Chairshot Classics: WCW Starrcade ’91 – BattleBowl & The Lethal Lottery

Match #7: Sting & Abdullah The Butcher vs. ‘Flyin’ Brian Pillman & ‘Beautiful’ Bobby Eaton
Abdullah looks happy to be Sting’s partner as he comes down the ramp. He fakes a handshake and instead attacks Sting with a kendo stick. Flyin’ Brian comes roaring down the ramp to save Sting and gives The Butcher a taste of his own medicine. Eaton races down and attacks his own partner. Finally, dance partners make sense as Pillman squares off with Abdullah while Sting takes Eaton. It’s a melee outside of the ring as Eaton works on Sting’s leg on the entrance ramp. Those two make it to the ring and Eaton drops knee to knee contact. A little bit of order seems to be restored.

Eaton is back body dropped onto the elevated entrance ramp and here comes Sting with a diving clothesline. He follows it with a standing dropkick and a series of rights as the crowd counts along. Eaton is tossed back in the ring, but he rakes Sting’s eyes. Sting holds a wristlock on Eaton but his own partner attacks him from behind. Eaton takes advantage with some strikes and a snap mare. Bobby locks in a reverse chin lock. Sting back to his feet with elbows, but Eaton rakes the eyes again. Sting is knocked to the apron and then tossed back in. A lateral press gets two. Bobby takes Sting to his own corner and then runs a distraction on the referee as Abdullah drives a pencil he found from the announce desk into Sting’s neck.

Pillman dropkicks Abdullah off the apron. Eaton punches Stinger out to the apron, but the fan favorite fights back with right hands and whips Bobby out to the floor. He follows and Eaton meets the ring post. Inside the ring, Pillman body slams the gargantuan Abdullah and follows it with a flying splash from the top rope. The legal men are back in the ring, Eaton yells at Pillman who doesn’t give him a tag. Eaton tags Abdullah, but the ref won’t allow it. Sting grabs a wrist lock, broken by  a knee to the midsection. Eaton gets Sting in an abdominal stretch, quickly countered, and Eaton blocks a piledriver. Abdullah rushes in to attack Sting once again and he’s fended off by Pillman.

Sting sends Eaton for a high elevation back body drop, but he’s grabbed in a full nelson by his partner. Cactus Jack has made his way to the ring with a kendo stick. Sting ducks the shot and Jack hits Abdullah. Stinger dropkicks the interference out of the ring and goes to the top rope, hitting Eaton with a diving cross body.
Winners: Sting & Abdullah The Butcher (Sting/Top Rope Crossbody)

• After The Bell: Abdullah takes exception to Jack’s strike and the two men brawl all the way back to the locker room area as security attempts to break them up.
• EA’s Take: Lots of cross-fire mayhem in this one and I’m not talking 90’s board games, but I was okay with it. They haven’t overused the gimmick of partners trying to sabotage each other as much as I expected thus far, so I can live with it. It’s a relatively short feature for your top star, but I have a feeling the fans will get their money’s worth from Stinger before the night ends. That being said, if Pillman and Eaton were going to do a job anyway — THAT’S the team I want to see against Rhodes/Morton after going 15! #ShowStealer.

Match #8: Big Van Vader & Mr. Hughes vs. Rick Steiner & The Nightstalker w/The Diamond Studd
The Diamond Studd’s name is drawn, but he is injured and sporting a sling so The Nightstalker is the replacement partner. Rick and Vader start with a quick tie up and break. They go for a second and Vader clocks him with rights. Shot to the gut and a big clothesline by Vader. Rick is sent for the ride and gets hit by a Mack truck. Vader gets position in the corner for clubbing blows. Irish whip but Rick comes back with a Steinerline followed by a belly to belly suplex before clotheslining him over the top. Steiner leaps to the floor and stays on Vader with rights.

Vader lifts him up and drives his back into the ring post. Steiner is rolled back in, Vader sets up a vertical suplex, Steiner blocks and manages to get the big guy up and over with one of his own. A tag is made to Hughes and he hits Steiner with big rights. Scoop slam and an elbow but Steiner gets his left shoulder up. Rick reverses the whip to the ropes and elevates with a back body drop, Hughes kicks out at 2. Back to their feet and Hughes buries his knees into Steiner. Irish whip, Rick moves and hits Hughes with a German suplex. Hughes is sent for the ride and both men collide and go down. Nightstalker tags himself in and goes for the top rope.

Hughes is hit with a flying clothesline, he stumbles back and Vader tags his back. Steiner plants Hughes head first on the top turnbuckle and goes for the top rope. Nightstalker isn’t paying attention and he gets clotheslined by Vader. Steiner hits Hughes with a bulldog from the top, but they’re not the legal men. Vader hits Nightstalker with a big splash. A pin is made, and Steiner didn’t realize it was in favor of his opponent.
Winners: Big Van Vader & Mr. Hughes (Vader/Splash)

• EA’s Take: The Nightstalker was Bryan Clark, who went on to be best known as Adam Bomb in the WWF, Wrath in WCW and another guy that I feel is underrated. Super athletic big man.. While he spent some time in the AWA, he seemed green as hell here and The Diamond Studd’s injury was a shoot, so he was a throw in. Poor Dog-Faced Gremlin! Not to say that Rick was personally squashed (he wasn’t), but the match was a relatively short squash and Steiner didn’t deserve that.

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