RetroView fans, our journey to the formation of the nWo continues as today I’m watching WCW Uncensored 1996. At SuperBrawl, Ric Flair walked out with the WCW Championship around his waist after defeating Macho Man Randy Savage inside a steel cage.
Also, that night, Hulk Hogan defeated the Giant inside a steel cage as well, then all hell broke loose. The war between Hogan and Savage against the alliance of the Dungeon of Doom and the Four Horsemen is the big angle heading into this one.
Tony Schiavone welcomes us to the second-ever Uncensored event. Joined by Dusty Rhodes and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan talk about the main event and how Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage are in serious danger.
It will be Hogan and Savage inside the Doomsday Cage against Flair, Anderson, Sullivan, Lex Luger, Meng, the Barbarian, Z Gangsta, and the Ultimate Solution.
WCW Uncensored 1996
WCW United States Championship Match
Konnan © vs Eddie Guerrero
Old school, full-on baby face Guerrero makes his way out first. Konnan comes out in his lucha libre gear including a mask, but under the mask is a blue bandana tied around his head.
The transformation of Konnan is going to be fun to witness. Technical wrestling begins this match, both men out to out maneuver their opponent early on. Konnan focuses his attack on Guerrero’s legs attempting to ground the high flyer.
The pace picks up when Guerrero gets the advantage leading to both men trading face slaps. Cool moment midway through the match when Konnan does a monkey flip to Guerrero, but much to Schiavone’s surprise, Guerrero lands on his feet.
An exciting near fall comes when Guerrero rolls Konnan up after leaping from the second rope. The end is a shocking one after Konnan delivers a low blow, which leads him to a victory. The seeds for his transformation are being planted.
Winner – Konnan
Our first Mean Gene interview is up now. Okerlund lets us know that they can chat with the Giant online through CompuServe. He is then joined by Col. Robert Parker who talks about his upcoming match against Madusa.
WCW Uncensored 1996
Grudge Match
The Belfast Bruiser vs Lord Steven Regal
Regal enters first with his lackey Jeeves. Next out is the Belfast Bruiser, aka Fit Finlay, complete with amazing early 90’s mustache and mullet. This match wastes no time to get going as Finlay immediately attacks Regal before the bell.
You can tell early on that these two are going to be very stiff in this one. Schiavone talks about the vast contrast in match styles from this and the previous match. The physicality picks up when the fight spills ringside.
Finlay is slammed into the steel guardrail and Regal is sent crashing into the ring post. This really is a prime example of how physical both of these guys were in the ring. The fight eventually finds its way ringside again and Finlay tries to grab a chair from the front row, but the chairs are all connected together.
Regal hits a suplex from the apron to the floor on Finlay before dropping an elbow from the apron. Both men land vicious kicks, Finlay’s to a downed Regal right in the back, Regal delivering a low blow.
The announcers do a great job selling just how much these two dislike each other. Blood is spilled after Finlay lands a hard left hand and the brutality picks up. Seeing their leader in trouble the Blue Bloods make their way out and the match ends in a disqualification.
No Winner
The two brawlers take their fight to the back before Mean Gene welcomes in the Giant joined by Jimmy Hart. They rundown their opponents and Mean Gene announces the winner of the Giant and Loch Ness match gets a championship opportunity the next night on Monday Nitro. Loch Ness then cuts a pretty dull promo about the Giant and he predicts a victory of his own.
WCW Uncensored 1996
Col. Parker vs Madusa
Parker comes out first, and Dusty Rhodes says he’s looking dapper. Madusa enters, and the crowd fires up. A lock-up where Parker gets the advantage shocks Rhodes and Heenan on commentary.
Medusa hits an arm drag much to the delight of all three announcers. This is as silly as you would expect and gets even sillier when Col. Parker gets the win-expected shenanigans.
Winner – Col. Parker
Joining Lee Marshall in the locker room are the Road Warriors and they talk about kicking everyone in the tag divisions butts. They warn Sting and Booker T about the danger to come in the Chicago Street Fight.
WCW Uncensored 1996
I Quit Match
The Bootyman vs Diamond Dallas Page
The announcers give us the breakdown of the hard times that DDP has fallen into heading into this match. How he’d lost his money, his television title and his girl recently. If DDP loses he has to quit wrestling, if he wins he earns back his money and the Diamond Doll.
A scruff-looking DDP saunters out, a far cry from the People’s Champion he will become in the near future. Booty Man, one of the 2,500 different characters Brutus “the Barber” Beefcake played in WCW.
DDP begins the match by avoiding getting into the ring as much as he can. Heenan does his best backing DDP and how his recent struggles are no fault of his own, but because of the Diamond Doll. Most of this match is centered on DDP and his tough luck.
It’s your basic Beefcake style match, slow paced with lots of rest holds. Midway through the match the Diamond Doll heads to ringside dressed in the similar colors of the Bootyman.
The announcers spend a lot of time talking about how much the Diamond Doll is out there in support of the Bootman. Meanwhile in the ring DDP has begun wearing down his foe. In the end the Diamond Doll assists the Bootyman in getting the win with a flying knee.
They seal the deal with a kiss as DDP is forced to leave the arena and WCW by Doug Dillinger.
Winner – The Bootyman
Mean Gene is joined in the back by Lex Luger and Jimmy Hart. Luger talks about being in the entering the Doomsday Cage Match and how he has to watch his partner Sting go into a Chicago Street Fight without him.
WCW Uncensored 1996
The Giant vs Loch Ness
So Loch Ness comes out to what would eventually become Rey Mysterio Jr.’s WCW theme. First time I learned that. The Giant enters with his always cool green lighting.
You can see early on that the Giant is way more athletic as the two trade big shots and kicks in the corner. The Giant attempts a splash in the corner, but Loch Ness avoids it at the last second.
Seeing the Giant flip over the top rope is a reminder of how athletic the future Big Show was. As expected, the Giant gets the win after a Hoganesque leg drop.
Winner – The Giant
After the match, the Giant dedicated the leg drop to Hulk Hogan and told Ric Flair he is going to win the world title back the next night on Nitro. Lee Marshall is joined by what he calls strange bedfellows in Sting and Booker T.
Booker talks about how they’ve put their differences aside and are ready for this match. Sting begins firing up Booker T. I got to say they have great chemistry together.
WCW Uncensored 1996
Chicago Street Fight
The Road Warriors vs Sting & Booker T
Hawk and Animal make their way out first, always looking like badasses. Sting and Booker T come out next and the Road Warriors meet them up the aisle and the fight is on. The four men pair off. Sting and Hawk fight ringside while Booker T and Animal do battle in the ring.
This is a fun street fight, but not surprising with the four pros involved. Booker T hits a spike piledriver on Hawk on the ringside mat, but Hawk immediately pops up and hits a clothesline.
The brawling around the ringside area carries a good portion of this match, brief spurts in the ring providing a good switch in the action. Sting and Animal eventually end up by the massive cage, and Sting introduces a chair into the match.
He uses it against both Road Warriors. Not realizing Animal had returned to the ring, Sting drops the chair, and Animal returns the favor with chair shots of his own to Sting and Booker T.
Another piledriver on Hawk fires him up, and he hits an impressive powerbomb on Sting. Like I mentioned earlier, this is a fun street fight between four guys in their prime. Great moment of the match when Hawk’s attempt at a dive from the top turnbuckle is met with a dropkick from Booker T.
Sting eventually introduces a pair of brooms into the match and uses them on Animal. Animal once again ends up with the weapons in his hands before giving one to Hawk. The Road Warriors begin wearing out their foes with the broomsticks.
Booker T and Animal somehow make their way to the locker room where Animal bumps Luger into a trash can. Luger responds by attacking Animal and he gets assistance from Booker T’s partner, Stevie Ray. The two use athletic tape to tape Animal to a metal pipe in the back.
When the chaos finally returns to the ring, Stevie Ray ends up assisting Booker T with a chair, giving the makeshift team of Sting and Booker T the victory.
Winners – Sting and Lex Luger
Before the main event, our WCW announcing trio talk up what’s about to happen. They explain that Savage and Hogan have to make their way down multiple layers of cages in a gauntlet in order to get the win.
WCW Uncensored 1996
Doomsday Cage Match
Hulk Hogan & Macho Man Randy Savage vs Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Kevin Sullivan, Lex Luger, Meng, the Barbarian, Z Gangsta, and the Ultimate Solution
Of course, Michael Buffer rings in the main event, always giving WCW that big fight feel. Flair is introduced first joined by Elizabeth and Woman. He’s followed closely by Arn Anderson, Kevin Sullivan and Lex Luger.
These four enter the cage and head up the numerous flights of stairs leading to each level of the cage. Meng and the Barbarian are out next. After them is Z-Gangsta and finally the Ultimate Solution.
The Mega Powers enter next to a raucous ovation. Savage, Hogan, Flair and Anderson begin the match on the very top level of the cage. A lot of brawling and throwing each other into the cage takes place. You can tell none of them are fully comfortable with the cage floor underneath them.
They show various camera angles, and it had to be difficult to see the action for the live audience. Flair and Anderson apply simultaneous figure four’s on Hogan and Savage before Flair drops a metal object into the lower cage.
Hogan and Randy Savage have a response ready when Hogan uses powder to even the odds. The two heroes of this story exit the top cage, eliminating Flair and Anderson from the match.
In the second cage, Hogan and Savage are outnumbered by Sullivan, Meng, the Barbarian, and Lex Luger. The fight begins to move through various cages and levels of the steel structure.
Hogan and Sullivan have a moment where it looks like Hogan is going to send Sullivan flying off the structure. Eventually, Hogan, Savage, Luger and Sullivan make their out of the cage and head to the ringside area.
Savage and Luger are fighting it out near the structure before the remaining competitors finally begin to escape the monstrous cage. Both teams use a chair as the brawl continues around the ring.
Finally, Z-Gangsta and Ultimate Solution arrive and both massive men force Hogan and Savage back inside the multi-level cage. Hogan and Savage get physically dominated early in the cage and the situation gets even worse when Flair and Anderson illegally re-enter the match.
With the Mega Powers on the ropes, the Bootyman comes out and gives both of them metal frying pans. From here Savage and Hogan begin utilizing the pans to gain the advantage. This brings back out Lex Luger, now making it six against two inside the cage.
Luger puts on a weighted glove and instead of hitting Savage, he accidentally hits Flair. With their enemies trying to recover, the Mega Powers begin to exit the cage before Savage stops before pinning Flair for the inevitable Mega Powers’ victory.
Winners – Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage
The WCW announcers send the show out with a plug for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match between Flair and the Giant that’s to come the next night on Nitro.
Not a bad show; the Chicago Street Fight and the Regal-Finlay match stood out as gems. Up next on my journey to the creation of the nWo, Slamboree 1996.
