[NWA] WCW Saturday Night 7/21/92

[Deleted]

Taped from Center Stage
July 21, 1992
6:05 pm eastern
Atlanta, Georgia

Tony Schiavone: Welcome everyone to World Championship Wrestling, and this is Saturday Night! I'm Tony Schiavone, joined by the one and only Jesse The Body Ventura. Jesse, last week the return of The Nature Boy Ric Flair.

Jesse Ventura: Return is right! He didn't just return, he made it known that this is WCW and this is Flair country. Ron Simmons and Rick Rude might have a showdown brewing, but they have a wild card to deal with now and it's an ace high!

Tony Schiavone: Speaking of ace high, the tournament for the TV championship continues here as Johnny Ace takes on Marty Jannetty.

Jesse Ventura: This tournament's seen a couple big matches so far, and what I'm looking forward to tonight is the rematch from two weeks ago. Robbie V, Chris Benoit, 15 minutes. I don't know if even that will be enough for those two!

Tony Schiavone: And when we return, in action it's the man called Sting! Big night tonight on WCW Saturday Night on TBS.

-- First commercial break --

Sting vs Terra Ryzing
While a half dozen years later this one might have more legs, here it's an easy victory as Sting dominates the young Terra Ryzing. After a big splash in the corner, he puts on the Scorpion Deathlock for a submission victory. This was easy, but as announced last week, things will be a little more difficult should Sting and Lex Luger get their match with the NWA Tag Team champions The Steiner Brothers that they are seeking.


Jesse Ventura: Alright, I want to welcome here the WCW champion Ron Simmons. Ron we all saw it last week, you and Ravishing Rick when out comes The Nature Boy Ric Flair.

Ron Simmons: If Ric Flair wants some of me, all he's got to do is sign on the dotted line. I'm a fighting champion, and I'm not a hard man to find. As for Rick Rude, him and me, it's going down and you can believe that.

Jesse Ventura: Has the contract been signed?

Ron Simmons: I'm laying it down right now. Clash of the Champions next month right here on TBS. Rude's been running his mouth, well now it's time for him to back it up. What goes around, comes around and he's going to find that out the hard way!

Jesse Ventura: Alright, strong words from Ron Simmons. It looks like we've got a title match coming, but where does Ric Flair fit into all this? I for one, can't wait to find out! Ha!

-- Second commercial break --

Brian Pillman vs Mark Starr
Last week in the main event, Brian Pillman was blinded by The Great Muta's green mist to the eyes. Tonight he's back in action against Mark Starr. He has little trouble putting Starr away, heading to the top rope and coming off with a cross body block and scoring the pinfall victory. It seems inevitable after last week that a Pillman vs. Muta rematch will be coming in the coming weeks, possible at the August Clash?


Tony Schiavone: I'm joined right now by Rick The Model Martel, who of course last week advanced in the television title tournament.

Rick Martel: Haha that is correct. You see I am not just a wrestler, but I am also a model. And with being a model comes being good looking. I am good looking and all class, meanwhile my opponent last week was no class.

Tony Schiavone: Refering to one Steve Regal. You move not only to the second round, but all the way to the finals thanks to a double elimination the week before.

Rick Martel: I believe they call it a bye, as in bye bye to Robbie V and Chris Benoit. Me on the other hand, I am in the last match and there are still four men fighting it out on the other side. Much like my modeling career, I am going to rise to the top. You know, I have all the accessories - fast cars, beautiful women - but the one that would really complete the package is the TV title.

Tony Schiavone: That remains to be seen. Rick Martel everybody! When we return, the tournament continues with Marty Jannetty against Johnny Ace.

-- Third commercial break --

Tournament Brackets

Robbie V
-------------------------Both Men Eliminated!
Chris Benoit

Steve Regal
-------------------------Rick Martel
Rick Martel

Johnny B. Badd
-------------------------
Vince Torelli

Marty Jannetty
-------------------------
Johnny Ace


Marty Jannetty vs Johnny Ace
With Rick Martel having moved all the way to the finals and buying himself several weeks of rest, the remaining half of the tournament bracket has yet to even wrestle one match! Presumably for Marty Jannetty or Johnny Ace to win, they not only have to win today but also defeat the winner of Johnny B. Badd vs Vince Torelli as well. Ace seemed to be close to the victory as he setup for the Ace Cutter, but Jannetty was able to block it and send Ace crashing down to the mat. As Ace got up, Jannetty would deliver the Rocker Dropper and cover to secure himself the victory and advance into the second round. A good first step, but in order to win he must still go through two more tournament matches to become the next TV champion.

-- Fourth commercial break --

Jesse Ventura: I'm here right now with Steve Regal, and I have to say it must have been a disappointing loss last week.

Steve Regal: That it was Jesse. Unlike Mr. Martel, I don't have to cheat to win my matches. He put his feet on the ropes and if that's what gets the job done in WCW, then I'm just going to have to work extra hard.

Jesse Ventura: Now wait a minute. You say you don't have to cheat to win, but you didn't win. You LOST! This ain't grade school pal where cheaters never prosper. As far as I'm concerned it's only cheating if ya don't get caught!

Steve Regal: Well I'm sure that my fans in the WCW wouldn't want to see me do that. You will see Mr. Ventura. The next time that I'm out here, I will win. And while I might not be in the tournament anymore, I fully intend to go after the winner of that tournament with determination because I am a winner, I am Steve Regal!

Jesse Ventura: There you have it. Sounds to me though like a little bit of hopes and dreams rather than a cold dose of reality!


Joey Maggs vs The Great Muta
The mysterious star from the orient has little trouble this week against Jumping Joey Maggs. After having to resort to the green mist last week against Flyin' Brian, this week was much different as he showed he can outright wrestle here by scoring the win after a moonsault. All he wasn't done however as Maggs would get to his knees and take a roundhouse kick to the head. Having seen enough, Pillman would emerge from the back and start landing punches to Muta and end up knocking him to the outside of the ring. Pillman challenged him to come back in, but Muta had enough as commentators speculated once again on these two meeting again down the line, throwing out the August Clash again as a possibility.

-- Fifth commercial break --

Tony Schiavone: I'm joined right now by Arn Anderson. We saw it last week, Ric Flair back in WCW. You two are good friends and-

Arn Anderson: Let me stop you right there! I don't know why Ric Flair's here and it's none of my concern. What I'm out here to talk about is Arn Anderson, not Ric Flair. Last week you saw what I can do in that ring and I want it to be known right now that I want the top names that WCW can throw at me.

Tony Schiavone: Surely though, you must have some idea of Ric Flair's agenda.

Arn Anderson: I'm only going to say this one more time. Ric Flair's business is Ric Flair's business. My business is what it is, and what Flair does isn't my problem. What I do to the rest of WCW is every man in that dressing room's problem, and you'd better believe that I will be coming for every last person back there until I'm on top around here. These four fingers aren't just a symbol of excellence, it means four weeks. The countdown is on Tony Schiavone, and each and every victim that gets in my way will learn to understand that you don't mess with Arn Anderson!

Tony Schiavone: Alright, well apparently a countdown coming. Countdown to what? We don't know! Hopefully we will get more answers in the weeks to come. Right now it's main event time!


Robbie V vs Chris Benoit
Two weeks ago, these two men fought to a 10 minute draw to eliminate them both from the tournament to crown a new TV champion. This week they are going at it again, but with an extra 5 minutes. With 15 minutes, the two go at it with both managing several nearfalls. With time winding down, V heads up top and comes off the top rope, but Benoit catches him and drives him face first into the mat. Benoit immediately locks in the Crippler Crossface with time winding down. V fights as the ring announcer gives a countdown until the bell rings. Benoit gets up and lifts his arms in victory as fans begin to boo, but the referee comes over and lowers his arm. Benoit is upset as the referee explains it's another draw! V is up as Benoit just starts attacking him rather than asking for more time like the last match. He puts him back in the Crossface as the referee tries to get him to break and the bell is ringing. Benoit releases and heads off to the back as if he were the winner while V gets checked on in the ring.

With that, the show goes off the air with the Saturday Night logo, and the announcers reminding viewers to come back for more next week at 6:05 eastern on TBS.

[appstorm]

Van Dam and Benoit sure are building a great rivalry. Anderson seemed a little ticked at having to field questions about Flair certainly is interesting. Gotta admit I like the Model personna. Regal's, not so much. I am really looking forward to Rude-Simmons.

Good show.

[Deleted]

Fun show. Enjoyed the focus you put on the under card this week. Big risk putting Benoit/RVD on last, but the match told a great story. Loved the Arn promo.

One thing and it's minor as heck, but I was a little disappointed to see Benoit using the Crossface here in '92. Huge fan of his other finishers he used back then, and RVD's the perfect guy to be taking them. I'm talking about the Dragon Suplex, Diving Headbutt, tombstone, top rope power bomb, top rope suplex variants, stuff like that. I mean this is Jr. Heavyweight Benoit we're talking about after all, and the idea of the Crossface was to keep him away from that division/style and give him something he can use against heavyweights. At this point IRL guy was the best (or at least second best next to Liger) Jr. in the world.

Super excited about Pillman/Muta II by the way! First match was great, second match should be that much better.

[Deleted]

The Benoit finish was more done to be a dramatic finish with V avoiding submission as time winds down over it being Benoit's specific finisher at the time. The first draw ended with V coming close via pin, so I did not want to repeat Benoit just scoring a near fall as after the several in the match that I threw in the text, thought a submission would be more dramatic at that point. I agree with you as I was a fan of his from his days in Stampede, and should more than just the last minute or so been described, moves like that would have been used.

[Grape Ape]

Another solid card. You've got a good handle on things which is a real pleasure to read. The Martel, Simmons and Anderson interviews were right on. We'll see if Arn holds to that down the road or if he becomes Ric's #2.

Good second meeting between Robbie V. and Benoit. Looking forward to this continuing but if an angry Benoit busts out some of the moves Drew mentioned, I don't see Robbie V. picking up that first win.

Looking forward to what is coming down the road in August. Great match-ups!

[somethingsavage]

Fun show, man. And yeah. I really dig the focal point & theme of this one being on the mid-card guys. It gives us a refreshing break away from the main event players from time to time. Smart move.

You continue to voice Jesse Ventura extremely well. I'm digging that. It makes the flow of the interviews & the pace of the show so much easier to absorb. Kudos for giving us characters to care about as well. Not only that, but you're already going the extra mile by infusing the lower workers with meaningful & significant stories and rivalries. Thumbs up to all that, man.

For example, Muta & Pillman are at odds. You're working some fun things in there. The numerous standstills between Benoit and Robbie V are excellent. It's nothing other than simple (but effective) tools to get these guys over and established with your audience. I like it.

In the meantime, you've got bigger things brewing with Sting, Lex, and the Steiners. There's also the Rude, Simmons, and Flair situation rumbling out there. But most of all, you've got me marking out for this presentation of Arn Anderson right now. Using the 4 Horsemen hand gesture as a countdown? Simply awesome, man. I love that. Nice freaking touch. Putting an emphasis on Anderson's attitude towards Flair's return was superb also.

I hope this is going where I think it's going, in regards to Arn. The Enforcer always felt kind of "sold short" to me in the nineties WCW. If you're going to attempt to remedy that situation, then I'm all on board for that wild ride.

Oh, and good job with Martel. I was always a fan of his in-ring work, but I never felt like he truly got a solid push that I could get behind in real life. Not sure what you have in store for him here, but I buy him as a legitimate TV Title contender - and a strong one, at that. This promo sets him up nicely, although I'm not totally behind Regal as the baby face in ANY circumstance. But, if you give Regal the right "no nonsense" treatment, it might work. Guess we'll see.

[Deleted]

Thanks for all the replies! Any feedback is appreciated, positive or negative.

Regal started as a face in WCW before turning heel and as I was not yet ready to push him, so I figured I would follow suit. Plus this way it lets me tell a story with him turning to a heel instead of having him just be the way he is, although I am not sure how yet I plan on doing that. I have some ideas though for when the time comes.

[somethingsavage]

He was born naughty! He's a regular round and a scoundrel, that one.

But yeah. It's cool, man. Just a personal preference of mine to see him work heel. Nothing wrong with your approach whatsoever. An organic, natural development of his character should be plenty fun to watch.

[1wattsfan]

I totally agree with what every one has said. I am really enjoying WCW. And thanks for having rookie Terra Ryzing (HHH) job to Sting. On other boards, he is HHH and using the pedigree. Best of luck.