WCW Spring Stampede 1997

WCW Spring Stampede 97' - April 1997

Tupelo, Mississippi

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan is the WCW World Champion, Dean Malenko holds the United States Champion, the Television Champion is Prince Iaukea, the Cruiserweight Champion is Syxx, and the Outsiders hold the WCW World Tag Team Championships. Akira Hokuto is the long-reigning Women's Champion, defending the title for the first time in several months at this show.

COMMENTATORS: Dusty Rhodes, Tony Schiavone, and Bobby Heenan

At the very top of the broadcast, Tony Schiavone explains that Scott Hall is absent, but that Kevin Nash will still need to defend the WCW World Tag Team Championships against the Steiner Brothers. 

In the ring, our opening contest features Ultimo Dragon taking on Rey Mysterio Jr. These two start things off with some technical wrestling while Heenan mentions the rumor that Mysterio was dating Jennifer Aniston at the time. In his book, Mysterio wrote that he's not sure where the rumor started but that it has no truth to it. Anyway, Dragon takes Mysterio out with a series of kicks that dazzle the audience, following it up with a unique head scissors and then an arm bar not dissimilar than the ones Alberto Del Rio locks in nowadays. From here, Dragon hits him with an awesome spinning crucifix drop and then a ridiculous powerbomb into a reverse powerbomb into the ropes, obviously aiming to wow the crowd and steal the show with his offense. The crowd remains firmly behind Mysterio as Dragon plants him with a devastating Running Liger Bomb and a tombstone piledriver. At this point, Dragon arrogantly doesn't take what should be a guaranteed three count, allowing Mysterio to get his bearings and bounce back with a heel kick from the ropes. Dragon cuts him off, though, hitting him with some seriously stiff kicks to the back and then a front suplex before locking in a deathlock/chinlock combo. Mysterio ends up on the outside after a surfboard, but buys some time by whipping Dragon into the guardrail. When Rey is able to lock in a sleeper, the crowd goes insane, finally getting to see the hero get some solid offense in. Rey then hits a somersault cannonball onto Dragon on the outside, but the match is interrupted (at least for the TV audience) by Lee Marshall getting a door slam in his faced by Syxx. When we come back, Mysterio hits a guillotine leg drop from the top, but can't follow it up with the necessary offense to stay in control, ending up back on the arena floor when Dragon dropkicks him off the top rope. Mysterio gets a second wind and attempts a moonsault from the 2nd rope, but Dragon blocks it with a dropkick. Dragon exhausts himself, though, by lifting Mysterio into an airplane spin, tiring himself and nearly costing himself the match when Rey hits his classic victory roll. Dragon hits an enziguiri but can't put Rey away, connecting with a frankensteiner on the top but unable to get the win because Rey puts his foot on the ropes. There's a tremendous series of reversals and nearfalls culminating in Mysterio locking in a victory roll with help from the middle rope. While I felt like the first half of the match was a bit too one-sided (I've seen it called an "Ultimo Dragon Masturbation Session"), once things got going and Mysterio got some offense in, this one was an absolute treat to watch and an excellent, fast-paced way to kick off the show. (3.5/5)

Backstage, the Steiners are trying their best to get into Nash's lockerroom and Scott Steiner ends up getting maced and handcuffed for his efforts.

Akira Hokuto defends her WCW Women's Championship against Madusa next. A loud "USA" chant erupts before they even lock up as Akira takes control, tossing Madusa across the ring by her hair. Madusa is able to get some good shots in, though, connecting with some jabs before Hokuto ends up on top of her with a choke. Hokuto shows off some impressive strength by lifting Madusa with a chokeslam and then a bodyslam, but Madusa won't stay down for even a 1 count. Madusa draws huge cheers by taking off her outer vest and then hitting her opponent with a handstand head scissors take down in the corner. Minutes later, Madusa remains in control, hitting a big dropkick from the top and then nearly scoring the victory with a big german suplex. Distracted by Sonny Onoo on the outside, though, Akira is able to get the upperhand while Luna Vachon shows up and helps the heels snag a victory. Nothing much to see here, but this one didn't overstay its welcome and actually does give some credibility to the title by having three performers each vying for it. (2/5)

Steven Regal makes his way down the aisle to challenge Prince Iaukea for the WCW Television Title in one of his first pay-per-view contests in quite awhile. The lively crowd continues to add their voice to the mix, chanting "Regal Sucks" early on and drawing his attention away from the match at hand. Regal eventually gets serious, though, trading holds with Iaukea while Schiavone reports that Rick Steiner will have to face off against Kevin Nash one-on-one (as Scott Steiner has been arrested for attacking WCW security). The action in the ring is pretty repetitive until Iaukea connects with a crossbody. From here, Regal and Iaukea start cutting a solid pace and building a story of Iaukea trying to bring the fight to Regal, but His Lordship being just a bit too experienced to fall for anything the Prince tries. All the while, the commentary team talks about the nWo, which only makes the match seem more unimportant. A series of reversals leads to a hot finish, but this one ain't landing on anyone's Best Of (except maybe Iaukea's, I guess). A good post-match nudges this one well into average area, but not quite above it. (2.5/5)

Ric Flair joins "Mean" Gene to a huge ovation from the Tupelo crowd. Flair talks about his upcoming return to the ring and sells the hell out of the next big show, Slamboree, coming from Charlotte, North Carolina on May 18th. 

Public Enemy take on Mongo McMichael and Jeff Jarrett next. In the right settings and situations, I can enjoy all four of these guys - but a straight-up tag team wrestling match? It will take some hard work and inventive storytelling to hook me. Standard tag fare in the opening minutes before Jarrett takes a breather and cleverly takes a full 9 count before getting back into the ring and setting up Mongo to take control of Rocco Rock. Mongo hits a respectable tilt-a-whirl slam, while Jarrett and Grunge brawl on the outside. A street fight ensues as Mongo and Rock make their way to the stage area, where there are a variety of Old West set pieces. Grunge sets up Jarrett on the table and attempts an elbow drop, but Jarrett rolls away and Grunge ends up eating the floor. Jarrett goes for a crossbody back in the ring, but only gets a 2 count. After a few minutes of dominance, Mongo gets clothesline out of the ring and Jarrett comes in on the blind tag, dropkicking both opponents and revving up the crowd a bit. Jarrrett locks in a figure four but Rocco Rock comes flying from the second turnbuckle with the Halliburton brief case, allowing Grunge to make the cover. This one could've been way worse. (2/5)

"Mean" Gene is backstage with Harlem Heat and Sister Sherri. Okerlund explains how tonight's main event is a huge opportunity for Stevie Ray and Booker T as the winner of the 4 Corners Match will be granted a World Heavyweight Championship shot. This is, by the way, the classic promo where Booker T calls Hogan the N-Word and Sister Sherri nearly breaks character with laughter. Gene, ever the professional, doesn't seem to catch the slip, but Booker definitely realizes his mistake instantly. Bonuus point for this infamous promo. (+1)

Chris Benoit and Woman make their way down the aisle to challenge Dean Malenko for his United States Championship. Benoit and Malenko test eachother a bit to start things off before taking the match to the mat, with Malenko locking in an ankle lock and Benoit attempting to counter it rather than take a rope break. Like their Road Wild match months earlier, the crowd is not necessarily amped for this, but the technical wrestling, agility, and suprising strength on display are impressive. Malenko and Benoit don't rush a single submission sequence, spiking the match with small moments of intense action (a Malenko suplex, a stiff chest chop out of Benoit, the Crippler using his considerable strength to power out of a Malenko arm submission). Benoit hits an excellent release snap suplex a few minutes later, but the crowd doesn't really get loud until Jacqueline shows up and goes after Woman. In the ring, Benoit hits a ridiculous flying headbutt from the top while Jimmy Hart grabs the US Championship. Eddie Guerrero (with his arm in a sling) stops Hart from taking it backstage, bringing him back ringside. A split second later we get a huge suplex from the apron out of the ring, but the referee is more focused on the women brawling outside the ring to count anyone out. This also allows for Arn Anderson to show up to try to help his fellow Horsemen, which only draws out Kevin Sullivan (kendo stick in hand). For some reason, Anderson steps aside to allow Kevin Sullivan to come back and nail Benoit on the skull with it. The referee finally calls this one a DQ, but Hart still has the US title. In the post-match, Hart, Sullivan, and Jacqueline carry Guerrero off, trying to place the stolen title on his shoulder. Back in the ring, Dean Malenko wakes up Benoit and the two exchange knowing looks and have a quick word about an unnamed individual (Sullivan? Guerrero?? Arn???). A bit of a puzzling contest that I'm not in a rush to rewatch, but does make me very curious about how this whole angle played out. (3/5)

Kevin Nash arrives with Syxx, Ted Dibiase, and referee Nick Patrick for his WCW World Tag Team Championship defense against Rick Steiner. Rick barely gets Nash up for a belly-to-belly, but Big Sexy doesn't seem to help him out much for it, going up much lighter for Steiner's follow-up off-the-ropes suplex. Nash is able to take the upperhand, though, when Syxx pulls the top rope to bring Steiner to the arena floor and throws in some stomps to the Dog Faced Gremlin for good measure. Nash hits a big sidewalk slam, but only gets a 2 on it before Dibiase gets in his own extra shot. After a big boot, Nash hits an impressive Jacknife Powerbomb, but somehow Rick Steiner kicks out, a bit of a surprise considering how protected that finisher was (or at least should've been). Nash goes for a second one, but Steiner hits him with a low blow that, for some reason, Nick Patrick doesn't disqualify him for. Steinner pops the crowd with his bulldog from the top, but Nick Patrick makes a slow count. Steiner knocks the pesky Syxx off the apron and ends up eating a back elbow from Nash for his efforts. Meanwhile, Syxx struggles for minutes to take the turnbuckle off the corner in clear sight of Nick Patrick. Nash then drops him face first on the corner not once but twice in what should be the match's finish. In an interesting twist, though, Dibiase gets on the apron and tries to prevent Nash from dropping him a third time to no avail, leading to Dibiase walking out on his team as Steiner gets dropped onto the exposed steel for a fourth time. A second Jacknife Powerbomb later and Patrick, reluctantly, makes the count. Like the last match, this one ends raising more question marks than it answers, but as a segment, it is nicely done and keeps heat on Syxx and Nash, which is actually impressive when you consider how likeable Nash was. If you're looking for a wrestling match, look elsewhere...but as a segment, I found it to be a perfectly acceptable angle. (2.5/5)

Next up is the night's high-stakes four corners match pitting Lex Luger vs. The Giant vs. Booker T vs. Stevie Ray with the winner coming out as the number one contender for Hulk Hogan's WCW World Championship. Coming into this one I had fairly low expectations as Stevie Ray is easily one of my least favorite in-ring performers, plus, with the rules as they are, this is more like a standard tag match than a wild multi-man full of inventive sequences. Fortunately, Booker T has his work boots on and Luger's overness really boosts a mediocre match fully into "average at least" range. With no lagging restholds to be seen and even a handful of pretty cool moments (Booker T showing incredible agility by hitting The Giant with a scissor kick, the crowd losing their minds when the Harlem Heat members have to come to blows, and even "feel good" finish), this one exceeded my expectations and kept my interest from bell to bell. (2.5/5)

A promo for Slamboree plays featuring WCW's announcers.

Main event time - Randy Savage vs. Diamond Dallas Page. Before the match we get Savage and Liz walking around backstage, the Macho Man spouting off some incredible one-liners and looking very confident as he makes his way to the ring. Backstage, DDP and then-wife Kimberly share their thoughts with "Mean" Gene before making their entrance. The crowd is hyped for this too as Savage gets in a few more lines on the mic. Page goes after DDP with all sorts of fury, this match being a straight-up brawl from the first ring of the bell. Compared to Hogan, Savage is a god here, looking cowardly and tough at the same time. Both Liz and Kimberly come into play and we get a number of quality moments, including Savage landing an absolutely devastating elbow drop towards the end. Commentators are on point as well, doing a nice job of building up Page as an undying face that may be in his over his head against the considerably more seasoned Macho Man. Frustrated with his inability to put this one to bed, Savage takes out the referee with a piledriver and then continues his assault. This causes Nick Patrick to make his way down to the ring, an intriguing twist when you consider his actions earlier in the night. DDP miraculously hits the Diamond Cutter, a finish that is so well protected at this point that it is really glaring just how poorly the WWE has been handling their talent's finishers in 2016. Once again, the show ends with an absolutely awesome post-match, maybe my favorite since the prior year's revolutionary Bash At the Beach. I can not understand how this match, with all its bells-and-whistles and its straight-forward but visceral brawling only earned 3-and-a-quarter stars from Meltzer. Watching this back, as one piece that includes the pre-match promos and the post-match angle, I have no problem calling this a near-perfect presentation of a red hot feud. Highly, highly recommended. This is how you progress a storyline, keep both the winner and loser of the match looking great, and deliver a main event level match without needing to rely on  big title fight. (4.5/5)



With a "watchability score" of 2.9-out-of-5, Spring Stampede 97' is not as good an overall show as UnCensored 97' or SuperBrawl VIII, but its peak matches/moments (the main event, the Nash/Steiner match) is tremendous, captivating storytelling executed by characters that the fans are actually interested in. Writing this a few days removed from WWE's Fastlane show, I am even more impressed by the show.


FINAL RATING - Watch It All...with Remote in Hand