WWE Vintage Collection Report: October 16th 2011
By Shaun Best-Rajah.com Reporter
Hosted by: Mean Gene Okerlund

Continuing on from last week’s “Good Friends, Better Enemies” theme, this week, some more tried and true friendships dissolve in front of our very eyes.

Footage of Scott Steiner turning on brother Rick and transforming into Big Poppa Pump opens the show. Rick offers Scott a reconciliation or a fight, warning one of them will get seriously hurt if they fight. Scott feigns a teary eyed apology on crutches. As they both hug, Bryan Adams attacks Rick with a baseball bat, before Scott gives his brother a shoulderbreaker. Scott recruits Buff Bagwell to spoof Rick and mock his signature dogfaced gremlin gimmick. Rick attacks Scott with a chair. Finally, WCW commissioner JJ Dillon tells Scott to stop hiding and face his brother at Fall Brawl 1998 or be barred from wrestling for life!

WCW Fall Brawl – War Games: September 13th 1998
Scott Steiner w/Buff Bagwell vs Rick Steiner
Buff grabs Rick’s leg to cause a distraction. Scott gives his brother a low blow to worm his way out of a belly-to-belly suplex. Scott works over Rick on the floor. Rick counters a double underhook suplex into a DDT. Rick sets up for a top rope bulldog, but gets down to throttle Bagwell, who’s up on the apron. Rick sends Bagwell into the corner, but as the fight continues, the attention turns to Bagwell, who’s stayed down and is feigning a reoccurrence of his serious neck injury. The referee calls for medical attention. We skip forward a few minutes to Buff being wheeled into an ambulance with Eric Bischoff trailing behind everyone. A concerned Rick asks someone to call Bagwell’s mother. Scott steps into the ambulance with Bagwell and shuts the doors. As soon as Rick turns his back, both Scott and Bagwell burst out of the ambulance and beat down Rick to the surprise of no-one. Groan! Winner: NO CONTEST.

WWF Superstars: October 27th 1996
The Smoking Gunns vs The New Rockers
Three time tag champions the Gunns had recently lost their titles and their manager, Sunny. The two argue from the get-go with Billy positioned as the antagonist. Sunny is backstage watching on a monitor. Despite saying Billy can’t take no for an answer and that the Gunns are losers, Sunny praises Billy’s initiative and teases a reconciliation should Billy become a singles competitor. Billy walks out on Bart after Marty Jannetty outmaneuvers the Gunns in their corner. Jannetty and partner Leif Cassidy (aka the future Al Snow) work over Bart for several minutes. With the Rockers in total control, Jannetty buries a knee into Bart’s gut. Cassidy goes to do the same, but Bart counters into a rollup for the 1-2-3. Winners: THE SMOKING GUNNS. This marked the end of the Gunns tandem. Billy and Bart would fight on opposing sides during the Survivor Series Free For All, but Billy would soon go down with an injury, which put the feud on the backburner.

WWF Raw: June 9th 1997
Rockabilly w/Honky Tonk Man vs Bart Gunn
Upon returning from injury, Billy Gunn was repackaged as a Honky Tonk Man clone. Bart still has the same gimmick as before. The former partners square up to begin. Honky causes a distraction, enabling Rockabilly to land a stiff clothesline. Bart retaliates with a flapjack and clothesline to the floor. Rockabilly drags Bart outside to pummel. Back inside, Rockabilly clotheslines and chokes Bart in the ropes. Bart ducks a second clothesline and comes back with a faceplant and backelbow. Rockabilly counters a backbodydrop into a fameasser then finishes things with the Shake, Rattle & Roll neckbreaker. Winner: ROCKABILLY. Billy would soon ditch the dead in the water gimmick and Honky to form the New Age Outlaws with fellow floundering act Jesse James. Bart would bounce around as part of the New Midnight Express, then fall foul of the booking team after surprisingly winning the Brawl For All tournament. Dr Death Steve Williams was the bookers favourite and for whom future plans had been set. Bart’s last hurrah came courtesy of a Butterbean knockout at WrestleMania XV.

WCW Monday Nitro: January 22nd 1996
WCW Tag Team Titles: Harlem Heat vs Lex Luger & Sting
Sting and Luger had certainly endured a rocky relationship through the years. Most recently, Luger had cost Sting the World Title at Starrcade. To make up for it, Luger arranged a shot at the Tag Titles. Luger absorbs an early beatdown to forearm Stevie Ray. Booker T kicks Luger from behind, allowing Ray to floor the total package with a big boot. Luger lands a double clothesline and tags out. Sting hits a pair of stinger splashes to both opponents. As Sting applies the Scorpion Deathlock to Ray, Luger unwittingly distracts the referee when he tries to get involved, allowing Booker to nail Sting with a scissors kick. Booker lands another flying kick, before Sting gets worked over with frequent tags and restholds.

Sting avoids Booker’s Houston hangover (somersault legdrop), but the referee misses a tag and orders Luger back out. Jimmy Hart (who was loosely aligned with Luger at the time) runs down, hands something to Luger and sprints to the back. No-one in the ring sees this, as Sting is being attacked by Harlem Heat on the floor. When Sting and Booker both collide in the centre of the ring, Luger tags and decks Booker with what turns out to be a fistful of silver coins. The coins scatter in the ring upon impact. Thankfully, the all too predictable screwjob swerve isn’t pulled as Luger covers Booker for the pin. Luger hoists Sting up and raises the titles in the air. Sting isn’t too impressed with Luger’s actions at first, but ends up celebrating the win. Winners: LEX LUGER & STING. The two would keep hold of the belts until Harlem Heat regained them in a triangle tag match also involving the Steiners in June.

NWA Saturday Night: December 23rd 1989
NWA U.S Title: Lex Luger vs Sting
For some reason we go backwards instead of forwards in order to see one of the peaks of Sting and Luger’s heated on/off rivalry. It’s all Sting in the early going as he attacks Luger with right hands, a backbodydrop and throws him from the top rope ala Ric Flair. Luger bails outside, baiting Sting into chasing him. Sting obliges, but ends up sending Luger into the guardrail a couple of times. Back inside, Sting yells at Luger to get up, then goes after an arm.

Sting attacks Luger in the ropes, misses a running spike, but lands on his feet on the outside. Sting quickly scampers up top and lands a cross body for a nearfall. Sting goes to the well once too often as Luger catches a second dive and drops Sting face first into the corner. With Sting perched on the ropes, Luger clotheslines him to the floor. Luger works over his rival on the apron, before giving him a delayed suplex back into the ring. Luger gets Sting up for a press slam, but Sting manages to punch Luger on his way down to the mat. Sting blocks a hiptoss, so Luger quickly clotheslines. Sting pops back up to beat away on Luger on the canvas. Luger tries to beg off. Sting dropkicks Luger to the floor. Luger grabs a chair. Sting avoids a wild Luger lunge. Sting irish whips his rival, but Luger uses the chair to shield himself from a stinger splash. The referee calls for the bell. Disappointing end. Winner via DQ: STING.

Ric Flair runs in to get him some of Luger ahead of their upcoming NWA World Title match. The J-Tex Corporation (Buzz Sawyer, Great Muta and Dragonmaster) come in to assist Luger. Finally the Andersons (Ole and Arn) even the sides. During the brawl, Luger cowers to the outside. Luger and Sting would end up reuniting a short time later when Sting went down with a knee injury, which would delay Sting’s eventual World Title victory over Flair. Luger was always a more natural heel in my view. His matches were a lot better in that role.

That’s all for the friends/enemies theme. More classic matches and moments from the WWE vault next week.

Any comments or discussion points drop me a line at [email protected].

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