Before the match, Gene Okerlund is backstage near an area cordoned off for Vader. There’s a thin line between brave and stupid. Vader wants to get his hands on Ric Flair and he’s too busy throwing chairs around in preparation for the main event for an interview. Arn Anderson makes his way out first, getting a favourable reaction from the crowd. He throws the Four Horsemen signal and waits for Lord Steven Regal to get to the ring. The champion has Sir William in his corner for the match. Michael Buffer makes the introductions for this Championship match, Lord Steven Regal has his weight measured in stone and pounds for a great detail. This match has a 30-minute time limit, which is double the time limit for television defences.
Tony Schiavone and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan are on commentary for this
match.
LORD STEVEN
REGAL © VS. ARN ANDERSON
(WCW Television
Championship)
WCW SuperBrawl 4
(20th February
1994)
They circle as Lord Steven Regal shows off his bandaged-up leg. Anderson goes to shake Regal’s hand but Regal refuses. They lock up and go down to the mat and back to their feet before Regal breaks it off in a stalemate.
Arn Anderson goes to lock up again, Regal complains he got hit in the ear, getting Sir William and the referee both to check. Heenan says this is smart, it throws off the pace of the match and throws Anderson off, stopping any momentum from building. Arn Anderson works a headlock and Steven Regal uses the ropes to force a break. Sir William checks the ear again before they lock back up. Arn Anderson goes back to the headlock, putting pressure on the ear and ignoring the taped-up leg. Regal sends Anderson across the ring but is dropped with a shoulder tackle. Steven Regal gets a wristlock when he gets back to his feet, he cranks Anderson’s neck in the holds but Arn Anderson counters into a wristlock of his own, he trips Regal and stomps the arm and we go back to the stalling. Lord Steven Regal slowly reaches for a test of strength, he forces Anderson down to one knee before the momentum is switched. Arn Anderson forces Regal down into a bridge. Regal’s shoulders hit the mat and he kicks out, getting back to his feet in the knuckle lock.
Arn Anderson kicks at Regal’s leg and trips him back down to the mat. Anderson stands over Regal in a wristlock until Regal breaks it with his foot. Steven Regal knocks Anderson into the corner with European uppercuts and grabs an arm wrench, Regal forces Anderson down by pressing his foot in Anderson’s knee and stands over him in an armbar. Regal puts the challenger in a half chickenwing and drops his weight on Anderson’s arm. Steven Regal dives into a hammerlock on Anderson on the mat as we see a shot of the crowd. Arn Anderson gets to his feet and counters into a hammerlock of his own, slamming Regal. Arn Anderson backs Regal into the corner and connects with shoulder tackles and brings Regal back to the middle of the ring, snapping Regal’s arm against his shoulder. Arn Anderson keeps Regal on the mat with a hammerlock and drives his knee into Regal’s arm. Steven Regal start rolling to reverse the pressure and his shoulders go down for 2. Arn Anderson keeps an arm isolated and forces Regal’s shoulders down for 2 again.
As Regal kicks out of a 3rd pin they get to their feet. Arn Anderson drags Steven Regal across the ring in an arm wrench and swings his arm into the ring post. Regal goes outside to check how much of the time limit he has left before getting back in the ring. Regal connects with a forearm and uses his weak arm to club at Anderson. Regal puts on a standing neck crank, Anderson tries to slam Regal but Steven Regal keeps the hold locked on. Arn Anderson’s shoulders are forced down for multiple nearfalls but he gets back to his feet in the cravate. Anderson attacks Regal’s right knee to break the hold, Regal puts Arn Anderson in a front facelock but Anderson reverses into a hammerlock. Anderson stomps on Regal before backing him into the turnbuckles. Arn Anderson puts on the arm wrench on Regal after tying his arm in the top rope and we get the call for the halfway point of the match. Arn Anderson uses Regal’s arm as a lever to send him across the ring and covers for 2. Regal catches Anderson in a head scissors but Arn uses the ropes to break, Regal goes to the reverse chinlock and transitions into the cravate.
Arn Anderson gets to his feet and fights out of the hold with forearms. Steven Regal is sent off the ropes into a backdrop, Arn Anderson covers for 2 and puts Regal in an armbar. Steven Regal gets to his feet and reaches to the top rope, forcing Anderson down for nearfalls. Arn Anderson forces Regal back down to the mat but Lord Steven Regal fights to his feet and knocks Anderson back with a European uppercut. Another one knocks the challenger down and Regal puts on a neck crank. Arn Anderson reverses an irish whip, sending Regal into the corner. Anderson drops his knee across Regal’s back, forcing Regal out to the apron. Lord Steven Regal does another time check with Sir William before going back to the apron. Arn Anderson snaps Regal’s arm over the top rope and drags him back in for a cover. Steven Regal grabs the bottom rope and buys some time poking Anderson in the eye. Steven Regal connects with a European uppercut and headbutts Anderson in the corner before selling the exhaustion. Regal puts Anderson in a standing front facelock and knocks him to the apron with a European uppercut.
Lord Steven Regal keeps the referee distracted as Sir William jabs his umbrella into Arn Anderson’s throat. Arn Anderson is bleeding from the mouth as Regal headbutts him in the corner and connects with forearm shots. We have 10 minutes of the time limit remaining, but Heenan has to check with Sir William to confirm it, Steven Regal takes Anderson down and turns him over into a half-boston crab, using the top rope for leverage. Sir William waves the Union Jack as the referee catches Regal cheating and forces the break. Steven Regal clubs at Anderson’s back and slings him off the top rope. Steven Regal ties up Anderson’s legs, he uses one arm for leverage until he can reach for a facelock. Sir Regal is adding torque by holding on to Regal’s leg out of the referee’s line of vision. Regal gets some shots in on Anderson during the hold and clubs at his back. Regal lets go of the facelock and pulls back on Anderson’s ankle. Steven Regal drops his knee on Anderson’s back and goes back to a facelock as we have 7 minutes left.
Arn Anderson trips Regal and kicks at the taped-up leg as the fans suddenly wake up. Steven Regal kicks away the Figure Four leglock, he covers Anderson for 2 and dumps him from the ring so Sir William can get another umbrella shot in. Arn Anderson gets to his feet at 6 and trips Regal, grabbing at his ankle. Regal’s injured leg is sent into the ring apron as you can see Johnny B. Badd’s confetti on Anderson’s back. Arn Anderson slides into the ring and twists on Regal’s left knee before slamming it to the mat. Steven Regal trips Anderson, forcing him down into a pin for 2. Arn Anderson is in a half-nelson top wristlock as we get the announcement for 5 minutes remaining and The Brain doesn’t trust the official time. Regal pushes his knee into Anderson’s back as he pulls back on the head and neck and we get another wide shot to verify that the crowd is still there and the Thundercage is still above the ring. There’s an announcement every minute now so I won’t repeat them. Arn Anderson is sent into the corner, and Regal covers him for a nearfall.
Lord Steven Regal covers Anderson again for 2. Regal takes a shot at Anderson’s face before putting him in a chinlock. Arn Anderson breaks it and fights to his feet but he gets knocked back with European uppercuts. Anderson knocks Regal down and covers for 2. Anderson forces Regal back down for another 2, Arn Anderson positions his weight over Regal for a third nearfall and Regal reverses the pressure. Arn Anderson keeps getting his shoulder up before the 3 and gets to his feet. Steven Regal trips Anderson but lands in a bodyscissors. Lord Steven Regal gets to his feet but Arn Anderson powers out of the attempt at a boston crab. Arn Anderson puts Regal in a sleeper hold and sends him into the corner. Anderson rolls Regal up 1, 2, no! There’s a series of counters as we reach the last minute and Anderson rolls Regal up for 2. Arn Anderson fights off a butterfly suplex, Steven Regal runs into a Spinebuster but Sir William stops Anderson from making the cover. Anderson goes out to the apron as Sir William scrambles away. Anderson connects with shoulder tackles through the ropes and sunset flips himself back in the ring.
Steven Regal fights to stay on his feet and reaches
for Sir William’s umbrella to keep his balance and sit on Anderson as the last
10 seconds count down. The referee counts the 3 in the dying seconds to give
Regal the win.
WINNER: LORD STEVEN REGAL (STILL WCW Television Champion)
I hate to say this for these 2
competitors, but this match had no business being 30 minutes long. You could cut
10 minutes out of the match and you wouldn’t miss much. I get that the story
was Arn Anderson not being able to beat Regal in the television time limit but
it could have been an intense 20 minutes, they kept it in first gear for the
first half and then there was a sudden change at the 15 minute announcement. The
finishing sequence was also a bit rushed, but it made sense Steven Regal using
Sir William’s assistance to scrape the win. [***] 5.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment