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[1993-04-17-WCW-Worldwide] Barry Windham vs Steven Regal


Loss

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  • 1 month later...

Wow. I have seen this before and really enjoyed it but this is even better than I remembered. This may be the best Windham match of 1993. I know I'd put it ahead of the more widely praised Scorpio match, which I also love. But this is grittier and more hard fought. It probably has less heat, but it has more intricate matwork that feels more like something you'd see on Japan TV at this point than WCW TV. Very stiff and these two complement each other really well. Regal also plays a great underdog babyface, which is a role I wouldn't have minded seeing him in more often. This feels more Watts than post-Watts because of the aggressive style. At first, I figured it was taped prior to Watts' departure because of the exposed concrete, until Ric Flair's name came up in the post-match promo, which means at the earliest, it had to have been right after SuperBrawl. But time period aside, I really like this as a potential new style wrestling could have taken on, and had Windham stayed healthy, he could have done some great things with guys like Austin and Benoit who were on the way up and wrestled a somewhat similar hard-fought style. Make it a point to see this if you haven't.

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Wow. I have seen this before and really enjoyed it but this is even better than I remembered. This may be the best Windham match of 1993.

I love Windham in 93 because he had this real presence as champion but his TV matches once he gets the belt (outside of this one, if I remember correctly) start to fall into a real formula. Which isn't bad but it does make them a little more slight than they could be.

 

I don't think it's my favorite Face Regal match in 93 though. That would be vs Barbarian from the TV title tournament, which is more of a novelty, I suppose, but it's a lot of fun.

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I remember watching this back in 93 and years later stating about how it may have been my fav Windham match of the year. It's the match that really made me keep an eye on Regal because after this it was obvious he had some strong wrestling skills that stood him out from the pack. I also loved the match Windham against Johnny B. Badd - Computer Challenge -- specifically the ending stretch and the ending.

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  • 4 months later...

This was pretty damn cool. Both guys working arms, and some fun mat work. Regal throwing some nasty European uppercuts was nice. Windham would take over but would give Regal some nice hope spots, and then cut him off. Just a good well worked bout. After watching Regal and Scorpio bouts. I would have liked to see Windham work Psicosis around 93.

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  • 2 years later...
  • 1 month later...

We get quick highlights of a Windham/Arn confrontation from Saturday Night, which I guess solidifies Arn's face turn on a national level.

 

What a stiff, hard-nosed struggle of a match--every move feels like it's earned and this is as gritty as hell. Bill Watts would have loved it. Both guys tear apart the other's arm and Windham has to resort to eye rakes and punches, and it feels like something he has to do to keep the title rather than something he has to do because he's the heel. As brilliant as he was as His Lordship, some more babyface Regal would have been nice to see. It would have been interesting to see Regal vs. Benoit at this point, for instance, or Regal vs. Austin or Rude. Regardless this is probably the #3 or 4 WCW MOTY to this point, on the level of the best early-year tag bouts and just behind Vader/Sting and Benoit/Scorpio.

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  • 2 months later...

Previously at PWO:

 

Barry Windham v Steven Regal - WCW Power Hour 04/24/93

Had this match happened on a WCW tour of Europe in front of a packed house with the crowd strongly behind Regal, this would probably be talked about as a US MOTYC for 1993. As it stands, it's a nice match, and still something I'd recommend for others to see. They really do a lot to get over the contrast in styles. Regal is really good for making it clear what his opponent is capable of doing on the mat, because he typically forces his opponent to work his style. That has advantages sometimes and disadvantages sometimes, but this works really well. A weaker version of the Windham/Scorpio match from the Clash, with Windham as the vet getting pushed to the limit by the younger Regal. There are some times when the match drags a little, but overall, it's a terrific effort, and it's fun to see Regal in a role you don't see him in that often.

 

 

I really liked the Windham/Regal match. When I 1st saw it my first thought went to was the Scorpio match. I even liked it a little more than the Scorpio match. It might be that I prefer Regal's style to Scorpio's style.

 

 

Err, it wouldn't be talked about as a US MOTYC if it happened in Europe, would it now? :)

 

 

 

Err, it wouldn't be talked about as a US MOTYC if it happened in Europe, would it now?

:)


No, probably not. :)


This is the match where Regal gets his leg stuck in the ropes, correct?
Whindam vs Regal is a sentimental favorite from my youth. I remember watching this and flipping to another channel at the same time to make sure I didn't miss what was going on with the other WCW program.

 

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  • 10 months later...

Windham working hammerlock and grinding his forearm into Regal's shoulder and tricep is great, and then bodyslams Regal onto the bad arm. Regal eventually turns the tables and goes after Windham's arm. Good, stiff fun here and Regal's selling is a nice and different look for WCW. As great the limb work was, I wish it was more a part of the entire match rather than just an isolated segment that didn't really go anywhere. This was really good for the time they had and left you wanting more.

 

***1/4

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  • 2 months later...

This was a great match and had a gritty feel that really shows itself. I know business was shit and we are getting to some Lost in Cleveland stuff coming up, but I have enjoyed WCW tons more so far in the first few months than I expected. This had mat work and rough strikes all around. Windham has been extremely versatile so far and seems poised to become the ace of the promotion which is sad as what would result really soon. Regal looks good for himself and actually timed the babyface stuff well to get the crowd behind him. ****

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  • 1 year later...

This was a showcase for both Windham and Regal, and a good one too. We got to see Barry as a mat wrestler and Regal as someone who does more than wrestle on the mat, which was a treat on both sides. I wouldn't have thought that Barry could hang with Regal in the hold department, but he did.

 

You can tell that they have plans for Regal by the way they set up his defeat, with his leg getting caught in the ropes leading to a knee injury. He needed to lose, of course, but they left him looking pretty strong in defeat. If he ever gets another shot at Barry and doesn't hurt his knee, who knows what may happen?

 

The Barry-Arn stuff at the start looked really good, and it's a shame that nothing ever really came of it. Being NWA champion wouldn't have meant much in WCW by now anyway, but it would have been a nice feather in Arn's cap like it is in Barry's at this point.

 

Tony and Jesse have cut the bullcrap, I'm glad to say, and they were at their best here. I liked Jesse's non-response to Tony's question about whether he would like to be a manager (I think he would have been good at it right after he retired, but by now it would almost be a step downward). I also liked Jesse telling Tony that he had to ask the tough questions, such as getting Barry to comment on Flair, then after Barry walked out on the postmatch interview upon hearing the Flair question, chiding Tony for riling Barry up and getting the interview cut off. Tony just gave a small smile and shrug to the camera as he and Jesse said goodbye, which added to the whole thing, and we closed with Jesse telling him, "You ain't exactly Mike Wallace". A few more months of stuff like that and they could well be the top broadcast team in the business, especially since Dave Brown has to carry Corey Maclin and JR and Heenan are saddled with an increasingly unlistenable Randy Savage.

 

I'm not sure what they hoped to accomplish with the whole Windham avoiding Flair thing. I almost wonder if they had an idea of Barry going back to the Horsemen at some point, so they didn't really want to commit to a Flair-Windham feud. It seems a bit strange for the NWA World champion to be a part of a group he wouldn't lead, but they could have used that as a springboard for a feud a few months down the road, with Barry as champion being outraged that he's still playing second fiddle to Flair, who's not a champion of any kind. I just have a hard time believing that Paul Roma was the best they could do to complete the group once Tully backed out. (Actually, they could have used two new members, since Ole counted to get the group to four even though he didn't wrestle.)

 

Would someone be willing to go through some available results and see if Jesse's claim of never wrestling either Mulligan or Barry holds up? I could see him missing Mulligan, but he and Barry had to be in the ring together at some point for Vince in 1985, even if it was just in a battle royal.

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Okay, I looked it up myself.Jesse and Mulligan were in the same ring twice, according to Wrestlingdata.com:

 

On May 4, 1982, they were in a battle royal together on a WWF card In Portland, Maine. Cowboy Bob Orton was the eventual winner.

 

Then on February 12, 1984, on an AWA card in Salt Lake City, Jesse and Mr. Saito (The Far East-West Connection) fought to a no-contest with Mulligan and Baron Von Raschke.

 

As for him and Barry, they were in the same ring once. On June 6, 1985, Barry teamed with Mike Rotundo and George Steele to beat Jesse, the Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff at a WWF card in Youngstown, Ohio.

 

I'm certainly not implying that Jesse should have remembered any of these bouts; I'm just passing the information along for those who may be interested.

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  • 5 weeks later...

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Barry Windham vs Steve Regal - WCW Worldwide 4/17/93

 

Before he was Lord Steven, he was just Steve Regal a plucky British upstart with weird hair and fiery European Uppercut. One of my all-time favorite TV matches that tells the veteran heel champion vs plucky rookie babyface so well. Windham is so fucking smooth in this. He can make vicious look effortless. Regal is fired up as this is first big opportunity in America and he is prepared to make the most of it. Windham working the arm in the beginning is just great. He steps on the hand and stomps the arm. Nasty spot that I have seen so many times, never gets old and the way Windham did it is just great. Love Regal firing up right before the break. This is so energetic. Back from the break, Windham dodges an incoming Regal hits a nasty back elbows and then HURLS him across the ring. The ensuing Windham heat segment is a thing of beauty. They perfect mixture of suplexes and strikes. If Windham did not get injured and maintained this level of performance, he would have been US wrestler of the year throughout the mid-90s. Heel Windham vs Hogan would have been money. Windham gets frustrated because Regal keeps kicking out. They just start wailing on each other. Regal throws some really good lefts. He tags him on one to the jaw and Windham is rocked. They both go over the top rope on a crossbody, but Regal gets his leg caught and wrenched. Oh no! Windham takes advantage to hit his Elevated DDT to win the match. Classic story executed to perfect with tons of struggle and energy with a cool finish to boot. Windham was so damn good in this timeframe. ****

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  • 3 months later...
  • GSR changed the title to [1993-04-17-WCW-Worldwide] Barry Windham vs Steven Regal

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