It's Sunday, May 19th, 1996. Twister sweeps up the competition in the box office. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony have entered The Crossroads in the Billboard Charts. Not to mention two of the WWF's biggest stars have just left the company and are en route to WCW. But what's going on in WCW currently is the 1996 Slamboree Pay Per View. Held in the Riverside Centroplex in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to an attendance of 7,791 and 130,000 PPV buys.
So, what's been going on since Uncensored? Hulk Hogan is gone! Hooray! Joyous celebrations for all! But besides that, WCW's main storyline has involved Randy Savage and Ric Flair. Ever since Elizabeth turned on Savage back at Superbrawl and aligned with Ric Flair, Savage has been losing his mind. It doesn't help that Flair has been spending all of Savage's money and rubbing it in his face with fancy buffet tables on Nitro. An unhinged Savage has been attacking wrestlers, referees, anyone who'll get in his way of straight up murdering the nature boy. Which might be arranged as the two are due to be tag partners on tonight's event.
You see, this is the gimmick to Slamboree, the lethal lottery. Teams formed together at random compete against one another in a series of matches with the winning teams gaining entry to the Battle Bowl, a battle royal where the last man standing will earn a WCW title match at The Great American Bash in June. Can Savage and Flair set aside their differences? Also tonight we'll see Sting challenge The Giant for the WCW World Title. The Giant has been near unstoppable since defeating Ric Flair for the championship several weeks back. Sting was first in line for a title shot at Slamboree, while Luger also gained a title match despite constantly backing out. When Luger did finally get in the ring with the big man, he ended up with a chokeslam through the buffet table for this troubles. Tonight Sting looks to regain the WCW's biggest prize against the WCW's biggest threat, while Lex Luger and Jimmy Hart will be handcuffed together to stop interference. Good luck with that.
It's Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes joining Bobby Heenan once again on commentary as we open action with our first Lethal Lottery match. It's Road Warrior Animal and Booker T taking on Road Warrior Hawk and Lex Luger. Hawk brawls with Booker a bit before the bell. Eventualy things settle down Luger and Animal starting things off. They go into the corner with a grapple until a break is forced. Luger stomps down Animal then follows with ax handle and a powerslam. Luger doesn't cover and instead looks to the crowd. Animal takes Luger to the corner again and gets in some shoulder strikes. Luger tries to jump over Animal, gets caught with a clothesline to the midsection followed by an Animal powerslam and a jumping shoulder block.
Ax handle by Luger who follows with a suplex, but Animal no-sells and hits a dropkick. Tag to Booker who works the arm then gets a kick to the back of the head. Booker lays in knees to the ribs then goes to the corner, only to get caught with a clothesline. Luger continues to lay ax handles, then rams Booker in the corner, following with a body slam. He tries an elbow, but Booker avoids. Elbow by Booker, but Luger avoids. Booker lands a spinaroonie and follows with a jump kick, connecting. Cover only gets a two. Chinlock by Booker until Luger breaks free. Ax kick from Booker. Cover, but Hawks breaks the count. Luger gets up and shoves Hawk. Everyone brawls as eventually Luger retreats and the match is thrown out as a double count out. Okay enough opener, but I gotta admit, the lack of the Road Warriors fighting was a bit of a cock tease.
Lethat Lottery match #2: Public Enemy (who luckily still formed) take on Chris Benoit and The Taskmaster. Rocco Rock and Benoit start things off. Some slaps and shoves from both men. Rake of the eyes from Rock who takes Benoit to the corner. Benoit reverses a whip to the corner, but gets caught in a headscissors. Some stalling until Benoit hits a headbutt and tries a pop up powerbomb, only to be hit with a hurricanrana from Rock. Rock ducks a clothesline, but this time gets caught in a powerbomb from Benoit. Benoit starts to punch down on Rock then throws him in the corner to tag Sullivan.
They brawl with Rock and Grunge on the outside and out come the weapons. Eventually Grunge sets Sullivan on the table as Rock goes for a flip, but Benoit hits a clothesline. Suplex over the ropes from Rocco Rock sending Benoit on the floor. He then sets Benoit and Sullivan on the table and hit their double team flip, but Sullivan evades, causing Benoit to take the full damage. Cover to Benoit as Public Enemy advance to the Battle Bowl. A solid enough match that turned into your average Public Enemy garbage brawl, but it still worked.
Our third lethal lottery match is Sgt. Craig "Pitbull" Pittman (With Holla Holla Holla Teddy Long) and Scott Steiner taking on The Booty Man and Rick Steiner. Booty and Pittman start things off. An exchange of grapples sees a stalemate until Pittman gets in a hammerlock, only for Booty to break free. Some elbows from Pittman who then tags in Scott. Headlock and shoulder block spot until Booty Man gets in a hiptoss and a knee lift. Scott catches Booty in an underhook slam. Tag to Pittman who covers for two.
Tag to Rick as the two dog men bark. Pittman lays in some strikes, but gets caught with a shoulder block and a powerslam. Elbow drop by Rick is missed, but Pittman catches him with a german suplex, dropping Rick right on his head. Rick ducks a clothesline and hits one of his own. Pittman falls into the corner of Scott, and actually makes the tag. Both Steiner Brothers are in the ring, and unlike the Road Warriors, there's no teasing. Scott takes Rick to the corner, but gets shoved off. Arm drag by Scott, Headlock takedown by Rick. Scott catches Rick with a waistlock, but Rick turns it right around.
T-Bone suplex from Scott. Clothesline from Rick. Rick checks on Scott, only to get rolled up for two. Scott goes into a full nelson, then Rick turns it into a full nelson suplex. Tag to Booty Man who ends up crashing into the steel post. Tag to Pittman who begins to work the arm. Tag to Scott who slams Booty Man. Quick tag to Pittman who locks in the Code Red arm bar. Booty Man manages to crawl over and tag in Rick who gets in German Suplex, briding for the win. Booty Man and Rick Steiner advance to round two o the lethal lottery.
I enjoyed this match more than I worried about in the beginning. I had a bad feeling that like the Road Warriors we wouldn't get any of Scott and Rick facing each other, but when we got Rick and Scott in the ring, it was great work. Plus Pittman and Beefcake were serviceable as well.
Up next, it's our next Lethal Lottery match. The Blue Bloods, Lord Steven Regal and Squire David Taylor taking on "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan and V.K Wallstreet. Duggan keeps Regal and Taylor out by swinging the 2X4, but eventually they get in. Both Regal and Duggan start. After some grappling, Duggan gets a hiptoss. He goes to tag Wallstreet, who refuses. Despite that, Duggan lands in some clotheslines and forces a tag to Irwin. In comes Taylor. Shoulder blocks from both men, but Taylor gains control with the arm.
Tag back to Regal who goes for the arm, but Wallstreet forces some European uppercuts. Tag to Duggan as both men argue yet again. Regal uses this to take Duggan into the corner. Duggan comes back with a shoulder block that takes both men down. Tag to Taylor, but Wallstreet walks off. Duggan lays both Blue Bloods out, and even knocks Wallstreet. He tapes his fist and lays out Taylor, pinning for the win in a match. That's a nice way to say it. Although I have to ask, if Hacksaw needs the ref distracted to tape his fist up for the big punch, how does he not end up disqualified with the big roll of tape bouncing off his fist afterward because he does such a garbage job in taping the damn thing up?
Our fifth Lethal Lottery match up next. We have Earl Robert Eaton tagging with Dirty Dick Slater to take on Alex Wright and Disco Inferno. Slater takes Disco to the corner, but doesn't touch the well coifed hair. Slater goes in for a heel hold, but gets shoved off. After some dancing, Disco eats an elbow to the had. Tag to Wright who gets caught with a drop toe hold and an arm bar. Tag to Eaton who gets in some body blows.
Wright avoids damage and hits some uppercuts a hiptoss, a dropkick, and a nice headscissors, following with a jump kick. Cover, but Eaton kicks out and tags in Slater. Spinning neckbreaker by Slater who then goes for a piledriver, only to get back dropped. Tag to Disco who lays in shots to everyone. Both Disco and Wright work on both Slater and Eaton. Eaton and Wright goes over the ropes, but Slater catches Disco with a cowboy boot to the back of the head. Cover gets the three for Slater and Eaton in a fast match. Surprisingly not too bad for a super fast match. I was actually impressed with how well Disco and Wright worked together despite their loss.
Our next Lethal Lottery match is seeing Diamond Dallas Page tagging with The Barbarian to take on Hugh Morrus and Meng. DDP, who was recently kicked out of WCW has recently returned and managed to sneak his way into the lethal lottery after "Hardwork" Bobby Walker ended up injured. And once again we have a tag team split up as both Faces of Fear are at opposite corners.
DDP works the arm early on. Headlock and shoulder block spot as Morrus escapes and tackles Page. He goes for a plancha over the ropes, but crashes and burns on the outside. They returne to the ring as Morrus catches Page's foot but Page spins around and lands a clothesline. Tags to Barbarian and Meng and both men goe into hiptoss attempts. Meng hits some stiff chops, but Barbarian succeeds in another headlock and shoulder block spot. Meng reverses a whip and both men hit clotheslines to no avail.
Barbarian gets a kick in the face, then flips Page into a splash. He tries a fist drop, but Meng avoids and lands a diving headbutt. Tag to Morrus who hits a body slam and goes up to the top buckle, landing an elbow. Cover, but he decides instead to go for a second. Page grabs the ropes and drops him crotch-first, allowing Barbarian to hit a belly to belly off the top rope. Cover, but Meng breaks the cover. Meng slams Barbarian and Morrus goes up to hit the moonsault. He connects and covers, but Page saves with an elbow drop. Meng and Page brawl, with Meng getting a big boot to the face while Barbarian takes down Morrus. Both Meng and Barbarian cover, but only Barbarian's counts so that means he and Page advance to the second round. Another decent tag team match that moved super fast, yet had some good moments within.
Next up, it's another Lethal Lottery match. The newest Dungeon of Doom member Big Bubba Boss Man teams with Stevie Ray to take on Fire and Ice. Stevie and Scott Norton start things off. Norton takes Stevie to the corner, but Stevie gets in a bot and some clubbing fists. Scoop slam from Stevie. He ducks a clothesline, but Norton catches Stevie with a shoulder block. He takes Stevie ot the corner and rams his body into him several times, but Stevie comes back with a boot and a clothesline.
Tag to Bubba who gets in a big wind-up punch. Whip to the corner and a splash followed by a punch in the mouth. Spinebuster by Bubba who covers for two. Norton manages to slam down Bubba then hits a clothesline. Tag to Ice Train who body slams Boss Man and drops his weight on the sternum. Cover only gets a two. Double clotheslines from both men take them to the ground. Tag to Norton who hits a facebuster. Stevie attacks Norton from behind, but Norton hits yet another clothesline. Stiff punch from Bubba, but on the whip he collides into Stevie, then turns around into a double shoulder block from Fire and Ice. Cover gets the win for Norton and Ice Train in a decent tag match. Definitely a clothesline festival to be certain.
Up next is the most important Lethal Lottery match of the night. Eddie Guerrero and Arn Anderson taking on Randy Savage and Ric Flair. And considering Savage's insanity over Flair's recent actions, it feels almost impossible to see them as a cohesive unit. Flair's music hits, but Flair doesn't appear. Savage's music hits and Savage does arrive. Flair's music plays again and Flair runs to the ring. Arn sneak attacks Savage and Flair then starts stomping Savage down. Eddie and Flair start the match as they exchange blows. Eddie hits a dropkick, then lands some big shots out of the corner.
Woman and Elizabeth saunter to ringside, trying to stay away from Savage. Eddie whips Flair and hits a back body drop, following with a pair of dropkicks. Thumb to the eye by Flair who then "tags" Savage. Arn tags himself in and starts to choke down Randy. Savage swings wildly at Flair, but to no avail. Eventually he gets in some shots and an ax handle. Arn takes him to the corner with shoulders and more punches. Savage gets more boots, but gets caught in a pitch perfect spinebuster. Cover, but Savage kicks out at two.
Flair tags himself in and again starts punching and chopping Savage in the corner. Eddie sneaks behind and gets an eye poke on Flair, following with stiff chops. He lands a tornado DDT on Flair, then Savage immediately goes in to punching the hell out of Flair. Arn then goes and DDTs Eddie. He pulls Savage out and rams Savage into the corner, then into the post. Flair covers Eddie to get the win. Despite all things, Savage and Flair are advancing to round two.
Post-match, Flair and Arn continue to beat on Savage. Flair carries Elizabeth to Savage and she slaps him, while Arn follows with another DDT. The foursome celebrate then Flair resumes to stomp on Savage. They leave, but not before Flair hands Woman a bouquet of flowers. As for the match, it made sense. If Flair and Savage had tried to work together for even a moment, it would have made no sense. And the fact that Savage and Flair are technically still in the lethal lottery tournament, we're far from done with this brawl this evening.
With the first round of the lethal lottery finished, we have Mean Gene and some ladies from Hooters who have the envelopes for the team that will receive a bye in the tournament and will be in the battle bowl. That team turns out to be Fire and Ice.
Next up is the Cruiserweight Championship on the line. Dean Malenko defends against Brad Armstrong. Go behinds from both men to start followed by some hammerlocks followed by a lot of escapes. Enziguri from Armstrong. Both men try hiptosses, but eventually Armstrong wins the battle and hits a dropkick that sends Malenko retreating to the outside. After a timeout, Malenko returns to the ring and hits a drop toe hold. He then drags Armstrong's foot to the post and smashes it. He then begins to work the leg with a toe hold transitioned into an Indian death lock.
Slam by Malenko who goes to the second rope and slingshots his knee to the injured leg. Kneebreaker and another toe hold follows. He drops his weight on the injured leg, then sets Armstrong into the tree of woe, following with a dropkick to the foot. He picks up Armstrong, but Armstrong manages a sunset flip for two. Malenko gets right back in control with more damage to the foot. Stretch muffler locked in, shades of Heel Doink. A headbutt to the knee then follows with a leg grapevine, but we instead cut to Pedro Morales and Miguel Alonzo on the Spanish Announce team instead.
Malenko slams Armstrong to the mat and goes for another slingshot to the leg, but Armstrong gets his boot up, catching Malenko right in the mouth. More strikes from Armstrong who whips Malenko to the corner and hits a punch. Malenko gets a boot in, but gets caught in a really nice powerslam from Armstrong. Armstrong then goes to the top buckle and hits a missile dropkick. He locks in a Texas cloverleaf, shadeso f Malenko, but Malenko grabs the rope. Malenko then throws Armstrong to the outside, then tries to ram him into the buckle, only for Armstrong to counter. Armstrong goes to the top buckle, but gets caught by Malenko who hits a second rope gutbuster and covers for the retain.
Really good title match. I wish we got to see more of what Armstrong could to, but for an exhibition for what Malenko is capable of, it was a great showcase. Particularly, his variety in leg based offense. I ragged on Bulldog and Diesel back at In Your House 4 about how dull it was because it was leg lock after leg lock. In this case, it was one different hold after another, so while it was a lot of wear down spots, it never felt boring. Good stuff.
After the same Glacier video we've received over the past three weeks, Mean Gene is back with the Hooters girls as Gene is confused with their name tags. We learn of the final teams to compete going into battle bowl. Public Enemy will take on Ric Flair and Randy Savage. DDP and the Barbarian will face Booty Man and Rick Steiner.
And we start the second round with Slater and Eaton taking on Hacksaw and Wallstreet. Hacksaw attacks Wallstreet and then Slater and Eaton begin to brawl with the pair. Eventually Irwin and Slaughter work together by whipping Eaton and Slater into each other, but Irwin gets a knee lift on Duggan. Slater hits a Russian leg Sweep and covers for two. He follows with a whip and an elbow. Tag to Eaton while Hacksaw almost attacks the ref. Back body drop from Wallstreet on Eaton. Hacksaw attacks Eaton with a headbutt, then brings him back in.
Wallstreet locks in an abdominal stretch, then reaches out to Duggan who refuses. The pair beat down on Slater and Eaton some more, then eventually tag. Duggan and Slater are next to be in. Duggan attacks Eaton then works on Slater with a clothesline. Cover only gets a two. Duggan works a headlock, then collides into Slater. Tags to Wallstreet and Eaton. Punch by Duggan, but Eaton manages an eye rake and a slam. He goes up, but Wallstreet grabs him and slams him. Wallstreet seemingly by accident hits Hacksaw, who punches him into a roll up for the win. Hacksaw then clotheslines Wallstreet as this mess of a match is finally over.
Up next, it's Public Enemy taking on Savage and Flair. No sign of Savage this time around, so Flair comes out first. Elizabeth throws a handful of Savage's money until Savage runs like a runaway locomotive and attacks Flair. Eventually Security shows up and restrains Savage. Pittman and the American Males hold Savage off as Flair runs away. Savage is dragged to the back and Public Enemy advance to Battle Bowl by default.
The final Lethal Lottery tag match sees DDP and Barbarian taking on Booty Man and Rick Steiner. Page takes his focus to the Booty Babe Kimberly as there's no love lost. Exchange of punches from Booty and Page until Page gets in a thumb to the eye. Booty reverses a whip and punches Page over the ropes. Page gets tangleed in the camera cords, so Booty, like a face would, chokes him with it. Tag to Rick as both men work Page's arm. Rick reverses a whip and catches Page with a fireman's carry back drop.
Corner punches by Rick is turned into a slam head first into the buckle by Page. Tag to Barbarian who gets a shoulder block in. He tries a boot, but Rick turns it into a suplex. He then sets Barbarian on the second buckle and hits a belly to belly suplex and a clothesline. Cover only gets a two. He tries a back drop, but Barbarian turns it into a powerbomb. Cover only gets a two. Rick gets a tag on Booty, but the referee never saw. Barbarian throws Rick over the ropes and Page stomps him down. He throws Rick back in allowing Barbarian to get a splash in the corner. Guillotine by Rick who then tags in Booty. High Knee by Booty who covers, but Page makes the save. Roll up by Booty, but Page hits an elbow drop. Cover by Barbarian gets the three in an okay match. But now we have our final eight men as the Battle Bowl is awaiting.
The WCW U.S Heavyweight Championship is in action next as Konnan defends it against Jushin "Thunder" Liger (with Sonny Oono). Mike Tenay joins commentary while Dusty goes backstage to hopefully follow up on the Savage/Flair dilemma. A unique pin by Konnan to start, but still only gets a two count. An exchange of arm holds then arm trips as both men are evenly matched. Konnan rolls out of the ring, but Oono gets in some cheap shots. Konnan gives chase, allowing Liger to get a baseball slide and a plancha over the ropes. He brings Konnan in and hits a brainbuster. Cover only gets a two.
Cross arm breaker applied next by Liger, but Konnan turns it into an STF. He then goes into an armbar of his own, but Liger turns it around into a surfboard, then a camel clutch. Konnan escapes, but Liger immediately begins to stomp on the head. Tenay is flush with facts about Konnan and Liger's television history and their work in Japan and Mexico, but Schiavone and Heenan could not care less. Konnan and Liger exchange palm thrusts, but Liger wins the battle with a rolling kick in the corner.
Liger hits a superplex off the top buckle, then follows with a great looking splash off the top rope. Cover only gets a two count however. He kicks Konnan to the outside, then goes back up for a dive, but Konnan gets a kick midair. They return to the ring as Liger escapes a rope suplex and hits a back suplex. He whips Konnan and hits a fisherman buster. Cover, but Konnan kicks out at a very close two. Liger throws Konnan face first into the buckle. He tries a headscissors, but Konnan hits an Alabama slam and a roll up, but Liger kicks out at a super close two.
Konnan goes for a power drop, but Liger manages a sunset flip for two. Cradle by Liger, but still a two. Liger hits a Liger Bomb, but Konnan again kicks out. Liger slams Konnan and goes up for another splash, but Konnan gets his foot up. He hits the power drop, pinning for the three in a really good match. Konnan started very sloppy here on this blog, but the quality of his matches have improved exponentially. Then again, Liger was a great challenger to have. Lots of big spots and near falls. Just what I'd want from a midcard match.
Mean Gene is out once again with Flair, Arn, Elizabeth and Woman. Flair gives a synopsis to the actions of "the nut" Randy Savage. He says that Savage has been locked up and tomorrow will go into medical evaluation. He flaunts about rocking the socks off Baton Rouge with the ladies while Savage stews in the cell. He turns his attention to Mongo. He says that Mongo has gone from a former defensive tackle to telling The Nature Boy to back off. He can't back off if he can't get Mongo's wife out of his back pocket.
Mongo shows up and confronts Flair. Flair says that last week he got close to Flair, but he's got the enforcer this week. He continues to taunt Mongo behind Arn's back, then challenges Mongo to bring one of his former football players to the ring to take on the pair of them. Mongo accepts the challenge by saying that he has his first round draft choice. That being Kevin Greene of the Carolina Panthers who chases the heels off.
Up next, it's time for the Battle Bowl. An eight man battle royal where the winner will be declared "Lord of the Ring" and receive a WCW World Title match at The Great American Bash. The entrants: Scott Norton, Ice Train, "Flyboy" Rocco Rock, Johnny Grunge, Dirty Dick Slater, Earl Robert Eaton, Barbarian, and Diamond Dallas Page. Rocco Rock goes up and hits a cross body, but Barbarian catches him. Meanwhile Slater tries to throw Page out, but Page saves himself by rolling back into the ring. Lots of close to the ropes spots for a while. Boot by Barbarian sends Page over the ropes. He hangs over the ropes a la Shawn Michaels at the 1995 Royal Rumble, but in this case both of Page's feet hit the floor, only the referee never saw it.
Ice Train slams Slater and Rocco Rock. Rock then goes after Page and works the leg. Rocco Rock is then eventually thrown out. Slater grabs the cowboy boot and knocks Eaton out of the ring. Eaton takes his frustration out on Colonel Parker. Slater gets thrown out, then goes after Eaton. But before he leaves, he helps dump Norton out. Powerslams on the remaining three men by Ice Train. Double boot by Ice Train and Barbarian on Grunge.
Punch by Ice Train on Barbarian as Page hits a Diamond Cutter, following with two more on Grunge and Ice Train. Cover, and he gets the three counts on both Ice Train and Grunge (which I guess counts as an elimination despite Dusty saying that only top rope throws count), but his third pinfall attempt on Barbarian doesn't work. He shoves the ref, but the ref shoves back hard. Barbarian grabs Page's leg, ducks a clothesline and hits one of his own. Cover, but Page kicks out at two. Page gets a back elbow and covers, using his feet on the rope. Referee Nick Patrick catches his cheating and refuses to cover. Roll up by Barbarian still just gets two.
He picks Page up and hits a tombstone piledriver. Cover, but Page kicks out at two. He follows up with a sleeper hold, but Page hits a low blow. Page goes for a back suplex, but Barbarian turns it into a powerbomb, connecting hard. Cover, but Page still kicks out. He body slams Page, then goes up top for a diving headbutt, but Page avoids. Diamond Cutter gets the three for Page. Page is the Lord of the Ring. A decent battle royal, though I wish it had stuck to over the top rope action instead of pinfalls. But we got some good spots, Page looked the best he's looked so far, and it was still a satisfying end to the night of Lethal Lottery action considering the eight within.
Mean Gene is backstage with The Giant and Jimmy Hart. Jimmy pleads with Luger saying that they don't need to be handcuffed together, but no luck here. Giant says that Sting may have been on top of the mountain, but he's not there now, because the Giant's the king of the hill. He calls Sting a thorn in his side, a rat under his bed and a cockroach in his apple pie. He says that the people who put their money on Sting are guaranteed to lose.
It's main event time up next. The Giant defending his WCW World Heavyweight Title against Sting. As an added stipulation to avoid interference, Jimmy Hart and Lex Luger will be handcuffed together. Sting ducks some clotheslines and hits a cross body, but bounces right off of the Giant. Giant shoves Sting, but Sting goes right into a sleeper. Giant slams him to the corner, but Sting comes back with an ax handle and a dropkick. He then exits the ring to rethink his strategy.
Sting boots Giant, but gets his foot caught. He hits an Enziguri, but Giant isn't fazed. Sting goes to slam Giant, but the weight is too much and Giant falls on Sting and covers for two. Elbow drop from Giant. He follows with a whip and a shoulder. He stands on Sting, then takes Sting to the corner and hits some shoulders. Sting tries to fight back, but the Giant constantly knocks him down, and for added measure drops a headbutt to the lower extremities. Giant hits another elbowdrop, then grapevines his legs over the abdomen of Sting, using the ropes for leverage.
Sting gets a knee to the face, but Giant just grabs him and throws him to the outside. He throws him across the entrance way. He grabs him by the throat, then goes to chokeslam him through the buffet table. However Luger sets Hart on the table, causing Giant to cancel this plan. They return to the ring with Giant clubbing Sting on the apron. He goes for a dropkick, but Luger pulls Sting out of the way. Sting then hits the referee by accident. Giant misses a splash in the corner as Sting lays in boots and a Stinger splash. Sting pounds on GIant who chokes Luger, only to eat several Stinger Splashes.
Sting kicks GIant off Luger while Jimmy Hart dangles on the ropes. Sting tries to splash Hart, but Luger pulls him off, causing Sting to crash and burn. Sting goes to the top buckle and hits a splash. Cover, but Giant kicks out, throwing Sting on top of Referee Randy Anderson, knocking him out. Hart has the megaphone as Sting hits another splash. He locks in the Scorpion Death Lock, but meanwhile Luger and Hart are fumbling with the megaphone. They both clock Sting with it, giving Giant the chance to chokeslam him, and cover to retain.
Fun main event. Giant looked very energetic throughout, Sting didn't feel like a weak challenger, lots of outside antics to keep the match entertaining, and once again, we see even more shades of grey from Lex Luger. A logical ending to a solid pay per view.
Slamboree 1996 was a decent event. Lots of matches, and none that were really offensive to watch (except maybe the matches involving Wallstreet and Hacksaw). The Lethal Lottery was a good series of tag matches. And all but one really implemented my least favorite type of tag match, the "face in peril" spot. I liked seeing the Steiners fight each other, felt shortchanged not seeing Hawk and Animal go at it, and loved seeing the continuation of this feud between Savage and Flair. Flair is becoming more and more of an overconfident prick while Savage is getting more deranged. Good booking so far on this. DDP winning the battlebowl seems like the best option out of the choices in the tournament, but again I feel annoyed that the match became a pinfall affair halfway through. I would have preferred it be strictly an over the top rope match.
Outside of the Battlebowl stuff, I really liked Malenko and Anderson, even if it was more of an exhibition of Malenko's 1000 holds. I really enjoyed Liger vs Konnan as Konnan's match quality improves with every match I see of him. And the main event was fun as Giant continues to look dominant, Sting didn't look too weak, and we continue to question Luger's motives. Did he really turn over a new leaf, or is this the same cocky douche Luger that we've been accustomed to in the past several months? Lots of questions to keep us going into the next few months. Final rating for Slamboree is a B+. Nothing super standout on this show, but still a fun near three hour sit worth checking out.
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