WCW Spring Stampede 1994
April 17, 1994
Rosemont, IL
Rosemont Horizon

The current WCW Champs were as follows:
WCW World Champion: Ric Flair (12/27/1993)
WCW International World Champion: Rick Rude (3/24/1994)
WCW U.S. Champion: Steve Austin (12/27/1993)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Nasty Boys (10/24/1993)
WCW World Television Champion: Lord Steven Regal (9/19/1993)

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan.

Aaron Neville sings the national anthem. Not sure what the special occasion is, but he does.

Side note: This PPV debuts the WCW crosshair logo displayed on the ring mat.

• Johnny B. Badd vs. Diamond Dallas Page (w/The Diamond Doll)
  

In hindsight, I think I would have rather seen Terra Ryzing (Triple H) vs. Tom Zenk, which is what was originally scheduled. You know, just for laughs. After all, Badd and Page did wrestle each other a BUNCH over the next two years. There’s no denying this Diamond Doll like at Superbrawl – she’s definitely Kimberly Page. DDP attacks to start, but gets clotheslined out to the floor. Back in, Page pulls some Badd hair to take over. That is until Badd grabs a hammerlock and works the arm. Page counters to a front headlock, but Badd counters out with a flying snapmare. Pretty awesome. Page yanks him into the corner and regains control. Back suplex by Page. He talks some junk and gives Badd a gutbuster. Suplex into a cover gets two. Almost Jackhammer-esque! Badd fights out of a chinlock with a back suplex. Atomic drop/clothesline combo is followed by a lucha-style tilt-a-whirl headscissors. KISS THAT DON’T MISS puts Page on the floor, so Johnny meets Page with a plancha! Back in, Badd surprises Page with a Flying Sunset Flip for 1-2-3. (5:50) This match gets crapped on, but there was some good action in this match. Page had some good heat here, but wouldn’t do a whole lot in WCW for another year. **

• WCW World Television Champion Lord Steven Regal (w/Sir William) vs. Brian Pillman

There is a little history between these two. Back at a Clash of the Champions in August, Regal subbed for the injured Brian Pillman when the Hollywood Blondes lost the tag team titles. It was because of the miscommunication issues of Regal’s manager that cost the Blondes the belts. At the time, there was talk of Pillman possibly leaving to go to the WWF now that his feud with Austin was finished when WCW was talking about downsizing. It didn’t happen and Brian resigned a new two-year deal with WCW, regardless of the fact that he really did nothing at all over the next year. It wasn’t until he turned heel and joined up with the Horsemen where he started to matter again. Regal still has his thigh taped like we saw at Superbrawl, by the way. And just like Arn Anderson did, Pillman works the arm. To start, Pillman slams the arm across the guardrail, the top rope, the ringpost – almost everything but the mat and the referee. Regal European uppercuts with his good arm and grabs a wristlock. Pillman chops out, but gets caught off a leapfrog and slammed backwards. Regal delivers a cool grapevine takeover into an STF and a Regal Stretch. Pillman tries to counter with a backslide, but Regal AWESOMELY blocks into a bow-and-arrow submission! Pillman chops back and hits a headscissors for two. Pillman runs into a Regal Roll for two. So much for the comeback. Regal goes back to the bow-and-arrow. Good gosh, from there he applies an Indian deathlock/half nelson. Pillman chops back AGAIN, but Regal pulls the tights into a rollup for two. Regal wins a slugfest with some sick forearms. Pillman shrugs off a Boston crab with two minutes to go. Enziguri connects, but Regal shoves off a monkey flip. 60 seconds left. Pillman dropkicks Regal as he comes off the middle rope and the crowd erupts! With fifteen seconds left, they do a Bret/Luger dump over the top rope. Sir William gets nailed and with two seconds left, Pillman gives Regal a suplex back in from the apron as time runs out. (15:00 real time – 15:00 WCW time) Good job, WCW. You finally seem to understand how time works. As much as I love Regal’s style, this was way too one-sided and Pillman deserved a lot better. Still not a bad match though. **¾

• WCW World Tag Team Champions The Nasty Boys vs. Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne – Chicago Street Fight
  

This is the match that made Cactus Jack more than a cult favorite and into a star that made everybody in the wrestling world take notice. Especially guys like Paul Heyman, who would soon revolutionize the way tag team matches were done because of this formula. They had found a way to reinvent the tag formula that had been done in wrestling for the last 10-15 years. As for the feud surrounding the match, these two teams had been fighting like crazy for the last three months and now it was time to finish it off once and for all. Sags brings a freakin’ lead pipe to the ring. Knobbs brings a pool cue. Cactus has his head wrapped after losing an ear in Germany a month earlier in a match with Vader. Payne pairs up with Sags, Cactus with Knobbs. The lead pipe disappears almost instantly when Payne delivers a spinebuster to Sags. Cactus beats the crap out of Knobbs with the pool cue. Cactus Clothesline puts Knobbs on the floor. Sags BLASTS Cactus with a chair to save his partner and beats him down with the pool cue. Knobbs clotheslines Cactus into the ring just to get a breather. Payne comes after him while Sags takes care of Cactus in the ring. Payne and Knobbs brawl over to a faux souvenir stand. Meanwhile on the other side of the arena, Cactus beats the crap out of Sags with a chair. Knobbs throws a table on Payne, but gets slammed through WCW merchandise to a HUGE pop. Payne grabs a WCW shirt and tries to jam it down Knobbs throat for two. Tony ~ “I’m not even sure that shirt even fits him!” Sags and Cactus make their way over to their respective opponents where Cactus gets whipped hard over a safety rail and gets a thicken wooden table slammed on his head. To top it off, Cactus gets the table jabbed in his face! Sags places the table on the entrance platform. Cactus beats Sags down and then gives the table a SUPLEX onto Sags! AWESOME! Knobbs runs by and whacks Cactus with a SHOVEL. Payne takes it away from Knobbs and beats him down while Sags and Cactus fall through the table as it collapses. Sags shoves Cactus off the aisle to the concrete down below and then hits him clean across the forehead with the shovel. Well that’s just completely inhumane. Sags covers and gets the easy three-count. (8:56) The most brutally insane match you’ll see on PPV in the top two companies until the Mick Foley Hell in the Cell four years later. ****½

• WCW U.S. Heavyweight Champion Steve Austin (w/Col. Robert Parker) vs. Great Muta

Muta is still amazingly over considering he hadn’t wrestled in WCW for over a year. Funny how the guy can be as over as he is when his best stuff in America happened five years earlier. Real tentative start until Austin starts up the roughneck style. They trade abdominal stretches and chinlocks for the first 7-8 minutes. Finally, Parker trips up Muta and they go to the floor for some guardrail action. Back in, Austin stomps away and applies the ab stretch. Austin grabs the ropes ala Mike Rotunda and Muta hiptosses out. Muta whiffs on a dropkick and Austin hits the flying elbow drop for a bunch of two counts. Muta blocks a turnbuckle smash and answers back. Jumping back kick connects, but Austin avoids a front missile dropkick. Austin wants the HOLLYWOOD AND VINE toehold, but that fails. Muta takes a page from Austin’s playbook with the Stungun. No cover though. Muta hits the Handspring Elbow in the corner and follows up with a Frankensteiner. Wow what a hot crowd. Parker gets nailed and Austin runs into a backdrop that puts him over the top rope for the cheap DQ. (16:22) Not that Muta should have won, but come on now. Apart from the finish, the match was pretty disappointing. Maybe a clash of styles perhaps? The last several minutes saved it from being a total wash though. **¼

• WCW International World Champion Rick Rude vs. Sting
  

So Rick Rude had been ducking Sting and when a hot blonde came along and tricked him into signing the contract for the match when all he thought he was doing was signing an autograph, Sting finally got the title match he wanted. Harley Race interrupts Rude’s pre-match spiel and challenges the winner of the match for Vader. He takes a swing at Sting and pays for it. Rude uses that to try and attack Sting from behind, but Sting ducks *that* and takes a clothesline out to the floor. Sting follows him out for a suplex. Back in, Sting whips Rude from pillar to post and delivers a back suplex. Info that becomes important later, Commissioner Nick Bockwinkel is sitting at ringside. Sting hits a trifecta of Jumping Elbow Drops. Rude moves Sting around while he’s stuck in a front headlock and crotches him on the top rope to escape, followed by a clothesline to the floor. With Sting hurting, Rude goes to work on the back with a flurry of forearms and a back suplex. Rude poses and sits down on a chinlock. You know, the usual Rude offense. After all these years, when Sting tries to counter with an electric chair drop, Rude learns from past mistakes and counters with a victory roll for 1-2-NO! Sting rolls back and tries to get a pin for another two. Sting runs into a sleeper, but Rude releases the hold when he had him down and Sting starts to STING UP! Rude tries to escapes, but Sting pulls him back in by his britches, revealing some Rude butt. Sting delivers an atomic drop, a bunch of clotheslines, and a backdrop. Ouch, Rude really fell funny on his ankle that time. Ref Randy Anderson gets bumped by Rude and Stinger Splashed as well. Here comes the SCORPION DEATHLOCK! Harley Race runs down, but Sting sees him coming and flips him into the ring. Vader follows, but Sting takes care of them both. Rude clips Sting from behind and looks to put Sting away with the Rude Awakening. Harley Race steals Heenan’s chair, but Bockwinkel gives him a stern look. But Nick, it’s the predetermined FINISH. Race hops in the ring with the chair in hand and when Rude turns Sting over to execute the Rude Awakening, Sting moves and Race hits Rude in the back of the head. Sting kicks Race out and covers Rude as the ref wakes up and counts 1-2-3! (13:03) We’ve got a NEW International World Champion. This match was more like the Sting/Rude feud coming to a sad halt due to injuries instead of the classic **** match it should have been. Never really wanting to drop the belt to Sting in the first place, Rude won the belt back in a couple weeks over in Japan. Rude would injure his neck in that match, proving to be the final match of his wrestling career. **½

• Dustin Rhodes vs. Bunkhouse Buck (w/Col. Robert Parker) – Bunkhouse Match
  

Thus begins the nearly year-long Rhodes/Stud Stable feud. A Bunkhouse match is “come as you are” anything goes. It’s what they call in the biz: OLD SCHOOL. Rhodes is in total control of Buck to start. Great visual as Bunkhouse Buck does the slow fall sell after taking a Bionic Elbow down on the floor. Back in, Rhodes misses a crossbody and crashes on the floor. Meanwhile, Buck has a 1×2 piece of wood and breaks it across Dustin’s back and jabs one of his pieces in his face! Yep, Dustin’s busted open like a faucet. On the rampway, Buck clotheslines Rhodes for the flip sell. Buck chokes him with his leather suspenders. He stomps Dustin’s forehead and posts the leg. Rhodes kicks Buck away with his good leg and throws powder in his face! In retaliation, Buck takes off his belt and WHIPS the crap out of Dustin! From there, Buck charges into the corner with a big boot. He tries one too many and Rhodes moves out of the way. Rhodes puts Buck up in the corner and pounds away with a well-measured Bionic Elbow taking Buck to the mat. Now Rhodes takes off his studded Texas belt and beats Buck down. Rhodes takes off his boot and comes off the middle rope down on Buck’s face to bust him open. Rhodes rips up Buck’s long underwear and whips him good. A Bionic Elbow and clothesline puts Buck on the floor. He loads his glove and takes an atomic drop. Dustin delivers the ten-count corner elbows and follows up with the BULLDOG! He covers, but gets up and gives Parker a suplex into the ring. Now Parker gets a good old fashioned belt whooping. Out goes Parker, but Buck rolls up Dustin for 1-2-NO! Buck runs into a boot in the corner and drapes himself across the middle rope. Parker yells for the ref to move Dustin back as he slips some taped knux on Buck’s hand. Rhodes gets clocked, and Buck gets the three-count. (14:09) Such a great old-school-style brawl filled with blood and guts. Well, maybe guts is a little extreme. But it was pretty bloody for the times. This was actually the only stand-out singles match in Bunkhouse Buck’s WCW career. Definitely the biggest win of his career if nothing else. After Slamboree, Bunkhouse Buck was primarily placed in tag matches for the rest of his WCW run, culminating with a tag title win with Dick Slater a year later. ***½

In the back, Rick Rude is PISSED! He didn’t need any help and now everything has gone down the drain. Vader stops by and we’ve got a pull-apart brawl on our hands. Again, this was leading to something bigger, even if karma stepped in the way and kept it from actually happening.

• Vader (w/Harley Race) vs. The Boss
  

The story is simple: Boss cost Vader the WCW world title at Superbrawl and now Vader wants revenge. Hey, Boss is game. What else does he have to do? Nothing. Boss meets Vader and Harley in the aisleway and BEATS them to the ring. As soon as they get there, they go back on the aisle way where Vader stops Boss with a short-arm clothesline. Vader slams Boss back into the ring, but a splash over the ropes hits knees. Boss starts to elbow drop the ribs and clotheslines Vader out so he can whip him into the guardrail. Back in, Vader is bleeding from the mouth. Boss punches the crap out of Vader and slams him, but runs into a backdrop that puts him WAY out on the floor. Insanity for a big guy to take that kind of a bump. Ref didn’t see anything, so the match continues. Back in again, Vader splashes Boss for two. Vader takes Boss to the corner for some open shots. You do not want to be in the corner with Vader. Boss comes back with a back suplex and a clothesline. Now Vader’s eye is busted open. Boss runs into a boot and eats a clothesline. Vader heads up for a pump splash, but Boss is there to bring him down HARD on his shoulder. Out of the corner, Boss delivers a DDT of sorts. Cover, 1-2-NO! Boss (kinda) hits a flying bodypress for 1-2-NO! Boss heads up again, but Vader catches him on the way down with a powerslam. Vader hits a pump splash for two, but the VADERSAULT *will* put you down for the three-count. (9:14) As you might expect, that was one STIFF back and forth contest. Afterwards, Race tries to handcuff Boss to the ropes for a post-match beating (IRONY~!), but Boss gets away and beats Harley Race down with his nightstick. Commissioner Bockwinkel intervenes and takes Boss backstage to calm him down. ***½

We go to the back with Jesse Ventura. Commissioner Bockwinkel reprimands Boss for what he did. He strips Boss of his nightstick, his handcuffs, and his name? How does he have the power to change your name? It’s not like it’s a rank in WCW. There’s a Sergeant Slaughter, Corporal Kirschner, but there’s no such thing as “Boss” uhh…Traylor?

• WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat
  

Both guys are faces, but Steamboat chopped his buddy Flair by accident to make this one a little more interesting than it is by itself. Although let’s not forget the time Flair wouldn’t release the Figure-Four on some poor jobber and then slapped him across the face. Nice mat wrestling exchange to start. Flair with the headlock, Steamboat with the headscissors and both men are back up again. I’m glad we get the knowledgeable Tony Schiavone for a match like this. It’s probably one of the only televised matches between these two that he ever called. He talks about the history of these two men dating all the way back to their AWA training camp days, which is cool. He also mentions how Steamboat has been at the end of basically every Flair title he ever held. A sitout contest leads to Flair getting in a chop, so Steamboat retaliates with a chop of his own. Oh man, notice how Steamboat NEVER attempts to make eye contact with Flair. He knows that Flair loves to psyche people out and tries to avoid it like the plague. What fantastic psychology. Steamboat delivers a pair of old school headscissors takedowns. A pair of dropkicks puts Flair on the floor, but Steamboat wisely shoves Flair back in the ring. Steamboat connects with the Flying Judo Chop for two. Flair goes to the floor and takes a breather. Flair grabs a wristlock and tries to yank Steamboat down by his hair, but he kips up every time. Flair takes Steamboat to the corner for some chops. With every chop Flair delivers, Steamboat answers back with one scintillating chop of his own. Flair stops the momentum by heading out to the apron. They play some games with a Steamboat headlock for several minutes. Steamboat walks the ropes, stops short before jumping over Flair and reapplying the headlock, and also releases and clamps on the headlock some more. Little things like that keeps a headlock interesting. Steamboat hits a couple shoulderblocks, but Flair side steps the third and tries to throw Steamboat out. He skins-the-cat and rolls up Flair for 1-2-NO! Back to the headlock. Flair tries to escape with an atomic drop, but Steamboat avoids that. He can’t avoid a knee to the gut and a chop though. In order to not lose control, Steamboat delivers a drop toehold and grabs a front headlock. Flair pushes Steamboat into the corner and rams his shoulder to the gut. Steamboat reverses a whip and hits a backdrop, but whiffs on a dropkick. Flair chops away in the corner and sneaks in a few closed fists on the nose. Rolling Knee Drop connects, and Steamboat sells like he might have a concussion. Flair follows up with another Rolling Knee Drop for two. Flair tries to keep him down with several nearfalls, but Steamboat will NOT stay down. They get into a chop battle. Flair ducks a double-chop and comes off the ropes with a crossbody that sends both guys over the top rope to the floor. Steamboat backdrops out of a piledriver, but misses a splash up against the guardrail. Back in, Steamboat catches Flair up top for a superplex. You know Flair’s turning heel now when he can’t make it off the top. Flair Flip to the apron and Steamboat chops him down to the floor. Steamboat follows him out with a Flying Judo Chop. Back in, Flair begs off into the corner for a ten-count corner chop. Flair walks out of the corner for the Flop and that gets two. Steamboat gets pulled out to the floor, but he’s right back up and on Flair with a sunset flip. Oh, but Flair blocks with a punch. WOO! Flair tries another Rolling Knee Drop, but Steamboat catches his leg and applies the Figure-Four! Flair’s almost in the ropes, so Steamboat pulls him back several times to the center of the ring. Ehh, Flair plays dirty and thumbs Steamboat right in the eye to break free. Steamboat heads to the floor to get his vision back. Flair tries a suplex, but Steamboat grabs the top rope and falls on top for 1-2-NO! They do the backslide sequence where Steamboat gets two. Small package for Steamboat gets two. Flair chops Steamboat twice, so Steamboat chops him ten times. Double chop puts Flair on the aisleway. Flair counters a suplex, but Steamboat flips out and chops Flair back in the ring. Out to the floor they go again. Steamboat tries a chop off the apron, but Flair gets his boot up to block. Steamboat gets the better off an exchange on the apron and delivers the FLYING BODYPRESS for 1-2-NO! Flair ducks a double chop and hits a clothesline. Flair heads up top and yes he gets slammed down. Now Steamboat comes off the top for a flying splash, but there’s nobody there. Plus, he jams his knee on the mat. Flair hooks on the FIGURE-FOUR. Wait, Steamboat blocks with his hand, but Flair kicks free and clamps it on for real. Flair slaps Steamboat around while he’s in the hold. Great stuff. Steamboat makes the ropes. Flair tries the hold again in the center of the ring, but Steamboat counters with an inside cradle for 1-2-NO! Steamboat blocks a hiptoss into a backslide. That doesn’t work. Steamboat sets Flair up for a TOP-ROPE SUPERPLEX and delivers! Steamboat sells a hurt neck to give Flair some time. Cover, 1-2-NO! Steamboat gets an O’Connor Roll, but the ref has to jump out of the ring to get out of the way. Back in, he counts 1-2-NO! Ahh, stupid ref! Steamboat flips out of a back suplex and applies the DOUBLE-CHICKEN WING SUBMISSION! Steamboat falls to his back. With Flair’s shoulders and Steamboat’s shoulders down as well, ref Nick Patrick counts 1-2-3. (32:07) The crowd is befuddled and happy at the same time. Ref Nick Patrick declares it a double-pin situation, meaning nobody wins and Flair retains. In a cool bit of continuity, the same spot that won Steamboat the third and final fall at their Clash match in 1989 worked against him here. Because of the controversy, the title was held up and the two competed in another classic rematch on Saturday Night a few weeks later with Flair coming out on the winning end. ****½

Final Thoughts: I really love this PPV. Everything worked and made sense. Like at Superbrawl, everything flows and leads to something else in each individual feud and that kind of foresight is important. People may say nothing was happening before Hogan stepped on the scene in ’94, but there certainly was and it was fantastic. You look at shows like Spring Stampede ’94 and think what could have been for WCW had it not turned into Hogan’s playground. Nevertheless, there isn’t a bad match on the card and the crowd is unbelievably hot for the whole night. Thumbs WAY up for Spring Stampede 1994.

And now for a special bonus match…

• Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat – (Saturday Night 5/14/94) – Match for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Title
  

From a Steamboat/Flair comp tape I bought on eBay about 6-7 years ago. Yeah, it is quite awesome. The winner faces a secret member of Col. Robert Parker’s Stud Stable at Slamboree. Not because he has an actual contender in his stable, but because he has a briefcase full of money that will seal the deal. Long feeling-out process just like at Spring Stampede. Flair works the leg while Steamboat looks to control the arm. Steamboat delivers a pair of press slams to change his gameplan over to the back for a second. Suplex from the outside in gets two. Now Steamboat grabs an armbar. Meanwhile, Col. Robert Parker takes a seat at ringside to watch the match. They slap each other around until Steamboat starts chopping faster and more often. Flair heads to the floor to break the momentum. Back in, Flair goes low and corners Steamboat for some closed fists and chops as we go to our first break. We return to see Steamboat being counted while down on the floor. Heenan brings us up to speed as to what happened during the break: Steamboat has been down on his knees begging and pleading for Flair to stay away from him. Got to love the resident broadcast journalist – the man is doing his job! Flair follows him out and chops him some more before throwing him back in the ring. Flair tries to keep Steamboat down in several pinfall attempts, but nothing doing. Flair with the hair pull and Steamboat continues to kip-up. Steamboat tries to counter with a ten-count corner chop, but Flair brings him out with an atomic drop. Flair gets in a wide open STIFF forearm shot and cheats like a mofo by putting his feet on the ropes for a whole bunch of nearfalls. Steamboat chops back, but whiffs on a dropkick. Flair falls back on a scoop slam for two. Flair goes to the eyes and Steamboat has to go to the floor. Nobody sells a thumb to the eye better than Steamboat. Back on the apron, Flair beats Steamboat to cause him to exert energy to keep his balance. Steamboat still manages to sunset flip in for 1-2-NO! Small package gets two, but he runs into a boot in the corner. Flair gets caught for a superplex for 1-2-NO! We’re fifteen minutes in and you’d never know it without looking at the time. A Steamboat splash hits knees. Flair tries to get the cheap win with his feet on the ropes, but Steamboat counters into a pin of his own for two. Flair connects with a back elbow and a Rolling Knee Drop off the middle-rope. You don’t see him do that very often. He grabs a sleeper on Steamboat. Steamboat’s arm drops once…twice…but not three times! Flair gets his head run into the top turnbuckle for the break. Steamboat chops Flair across the ring to set up the next commercial break. We come back to see Steamboat still chopping. Flair Flips out of the corner and onto the apron, but takes a double-chop to the floor. Steamboat gets caught coming off the top rope, but reverses a suplex on the concrete! Flair flips out of a suplex back in the ring and chops Steamboat down. He misses a knee drop and Steamboat goes to work on Flair’s knee – the most obvious strategy ever that nobody tries. Even Bobby Heenan agrees with me. Steamboat takes Flair to school and hooks on the Figure-Four! Flair sits up and Steamboat chops him down. Flair makes the ropes, but Steamboat stays on the leg. He goes for the Figure-Four again, but Flair kicks him off. Steamboat chops and Flair flops for 1-2-NO! Steamboat tries for the multiple pin attempts like Flair does, but it doesn’t work for him either. Another commercial break. Afterwards, Steamboat misses with a flying splash. Flair delivers a double-stomp and sells a double knee injury. Flair delivers a hourglass suplex and his knees are KILLING him. Of course, Steamboat’s not feeling too good here either. Slow cover for Flair gets two. Flair connects with the shinbreaker and applies the FIGURE-FOUR. Flair grabs the ropes to give him that extra something. He gets caught and has to break, but stays on Steamboat’s knee. However, Steamboat chops and hits an enziguri. Steamboat slams Flair off the top and heads to the corner for the ten-count corner chops. Another Flair Flip, but he ducks the double-chop. Steamboat still catches Flair coming off the top for 1-2-NO! Now Flair catches Steamboat off a charge and drops him throat-first on the top rope. Steamboat grabs a sleeper, but Flair counters with a back suplex. They look to do the backslide sequence, but Steamboat decides to deliver a TOP-ROPE SUPERPLEX instead! Slow cover by Steamboat gets two. Back suplex by Steamboat gets another two. Steamboat hits the Flying Judo Chop for 1-2-NO! Another Flying Judo Chop gets two. Steamboat hits a press slam and goes for the FLYING BODYPRESS, but the ref gets nailed as well as Flair. Hmm, where have I seen this before? Flair rolls up Steamboat for 1-2-NO! Small package by Steamboat for 1-2-NO! O’Connor Roll by Steamboat for 1-2-NO! Flair kicks Steamboat right in the face and rolls him up for two. Now Steamboat tries to leapfrog and his crotch goes directly in Flair’s shoulder. Flair capitalizes and covers for 1-2-3. (36:31) Flair regains the belt even though nobody really considers this as Flair’s twelfth world title win anymore like it was said to be at the time. The finish is interesting considering it’s a finish made famous by a Barry Windham/Steve Williams match at Starrcade ’87. Barry Windham would be Flair’s next opponent at Slamboree as the mystery opponent from Col. Parker’s Stud Stable. Another great match from these two, but a little more methodical and dull than their Spring Stampede match. I was actually kind of leery to give this four stars until the last couple minutes where it really picked up. There’s one last televised Steamboat/Flair match that I know of that will be at the end of my upcoming Bash at the Beach recap. When will that be posted? I have no idea. ****