair kicks him away, and he knocks heads with the Japanese referee. Flair schoolboys him from behind and the WCW referee comes in to make the 3 count.
Winner and NEW NWA World Heavyweight Champion: ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair (Schoolboy)

• EA’s Take: Like Vicious and Reed, this was Flair’s last PPV appearance before heading to the WWF. There was a pay dispute and Flair famously took the belt with him as collateral, having finally had enough of Jim Herd. I know these two worked together in Japan, but this match wasn’t great. I’m not sure if there was a language or style barrier, but the pace was awful and there seemed to be several points of confusion. Sad way to see the champ go out, but his famous 1992 Royal Rumble win is around the corner!

EA’s Finisher: I had high hopes for the show as a whole after some of those early matches, but it went downhill in the middle and did so rather quickly. Other than The Steiners vs. Sting and Luger, the top of the card was unable to save the day. Short squash matches, a bland TV Championship match and a disappointing main event. Hopefully The Great American Bash is better, but as I pointed out, the company will be losing several stars between now and then. I’m still going to say last year’s Bash is the best WCW has had to offer in an overall show, so I’m not so sure the time’s right for that to be surpassed. We’ll find out next week!

Top Three To Watch
1 – Steiner Brothers vs. Sting & Lex Luger
2 – Fabulous Freebirds vs. The Young Pistols
3 – Barry Windham vs. Brian Pillman

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