WCW Worldwide
August 24, 1991
St. Joseph, MO
(Taped on August 5, 1991)

The current WCW Champs were as follows:
World Champion: Lex Luger (7/14/1991)
U.S. Champion: Vacant (7/14/1991)
World Television Champion: Steve Austin (6/3/1991)
World Tag Team Champions: Vacant (7/18/1991)
U.S. Tag Team Champions: The Patriots (8/12/1991)
World Six-Man Tag Team Champions: Dustin Rhodes, Big Josh & Tom Zenk (8/5/1991)

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone & Magnum TA!

The big news today is that Brian Pillman has been reinstated! Yay! No more Yellow Dog! Plus, we’ve got the WCW Light Heavyweight title tournament going on, which starts on this program!

• The Patriots vs. Chris Sullivan & Steve Estes
  

Obviously the Patriots haven’t won the belts yet according to the taping schedule. You know how I know that? No belts around their waists. Those guys should wear those things every where while their champions because God knows they wouldn’t deserve a second reign. Steve Estes looks like that guy Ralphus who used to hang around Chris Jericho in the late ’90s in WCW. Don’t think it’s him though. He’s so white too. At first I though he was wearing a t-shirt under his ring attire, but then I realized that was all him. That is, unless he has nipples ON his t-shirt. Wow, Todd Champion screws up a double-team and nearly KO’s Estes. If it wasn’t for Firebreaker Chip, this tag team would be utterly useless. Jumping back elbow from Champion gets the three-count on Estes. (2:38) Crowd is like, “Oh yeah, it’s over. Woo!”

Let’s meet up with Gordon Solie for some information from the WNN. He announces the WCW Light Heavyweight Championship division is being formed and the weight class will be 195-235, which is thirty pounds heavier than it used to be says Gordon because wrestlers are HUGE now. Gordon wants us to take a look at one of the guys who will be in the title tournament and that’s Badstreet. He’s shown beating up a poor jobber on a recent episode of World Championship Wrestling and wins with the 9-1-1 (second-rope DDT). Others included in the division will be Ricky Morton, Robert Gibson and Bobby Eaton too! In other news, Brian Pillman has been reinstated! Yes, you heard Gordon right!

• Oz vs. Scott Sandlin
  

Oh man, Oz is one terrible gimmick. It’s short-blonde haired Kevin Nash thinking he’s the Wizard of Oz. It’s the same old stuff from Nash with the side slam and the back elbows in the corner before he finishes with the HELICOPTER SLAM. (1:48) We need some Vinnie Vegas and fast.

It’s time for the WCW Top Ten for the weekend of August 24!
10. Johnny B. Badd [^3]
9. Bobby Eaton [v1]
8. Dustin Rhodes [v1]
7. One Man Gang [-]
6. El Gigante [same]
5. WCW World TV Champ Steve Austin [same]
4. Ron Simmons [^2]
3. Nikita Koloff [same]
2. Sting [v2]
1. Barry Windham [same]
WCW World Heavyweight Champ Lex Luger

Way to go Sting! I guess.

• Rick Steiner & Bill Kazmaier vs. Jim Boss & Sam Cody
  

Ahh, Bill Kazmaier. The World’s Strongest No Talent of WCW ’91. That’s saying something too. Anyways, these two have a bunch of laughs while they clothesline Cody around like he’s inhuman. Kazmaier catches Cody in a powerslam for the 1-2-3. (1:37) That was just cruel.

Tony & Magnum hype the Bruise Cruise!

• WCW World Six-Man Tag Champions The Freebirds & Badstreet vs. Dustin Rhodes, Tom Zenk & Big Josh
  

Dustin Rhodes is subbing for Bobby Eaton, who had some personal commitments he had to keep. Garvin buries a bunch of knees in Josh to start, but he comes back with dropkicks. The Freebirds miss a double-clothesline, so Josh returns the favor to set up Log Rolls (double-stomp). Badstreet tags in and gets stuck in the face corner as Dustin Rhodes tags in. He hits a backdrop on Badstreet and clears the ring of the Freebirds with bionic elbows. Hayes tags in and works the crowd for a bit. Garvin catches Rhodes coming off the ropes with a knee and allows Hayes to fire away with that left jab. The faces protest to the ref while Garvin throws Rhodes over the top and to the floor to allow Hayes and Badstreet to double-team. Back in, Dustin gets isolated in the Freebirds corner until Rhodes counters a double-back elbow attack with double-BULLDOGS! HOT TAG TO ZENK! He’s dishing out double noggin knockers and everything! It turns into a pier-six brawl. During the chaos, Badstreet goes for 9-1-1 on Zenk, but Josh knocks Badstreet to the other side of the ring. Z-Man comes off the top with a flying crossbody for 1-2-3! (4:26) The crowd goes insane! We’ve got new champs and boy is this team random. Good action from everybody here though. **

• Ron Simmons vs. Russell Sapp
  

He works on the arm as he seems to do at the start of most of his early singles matches. The SPINEBUSTER follows and it’s over. (1:24) What a killer spinebuster.

After the match, Simmons calls out Lex Luger to face him man-to-man. He doesn’t want Harley Race and Mr. Hughes, he wants Luger. He gets exactly what he said he didn’t want. Race tells Simmons that he doesn’t get to talk to Luger unless Luger wants to talk to him. Luger finally comes down, but it’s only to distract Simmons to get nailed from behind by Hughes. Triple-team beatdown results until Barry Windham comes in to make the save! Barry grabs the mic and tells us that he’ll never turn his back on Lex again. Well, Lex comes back down on the apron and Barry gets his back beat down by Hughes and Race this time. Simmons returns to the ring with a chair and chases the heels out. Simmons and Windham have now decided to join together. Not because they like each other, but because they hate the same man.

• Richard Morton (w/Alexandra York) vs. Johnny Rich – WCW Light Heavyweight Title Tournament Quarterfinals
  

Not sure why Johnny Rich (who looks at least 245 pounds) was brought in for this tournament, but I’m sure his cousin Tommy Rich had something to do with it. Rich armdrags Morton like crazy until he bails out to the floor before he regroups with the computer and Ms. York. Back in, they run the ropes for a bit until Morton telegraphs a monkey flip and takes a fist drop. Morton regroups with the computer again and then comes at Rich with a cheapshot. He hits a back suplex, but then ducks low off a whip and gets caught in an armbar. Morton goes to the eyes to escape and yanks Rich out to the floor by his tights. Tony mentions Johnny’s close association with Tommy Rich as Johnny falls back into the guardrail. Rich comes back in with a sunset flip for 1-2-NO! Morton pops up with a clothesline though for two. Suplex gets a two-count, but Rich surprises Morton with an inside cradle for two. Morton goes to the eyes again and then hooks on a chinlock. Rich elbows out, but Morton catches him with a knee. Rich tries to mount a comeback, but Morton stops him with another eye rake and goes back to the chinlock. Rich fights out again and hits a backdrop. He slips out of a Morton slam attempt and tries a rollup off the ropes, but Morton puts on the brakes and delivers another clothesline. Morton looks to finish with an inverted atomic drop in the corner and then follows up with bulldog/knee drop combination move of sorts for the 1-2-3. (8:43) Well, Johnny Rich definitely seemed motivated. Decent enough match, but I’d like to see Morton not go for the eye rakes every five seconds to show he’s a heel. Morton would go on to defeat Mike Graham in the semifinals at the Clash on 9/5 and then faced the recently reinstated Brian Pillman at Halloween Havoc in the finals. *½

Next week’s main event, the Enforcers will take on the Patriots! Sadly, I don’t have a copy of next week’s show. I would LOVE to see the Enforcers beat the crap out of those two.

Final Thoughts: Much bigger show than usual as we witness the Barry Windham face turn. Plus, the announcement that Brian Pillman’s reinstatement is good news. The crowning of new six-man tag champs may seem like a small thing, but a title change on a squash is pretty cool in my opinion. Things are looking up for WCW and they only get better from here.