A Collective Review of WCW Superbrawl VI 1996 (Two Steel Cage Matches) by Lance Augustine
Welcome to another deep dive into classic WCW Pay-Per-Views and this time we will be covering Superbrawl VI from February 1996. I am covering all the WCW Pay-Per-Views during the “Monday Night Wars” era and just recently went over WCW Starrcade 1995. I have covered a few other shows leading up to this point which you can find here in our WCW PPV Reviews section.
Starrcade went off the air with Ric Flair winning the WCW Heavyweight Title from Randy Savage and the show also had a tournament for “The World Cup of Wrestling”, which WCW came out on top. Since then, Savage has regained the WCW Title and faces Flair again on this show, but this time it is inside of a Steel Cage. Hulk Hogan will also be returning on this show after missing Starrcade due to being kayfabe suspended. Now, we are getting into what I think is the best time in wrestling history between the years 1996-1998. That’s not really a stretch to say, but I am on board with most people that would claim that. Let’s see how WCW starts off in 1996!
WCW Superbrawl VI
February 11th, 1996
St. Petersburg, Florida
The commentary team of Tony Schiavone, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes welcome us to the show and run down the card for tonight, including the two Steel Cage Matches. Tony talks about Flair becoming an unprecedented 13-time World Champion if he wins tonight and they go down to the ring for the first match.
Tag Team Street Fight Match
Public Enemy (Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge) vs. The Nasty Boys (Jerry Sags and Brian Knobbs)
The match starts off quickly with both teams just starting to go at each other. Public Enemy tosses both members of the Nasty Boys out of the ring and follows them out. Grunge and Knobbs are working on each other on one side, while Sags and Rock are going at each other on the other side. Rock grabs a table and brings it to Sags but he gets hit right in the head with a chair. Sags walks over to Grunge to hit him as well, but Grunge recovers and starts swinging the chair himself. Rock goes after Knobbs and sets the table up again as Grunge and Sags take each other out on the aisle way. Rock sets Knobbs on the table but Knobbs gets up and tosses Rock off the apron through the table. Sags grabs a trash can full of all kinds of stuff and he starts wearing Grunge down with the lid. Grunge and Sags get in the ring with Sags hitting a Piledriver on the trash can. He covers Grunge, but he gets his foot on the bottom rope. Grunge recovers and starts laying into Sags with the trash can lid. On the outside, Knobbs suplexes Rock through a table over by the fans. Rock gets back to his feet and Knobbs takes him out with a chair shot to the head. Grunge and Sags come over with the other two and they continue demolishing each other with chairs. Grunge hits a bulldog on Sags on an open chair. Knobbs grabs the trash can lid and starts laying into both members of Public Enemy. Sags gets another table and he slams it down on Rock. Public Enemy gets back on the offensive and get another table ready. Grunge puts Sags on the table and Rock comes off a part of the concourse with a splash but misses. Knobbs covers Rock and picks up the win for The Nasty Boys. The match went for 7:49.
Winner(s): The Nasty Boys
Match Rating 2.25/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: The whole match was a mess to follow. They fought all over the arena and just beat the hell out of each other. Public Enemy was known for using the tables and boy did they ever in this match. Both teams took turns whaling on each other and it’s a hard match to rate because of it. These types of matches don’t have any psychology or anything, so from a pure entertainment standpoint, I might have bumped the rating up a little bit. The final spot with Rock coming off part of the concourse looked like it hurt pretty bad, but knowing these teams they probably thought they tore the house down. This is the same company that throwing someone over the top rope was a disqualification, so this was a crazy way to start the show.
Post-Match, both teams keep beating each other up with chairs and garbage cans. They show replays of the match before sending it to Mean Gene.
Gene talks about the WCW Hotline and teases that some WWF Superstars could be making their way to WCW (Spoiler Alert, It’s Hall and Nash). WCW United States Champion Konnan joins Gene and says that tonight when he faces One Man Gang for the title, he won’t let his people down. Gene asks about the size difference and Konnan says he isn’t afraid and will come out on top tonight once again.
WCW Television Title Match
Johnny B. Badd (c) (w/Diamond Doll) vs. Diamond Dallas Page
This match also has The Diamond Doll on the line, as well as $6.6 million of DDP’s money. They said it, I didn’t. Also, a quick note that on the Starrcade show they referred to her as Kimberly and here she is back to being Diamond Doll. I love WCW. Kimberly was married to DDP.
Page starts the match by walking up to Diamond Doll but Badd hits him from behind and throws him into the guardrail. He rolls Page in the ring, but he cuts him off and takes Badd out with some shots to the back. Badd pulls the rope down and DDP flys over to the floor. Badd hits DDP with a slam and covers him for a two count. Page hits a snap mare but Badd fights out and maintains control. Badd goes for a backslide but only gets a two count, and continues to work on the arm of DDP. DDP reverses a toss into the ropes and drops Badd on the rope throat first. He hits Badd below the belt with an elbow, as the referee warns him to lay off. He picks Badd up and hits a Gutbuster and taunts Diamond Doll on the outside. Page attempts to throw Badd into the ropes but he is still selling the low blow and falls to the mat. He tries to pin Badd, but he reverses it and gets a two count on Page. Page regains the advantage and hits a DDT but doesn’t cover him while Diamond Doll gives him a “0” on the outside. Badd rolls him up from behind but only gets a two count. Page gets back to his feet and starts choking Badd before locking in a chin lock and uses the ropes for leverage. Badd gets back to his feet and comes back with a roll-up for a near fall. Page recovers and takes Badd back down to the mat for a couple of near falls. Badd hits a shot to the midsection and takes DDP down by sweeping the legs. He challenges some Page punches and takes him down with a right hand. He goes up top and hits an ax-handle with Diamond Doll giving him a “10”. Badd goes back up top and hits a big Sunset Flip but only gets a two count. Badd hits a Sitout Powerbomb but Page kicks out again. Page recovers and chokes Badd on the top rope and throws Badd into the corner and follows it with an elbow. He covers Badd with his feet on the ropes for a near fall. Page hits a sit-out slam but Badd kicks out again. Page throws him into the ropes and locks a sleeper hold on, and Badd starts to fade away. He comes back with a jawbreaker and locks Page in a sleeper of his own. Page fights out and goes for the sit-out slam again but Badd reverses it into a Tombstone and pins Page to retain the title and win the money. The match lasted 14:59.
Winner and STILL WCW Television Champion: Johnny B. Badd
Match Rating: 3.25/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: This is the third match I have reviewed these two going at it and their matches never disappoint. This match went nearly 15 minutes long but in anti-WCW fashion at the time, it didn’t drag much at all. Page was on the offensive for a good portion of the match, which worked because Badd is a great seller. I thought the money stipulation was silly, but it was part of the storyline. Badd wouldn’t be in the company much longer after this, but he put in some quality work while in WCW. This match was also an example of a mid-card title being a workhorse and the competitors having solid matches. Badd winning here was a little shocking since he beat Page a bunch before, but it will be interesting to see where they go from here.
They send it to Gene who is backstage with Harlem Heat. Gene asks Stevie Ray about the match tonight and he says its time for them to put their foot down. He said there is a hitlist out and both Luger and Sting are on it. Booker T. grabs the mic and says that they won’t back down from anyone and that tonight they should watch their back because Harlem Heat refuses to leave without the titles around their waist. Booker says that Harlem Heat is the tag team of the future and will take the belts with them.
WCW Tag Team Title Match
Lex Luger and Sting (c) vs. Harlem Heat (Booker T. and Stevie Ray)
The winners of this match will defend the titles one more time on the show against The Road Warriors.
Sting and Booker T. face off to start the match. Booker works him into the corner and hits some high knees. Sting reverses an Irish whip and hits a clothesline but Booker comes back with a slam and puts Sting in a headscissors. Sting gets back to his feet and tags in Luger who immediately starts hitting Booker with some forearms and punches in the corner. Luger throws him into the other corner and charges in but Booker gets the foot up. He tags in Ray who comes in and takes Luger out of the ring with some stiff shots. Luger gets back in the ring to tag Sting back in but Ray takes him out with a kick to the midsection and stomps him down to the mat and knocks Luger off the apron. He whips Sting into the ropes but he reverses it into an arm drag and a dropkick. Ray gets a thumb to the eye which lets him make the tag back to Booker T. Booker hits a shoulder block but Sting comes back with a kick and a bulldog before tagging Luger back in. Luger hits Booker with some kicks and rubs his eyes against the top rope. He takes him down with a slam and covers him for a two count. Luger attempts an elbow drop but Booker rolls out of the way and hits a Sidewalk Slam. Booker attempts an elbow with Luger moving, but he does the spinaroonie and hits Luger with a Harlem Side Kick before making the tagging to his brother. Ray comes in with some stomps and starts to choke Luger. He works him into the ropes and distracts the referee while Booker takes him down on the apron. Ray picks him back up and hits a clothesline for a near fall. He tags Booker in as they continue to isolate Luger. He works him into the corner but Luger gets the boot up and takes him down with a clothesline. Booker gets to his corner first and Ray is in to hit a Powerbomb on Luger for a two count. He gets a nerve hold on Luger, but Sting gets the crowd going and Luger makes it back to his feet. Ray takes him down with a knee and tags Booker back in the match. Booker comes off the ropes and hits the Scissors Kick but only gets a two count. Luger tries to get to his corner but Booker hits Sting which causes him to try to get in the ring and Harlem Heat double team Luger. Luger makes the tag to Sting but the referee is distracted and doesn’t it and sends Sting back out. Harlem Heat continues to work on Luger and Sting runs over and takes both men out. He hits Booker with a Stinger Splash but Ray pulls down the rope and Sting is sent flying to the outside. The Road Warriors hit the ring and Animal hits Luger in the back but Luger lands on him to pick up the win. The match went 11:39.
Winner(s) and STILL WCW Tag Team Champions: Lex Luger and Sting
Match Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: The match was alright as a whole, but wasn’t anything special. Harlem Heat did a good job isolating Luger for an extended period in the match and Sting wasn’t involved much towards the end. Booker T. did well in this match and hit a lot of his signature offense he would develop later on, and Stevie Ray was the powerhouse he normally was for the team. The ending was kind of wonky with The Road Warriors getting involved, but it was an average tag team match overall. Luger and Sting will now face The Road Warriors later on tonight.
Post-Match, Booker is stunned by what happened and is disgusted in the ring. Luger and Sting walk up the aisle and they go to Mean Gene who is talking to Luger and Sting. Luger says he held up his end of the bargain and they are still the champions. Sting says that he is excited to still be the champions and wouldn’t rather have any other partner than Luger. Gene sends it back down to the ring.
WCW United States Title Match
Konnan (c) vs. One Man Gang
Gang hits Konnan from behind to start the match and it takes him down in the corner. He continues to stomp on him and choke him with his boot. He throws him into the opposite corner but Konnan leapfrogs him and takes him down with a dropkick to the knee. He hits a crossbody and both men are sent to the floor. Konnan comes off the apron with a splash but Gang chokes him on the top as he tries to get back in the ring. Gang hits a leg drop and jaws with the referee. He starts to choke Konnan and rakes the eyes as Konnan tries to get back to his feet. Gang hits a sidewalk slam and works him into the corner with some more knees to the chest. Konnan fights back but is soon taking down to the mat again. Gang hits a shot to the head and slams his head into the turnbuckle. Konnan gets back to his feet but Gang takes him down again before wearing him out on the second rope. He puts him in the corner and hits some body shots, but Konnan comes back with a kick and some punches to the head. Konnan goes up top and hits a Hurricanrana followed by a dropkick. He attempts another one, but Gang stops him in his tracks and hits a big splash. Gang goes up top and misses with a splash which allows Konnan to hit a flipping senton off the top and he picks up the win to retain. The match went for 7:27.
Winner and STILL WCW United States Champion: Konnan
Match Rating: 1.25/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: This match really lacked any sort of heat or good action. One Man Gang had such a slow pace and Konnan tried to kick it into second gear, but it never quite got there. Konnan winning the match isn’t a surprise because One Man Gang wasn’t in the company much longer after this and they were pushing Konnan here.
Gene is back and is talking about the guys jumping from the WWF, and he will have the inside scoop on the hotline. The Road Warriors join Gene and Animal says that him hitting Luger earlier was redemption for Luger when he attacked Animal from behind. Animal says that Luger and Sting are in trouble and the titles are coming back with them. Hawk chimes in and says that it’s their times and they have a lot of problems coming tonight. Gene says its time to get back down to the ring.
“Respect” Strap Match
“The Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Brian Pillman
Pillman sprints to the ring and both men just start going at it. Sullivan takes him down to the mat, but Pillman gets up and gets a few shots with the strap in. Sullivan comes back with a punch to the head and Pillman is out of it. Pillman grabs the microphone from the referee and says: “I respect you, Bookerman” and the match is over. It went for 1:36.
Winner: The Taskmaster
Match Rating: DUD
Collective Thoughts: I don’t have much to say about this one. It was a quick win for Sullivan and it ended abruptly after he punched Pillman square in the face. This marked Pillman’s last match in WCW and he pulled the curtain back a little with that dig to Sullivan. He would go on to join ECW and then the WWF right after. They edited “bookerman” out of the show on the network, but trust me, he said it.
For more info on the Pillman/Sullivan segment, here’s Eric Bischoff explaining that it was a work with only a few people that were in on it.
After the match, Pillman rolls out of the ring, and Sullivan is looking stunned in the ring at what just happened. Arn Anderson makes his way down to the ring and is trying to be stopped by Jimmy Hart and Doug Dillinger. Sullivan whips Anderson with the strap and he takes his shirt off and it looks like we are having an additional match.
“Respect” Strap Match: Part 2
“The Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan vs. Arn Anderson
The bell sounds and both men start hitting each other with belt shots. Anderson takes Sullivan down to the mat and continues to wail on him with the strap. He lays the boots to him and starts choking him with the strap. Sullivan goes for the eyes and uses the strap for a low blow which takes Anderson down. He gets back to his feet but Sullivan whips him into the corner and stomps down on the hand. Anderson hits a low blow and starts to choke Sullivan with the strap on the ropes. The referee is asking him if he wants to stop but he gets off the apron and pulls Anderson to the outside. He pulls him into the ring post and hits him with the strap a few more times. Anderson comes back with some punches and rolls Sullivan back in the ring. Ric Flair runs out to the ring and tells the two to break it up. Flair said they should be focusing on beating Hogan and Savage tonight and not be fighting amongst each other. Flair cuts a promo about destroying Hulkamania and Savage as they all leave the ring.
Winner: No Contest
Match Rating: DUD
Collective Thoughts: This was a lot like the first strap match just went longer. There wasn’t much that went on at all other than whipping each other but the whole thing didn’t seem to click. Flair coming out to break it up showed some unity, but this probably wasn’t needed.
Mean Gene is backstage with Jimmy Hart and The Giant. Hart says that he wants to make it plain and simple that he doesn’t stand a chance against his giant. The Giant says that he has looked into the souls of men and that all that evil is brewing inside of him. He said tonight, the door was shut on the cage and he will know what real pain feels like. He says that tonight Hulkamania is over. Gene says that tonight they will be in a cage which means that Hart won’t be able to get involved and Hart tells him it’s no big deal and that The Giant will win.
WCW Tag Team Title Match
Sting and Lex Luger (c) vs. The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal)
The Road Warriors start talking to Luger outside of the ring which makes him walk away. Sting follows him up and gives him a pop talk to come down and defend the titles. Luger gets back to the ring after a bit and the match gets underway. Sting and Hawk start the match off with Hawk grabbing a headlock. Hawk throws Sting into the ropes and hits a dropkick that sends Sting to the outside. Sting circles the ring with Hawk on his trail. Sting kicks Hawk in the midsection and rolls him back in the ring and the two wrestle each other on the mat. Hawk gains the advantage and puts Sting in a Regal Stretch, but Sting gets to the ropes. Hawk slams Sting into the corner and he makes the tag to Animal. He comes in and starts working on the arm of Sting. Sting rebounds and hits Animal with some shots and he makes the tag to Luger, who is hesitant to get in the ring. Animal and Luger square off with Luger getting the upper hand with a kick and some shots to the head. Animal reverses course and slams Luger’s head into the corner and hits a dropkick, followed by a Powerslam. He tags in Hawk, who sends Luger into the corner and follows with some clotheslines. He tosses Luger to the outside and Animal throws him into the guard rail. Sting pushes Luger back in the ring and he hits Hawk with a thumb to the eye. Luger comes off the ropes and hits a clothesline and covers for a two count. He tags Sting in, and he hits Hawk with a suplex followed by a near fall. Animal gets a tag back in and he collides with Sting and it sends both men to the mat. Sting gets back to his feet and makes the tag to Luger and he hits Animal with an Atomic Drop. He makes a tag back to Sting and he hits Animal with some shots to the back and takes him down with a bulldog. Sting goes up top and attempts a splash but Animal gets the knees up. Both men go to their corners but Animal makes the tag first and Hawk takes both of them out. He hits Luger with a leg drop and some jumping punches for a near fall. Hawk gets him in a sleeper, but Luger reverses with a jawbreaker. Both men make the tag to their partners and Animal starts pounding on Sting. Sting reverses a whip to the corner and hits Animal with a Stinger Splash. He attempts a Scorpion Death Lock but Hawk breaks it up and makes the tag back into the match. Hawk throws Sting into the ropes but Sting hits a Sunset Flip for a two count. Hawk takes Sting down again with another punch to the head and tags in Animal. He comes in and immediately goes to work on the head and neck of Sting. Luger comes in and takes Animal out from behind which causes Hawk to storm in the match as well. Sting hits Animal with a suplex but he no-sells it and hits Sting with a suplex that he no-sells. Animal hits a dropkick that sends Sting into the corner and makes the tag to Hawk. They hit a double clothesline on Sting and take Luger out together. All 4 men spill out to the outside of the ring and keep brawling. Both teams don’t get back in the ring and both are counted out. The match lasted 13:56.
Winner(s) and STILL WCW Tag Team Champions: Sting and Lex Luger
Match Rating: 2/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: I thought this match was a step below their first match of the night, but it wasn’t terrible. These are two powerhouse teams and that’s the type of match we got. They played up the story of Luger being wary of The Road Warriors and that narrative took over the whole match. Neither team really had the advantage for an extended period, nor did they get a lot of their typical offense in. They brawled throughout the whole match and both teams getting counted out accomplished two things. 1. it didn’t make either team look weak, and 2. really sold the narrative that The Road Warriors were not big Luger fans. Overall, the match was fine, but the story was the thing that stuck out the most.
Post-Match, both teams continue to beat the hell out of each other on the outside and they fight all the way to the back.
Mean Gene is backstage with Ric Flair and Woman. Flair says that Hogan’s master plot has failed again. Flair says that when the cage goes down all bets are off. He says that Savage won’t be able to contend with him and that he is going to bleed, and sweat but he is walking out the WCW Heavyweight Champion. Gene asks that if Flair wins will Woman take a ride on “Space Mountain” and Flair says that he won’t ever tell anyone who he will be with tonight.
They go to a commercial for their next PPV, and obviously the next one we will be covering here: WCW Uncensored 1996.
WCW Heavyweight Title Steel Cage Match
“Macho Man” Randy Savage (c) (w/Miss Elizabeth) vs. “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair (w/Woman)
These two wrestled last month for the title with Flair coming out on top. Savage has regained it since then, and here we are. Michael Buffer makes the introductions and it’s time for the first cage match of the night.
Flair is reluctant to get in the cage and grabs a mic. He says that he is giving Elizabeth one more chance to be by his side and Savage steals the mic from him to say “Oh, no” in typical Savage fashion. Flair gets in the ring and Savage attack him right away with some punches to the head. He covers Flair but only gets a two count. Flair takes advantage and hits Savage with a few chops in the corner. He sends Savage to the mat and hits a running knee. Savage is thrown hard into the cage and his leg is caught on the tope. Flair takes this time to knock the referee out and give him a few stomps for his troubles. Savage with a backslide but nobody is there to make a count. The referee gets back up in time to see Savage hit a back body drop and counts the two. He continues pounding on Flair in the middle of the ring. He chokes Flair with his boot and uses the ropes for leverage. He goes to throw Flair into the cage, but he pushes him off and Savage is sent into the side of the cage. Flair covers Savage after some shots to the head for a two count. He puts Savage into the corner and hits some more chops. Savage ducks under a clothesline but Flair catches him with an elbow. Flair snaps Savage over and climbs up top but much to our surprise, Savage grabs him and throws him off. Savage locks on The Figure Four as Woman looks on and screams to Flair not to tap out. Flair down on the mat and almost gets pinned but he pulls the shoulder up. Flair grabs the rope but the referee says that it doesn’t; matter in a cage. Flair goes for the eyes, but Savage reaches over and slaps him to break the hold. He takes him down to the mat and covers him for a two count. Savage hits a scoop slam and climbs all the way to the top of the cage. He comes off with an ax handle but Flair is ready and hits Savage in the midsection. That was a hell of a dive. Flair picks him up and takes him down with a vertical suplex. He covers Savage for a near fall. Flair throws Savage in the side of the cage again and he falls off the top rope. Flair puts Savage in The Figure Four this time and Savage pulls the referee toward him as Flair grabs the ropes. Savage grabs the ropes and the referee pulls Flair off of him to break the hold. That was weird because earlier the referee didn’t let Flair break it doing the same thing. Savage rolls him up as they get to their feet and gets a two count. Savage goes to the corner but Flair is hot on his trail and the two trade blows back and forth. Savage tosses Flair in the cage this time and rakes his face against it. You know what is coming. Flair is bleeding and Savage continues to throw him all over the ring into the cage. Flair hits an Atomic Drop to stop the momentum but falls to the mat immediately. Flair tries to climb to the top fo the cage but Savage grabs him and pulls him off while also exposing his bare ass. He covers Flair but he gets the shoulder up and they rang the bell anyway but the match isn’t over. Flair hits a low blow and starts to choke Savage. Flair attempts to climb up again and Savage grabs him a second time and climbs up with him. The two go back and forth on the top rope before Flair knocks Savage off and falls off himself. Savage slams Flair’s head into the cage and the door just opens. Shotty locking work. They lock the door as Flair and Savage exchange blows on the inside. Woman goes to throw powder into the eyes of Savage but he ducks out of the way. While that is going on, Elizabeth hands Flair her shoe and he hits Savage with it to pick up the win after 18:52.
Winner and NEW WCW Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair
Match Rating: 3.25/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: I think that was a better outing than these two men had at Starrcade. The cage element helped a bit, but Flair really sold his ass off here. He is one of the best to ever do it, and while this wasn’t his best match, just the facials and reactions made this match very solid. He got color which almost happened in every Flair match and I think the chemistry was always there for these two. Savage was good here too and was one the offensive for most of it while throwing Flair from Pillar to post for the entire match. Elizabeth turning her back on Savage was the shocking thing about the match, and the intrigue of it is something that was a cool way to end the match. We will see how this plays out down the line but for now, Flair is the champion once again.
After the match, Hulk Hogan comes out to confront Elizabeth. Hulk takes a chair into the ring, but Flair has one as well courtesy of Arn Anderson. Flair slides out of the ring while Hogan hits Anderson with the chair and he is sent out of the ring as well. Hogan pleads with the referee about what happened but it’s to no avail. Savage is helped to the back by the referee and Hogan as the announcers talk about what just happened.
Mean Gene is joined backstage by Hogan and he says that Savage and Hogan are on their own island and he can’t believe what Elizabeth did tonight. Hogan says that his match with The Giant tonight is in a steel cage and there will be nobody that can get inside. Hulk says he will take The Giant down and that no one will be able to take him out from his blindside. Gene sends it back to the ring.
Steel Cage Match
Hulk Hogan vs. The Giant
The biggest question is why is this match after the title match? Because it works for Hogan, brother. Also, the referee will be on the outside of the cage for the duration, essentially making this an unsanctioned match.
Hogan rips the shirt off and throws it at The Giant and slams him into the cage. Hogan hits him with the taped fists and starts to choke him with said tape. Hogan rakes the face of The Giant against the cage and hits him in the corner. Hogan steps on his shoulder and starts to bite him on the forehead. Hogan picks up his shirt and starts to choke The Giant with it. He goes to slam him but he is too much and Hogan hurts his back. The Giant capitalizes and hits Hogan with some smashes to the back. He grabs Jogan by the hands and starts to wear him out with a test of strength. The Giant locks him a bear hug but Hogan fights out and tries to drive him into the cage, but The Giant catches him and sends him flying into it. He hits a big chop and hits an elbow to the back of Hogan’s head. He rips off the bandage that was on Hogan’s eye and starts to take advantage of it. The Giant hits a scoop slam and goes for an elbow but Hogan rolls out of the way. Hogan hits some shots and says he is going to pick The Giant up. Hogan goes to slam him again, but The Giant lands on him and starts choking him with his boot. He throws Hogan into the corner and hits a boot to the midsection and starts to lay the boots to Hogan. He throws him against the cage a couple of times. He takes him down to the mat with a slam and goes to escape the cat but Hogan grabs on to the leg. The Giant hits a backbreaker and keeps Hogan bent over the knee. He locks Hogan in a Bear hug once again but Hogan is starting to “Hulk Up”. Hogan fights his way out with some right hands and comes off the ropes but The Giant takes him out with a shot to the head. The Giant hits The Chokeslam but Hogan gets right back to his feet. He throws The Giant into every side of the cage and now The Giant is bleeding. Hogan hits the boot and says that he is going to get him up this time. Hogan picks The Giant up and slams him down and follows it up with three leg drops. Hogan starts to climb the Cage and The Giant just sits up and goes up top with him. They exchange blows and Hogan finally throws him off to the mat. Hogan climbs out of the cage and wins the match in 15 minutes.
Winner: Hulk Hogan
Match Rating: 1.75/5 Stars
Collective Thoughts: The match was pretty boring for the most part and all they tried to build to was Hogan slamming The Giant like he did Andre at Wrestlemania III. It makes sense since they were billing The Giant as Andre’s son at the time, but it didn’t amount to much in the match. Hogan did all of his usual spots and the crowd popped when he slammed him, so I guess it wasn’t all for nothing. It was a standard cage match with two big guys going out there and having a slower-paced match. It never really ramped up though, and from that standpoint, it was a bit of a letdown. The Giant no-selling three leg drops was a big moment huge for him, so I guess the biggest takeaway from the match is Hogan putting The Giant over, even in defeat. I would have put the title match last, but Hogan knows best.
After the match, Sullivan is waiting for Hogan and hits him in the back with a chair. Hogan no-sells it and takes the chair from him and tosses Sullivan into the ring. Meng, The Barbarian, Hugh Morrus, The Shark, and the rest of the Dungeon of Doom come out and Hogan takes them out with a chair. Loch Ness makes his way to the ring but the rest of the Dungeon of Doom retreat from the ring. They hold him back from getting in as Hogan’s music starts playing and the lasting image on the show is The Dungeon of Doom walking up the ramp as Hogan poses in the ring.
Overall Show Rating: 6.25 out of 10
Was this show better than Starrcade the month before? I don’t think so, but it wasn’t far behind it. Starrcade had a lot of good matches, including a 4-star Guerrero match, and this show just didn’t have the match quality overall. They did tell good stories though, the biggest of which is the betrayal of Savage by Elizabeth. The match Savage had with Flair was a highlight of the night, along with The Television Title match between Johhny B. Badd and DDP. The two Luger and Sting matches were alright, and I preferred the one with Harlem Heat a tad bit more. Sullivan and Pillman had an odd encounter with Pillman essentially quitting the company on Pay-Per-View and that caused Sullivan and Arn Anderson to have an impromptu match I don’t think was needed. The main event between Hogan and The Giant was alright for what it was, but it wouldn’t be mistaken for an instant classic. Mid-1990’s WCW was guilty of resting on the laurels of stuff that happened 5-10 years before it. Overall, the quality of the product is improving and as we move along in the reviews I am excited to dive into the heart of the Monday Night Wars.
What did you think of Superbrawl VI? Loved it? Hated it? Never seen it? Either way, keep the conversation going over @collectiveheel on Twitter and let me know your thoughts. Next down the line, we have WCW Uncensored 1996 and that should be a good show to jump into. Support the site. Support each other. Stay safe, and I will be back soon enough with some more Collective Thoughts.