In the Arena: Eric Bischoff welcomes Maxx Payne. After much negotiation, he’s going to challenge Dustin Rhodes for the United States Championship. Norma Jean is real just like Ron Simmons’ shoulder injury, and it’s an unfortunate circumstance for Rhodes. He has an epitaph for him, so to speak, and he plays chords of “Taps”.

Match #3: ‘The British Bulldog’ Davey Boy Smith vs. ‘Wild’ Bill Erwin
Collar and elbow tie up and Bulldog throws him away. Another tie up and Irwin is thrown to the mat. Top wrist lock and again Davey Boy powers Irwin down. Irwin throws some forearms and rights, they hit the ropes but Smith is too much with two shoulder tackles. They criss-cross the ropes, Irwin stops short and Bulldog clotheslines him over the top rope. They hit the ropes once more and Bulldog lifts Irwin with a military press. The reeling Irwin comically tumbles out to the floor.

He rolls back in, collar and elbow, Irwin with a forearm and a side headlock. They hit the ropes and collide. Irwin runs again but gets thrown with a hip toss. Irwin with a kick to the gut. A wrist lock and Irwin works the ribs. Bulldog is thrown into the turnbuckle. Irish whip a head of steam and a clothesline by Irwin. He sends Davey Boy for the ride and catches him with an elbow. Bulldog tosses Irwin off from the lateral press. Reverse chin lock by Irwin, Bulldog works back to his feet. They go toe to toe with rights until Bulldog hoists him up with a vertical suplex. Irish whip and a body shot by Bulldog.

Irwin is whipped to the ropes and Davey Boy hits a big clothesline. Another Irish whip and this time Irwin gets his boot up. Irwin tries a cross body from the second rope, Bulldog catches him in mid air, props him on his shoulder and hits a running power slam to end it.
Winner: ‘The British Bulldog’ Davey Boy Smith (Running Powerslam)

• After The Bell: Tony Schiavone welcomes the newcomer. The British Bulldog is in WCW to become World Heavyweight Champion. He’s excited to see Vader’s match later tonight, but he’s got his sites set on him down the road.
• Off The Top: I was expecting more of a squash in Davey Boy’s WCW debut and it was looking that way early on, but Irwin got quite a bit of offense in during this short bout. Smith had multiple dismissals from WWF due to his substance abuse issues and this one comes after he, along with The Ultimate Warrior, were fired by Vince McMahon for using HGH while the company was in the midst of a storm surrounding steroids use. Oddly enough, WCW didn’t seem to give a damn!

Backstage: Eric Bischoff is getting a word with ‘Mr. Wonderful’ Paul Orndorff before his falls count anywhere match. Shortly into the interview, there is rattling behind him. Cactus Jack is slamming a shovel on the concrete and he chases Mr. Wonderful through the curtain and into the arena.

Match #4 – Falls Count Anywhere: Cactus Jack vs. ‘Mr. Wonderful’ Paul Orndorff
Jack stalks Orndorff with the shovel. Randy Anderson tries to restore some order allowing Orndorff to give a kick to the head from the apron. Mr. Wonderful with some rights and stomps on the floor before driving Jack into the railing. He chokes Jack with an electric chord and sends him into the barrier again. Straight right, but Jack blocks the railing shot. Cactus Jack scores with a head butt and throws Orndorff into the steel. Jack picks up the mats to expose the concrete and he scoop slams him down.

He drops a big elbow across the face and Orndorff kicks out at two. Jack is up on the apron, Bang Bang, he lands a sunset flip on the concrete. Jack has hurt himself with that one. Orndorff takes control with some kicks and he takes it to the ring. Running kicks to the ribs on Jack. Orndorff whips him to the ropes for a clothesline and then tears at Jack’s mouth. Jack is dumped back through the ropes to the floor. They head down the aisle and Orndorff whips Jack over two steel rails. They brawl near the entrance ramp, Jack takes control and sends Orndorff back into the aisle. Measuring rights by Jack, Orndorff fights back with elbows.

Front facelock and Jack is suplexed on the railing. Orndorff rams Jack’s face into the steel and then works over the knee. Orndorff walks him back to ringside and strikes with lefts. Jack rolls into the ring and Orndorff goes to the top for an elbow. He targets the knee and rakes the eyes. Orndorff rips Jack’s knee brace off and hits a vertical suplex onto the turnbuckle. Jack is choked by his own knee brace. Mr. Wonderful locks in a figure four leg lock and the crowd gets behind Cactus Jack. Orndorff uses the ropes for leverage. Jack sits up and breaks the hold with rights. Up to their feet and Jack is clotheslined over the top rope.

Orndorff drives him head first into the floor followed by driving the knee the same way. More straight rights and another face buster on the floor. Jack is driven into the apron and Orndorff rolls back into the ring. Jack gets up to the apron but he’s struck with his brace. Orndorff finds a steel chair and strikes Jack’s bad leg. He measures him and continues to abuse the knee. Orndorff sets the chair in the middle of the ring and calls for the piledriver. He spends too much time calling out to the crowd and behind his back, Cactus Jack grabs the shovel. Orndorff turns around and gets hit with it, 1-2-3.
Winner: Cactus Jack (Foreign Object)

• EA’s Take: It is definitely far from his craziest of bumps, but that sunset flip onto the concrete was one of the less bright ones I’ve seen Mick Foley take. Jack was basically abused for twelve minutes before landing that one shovel shot and the suplexes onto the railings showed you what kind of reckless abandon he operated with. Orndorff is already starting to show signs of a neck injury, as you can see the muscle loss beginning in his arm. A bit surprising he’d be involved in this type of match, but he was always known for being a tough bastard.

Match #5: The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard & Stan Lane) w/Jim Cornette & Bobby Eaton vs. The Rock & Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson)
Cornette forgot just how ugly the WCW crowds were, and he introduces his team. The referees decide that Bobby Eaton should be barred from ringside, and he’s reluctantly escorted back. Prichard and Gibson start things off. Collar and elbow, Prichard with positioning. Gibson reverses a hip toss and lands a head scissor takedown. Tag is made to Morton and he hits a head scissor of his own before knocking Lane off the apron. Prichard takes control with a knee to the gut and a tag to Lane. Prichard is sent to the ropes, he baseball slides out of the ring.

Lane is greeted with a hip toss and an arm drag into an arm bar. Lane rushes in circles trying to make the tag to Prichard, missing multiple times. Prichard comes into the ring and the partners collide. They are slow to get up. Lane and Morton measure for a collar and elbow but Lane gets a cheap kick in. Irish whip, Gibson lays across the top turnbuckle to prevent impact and Morton comes right back out with some rights. Morton goes for the Irish whip, Prichard tries the same strategy, Morton reverses direction with Lane to the other corner and Gibson puts the boot to Prichard who falls into the corner.

Lane is whipped into his partner and is thrown with a double hip toss. RnR whips Prichard toward Lane who is standing back up and he back body drops his partner. Two rights and the Heavenly Bodies spill outside to regroup with Cornette. Back to the ring, it’s Prichard’s turn. Collar and elbow tie up, Prichard with hard rights in the corner. Morton fights back, Prichard reverses the Irish whip. They each duck the other’s forearms and Morton lands an atomic drop. Lane was rushing to help his partner and they clunk heads. Cornette is irate on the floor. Collar and elbow, Morton grabs the wrist and tags in Gibson.

Morton elevates Prichard with a back drop, Gibson sends him back to the ropes, Prichard catches the boot but gets the other one upside his head. Lateral press by Gibson for two. Prichard jumps up and wants space. Collar and elbow tie up, Gibson backs into his corner to make the tag. Prichard backs up and slows it down as the fans chant for the Express. Collar and elbow tie up, the Bodies try cutting off the ring. Morton escapes, both Lane and Prichard charge but Gibson is in and there is a stalemate. Cornette jumps up on the apron to call some shots. Morton has some words with Cornette, Lane turns him around. The two criss cross until Morton baseball slides out of the ring to chase Cornette while Lane keeps going.

Cornette runs, slides into the ring, collides with Lane and is sent flying on his back. The Heavenly Bodies check in with their woozy manager and Gibson clunks their heads together. Morton knocks Cornette down to the floor with a right. Lane and Morton run the ropes, Cornette grabs Morton’s foot. Lane drives a knee to his back and knocks him to the floor. Gibson is redirected by the referee while Prichard holds Morton for a tennis racket shot to the mid section. Morton is rolled back in and Lane drapes him across the top rope. He slingshot backwards and leveled with a clothesline. Lane taunts and knocks Gibson off the apron. Prichard is tagged in and he lifts Morton for a scoop slam followed by a driving knee and a two count.

Tag is made back to Lane who lands a swinging neckbreaker, Morton kicks out at two. Another quick to Prichard. They send Morton to the ropes, elbows to the gut and a double snap mare followed by a double chokehold. The ref sends Lane to the apron. Prichard locks in a modified head lock, Morton works up to his feet. Prichard breaks the hold to take a shot at Gibson, Robert getting the better end of the exchange. The ref turns his attention that way allowing the Bodies to double team Morton. Nick Patrick turns around and doesn’t allow Lane as the legal man. Prichard comes back in to make the legal tag to Stan. Double team vertical suplex, worked into a power slam and Lane connects with an elbow.

Cornette gets back up on the apron to run a distraction, Morton hits a sunset flip and Prichard breaks it up. The ref works out some confusion and Prichard is now the legal man. They hit the ropes, Prichard stops short and executes a power bomb, almost getting a 3 count out of it. Tag is made to Lane, he takes position in the corner, they go toe to toe with rights, Morton gets the upper hand. Irish whip is reversed by Lane who scores a powerslam, Morton kicks out at two. Prichard is tagged back in, they set up a double team back body drop, Morton stops short and plants them both with DDTs. Gibson is tagged in, he leaps and clotheslines both opponents. Lane is sent for the ride and gets a shot to the mid section. Gibson elevates Prichard with a back body drop.

The Bodies knock Morton out of the ring and double team Gibson for a while with assisted back body drops. Morton rolls back in, Gibson leapfrogs the back body drop and Rock ‘N’ Roll strike Lane with a double clothesline and follow it with a double drop kick. Cornette rushes back to the apron but he is slingshot over the top rope and into the ring. Gibson stalks Cornette but he gets a bulldog from behind by Prichard. Cornette keeps the referees attention as Prichard back body drops Gibson down to the floor. Morton hits Prichard with an atomic drop and covers him but Cornette still has the official tied up. Bobby Eaton runs down to break up the pin with a knee from the top rope. Morton moves and Eaton hits the wrong man. Morton clubs Eaton out to the floor, and Gibson rushes over, splashes and covers Prichard to pick up the W.
Winners: The Rock & Roll Express (Gibson/Splash)

• After The Bell: A shoving match ensues between The Heavenly Bodies and Cornette tries to restore order.
• EA’s Take: Tom Prichard along with a trio of guys previously known to this promotion as The Midnight Express are here due to a roster sharing arrangement with Jim Cornette’s Smoky Mountain Wrestling. Especially in the late 1980’s, these tag teams would plan a few double team spots. While some could be goofy or for entertainment, a lot of times they came up with some believable 1-2 punches. Not only were there way, way, WAY too many overly orchestrated spots in this match, but so many of them had the heels bumbling around and clunking into one another that it felt like an episode of The Three Stooges at times. No disrespect to these guys, The Midnight Express was my favorite NWA tag team of the 80’s and RnR made a great rival for them, but this particular match was just way too contrived. I’ll hand it to Cornette for really hamming up his bumps to pop the crowd and the finishing spots were good, but it wasn’t quite the homecoming match I was hoping for.

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