Match #3: Marcus Alexander Bagwell vs. Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine
Collar and elbow and it’s broken on the ropes. Another tie up, side headlock by Bagwell. They run and the young kid hits a hiptoss, an arm drag and a scoop slam. Valentine slows it down, another tie up, they fight for position and The Hammer hits some knees to the gut. They hit the ropes and Valentine hits some elbows. Bagwell blocks the piledriver into the back body drop. Bagwell with an atomic drop and a couple drop kicks. Valentine rolls out of the ring to regroup. Collar and elbow, Bagwell grabs the wristlock. Valentine reverses the whip to the ropes, Bagwell tries a hip toss but he’s clocked with a clubbing forearm.

Chops by the veteran followed by an elbow to the back of the neck. Bagwell is lifted for a back breaker, and Valentine calls for a 2nd turnbuckle elbow drop. He tries it, and Bagwell moves out of the way. He goes on the attack with a scoop slam and Valentine moves away from the knee drop. Valentine stomps away on Bagwell’s left leg, he throws him with a snapmare and then pulls Bagwell’s hamstring. Valentine calls for the figure four and Bagwell kicks him off. Valentine goes for it again, countered by an inside cradle for a two count. Another snapmare by Valentine, he tries to drop himself on Bagwell’s leg and the kid moves. Valentine attempts a scoop slam, countered into a roll up for another two count.

Bagwell moves away from the snapmare, he hooks the arms and goes for the backslide, another two count. Valentine tries setting up for a reverse suplex, Bagwell blocks and lifts him for one instead. Valentine pokes the eyes, but Bagwell comes back quickly with rights and lifts him for a back body drop, yet another two count. The two men hit the ropes, Bagwell leapfrogs and comes down hard on the knee. He limps around the ring and Valentine vultures. Valentine with a big right, but Bagwell blocks and delivers two strikes. He grabs a side headlock, but The Hammer lifts him up and slams down with knee to knee contact. The Figure Four is applied and Bagwell is forced to give up.
Winner: Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine (Figure Four)

• EA’s Take: So, Bagwell takes another loss. I could have sworn this was going to be a case of the veteran making the kid look good and putting him over. No such luck and in the end it means nothing. Valentine will be out the door later in the year when they’d ask him to put Sting over, but he would really be floating by that point anyways as his tag partner Terry Taylor would be gone by then as well.

Match #4 – Falls Count Anywhere: WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting vs. Cactus Jack
Jack waits for Sting right on the entrance ramp. The champ makes his way down and he stares Cactus down. They immediately brawl on the ramp, Jack tries a hip toss and Sting reverses it into a backslide and a two count. Sting goes on the offense and hits a back body drop on the ramp, following it with a bulldog. He goes for the cover and can’t get it. Big right from the champ, he tries a cross body, Jack moves and Sting tumbles into the ring and rolls to the concrete. From the apron, Jack comes down with an elbow. He tries a cover next to the guard rail and only gets two. Swinging neck breaker by Jack on the concrete and another two count.

Cactus climbs back to the apron, Sting gets up to his feet. Sting ducks, but Jack turns it into a sunset flip and gets another two count. Sting blocks shots to the rail and Jack eats steel instead. He’s hit a third time, but has enough in him to fight back. He charges Sting, but the champ sends him into the crowd with a back body drop. Front face lock and a vertical suplex by Sting and Jack kicks out. Sting throws him back to ring side and back into the ring for the first time. Right from Sting, Jack’s sent for the ride. Sting catches hit right boot but Jack spins out of it and lands a clothesline. Headbutt on the mat by Jack followed by some boots to the ribs.

Sting is rammed face first into the turnbuckle, Irish whip and a corner splash by the man from Truth or Consequences. Snapmare takedown, Jack scissors Sting’s body and holds a tough reverse chin lock. Jack slaps Sting across the face and it appears the fire up the champ. The scissor is broken and Sting pounds away. Jack rakes the eyes, and he rushes for a huge clothesline, both men tumbling back out to the floor. Jack whips Sting into the railing, he charges and Sting gets his boot up. Jack is clotheslined to the floor. Slow to get up, Jack grabs a chair and beats Sting’s back. “Bang Bang!”. Sting is pulled up and his face is raked, but he stops Jack and lifts him with a belly to back suplex.

Both trade simultaneous right hands and they both go down. Jack tries a pin first, Sting rolls him over and they both get two. Sting tries a version of the Stinger Splash on the floor, Cactus catches him and slingshots Sting on the railing. Jack goes for a piledriver but his knee gives way. Jack crawls back on the apron, he goes for the 2nd rope and Sting moves out of the way of the elbow. Cactus is rolled back on to the entrance ramp, Sting hammers away and lifts him for the scoop slam. Sting finds a chair and gives Jack a taste of his own medicine, crushing the back followed by a shot on the leg.

Sting sets up the Scorpion Deathlock, Jack says no and dumps Sting all the way down to the floor. He rolls the champ back on the ramp and lands a DDT. He is slow to make the cover and Sting kicks out. Both stagger to their feet, Sting gets a running start and hits a clothesline. He goes for the top rope, not illegal as it is no DQ, lands a flying clothesline on the ramp and makes the pin.
Winner: Sting (Top Rope Clothesline)

• EA’s Take: I’ve got to hand it to Sting, he’s the company’s top dog and I have to believe he’d have veto power over working more dangerous matches or spots if he chose. Some top stars can be divas, not Stinger. He’s been working strap matches, cage matches, taking weapon shots and painful bumps in a No DQ match with ‘The Hardcore Legend’. These early 90’s PPVs will give you a whole new appreciation for the man. I do find it a bit curious that the title wasn’t on the line here if Sting was going to go over either way.

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