WCW: Saturday Night
June 4, 1994
Atlanta, GA
Center Stage Theatre

The current WCW champs are as follows:
WCW World Champion: Ric Flair (12/27/1993)
WCW International World Champion: Sting (5/22/1994)
WCW U.S. Champion: Steve Austin (12/27/1993)
WCW World Tag Team Champions: Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan (5/22/1994)
WCW World Television Champion: Larry Zbyszko (5/28/1994)

It’s another random WCW Saturday Night!

Your hosts are Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan.

Gene Okerlund is here to hype the WCW Hotline and everybody who called in said they wanted to see HULK HOGAN return to wrestling to meet the WCW world champ Ric Flair. I mean, there were HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of calls confirming this! Heenan wants to see real numbers in black and white to find out if that’s true. He called 150 times in thirty minutes voting “no” because Hulk Hogan doesn’t belong in WCW. I can’t say I don’t agree. The WCW Commissioner Nick Bockwinkel stops by to announce the title unification match between Ric Flair and Sting for the Clash of the Champions on June 23.

As Bobby Heenan leaves to go investigate details on this title unification match, Schiavone and Okerlund tease us with footage of the Larry Zbyszko and Lord Steven Regal match over the WCW TV title from last week right BEFORE they ran out of time. Those darn Atlanta Braves games getting in the way of some wrestling. The Braves lost that night to the Chicago Cubs in a 9-2 decision as Kent Mercker suffered his first loss of the season. Anyways, that was to give you a taste of the action and they will show the finish later on in the show.

COMMERCIALS: Greyhound Bus ($68 or less!), Big Red gum, McDonald’s (World Cup 1994!), Butterfinger, Fleer ’94 Ultra Baseball Cards, Pert Plus for Kids, “Renaissance Man” starring Danny DeVito, “Jarts” by Nerf (is that when you shart in your jean shorts?), Hot Pockets (try Lean Pockets too!), and Remington Triple Foil.

We get the conclusion of Lord Steven Regal’s TV title defense against Larry Zbyszko. It goes back and forth as Regal slaps on the sleeperhold. Sir William hops up on the apron and Zbyszko kicks off of Sir William to fall on top of Regal for the pinfall victory. I really liked their feud.

Larry Zbyszko comes over to Gene Okerlund to talk about his win. If you had told him a year ago he’d be back in the ring, he would have thought you were nuts. Larry Z just couldn’t take the way Regal was talking about the American people and since he’s proven Americans are pretty darn cool, maybe Regal needs to talk about America with some respect.

COMMERCIALS: TBS “His and Hers Harley Sweepstakes”, “Speed” starring Keanu Reeves, Fleer ’94 Ultra Baseball Cards, SEGA Sports Packs, WCW Catalog (dude will never get laid), Castrol GTX, and Butterfinger.

Sensuous Sherri stops by to tell Gene Okerlund she’s found herself a man in WCW. This man has integrity, brains, and everything a woman could want in a professional relationship with another man. She’s not talking about romance, folks. Gene is dying to know, but she’s keeping it a secret until the Clash of the Champions show on June 23.

• Ricky Steamboat vs. Ron Oates

Oates starts out with a hiptoss and a dropkick, but Steamboat answers with a dropkick of his own. While Steamboat and Oates are running the ropes and doing their thing, a news ticker shows up at the bottom of the screen explaining that…

HULK HOGAN HAS SIGNED WITH WCW. THE FIVE-TIME WWF CHAMPION AGREES TO RETURN TO THE RING – THIS TIME WITH WCW – DUE TO OVERWHELMING RESPONSE RECEIVED ON THE WCW HOTLINE. MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW.

What a guy. Heenan is beside himself. He’s VERY upset. We get a new message…

WCW NEWS BULLETIN UPDATE… THE OFFICIAL PRESS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING HULK HOGAN SIGNING WITH WCW WILL BE BROADCAST LIVE NEXT WEEK ON WCW SATURDAY NIGHT ON TBS AT 6:05PM EASTERN.

Why not just have Tony announce this news? Is it for all the deaf people out there who don’t have closed captioning? Mark down the day of June 4, 1994 as the biggest day in WCW history. Heenan thinks they ought to have a big ticker tape parade for Hogan. Oh yeah, the match. Steamboat comes back on Oates and delivers the FLYING BODYPRESS for the win in 3:48.

Gene Okerlund feels the Hulk Hogan announcement is the best news he’s heard since coming to WCW when Ric Flair interrupts wanting to know why Okerlund thinks that. Ric Flair is the franchise around here and Hogan coming to WCW isn’t a big deal. What’s a big deal is the title unification match between Flair and Sting. Until Hogan has wrestled Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Ric Flair, and Sting, he’s just a guy walking into a tough place to hang out. Flair dares Hulk Hogan to show up at the Clash of the Champions on June 23.

COMMERCIALS: Twix, “Splash Out” (from Galoob!), “Biker Mice from Mars” toys, Wrigley’s Spearmint gum, Castrol GTX, Dodgers @ Braves tonight at 7:05PM EST, Wagner Power Painter, Pert Plus for Kids, Domino’s Pizza, and the TBS “His and Hers Harley Sweepstakes”.

Gene Okerlund talks with the WCW world tag champs Kevin Sullivan and Cactus Jack. Sullivan wants to know if Cactus Jack knows the difference between pain and pleasure and slaps Cactus across the face. Cactus feels Kevin just crossed the line and if Sullivan thinks he’s a sick mass of humanity, it’s because Sullivan made him that way. Cactus admits Sullivan taught him every thing he knows, but now it’s time for the teacher to listen to the student. If they want to stay WCW tag champs past the Clash of the Champions, Sullivan better get used to being his partner. Also, cut out the slaps, Kevin. Cactus doesn’t seem to like it. BANG BANG! As Sullivan and Cactus walk away, Okerlund has nothing left to say after that.

• The Nasty Boys vs. Larry Santo & Mike Winner

Tony announces that the Nasty Boys will be facing Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan for the WCW world tag titles at the Clash of the Champions on June 23. We get two more crawls hyping Hulk Hogan’s press conference announcement next week. Heenan doesn’t mind talking about the Nasty Boys or Cactus Jack or Kevin Sullivan, but no Hogan. The Nasties first run through Santo and then Winner. Santo gets a big tag, but he’s quickly destroyed. The audio sweetening on this show is so annoying. The running powerslam by Knobbs sets up the flying elbow by Sags for the win in 4:00.

COMMERCIALS: Dodgers @ Braves tonight at 7:05PM EST, Twix, SEGA Sports Packs,  Godzilla Double Feature on TNT’s MonsterVision (tonight at 8PM EST), Pert Plus for Kids, TBS Award Theater: Terms of Endearment (1983) starring Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson & Shirley MacLaine (Sunday at 10:35 AM EST), Domino’s Pizza, and the Atlanta Braves Clubhouse Collection Catalog.

Gene Okerlund hypes the WCW Hotline at 1-900-909-9900. It’s only $.99 a minute! After that, he throws to a video of The Man Who Represents Law & Order who has been visiting the Guardian Angels in New York City. He’ll soon be rejoining WCW as the Guardian Angel for a few months until that doesn’t get over because most people who watch WCW DON’T LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY.

COMMERCIALS: NBA Jam for SNES/Genesis/Game Gear, “The Shadow” starring Alec Baldwin, and the Super Soaker XP150.

• WCW U.S. Heavyweight Championship: Steve Austin (c) (w/Col. Robert Parker & Meng) vs. Marcus Bagwell

This is a brief limbo period between tag teams for Bagwell as Too Cold Scorpio is no longer part of WCW and he’s not yet regularly teaming with the Patriot as Stars N Stripes. As another sidenote, Meng debuted the previous week on WCW Saturday Night as Col. Robert Parker’s bodyguard, so he is a FRESH Bond villain type here. Onto the match, Tony can’t even get through the opening lock-up without mentioning Hulk Hogan signing with WCW. Austin makes Bagwell look solid selling a shoulderblock out of a side headlock. Another crawl explains that we’ll see Hulk Hogan’s press conference announcement next week. Bagwell works a side headlock and won’t let go. Tony explains Bagwell has a new tag team partner, but won’t mention his name. Crowd is chanting “KFC” at Col. Parker. Austin finally escapes the headlock, but Bagwell shrugs off an O’Connor roll and nails Austin with a crossbody block for two. Bagwell grabs an armbar as Austin gets to a corner. He kicks low at Bagwell and punches him in the head. The Hulk Hogan crawl appears AGAIN. Austin snapmares Bagwell and buries a knee in the back. Now he goes to the eyes while the crowd chants for “Marcus”. Heenan is so upset, he can’t get himself to talk about this great WCW U.S. champion. Tony announces that the winner of this match faces Johnny B. Badd at the Clash of the Champions. Bagwell is able to elbow out of a chinlock, but Austin stops a sunset flip and knee drops him off the ropes. Man, Austin is so good. Bagwell manages to stop the Hollywood & Vine leg submission and slugs away on Austin. He lands a back elbow, slams Austin, and delivers a running splash for 1-2-NO! Bagwell whips Austin in the corner and dropkicks him down. He heads up top, but Austin avoids a missile dropkick and rolls up Bagwell with a handful of tights for the win. (10:22) Being that I’m watching 1998 “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, sometimes you can forget what a great worker “Stunning” Steve was. Not a great match where you really felt Austin was in trouble, but he managed to make young Bagwell look pretty decent here. **

Bobby Heenan puts down his headset and walks out on the program.

Over to Gene Okerlund to wrap up the show, he’s surrounded by Steve Austin, Col. Robert Parker, and MENG. Parker likes being called the greatest promoter who ever lived. Austin is pissed he’s not getting shots at the WCW world title since he’s number one contender. He thinks that Ric Flair is ducking him. As for Johnny B. Badd at the Clash, Austin puts him over as a guy who has worked hard to get to where he’s at. Badd can come mow his lawn or wash his car, but he can forget about winning the U.S. title. As we end this week’s program, Austin makes sure to let everybody know he’s the hottest thing in wrestling today. Meng is awfully quiet if you can imagine.

NEXT SATURDAY, 6:05 PM EST – HULK HOGAN LIVE FROM DISNEY/MGM STUDIOS.

Until next time, so long for now.

Thursday, June 23 LIVE from Charleston, SC at 8:05 PM EST on TBS!
MAIN EVENT TITLE UNIFICATION MATCH
WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair vs. WCW International World Champion Sting
WCW U.S. Heavyweight Championship: Steve Austin (c) vs. Johnny B. Badd
WCW World Tag Team Championship: Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan (c) vs. The Nasty Boys