WWE Vintage Collection Report: April 29th 2012
By Shaun Best-Rajah.com Reporter
Hosted by: Mean Gene Okerlund
To conclude our Spring Stampede retrospective, we take a look back at some of the PPV’s “most memorable championship matches.”
April 6th 1997: Women’s Title
Akira Hokuto w/Sonny Onoo vs Madusa
Hokuto had beaten Madusa for said title four months prior at Starrcade in a tournament final. We join this match in progress. Madusa hits three hair slams and a handstand hurracanrana out of the corner. Hokuto resorts to biting Madusa’s leg and distracting the referee, so that Onoo can cheapshot from the floor. Madusa ends up kicking Onoo away. Hokuto gets Madusa on her shoulders, but Madusa counters a samoan drop into a crucifix for two, then lands a pair of missile dropkicks. A bridging german suplex gets Madusa another two. Luna Vachon runs in to clip Madusa’s legs as she has Hokuto up for a powerbomb. Hokuto hooks the leg to pick up the cheap pin, before running away with Onoo. This title had a short shelf life in WCW and wasn’t defended much after this, if at all. Winner: AKIRA HOKUTO.
April 11th 1999: U.S Title Tournament Final
Booker T vs Scott Steiner
Booker was the reigning Television champion. Booker controls the early going, sending Steiner to the outside a couple of times. Both brawl on the floor briefly. Back inside, Booker ignores Steiner’s request for a timeout, as he slugs away and hits a couple of corner clotheslines. Booker mounts in the corner, so Steiner crotches him on the top rope and clotheslines to the floor. Steiner heads out to send Booker into the guardrail and jam a chair into his side.
Back from a break and Booker counters a suplex into a DDT. Booker hits a spinwheel kick and goes clothesline crazy. Steiner pulls the referee in the way and he gets bumped. Booker lands an axe kick and flapjack, but there’s no-one to count. Steiner hits the ropes to crotch Booker up top once more. A Frankensteiner brings Booker down. Steiner manhandles the comatose referee’s arms to count the 1-2-no Booker kicks out. Steiner pulls an object from his tights. As Booker lifts for a suplex, Steiner knocks him out with the object and gets the pin. The fact Booker already had the TV title sort of gave away the outcome of this match. Winner: SCOTT STEINER.
April 6th 1997: WCW Tag Team Titles
Kevin Nash w/Ted DiBiase & Syxx vs Rick Steiner
A singles match for the tag titles. And people wonder why WCW went out of business and where TNA get some of their ideas from. We have this match because Scott Hall was “missing in action” and Scott Steiner was maced and arrested earlier in the evening after he tried to get at the nWo. Nick Patrick is the “evil” referee to stick it further to Steiner. Nash attacks Rick in the corner with elbows. Rick comes back with a clothesline, belly-to-belly and powerslam. Syxx pulls down the top rope on Rick and cheap shots him on the floor. Inside, Nash resumes control with a sidewalk slam, before spiking Rick in the ropes, then planting him with a big boot. Rick kicks out of a jackknife powerbomb and gets a low blow in to prevent a second. A flying bulldog connects to wake up the crowd, but Nash kicks out. Rick hits a hat trick of clotheslines, then no-sells a Syxx spin kick and knocks him off the apron. Nash clotheslines Rick, then Syxx and DiBiase make a hash of removing the top turnbuckle pad. Patrick does nothing to stop them. Nash drops Steiner with two steel assisted snake eyes and DiBiase says that’s enough. Nash says he decides when it’s enough and gives Steiner two more, prompting DiBiase to walk out. A jackknife buries Rick even further and Patrick hesitantly counts the 1-2-3. Winner: KEVIN NASH.
April 16th 2000: (Vacant) World Heavyweight Title:
Jeff Jarrett vs Diamond Dallas Page w/Kimberly
Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff had just returned to WCW and basically pushed the reset button. Every title was vacated and it was essentially the “Millionaire’s Club” (veterans) versus the “New Blood,” made up of rising stars, or established talent that had been held down by previous regimes. We join the match in progress. Jarrett superplexes, waffles Page with two chair shots and works over his back. Page comes back with a sitout powerbomb as Eric Bischoff appears in the aisle. Page clotheslines Jarrett to the floor and the two brawl in the aisle and around ringside. Page ducks a ring bell shot. Jarrett rips out pages of DDP’s self-help book which he grabs from a ringside fan. Jarrett posts Page’s privates prompting Kimberly to pull him away by the hair. Jarrett goes to crotch Page once more, but eats a steel sandwich for his trouble. Page crotches Jarrett in the ringpost, before ol’ Double J manages to grab the ropes to prevent a Diamond Cutter.
After a break, Jarrett has a figure four cinched in, while Kimberly has possession of Jarrett’s guitar. Bischoff is also at ringside. Page makes it to the ropes and scores nearfalls from a couple of rollups. Jarrett hits a jawbreaker, then leaps from the second rope into a Rock Bottom. Page reverses a sleeper. Bischoff distracts referee Charles Robinson as Page hits the Diamond Cutter. DDP holds Jarrett as Kimberly enters with the guitar, takes her time to line up her shot and swerves absolutely no-one when she turns on her husband. Jarrett hits the stroke and wins his first world title. Winner: JEFF JARRETT. This being a Vince Russo show, even Stevie Wonder could see that ending happen. The New Blood angle was a rehash of the nWo and it’s no coincidence that the company went bust less than a year later.
Not much good wrestling this week, but lots of egotistical and asinine booking. Hopefully the WWE brass gives us a more Vintage show next week.
Any comments or discussion points drop me a line at shaunmb1@hotmail.com.
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