SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 11:58 Min.
Taped sometime in 1992, this WCW Worldwide TV match pits former NWA U.S. Champion “The Russian Nightmare” Nikita Koloff as the challenger to current champ “Ravishing” Rick Rude. Rude is accompanied by Madusa. The commentators are Tony Schiavone and Jesse “The Body” Ventura.
The title bout segues into a mass locker room brawl before this video then switches to an apparently subsequent rematch already in progress. Notably, this ‘rematch’ depicts Koloff with an apparently injured elbow and Rude’s valet, Madusa, now barred from the ringside. The question is: does the deceptive Madusa show up, anyway?
REVIEW:
Long before WCW inaugurated its Hulk Hogan era in mid-1994, the company could produce solidly entertaining, if not spectacular, wrestling that could compete with the rival WWF. The in-ring chemistry of this Koloff-Rude/Madusa showdown is ideal proof, as both combatants live up to expectations. Still, after the non-surprise of an inconclusive finish; ample compensation comes in the form of a briefly-seen, all-star locker room brawl.
The added snippet of an apparent rematch-in-progress conveys the incensed Koloff-Rude brawl has returned to the ring. A late plot twist is nefariously creative, as it surpasses the initial cop-out ending. If anything, this bout is worthwhile nostalgia of what WCW once represented, in terms of a minimal-frills alternative to Vince McMahon’s glitzy WWF.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7 Stars
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