In 1993, WCW decided to expand its PPV shows with Fall Brawl. It made sense to have a big show just before Halloween Havoc, and WCW smartly decided this would be the place for the annual War Games match. Yet, Fall Brawl could be a mixed affair, as every great match on a show was a bad one, with a lot more falling in the middle.
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Fall Brawl could rarely be a truly great or awful show for WCW, just more a “filler” PPV despite some notable stuff with War Games. Most of the matches were average, yet there could be a few gems here and there. However, it was also home to some pretty bad matches, a couple of which were the War Games themselves. Here are the 5 best and 5 worst matches Fall Brawl has ever seen to show what a mixed bag this show could be.
10 WORST: Ernest Miller Vs Norman Smiley, 1998
It would have been bad enough as a comedy match, but WCW tried to turn this into a serious battle. The former martial arts expert should have taken Miller apart in ten seconds, but instead, Miller actually got the advantage brawling outside and taking Smiley down to a bored crowd.
It took two Feliners to get the pin, but Miller won. Yes, WCW thought the goofy dancer deserved the win over a promising experienced fighter, which alone puts this on the worst list.
9 BEST: Super Calo Vs Rey Mysterio Jr 1996
An overlooked gem from the glory days of the WCW Cruiserweight era, this fantastic match is probably Super Calo’s best in WCW. It was helped by Rey being young and on fire, wanting to impress and both guys going at it in a fast-paced battle.
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There were fantastic bounces and counters, both guys bumping like crazy and Calo dominating well while Rey had some great stuff. This is the famous match where Rey jumps off the ropes of both rings to hit a rana to get the pin. A terrific fast-paced affair that’s one of Rey’s best WCW matches and deserves a lot more attention.
8 WORST: Steve Austin vs Jim Duggan, 1994
Calling this a “match” barely even fits, but it’s the circumstances making it worse. Steve Austin was to have a rematch with Ricky Steamboat for the U.S. title, but Steamboat suffered his career-ending back injury.
He thus forfeited the title to Austin, who was then told he had to defend it against Jim Duggan. All it took was a backflip, a light splash and Austin’s entire reign was over in less than five minutes. It’s Austin’s lowest moment in WCW and played a part in his leaving months later.
7 BEST: Raven Vs Saturn, 1998
Not just a great match but also a genius angle as the stip was if Raven won, Saturn was his servant, but if Saturn won, the Flock would disband. The two had a great match that wasn’t just a no-DQ brawl but some smart wrestling mixed in to remind fans how skilled they were.
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A good twist was Kidman turning on the Flock as Saturn took the offensive with Lodi interfering. The last minutes were a series of finishers before Saturn finally hit the Death Valley Driver for the win and capped a shining match on an otherwise bad show.
6 WORST: War Games, 1995
It’s too bad an actually decent undercard had to end in this terrible main event. Hulk Hogan, Sting, Randy Savage and new hire Lex Luger faced the Dungeon of Doom in a match that was wasted being put in War Games. There were goofy bits like Shark stuck on the ropes between both rings, but the face team was so stacked, there was little drama.
The heels dominated until Hogan showed up to take them all down and forced Zodiac to submit to a weak chinlock. The post-match had him beating on Kevin Sullivan before the Giant made his debut to attack, but it was still a terrible battle.
5 BEST: Ric Flair vs Arn Anderson, 1995
After all their years together in the Horsemen, it should have been no surprise Flair and Double-A could work a good match together. After months of tension, the pair had it out in a great battle, using the idea they knew each other so well that they could counter the other’s moves.
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It was a terrific fight, with both giving it their all. The ending was surprising as Brian Pillman kicked Flair in the head, allowing Arn to hit a DDT on him for the win. This set up a later Horsemen reunion, yet fun to finally see the two face off in the ring.
4 WORST: Harlem Heat vs Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater, 1995
Sadly, saddled between two great Fall Brawl 1995 matches was this disaster. The supposed story was Harlem Heat trying to regain the tag team titles, but it was more about Sherri Martel having a bump on the head and being in love with Col Parker.
The match was awful, with the two teams having no chemistry for bad action while Sherri chased Parker around the ring. It led to them kissing in one ring while the Nasty Boys hit Slater and let the Heat regain the belts. A lousy angle mixed with a bad match led to pure stupidity.
3 BEST: Johnny B. Badd Vs Brian Pillman, 1995
One of the best opening bouts for a WCW PPV ever saw Johnny B. Badd and Pillman go at it for a shot at the U.S. title. The addition of a time limit added to the action as the two had a tremendous bout, with some high-flying action mixed with some brawling outside but really getting into it.
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They were firing up when the time limit ran out, but it was decided to keep on going. The match really took off after that, both men going wild with maneuvers and brawling, culminating in trading splashes before Badd got the pin. A tremendous opener that proved WCW could still have great matches in this time.
2 WORST: War Games 1993
This match was pretty much doomed in the setup. Sting, Davey Boy Smith and Dustin Rhodes announced they had a “shocking” partner to face Sid, Vader and Harlem Heat. That turned out to be the Shockmaster in one of the most infamous flop moments in WCW history.
How could any match recover from that? The answer was it couldn’t. While Dustin, Vader and Sting had good chemistry, the rest seemed lost and the action was lackluster. The result was a dull match ending with Shockmaster coming in, one bearhug and that was it. It fits this terrible debut preceded possibly the worst War Games ever.
1 BEST: Eddie Guerrero Vs Chris Jericho, 1997
It should be no shock these two could put on a great match as Eddie was freshly heel and Jericho was starting his own rise. It started slowly with some technical work before Jericho started breaking out some high-flying hits to wake up the crowd. It was brilliant work by both men trading some great moves back and forth, including some wild brawling on the floor.
Jericho tried a superplex only for Guerrero to reverse it, then hit a frog splash for the Cruiserweight title. A brilliant opening battle that also solidified both men as future stars.
