WCW Fall Brawl 1995 9/17/1995

WCW Fall Brawl 1995 9/17/1995

Note - The Giant ran over Hulk Hogan's motorcycle sometime before the show. I don't know if it was shown live or not but it happened.

Bobby Heenan and Tony Schiavone are our commentators. Heenan promises the mother of all wars tonight.

WCW United States Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership Match - Johnny B. Badd vs. Brian Pillman

Michael Buffer is the ring announcer and has no idea what this is, calling it a title eliminator.

They lock up and shake hands after. Badd armdrags him and they trade hammerlocks. BP hiptosses him then headlock takeovers him. BP shoulders him over and they try to dropkick each other at the same time. BP yanks on the arm. Badd headflips out of a wristlock and armdrags him.

BP flying snapmares Badd then headlock takeovers him.  BP does like a flying armdrag then arm locks him. Badd trips BP then la magistral's him. BP trips him and does a pin attempt with a bridge for 2. BP snapmares him and chinlocks him. A kid has a "Bobby Heenan for President" sign and Heenan says he wrote it with crayon and is the mayor of Asheville.

BP headscissors him then rolls him into a pin attempt. BP chinlocks him. BP goes up and over then is armdragged. Badd chinlocks him then BP backbreakers him. BP boston crabs him then gives up the hold. He punches Badd and says, "Who's the bad man now?". Badd tilt-a-whirl backbreakers him then works his leg. Badd pulls his arms back and hooks his leg under BP's arms.

They shove each other down and Badd's eyebrow is busted open. BP hits punches then rakes his face across the top rope. Badd hits punches and BP walks up the aisle. BP offers a handshake and Badd teases hitting him. BP hits shots on him and throws him out.

BP bites Badd's head. BP's head is banged off the buckles then Badd slingshot leg drops him for 2. Badd chinlocks him. They leapfrog at the same time and collide in mid-air.

BP headbutts him. Badd is booted out of the ring. Badd suplexes BP out of the ring to the floor. Badd then plancha's him. Badd comes off the top and is dropkicked in mid-air. Badd sitout powerbombs him for 2. BP tombstones him and is thrown off on a tornado ddt attempt.

Badd armlocks him on the mat as we get down to 2 minutes remaining. BP russian legsweeps him then does la escalera. BP grounded cobra twists him Badd bangs BP's head off the mat with a facebuster and punches him. BP springboard lariats him for 2.

We go to the 20 minute time limit. Nick Patrick rules that we go to sudden death overtime.

BP hits spears to the gut and bites him. They trade punches. BP chops him outside and Badd hits punches. Badd is sent into the rails. BP top rope dropkicks him and Badd tries to dropkick him at the same time.

BP sleepers Badd then Badd sleepers him. BP backdrops him then slaps him. Badd hits diving sunset flip from the top for 2. BP hurricanrana's him for 2. Badd 2nd rope hurricanrana's him for 2. BP tornado ddt's him then BP is crotched on the top rope. BP is thrown off the top and lands throat first on the rails.

Badd tope con hilos him outside. BP gets his knees up on Badd's slingshot splash. Badd is laid on the top rope. BP topes him outside and really only gets him with his fingers. BP gets crotched on the top and they crossbody each other in mid-air. Badd then wins it. 

Thoughts: This went 29:14. I wasn't a big fan of this one. It was too long for an opener as it tires you out from the start. They did lots of cool spots but they did too many of them and didn't sell enough of them. I'm not real sure why this needed to go so long either since Badd was winning. This was a match that would not look out of place at all in 2024 with how much was done.

Mean Gene Okerlund interviews Ric Flair. He says The Four Horsemen are the symbol of excellence. He said they bonded for 15 years, living, sweating, crying and bleeding together. He said they shared that bond and were friends through all. Flair says they aren't walking the aisle side by side tonight in Asheville, they go out from opposite ends of the building. He said so many people in life never have an opportunity to stand next to greatness, yet alone touch it. He says Arn faces greatness tonight. Ric says he loves Arn but he loves him so much that he has to show him why tonight. He says there's only one king of the hill and it's The Nature Boy.

Cobra vs Sgt. Craig Pittman

Cobra has a real annoying theme that sounds like a signal beeping. Craig doesn't come out when he is introduced. Someone in arm gear comes out instead. That guy tells Cobra to turn around and Craig repels down on a rope. Craig chokes Cobra from behind then hits mounted shots.

Craig is wearing facepaint and attacks him off the apron. Craig is sent into the post. Cobra comes off the top and is dropkicked. Craig then armbars him and Cobra taps out.

Thoughts: It was a short one. Craig had a cool entrance here and I thought they were effective in pushing that they had issues with each other. It was kind of a waste of a match though as it wasn't long enough.

We see Paul Orndorff flip out in the locker room. He's mad about losing to Savage. He says he doesn't feel like himself anymore and asks who he is. He throws and bangs stuff around. He says he doesn't know if he's Mr. Wonderful or not anymore. Gary Spivey then comes in. He's a psychic.

Gary said he had a vision and knows Paul is not okay. He said he had a vision. Paul said he used to be the highest rated wrestler in the world and had more belts than he could carry. Gary said he's Mr. Wonderful but not feeling so wonderful. He says he sees great things for him and tells him he is Mr. Wonderful.

He makes him look in the mirror and makes him say he is Mr. Wonderful. Paul says he looks better than he ever did before. He says he sees bigger cars, bigger houses and more money. He says they know he's wonderful too. He tells him he's Mr. Wonderful. Paul says he is Mr. Wonderful and kisses his biceps in the mirror. Paul then kisses the mirror.

Thoughts: This was a bizarre segment. I had never heard of Gary Spivey outside of this so this one was lost to me. It was too over the top and it was just not done well. 

WCW World TV Title - The Renegade (c) vs Diamond Dallas Page

DDP stops Diamond Doll as she poses during his entrance. Maxx Muscle is with DDP. Renegade runs to the ring.

Ren turns his back on DDP then is hit. DDP hits back elbows and russian legsweeps him for 2. DDP headbutts him and falls out of the ring in pain. DDP then walks into the post and falls over the barricade. Heenan asks what is going on and says DDP is lucky he doesn't kill himself.

DDP is thrown back over the rails into ringside. Ren is pulled into the buckles then he bangs DDP's head off the buckles. Ren side headlocks him then lariats him. Ren misses a crossbody and goes into the ropes.

DDP chokes Ren on the ropes. DDP pulls Ren's neck down over the top rope and Diamond Doll holds up a "10" sign. DDP neckbreakers him and foot chokes him. Doll holds up the sign again. Pahe knows Ren off the apron. Ren slingshot sunset flips him. Ren counters it and goes for a pin. DDP lariats him.

DDP corner spears him then spears the post when Ren moves. DDP bends over and is kicked. Ren running lariats him. Ren cartwheel back elbows him. Ren top rope double axe handles him. DDP counters a hiptoss with a ddt. DDP is rolled up for 2.

DDP hits Ren in the throat. Maxx Muscle is on the apron and DDP is thrown into him. Ren goes up top and  dives on Maxx outside. Maxx holds onto Ren's leg and DDP wins with the diamond cutter. DDP wins the TV Title.

Thoughts: The crowd wasn't too into this one and it was just a match. Renegade probably would have been fine if he was just himself but The Renegade gimmick came off as such a cheap imitation and hurt him.  DDP's bumping off the headbutt was super over the top.

Bobby Heenan talks about what the kids of Rob Parker and Sherri would be like, saying they'd be running around the house with cowboy hats and diamonds. Tony laughs.

WCW Tag Titles - The Stud Stable (Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater) (c) vs. Harlem Heat (Booker T & Stevie Ray)

Sherri and Col. Parker out there with their men. Booker hits a nice lariat on Dick. Dick trips him then facelocks him. Booker counters with an armlock. Dick takes a double team then Ray slams him.

Ray chokes Dick then side headlocks him. Booker side headlocks Dick then Buck eye rakes Booker on the ropes. Buck boots Booker and front facelocks him. Buck is held for knees in the corner.

Ray lariats and chokes Buck. Ray pounds on Buck and chinlocks him. Booker hits a nice jumping side kick on Buck for 2 then chinlocks him. Buck shoulders Booker over. Booker does a nice leapfrog then hiptosses him. Booker knee drops him for 2.

Ray hits punches on Buck and Dick gets in. Dick and Ray trade then Ray hits corner punches. Dick misses an atomic drop then running boots and neckbreakers him. Ray chokes Dick then chokes him with his bandana.

Buck knees Booker in the back then Booker is thrown out onto the steps. Buck then clotheslines Ray with rope. Buck boots Booker and bangs his head off of Dick's foot. Dick boots Booker then Buck chokes Booker. Dick russian legsweeps Booker for 2.

Dick piledrivers Booker. Booker is thrown out. Dick bangs Booker's head off the rails then boots Booker. Buck chinlocks Booker. Booker misses a corner hip attack and lands on the mat hard.

Dick goes after Ray then backdrops Booker. Dick drops Booker with punches then elbow drops him. Booker takes shots and is eye raked. Buck stomps Booker's her and chinlocks him. Buck deadlift slams Booker out of the guillotine then Dick neckbreakers Booker for 2. Buck single leg crabs Booker.

Booker scissors kicks him and tags in Ray. Ray hits shots on Buck and Dick then slams both. Ray knocks Dick onto the ropes then slams Buck. Booker is puled out to the apron by Buck. Booker takes a double punch. Sherri and Parker get in the other ring.  Booker misses a corner charge. Sherri is on all fours. Sherri and Parker Kiss. The Nasty Boys come out and hit Dick Slater with one of his boots. Booker then pins Dick and wins it.

Thoughts: It was a long one here. They really mostly just traded shots for 16 minutes. The shots were good but it really did drag and didn't feel like it had much point or structure to it. I thought they could have played up the Parker and Sherri stuff more and somehow involved it in the match.

Buck pulls Parker off of Sherri and tells him they lost the tag titles. Sherri explains herself to Harlem Heat.

Parker and Buck are interviewed by Mean Gene after. Buck says Parker is lost and has been out of sorts for months. He asks where he has been when they needed him. Parker says he's serious about Sherri and says he runs this outfit. He tells them to head to the showers. He said he will get them another match and get the belts back around their waists.

Parker tells Gene he isn't happy about this. He said he feels at the bottom of the pit but his heart soars like an eagle. He said he never felt like he feels tonight. He said he feels 20 years old and says he has to have that girl. He says Dick and Buck will have their match.

Mean Gene interviews Arn Anderson. We see clips of the issues between Ric and Arn. Arn says he has always called a spade a spade. He said he's either loved or hated with a passion. He said everyone has had a family member that was messing up and you had to grab and shake them because words didn't matter. Arn says he's a nervous wreck as he has to trade fists with someone he loves. He says something has gotta happen as he has to answer to him. He says he will give Asheville, the world and Flair all he got. He said win, lose or draw, he will respect himself and Flair will respect him too. 

Arn Anderson vs Ric Flair

Flyin' Brian, The American Males, Alex Wright, Eddie Guerrero, Big Bubba and Col. Parker are watching this in the seats. Ric shoulders him over. Arn trips him and rubs Ric's hair. They stare down and Arn side headlocks him.

Arn shoulders Ric over and pushes him over. Arn slaps him and Ric falls down. Ric rolls out to stall. Arn takes Ric over by the arm then knees it and stomps it. Arn slaps him then hammerlocks him. Ric trips him, goes for a facelock and is hammerlocked. Arn stomps Ric's arm and hammerlocks it.

Arn wristlocks Ric then Arn armbars Ric. Arn headscissors him, Ric gets out and chops him down. Arn back elbows him. Arn eye rakes him and sleepers him. Ric backs him up in the ropes to break it then Arn 2nd rope knees him in the back. Arn hammerlock slams Ric then hammerlocks him. Arn pulls him down by the hair.

Arn bangs Ric's arm off the post. Arn ddt's Ric with the arm and armlocks him again. Ric chops him and takes punches. Ric pulls the top rope down and Arn goes down to the floor. Ric double axe handles him off the top to the floor.

Ric drops him with a nice punch. Ric pulls Arn's throat down over the top rope. Ric foot chokes him then knee drops him. Arn hits punches then back body drops him for 2. Ric throws Arn out then chops him outside. Ric is back body dropped on the floor then Arn pounds on him. Ric suplexes Arn on the floor.

Ric drops him with a punch inside then suplexes him. Ric chops him down for 2. Arn sunset flips him, Ric doesn't go with it and misses a punch. Arn rakes Ric's face across the buckles. Ric is thrown in the corner and ends up in tree of woe. Arn goes for the ddt but Ric holds onto the ropes. Ric then fair flops anyway.

Arn throws Ric off the top. Arn comes off the buckles and is lariated. Ric figure fours him. Arn reverses the figure four then Ric clips him. Arn rolls Ric up off the figure four. Ric kicks Arn in the leg.

Brian Pillman gets on the apron and punches Flair. Flair punches him back. Brian kicks Flair in the back of the head and Arn ddt's Flair. Arn pins Flair.

Thoughts: The work was good but I didn't like the finish of Brian Pillman getting involved. I thought they had enough of a story without it and they didn't build up Pillman getting involved. It was real fun to see Flair and Arn take each others moves and they really did a good job of getting the simple things right. It was nice to see Arn get the win here as well. It did indeed feel like a fight between two friends. I thought they could have played up the concept a bit more though. Maybe they clean break each other and stuff early, help each other up and so forth then one of them cheapshots the other and the battle rages on from there. Maybe the camera could have caught them saying some things to each other as well. Maybe they could have reversed each others moves as well and pulled dirty tricks on each other. But who am I to tell Ric and Arn what to do?

We get a silly over the top video from Kevin Sullivan on Hulk with various special effects.

Hulk Hogan's team is interviews. Hulk said they drank a couple gallons of agent orange and are impervious to pain. Hulk asks what The Dungeon will go down they declare war. Savage says there's no issues and he said what he said when he had to say it. Sting says he wants to go to war and is sick and tired of talking. Lex says he has the camouflage on and is with his partners and ready to go. He says they are together as together can be. Hulk said all he had was look in Lex's eyes and he knew he was American made.  He said Savage told him not to trust anyone and Hulk says they are focused on getting rid of The Dungeon. Hulk says he wants 5 minutes with Taskmaster. Jimmy Hart says he's ready for war. Hulk says he feels sorry for anyone who gets in their way. He says they can't be held responsible for what happens and says they will run wild in the cage. Hulk says let's use Hart as bait.

Thoughts: It was a fun promo but you could definitely see Hulk wanting to get the last word in and wanting his own mic time here.

War Games Match - Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger, Randy Savage & Sting vs. The Dungeon Of Doom (Kamala, Meng, The Shark & Zodiac)

If Hulk's team wins, Taskmaster must face Hulk in the cage for 5 matches. We get some fireworks as the cage is lowered. Gene then reads the rules. 

Sting and Shark are first in. Shark gets the edge on him and hits clubs. Shark walks on Sting. Shark misses a splash. Shark goes to the other ring and Sting crossbodies him over the top rope. Sting hits punches and slams Shark. Sting goes for another slam but Shark falls on him.

Shark bearhugs him and Sting bites his way out. Sting goes to the other ring and Shark tries to dive over the top but is caught on top of the two ropes. Sting then kicks Shark in the gut. Sting dives on him and is caught and thrown in the ring. Shark poses on the bottom rope and is crotched. Sting then shakes the top rope while Shark is on it. Sting hits shots to the leg and clips him. 

Sting scorpion deathlocks Shark. Zodiac is next in. He trips getting in. Sting holds onto the top of the cage and double boots him. Sting slams him then scorpion deathlocks him. Shark breaks it up. Shark elbow drops Sting and Zodiac elbow drops him too. Shark hits a big legdrop then Zod chokes Sting.

Sting takes a double clotheslines. Sting double shoulders Shark and Zod. Sting is thrown into the cage. Macho is in next. Macho knocks Shark over and wildly fights Shark and Zod. Shark chops Macho. The Dungeon grabs on Sting's arm from the outside.

Zod chokes Macho then Sting rakes Zod's face. Shark slams Sting then Macho chokes Shark. Meng pulls Macho's leg out then Kamala and Taskmaster pound on it. Sting lariats and elbow drops Zod. Kamala is in. He chops Sting then foot chokes him. Shark atomic drops Macho. Macho and Sting are pounded on. Shark knees Macho in the gut. Sting drops Kamala with shots then Kamala hits Sting in the gut. 

Lex is next in. He double lariats Shark and Kamala. Zod is sent into the cage. Macho double axe handles Shark in the back of the head. Zod's head is banged off the buckles. Zod foot chokes Macho. MAcho sends Shark into the cage. Lex slams Zod then lariats Macho in the back when Zod moves. Macho and Lex start to fight and Sting tries to seperate them. Megn comes in and beats up on the face.

Meng hits headbutts and kicks. Lex has his shirt ripped off and he gets choked with it. Meng chokes Lex then superkicks him. Shark sends Macho into the cage. Hulk gets in and The Match Beyond officially begins. Hulk throws powder in 3 heels eyes. Hulk eye rakes Shark and Zod. Zod is stuck between the two rings and bounces off the ropes as he gets hit. Shark is held for shots from Hulk. Zod's head is banged off the buckles. 

Meng is sent into the cage then Shark takes a corner lariat from Hulk. Zod is sent into the cage. Hulk rakes Kamala's back then Kamala is sent into the cage. Zod is sent into the cage then Meng is too.

Zod goes into the cage then Hulk camel clutches Zod. Because Zodiac says yes/no all the time, the ref asks Zodiac if he wants to submit and Zodiac says yes and no. The ref counts it and The Dungeon of Doom are defeated.

Thoughts: It was a standard Wargames match here. Due to Hulk being involved, it wasn't as wild or as brutal as the '91 and '92 versions were. Shark was the MVP of this one, taking some big bumps. They didn't make as much of the Lex/Macho feud as they could have but they did do a little with it at least. It was mostly people choking each other, people going into the cage and basic shots. It was fine but in no way lived up to prior Wargames.

Kevin Sullivan tries to leave after and Doug Dillinger stops him. They don't have security so Taskmaster has to pretend that some guy in shorts and Doug Dillinger are stopping him.

Sting grabs Sullivan and sends him in.

5 Minute Time Limit - The Taskmaster vs Hulk Hogan

Hulk sends Task into the cage many times. They go out of the cage and Task's head is banged off the outside of the cage. Task begs off and Hulk lariats him. Hulk chokes Task with tape then gives him the big boot.

The Giant comes out. He picks up the ref and moves him out of the way. Giant jumps over the ropes and chokes Hulk from behind. Hulk hits shots on Giant and Giant chokes him. Giant twists Hulk's neck and Hulk is down. Macho, Lex and Sting return and Giant/Taskmaster leave. Giant says Hulk is through.

Michael Buffer calls for paramedics and a physician to come to ringside. The show ends with Hulk being checked on and down.

Thoughts: I wonder why Giant wasn't in Wargames here? I also wonder if Hulk gets more time with Sullivan at some point down the line since Giant interrupted it? What they did made sense here as Hulk got some revenge but they didn't completely blow things off as Hulk didn't destroy Sullivan.

Overall thoughts: It was a longer show. The opener going 29 minutes set a bad pace for the rest of the night and tired the crowd out early. They tried to do something special in the opener but I thought they did too much, I didn't think they sold enough and I didn't think it should have been the opener. Cobra/Pittman was a waste of time. Renegade/DDP was nothing. The Spivey/Orndorff segment was weird. The tag title match was long, slow and directionless, though the strikes looked good. Arn vs Flair was good but I didn't really get why Pillman got involved and I didn't think it was the right time for it. The main was fine but didn't compare at all to previous Wargames classics. I wouldn't recommend this one.