Backstage: Mean Gene is joined by the WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat & Sister Sherri. If Gene would just shut up for a second, he’d know that they are not concerned with the possibility of having to face two team, the odds are still in their favor and they’ll be walking away with the belts they’re taking in.

Match #5 is a Triangle Match for the WCW World Tag Team Championships: The Blue Bloods (‘Lord’ Steven Regal & ‘Earl’ Robert Eaton) vs. The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs & Jerry Sags) vs. WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray) w/Sister Sherri
A melee breaks out after the coin toss and The Nasty Boys clean out the ring before giving Regal a pit stop. Eaton suffers the same fate before getting knocked out with a right. Knobs and Booker get the action started, Irish whip and Booker gets his boot up. Knobs fights back and hits a clothesline, but Regal tagged himself in on his back. Hip toss by Regal and a European uppercut. To the ropes, Regal gets tripped up and eats a superkick. He tags in Stevie and holds Regal with a full nelson. Stevie Ray with a spin kick and he decks him with a elbow.

Tag is made to Eaton, a whip to the ropes and Stevie lifts him for a back drop. Eaton rolls to the floor and he gets decked by Sherri. Fighting breaks out all around on the floor with The Nasty Boys getting involved. In the ropes, Stevie lifts Eaton for a big slam and Sags tagged himself in along the way. Double ax handle on Stevie Ray, he sets Stevie up in the corner and he makes a quick tag. Stevie Ray is double teams and then Knobs head butts the mid section. Another quick tag and The Nasty Boys wishbone Ray. Sags tags in Regal and welcomes him to go for it. He’s cut off quickly by Stevie. Irish whip to Harlem Heat’s corner and Booker is back in.

Knee to the gut and a forearm, Regal retreats into his corner and tags in Eaton. Right hand to the ear and Eaton tags in Knobs. Irish whip to Booker, he gets his boot up but gets lifted up and over the top to the floor. Regal takes some liberties and rolls him back in. Knobs splashes down on Booker and Stevie is forced to make the save. Sags is tagged in, Booker is sent for a double team clothesline, lateral press and Booker kicks out. Regal is tagged back in, and he gives some European uppercuts and a snapmare. Knee lifts by Regal and he clocks in Booker before tagging in Sags. Sags moves in slowly and decides to break any allegience with the Blue Bloods and clocks both of them.

Booker takes advantage of the distraction and drop kicks Sags. He makes the tag to Stevie and they go toe to toe. Eaton is tagged back in and he pounds on Stevie in the corner. A quick tag is made to Regal who kicks the ribs, spins the wrist lock and tags in Knobs. Stevie is hit with forearms and a big splash. Regal saves the pin. A tag is made to Booker and he sends Knobs for a high knee, Sags makes the save. Another quick exchange and Stevie drops a knee. He tries to set something up, but Regal tags him out from behind. Forearm shots to Knobs by Regal and a snapmare. Quick tag is made to Eaton who comes in with an uppercut.

Short right by Eaton and a quick tag back to Regal. The Blue Bloods handle Knobs with double team work. Eaton comes off the top rope with an elbow and tags Regal back in. He tries the Regal stretch and Sags breaks it up. He makes a tag back to Stevie Ray and they club away at each other. An exchange is made to Booker, kick to the gut but Regal tags himself back in. He’s met with a back handed slap but Knobs succumbs to the double team. Regal tries a sunset flip and Knobs sits down on his chest. A tag is made to Sags who takes on all comers. Irish whip by Knobs and a back drop to Regal.

Sags gives a back drop to Booker T who lands on top of Regal. Knobs lands on top of both men with a big splash and Sags sits down for a 3 count. The Nasty Boys believe they’re the new champions, but since Booker T was on Regal, they take the pin and retain the titles.
Winners and STILL WCW World Tag Team Champions: Harlem Heat (Booker T/Knobs Splash)

• EA’s Take: Wow, I think there were over 20 tags in 14 minutes. Interesting booking and finish to this one. For most of the match, Harlem Heat succumbed to wrestling 2-on-4 as The Nasty Boys and Blue Bloods were tagging each other back and forth. They took punishment for 75% of the match, but still walked away with the gold. Creative finish if the goal is to keep The Nasty Boys strong, but apparently not smart!

Backstage: Mean Gene chats with ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair. Elizabeth saw The Nature Boy and just like the Baywatch girls, she moved on to a bigger, better life. And tonight, Macho needs to remember 3 things: he swept Liz off her feet at her finest hour, he slapped his father across the face, and finally, there is only 1 limosuine ridin’, jet flyin, kiss stealin, wheelin dealin son-of-a-gun. He’s ready to drive the girls wild again tonight.

Match #6 is a Lifeguard Match: ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage vs. ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair
They go to lock up, Savage goes for the eyes and knocks him down. They run the ropes, stiff shoulder block by Macho Man and and an enraged Savage pounds away hard. Irish whip, Flair is lifted for a backdrop. He’s clotheslined twice and the third sends him over the top rope. The Lifeguards do their job and promptly bring him back to the ring. Savage is up for countoff rights, Flair counters with an inverted atomic drop. Flair chops and short strikes in the corner and he dumps Macho outside.

They’re a bit of a scuffle among the Lifeguards but Savage is rolled back into the ring. Chop to the chest and an Irish whip but Flair runs into a back elbow. Flair eats the turnbuckle, he tries turning it around but Savage blocks. He lands a few shots but Savage stands toe to toe with him and finally runs him over with an elbow. Flair tumbles over the turnbuckles and The Nasty Boys prompty return him. Flair baits Savage and dumps him through the middle rope. Some of the heels try to take cheap shots, but teams like The Nasty Boys fend them off and they do their job again. From the apron, Savage blocks a suplex and lifts Flair out to the floor. In the ring, an Irish whip and a high elevation back body drop by the Macho Man, but Flair goes to the eyes.

Macho is sent to the ropes for a back elbow, woooo! Back to the ropes and Flair locks in a sleeper hold. Savage breaks it with some elbows to the gut, he scores with a shoulder block, tries another but Flair grabs a sleeper once again. Savage counters quickly by running face first into the corner and Flair face plants. Savage fights from his knees, Flair sets him up for some chops on the ropes. Savage is sent for a ride and is nailed with a clothesline. Flair dumps Savage over the top rope and there is another scuffle among the Lifeguards. Flair climbs up to the top, Savage trips him and appears to hit his jaw on Savage’s head. Irish whip and Savage pounds away.

Flair raises a boot to the gut, they hit the ropes, Savage tries a sleeper and Flair counters with a knee drop. Flair drags Savage over to the corner to wishbone his leg. Flair chops in the corner, but Savage wakes up with short rights in response. Irish whip but Flair gets a boot to the face. Flair drags Savage to the center of the ring and he locks in the Figure Four. The crowd chants for Macho, and Savage tries to turn it around. He gets it over and Flair is forced to escape. Back to their feet and Flair lifts Savage for a big vertical suplex. He’s slow to cover and Savage kicks out. Savage tries fighting from his knees, he blocks a right from Flair and sets him up in the corner for rights. The Nature Boy tries countering with another inverted atomic drop but it’s blocked by Savage.

A right sends Flair back over the top rope, he tries making a run for it but he’s run back in quickly. Irish whip and back body drop to Flair, Savage heads for the top rope and comes away with a double ax handle. Arn Anderson leaps up onto the apron, and Brian Knobs protests. Savage runs off Double A which allows Flair to poke the eye. Flair rushes Savage and he’s back dropped into a sea of life guards. With the ref distracted, Anderson returns to the ring and delivers a DDT to the Macho Man. Flair tries to take advantage and Savage just kicks out. A whip to the ropes, Savage counters a hip toss with a back slide but Flair gets out.

Savage with an Irish whip but he runs into a back elbow. The Nature Boy heads for the top but he’s pressed down to the mat. Savage is up to the top rope quickly, Flair jumps up but Macho Man gets him with the double ax handle. Scoop slam by Savage and he’s heading up for the other corner. He hits the flying elbow and we have a winner.
Winner: ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage (Top Rope Elbow Drop)

• EA’s Take: If you’re wondering what a Lifeguard Match is, it’s just a differently themed Lumberjack Match. Chris Kanyon was spotted as one of the Lifeguards alongside DDP. Easily the best match thus far. I think Flair legitimately hit his jaw on Savage’s head, I was expecting to see blood flowing from his mouth after that shot. My guess is that this feud is over as this match had a feeling of closure, but we will have to wait and see. WCW likes to re-use the same matches over…and over…and over at the top of the card.

Backstage: Mean Gene checks in with the challenger first. Vader has chased Hulk Hogan all over the country, but they’ve made it to the west coast, so there’s no where else for him to run. All the fans already know, so Hogan will find out very soon just what time it is, it’s Vader Time! He later gets a word with WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Hart & Dennis Rodman. They’ve been riding Harleys up and down the gold coast, and when he’s not playing basketball, Dennis Rodman can do whatever he pleases. He knows Vader’s tricks, so he’s brought Rod in as an insurance policy. The NBA star will be manning the door of the steel cage making sure that nothing fishy happens.

Match #7 is a Steel Cage Match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Vader vs. WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan w/Jimmy Hart & Dennis Rodman
They waste no time to brawl and Vader tastes steel immediately. He wraps his shirt around the big man’s neck and rams him over and over. 10 count rights on the turnbuckle and he follows it with count-off stomps. Double ax handle from the 2nd turnbuckle. Hogan throws some rights, whips Vader into the ropes and hits him with an elbow. He tries some chops but can’t take him down. Vader blocks a cage shot, Hogan does the same and they go toe to toe with rights. Another block by Vader and the big man finally throws the champ into the metal.

Hogan takes a beating in the corner with shots across the jaw. Headbutt by Vader and he runs Hogan into the camera. Forearms from the challenger, Hogan blocks and hits Vader with his head gear. Hogan puts it on to taunt Vader and he throws some headbutts with it. Hogan rips at the face of Vader. Vader reverses the Irish whip and he squashes Hogan in the corner. He heads for the 2nd turnbuckle and he’s on target with a Vader bomb. He heads back up and he gets him a 2nd time, Hogan kicks out and slides out. Vader lifts Hogan on his shoulder and spears him into the cage. He pounds away in the corner and suplexes the champ with ease.

Vader tries to escape, Hogan catches him from behind and runs him into the cage. He tries but cannot lift the big man. Knee to the jaw of Hogan and Vader head butts him. Snapmare by Vader and he goes for a climb. From the top turnbuckle he tries a senton and Hogan moves out of the way. He comes in with some rights, Irish whip and a clothesline. Hogan shoves him, he tries a scoop slam but Vader’s weight takes him down. Reverse chin lock on the mat by Vader, Jimmy Hart cheerleads. Back to vertical, they trade forearms. Hogan rakes the eyes and sends Vader for a clothesline. He calls to the crowd and they pop. He successfully scoop slams him, but he’s hurt his back.

Vader measures him for a clothesline and climbs to the 2nd turnbuckle. He lands a splash and Hogan kicks out at two. Hulk shakes it off and Hulks up. Vader tries a cage shot but it’s blocked. He tries it again, but it’s not working. A third time and Hogan’s had enough. He throws some rights and then goes back and forth sending Vader into the cage. Hogan tries the big boot and Vader is just wobbly. Hogan kicks him in the gut and that takes him out. Down the aisle The Taskmaster & The Zodiac rush to ringside. They try to enter the cage but Rodman fends them off. Back inside, Hogan lands the leg drop. He poses for the crowd and drops a 2nd leg drop.

Hogan tries climbing out, Vader catches him in the act and they fight on the top turnbuckle. Hogan chops Vader down, Hulk makes it out of the cage and retains the championship!
Winner and STILL WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Hulk Hogan

• EA’s Take: Rodman has a more notable run during the NWO days, with his match alongside Hogan against DDP and Karl Malone being one of the better celebrities-wrestling matches there has been. That being said, what a lackluster effort by Sullivan and Zodiac to enter the ring! Fairly entertaining match, not their best. Two leg drops and Vader pops up to catch Hogan from escaping? Kind of a weird finish in that regard and protecting Hogan’s finish, but overall, a fine main event for what this show was.

In The Ring: They appear to sign off the show, but Ric Flair rushes back down to the ring and he gets in Vader’s face, berating the big man for not beating Hogan. Vader puts his hands on Flair’s neck, but Arn Anderson saves him from behind. They rush to the back and Vader delivers a message to the camera, challenging both of them.

EA’s Finisher: I have no idea if this was the case at all, but WCW had some hit or miss attention-grabbing ideas. They really haven’t had this much westward expansion up to this point, so I’m not sure if this was one of those free-ticket deals just to draw. It was certainly not a traditional wrestling crowd, it looks like people went to the beach and “Oh look, Hulk Hogan is over there, let’s party there”. There were a few moments where the crowd seemed to have ADD and get rowdy so it’s completely possible since we will end up seeing it again with the Hog Wild/Road Wild pay-per-views in the future. They kept advertising it as the biggest crowd WCW has ever had at a live event. It remains to be seen if that’s exaggerated or disputable. There was certainly a good crowd, but it would be bizarre for a southeast promotion to suddenly draw that well in uncharted territory.

Top Three To Watch
1 – Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair
2 – Hulk Hogan vs. Vader
3 – Harlem Heat vs. The Nasty Boys vs. The Blue Bloods

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