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[1999-05-09-WCW-Slamboree] Rick Steiner vs Booker T


Loss

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  • 2 months later...
  • 4 months later...
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  • 2 years later...

Monumentally dumb on all levels. Crowd is so dead to start that we can hear everything Nick Patrick says. Then they actually get behind Rick and bark for him and cheer for his victory. I always hated St. Louis' phony-baloney "best fans in baseball" gimmick and now we have definitive proof that the idea that Sam Muchnick catered to the smartest and most sophisticated wrestling fans in the country was also bullshit. This is the beginning of Rick Steiner being possibly the worst worker in the world and one of my least-favorite ever.

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  • 3 months later...

Actually found the whole match decent (not good) just cuz it was hard-hitting and they were laying their shit in. Does qualify as bad booking, though, when a hard fought victory for Booker would've definitely helped solidify him even more. For whatever reason, WCW thought there was more upside to re-establishing the Steiners as some sort of heel force when Scott was already over and didn't need Rick around anymore anyway. Also, to give credit where its due, Rick doesn't officially turn heel till later - when he helps Scott beat Buff in their US Title match (which is, surprisingly and to be fair, a pretty fun contest that the crowd was way into).

 

Rewatching the PPVs from 99, it is kinda crazy to see what WCW was maybe attempting. At times, it almost seems like they were trying to reverse the WCW vs. nWo feud with the heel/face roles reversed - Steiners are now heel, Flair and the Horsemen are heel, Hogan is a face, DDP and Sting are "tweeners," Macho is a face - but there's not even any consistency with that conceit either. It's just a total clusterfuck and I'm not surprised the fans cheered Rick in this match because of it. Had they just disbanded the nWo by now, it might've worked, but by this point, you had heels and faces on both sides so it was just impossible to book straight-forward, basic stories.

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  • Loss changed the title to [1999-05-09-WCW-Slamboree] Rick Steiner vs Booker T
  • 2 years later...

Heatless match despite some good work from Rick Steiner. He definitely lacks the charisma and crowd connection he once had but his offence looks stiff and tight. I love a good punch to the ribs and Rick had many of that. Booker T did his usual spots that normally would liven up the crowd but they got silence here. Scott Steiner coming down causes a stir in the crowd as he helps his brother win the TV Title, hinting at the reuniting of th Steiners that'll come real soon. Booker T got protected in his loss but he didn't come out strongly. **3/4

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