Match #3: Terrance Taylor w/Alexandra York vs. ‘Beautiful’ Bobby Eaton
A shoving match and staredown starts us off. Collar and elbow tie up and Eaton gets position. Break in the corner and they jaw at each other. Another tie up and an arm drag by Taylor who taunts Eaton. Collar and elbow and another arm drag by Taylor. A third tie up, and Eaton blocks an arm drag, delivers two of his own and sends Taylor down with a clothesline. A frustrated Taylor rolls out and checks in with his manager. Tie up and Taylor gets position. He delivers a right but Bobby’s is stronger.

Knee to the gut by Taylor and Eaton is sent to the floor. He’s whipped into the steal rail. Eaton ducks a right and sends Taylor over the rail. He knocks Taylor around who rolls back in the ring and asks for some time. Taylor tries a cheap kick but Eaton catches it. A right hand and a near fall by Eaton. Bobby catches him in a hammerlock and holds him face first on the mat. Taylor works to his feet and elbows Bobby in the face. Eaton is sent to the ropes, but he reverses an arm drag with one of his own and gets right back into the hammerlock. Eaton wears down his opponent on the mat. Taylor is sow to his feet and gives Eaton a chin buster.

The men roll out to the entrance ramp, atomic drop and scoop slam by Eaton. Bobby goes to the top rope and lands a high risk knee on Taylor’s throat. The Computerized man is knocked into the ring. Eaton gives chase but Taylor manages to dump him to the floor through the middle rope. Up on the apron, Eaton is driven into the turnbuckle and a knee to the kidneys sends him to the guard rail. Taylor rolls out and hits Bobby with a clothesline. Taylor rolls back into the ring and checks in with York. The crowd chants for Eaton and he staggers back into the ring. Irish whip with a following clothesline by Taylor. A knee to the chest earns him a two count. Eaton is pulled to his feet and he tries to fight with some right hands.

He runs to the ropes, but Taylor dumps him to the elevated ramp. Gutwrench powerbomb by Taylor on the ramp and the crowd hates it. Randy Anderson counts and Eaton makes it in on time, but he’s greeted with knees to the back. Scoop slam by Taylor and he’s going to the top rope. He lands a big splash but Bobby kicks out at two and a half. The frustrated Taylor grabs a reverse chin lock. Anderson drop checks Eaton’s arm but doesn’t get three. Eaton works to his knees and then his feet. He lands a right but Taylor hits his knee in the stomach. Eaton is dumped to the floor once again. Eaton fights from the apron and surprises Taylor with a sunset flip.

He gets two, Taylor leaps up with a clothesline. A knee to Eaton’s head and a two count. Taylor holds Eaton in a camel clutch. Bobby is pulled up to his knees with the clutch on. Eaton breaks the hold with some lefts but gets caught in a sleeper hold. A chin buster quickly breaks that. Eaton goes for a double knee but Taylor gets his knees up. Taylor to the 2nd rope but he meets Eaton’s knees on the splash. Eaton blocks Taylor’s rights and lands his own. Taylor tries to escape but he’s caught. Back body drop by Eaton who then sends Taylor to the corner for rights.

Taylor carries him off the turnbuckle but is victim to a vertical suplex. Taylor reverses an Irish whip but Bobby gets a neckbreaker on the comeback. Eaton to the top rope but Taylor shakes the ropes. Taylor sets up for a superplex but he’s punched down to the mat. An Alabama Jam wins the match for Beautiful Bobby.
Winner: ‘Beautiful’ Bobby Eaton (Alabama Jam)

• EA’s Take: There isn’t too much to say about this one much other then: TEXTBOOK! The pace, the work and the storytelling was all silky smooth. Really enjoyable bout by the veterans. Great match, boys.

Match #4: Johnny B. Badd w/Theodore R. Long vs. Jimmy ‘Jam’ Garvin w/Michael ‘P.S.’ Hayes
The fans are chanting “DDT” before the action starts. Collar and elbow, Badd gets position and takes a body shot. Another tie up, Garvin leaps and ducks Badd several times. He counters a hip toss and sends Badd outside. Hayes takes a cheap shot and winks at the camera. Badd rolls back in, locks up, grabs a side headlock and hits the ropes. Shoulder tackle by Badd but Garvin follows with a scoop slam. He runs the ropes and lands a knee on Badd’s face. Johnny rolls out and Long tells him to “slow it down”.

They circle the ring before a tie up. Garvin grabs a wristlock and whips his opponent to the mat. He works over the arm and hangs on with a standing arm bar. Badd breaks the hold and headbutts Garvin. Lots of body shots by Badd who hammers Garvin with a clothesline. Johnny grabs a reverse chin lock with a knee to the back. Long distracts the referee on the apron and Badd chokes Garvin with a piece of cloth. High elevation backdrop by Badd. Garvin reverses the Irish whip but Badd gets his boot up and hits a clothesline. Impressive flying sunset flip earns Badd two. Back to the top rope for Badd and he hits Garvin with an elbow drop and another two count.

Scoop slam by Badd, he leaps from the top rope again but Garvin gets his left hand to the gut. Badd reverses an Irish whip, Garvin moves and Johnny flips over the top rope to the floor. Long checks in on his client. Badd is flipped into the ring from the apron but Garvin misses an elbow. Badd sends Garvin for the right and both men collide in the middle of the ring. Both men stagger to their feet, Garvin ducks a left and plants him with a DDT but Teddy Long is up on the apron. Garvin chases Long off the ring and Badd jumps up to land a left hook. Jimmy puts his leg on the rope but Long shoves it off.
Winner: Johnny B. Badd (Left Hook)

• EA’s Take: Hayes’ arm was in a sling which explains why the Freebirds weren’t in action together. They’re really without a direction at this point, which is why you get this random heel vs. heel match. You can’t tell it’s heel vs. heel because the crowd is so behind Garvin, not surprisingly. Tennessee ain’t cheering for no dude wearing makeup in this era!

Backstage: Missy Hyatt is still looking for the Halloween Phantom. She stops Bobby Eaton, but he’s disinterested – he just wants to celebrate his win, pumpkin in hand.

Match #5 for the WCW Television Championship: WCW Television Champion ‘Stunning’ Steve Austin w/Lady Blossom vs. ‘The Natural’ Dustin Rhodes
Collar and elbow and Rhodes shoves Austin in the corner. Some chain wrestling ends with Rhodes’ elbow to Austin’s skull. Double leg takedown by Austin, countered into a half crab by the challenger. Collar and elbow and a shoulder block by Austin. They hit the ropes with an incredible pace, shoulder block by Austin, but Rhodes catches him with a lariat followed by a dropkick. Austin kicks out at two. Side headlock takedown by Rhodes is countered into a head scissor submission. Rhodes rolls back into a leg submission, broken by the ropes.

Collar and elbow and Rhodes grabs the side headlock. They hit the ropes and Austin catches him with a right foot. Side headlock takedown by Austin, reversed into a head scissor. Austin kicks out and Rhodes gets a drop toe hold followed by some mat wrestling. They reverse wrist locks and hit the ropes. Rhodes with a shoulder tackle, Austin counters with a hip toss but misses the elbow. Rhodes can’t grab a victory roll and instead clotheslines the champ over the top rope and to the floor. Austin is rolled back into the ring and he quickly goes back on offense. Belly to back suplex by Austin and he gets two. Rhodes reverses a back body drop with a knee.

Austin sees the bulldog coming and blocks it. Snapmare into a cover by Rhodes for two. Rhodes hangs onto the bulldog headlock, Austin tries to roll him over a few times grabbing a handful of trunks but cannot get a three count. Rhodes hangs onto the bulldog headlock, they work back to their feet and hit the ropes. Shoulder tackle and a crossbody by Dustin gets a two count. Another side headlock takedown gets two and Austin reverses into the head scissor submission. Rhodes gets position while Austin tries to hold on. Rhodes breaks free and dives into a side headlock. They hit the ropes and Rhodes misses a cross body and rolls out to the floor.

Austin gives chase and lands rights on the floor. Dustin is busted open and he’s delirious. Austin drives him into the apron and rolls back into the ring. He climbs the turnbuckle and hits a double ax handle to the back of the head. Back in the ring, Rhodes fights back with a right hand but it doesn’t last. Eye rake by Austin followed by a gutwrench suplex and Rhodes kicks out at two. The champ latches on with a reverse chin lock and the crowd gets behind the challenger. Austin uses the ropes for leverage when he can, but Anderson catches him and calls for the break. Rhodes gets up and lands hard rights. Irish whip, but Austin throws him off the corner and hits a clothesline for two. Inside cradles are reversed back and forth and no pin happens.

Rhodes ducks a clothesline and lands a lariat for two. Austin is sent to the ropes but stops short of the dropkick. Austin drapes Rhodes over the middle rope and Blossom slaps him across the face. Austin leaps at the prone Rhodes, but The Natural moves and Steve is whiplashed back into the ring. Rhodes ducks a right and hits an atomic drop. Lariat by Rhodes but Austin gets his leg on the ropes. Rhodes dumps Austin to the floor and sends him into the ring post. Hard right by Rhodes and Austin is busted open as well. The ring announcer lets us know there are two minutes remaining in the 15 minute time limit.

Austin is rolled back in, he’s sent to the ropes for a power slam but kicks out at two and a half. Snapmare followed by rights by the challenger. Bionic elbow by Rhodes and Austin somehow manages to kick out again. He hammers Austin with rights at the turnbuckle and the champ falls face first on the mat. Austin is sent for the ride, leaps Rhodes’ back body drop, Dustin blocks a right and comes back with tons of his own. Austin kicks out at two. Rhodes goes to the top rope as the announcer counts down the last 10 seconds. Diving lariat by Rhodes, but the pin starts with two seconds left.
Winner: Draw

• EA’s Take: And THAT, ladies and gentleman, is what a match between two first-ballot Hall of Famers looks like even when they’re going at it years before their most notable characters. Before I watch the rest of the show, I’m guessing that will be the match of the night because it may give Steiners vs. Luger/Sting from SuperBrawl a run for match of the year (in my mind). Those were some of the best sequences I’ve seen in a WCW singles match to this date and it’s one of the rare times I’m walking away feeling satisfied with a time limit draw.

Pages: 1 2 3 4