Whatelse can I cay about wrestling 1993 that hasn’t already been said. It was one of the worst years in professional wrestling. Both WWF & WCW struggled in getting fans interested and have a top star help run each of the companies. WCW finally had Flair return but unfortunately, even without Jim Heard around, the level of cheesiness won’t stop there. Remember those dumb movie-like video packages with Vader’s White Castle Of Fear and awful gimmick of Shockmaster? It was that best. And it wasn’t any better for the WWF. WWF lost Hulk Hogan in summer of 1993, but was going down hill because of the reputation of Vince McMahon and his trail for drug scandal. This trial nearly ended Vince McMahon and the WWF and because he came out of that trail victorious is why he changed the WWF’s direction into the New Generation Era. ECW (Back when it was called [Eastern] Championship Wrestling) did start to do more hardcore wrestling style, but they had yet made a show worth watching. This was the end of Golden Age of Professional Wrestling as we know it. And instead of having a Silver Age or Bronze Age, the Pro Wrestling industry went directly to the Dark Age. Not all of 1993 was bad, it’s just really hard to find anything good come out from this year. Now that Wrestlers aren’t on steroids and were able to manuever better making better match quality. We were seeing smaller guys getting chance because of it. Many of the midcards got a chance to raise to the top and make a name for themselves. But back in the 1990s when drug-phoebia was around, Vince McMahon lost so much of his audience because of it. But that still doesn’t excuse how bad this year’s shows were (especially Wrestlemania IX). How could the quality of wrestling sunk so low this year? As bad as 1993 was, let’s take a look at what were the best nights of wrestling in 1993.
The Year 1993 Wrestling Rewards
- Wrestler of 1993: Bret Hart
- Underrated Wrestler of 1993: Davey Boy Smith
- Feud of 1993: Big Van Vader vs. Sting
- Wrestling Match of 1993: Sting vs. Big Van Vader – Strap Match – Super Brawl III
- Wrestling Promotion of 1993: Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling
Number 10. – Fall Brawl
From 1991 – 1992 the lack of Ric Flair has driven the promotion’s quality down. WWF used every moment of Flair’s popularity to his fullest during his absense in WCW. When Ric Flair finally returned to WCW and Jim Heard was finally out of the company, we all thought that things were going to get better. Unfortunately, that isn’t always that case. The biggest crime this show committed was not let Ric Flair win the WCW World title. Flair’s return was the second coming of Jesus Christ and you decide to be as anti-climatic as possible? I’m sorry, I love Rick Rude, but compared to Flair, he’s an upper midcarder at best. Why didn’t he let put Flair over is one of the biggest mysteries to me. Even if Flair did win, the match was still bad because there was no heat or in-ring psychology between the two which made a boring match. And what’s worse is that it wasn’t he main event. Somehow the WarGames match between Davey Boy Smith, Dustin Rhodes, The Shockmaster and Sting vs. Harlem Heat, Sid Vicious and Vader was more main event worty. Yes, it’s the same Shockmaster that fell flat on its face (litterally) and wore a glittered Stormtrooper helmet.
Number 9. – Summerslam
This was a complete missed opportunity here. You gave Lex Luger a babyface turn, made him body slam Yokozuna in the bodyslam challenge, built him up like the next Hulk Hogan, gave him his own bus to go cross country in the Lex Express, and make him beat Yokozuna in a freaking countout and not put the WWF Championship on him? What was Vince McMahon even thinking when he booked that shit? You’ve made Lex Luger look like a damn fool celebrating with all the balloons, fireworks, and wrestlers holding him up and and he never won the belt. Somebody should change the rules that a Champion that loses in a countout must lost his title. It’s such a shame that this glaring issue is what truly overshadows the rest of the card. There’s a lack of star power in this show and there’s a lack of storylines in these matches as well. We never got the promised Bret Hart vs Hulk Hogan match where Hulk was supposed to passed the torch to Bret like he did for Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania VI. Hulk chickened out of the company and Bret was screwed with matching up against Jerry The King Lawler. The fact that there is no more Hogan, no more Flair, no more Savage on wrestling, no more Ultimate Warrior. I gaurantee to you that audience back then and today have no interest in watching. Untertaker vs Giant Gonzalez as a Wrestlemania 9 rematch, or Ludvig Borga burying Marty Jannetty, IRS squashing 1-2-3 Kid, of Smoking Guns & Ttanka vs. Bam Bam & Headshrinkers. Bret Hart’s overbooked match of Jerry Lawler and Doint was so over the top that Lawler’s victory for Bret not letting go of the sharpshooter got worse with age. The only good matches were the Stiener Bros vs The Heavenly Bodies or Ted DiBiase last ever match agaisnt Razor Ramon. And those two were just openers so why bother watch this show. The only reason why Summerslam 1993 made it on the list is because it was miles better than Wrestlemania IX, I asure you that!
Number 8. – Slamboree ’93:
A Legends’ Reunion
If you’re a big fan of The Brittish Bulldog/Davy Boy Smith, you’re going to love his time in WCW in 1993. WCW losing Lex Luger wasn’t a major loss because Davy Boy Smith was treated as a bigger star and he faced Big Van Vader. But unlike how Lex beat Yokozuna by countout at SummerSlam but didn’t get the WWF title, Davy Boy Smith beat Vader in Disqualification but didn’t win the WCW World title. But at least Smith and Vader pulled better and more engaging match than Lex & Yoko could ever do together. Davy was built like a star (you have to see Davy reverse Vader’s splash into a powerslam) and if Davy won the title it would have been greater than his Summerslam main event last year. Similar to Summerslam 1993, this loss overshadowed the entire event. Neutral feelings on this one, though, because, even though there’s a lot of crap, the show gets better in the last half. Barry Windham vs. Arn Anderson, Hollywood Blondes vs. Dos Hombres were alright matches. Aside from the idiotic Cactus Jack “Lost in Cleveland” segments, this was the first swing-and-a-miss for WCW in 1993. The legends idea may look acceptable on paper because WCW liked to stick with tradition and pay homage to its legends from back in the day, but it really sucked to have sit through it. That’s not to discredit the people involved though because they are all certainly legends. The last three matches are all pretty good, but there is still no reason to ever watch this show.
Number 7. – Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble 1993 will never hold the same candle the 1992 did. Royal Rumble 1992 had the best wrestlers booked in a perfect show and everyone was on the edge of their seat to see who was going to win the Royal Rumble. Saddly, this Royal Rumble match was forgettable except for the dumb finish with Macho Man trying to pin Yokozo in a Rumble match. Where has he been for the last 3 Royal Rumbles? He should already know the rules and he should have won the Rumble. I’m okay with Yokozuna winning but how he won made Savage look like a damn fool. So the Royal Rumble match was weak, so how was the rest of the show? Sadly this was a one-match show. I will always remember Bret Hart vs. Razor Ramon being a must see WWF title match. Bret beat Shawn Michaels at Surivor Series 1992 and he face Razor as the perfect foe. It was a great match that everyone forgot about and these two were the faces of the New Generation Era wrestling for the WWF title. It’s too bad that Razor Ramon never again had another WWF title match ever again after this match. Another dissapointing match was Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty for the Intercontinental belt. This was a year long feud after Shawn threw Jannetty through the glass window at Brutus Beefcakes barbershop promo in 1992. Now in 1993, the feud didn’t pay off because instead of a a blood feud with was all flippy and flying that bored the audience. The rest of the show was nothing to write home about but at least it’s still better than Wrestlemania IX and SummerSlam 1993.
Number 6. – Beach Blast
Last year’s Beach Blast is one of the best shows that WCW has ever put out. It’s unfortunate that the same can’t be said about Beach Blast 1993. It feels as if WCW was attempting to replicate Beach Blast 1992 into this one, but repetition can’t always be the best option. This is where doing something original was a must but was totally a miss here. Like there was absolutely no way that the Iron Man match this year was going to be anywhere as good as the one prior. Rick Rude never had a more perfect opponent for this match than Ricky Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes. was going to this exact same thing to 30 straight minutes. The fact that this match became a draw made both of these legends look bad. Yet we have another Ric Flair title defense that wasn’t the main event. This time he’s facing Barry Windham this match didn’t feel as big as it should. Our main event was Davy Boy Smith & Sting to face The Masters of The Powerbomb (Sid & Vader). I don’t recall seeing any powerbombs. I like all these guys to varying degrees, this felt like an evveryday tag team match. However there were a few decent matches like Paul Roma actually having a decent match with fellow Horseman Arn Anderson going against The Hollywood Blondes for the NWA Tag belts (but that’s only because Arn, Pillman, & Austin made the match and Roma dragged it a ton). And Lord Steven Regal whipping Erik Watts’s ass in a with tecnical mat wrestling. Other than that, Beach Blast 1993 could never hold the same candle as 1992. This show was so average that the Beach Blast name was rebranded into Bash At The Beach. The main event was fun, but it didn’t feel important. This was another PPV where the WCW Title was treated as an afterthought. (Vader is still champion, but he was in a tag match.) It wasn’t a terrible show, but it was underwhelming.
Number 5. – SuperBrawl III
Now we’re getting to the above average shows of 1993. The one thing that I will always remember about SuperBrawl III is the cheesy and over the top movie between Sting and Vader’s White Castle of Fear. It is the second most cringiest thing after Shockmaster’s debut and WCW in 1993 kept rolling with the whacky. But for the main event Strap Match, it was the best main event in 1993 WCW (up to that point). Vader & Sting had one hell of whipping towards each other throughout that match. It’s without a doubt the best Strap match in the history of professional wrestling. Besides the Chris Benoit Family Killer vs Ron Simmons bout, the card itself is filled with mediocre matches. You can honestly skip past all of the matches in SuperBrawl III and just get to the main event between Vader & Sting. The British Bulldog had the weakest match in his time in WCW with Wild Bill Irwin. It was truly a one-sided match and you’ll won’t miss anything. The Heavenly Bodies vs. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express should only stay in Smokey Mountain Wrestling, not in WCW. Dustin Rhodes vs. Maxx Payne for the US title was hot trash that should never go over 10 minutes. And The Great Muta vs. Barry Windham went on so long that it was a struggle to sit through. That match sucked the life right out of me and never again will I want to see it replayed. If it weren’t for that phoenominal main event, Super Brawl III would have been another dumper fire of a show, brought to you by WCW 1993.
Number 4. – Starrcade 1993
The tenth anniversary (and 11th edition) of Starrcade was much different than everything else offered in 1993. This was the night that proved to everyone that Ric Flair’s peak wasn’t over as he faces Big Van Vader for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. This was an emotional night because Ric came back to where it all started 10 years ago and had closure to Vader’s manager (and main event opponent a decade prior) Harley Race. It’s insane to think that the original plan was to have Sid vs. Vader which would have made Starrcade 1993 a complete disaster. Flair fought really hard against the stiff and dangerous Vader and to see him win his 11th World Championship victory because his career was on the line. The level of drama and emotion implemented in that main event was truly something special. Sid getting fired for going scissor happy with Arn Anderson did us all a big favor because letting Flair win was the absolute right thing to do. No doubt this was the best main event in Starcade history. As for the rest of the show, it was solid as it should be. Steve Austin vs Dustin Rhodes in a 2 out of 3 falls for the US title was and William Regal vs Ricky Steamboat displayed technical mastery when the midcard of WCW 10th biggest show needed it the most. Those other two matches were the only ones worth watching when the rest of the show was pretty off. If you ever want to see WCW’s thought process when it comes to laying out matches, not that they gave the Tag Team titles between The Nasty Boys vs Sting & Road Warrior Hawk… 30 minutes! Sting and Hawk deserved better opponents if they were ever going that long. No wonder why the crowd was barely awak when Vader vs. Flair actually began because it took a long time to get to the main event. Another dud was Awesome King (no that the one you’re thinkg of, it’s Scott Thompson) vs Shockmaster should never been booked in an event as special as this.
Number 3. – Halloween Havoc
Finally! A decent WCW Pay Per View in 1993! After the dumpster fire known as Fall Brawl 1993, WCW finally cleaned their act together and finally made a show worth watching. Sure there were stinkers like Harlem Heat and The Equalizer vs. The Shockmaster, Ice Train, and Charlie Norris as a trashy opener, Dustin Rhodes vs. Steve Austin was so boring to watch, and once again Ric Flair not winning the WCW World Championship. They didn’t learn their lesson from Fall Brawl 1993 (a month prior) and they decided to give this a DQ finish. The match was much better than the previous bout but it still wasn’t satisfying. With my complaints out of the way, here’s why Halloween Havoc 1993 is worth your precious time. Lord Steven Regal vs Davey Boy Smith has got to be one of the best Brit vs Brit matches of all time. Sure the time-limit draw was something to be desired (and it certainly wasn’t as affective as Sting vs Flair at Clash of Champions I) but that match was what they were both made for. It made both competitors look so strong and make’s technical wrestling feel so special. 2 Cold Scorpio and Buff Bagwell vs. Nasty Boys was a much better match that it has every right to be. Despite its crappy finish, the brawl those two teams had was fun to watch. If anything, you must watch the main event between Big Van Vader & Cactus Jack. There are moments throughout the match that makes you say “OH! That’s gotta hurt!” and it was the perfect match to close a freakshow like Halloween Havoc. Cactus was his usually crazy self and it was great watching him get the better of Vader for most of the match. This was pretty insane brawl for the time and is a prerequisite for the main event brawls of the late 90s, early 2000s. This was a mixed bag of a show. On one hand, it was refreshing to watch a show where every match got a ton of time to develop and get to put on the kind of contest they wanted. There were no restraints, there were no matches short changed for crappy comedy segments. This show was filled with wrestling, with most of it being pretty solid and the main event was an excellent brawl. On the other hand, the booking of this show was awful. This has to be a contender for a show with the biggest collections of cheap finishes in wrestling history. It seemed like they were afraid to book clean finishes to make the loser look weak, but no one came out of this show with any momentum and it did not get the road to Starrcade 93 off to a hot start. For the quality of the action, I’d give this a mild recommendation but be prepared to be frustrated at multiple points during the show.
Number 2. – King of the Ring
Have you ever wondered to yourself when did the New Generation Era officially begun? It wasn’t the first Monday Night Raw, it was King of the Ring 1993. This really is the best show that WWF could possibly makeout of the worst circumstance. Even though Bret Hart did beat Ric Flair for the WWF Championship, he had to prove himself as the face of the company. Thankfully this was the best thing they could do for a singular wrestler. This is where Bret Hart became a star pulling triple duty on three different opponents in 3 different type of matches. He faced Razor Ramon (almost a rematch from Royal Rumble 1993), faced Mr. Perfect (a rematch from SummerSlam 1992), and barely survived against Bam Bam Bigelow. Go out and watch all three of those matches! You’ll see why the legacy of Bret Hart truly lives up to his name. I find it hardpressed to find another wrestler in any tournament that pulled off matches as good as that. Because the other participants Lex Luger vs Tatanka was a drag that it went in a time limit draw and Bam Bam didn’t have much competition when reaching the finals with Bret. Also the two non-tournament matches in this card was quite good. The Steiner Brothers and The Smoking Gunns vs Money Inc. and The Headshrinkers was fun and fast-paced, but a bit short. And we all remember this being Hulk Hogan’s last appearance in WWF (until he returned in 2002). Yokozuna beating Hulk Hogan for the WWF title was death of the Hulkamania & Golden Age of Wrestling and we were all off better for it. It wasn’t a great match, but wow was it glorious to see Hulk just utterally defeated like that. Though Hogan never passed the torch to Bret, like he promised at least well all knew that Bret Hart was the offical face of the WWF after this night.
Number 1. – FMW 4th Anniversary Show
Keep in mind that this isn’t the best FMW show, but after all the horrible stuff being offered in North America, we have to see what Japan was offereing to scratch that itch. I’m very surprised looking back a Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, they consequitively and consistantly made their Anniversary Shows better than the last. As they kept growing as a company they kept getting more stars into thier promotion. Do you want to see the The Sheik and Sabu in action against Dr. Luther and Dr. Hannibal as Team Canada? Yeah these horror movie Halloween cosplayers are the least Canadian as you can ever get. But Shit! That hardcore tag team match was cool! Young Sabu carried that match and he looked like a Star beating Dr. Luther and Hannibal into a bloody pulp. The front row crowd were running for their lives because Sabu & Shiek were going abosulutel nuts when bringing the fight past the barracade. And Sabu to break a Japanese table out of frustration after the match was pure gold. Another match to check out is The Great Sasuke, Kendo and Battle Ranger Z vs Super Delfin, Espanto IV and Espanto V. You want high flying, luchador action, you have to see this matcha s see why The Great Sasuke was becoming the most popular Japanese flying wrestler of his time. Another highlight you have to see is Team Canada (Ricky Fuji, Big Titan and The Gladiator) defeated Katsuji Ueda, The Great Punk and Tarzan Goto in a barbed wire ropes match. I don’t know why Ricky Fuji and Mike Awesome is representing Team Canada when they both aren’t Canadian, but this match was hardcore fun. The fact that all 6 men used the barbed wire stipulation perfectly shows how good this match was. For the third year in a row Grigory Verichev gets himself in a MMA fight with Leon Spinks for the second time, but this time one-on-one unlike last year’s where it was a tag MMA. The whole crowd ate it up and bought it unlike WWF’s Brawl For All later down the line. If you want a dream match, look no futher than AJW’s most pretigious tag team with Toshiyo Yamada and Manami Toyota (the greatest female wrestler of all time) against FMW’s finest females Combat Toyoda and Megumi Kudo. This interpromotional match was so much better than last year’s becasue Manami Toyota is finally facing “The Queen of Hardcore Wrestling” Megumi Kudo! All four women really brought hell among one another. No doubt this was the match of the night because of it. You got the best women’s match of the early 1990s here and you should not miss it! And like usual, Atsushi Onita is booked in the main event and he keeps getting bigger and bigger opponents in the Anniversary show. This time he’s facing the Hardcore Legend himself, Terry Funk in a No Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Time Bomb Deathmatch. Holy shit was this main even awesome to watch! Out of the four FMW Anniversary Shows, this one is my favorite no doubt. That main event was brutal and Onita conflicted in deciding to save Terry Funk or let him explode in the ring was some good storytelling. And despite saving his life, Funk found it disrespectful that he was saved by Onita which carried out the rivalry between the two. And who says hardcore wrestling can’t tell stories. 1993 was a garbage year of professional wrestling but at least FMW had the last laugh of giving the best show of the year!
The Top Lister 