Talk about it here.

Last few minutes of a handheld. Sting had won the world title from Vader six days earlier on this tour, and now Sting was defending. The last few minutes look really good, as is usually the case for these two. Sting has the match in hand until the ref gets bumped and Harley Race moves Vader out of the way of a Stinger splash. Vader then pins Sting with the powerbomb to regain the title.

Cool-I remember being at the show where Sting won the belt (and I actually have a handheld of that one on tape too). The show itself was full of surprises....

 

firstly, Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes had a great brawl on the undercard and Windham came up from the outside the ring opposite me covered in blood (unheard of on a UK house show up to that point to my knowledge).

 

Then, just moments after I 'smartly' told a guy in front of me 'the title won't change here, it never does on UK house shows', Nick Patrick counted 1-2...3! I couldn't believe what I'd just seen, and boy did I mark out.

 

Of course, they changed it back again and never acknowledged the change on TV, but I will never forget being there to see a WCW title change live!

Cool-I remember being at the show where Sting won the belt (and I actually have a handheld of that one on tape too).

That's quite the hidden gem you're sitting on.

You sure? I thought both switches were around.

I thought that too, but on every match list I scoured, I could only find the Vader win.

Last few minutes of a handheld.

Out of curiosity, was that a deliberate decision or is that all that's available?

Last few minutes of a handheld.

Out of curiosity, was that a deliberate decision or is that all that's available?

 

We were in a crunch for space and cut where we thought we could.

Of course, they changed it back again and never acknowledged the change on TV

They did mention it briefly on WCW Saturday Night.

Cool-I remember being at the show where Sting won the belt (and I actually have a handheld of that one on tape too).

That's quite the hidden gem you're sitting on.

 

It's from more of a distance than the rematch one (assuming you have the same handheld I have of that-haven't quite got to this yet) but definitely watchable qualitywise. If I ever get my ass into gear and figure out vhs conversion to my pc, I will of course make a copy available. The same tape also has the Windham/Rhodes match from the same night.

Cool-I remember being at the show where Sting won the belt (and I actually have a handheld of that one on tape too).

That's quite the hidden gem you're sitting on.

 

It's from more of a distance than the rematch one (assuming you have the same handheld I have of that-haven't quite got to this yet) but definitely watchable qualitywise. If I ever get my ass into gear and figure out vhs conversion to my pc, I will of course make a copy available. The same tape also has the Windham/Rhodes match from the same night.

 

I seem to recall the Sting title win being on a Scott Decker comp tape back in the day.

Harley took his while to get in the ring. His physical limitations make it hard on him to be breaking up pinfalls that are on the other side of the ring. But he still ends up helping Vader score the win and become champion again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMk4P6NPrVE - There's the Sting title win. Sort of Sting/Vader by numbers with a familiar finish.

 

The Vader win looks good from the little footage that we see, possibly better than the first title change.

We jump to Vader missing a Vader bomb. Sting with one of his cool Koppo kicks, then DDT and top rope DDT. Vader goes up for a release German and near fall that sees Race get involved, which looked like a chore for him. Stinger splash, ref bump, missed Stinger splash, Race interferes and Vader wins with a power bomb. Looked good from the finish. I'd forgotten they did this back & forth deal on the tour.

Action looked good here. I am kind of bummed they did the lame tour champion thing with Sting as it always feels cheap. Anyway, Vader is able to regain the title and go on his lengthy run. This title change was not acknowledged on tv correct?

I didn't like this much. Again, bad booking hurts a match more than great work can help it in my eyes, and this was yet another incredibly stupid finish.

 

First, Harley was on the apron for far too long. If the guy can't get physically involved anymore, forget about that and just use him as a spokesman on TV. Patrick looked like an idiot for not forcefully ordering him to get down.

 

Second, Sting brought this whole deal on himself. Patrick didn't just take a bump, Sting slugged him. Babyface overenthusiasm takes place all the time in wrestling, but seldom does it lead to consequences as disastrous as this. I'd have rather had Nick get sandwiched by Vader, or even have Harley get in a lucky punch.

 

Third, regardless of the above, Vader beats Sting clean as a sheet. If you're going to do a spot where Harley costs Sting the belt by ramming him face first into the post, then have that be the knockout blow and use it to lead directly to the pin, especially in a World title match. The minute Vader splashed Sting for the last time, it became a clean win for him, especially since he's beaten Sting so many times before. Maybe if this was their first match and there was doubt that Vader could win, I'd feel differently, but to be honest, Vader has owned Sting so thoroughly in the matches we've seen that I'm getting tired of seeing Sting get shot after shot at the title. (I realize that Sting was the champion coming into this match, but Vader was going to hold it again by the time TV was taped, so this match really didn't matter to the average TBS-watching fan.)

 

It's about time to get Cactus or Barby (if he's still around) ready as Vader's next challenger. To be honest, I don't understand how this gets hyped as one of the great rivalries in history. Vader's had far too many wins, by fair means or foul, and Sting's looked stupid far too often for my tastes. Flair was much better as a rival for Sting, and Hansen's the closest thing I've seem to a rival for Vader so far.