Superbrawl 2/22/98 ... by Chris Hyatte
Rematch
Unless I am mistaken, last year's SuperBrawl main event was a rematch from last year's Starrcade between Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper. This year, the main event was another rematch from the last Starrcade, and Hulk Hogan was again involved in it. The only difference this year is Hogan's opponent. This time around, the honor of headlining the main event with Hogan went to Sting. Also on the card, the Outsiders continued their on again/off again war against the Steiner Brothers for the tag belts, Diamond Dallas Page put his US belt on the line against Chris Benoit. Held in San Francisco's Cow Palace, (again the same location as last year, if I remember correctly) things looked good for them to put on a great show. Whether a great show was actually put on remains to be seen.
- Opens with a not too bad video montage of Sting's ongoing battle against the evil of the NWO.
- The fireworks go off as Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan welcome us to the show.
FIRST MATCH
Booker T. vs Rick Martel (WCW World Televison Title Match. Winner must defend belt against Saturn later on that night).
Booker T seemed to have the crowd on his side as Martel came to the ring with an arrogant bounce to his step and a cocky smile. Booker slapped away Martel's extended hand before they locked up. Which upset Martel into attacking and the match got going.
Highlights & Lowlights
-Raven and his Flock took their ringside seats early in.
-This match was a throwback to the 80's style of wrestling. Mat wrestling, punches, clotheslines, and rest holds were on tap.
-It was mostly back and forth throughout, but Martel seemed to dominate the match slightly more.
-Martel put Booker in the "Quebec Crab", but Booker grabbed the ropes. The ref broke the hold even though Booker had to reach for the rope. This is an important point to remember for later on tonight.
-Booker slammed Martel with a modified powerbomb move. The ref didn't disqualify him for it, nor did the announcers mention it.
Martel went for a top rope Axe Handle, but Booker caught him with a big side boot/leg sweep in the chest. That was enough to get the win over Martel.
SECOND MATCH
Saturn vs Booker T. (WCW World Television Heavyweight Title Match)
Immediately after the ref called for the bell on the Martel/Booker T match, Saturn ran into the ring and put Booker in the "Rings of Saturn". The ref called for the bell again and the second half of tonight's television title two parter got under way.
Highlights & Lowlights
-Booker had to reach to grab the ropes and get out of the "Rings of Saturn". Again, that is important to note for later tonight.
-Midway through the match, Tenay announced that Martel had injured his knee during the last match. I did see Martel limp a bit, but that was early in the match.
-Saturn dominated most of the match. Schiavone and the rest played up the "Booker is exhausted and is fighting on fumes" angle quite a bit.
-Saturn was wearing cut off jeans tonight, revealing a brace around his knee.
-This match was much better than the previous one, even though Booker didn't really do much.
-Booker T. turned an attempted Saturn superplex into a top rope "Gourd Buster". It looked good.
-After that move, Booker stayed on the top rope and gave Saturn a beautiful missile dropkick.
-Saturn recalled his ECW roots by performing a flawless second rope Springboard Moonsault.
-After a volley of moves, Booker went to the "Harlem Hangover". Saturn got out of the way and Booker hit the mat.
After Saturn flipped Booker T over his head, he turned around to finish things off. Unfortunately for him, Booker landed on his feet and was ready for him. Another big side kick later and Booker won his second match of the night.
- Chris Jericho was getting interviewed on-line by Lee Marshall and Mark Madden.
THIRD MATCH
La Parka vs Disco Inferno
La Parka came to the ring wielding his obligatory chair. He drew some heat with that cute little strut that he likes to do. Disco Inferno paused before going to the ring and briefly boogied near the entrance way. In the ring, the ref prevented La Parka from attacking Disco with his chair. La Parka ended up throwing the chair at Disco and hitting him with it. That started the match off.
Highlights & Lowlights
-Early on, La Parka did his little dance to the crowd after a powerslam and a few rib kicks.
-Both men sold each other's moves well.
-When DINF was outside, La Parka jumped over the top rope and log rolled himself into Disco.
-With this as his first big solo match against an American name, La Parka did quite well for himself.
-Although Disco did pull off some mostly power moves, La Parka owned most of the match.
-With Disco Inferno standing up and bent over, La Parka wound up, then punted Disco's face with his foot. It sounded real good.
-After a nice Disco volley, including a beauty of a swinging neckbreaker, he shoved the ref away when he tried to pull Disco out of the corner. The ref was dazed long enough for La Parka to grab his chair.
-He set the chair up in the middle of the ring and threw Disco's face into it. Then he sat Disco Inferno on on the chair and mounted the top rope. Disco caught him on time and he mounted the top rope as well to try to superplex La Parka into the chair. The superplex wasn't applied, but La Parka did end up flying face first into the chair. The whole sequence was slow and awkward. It really looked bad.
Bad or not, the sequence opened the door for Disco Inferno to get the "Chartbuster" on La Parka and secure the win.
- Gene Okerlund talked to JJ Dillon. JJ told us that Nick Patrick has been re-instated as a WCW Referee. Patrick came out and was thrilled at the news. He started to promise that he would call the Hogan/Sting match for later that night as fair as humanly possible. Dillon told Patrick that he was not going to referee tonight's main event, then walked off. Patrick griped about that for a few seconds, than walked away complaining about "back pay".
FOURTH MATCH
Brad Armstrong vs Bill Goldberg
This was billed as a "just added" attraction. Presumably just to get Goldberg to wake up the so far less than ecstatic crowd. The crowd certainly woke up a bit, but it didn't reach the level of excitement that other crowds have when Goldberg hits the ring.
Highlights & Lowlights
-Bobby Heenan said that Goldberg was the only man that would tempt him to return to managing. (note: Don't take that as a hint. It came off more as just Goldberg hype).
Goldberg had Armstrong in a Gorilla Slam, then dropped him to his shoulder and turned it into a powerslam. After that, the "Jackhammer" (which he applied almost one armed) finished Armstrong off. The whole match lasted about three minutes.
FIFTH MATCH
Juventud Guerrera vs Chris Jericho (WCW Cruiser weight Title vs Guerrera's mask match)
Guerrera came to the ring quickly enough. Jericho stopped to grab a sign from a fan that read, "I'M A JERICHOLIC". He tore it up and screamed at the fan not to patronize him. The ref rang the bell and the match got under way. Jericho refused to take his Cruiser weight belt off for the first few minutes of the match, but a spin kick to the gut by Guerrera changed his mind for him.
Highlights & Lowlights
-The fastest paced match of the night. It was also the second best.
-Guerrera performed a top rope Hurricarana on Jericho that sent both men outside the ring. Guerrera landed on the ring apron back first, which had to hurt.
-Jericho tried to get counted out by playing dead on the ring floor. He kept lifting his head and looking around. Guerrera stopped it with an elbow drop.
-With Guerrera outside the ring, Jericho used the ring steps to help launch himself into him. Guerrera got out of the way and threw Jericho into the railing.
-A Guerrera springboard dive was caught by Jericho and turned into a Tombstone Piledriver.
-Jericho tried a cocky pin by putting one boot on Guerrera and posing in a Crab as the ref counted. Juventud kicked out.
-Guerrera dropkicked Jericho as he was mounting the top rope. Jericho flipped head over heels onto the ring floor.
-Guerrera flew and hit Jericho with a nice Springboard Plancha on the outside.
-In a nice twist on things, Guerrera hit Jericho with a modified "Michinoku Driver", then hit the 450 Splash. The Ref counted to three and the bell rang. Unfortunately for Guerrera, the ref spied Jericho clinging to the ropes and demanded that the match go on. What was notable was that the bell rang before the ref could call for it.
-What really made it a nice twist was that the match continued for some time after that false ending.
-Jericho went for a powerbomb, but Guerrera reversed it into a real slick DDT.
-Guerrera turned an attempted "Lion Tamer" into a roll up.
Jericho did manage to get the "Lion Tamer" on Juventud and score the win. After the match, Jericho grabbed the mic and told the crowd to get ready to see Guerrera's ugly face. After telling the camera that he loved his father, Guererra took off his mask (with some help from Jericho). He has quite a baby face going on. He alternated between showing it to the crowd and hiding it in his hair. He looked PISSED at this angle.
- Chris Benoit talked to Lee Marshall and Mark Madden online.
SIXTH MATCH
Steve "Mongo" McMichael vs the British Bulldog.
Mongo came to the ring without problems. The Bulldog came out to his old WWF British national Anthem theme and was wearing his Union Jack Flag cloak with the letters WCW sewed in it. The match got going right away.
Highlights & Lowlights
-The Bulldog can wrestle great matches against the right opponents, (Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels). Against someone like Mongo though...
-Early on, the Bulldog had the Sharpshooter on Mongo. Mongo had to crawl over and reach for the ropes to break the hold. This is noteworthy for something that happens later.
-As they were outside, Mongo set Davey Boy up against the post for a big forearm shot. The Bulldog ducked and Mongo clubbed the post hard. It sounded ugly.
It was unclear if Mongo hurt his arm or his wrist, either way, the ref stopped the match after the Bulldog had him in an armlock submission move. Mongo was screaming louder than I have ever heard him. The Bulldog won the match, but Mongo screamed at the ref that he never gave up, then he shoved him down.
- Mean Gene promises news of whether a WCW star has reached the end of his career. The name "Alex Wright" was the first to cross my mind.
SEVENTH MATCH
Chris Benoit vs Diamond Dallas Page (WCW United States Heavyweight Title match)
With this being a battle of men who respected each other, there was no problems from the ring introductions to the lockup.
Highlights & Lowlights
-Page was still wearing his rib bands, colored black.
-Benoit out wrestled DDP early on. There was more than a few pauses between takedowns.
-At one point, Page went for a powerbomb, but turned it into a inverted backbreaker across the knee.
-Benoit responded by kicking Page several times in the ribs, then using a suplex move to lay Page out abdominals first into the top rope.
-Things heated up as Page was the first to start punching.
-I would say that this was Page's greatest pure wrestling match ever.
-Both men shined as no one held control for too long.
-Benoit made use of a variation of the "Cobra Clutch", which gave the men an extended couple of rest periods.
-Benoit put DDP in the "Crippler Crossface", but Page used his legs and reached into the ropes. Again, take note of this.
The match ended as Benoit was going for a Crucifix Backslide pin. Page flipped him head over feet and slapped Benoit in the "Diamond Cutter". Page took the pin and had the match of his life. A great match all around, especially since they wisely left Raven out of it.
- Tony announced that the Giant was supposed to be there tonight, but his plane was held up so he never arrived. Tony did say that the Giant will be on Nitro tomorrow night. I guess this explains the Goldberg add on match.
- video montage of the Giant/Nash affair.
EIGHTH MATCH
Randy Savage vs Lex Luger (No Disqualification Match).
Since Tony was playing up the fact that Luger and Savage were seen conspiring on Thunder, neither man came to the ring with incident. Savage even patiently waited as Luger came to the ring. Luger's ribs were heavily taped, and how the match turned out makes me think that he was really hurt.
Highlights & Lowlights
-None. This was the worst excuse for a No DQ match I have ever seen. The match stayed primarily in the ring and only a brief Elizabeth interference reminded us that this was a no dq affair.
In the end, the NWO ran in and were fended off by both Luger and Savage after only a few minutes of wrestling. Hogan ended up pulling the NWO away to let Savage suffer in the rack. Luger had to have been injured before the match in real life, because Savage is usually great in this type of match.
NINTH MATCH
The Outsiders vs The Steiners (WCW World Tag Team Title match).
Before the Steiners came to the ring, Hall did his NWO vs WCW survey. I would have to give the night to the NWO. Rick Steiner started the match for the Steiners.
Highlights & Lowlights
-After disposing of Hall and Nash, Ricky got on his hands and knees. Scotty came to stand on top of him in that move they do.
While straddling his brother, Scotty winked at Nash, then attacked his brother. He gave him the double underhook bodyslam, then punched out DiBiase. He flashed the Cliq sign to Hall and Nash, then allowed Hall to regain the belts after hitting Ricky with the "Outsider Edge". It took Hall two tries to lift Ricky up, and let out a gasp after the first attempt. Although it set things up for a pretty cool brother vs brother angle, the match was a joke. Nash basically had the night off.
- promo for the next WCW PPV called "Uncensored".
TENTH MATCH
"Hollywood" Hulk Hogan vs Sting (Winner wins the WCW World heavyweight Championship)
Michael Buffer told us to get ready to rumble. There was a firework display that proceeded Hogan's entrance. Sting came out and charged to the ring. He was met by Hogan, who started to whip him with his weight belt.
Highlights & Lowlights
-Much like their last match, Hogan dominated much of it.
-As I have said before, Hogan does excel at trash talking his opponents almost nonstop throughout the match.
-At one point, Hogan shoved Sting into the railing, and almost into a security cop. The cop was chuckling.
-In a real blast from the past (which is not a good thing), Hogan made use of the old "Knuckle Lock", complete with laying Sting's fingers on the mat and jumping on them.
-Hogan went through his repeated elbowdrop technique, then turned his back to pose to the crowd. Sting got right up from that and attacked Hogan.
-Sting took off Hogan's weight belt and whipped Hogan with it, returning the favor.
-Sting threw Hogan into the seats, which is something you don't see very much in a Hogan match.
-Hogan regained control and started to put his weight belt back on. He fought Sting off one handed as he was having a little problem getting it back on.
-Sting put Hogan in the Scorpion Deathlock. Hogan reached for the ropes to break the hold. The ref INSISTED that HOGAN LET GO OF THE ROPES. He even kicked Hogan's hands off the ropes. Sting broke the hold, but I was totally confused as too what the rules are here in WCW.
-The ref got knocked out, and Nick Patrick showed up to cover for him. He covered the match straight up and even pulled Hogan off Sting by his hair, much to Hogan's shock.
-In a funny twist of fate. It was Sting who "Hulked Out" and used Hogan's blows to revive himself. He ended up pounding his chest and screaming.
-After a Stinger Splash, Sting went for his "Scorpion Death Drop". Hogan kicked Patrick in the face as he went down.
The NWO charged the ring, but Sting fought them off. Savage snuck in and hit Hogan with something, then put that object under Hogan's prone body. The NWO were chased away and Sting pinned Hogan. He found the object, a can of spray paint, and sprayed "WCW" on Hogan's torso after JJ Dillon gave him the world belt. As we watch Sting walk to the locker room, I saw a fan run into the ring in the background. The CAMERAMAN grabbed him and held him until the security guards got there. Kudos go to the cameraman, because he kept his camera on his shoulder while holding the fan.
Ten matches tonight, and only two of them were really good. The Cruiser weight Title match was fantastic and the DDP/Benoit match was nothing short of phenomenal. The Booker T/Saturn match, the La Parka/Disco Inferno match, as well as the Heavyweight title match were all good, but everything else bordered from boring to sucky. The Luger match was excusable, so long as Lex is really hurt, but their is no excuse for the tag team title match. Having Scott Steiner turn heel is a good move. Having him turn heel before a match can really get going is a rip off. The WWF wins this month's PPV face off, not as many matches, but more quality matches all around.
This is Hyatte