WCW SuperBrawl II

RATING LEVELS:

Curt Hennig Level – A “GOAT” show, from top to bottom

Watch It All – A consistently good show worth watching in its entirety

Watch It…With Remote in Hand – 2-3 great matches, but lots of filler

1 Match Show – All filler, one thriller

Dudleyville – Zero redeeming qualities

SUPERBRAWL II: February, 1992

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

CHAMPIONSHIP BACKGROUNDS: “The Total Package” Lex Luger is the reigning WCW World Champion at this time, “Stunning” Steve Austin is the TV Champion, “Ravishing” Rick Rude holds the United States Championship, and Jushin Thunder Liger is the current Light-Heavyweight Champion. The WCW World Tag Team Champions going into this show are Bobby Eaton and Arn Anderson. Meanwhile, The Taylor Made Man and Greg “The Hammer” Valentine hold the United States Tag Team Championships (having won the titles on a taped TV show that aired earlier that same day).

COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura 

In the opening bout, Jushin Thunder Liger defends the Light-Heavyweight Championship against Flyin’ Brian Pillman. Over the years, this match has taken on a tremendous reputation as being a groundbreaking match in the US and there is no doubt it is worth seeing for fans of cruiserweight/juniors action. There’s plenty to talk about but so much has already been written so I’ll keep things short. The commentary is a bit lacking, if you ask me, as Ross and Ventura makes some bad calls (referring to a somersault as a moonsault and Ventura calling the bout one of the best “high flying” matches ever when a majority of the contest to that point is spent on the mat). Fortunately, both men’s enthusiasm for the match shines through whatever errors they made. Also, the crowd being split is weird, especially when Pillman is ostensibly supposed to be the patriot baby face. In terms of the action itself, there might be an overreliance on both guys attempting the same move at the same time and it is upsetting to see Pillman stop selling an injured knee when it seems like that story could’ve really been used throughout the but. Those criticisms aside, though, there are some great stretches in here – including some classic Pillman crossbodies, several well-executed nearfalls, and Liger displaying a really impressive arsenal of offense. There is a reason why this match is so well-regarded – it is fast-paced, full of cool spots, and the crowd is engaged the whole way through. (4/5)

Marcus Alexander Bagwell vs. The Taylor Made Man is our next bout. Prior to the match, Taylor explains that he is seeking revenge for Bagwell turning down his offer to be his mentor. Man, Terry Taylor really had some terrible gimmicks in his career, didn’t he? The dude was damn crisp in the ring, though. His heel work here is just great, a mix of cheap shots and well-executed maneuvers, including a gut wrench powerbomb and sit-out jawbreaker. Bagwell is obviously being led through this one, but aside from an awkward move here or there, he’s not too terrible. At certain points, despite clearly working as the villain, it almost seems like the fans want to see the dastardly Taylor, the more impressive worker, get the win, which just shows how much Bagwell had left to learn about pulling in crowd support. (3/5)

Our next contest is Cactus Jack vs. Ron Simmons. This is the best match between these two that I saw from this time period. Though Jack would get injured later on, they basically feuded for the majority of 92’ in some form or fashion. Junkyard Dog makes his WCW debut towards the end when Abdullah the Butcher comes down, but don’t just fast forward to see the huge pop and JYD chant after the match, this whole match is quite solid. Jack takes some nasty trademark bumps as Simmons shows off the offense and fire that explains why he was later made WCW World Champion. Almost as good as the opener, which is high praise when you consider how often that bout is rated as an all-time classic. (3.5/5)

Cooling things off is our next match – Vinnie Vegas and Ricky Morton vs. “Z-Man” Tom Zenk and Van Hammer. Hammer is pretty over and, though I really came into this match expecting it to be a total bore, it is a surprisingly solid affair. The audience is heavily into it, doing the “We Will Rock You” stomp throughout and responding to Vegas’ offense. As a matter of fact, while Zenk and Morton have a good exchange in the first half of the match, Hammer and Vegas somehow outshine the veterans. Watching Morton work heel is always interesting too. Unfortunately, by not changing his ring attire or haircut, there was really no chance he’d ever be viewed as his own man separate from the Rock n’ Roll Express. (3/5)

A grudge match between Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes and Television Champion Steve Austin and Larry Zybykyso is our next bout. At Halloween Havoc 91', Zybykso put Barry Windham out of action, while Dustin Rhodes and Steve Austin had all sorts of matches throughout their WCW career. As could be expected, this is a sound match, with both faces ending up in peril at different points and plenty of strategic rulebreaking by the heels sprinkled throughout. Dustin was a great salesman at this point and while Austin had not yet put all the pieces together, there are small glimpses of future greatness. For examples, his clotheslines are devastating. The veterans get bigger reactions, no doubt, but that is partially because of how over Windham was and how good Zybykso was at getting heat with just facial expressions and mannerisms. Some would call this the match of the night and, while I won’t go that far, it is definitely better than average. (3.5/5)

The WCW Tag Team Championship match is next with The Steiners challenging reigning champs “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton and Arn Anderson. I really wanted to love this match and, to be sure, there is lots to enjoy here. The heels bounce like crazy for the first half and the Steiners show off their impressive arsenal of suplexes and double-team maneuvers. Unfortunately, there are also some noticeable missteps, including a not-so-hot Rocket Launcher from the Dangerous Alliance tandem and an “It Would’ve Been Awesome” moment where Eaton comes off the top with a crossbody and Rick Steiner is meant to catch him from atop Anderson’s shoulders, but doesn’t quite do so. Plus, and this may be worst hiccup, the salt-throwing finish comes off a little lackluster when most of the powder ends up on the mat before Anderson can even toss it, making it difficult to buy into the idea that Steiner has been sufficiently “blinded.” I'd still say this match is about as close to a 4 as you can get without actually being one as, despite its shortcomings, the crowd is absolutely loving it and the finish is certainly riveting, if not perfectly executed. (3.5/5)

The next match is for the US Championship and it is between challenger Ricky Steamboat and champion “Ravishing” Rick Rude. Early on, Steamboat applies lots of pressure to Rude’s arm and Rude sells it for the duration of the match. There is plenty of hard-hitting action throughout the contest, which isn’t back-and-forth as much as its logical and well-paced. Steamboat’s comebacks are a thing of beauty, while Rude’s cut-offs are performed equally well. The finish may be a bit upsetting, but when the rest of the match is so entertaining and you know that this feud isn’t over yet, it’s hard to complain. Obviously, their Beach Blast Ironman Match is often considered the best bout these two wrestled, but this match is just as "must see." Near-perfect, but not necessarily a GOAT contender. Highly recommended. (4.5/5)

The main event is next and as much as I, and the live audience, want this match to be an all-time classic, it never gets there. Lex Luger vs. Sting for the WCW World Championship starts out great, with Sting hitting a Stinger Splash early on and then attempting a Torture Rack, but, unfortunately, after planting these seeds early on, the finish doesn’t come “full circle.” Luger, by the way, looks jacked here, but as other writers have noted, this leads to him being blown up early on. While the pace definitely slows as the match wears on, I don’t mind that too much, especially with Sting’s selling and how much the crowd wants to see him overcome his former best friend’s onslaught. Sadly, this match is basically a whole bunch of missed opportunities that, had at least a few been taken advantage of, would’ve easily earned a rating of 4 or higher from me. For example, when Sting takes out Harley Race (Luger’s manager), it should be a HUGE dramatic moment, but because Race has not been involved in the match prior to this, it seems unnecessary. Similarly, at a certain point, Sting starts to put his boot into Luger’s face – the kind of move that Luger should be doing to Sting, not the other way around. Finally, there’s the closing sequence and post-match stuff, which doesn’t take advantage of either man’s more famous finishers OR give the audience the moment that I think would’ve made this a legendary encounter – namely Lex Luger shaking the hand of the new champion and leaving the company as a baby face, back on the same side has his best bud. As Luger would be out of the company quickly after, such a turn wouldn’t have hurt potential rematches down the line (and even if it would make Luger seem weak, who cares? He was headed to the WWF anyway). Such small changes to the match would’ve made this match an all-time great, arguably as good as the opener or the US Championship match. Instead, we’re left with a better-than-average match with a “big fight” feel that does not live up to what the fans anticipated or deserved. (3.5/5)

With an average match/segment score of 3.56-out-of-5, SuperBrawl II is a consistently good show with a no match sinking below average. Even the worst match on the card is a much-better-than-expected tag match, while the opener and the US Title match are excellent, high watermarks for the company. Had the main event been a touch better and the tag match not been hindered by some miscues, I could see this show earning an average rating all the way up to a 3.7, which would be an incredible score for any 8-match-or-more show to receive. As it is, those that claim SuperBrawl II is the best WCW pay-per-view of all time will not get much of an argument from me, si I’m going to go ahead and give it the rarest of rare ratings…

FINAL RATING – Curt Hennig Level