Match #7: WCW International World Heavyweight Champion ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude & Shanghai Pierce vs. Marcus Alexander Bagwell & Ted Slazinger
Rude and Bagwell start us off. Rude pushes Bagwell aside and poses for the crowd. Collar and elbow and again Rude overwhelms him. Collar and elbow, Rude with clubbing forearms and a vertical suplex. To the ropes, a drop toe hold and an arm bar by Bagwell. He tags in Slazenger who beats on the arm. Tex holds a wrist lock, Rude breaks it and tags in the other Texican. They stare each other down, Pierce tags Rude backs in and Tex blindsides him. Rude is sent to the ropes for a back elbow and Bagwell is tagged back in.

He holds onto the arm bar, Rude gets vertical and gets position in the corner and tags in Pierce. Bagwell reverses the Irish whip but runs into an elbow. Bagwell flips out of a suplex attempt and he catches Pierce with a hip toss and a big splash. Pierce charges and Bagwell takes him down with an arm drag. Pierce reverses with a drop toe hold but Bagwell takes back control immediately with a modified hammerlock. He Pierce rolls out of the ring and then tags in Rude. He and Bagwell lock up and Rude buries the shoulder to the midsection in the corner. Kicks to the gut and Bagwell is reeling. A camel clutch-like front face lock by the champ, he sits down on Bagwell and tags in Pierce.

Bagwell eats some elbows but he fights back with a snapmare. Reverse chin lock by Bagwell. A drop toe hold into an arm bar and he cranks on the arm. He thinks about a tag but thinks better of it. He lands a vertical suplex on Pierce and while the ref is distracted, Rude pulls Bagwell over the top rope. He drives him back first into the apron before Pierce kicks him between the shoulder blades. A boot to the kidney and a tag is made to Rude. Front face lock and Rude holds him high for a vertical suplex, opting to drop him face first instead. Gut buster by the champ and he drives Bagwell into the corner. Tag is made to Pierce, Bagwell desperately fights back.

Pierce lands a scoop slam and comes off the 2nd rope with a knee. He asks for Rude’s boot, he obliges and is tagged back in. Forearms from Rude in the corner who tries some choke holds. Irish whip and a throat thrust by Rude and he goes into a bear hug. Tex reaches out for a tag. Bagwell reaches over and makes it, but Pierce distracted the ref so he didn’t see it. Bagwell is double teamed on the other side. Reverse chin lock by Pierce and Rude tries helping him with extra leverage. The ref drop checks the arm but Bagwell has more left. He makes it to his feet, throws some elbows and knocks Pierce down with a shoulder block. He tries another but runs into a big boot. Gut wrench powerbomb by Pierce and Slazenger is forced to make the save.

Pierce can’t believe it and yells at his usual partner. He turns around and Bagwell crawls between his legs to make the tag. Now Tex is ready to go at it. They get into a shoving match and explode with rights. Slazenger sends Pierce for a clothesline. He sends Pierce again, Rude tags himself in from behind. Pierce can’t get Slazenger over with a sunset flip, but the legal man spins him around with the Rude Awakening.
Winners: ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude & Shanghai Pierce (Rude/Rude Awakening)

• EA’s Take: Bagwell was the underdog/rookie surprise in last year’s BattleBowl, making it toward the very end, but there will be no such luck this time around. Rick Rude is red hot and looks great boasting that gold belt, I still find myself enjoying every bit of his work before he eventually hangs it up for good just six months from this time.

Match #8: ‘The British Bulldog’ Davey Boy Smith & Kole vs. Road Warrior Hawk & Rip Rogers
Rogers is over-excited to be Hawk’s partner, and the Road Warrior has to clock him on the entrance ramp. Hawk has no problem handling this by himself. Bulldog and Kole argue over who is going to start, but it’ll be Davey Boy. Collar and elbow and a quick break. Another tie up and break. They go for a third, Hawk gets position and breaks it clean. They do it again, and Hawk calls for a test of strength. Hawk gets the early advantage, but Bulldog comes back. They break it off and Kole keeps mouthing off at his partner.

Bulldog says fine and tags him in. Hawk is not intimidated, they tie up and Kole takes control early with forearms to the back. He measures him with rights and goes to the eyes. Kicks to the ribs by Kole followed by a snapmare. He holds a front face lock, Hawk stands back up and breaks the hold. He fires back with a series of punches and knife edge chops. Scoop slam by Hawk, but Kole is up with a spin-a-rooni. He delivers some more forearms as Rip Rogers is still struggling to make it to the ring. Side slam by Kole Hawk kicks out. Rogers gets to the apron but Kole nails him. It’s Bulldog’s turn to taunt his partner from the apron, starting an “LOD” chant.

Kole with a guillotine over the top rope and he comes off the turnbuckle with a double ax handle. Rogers is back to the apron and he gets it again from Kole. Reverse chin lock is applied on Hawk and he rolls him down on the mat. A drop check of the arm only gets two as the crowd cheers on the Road Warrior. Measured forearms from Kole followed by a chop. Hawk fires back and takes him down with a clothesline but he has no partner to tag. Kole thumbs the eye and goes for a back breaker. To the 2nd rope, but Hawk avoids the flying elbow. He hits a clothesline and a big fist. Rip Rogers is back up again, Hawk lifts him with a military press and throws him on top of Kole for the 1-2-3.
Winners: Road Warrior Hawk & Rip Rogers (Rogers/Assisted Crossbody)

• EA’s Take: Rip Rogers was the James Ellsworth of this match. One of two things is going to happen in the battle royal: he’ll either comically be thrown out immediately or he’ll somehow manage to keep surviving longer than he should. Also, that’s the first spinaroonie I’ve seen out of Kole, who we will finally be able to call Booker in 1994.

Match #9 – BattleBowl: WCW World Heavyweight Champion Big Van Vader, Cactus Jack, WCW World Tag Team Champions The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs & Jerry Sags), Sting, Johnny B. Badd, WCW United States Champion ‘The Natural’ Dustin Rhodes, King Kong, Rip Rogers, ‘Stunning’ Steve Austin, WCW International World Heavyweight Champion ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude, Shanghai Pierce, ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair, Road Warrior Hawk
All 16 men start the brawl. Vader is locked up with Hawk in a battle of heavyweights. Rhodes and Rude confront one another while Flair deals with Sags. Rude tries to get The Natural out early but cannot. Rip Rogers has been eliminated. Shanghai Pierce is out shortly after. Flair hammers away on Stunning Steve as Cactus Jack rakes his back. Shockmaster headbutts Slazenger. Knobs goes after Flair while Sags is double teamed. Austin and Flair are on the floor, but they went through the ropes so they’re still alive.

The ref redirects them to the ring. Johnny B Badd with a cross body on Orndorff but he tumbles to the entrance ramp. He comes back in the ring but is quickly eliminated. Flair introduces Mr Wonderful to the turnbuckle. Hawk saves The Nature Boy from Orndorff’s elimination attempt. King Kong and The Shockmaster exchange shots while Cactus Jack has Vader in a front face lock on the top turnbuckle. Vader escapes and Jack is eliminated. Rhodes back drops Orndorff over the top rope to eliminate him. They’re coming fast and furious as Shockmaster rolls King Kong over the top, but the Nasty Boys come in and take care of him from behind. Vader sets his sites on Sting and he lifts him high. He throws him over the top but Sting lands on the entrance ramp and it must be the floor.

Throat thrust by Rude on Flair in the ring. Austin comes off the 2nd turnbuckle but Rhodes catches him with a shot to the midsection. Sting battles Knobs while Sags squares up with Flair. Sting tries lifting Knobs over but Vader makes the save. Flair is sent to the ropes and Vader knocks him down hard. The Nasty Boys try double teaming Hawk but the Road Warrior fights back ferociously. Head first goes Austin courtesy of Rhodes. Sting with a series of kicks to Knobs while Vader works on Flair. Rude clashes with Vader in a battle of World Champions. Race distracts Flair and Nick Patrick tells him to get back in there. Sting works handicapped against The Nasty Boys but Vader breaks it up from behind. Austin and Hawk work in the corner and Rhodes comes in for the double team on Stunning Steve.

Vader tries lifting Flair but Naitch hangs on. Rhodes and Austin go through the ropes and brawl on the outside. Vader works Flair over with forearms and Rhodes is busted open on the floor. Austin rolls him back in and pounds away on the vulnerable Natural. Rhodes fights from his knees. Sags chokes Sting in the corner. Knobs charges Rhodes but he is sent flying over the top. Sags takes offense and charges, Rhodes lifts him up to put him outside as well but Austin is an opportunist and uses that momentum to eliminate The Natural as well. On the other side, Hawk sends Rude over with a back body drop. He turns around to taunt him and Vader and Austin eliminates him from behind. We’re down to 4 — Flair takes Austin and Sting takes Vader. They pick a corner and exchange shots.

Austin gets an inverted atomic drop, but Vader comes to his aid for a preview of starrcade. Stunning Steve is suplexed by Sting, Irish whip by Vader but Flair moves. Harley Race gets up on the ramp and Flair has had enough. He takes it to his Starrcade ’83 opponent and gives him a vertical suplex on the ramp. Vader comes out to save his manager while Austin and Sting double clothesline one another and are both down. Flair is given a big splash on the ramp and he’s hurting. Back inside, Sting sets up the Scorpion Deathlock but sees what’s going on outside. He rushes to save Flair but Austin is right behind him and it’s a melee on the outside. The trainer tries checking on Flair but Vader continues to drop elbows.

They bring a stretcher out for Flair and Race takes a cheap shot. Austin taunts Flair as the refs try to get the competitors back inside the ring. An announcement is made that Flair is unable to continue and Race continues to try to attack him. Vader and Stunning Steve military press Sting back into the ring. They both go to the top. Steve is caught by a big boot while Vader is caught with a powerslam. Sting cleans house and the crowd loves it. Race is lurking behind Vader on the ramp. Sting somersaults around as he tries to fight off the two man advantage. Austin whips Sting into Vader’s chest and he’s out. Austin heads to the 2nd rope and leaps all the way across for a head butt. Sting staggers as Vader and Austin take turns on him.

Vader hits him with a big splash and then another while Austin holds the legs. He tries a third, Sting moves. Austin measures him with rights but Sting fights back. He feels Vader coming from behind and chops him down. Austin lifts Sting on his shoulders but he doesn’t have the strength. He drops the knee to the chest and now it’s Vader’s turn for a big splash. Vader appears to have hurt his back on that one. Austin is up with a snapmare and he heads to the top rope. Sting moves out of the way. Austin holds Sting in place for a splash. Sting moves and the heels collide. Sting sends Austin to the ropes and lifts him up and over onto the ramp. He rolls to the floor so he’s been eliminated. Sting is clotheslined to the ramp but he rolls back in so he remains legal.

Vader headbutts and clotheslines him. Big splash by the champ and he pounds Sting on the mat. Sting ducks a clothesline, they collide with shoulder blocks. Vader goes down on his back and Sting collapses head first into the groin area. Sting is up first, he fireman carries Vader to the corner and drapes him across the top turnbuckle. He tries a Stinger Splash, Vader moves and Sting flips up and over to the floor. We have a winner of BattleBowl.
Winner: Big Van Vader

• EA’s Take: Ric Flair, Sting, Steve Austin and Vader with Harley Race on the outside? That’s a pretty legendary final four if you ask me. It was obviously a “flustercuck” until they got down to around 8, but there was plenty of good storyline advancement here, which is what you’re looking for. With their main event showdown at Starrcade looming, this was a good way to give your champion the big win while giving the fans the feeling that Flair never lost, although he did get screwed. Unfortunately it’s too late now, but one thing you’ll gain from watching these WCW events is a respect for Vader, who should undoubtedly go into the WWE Hall Of Fame this year.

EA’s Finisher: I’m glad that they took the BattleBowl concept and removed it from Starrcade, the show that should be your WrestleMania. This was ultimately a one-and-done pay-per-view, but the concept would be used once again at Slamboree in 1996. On the TV-14 rating screen, they cited suggestive dialogue. I was sure that Jesse Ventura must have been especially inappropriate, but nope, they made ‘Mean’ Gene a flirtatious, dirty old man with Fifi at every name drawing. Glorious. This show was alright, but pales in comparison to Halloween Havoc the month prior.

Top Three To Watch
1 – Ric Flair & Steve Austin vs. 2 Cold Scorpio & Maxx Payne
2 – Steven Regal & Ricky Steamboat vs. The Shockmaster & Paul Ordorff
3 – BattleBowl

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