[1993-07-17-WWF-Superstars] Rick & Scott Steiner vs Money Inc.

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Long match for Superstars! This is some really nice tag team wrestling. It's the kind of match that's very good but not a huge standout in '93 that would be the talk of the town if it happened now because of the strong command of the basics. Even in WCW, it would have been a good TV match. In the WWF, it seems great. Rotunda and the Steiners always worked well together, and this is probably one of DiBiase's last really strong matches. The Dusty finish felt kinda tacked on, but what can you do?

[KB8]

Man, was Rotunda's drop-toe hold in this the best drop-toe hold in the history of forever or what? The seamless float over into an STF (that Scott scooted away from) was super slick. I really dug this as a whole, but I rewound the drop-toe hold spot a bunch of times.

[Kevin Ridge]

I didn't like it as much. Work was fine but a bit bland with IRS hogging so much time in the ring. Needed more DiBiase. They were overdoing the referee being distracted by Money Inc. as Steiners had pinfall. Hebner way too easily changes the decision of match to a disqualification. He must have realized how awful of a referee was. The quality of the tag team division hurting with the lack of depth. Scott hit a good looking Frankensteiner on DiBiase.

[PeteF3]

Holy crap, this is one of the most non-WWF matches seen in ages. There are TWO ad breaks, neither of which came with anyone outside or coming to or leaving the ring. There is some actual, honest-to-God matwork. It's one of the most energetic IRS performances ever--there's a lot of snap to his offense, he really works the chinlock like a motherfucker, and he even vaults into the ring at one point when tagged, just because. I also love how Money Inc. work this as total '70s NWA World Champion heels. Most of the heat in the early going is based simply on IRS going to the ropes or the outside to escape holds or break Scott's momentum. It pays off when he uses it to enzuigiri Scott, and then pays off again for the babyfaces when Scott drags IRS from the outside of the ring back in by his tie and busts out the Randy Savage "leap to the floor and clothesline the opponent on the rope" move in a great sequence. (I just wish that Randy had acknowledged it on commentary, or that Bobby Heenan were calling this so he could exclaim, "He's got him by his tongue!") Anyway, the early heeling is incredibly subtle, to get over that Money Inc. is at least ostensibly interested in wrestling on the level. Only when that doesn't work do they turn to more overt tactics like choking and double-teaming and attacking behind the referee's back. Great little psychological build to two guys cheating because they feel they have to rather than because that's what the Heel Wrestling 101 textbook tells them to do.

 

DiBiase and IRS also have enough cache and ring smarts--not to mention old age and an inability to take most of the big requisite Steiner bumps--to reign Rick & Scott in and keep this close to a wrestling match instead of a suplex-fest. The heel control segments all focus on Scott Steiner's neck, so that even the requisite heel chinlocks fit in with the context of the match--it also helps that IRS and Ted really, really crank those holds in. DiBiase despite his advanced age acquits himself very well physically, going up for Rick's trademark powerslam spot and taking a KING-SIZED Frankensteiner. Interesting to hear Vince note DiBiase's "bad neck"--not only is that bizarrely eerie foreshadowing but it was not WWF SOP at all to discuss heel injuries, lest any sympathy be generated for them. Ted is out, but IRS whacks Scott with the briefcase and DiBiase scores an upset pin. BUT, Joey Marella pays Earl Hebner back for saving his bacon in the KOTR finals and helps him reverse the decision. Tacky finish but it did lead to a rematch the following week, so I approve.

 

I could write a lot more about this match--oddly enough, it seems, because this isn't a worldwide MOTYC or a North American tag MOTYC, nor do I think I'd rank it ahead of Jannetty vs. Doink as far as the WWF goes. But it's a hell of a match by any standard, WWF or otherwise, and the guys here who love match structure I think would really love this. As would JerryVonKramer--his two boys deliver a very strong performance.

[soup23]

This did have a WCWSN quality to it. The work wasn't great or anything but this is probably Ted's last trademark performance of his career. IRS didn't totally annoy me here. I do think this has a strong storyline surrounding neat action. A fun gem in WWF land that probably should be seen by more people. ***

[garretta]

What a shame that we didn't really see much of a tag match here. It was mostly Scotty against Rotundo, since Teddy's neck was actually bad enough that Vince had to mention it on the air. Fortunately, Mike knew he was working for two and rose to the occasion, both on offense and in bumps.

 

The clothesline by the tie was the most brutal spot of its kind I've seen in a long time. I liked Savage mentioning how stupid it was for Mike to wrestle in his clothes, which every fan with a brain had been thinking ever since the IRS character debuted. On the other hand, his boots actually make moves like the enzugiri he gave to Scotty even more devastating.

 

There may have been one too many long distraction spots, but if you're Mike and you're pretty much working a handicap match against two beasts like Rick and Scotty, you're grateful for any possible rest you can get. I don't think they'd have worked like they did here if Teddy had been able to go full force.

 

Speaking of Teddy, he looked good when he was in, and taking the Frankensteiner was an act of supreme courage considering his condition and the fact that Scotty's hurt more than one guy by hitting the move the wrong way. I could have done without the finish, but it didn't kill my enjoyment or anything. They wanted to phase out Money Inc. , so having them lose their win, so to speak, means that they're down to short strokes as far as being viable contenders goes.

 

Interesting that Scotty's All-American background at Michigan was brought up, but Rick's wasn't. For that matter, would it have killed the IRS gimmick to mention that he had once been an All-American himself at Syracuse, especially since everyone knew damn right well that it was Rotundo in the monkey suit?

 

Vince was the best commentator on this one, which tells you how bad Savage and Lawler were. Randy at least grudgingly gave Money Inc. a few slivers of credit, but Lawler.......well, he wasn't this bad in Memphis, and if you've seen the 1990 Yearbook, he was an awful heel color man there too. The worst part about Lawler as a heel in the ring or out is that you can tell by looking at him that he doesn't give shit one-half about what he's doing. Most guys who have worked both heel and face are better heels because they feel free to do more. Lawler's the opposite; he becomes so lazy and shiftless that it's pitiful.

 

Not every heel commentator can be as funny as Heenan or as insightful as an on-his-game Jesse Ventura, but they need to do more than make crummy jokes and turn a blind eye to everything the heels do in a match. The worst part is, he won't even run down Bret to promote his own program. He tosses a casual insult at Angelo Poffo, of all people (he isn't mentioned by name, but Randy's pissed enough that Vince has to jump in). makes a few halfhearted stupidity jokes about Scotty, and that's about it. Why Vince simply didn't take the Memphis version of Lawler, make a tweak or two for the wider audience, and turn him loose is something I'll never know. If Lawler's the one who wanted to go heel so he could run the whole WWF-USWA feud in Memphis, it's not worth it at this point. Maybe I'll change my mind when I actually see him in the ring with Bret, but it's not likely.

 

I'd much rather have seen face Lawler challenge Yoko (with Corny, which would have brought the SMW guys into Memphis a lot sooner, not to mention Yoko himself), and maybe an appearance by Jeff at Lawler's side rather than as Double J. If you really wanted to get ambitious, find a way to bring Dutch Mantell into the mess and watch the money flow on both sides of Tennessee. There are plenty of other things you can do in all three promotions that would have been a lot more exciting that what we've seen of WWF Lawler so far.

 

It seems weird to hear anyone but JR use the nickname "Dogface Gremlin" for Rick, but Vince pulls it off here. Was that nickname a JR original? It had to have been either his creation or possibly Blll Watts'.