Talk about it here.

Austin and Pillman work over Douglas's knee early, and Steamboat and Douglas target Pillman's arm in a big way. Douglas sells the knee injury even while on the apron, which is nice. But then tracking issues get out of control and make this really hard to watch, so I have to skip a few minutes. Skipping or not, the heat isn't where it has been for their previous matches, and it's not as good as their other matches together. Douglas pins Austin after a roll-up.

Yeah, shame about the tracking issues on this one, but at least it is just one of many great matches they have on this set, so no big deal.

Oh good, I was worried it was just my disc so thanks for confirming it

 

The Blondes-Steamboat/Douglas feud has been some of my favorite stuff from this set. This was definitely the lesser of the encounters so far but watching Steve Austin's crisp bumps and the way he moves in the ring is really a joy.

I went into my collection and pulled out a disc where it doesn't skip. This match is just tremendous. Steamboat's FIP stuff was great. I liked how Douglas sold his knee from previous matches. The Blonds were both excellent here. The way the crowd just got hotter and hotter was amazing. They were drowning out the announcers. Plus we got a fun little finish.

Bischoff doing commentary. Those tracking issues were tough. Felt like by PS3 was getting screwed up just playing the disc. Nice finish though.

Ross' departure is going to leave a noticeable void in WCW, especially if we have to hear more Bischoff on play-by-play. "Back leg round kick" or something gets called, so those classic Eric tendencies are already established. Douglas puts Austin in a Boston crab, then Steamboat springboards over him and lands on Austin's back and immediately switches to a semi-camel clutch, in a fantastic double-team spot. The overall match is really good with really strong psychology surrounding Douglas' bad knee. It's sold well and it impacts the match without overly drawing attention to itself. Steamboat's FIP segment is a classic with some awesome hot tag teases and cut-offs. I especially liked how they set up Steamboat's patented "flip over the back" reversal of the back suplex by having Austin hit the move the first time to cut off a tag attempt and having it backfire when he did it again. Pillman absolutely creams Steamboat with a clothesline towards the finish, and we get a fun little cluster of an ending.

Hot opening with the Blondes taking a powder and Steamer & Douglas following them out. We get both Blondes in peril for an extended run as they're selling very well. We get the same spot here from the 8 man of Steamboat looking to the wrong corner for the hot tag, which he finally gets after flipping out of an Austin atomic drop. Douglas pins Austin on a roll up after the Blondes run into each other. Good but not as great as their other stuff this year.

 

***1/4

I liked this match a lot and it really started cooking with the Steamboat FIP sequence. Steamboat overall is actually climbing in my all time rankings which sounds strange to say. He just provided so many wrinkles here that added to the overall match. Bischoff calling this match sounds insanely sterile and not good at all. Douglas and Steamer winning seems odd and I feel like we are at the point in this feud where you either have to piss or get off the pot in giving the straps to the Blonds. ***1/2

I liked this one, but knowing that the Blonds get at least one more shot at the titles this month, it wouldn't have killed Bischoff to put Austin and Pillman over here in order to create some drama. As it is, they've lost what was for all intents and purposes a handicap match, what with Shane selling his knee on the apron for most of it. I don't buy the Blonds as true contenders now, and I don't think anyone else watching at the time did either.

 

Steamer was excellent as the man who knew that it was pretty much up to him, that Shane was a decoy at best. Austin and Pillman knew it too, and did a grand job of beating Steamer to a pulp. No one move or series of moves stand out, but there was tremendous teamwork involved, and Steamer sold everything as only he can. I could do without him going to the wrong corner twice in the same bout, though; even though he's supposed to be on Dream Street, he should have an idea of what his partner looks like.

 

Shane's selling was above and beyond the call, to the point that you really believe that his knee's ruined and he's unable to wrestle the match. There's an excellent worker within him that he allowed to be buried under the filth and bullshit of "The Franchise" in ECW.

 

Does anyone else think that Pillman should adopt a more heel-like nickname? "Bodacious" would fit perfectly, considering that his partner is "Stunning". I could see them keeping his face theme and nickname while waiting to see whether he got over or not as a heel, but he's definitely over now.

 

In related news, they're not officially the Hollywood Blonds yet, which is a bit surprising. I thought they adopted the name shortly after they got together.

 

Eric was no Lance Russell, but he was tolerable here, and he seemed to be really excited about calling a match like this. As long as he has someone like Larry as a partner to provide nuts-and-bolts analysis, he should be just fine. He shouldn't work with Jesse under any circumstances, though; I don't think they ever did it, but I think someone like Gordon Solie would have been an ideal partner for Jesse, though I'm sure that thought would have given Eric the screaming flibbertygibbets. The sad fact is, as execrable as Tony and Jesse have become together, there's simply no one else in the company who can work with the future Governor.

 

I'm looking forward to the other match between these two teams this month; can the Blonds rebound from this loss and prevail in what almost surely should be their final title shot, at least against Steamer and Douglas? Stay tuned!