WCW Spring Stampede 1997 Results and Review A Better VHS Experience

Here we go again, the year was 1997, the April pay per view for WCW went to Tupelo, Coliseum and put in 8,356 in attendance for this show that was headlined by two of the best in the business ever. 8 matches were shown on the program, and there was a lot to enjoy and well, I liked this event a great deal. I’m going to be reviewing this from the WWE network, but I recommend that you get it on VHS. You can purchase WCW Spring Stampede 1997 on VHS here, unedited, uncensored, and without WWE’s editing squad. Here we go, the results and review of Spring Stampede 97.

WCW Spring Stampede 1997 Results and Review

Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Ultimo Dragon

This opener was absolutely great. A young Rey Mysterio Jr. before all the knee surgeries took on the iconic Ultimo Dragon in a stellar match up. Mysterio was crisp, young, and flying around the ring. Meanwhile, Ultimo was so crisp in his movements. He was able to counter Mysterio often and really put on a showcase of the Japanese style mixed with Lucha elements. This 15 minute opener is worth your time, a seriously classic cruiserweight match.

Akira Hokuto defeated Madusa (WCW Women’s Championship)

A five minute throwaway match. WCW failed to use Madusa well, and this match showed that.

Prince Iaukea defeated Lord Steven Regal (WCW Television Championship)

This was another interesting bout for the night. Steven Regal’s style didn’t fit Iuakea’s in this match. It went just over 10 minutes and it was still good, but it just started awkwardly. Regal is always fun to watch, as his mat work is second to none. It’s an adequate match, but nothing great.

The Public Enemy defeated Steve McMichael and Jeff Jarrett

This was an interesting match that featured Public Enemy going over. It was a nice little match, but nothing too grand. Public Enemy wasn’t treated well in WCW, but they were on a win streak at this point, so they get the win, and yes, someone does go through a table. Overall, not bad, but definitely not a great match. Lots of slow moving, and despite the table spot, it was a bit boring overall.

Dean Malenko vs. Chris Benoit ended in a No Contest (WCW United States Championship)

This went 17 minutes and it was a slow one. It was like watching a human chess match. The ending came with Kevin Sullivan coming through and hitting Chris Benoit with a kendo stick, knocking him out for the 3 count. This was a good match, if you like old school wrestling, because it was definitely old school, and methodical. The ending would continue the feud with Benoit and Sullivan, leading to their epic retirement match at Bash at The Beach 1997.

Kevin Nash defeated Rick Steiner (WCW World Tag Team Championship)

This match ended up being a single’s match for the titles. Scott Steiner was arrested earlier in the show, and Nick Patrick was the referee here. Overall a hard hitting match, Steiner working very stiff. Eventually Nash would win overall, but this was not a great match at all.

Lex Luger defeated The Giant, Booker T, and Stevie Ray in a Four Corners Match

Lex Luger got the win, but the story here was that whomever got the pinfall, would get a title shot against Hollywood Hogan. As I recall, Luger would get a title shot and actually win, only to get the title stripped away from him on Nitro. Whatever the case is, this was a good overall match, with The Giant and Luger on the same page, while the Harlem Heat ended up arguing. This was the night where Booker T called Hogan the N word, if you’re curious.

Diamond Dallas Page defeated Randy Savage

Macho Man was super stiff working with DDP. DDP ended up getting the win, but only after taking a serious beating by Randy Savage. After a diamond cutter, a ref bump, and Nick Patrick’s return, DDP would win. This was a brawl, nothing more than a sheer fight, and Macho eventually went down to DDP, but the feud was far from over.

Overall Spring Stampede 1997 was an underrated event and definitely deserved a lot more attention. The WWF at the time was running Revenge of Taker, and only received 6,477 in attendance in New York. Their main event was Stone Cold versus Bret Hart, so you know. Taker fought Mankind for the title, and well, that show I didn’t get live, I got Spring Stampede and recorded the VHS tape off the event. It was a classic in my view. Anyways, this night was cool for WCW, but there was a lot of dissension and disarray in the ending. The NWO seemed to be breaking apart.

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10

The cruiser weight match and the main event made this one above average. However, the rest of the card left something to be desired overall.

Again, if you’re going to watch this one unedited, you’ll want to look into Spring Stamped 1997 on VHS by clicking here. Don’t watch it on the Network, it will be edited, and censored, without the real music and reactions.

WCW Bash At The Beach 97 Results and Review

We go back to 1997 to one of the premier pay per view events from WCW. This was in Daytona Beach, Florida and the audience was about 8,000 strong. I primarily wanted to watch and review this one because it had the Kevin Sullivan retirement match, and that retirement would send WCW into a tailspin, because he would be part of the booking committee of WCW. It was a few years later that Sullivan would get the full booking position and would cause Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Chris Benoit to quit WCW completely and jump to WWE. However, this match had a LOT of great matches, and if you have the network watch it or buy the DVD version and see it unedited.

Buy WCW Bash At The Beach 97 on VHS by Clicking Here

First we’ll go into the match review and then the results completely in a list.

Mortis and Wrath defeated Glacier and Ernest Miller

Not a bad opener, a bit short, but not bad overall. Mortis was the stand out here. Miller and Glacier were ok, but it was Mortis that stood out to me. You may remember that Mortis is just Kanyon with a mask on. He really was innovative and fluid in the ring during this one. Mortis and Wrath won this match up, and it was nice to see it, the crowd wasn’t into it as much though.

Chris Jericho defeated Ultimate Dragon

Jericho was the cruiser weight champion in this match up. This match was definitely a great one. Ultimate Dragon and Jericho were wrestling like a chess match. Every move was deliberate, every element was well timed and fluid. You will be surprised how great these two work together, and the move set put into place. Jericho was impressive, but it was Ultimate Dragon’s moonsault and reversals that will have you completely in awe. Why his WWE run didn’t go over so well is beyond me.

The Steiner Brothers defeated The Great Muta and Masahiro Chono

This was a hard hitting match. Chono and Muta are great to a botchy Steiner Brothers team. There were moments where the Steiners no sold the Japanese offense, which was stupid to me. Otherwise, this was a good match because of Chono and Muta putting on a showcase. Look for Muta’s huricanrana off the top rope on Scott Steiner, and Rick Steiner’s bulldog to make an appearance.

Juventud Guerrera, Hector Garza, and LIzmark Jr. defeated La Parka, Psychosis, and Villano IV

This took on a slow start, but it was the process of going through the spots that really made this one incredible. Guerrera was on point, Garza’s corkscrew plancha, and Lizmark’s athleticism were impressive. La Parka and Psychosis put on some great moments too. Villano switched with his partner Number 5 and that was interesting. Overall, this was a great lucha match, and no one botched, which made this one even more impressive. The crowd was not into this one, but that’s ok, I guess.

Buy WCW Bash At The Beach 97 on VHS by Clicking Here

Chris Benoit defeated The Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan

This was a retirement match for Sullivan. This match was the main reason why I wanted to watch this event. Benoit and Sullivan put on a brawl, a serious brawl that featured Jacqueline, and Jimmy Hart getting into the mix. Benoit was essentially fighting 3 different people here. Sullivan and Benoit even had some stiff shots, not usually seen in pro wrestling. Eventually, Jacqueline turned on Sullivan and Benoit got the pin. Sullivan of course would eventually drive Benoit and others to the WWE as he became full booking agent at WCW. But this match is good, well worth checking out. It’s not as good as their match at The Great American Bash 1996, but it’s certainly one of the best of their set.

Jeff Jarrett defeated Steve “Mongo” McMichael

This was for the US Title, and the crowd was so alive it was funny. The Jarrett Sucks chant was about as loud as any crowd you’ll ever hear in your life. Jeff Jarrett really got heat in this match. Mongo was good, the hard hitting style of his offense meshed well with Jarrett’s scared champion stick. However, it was Debra that really made this one, as she got involved and cost McMichael the match. A short one, but the crowd was way into it, so it was fun to watch.

Scott Hall and Randy Savage defeated Diamond Dallas Page and Curt Hennig

This was supposed to be a mystery partner match up for DDP. You may not know this, but DDP and Savage were going through a feud, and after Savage hurt page’s rib cage, DDP got his revenge dressed as La Parka on Nitro. Well, the secret partner was Curt Hennig, and that went well until a misunderstanding led Curt to walk out on his partner. DDP took a beating, a serious beating that was definitely something to see. Savage broke Page in half with the elbow after an Outsider’s edge, and that was that. If you want to see some hard hitting pro wrestling, this match has it for you, wow.

Roddy Piper defeated Ric Flair

This was entertaining, but you may have already seen this match over and over again. Flair is always entertaining to watch. Piper and the crowd were way into this one, and while it was mostly a brawl, it did have good action for 13 minutes’ worth of wrestling. It’s this type of wrestling that I sometimes miss from today’s landscape. If you like Piper and Flair, this is definitely a stand out match for the night.

Lex Luger and The Giant defeated Hollywood Hogan and Dennis Rodman

This was not a technical masterpiece at all. However, when you watch pro wrestling, you have to sometimes gauge things by crowd reaction. In this case, the crowd was going absolutely nuts for this one. The reason being, the psychology of the match. Rodman was teaming with Hogan, and he didn’t start the match. However, when he finally made his appearance, the timing and the suspense hit an all new level. Not only that, the expectations were that he didn’t know how to wrestle at all. When he first hip tosses Luger the crowd goes absolutely ballistic, and the announce team sells it so well, that you have nothing but respect for the guy. Now, when he does a shoulder block and Luger goes down rolling into the corner, things go insane again. Of course, he gets his, but this is the kind of reaction that WWE can’t seem to find in 2015, and why this is such a stellar match, even though it’s not a technical masterpiece. At the end, the Fake Sting (NWO) shows up, and hits The Giant with a baseball bat, the ref is bumped, and out comes Nick Patrick to get the submission off of Hogan in a torture rack. By the time the match is over, the trash from the crowd fills the ring, and the night is done. The crowd reaction makes this one, and that’s why you have to see it. Get the unedited version on vhs, it’s way better.

Buy WCW Bash At The Beach 97 on VHS by Clicking Here