A Collective Review of WCW Slamboree 1997 by Lance Augustine
Welcome back to the TJRwrestling retro reviews where we are breaking down every WCW Pay-Per-View during The “Monday Night War Era”. We are fresh off of WCW Spring Stampede 1997, which was a good show, but certainly not great. It had some good matches to start the show and started to slowly fall off after that. We learned that Lex Luger will challenge for The WCW Heavyweight Title in the future, and there were some other good storytelling moments. You can read my thoughts on that show, and every show we have covered here. Are you ready for Slamboree? Well, either way, it’s here!
WCW Slamboree
May 18th, 1997
Charlotte, North Carolina
They start the show with a package showcasing the main event which pits members of WCW against The NWO. Shocking.
We are welcomed to the show by the usual cast of announcers Tony Schiavone, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. They talk about the big match between Reggie White and Steve “Mongo” McMichael, as well as the main event. Both McMichael and White played in the NFL at one time and were even teammates, so that adds another dynamic. They talk some more about the main event before sending it down to the ring for the first match of the night.
WCW Television Title Match
The Ultimate Dragon (w/Sonny Onoo) (c) vs. Steven Regal
Dragon defeated former champion Prince Iaukea leading up to this show. Regal dropped the “Lord” out of his name because he said that he wanted to earn it.
The two men circle each other before locking up for the first time. Dragon starts off the action with a waist lock, but Regal fights out and grabs the arm. Both men exchange from quick offense before Dragon wrestles Regal down to the mat. Regal gets back to his feet and powers Dragon down during a test of strength and covers him for a two count. Regal chokes Dragon with his own arms and has him in a submission hold on the mat. Regal muscles him up for a Gutwrench Slam and he slaps him in the head before locking on another submission. Dragon fights his way back to his feet and starts working on Regal and gets him down for a near fall. Regal leaps over Dragon, but gets taken out with a dropkick. Dragon takes him down with a drop toe hold and balances on the top rope before hitting another dropkick. He kicks Regal in the spine multiple times and it is echoing through the arena. He locks Regal in a single leg crab, but Regal fights his way to the ropes to break the hold. He stomps on Regal and hits a DDT before locking him up again. Regal slips out and gets back to his feet and drives his foot into the back of the head of Dragon. He picks Dragon up and hits a suplex, but Dragon slips away and gets a Sunset Flip for a two count. Dragon starts to fire up and slaps Regal in the face multiple times. He tries to lock on an Armbreaker, but Regal is fighting back. He eventually gets it on, but Regal isn’t down for long. He tries to get Dragon in the Regal Stretch, but switches up and goes for a surfboard. Dragon fights back with some kicks to the chest and a hard strike to the spine. He locks Regal’s legs up and gets a nifty looking submission hold on him with a bridge. Regal fights out with an elbow and some shots to the head. He sends Dragon into the ropes, but gets tossed to the outside with a dropkick. Onoo gets some kicks on Regal before he gets back in the ring and Dragon hits him with an elbow. He puts Regal up top and takes him off with an Hurricanrana. Dragon goes a Moonsault, but Regal moves and puts on The Regal Stretch. Dragon gets to the ropes to break the hold. Regal goes for a powerbomb, but Dragon reverses it into a Hurricanrana for two. Dragon hits a spin wheel kick and rolls Regal up, but they are too close to the ropes. Dragon hits an Asai Moonsault, but doesn’t go for the cover. He sends Regal to the outside again and kicks him in the face. Dragon comes out with a splash and hits nothing but mat when Regal moves out of the way. Dragon recovers and throws Regal into the guardrail and comes off the second rope with another Asai Moonsault. Dragon throws Regal back in the ring, but Onoo kicks him in the back of the head as he tries to get back in. Regal hits a reverse suplex and locks him in The Regal Stretch and Dragon taps out. The match went 16:04 in total.
Winner and NEW WCW Television Champion: Steven Regal
Match Rating: 3.25/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: That was a slow, methodical match between two guys that are pure technicians in the ring. There were a lot of slow-moving moments and submission holds, but I don’t think it took away from the match. Onoo kicking Dragon from behind was a shocker and it leads to him ultimately losing the title. Both men shined in the match, and while it wouldn’t be for every wrestling fan, I thought it was pretty enjoyable to watch. Also, the fans were super into Regal, which was weird.
After the match, Regal adds insult to injury by laying the boots to Dragon before leaving the ring.
Madusa vs. Luna Vachon
So, I incorrectly predicted they would put this match on the back burner and totally forget to follow up on it. That was my bad.
Vachon starts it off quickly with a slap to the face and some kicks to the back. She shoves Madusa down to the mat and pulls a little on the hair. He kicks her in the midsection and pounds on the back. Madusa gets back to her feet and hits some shots of her own, only to be taken down again. Vachon chokes her on the ropes and starts stepping on the neck. He slingshots her into the bottom rope again before Madusa fights back and takes her out with a kick to the head. She tries to capitalize on Vachon, but she gets her legs taken out and Vachon starts putting pressure on the stomach area. She hits a suplex and floats over for a near fall. She tries to throw Madusa into the corner, but she reverses it and hits a clothesline and some chops. He pulls Vachon to the middle of the ring and hits a big clothesline, but only gets a two count. Vachon grabs the ropes to try and get up, but Madusa pulls her off and slams her down. She kicks Vachon and tries to lock her in a submission, but Vachon gets a thumb to the eye. She throws Madusa into the ropes and reverses a Sunset flip for a two count. She pulls Madusa down by the hair and hits a swinging neck breaker. Vachon climbs up top and comes off with a splash, but Madusa rolls out of the way and hits a bridging German Suplex to pick up the win after 5:09.
Winner: Madusa
Match Rating: 2/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: That was a little better than most women’s matches at the time and was back and forth for most of it. Both of these women came off as credible badasses and that added to the match a little bit. It was the usual hairpulling and stuff, but overall, it wasn’t the worst women’s match I have seen.
Mean Gene is in the aisleway and of course has a scoop you can only hear by calling the WCW hotline. He is interrupted by “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Elizabeth. He grabs Gene by the back of the head and sends him to the back. He grabs the mic and they start walking to the ring. Savage starts by saying that the center of the universe is The NWO and that Diamond Dallas Page doesn’t want any part of him. Page makes his way down to the ring through the crowd and he had a crutch in his hand. Savage and Elizabeth flee the ring, and Bischoff comes out to stop him from attack Page. The rest of the NWO come out, but they all stay at the entrance. Page says that Savage won’t come in the ring because there is no one there to attack him from behind. Page says that Savage spends his free time watching Hogan’s car and kissing his ass. Great line. Savage looks on from the entranceway and is losing his mind. He talks to Bischoff, who tries to calm him down, but it doesn’t work. Savage makes his way to the ring slowly while Page is standing there waiting for him. He slides in, and Page starts taking out every member of The NWO with the crutch. Scott Norton is the one who hits him from behind, which allows all the members to attack him. The Giant hits the ring and The NWO clears out.
Collective Thoughts: Anyone who has followed my work knows that I don’t like promo segments on Pay-Per-View, but I feel like this one worked. There was so much animosity between Page and Savage that this felt out of control, in a good way. The rivalry between Savage and Page was one of the better ones in 1997, and for that reason, I was a fan of this segment.
Yuji Yasuraoka vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
For the purposes of my sanity, I will be referring to Yasuroaka as simply Yuji.
Yuji starts off kicking Mysterio in the leg and takes him down to the mat. Mysterio fights back and locks Yuji in a submission himself, but Yuji gets to the ropes to break the hold. They continue going back and forth with the mat game before Yuji hits a Nothern Lights Suplex. He follows that up by kicking Mysterio in the spine and starts to lay the boots to him. He continues to lay into Mysterio, but he soon fights out and kicks Yuji in the chest area. They continue going back and forth until Yuji hits a clothesline that sends Mysterio to the mat. Yuji hits a spinning wheel kick, but only gets a two count. He comes off the ropes and Mysterio hits him with a back body drop. Mysterio bounces off the ropes and takes him to the outside with a Hurricanrana. The referee steps in front of Mysterio that causes him not to jump to the outside and he starts counting Yuji out. Mysterio leaps over the referee and hits Yuji with a splash to the outside. Yuji climbs in the ring and is immediately put in a Camel Clutch. He stomps on the head of Yuji and hits some chops to the chest. Mysterio springboards off the top rope, but is met with a dropkick from Yuji. He continues to maintain the offense with some kicks to the head and an armbar. He throws Mysterio shoulder-first into the turnbuckle and continues isolating that part of the body. Mysterio rakes the eyes to fight out, but Yuji quickly takes him down again. Yuji hits an elbow before locking in the cross arm breaker again. He wraps his arm around the bottom rope and kicks it again. Yuji hits a series of chops against the ropes and tries to throw Mysterio to the other side, but he fights it off. He sends Yuji flying to the outside, but the damage has been done to the arm. Mysterio slides to the outside, but Yuji is right there with a senton that wipes him out. Yuji suplexes him back in the ring and picks up a two count. He throws Mysterio into the corner and charges in, but Mysterio gets the feet up. Mysterio hits a Springboard Moonsault for a two count. Mysterio tries to roll him up, but Yuji reverses it, and both men exchange small packages. Mysterio comes back with a powerbomb when both men get back to their feet and he drags Yuji to the middle of the ring. He climbs up top and misses a splash when Yuji rolls out of the way. Yuji hits a Double-Arm DDT, but Mysterio kicks out at two. He goes for it again, but naturally, Mysterio reverses it into a pinning attempt. Yuji hits another kick and pounds away on the head of Mysterio. He kicks him in the midsection and climbs up top, but Mysterio catches him with a dropkick on the way down. Mysterio hits a springboard Hurricanrana and picks up the win after 14:58.
Winner: Rey Mysterio Jr.
Match Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: What can I say? This match was above average, which should surprise no one. Mysterio worked from underneath, like most matches, but he did it so well. He is one of the better sellers in the history of the sport. Yuji was a product of Japan mostly, but did really well, and it was a great back and forth match. Mysterio seems to be next in line for a shot at Syxx and The WCW Cruiserweight Title, and I am all about it.
Mortis (w/James Vandenberg) vs. Glacier
We got this match last month, and it wasn’t very good.
Glacier charges to the ring, but Mortis gets the advantage with a kick to the head. Mortis gets him in the corner and continues pounding away on him. He puts the leg of Glacier on the second rope and wails away on it. He continues to stomp on the knee as he starts calling for Wrath to come out from the back. He makes his way out, while Glacier gets the upper hand in the ring. Glacier sends him into the ropes and hits a back body drop. Glacier sends Mortis to the outside which sends Wrath into the ring and he hits Glacier with a weapon and the referee throws the match out after 1:51.
Winner by DQ: Glacier
Match Rating: DUD
Collective Thoughts: This was a Nitro angle. Mortis beat up Glacier for a minute before Wrath came down to finish him off. I can’t make it any plainer than that.
After the match, Mortis and Wrath take turns destroying Glacier. Mortis slams his head into the stair at ringside, and he rolls him back in the ring. Wrath grabs Glacier and puts him in a Full Nelson, which allows the other guys to take him out. A “fan” hits the ring and takes out both Mortis and Wrath. The fan is Ernest “The Cat” Miller, but they only mention it briefly.
Mean Gene is back with some more info that you can only hear from the hotline. He sends it back to the announce team. Seriously, what was the point of that?
WCW United States Title Match
Dean Malenko (c) vs. Jeff Jarrett (w/Debra McMichael)
Jarrett is a full-fledged member of The Four Horsemen at this point and the crowd is into it.
Both men try to size each other up for an early advantage. They lock up and Malenko works him into the corner before letting up. Jarrett hits a shoulder block that sends Malenko to the mat, but he gets right back up to his feet. Jarrett shoves Malenko down and hits an arm drag as he gets back up. They have some chain wrestling on the mat with Jarrett taking control with an armbar. Malenko fights out and snaps Jarrett over with a snap mare into a chin lock. Jarrett fights his way back to his feet grabs at Malenko’s leg before letting go and both men are back to a vertical base. He grabs the leg of Malenko again, and both men exchange some leg sweeps. Malenko eventually grabs the advantage and grapevines the leg again. Malenko pulls him to the apron and hits an elbow to the knee and dropkicks the knee against the guardrail. He rolls Jarrett back in the ring, but gets an elbow dropped on him as he comes back in. Jarrett sends him into the ropes and hits a dropkick. Jarrett follows that up with an abdominal stretch and Debra grabs his hand for more leverage. Malenko muscles out, but Jarrett is right back on him. Malenko fights out, throws him into the ropes, and takes him with some kicks. Jarrett gets back to his feet. but Malenko knocks him down again. Jarrett rolls out of the ring to regroup and Debra is there with him. Jarrett climbs back in and grabs the arm of Malenko and starts working on that part of the body once again. Malenko pulls him down by the hair, but it doesn’t work, and Jarrett is back on the offensive. Malenko slams Jarrett’s head into the corner and hits a belly to back suplex. He throws Jarrett into the corner, but Jarrett comes out and hits a swinging neck breaker. Malenko recovers and takes him down. He tries to put Jarrett in The Texas Cloverleaf, but Jarrett rolls him up for two. He goes for it again, but Jarrett thwarts the attempt. Jarrett comes off the top with a crossbody but can’t win the match. He puts Malenko in a sleeper hold, but Malenko shoves him into the corner to break it up. Malenko gets a sleeper of his own on, but Jarrett fights out and locks him in The Figure Four. Malenko gets to the ropes and it causes a break of the move. Jarrett catches him on his shoulders, but Malenko slides off. He shoves Jarrett out of the ring and Drba is there to check on him. That causes Steve McMichael to come down to the ring and he throws Jarrett back in and takes Debra from ringside. Malenko hits a kick to the midsection, a Double-Underhook Suplex, and locks in The Texas Cloverleaf which makes Jarrett tap out and Malenko retains the title after 16:54.
Winner and STILL WCW United States Champion: Dean Malenko
Match Rating: 2.75/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: The match was solid overall, but it dragged for a good bit of it. Both Jarrett and Malenko are great technical wrestlers and they went back and forth until the very end. The storyline between Jarrett and Mongo also continued with Mongo essentially costing him the match. It has been a while since I have seen a technical match like that, and it was refreshing, so at least it had that going for it.
Death Match
Meng vs. Chris Benoit (w/Woman)
This is essentially a Last Man Standing Match. Benoit told Woman on WCW Saturday Night that under no circumstances should she throw in the towel.
Meng shoves Benoit in the corner to start the match, but Benoit catches a kick into a leg whip. He throws Benoit out of the ring who talks with Woman while regrouping. Meng hits a belly to belly suplex and kicks Benoit in the gut. Benoit ducks under a clothesline and hits Meng with a German Suplex. He hits Meng in the head a few times and hits a dropkick to the knee. He stomps away on the leg and tries to get on a submission hold, but Meng kicks him to the outside. The two brawl outside with Benoit throwing Meng headfirst into the stairs. Meng slowly gets back in the ring and both men look like they have been through hell already. Meng hits a huge chop to the chest and continues to wail on Benoit. He hits some elbows to the head, but Benoit throws Meng into the corner for some chops of his own. Both men brawl and the camera shows Miss Jaqueline standing in the aisleway. Woman walks towards her, and Jackie walks to the back. Meanwhile, in the ring, Meng hits a clothesline and continues to stomp away on Benoit. He hits a headbutt and stomps on the groin area of Benoit. He sets him up for a Boston Crab and steps all the way over and has the move sunk in. Benoit tries to fight out and grabs the ropes to break the hold, which is weird in a Death Match. Benoit gets some kicks to the midsection, but Meng stops the flurry with a headbutt. Meng sets Benoit up for a Piledriver and hits it with authority. The referee starts to count Benoit down, but he makes it back to his feet. Meng is there immediately and continues to beat on Benoit. Benoit catches the arm and turns it into a Crippler Crossface, but Meng gets to the ropes, and the referee makes him break the hold. Again, weird in this match. Benoit hits a forearm to the head, but Meng quickly takes him back down to the mat. Meng pulls him back to his feet only to continues beating on him. Benoit looks Meng in the eyes and tells him to hit him again, which he does. Benoit slowly makes his way back to his feet and Meng throws him into the corner. He kicks Benoit in the chest and goes for a running kick, but Benoit jumps out of the way. Benoit hits a series of German Suplexes, but Meng puts an end to that with an elbow and a headbutt. Benoits grabs his arm for the Crossface again, but Meng again gets to the ropes. He stomps on Meng, who slides out of the ring. Benoit comes off the ropes and hits a Suicide Dive that wipes both men out. Benoit climbs to the top, but Meng knocks him down. He climbs up top with Benoit, but he gets shoved down and Benoit hits another German Suplex. Benoit climbs to the top rope and goes for a Diving Headbutt, but Meng catches him in The Tongan Death Grip. Benoit can’t answer the call and the referee declares Meng the winner after 16:54. Weirdly enough, the last two matches went the same amount of time.
Winner: Meng
Match Rating: 3/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: This was a fight. There is no other way to describe it other than these two went to war for 15+ minutes. Every time Benoit would mount some kind of offense, Meng would take him out immediately. The story between Woman and Miss Jaqueline also continued, although they had a very brief interaction. Having Benoit pass out, rather than tap out, is a good way to protect him and put The Tongan Death Grip over as a devastating hold.
There is a commercial for The Great American Bash 1997, which will be the next show we will be covering in the series.
Konnan and Hugh Morrus (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner)
The Steiner’s have had their hands full as of late with The NWO, particularly The Outsiders, but they are taking on a different team this month.
Scott and Morrus are the first two in the match for their teams. Scott takes him down to the mat, and it has Morrus complaining that he was pulling the hair. He locks Morrus up with a wristlock, but Morrus fights out and pulls him down to the mat. Morrus hits a shot to the head and takes Scott down with a shoulder block. He tries to slam Scott’s head into the turnbuckle, but Scott reverses it into a belly to belly suplex. He makes a tag this brother, but Morrus quickly starts hitting Rick. He throws him into the corner and hits a splash. He throws him in a second time and tries the splash again, but Rick moves and hits a belly to belly suplex. Rick climbs up top and hits a flying clothesline that sends Morrus outside of the ring to regroup with his team. He makes the tag to Konnan, and he gets a kick to the midsection but is taken out with an elbow. Rick hits a belly to back suplex and an arm drag that has Konnan down on the mat. He covers him for a two count. Scott makes a tag in and keeps the advantage of Konnan. He throws him into the corner, but Konnan gets the feet up to the face. Scott hits another suplex, and Konnan makes the tag to Morrus. He comes in and takes Scott off of his feet, and then presses him over his head. They work Scott into their corner and take turns attacking him. Konnan makes a tag and hits Scott with a clothesline. They Scott in a double-team submission, but Rick is there to break it up. Morrus continues to grind on the arm of Scott and tags in Konnan. He comes in and picks up where Morrus left off and continues working on the arm. Morrus comes in the match, but Scott sends him to the outside and hits Konnan with a clothesline. Morrus comes back in and climbs up top, but Scott catches him with a foot on the way down. Rick is stretched for the tag and Scott makes it to him. Rick is in the ring and he is cleaning house. He sends Konnan to the outside and climbs up top to hit Morrus with a top rope bulldog. He covers him, but Konnan breaks it up. Scott comes in to take out Konnan and works on him in the corner as Rick and Morrus are on the other side. Scott knocks Konnan down and Morrus takes out Rick at the same time. Morrus goes for No Laughing Matter, but Rick rolls out of the way. Scott hits Morrus with a Frankensteiner, and Rick covers him to pick up the win after 9:35.
Winner(s): The Steiner Brothers
Match Rating: 2.25/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: This was a point in time where Scott was super athletic for his size. Think Brian Cage, but in 1997. He had all the tools to be a top guy in wrestling. Morrus and Konnan did a good job isolating him to their side, but when Rick tagged in it was all over. The Steiner’s going over here made sense because they were still feuding with The Outsiders, and it advances the story of Konnan leaving Jimmy Hart and eventually joining The NWO. That Frankensteiner that Scott did is still super impressive.
After the match, Jimmy Hart has a meeting with Konnan and Hugh Morrus in the ring. Konnan attacks Morrus and hits him with a DDT. Jimmy Hart is wondering why he did that and he pushes him out of the way before leaving the ring.
Steve “Mongo” McMichael (w/Debra McMichael) vs. Reggie White (w/Kent Johnson)
White was still at the top of his game in the NFL at this point and is just another man in a long list of outside talent WCW was able to pull in during this time, especially from the NFL. Kent Johnson was White’s strength coach in Green Bay for the Packers.
The bell rings and both men are sizing each other up. They lock up and White shoves McMichael into the corner. They lock up a second time and McMichael gets him locked in a headlock, but White quickly fights out. White comes off the ropes and hits McMichael with a shoulder block and he oversells it and falls to the mat. They both get in a three-point stance and McMichael takes out of the leg. White pulls himself up and stomps on the mat to get the feeling back in his leg. They line up again only this time White leapfrogs over him and McMichael is sent to the outside. He starts walking to the back, but is cut off by Gilbert Brown and thrown back in the ring. Brown played for the Packers at the time as well. White hits McMichael with a dropkick and gets a two count. McMichael grabs the arm and gets White in an armbar. White fights out and sends McMichael to the outside again. White gets McMichael in a headlock, but he gets his knees taken out. McMichael starts working on the leg after taking White down to the mat and locks him in an ankle hold. McMichael hits a scoop slam and tries a big elbow, but White rolls out of the way. White comes off the ropes and hits a crossbody for a near fall. White locks in a nerve hold on the neck and it brings McMichael down to his knees. McMichael hits a low blow where the referee can’t see it and White falls to the mat. McMichael goes back to working on the leg of White and locks on a single leg crab. White recovers and tries to mount some offense, but McMichael takes him out. He goes for a Figure Four, but White kicks him out of the ring. McMichael climbs to the top rope but is thrown off. McMichael gets back to his feet and they exchange blows in the middle of the ring. White hits a series of clotheslines and hits an atomic drop. McMichael is against the ropes and White clotheslines him over. McMichael pulls White out of the ring and he gets thrown into the guardrail for his trouble. White continues to get some shots in and rolls McMichael back in the ring. White slides in himself and is met with some punches to the head. He gets back to his feet and hits a suplex on McMichael. He hits a splash and goes for the cover, but Debra is distracting the referee. McMichael grabs the briefcase, but Gilbert Brown takes it away from him. Jeff Jarrett brings another one down to the ring and McMichael hits White with it. He covers him to pick up the win after 15:17.
Winner: Steve “Mongo” McMichael
Match Rating: DUD
Collective Thoughts: What could go wrong when you have a ring general like Steve McMichael in a match leading the way? This match as an attraction was below-average and it was worse as an actual match. I don’t give negative ratings because I think it’s redundant, but a DUD for a match that went 15 minutes isn’t good. There were more headlocks in this match than any other match has had since the 1950s. I give props to White for doing something different, but this wasn’t very good.
Team NWO (Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Syxx) vs. Team WCW (“The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, and Kevin Greene)
Greene played for The Carolina Panthers at the time. Two matches, two NFL players.
It’s Syxx and Flair starting the match off. They lock up and Flair sends him into the ropes, but Syxx takes him down with a shoulder block. Syxx follows that up with an arm drag and starts strutting, but he met with a knife-edge chop to the chest. He isn’t down for long though and comes back with a spinning heel kick. He starts chopping Flair in the corner, but is quickly in the corner himself and Flair is laying into him. Flair hits him with a back body drop and hits another chop. Hall comes in the match and Flair takes him out. He chops Nash and begs him to come into the match. Syxx tags in Hall who comes in and throws the toothpick into the face of Flair. Flair tags in Greene who does from football drills and tells Hall to come get him. Hall spits at him and tags Nash into the match. Nash shoves him but Greene is not backing down. Nash hits a high-knee and Greene goes into the corner. Nash beats on him with some knees and elbows while telling him to go back to the NFL. Greene comes off the ropes and he takes Nash down with a shoulder block. He hits a clothesline and picks him up for a scoop slam. Syxx and Hall hits the ring, but Greene takes them both out with a clothesline. They slide to the outside to regroup and the fans are eating every second of this up. Hall tags in and he says that he wants Piper in the match. Greene makes it happen and Hall and Piper stand face to face. Hall slaps the bad hip of Piper and gets the taste slapped out of his mouth. They wrestle into the corner and Piper hits a flurry of offense. Piper hits a knee lift and backs Hall into their corner. They lock up and suddenly Piper finds himself in the NWO corner. He fights off all three men before bringing Hall to the middle and hitting a neck breaker. Syxx comes in and kicks Piper’s leg out from under him, and Hall starts to work on the hip and leg. He tags Syxx back in and he drops an elbow on the knee. They continue exchanging tags and keeping Piper isolated.
Hall tries to get a Figure Four on, but Piper kicks him away. Piper dives and makes the tag to Flair, who comes in, and clears the ring. Hall gets a finger to the eye and throws Flair into the corner for his usual bump. Flair climbs up to the top rope and ACTUALLY JUMPS OFF, but Hall catches him and hits a Fallaway Slam. All six men are now out on the floor and it’s a brawl before Flair and Hall are back in the ring. Nash tags in and hits Flair with some Snake Eyes and hits some knees to the midsection. Hall pulls down on the head of Flair on the ropes, and Nash comes on with a squash move. Nash tags in Hall who starts slapping Flair in the face. He stomps on the head and throws him into the corner for a clothesline. Syxx is back in and hits Flair with a Bronco Buster. Piper gets in the ring but is cut off by the referee. Syxx continues beating on Flair, who tries to fight back, but is shoved right into Hall who knocks him down. Syxx hits Flair with a suplex and both men are down on the mat. Hall and Piper both make tags into the match, but the referee didn’t see Flair make the tag. Piper wipes out the referee and Greene starts beating on Syxx. Hall and Flair are in the middle of the ring and Flair hits a low blow. Hall sets Flair up for an Outsiders Edge, but Flair counters into a Figure Four. Greene comes in and hits Nash and Piper gets him in the sleeper. Greene takes out Syxx and he covers him with Nick Patrick coming down and counting the three count. The whole match went for 17:20.
Winner(s): Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, and Kevin Greene
Match Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: The match was fine, but it was elevated by how much the crowd was into it. They were into everything Team WCW was doing, especially when Flair was in the match. It got out of control in spots, but overall, it was way better than the previous match featuring an NFL player. Greene could actually hold his own in the ring and not be embarrassed by hitting some moves you didn’t expect from him. You could feel how hot The NWO vs. WCW feud was at this time, and the fans loved seeing them get theirs in the end. Nick Patrick coming down to the ring to count the pinfall was also interesting because it burned The NWO for the second show in a row. Was it the best match I have ever seen? No, but compared to some main events they have had, I will take it.
After the match, the winners stand in the entranceway together, and the show goes off the air.
Overall Show Rating: 5.5 out of 10
This show was a bit of a step back. The matches weren’t anything disastrous, but having that McMichael vs. White match where it was on the card sucked the life out of the room. I understand you put it there because it is an attraction, but it just wasn’t good at all. Other matches, like Glacier vs. Mortis, shouldn’t even have been on the show. There were a few standout moments, mostly by The Cruiserweights, but some of these matches just feel flat. You can tell the momentum was going in WCW’s favor at this point though and the crowds have been red hot throughout most of the year. It’s almost summertime in 1997, which means we are about to embark on a period in wrestling that will be heralded as the best ever.
What did you think of WCW Slamboree 1997? Loved it? Hated it? McMichael vs. White fan? Either way, keep the conversation going over @collectiveheel on Twitter and let me know your thoughts. While you are there, be sure to check out my Podcast Network, The Heel Turn Collective. We have new content throughout the week including an AEW review show every Saturday Morning. Take care of yourself, and take care of each other. I will be back soon enough with some more Collective Thoughts.