My Favorite Wrestling: WCW Main Event 6/23/96

So CubsFan requested I write up some 1996 WCW Saturday Night, but I couldn't find any in my stacks. SOOOOOO to make up for that I'm gonna write up a whole batch of 1996 Main Event, WorldWide and Pro. Hopefully that makes up for it.

1. Squire David Taylor vs. Sgt. Craig Pittman

Oh damn on paper this is like a WCW dream match for me. Taylor is a guy I like more than probably anybody else, and you can probably say the same about Pittman. Sadly we only get 150 seconds and neither guy gets a chance to stretch out. I could see an 8 minute match between these two achieving Legendary Syndicated Status. Still what we get is fun. Taylor is the third wheel of the Regal/Finlay gang, but like those men knows how to make some mundane spots seem colorful and meaningful. Here Taylor locks on a chinlock at one point, but also yanks at Pittman's nostrils. We start with about 45 seconds of mat scrambling, with Taylor taking long looping bumps to put over Pittman's arm drags , even taking a nice face first pratfall of an abandoned test of strength. Finish is smart as Taylor starts lacing in European uppercuts and Pittman catches his arm on one of them to get a backslide. But damn if they just got even TWO more minutes it could have at least been some degree of special. As it was, it was just a fun tease.

2. V.K. Wallstreet vs. Scotty Riggs

And just like that first match is an on paper dream match for me, this match on paper could not be further away from that. Rotunda is the Friday afternoon impromptu office meeting of pro wrestling. But he isn't really the problem in this as Riggs breaks out the airiest, lightest, weakest offense imaginable. Wallstreet had some nice looking stuff, threw some cool short uppercuts that I didn't remember him having, and really Riggs should have just stuck to bumping. He was one of those classic bad-offense-nice-bumps workers, which meant he looked great taking bumps to the floor, but when it came to his comeback offense it was cover your eyes bad. He barely makes contact on a dropkick, throws punches 6" below Wallstreet's face, and hits one of the worst crossbodies I've ever seen. It makes so little contact on Wallstreet that V.K. literally has to hold Riggs on the landing to keep him from just bouncing away painlessly. To top it all off, Bagwell has to interfere to help his fellow American Male win. Just a couple of good ol' babyfaces, cheating to win. To the surprise of everybody, Rotunda works in a spot where he locks on an abdominal stretch and holds the ropes for leverage. This match got 6 minutes. Taylor/Pittman got 2.5. That's just...cruel.

Okay, that's a rough episode. I'll keep reviewing more 1996 syndicated WCW until I feel Cubs' donation is justified. Still, thank you for the donation. Like Carl Lewis singing the National Anthem, I'll make up for it.


***I'm still desperately trying to raise money for my friend and coworker whose home burned down. I'm matching every contribution and will continue writing above and beyond for those who donate. This means a lot to me, guys***