In The Ring: Gordon Solie is in the ring and he’s going to be inducting the inaugural members of the WCW Hall of Fame. The crowd gives him a rousing ovation. He acknowledges a list of legends who have passed away, and asks the crowd to observe a moment of silence. The first inductees are Lou Thesz, Verne Gagne, Mr. Wrestling II & Eddie Graham. Eddie’s son Mike Graham accepts the plaque on his behalf. Solie gives career summaries for each honoree.

Match #7: Sting vs. The Prisoner
Collar and elbow tie up, Prisoner chokes Sting around the ring. The ref struggles to break it up and Prisoner drives his boot into Sting’s neck. He continues to choke Sting on the mat before pulling him up for a back elbow. He goes back to the choke hold and drives Sting into the turnbuckle. Irish whip by the big man and he chops across the chest. Another Irish whip and he lifts Sting up for a backbreaker. Lateral press for two. Another Irish whip, Sting moves, they exchange shots but Prisoner breaks it up with an eye rake. Sting is thrown through the middle rope and gets choked with a camera cable.

Prisoner gets into the ring and tries to essentially hang him with the chord. Sting’s head is driven into the apron multiple times. Irish whip and a kick to the gut by Prisoner. Sting ducks a clothesline and hits a cross body. He follows it with a back body drop. Irish whip and he comes in for the Stinger Splash. Double leg pickup and Sting gets a two count. Scoop slam by Sting, but Prisoner moves away from the elbow. Prisoner clubs Sting in the corner, the ref calls for a break. Prisoner turns around and grabs the official’s neck. Sting sneaks up to the top rope and lands a diving clothesline, makes the cover and he’s got the win.
Winner: Sting (Top Rope Clothesline)

• EA’s Take: Underwhelming. In case anyone was ever wondering, this is what happened to Nailz after he was fired from the WWF. Not that some of his others weren’t, but this is a pretty goofy gimmick. I guess it’s a sign of the time. It’s the first PPV where we hear Sting’s “Man Called Sting” music. Did you know that “he does this” and “he does that”? Nothing will ever beat “American Males” in my book, but definitely one of the funnier wrestling themes to ready the lyrics to in a monotone voice in my opinion.

Match #8 – Steel Cage Match for the NWA & WCW World Tag Team Championships: NWA & WCW World Tag Team Champions The Hollywood Blonds (‘Stunning’ Steve Austin & ‘Flyin’ Brian Pillman) vs. Dos Hombres (Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat & Shane Douglas)
Steamboat and Austin start, Stunning Steve with a quick snapmare and he tries ripping the mask off. Steamboat fights back with chops and Pillman is tagged in. Drop toe hold by Steamboat and he grabs an arm bar. Pillman breaks it in the corner, they exchange chops. He tries a back drop, Pillman kicks him in the face and tries throwing him into the cage. Knee to the gut and clubbing forearm by Pillman. They hit the ropes, shoulder block by Pillman. Steamboat returns with an arm drag and works into an arm bar.

Pillman rakes the eyes and tags in Austin, Stunning Steve is met with an arm drag and Douglas is tagged in. He grabs a firm wristlock and works him down to the mat, driving the knees. He holds a hammerlock as Steve gets back to his feet. He tries breaking with a snapmare but Douglas holds on. They hit the ropes, boot to the midsection by Austin. Douglas blocks a cage shot, he tries to return the favor but Austin blocks and he hits a shot to the gut. Austin moves to the apron, but its Douglas up quick and he shoves Austin into the steel over and over again. Austin wants a timeout and Douglas mocks him. Wristlock by Douglas and a tag is made to Steamboat.

He grabs an armbar, Austin lands a strike and Steamboat returns the sentiment. They hit the ropes hard, Dragon ducks a clothesline and lifts Austin for a huge back body drop that whips Austin off the ropes. Atomic drop by Steamboat, and Austin is thrown hard against the cage. Douglas is tagged in, lands a double ax handle. Austin fights back and uses Pillman’s boot. Flyin Brian is tagged back in and he delivers chops in the corner. Irish whip, Pillman climbs the turnbuckles, Douglas hits the deck to avoid a crossbody and hits a gut shot. Pillman baits Douglas in and strikes the neck. Snapmare by Pillman, Douglas moves away from the elbow and scores with an arm drag. Tag is made to Steamboat who grabs the arm.

Pillman with a gut shot and a clubbing forearm, they hit the ropes and Steamboat military presses Brian into the cage. Pillman tries to retreat, but he baits Steamboat into his corner. A drop toe hold into the turnbuckle and a tag is made to Austin. Stunning Steve tries lifting Steamboat, but his back is hurt. The Dragon lifts Austin with a vertical suplex and hangs him by his legs on the top of the cage. Flying crossbody to a vulnerable Austin who is stuck upside down. Tag is made to Douglas, Steamboat assists him with a crossbody that takes Austin off the cage and both men on the apron. Austin makes the tag first, jaw breaker by Pillman. He uses his boot to choke Douglas on the apron and Stunning Steve is back in.

Shot to the midsection and Austin taunts him. Chops from Austin followed by a back elbow. Snapmare takedown and Austin lands a double ax handle from the 2nd rope. He makes the cover and gets two. Austin with body shots in the corner and tags Pillman back in who lands chops and forearms. Quick tag back to Austin and he drives his elbow into the chest. The ref is distracted and Pillman pulls out a towel to choke Douglas. Legal tag made to Flyin Brian, Snapmare takedown and Pillman heads for the second rope. Douglas gets his boot up to knock Pillman off. Austin is tagged in first and he cuts off the other tag.

Shoulder tackle by Austin but Douglas comes back with a drop kick. Austin goes to the wrong corner and Steamboat takes a shot. Douglas knocks Austin down with rights. Douglas tries a tag but he’s cut off with a spinebuster, followed by a scoop slam. Tag is made to Pillman who heads to the top rope, they try a rocket launcher and Douglas gets the knees up. Austin and Steamboat get tags and The Dragon chops him to the mat over and over before sending Austin into the cage. Pillman charges but he gets the same fate. Austin tries to escape over the side of the cage, Steamboat puts him on his shoulders for a back drop.

Pillman tries to escape out the other side, Steamboat cuts him off and hangs him up over the top rope. The Dragon knocks the Blonds’ heads together. Both Hombres pick a dance partner and lay in rights in corners before throwing them together with Irish whips. The Blonds meet the steel as Steamboat heads for the top rope. He removes his mask to a big pop and he gets all the way up on top of the cage itself. He leaps for a massive crossbody on both opponents. He covers them both, both Blonds kick out. The timekeeper rings the bell but the referee signals “No”. Steamboat tries covering Austin again but he kicks out. He gets Pillman with a DDT and he kicks out at 2.5.

Douglas is back in, the Hombres send both opponents for a ride and each score with a dropkick. They go for covers and the Blonds once again kick out. They try dualing Irish whips again, Austin reverses his and catches Douglas with a Stun Gun. He makes the cover and the champions retain.
Winners and STILL NWA & WCW Tag Team Champions: The Hollywood Blonds (Austin/Stun Gun)

• EA’s Take: It’s awfully hard to do play by play when two guys with similar body builds, wearing gear that covers their entire bodies and masks that really require a closeup face shot to tell them apart. The spot by Steamboat from the top of the cage was nerve racking as I’m not a fan of heights and he would have been screwed had he lost his balance backwards. Wikipedia needs to get their facts straight as it claimed that Steamboat’s partner was Tom Zenk. Overall, a good, fun match that very well could be number one in my Top Three To Watch.

In The Arena: Eric Bischoff is joined by Dusty Rhodes, Stu Hart & Mr. Wrestling II. The American Dream heard The Assassin’s challenge and his ‘fat ass’ is in the building if he wants to come find him. Stu discusses his large wrestling family, and he has confidence in his son-in-law, Davey Boy Smith as he takes on Big Van Vader for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship later tonight.

Match #9 for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship: NWA World Heavyweight Champion Barry Windham vs. Arn Anderson
Collar and elbow tie up, they hit the ropes and Anderson tries to get a quick pin off of a shoulder tackle. Another tie up, side headlock by Anderson, they hit the ropes, Double A leap frogs Windham and scores with a belly to belly suplex. Windham appears to be caught off guard and he slows it down. Collar and elbow, chops to the neck by Windham followed by rights. Anderson reverses the Irish whip and lands a high elevation back body drop. Windham is up quick and slaps him across the face.

Anderson ducks a right and hits a DDT. He’s slow to cover and Windham kicks out before rolling outside to the ramp. Barry yanks Anderson out to join him and knocks him down with a straight right. Windham returns to the ring, Anderson with a shoulder to the gut from the apron, Windham responds with a knee. Anderson drives Windham into the turnbuckle from the apron. He climbs up top for a double ax handle and Windham catches him in the gut. Windham with a big DDT and he drops an elbow, the challenger kicks out. Windham dumps Anderson to the floor and gives chase. Big elbow to the face by Barry and he rolls back in to the let the referee count.

From the apron, Anderson slingshots Barry over the top rope. Anderson introduces him to the railing and Windham is busted open. He rolls Windham back in the ring and rides him along the top rope. Kick to the midsection and a left from Anderson. Double A goes for a small package and Windham kicks out. Snapmare and vicious strikes by Anderson. Lateral press and Windham kicks out again so Arn grabs a reverse chin lock. Another snapmare and Anderson drives his knee across the forehead. Arn heads for the top rope, Windham gets up and Anderson falls all the way to the floor. On the outside, snap suplex by Windham who rolls back into the ring.

Anderson is slow to roll back into the ring and Windham heads for the top, he catches him with a top rope clothesline followed by driving a knee into the back of the neck. Anderson is able to kick out at two. Anderson throws an elbow to the gut and fights back from his knees. Clubbing forearm, but Windham reverses the vertical suplex with one of his own. Straight right from Windham. Anderson reverses the whip to the ropes and he hits a spinebuster. Both men are staggered and Windham rolls out to the floor. He grabs his NWA World Championship belt and slowly heads for the back.

Anderson won’t have it, he grabs him on the entrance ramp and tosses him back into the ring. Windham is whipped into the turnbuckle and Double A lands some strikes. Randy Anderson tries calling for a break in the corner and Double A shoves him away. He remorsefully checks in with the referee and Windham blindsides him with a shot to the head with the belt. The ref crawls over to make the cover and Windham gets the 1-2-3.
Winner and STILL NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Barry Windham (Foreign Object)

• EA”s Take: Really good match. Spending a lot of his career as a tag team specialist and another chunk in Ric Flair’s shadow, Arn Anderson belongs on every top 10 list when discussing the most underrated superstars of all time. His psychology is so good and that’s why he’s had a backstage career for nearly two decades since his in ring career ended. I can’t believe the newly reformed Horsemen didn’t try to interfere.

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