[1992-11-07-WCW-Saturday Night] Rick Rude vs Barry Windham

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Rude has no moustache! Jake is on commentary explaining the psychology behind holds and I've decided he missed his calling post-wrestling career, because he is phenomenal. About what you'd expect a 10-minute match between these two to be at this point in time. Both are in the middle of a hot run, and this is a good match for both. I would have really liked to have seen 10 more minutes of this, because there some interesting things, like Windham countering the Rude Awakening by simply holding the top rope. Solid match that was working toward great with more time to get there.

[Tim Evans]

Good match and I agree Jake ruled on commentary. The finish was a little weak though.

[shoe]

Just a really strong meat and potatoes match. Rude w/o a mustache is wrong. Rude's facials were great here. Finish was a tad off. Still a good match with a real strong psychology.

[Matt D]

I third the Jake comments.

[BackToBionic]

The fan in the middle of the screen right after Rude wins is hypnotic. Wearing a fanny pack, doing the Rude hip swivel. I had to rewind it like 4 times.

[El-P]

Really good 10 minutes TV match between two of the best workers of the year in the promotion. Windham looks really big next to Rude, and I'm not saying this because he's getting on the fat side. I like Rude without the stache too. Any style suits the man. Some nifty stuff like Windham putting on the brakes and not crashing on the post outside, or the way he just launches Rude on his ass at the beginning. Madusa looks great but does nothing, I guess the "face turn" against Paul E. prevented her from being too involved. Kinda sloppy finish, but strong TV match otherwise.

[PeteF3]

Some neat spots here and good focused work around Rude's back, which pays off in various ways throughout the match. Kind of a weak ending out of the blue and not executed all that well. And have I mentioned yet that I'm going to miss Jake?

[WingedEagle]

Rude eying Madusa on the way to the ring is character dedication. Really fun, too short match. Good bumping and selling by Rude, including effectively working a bearhug spot. The highlight, as noted above, was Jake on commentary. Just incredible. Its just one match, but based on this, he'd have been an all time great color man. Can't close without a local promo as they push Sting vs. Jake in a cage at the Omni on Thanksgiving.

 

***

[Zenjo]

Millions of women would cry themselves to sleep this night as the tache is gone. They did some straightforward body part work here which was reasonable enough. Unfortunately the move execution was a bit of a let down for the finish.

[garretta]

This might be me getting a bit tired of seeing Rude, but this was a shorter version of the Rude-Sting match that would take place at the Clash eleven days later. The same lower back spots, the same midsection spots, the same top rope spots from Rude, everything. Barry looked a little more at home applying power moves like the bearhug than Sting did; other than that there was almost no difference until the finish.

 

Speaking of which, they were kind of damned no matter what here. Barry had to lose so he and Dustin could defend the tag titles at the Clash, but Rude couldn't beat him clean because he still had to have at least some momentum. Rude couldn't lose clean either, at least not to Barry; if they'd wanted Rude to lose in order to set up a future program, it couldn't be to someone who'd be a fellow heel in a matter of just a few days. So they split the difference and we got the rather cheap finish we saw.

 

Jake was first-rate on commentary here. It isn't a surprise to me, because he actually called some matches for Prime Time back in 1987. Consider this for a broadcast trio: Jake, Lanny Poffo, and Don Muraco. They really didn't have defined roles, and the matches they called were easily forgettable, but Jake was as smooth there as he was here. He showed great insight into strategy and psychology, and what I liked most was that he never screamed and seldom showed outright bias, although he cheered for fellow heel Rude. Only at the finish when he and JR got into a dispute over the meaning of the word "grab" was it obvious which side of the fence he was on. (Incidentally, he was right; Rude didn't grab the ropes, he just hung am arm over them and let leverage do the rest. JR came off as a hair-splitting whiner in the exchange.)

 

I liked the cold look in Jake's eyes when JR asked him about the Sting-Pillman match which was upcoming.. The only thing he wanted in regard to Sting was to beat his brains out, which he was supposed to get a chance to do at the Omni on Thanksgiving night. By the way, a freshly-turned Barry subbed for Jake in the street fight which was hyped. It was Vader, Cactus Jack, Rude and Windham against Stung, Ron Simmons, Van Hammer, and Dustin Rhodes, who was subbing for Nikita Koloff. Sting pinned Cactus to win the match.

 

A rules nitpick I just thought of: Medusa was allowed to accompany Rude to the ring in this match, but not the semifinal against Sting. Watts explained that managers and seconds were barred from ringside in the King of Cable tournament, so why was Medusa allowed to stay in this match? Was it an oversight or mistake, or did Watts just want a pop for pushing Race around at the Clash?

[Superstar Sleeze]

Rick Rude vs Barry Windham - WCW Saturday Night 11/7/92

 

One of those matches that you didn't know you really wanted to exist until you find out it exists. I saw this on paper and I was like I had to see this. This is the first round of King of Cable which would ultimately lead to that badass Sting vs Vader match at Starrcade 1992. The tenacity early on between these two was great. Rude was definitely calling this match as it is filled with Rude tropes. I really liked the first major highspot being Windham throwing Rude up in the air to have land on his ass. Then we get the atomic drop. Lots of work on the lower back and we get some covers from BW. Jake The Snake does a great job on commentary calling the action. He does a great job describing the psychology and how Rude's waist is the smallest part of him; it might look great, but it does not have much protection. High end stuff from Jake The Snake. After failing to get the cover, Windham grabs a bearhug and Rude goes for the eyes. Rude gets some shots in from the top rope. Typically great Rude heat segment with BW peppering in some hope spots. Rude goes to the top one too many times and Windham clubs him. Windham blocks the Rude Awakening by hanging onto the ropes. They tumble over the top and Windham hits a big lariat on the floor. Suplexes him back in 1-2-NO! Time to go home...Rude rolls him up near the ropes and grabs the ropes for the win. Good body of the match super anticlimactic finish. Nice to see what might have been, but this is NOT RUDE VS WINDHAM~! just Rude vs Windham in a routine match. ***