Nice little opening video hyping up War Games with Sting's Squadron against the Dangerous Alliance. Eric and Tony talk about it being a huge deal due to Sting coming back from an injury. Freebirds vs. The Taylor-Made Man and Valentine. The Birds have leather on, with Hayes going for red and silver, which looks solid. Garvin has the red and silver jacket, but black pants with red stars. Generic music for the Birds here despite "Badstreet USA" being used on other events. Valentine wearing the U.S. Tag Title over his robe rules, and Taylor's red smoking jacket is pretty snazzy. Taylor has aged a lot in just a few years, but looks great in this role. Taylor does the Flair-esque strut to get heat. Hayes and his giant gut to the strut. He can still move, but looks really out of shape. They did a silly double down spot where Taylor and Valentine ran into each other. I like Valentine countering a hiptoss by just clubbing the shit out of Hayes. Leg catch spin into an atomic drop from Hayes leads to a left-arm lariat for 2. This gear looks so awesome on Hayes. It's annoying to hear basic knife-edge chops called judo chops. I like Garvin taking a bump off of an O'Connor roll counter and only getting up to avoid a Valentine elbow. Garvin's working hard here and he's slimmer than Hayes. Yet another huge DDT chant. Garvin with just a mustache looks bizarre.
Taylor's five-arm results in a 2, which Jesse attributes to it just not hitting properly. Valentine is working hard here, just chopping the hell out of anyone and going for basic, realistic covers. Hayes counters the hand-holding leaping bit by putting his feet right into his balls. Not a DQ. Doctor Bomb gets 2 from Taylor! Knee snap leads to the figure four from Valentine. Garvin comes in and gets an earful from Jesse for it. Ross rightfully says yup, they cheated. Jesse calls out Alfonso for his terrible reffing so far. Valentine went to do a corner clothesline, but Hayes got out of the way too quickly, so he just stops short instead of looking like an idiot by going for a clothesline into nothing. Hayes hits the big left and tags in Garvin. Garvin's a house of fire and atomic drops Taylor into Valentine. Double clothesline! Trip from Valentine takes Garvin down and leads to a Taylor kneedrop, which only gets 2 thanks to Hayes. Garvin DDTs Taylor as Hayes KOs Valentine - the birds win! This match overdelivered a ton. I haven't been wowed by the Hayes/Garvin combo, but this is the best match I've seen of them yet and this look is the best overall one yet.
Good God is Eric ever the most generic face announcer yet. Seeing his past and what the future would hold, it's a bit like imagining Josh Mathews running WWE. According to Eric, Johnny B. Badd's always the bridesmaid, and never the bride. Tracy came out in a bright gold and silver fringe jacket. Oddly, Young Pistol doesn't have quotes for his graphic, but "Tracy" does. Generic themes for both Tracy and Johnny. Johnny's gold and black cape is actual less feminine than Tracy's getup. Jesse all but calls Johnny gay, so Jim points out that Jesse had a feather boa in his day, while Jesse said he had that, earrings, and multi-colored hair. Jesse's ranting about how NO REF SHOULD EVER COUNT after a closed-fist. My how times have changed. Tracy claims that his tights were pulled, while Jim says he didn't see it and he wouldn't be shocked if Johnny just grabbed him BACK THERE. Cuz he's gay you say. IT'S SO SUBTLE.They're putting over both guys being in the LHW mix, and Jesse says a loss here could cost them a shot for an entire year. Nice bodyshots from Johnny, who has some fantastic-looking shots as he should. More bodyshots mid-ring. Flying hook kick by Tracy gets 2 - nice move there. Jesse wants to know what the lips mean on Johnny's ass, and he presumes it as being "kiss my butt". Ross says no, and then Jesse says well IT COULD BE interpreted in other ways. Sunset flip off the top gets 2 for Johnny. Kiss That Don't Miss takes Tracy out. I like that both here and in the U.S. Tag match, you had a hook play a vital role in the finish.
Missy and the Birds are backstage with a brunette Precious. The title match finish is replayed. Hayed puts over winning the titles in the home of Lynyrd Skynyrd, where the band was born! Hayes looks so awesome with this belt on him - those U.S. Tags were quite good-looking. Eric talks about Precious being behind Jimmy and he repeats the whole "IN THE POLITICALLY CORRECT ERA OF THE '90S, women are equal to men" thing. Marcus is out in shiny gold pants that look like stripper wear. I have no idea how to describe what Scott's wearing. It's a white suit jacket with yellow trim and his face on the back, and ripped white jeans with his bright pink and green zebra gear underneath it. Nice back forth battle for a suplex leads to a floatover from Bagwell. Scotty hits a shitty back suplex. I love Jesse asking what Marcus would do if the crowd said no to him asking if he should hit his finisher. Yellow Jacket Suplex gets 2 due to the ropes. Scotty reverses an O'Connor roll by holding the tights and wins.
Beach Blast gets hyped up with BODACIOUS BABES. IT'S TOTALLY BEACHIN! JYD and Ron Simmons team up because they're black I guess. They recap Abby attacking Ron and being saved by JYD. JYD's giant white suit with a red bowtie looks awesome. Shame he looks to be well over 300 pounds in this clip. He's got jeans on with his suit...wow. Hughes and Jack came out to a funeral march. Cactus is '92 is about the best Mick looked overall before his WWF run. He was relatively lean, but still had that "big" look, and was given a main event or semi-main event slot at times. JYD and Cactus brawl on the floor, with JYD actually bumping on the floor. A ram into the ramp leads to the Cactus elbow. JYD's selling the ribs and is out of the match. Jack's RON SIMMMOOOONNS squeal is terrifying. Alfonso with hair looks weird. Jesse and Jim chat about what they'll do without JYD. They made Simmons-Hughes...yikes. Hughes punches fakely. Clubs badly. Kicks. Jesse's going on about how the ref should be fired for changing a signed contract. Hughes takes a clunky bump for a backdrop but eats the big spinebuster and takes a knee clip - Simmons wins!
Todd Champion from THE WCW SPECIAL FORCES comes out...just what is that supposed to mean anyway? Jesse says he looks like the captain of the Love Boat. The Super Invader has Herc's body and Harley Race by his side, and the most generic gear so far. A half-and-half black and red singlet with a bland red mask. Like Sting now, he's got the tights over the boots, which looks weird and he has a neon pink and green glove because it's '92. Herc's at least got speedy offense and different offense as the Super Invader. If I was on the Olympic Committee, I'd sue WCW for having a goober like Champion put the rings on his gear. Long sleeper by SI. Champion gets jobber offense and is then lazily hot shotted before losing to a powerbomb.
Richard Morton's out looking at least 50 to face Big Josh...boy this is like the third hour on Raw with just stuff happening. Morton 208 pounds allegedly, and is in Joker purple and green gear. Log roll spot leads to Jesse being great - NOW THAT'S JUST MEAN TURNING A MAN'S STOMACH INTO A LOG! Jesse buries Josh's gear, and Ross talks about it not being fancy, and his log boots being approved by WCW for matches. I like Josh just attacking with punches, kicks, and chops - it makes sense given him not being a classically-trained grappler and all. Slick belly to back from Morton. Nice press of Morton to escape a cover by Josh. Elbow drop gets 2. This is a nothing match in terms of meaning, but it's well-worked. Steiners face Izuka and Fujinami later. Earthquake splash wins for Josh.
They recap the great Pillman-Zenk feud, which I remember vividly from New Blood on the Block. I like Brian and Tom having a nice, realistic argument here. Pillman gets pyro, and has a very '90s black and white jacket on. I love Jesse asking who will cheat first, and then getting on Ross for not answering his question - which Ross admits. They're telling a basic friend vs. friend rivalry, but with a bit of an edge as each guy has a temper. I like them doing mirror moves, and Zenk showing frustration just by kicking the rope. Pillman is outwrestling Zenk until Zenk counters a hiptoss and goes for a cover since it's the first chance he's had to make one. He gets 2. Jesse and Jim argue about football. Zenk gets some covers and so Pillman chops his chest to fire him up. Pillman working on the leg heavily, and Zenk counters with some back work. Big suplex gets 2. Zenk's getting cocky and gets kicked in the gut. Pillman resumes the leg work and talks smack to Zenk. Brian goes for a figure four and they just slap the shit out of each other during it. Zenk escapes by reversing it. More corner chops. Outside-in bodyblock by Pillman countered into a powerslam for a 2.9. Zenk's firing back with chops and gets hit with a crucifix for a 2.9 by Pillman. Jesse's pissed that neither guy has cheated yet. Pillman takes a nasty flip bump for a superplex counter, and another flip for a crossbody block off the top that allows the nearfall to make more sense. Leapfrog exchange leads to Pillman hitting an iffy dropkick to the gut. Bran takes a crazy bump for the backdrop-setup flapjack for a 2.9. Zenk's knee buckles on him. I remember this finish from the tape - Brian goes up top and takes a MASSIVE Yakuza-style kick for 2.9 thanks to the rope. The extension on Zenk's leg here was amazing. Zenk's kicking the shit out of him for that. Zenk's missile dropkick misses, but Pillman gets a jacknife cover for the win. This match ruled. I remember loving it in clipped form 20 years ago, and it's far better in full. Beach Blast hype vid again.
Time for the Steiners against Izuka and Fujinami. Scott's in a Joe-esque blue and black block singlet - one of his more subdued ones during the early '90s. Rick's in his bright orange and number gear. Fujinami's in black, shockingly, while Izuka's in bright pink. Jesse's turning this match into a war against America and Japan's automobile manufacturing. Nice RVD-esque spring off the shoulder charge in the corner. Flying somersault from Izuka off the top gets 2. Nasty Vader-Inoki-esque bump from Fujinami off a Rick German suplex. Scott locks in a half crab by the ropes. Crazy electric chair by Fujinami led to a crossbody being countered by Rick into a powerslam. THIS ONLY GOT 2. WHAT!? That was a thing of beauty. Izuka's nose is all busted up. Dragon screw by Fujinami leads to a legbar. Tilt a whirl on Izuka gets 2. Rick does the Ventura backbreaker-position shoulder charge in the corner. Big pumphandle by Scott gets 2. YOU MIGHT LOVE THE JAPANESE, YA MIGHT HATE 'EM, BUT YA GOTTA RESPECT 'EM...wow. Abdominal stretch cradle gets 2. A big brawl breaks out. Izuka and Fujinami attack Scott after Rick comes in illegally, as Jesse points out. Nice bit where Scott does a gymnastic flip with both Izuka and Fujinami holding him a top wristlock. Rick comes in with a double clothesline off the top. Big German suplex gets 2, might've gotten closer had he kept the bridge without losing Scott on it. Spike piledriver to Scott. Dragon sleeper locked on, but Scott gets to the ropes. Super belly to belly from Rick gets 3. This was rough around the edges, but really good overall.
Jim sends it to Eric and Tony to talk about the main event. They're setting up Nikita turning on Sting, with Eric being just awful here. Having just rewatched this recently via the Blu Ray set on War Games, I'll nix watching the whole thing right now, but it has held up really well and has a finish I hope they steal for the Shield's breakup with the ringpost connector being used on Eaton to take him out of the match and effectively kill this Alliance. This show has a big lull in it, but the first and third hours are quite good.
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