[1993-08-01-WCW-Main Event] Ricky Steamboat vs Steven Regal

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Feels like the WWF house show version of what you would expect Steamboat/Regal to be. Fun at times, especially when Regal is giving Steamboat a lecture and he responds by grabbing his hand and twisting it, forcing Regal to scream in pain. But it's more comedy than I really want from these guys. That's not Steamboat's strong suit. Still, an interesting match to put on the yearbook in the context of the time, one that I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. Match goes to a 10-minute draw.

 

Regal does a snobby promo after the match (with Dundee doing his gimmick cracking me up), which offends Steamboat to a point where he gets in his face. Steamboat is so freakin' corny here, both in the match and in the post-match, saying they should have another match if Regal's "stumina" (Ha!) could handle it.

[El-P]

I thought it was perfectly fine for a first encounter. Light hearted at first with Steamboat making fun of Regal's maneurism, good technical wrestling with a bit of heat. Just a way to set up a rivalry nicely without burning all the ammunitions.

[Kevin Ridge]

I really enjoyed it for what it was and thought Regal looked great. He was dominating match for the most part until they gave Steamboat some late pin attempts. The post match promos added some spice to things for the return match with Regal looking a bit pissed off at being shown up by Steamboat.

[PeteF3]

Lots of stalling here, but Steamboat mocking Regal and then grabbing him by the finger when he points at him was all pretty amusing. Schiavone and Larry Z are having way too much fun calling this. Regal with some killer arm work before we go to the draw. Sort of a nothing match, but a fun nothing match--if that makes any sense.

 

Regal and Dundee do a post-match interview that would draw fire from an anti-defamation group if it were a portrayal of any other ethnicity besides the British. Dundee does a hilarious "English" accent and Regal insists that he was warming up for "some important cricket matches next week." Steamboat's been around the horn enough to know a BLOKE like Regal comes and goes all the time--ooh, them's fightin' words. Regal decries Steamboat for his lack of manners and decorum. Steamboat thought of that and slaps Regal with a black glove, and throws the gauntlet down at him. That, apparently, means war. Man, Regal has a long way to go to refine this gimmick.

[soup23]

I appreciated it for what it was. it wasn't the heated, body control technical classic they could have but it felt like an angle for Main Event and in that regard more consequential than anything that has happened on SmackDown so far this year. A solid encounter and a nice exchange after the fact to get people to turn into the next chapter of the story. **1/2

[garretta]

This one never really got started. By the time all the character work and assorted bullshit was over, we were down to three minutes left, and no two men can put on even a decent match in three minutes, let alone a classic. Regal showed off a few submissions and enough forearm uppercuts so we knew that he really truly is from England, and Steamer spent most of his time selling and ducking. This needed at least five more minutes to get good.

 

Tony and Larry had a blast with the English expressions and royalty jokes, which I don't think would have happened if Jesse had been in the booth instead. It's interesting that at this early point, Larry's positioned as being a fan of Regal; I'm looking forward to seeing what made them into enemies.

 

I thought Steamer was way better in the postmatch interview. I loved him making fun of Regal's accent and manners, even using a glove to slap his face, much in the way royal personages were challenged to a duel in olden days. Steamer's an underrated talker to begin with, and this might have been one of his best efforts. Regal, on the other hand, was too stereotypically English to be real, talking about cricket and rugby matches and tea with the Queen. The less said about Dundee's English accent, the better; they should just say that Regal found him in Australia somewhere (or Scotland, for that matter) so he can talk in his natural voice. He looks good in his outfit, though.

 

Hopefully the rematch gets enough time to be something worthwhile; these two look like they could have a great match if they're allowed enough time to both get their characters over and wrestle the way they obviously can.