WWE Vintage Collection Report: May 20th 2012
By Shaun Best-Rajah.com Reporter
Hosted by: Mean Gene Okerlund

For the next couple of shows, we celebrate the success and failure of WCW’s May PPV extravaganza, Slamboree. Let’s begin.

May 17th 1998: U.S. Title
Goldberg vs Perry Saturn
Goldberg was touted as 87-0 on his win streak. Saturn was part of Raven’s Flock. This was originally pegged as a Gauntlet match against the Flock, but changed to a singles bout on the day of the show. We join the match in progress. Saturn is on the floor taking a break from getting mauled. Goldberg accidentally punches the ringpost. Saturn lands a dropkick from the apron. Inside, Saturn hits a pair of spin kicks. Goldberg backs Saturn to the corner to break a chinlock, then uses a belly-to-belly to escape a sleeper. Saturn comes back with a swinging neckbreaker, but another sleeper doesn’t keep Goldberg down for long. Goldberg misses a corner charge. Saturn delivers a t-bone suplex, then fetches a chair. Saturn wobbles Goldberg with a superkick before using the chair for a springboard dropkick. Saturn gets cocky as he takes a seat. A second springboard is met with a spear in mid-air. Goldberg hits the Jackhammer to retain his title and go 88-0. Winner: GOLDBERG.

May 18th 1997: U.S. Title
Dean Malenko vs Jeff Jarrett w/Debra McMichael
Iceman vs Double J. The Texas Cloverleaf vs The Figure Four. Jarrett gets the better of some early mat wrestling until Malenko bridges out of a headscissors to apply an STF. Malenko works over a leg in an effort to prevent Jarrett from going for the Figure Four. Malenko pulls Jarrett to the floor and hits a dropkick to the knee against the guardrail.

We rejoin the match to see Malenko run into a boot. Jarrett takes him down with a swinging neckbreaker. Both counter each other’s finishers before Malenko ducks an enziguiri and catapults Jarrett against the bottom rope. Jarrett pulls Malenko to the floor to use the guardrail as a weapon. Inside, Malenko rolls through a cross body from the top rope. Both exchange sleepers. Jarrett drops Malenko onto his leg and applies the Figure Four. Malenko makes it to the ropes. Malenko shoves Jarrett to the corner and both collide with Jarrett falling to the floor. Steve “Mongo” McMichael comes out to escort Debra to the back to help him get ready for his match. Mongo puts Jarrett back in, where Malenko powerbombs and submits him to the Texas Cloverleaf. Winner: DEAN MALENKO.

May 9th 1999: WCW Presidency
Ric Flair w/Arn Anderson & Asya vs Rowdy Roddy Piper
In a series of pre-match vignettes, we see acting president Flair losing his marbles, constantly firing people and getting sent to the nuthouse. The sight of seeing Flair dancing and woo-ing in his ring robe inside a mental asylum is pretty funny. Once he was out of loopyland, Flair was assigned Asya (a Double D nurse.) Flair had fired Piper as Commissioner to give us a reason to have a match. Shame it isn’t 1991. Flair doesn’t like the referee assigned for the match, so Johnny Boone is fired and replaced by Flair clone Charles Robinson, aka Little Naitch. Flair threatens to fire Piper (again) so Piper slaps the taste out of his mouth. Piper chops away, spits at Flair and jabs away as if he’s Mike Tyson. Flair begs off, so Piper pokes him in the eyes. Piper mounts in the corner to punch. Flair delivers a low blow and tells Little Naitch that Piper was choking him. Little Naitch gives Piper a telling off. Piper is tossed to the floor and worked over by Anderson.

We skip ahead to the closing stages. Piper turns Flair’s Figure Four over, but Flair breaks free. Flair throws Piper out again, only this time, Piper decks Anderson. Piper yanks Flair’s trunks as he attempts a sunset flip to give us a Full Moon. Little Naitch conveniently turns away as Piper has Flair pinned with a backslide and inside cradle. Piper throws Flair from the top rope, slaps on the Figure Four and Flair quits, but Robinson refuses to call it. Anderson tries to attack, but falls victim to a sleeper, as does Flair. Asya tries her luck. Piper kisses her goodnight then puts her to sleep. Little Naitch pulls Piper off by the hair and gets decked. Flair pulls out an international object and drills Piper with it to pick up the 1-2-3. Or does he? Former President Eric Bischoff (who’d had problems with both men) comes out, reverses the decision and tells Flair to bite him. This would all be overturned the next night when the clueless bookers realised Bischoff had no power. Typical overbooked nonsense.

May 23rd 1993: Tag Team Titles: The Hollywood Blondes vs Dos Hombres
Dos Hombres were the alter egos of former champions Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas (in red masks and bodysuits). The Blondes had beaten Douglas and Steamboat for the belts and decided there would be no rematches. The Hombres upset the Blondes in a non-title bout on the Main Event to set this match up. To complicate things further, Douglas had just left the company so Tom Zenk is masquerading as him for one night only. Steamboat and Zenk use the cage as a weapon to punish Austin’s back in the early going. Steamboat press slams Pillman into the steel, then suplexes Austin into a tree of woe position on the cage. Steamboat hits a running splash, but Zenk’s attempt goes awry as Austin falls between the ropes and Zenk crashes and burns against the cage.

Back from commercials and Zenk has had a number done on him. Zenk catches Pillman coming off the middle rope with a boot. Austin receives a dropkick, but cuts off a desperation tag by catching a leaping Zenk with a spinebuster. Austin attempts to elevate Pillman from the top rope with a Rocket Launcher splash, but Zenk gets his knees up. Steamboat gets the hot tag and chops the Blondes down. Steamboat gives Austin an electric chair drop to stop him from escaping and shakes the ropes to crotch Pillman. A double noggin knocker precedes a mounted punch assault in the corner and meeting of the minds in the middle of the ring. Steamboat scales to the top of the cage, rips his mask off and hits a cross body on both Blondes. The champs kick out at two and the bell rings by mistake. Steamboat ignores it and DDTs both Blondes for further nearfalls. Dos Hombres lands stereo dropkicks. 1-2-no. The challengers go for another double irish whip, but Pillman reverses Zenk into Austin for a patented stun gun. Pillman drops Steamboat with a DDT as Austin covers Zenk for the 1-2-3. Winners: THE HOLLYWOOD BLONDES.

We conclude our Slamboree special next weekend.

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