[1993-09-19-WCW-Fall Brawl] Sting & Davey Boy Smith & Dustin Rhodes & The Shockmaster vs Vader & Sid Vicious & Harlem Heat (War Games)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Booker T shows some good promise here, but overall, a pretty lousy War Games during a bad time period for WCW. Winning War Games with a bearhug?

[El-P]

The first bad Wargames. I really don't see what Booker T showed here expect being an out of control shouting goof. Then again, I don't think Booker T. was anything much as a worker to begin with. Stevie Ray and Sid Vicious have a contest on who can suck the worst. Sid wins throwing some of the most inefficient looking kicks ever. I would kick better than him. Dustin and Vader (who's Big Van no more, thanks to NJ's threats) at the beginning was the only worthwile part of this match, and even then they got barely any heat. The ending is anticlimatic and totally shitty. Harlem Heat and the Shockmaster had no business in this match, it was no built in the slightest. Unless the 95 Hogan version is worse, this is the worse "classic" Wargames match, as I consider the eyegouging 98 one some sort of alternative version anyway (and Stevie Ray was involved in both). Yep, bad times for WCW, really bad times.

[Kevin Ridge]

Heels were almost forced to start off with Vader as he is the only guy on the team that can go the distance. Normally he should not be the first guy in. Dustin starts for his team but is selling injured ribs which makes you wonder why he was chosen as the first guy. Well other than him being the best one to get anything out of this match. Stevie Ray had some terrible looking bumping through out match. Dustin is the only one in the end who belonged out there as he bled and was using his boot as a weapon. Not a good match with a lack of heat and huge drop off from 1992 version. Bearhug as a finish?!!! Worse in that Stevie Ray kept looking over and seeing Booker in the submission but not doing anything about it.

[PeteF3]

Easily the worst WarGames to this point, nothing else will even come close until the Dungeon of Doom stuff. Booker T takes some fairly hellacious bumps here. Schiavone marvels as the Shockmaster navigates his way through the cage door and not one, but two sets of ring ropes. He almost immediately bearhugs Booker/Kole for an absurdly anticlimactic and heatless submission. Wow, Shockmaster tapped Kole--that sure settles this issue. Shockmaster pratfalls in celebration, just to make the heels look completely foolish instead of mostly foolish. What a shitty fucking company.

[ajtroma]

I rented this show back when it came out. I've never seen it since, nor do I really want to. This War Games is just putrid.

[soup23]

Will be interested to watch this in full too as the talent for this type of match isn't awful. I did like TOny being shocked that Shockmaster didn't slip coming into the ring. That guy never had a chance. The finish was anticlimactic as Shockmaster fires off some punches to Vader, slaps the bearhug on Booker T and that is a wrap. Tony and Jesse awkwardly fill a couple of minutes before the PPV goes off the air.

[garretta]

A rule of thumb: Any WarGames that ends with the losing team not only walking but cutting full-fledged promos into the camera isn't a real WarGames. Nobody on that side looked like they'd been through anything at all, which kind of kills WarGames as the ultimate team match where cataclysmic grudges are settled. I guess Dusty felt he had to do something to make it up to his brother-in-law after his debut went so horribly wrong, but couldn't he have just bought Fred a car or something?

 

Also, the timing was off. Tony and Jesse managed to not make themselves look too awkward doing the wrapup, but between that and the general milling around after the match, it seemed like we should have had at least another two or three minutes of action. Jesse, of course, signs off by saying that he's glad to get out of Texas, which is what you'd expect him to say.

 

Boy, does Booker look dumb here, claiming that he didn't submit. Here's a hint, pal: Not even the heel color guy is willing to back you up. You quit; get over it. Seriously, why have Booker go off like that, then let Jesse shoot him down before something could be made out of it? That makes about as much sense as the losing team cutting promos from inside the cage after the match. Hey, wait a minute.........

 

I just remembered who Fuller reminds me of as Col. Parker: Boss Hogg from ​The Dukes of Hazzard. ​The outfit''s almost identical, Boss Hogg smoked cigars, and Fuller looks about as much like Sorrell Booke (who played Boss Hogg) as anyone in wrestling, except that his hair's gray while Booke (and Boss Hogg) were going bald. Let's see, that makes Sting and Davey Bo and Luke, and Diana would then be Daisy, which makes no sense. Then again, neither does assigning Fulller a half-baked character from a kiddie action-adventure show instead of letting him be the Tennessee Stud.

 

Finally, is Cole Booker and Kane Stevie Ray, or is it the other way around?