SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 25:25 Min.
Recorded live on September 18, 1994, for the WCW’s Fall Brawl ’94 Pay-Per-View in Roanoke, VA, this showdown features these four-man teams:
- “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes; “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes; & The Nasty Boys: Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags,
vs.
- Terry Funk; Bunkhouse Buck; “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson; & Col. Robert Parker, with bodyguard Meng (aka the WWF’s Haku) stationed at ringside.
Dusty Rhodes returns to the gimmick he devised back in 1987: a two-ring, roofed double-steel cage grudge match. This time, it’s booked for eight wrestlers instead of ten. Per “Mean” Gene Okerlund’s recorded voice-over explaining the rules, the teams pit their initial two combatants in a five-minute one-on-one brawl. A coin toss then determines a handicap advantage, as the other participants enter in two-minute intervals.
Hence, one side will have a repetitive handicap advantage until all eight wrestlers are in. For the subsequent “Match Beyond,” there’s no escape, as the losing squad is forced to either submit or surrender. Tony Schiavone and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan are the ringside co-commentators.
In 2013, the WWE released this match as part of a collection of War Games matches (in DVD and Blu-ray formats) entitled WWE War Games: WCW’s Most Notorious Matches.
Notes: The match’s in-ring camera operator is Jackie Crockett. Also, the Rhodes faction here is a family affair, as Sags is actually Dusty’s brother-in-law.
REVIEW:
Resuming old-school War Games formula (i.e. a Rhodes & Anderson square off first for the umpteenth time), this mid-card slugfest is quickly forgettable. Yet, some moments aren’t half-bad. For one thing, an ode to good taste unexpectedly occurs, as there’s no bloodshed. Only a supposedly loaded boot and a makeshift pair of straps are scrounged up as weapons. There’s also an effort towards humor, such as: Funk (intentionally or not) falling between rings, Dustin Rhodes spinning around an upside-down Anderson like a post-hole digger between rings, and lamely exaggerating Parker’s cowardice.
Still, these players can only do so much, even with a fun commentary boost from Heenan & Schiavone. If there is a MVP, it’s Dustin Rhodes for putting in the most resilient effort. As for an unofficial MVP, that’s the menacing Meng/Haku, who would likely wipe out Dustin, Dusty, & the Nastys by himself.
This War Games is decent viewing, but purchasing it outside the DVD or Blu-ray set doesn’t make much sense.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 4 Stars
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