At one time WCW was the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States. Rising from the ashes of Jim Crockett Promotions and the National Wrestling Alliance, Ted Turner rebranded his company as World Championship Wrestling. Despite some major ups and downs, the company actually outpaced WWE for nearly two years between 1996 and 1998. Known for some outlandish Pay-Per-View concepts, WCW pushed the concept of SuperBrawl for 11 years. The annual event was held every February. As February comes to a close, let’s rank the 11 WCW SuperBrawl events.
11. SuperBrawl V – 1995
While it made sense for WCW to bring in Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage and some other former WWE wrestlers, the booking for many was terrible and hits card is considered a low point. The two best matches on the night happened on WCW’s Sunday night show that preceded the PPV. Once the actual PPV got started, it was filled either bad matches or television matches that shouldn’t be on PPV.
Hulk Hogan and Vader should’ve had an epic feud between the consummate babyface and WCW’s best monster heel. Instead, it was a slow plodding match that worked for Hogan in WWE in the 80s, but fans had been rejecting well before he moved to WCW. The opening match was also a master class in what not to do. Veteran Paul Roma wrestled newcomer Alex Wright, but many in WCW say Roma went into business for himself during the match. WCW fired Roma not long after while Wright remained with the company for many years.
10. SuperBrawl X – 2000
The only reason SuperBrawl 2000 doesn’t rank as low as 1995 is because expectations were lower. WCW began treading water in late 1999, and 2000 was the beginning of the end for the once beloved company. Bret Hart’s title reign ended with a career-ending injury. Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero bolted the month prior. Everyone knew going in this would be bad.
A bad cruiserweight title match between two undeserving competitors opened the show. The Wall faced the Demon in a battle of bad gimmicks. Booker T battled Big T, the former Ahmed Johnson in WWE, over the use of the letter “T.” I wish I was joking about that one. Billy Kidman and Vampiro wrestled the only good match on the card.
9. SuperBrawl Revenge – 2001
While 2000 was the lowest of low points for WCW, the company had started to rebound in the first few months of 2001. It went out of business in March, but the creative team had started putting on better shows once they moved away from the Vince Russo style of booking. While this card still left a lot to be desired, there was some obvious improvements.
Shane Helms won a six-way elimination Cruiserweight match to earn a future title shot. While not everyone in the match was a viable winner, it showed off some quality performers and gave Helms a push he continued into WWE’s invasion angle. Chavo Guerrero and Rey Mysterio wrestled a Cruiserweight title match that was below their normal standards but still the best match on the card. It would’ve been interesting to see if the momentum could have continued in 2001.
8. SuperBrawl IV – 1994
On paper, the back half of this card looks great with Ric Flair and Vader continuing their feud and a six man tag featuring Sting, Brian Pillman and Dustin Rhodes taking on Rick Rude, Steve Austin and Paul Ordnorff. Both matches were held inside the Thundercage, but the stipulations hurt the matches rather than help them. Both matches were overall let downs.
The first half of the card featured matches that should never have been on PPV. Harlem Heat became a great tag team, but their match with Thunder & Lightning should have been a dark match. Does anyone remember Jim Steele vs. the Equalizer? Terry Taylor was past his prime and DDP hadn’t learned how to wrestle well yet. Johnny B. Badd and Jimmy Garvin are two wrestlers whose careers should have never overlapped. It was just bad.
7. SuperBrawl VII – 1997
WCW was clicking on all cylinders by 1997, but that doesn’t mean the company didn’t still have some misfires while dominating the American wrestling scene. Syxx won the Cruiserweight championship from Dean Malenko in a match that should’ve been a great opener but felt rather clunky. Public Enemy, Harlem Heat and the Faces of Fear squared off in a three-way tag team match that showed how stagnant the tag team scene could be.
Eddie Guerrero and Chris Jericho stole the show with a stellar US title match. Lex Luger and the Giant “won” the tag titles from the Outsiders in a match that was far from a technical classic but still entertaining. The titles would be returned to Hall and Nash in a “Dusty Finish” the next night. The show ended with Hollywood Hogan and Roddy Piper wrestling for the title about ten years too late. In the best year in WCW history, this card represents a real misstep.
6. SuperBrawl VI – 1996
“I respect you Booker man!” This one sentence is the main thing remembered about this card. Brian Pillman continued his loose canon gimmick in a way that worked the other wrestlers in his final WCW appearance. He convinced Eric Bischoff to release him following this event, went to ECW for a little while and signed with WWE. Pillman worked Bischoff masterfully.
The rest of the card was the very definition of fine. Arn Anderson wrestled Kevin Sullivan immediately after Pillman’s antics. Sting and Lex Luger defended the tag titles twice, once against Harlem Heat then against the Road Warriors. Ric Flair and Macho Man fought a main event worthy match in the steel cage where Elizabeth turned on Savage. Unfortunately, the card ended with a dud between Hulk Hogan and the Giant.
5. SuperBrawl IX – 1999
If SuperBrawl VII is a rare misstep during a great time for WCW, SuperBrawl IX is a hidden gem during a creative roadblock for the company. While television during early 1999 struggled due to the NWO’s reformation, the first four PPVs of 1999 are widely regarded as solid to good. Hollywood Hogan and Ric Flair wrestled the worst match on the card, but the fans were behind it because both men were still over with the crowd.
Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko wrestled a pair of great matches against Barry Windham and Curt Hennig for the tag titles. The Outsiders beat Konnan and Rey Mysterio to win Rey’s mask. While that was a bad decision, the match was still good. Scott Steiner found his groove as a heel and defeated DDP in an excellent match to build Steiner for future main event success.
4. SuperBrawl VIII – 1998
WCW squandered the best storyline in company history at Starrcade 1997. Officials had to find a way to make it up to audiences. Sting and Hollywood Hogan faced off for the third time in three months with the WCW title on the line. Sting finally won without shenanigans putting the title on him. The February match was better than their December match but this outcome should have come two months earlier.
Booker T and Perry Saturn managed to call an entire match on the fly following an injury to Rick Martel. WCW booked a TV title feud between the three with the intention of Martel winning both matches on the night. Martel’s injury forced him to lose the first match to Booker T. Booker and Saturn showed true professionalism calling a match that few, if any, at home could tell wasn’t the plan. Meanwhile, Chris Jericho and Juventud Guerrera put on a thriller for the Cruiserweight title that ended with Guerrera losing his mask.
3. SuperBrawl I – 1991
The very first SuperBrawl event was the definition of some good and some bad. The Steiner Brothers defeated Sting and Lex Luger in the match of the night to retain their tag team titles. Bobby Eaton defeated Arn Anderson for the TV title in the semi-main event. Ric Flair and Tatsumi Fujinami fought a stellar match to merge the WCW and NWA World Heavyweight titles. Those three matches ended the card on a high note.
Unfortunately, a lot of the undercard left a lot to be desired. Kevin Nash made his WCW PPV debut as Oz and beat Tim Parker in a forgettable match. Big Josh beat Black Bart in a match between two wrestlers most WCW fans didn’t want to see anymore by 1991. Sid Vicious and El Gigante wrestled one of the worst matches on the card. Sid was never great, but when he’s the workhorse of the match, it’s guaranteed to be terrible.
2. SuperBrawl III – 1993
The first three SuperBrawl events showcase how well WCW could be when they put in the work. SuperBrawl III kicked off with the best match of Erik Watts’ career as he and Marcus Alexander Bagwell teamed up in a losing effort to WCW’s most underrated tag team, the Hollywood Blonds. The show ended with the best rivalry in the early days of WCW, Big Van Vader vs. Sting.
However, WCW’s working relationship with Smoky Mountain Wrestling stole this show. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express and Heavenly Bodies wrestled the match of the night. Of course, this would be the last show of that partnership as SMW moved to a working relationship with WWE after WCW fired Bill Watts. This card also set up the final NWA Heavyweight Championship storyline in WCW history as Barry Windham won the title from the Great Muta before entering a feud with Ric Flair. The NWA would pulled out of working with WCW later in 1993.
1. SuperBrawl II – 1992
Before Hulk Hogan arrived on the scene, pundits viewed 1992 as the best year in WCW history. Looking at SuperBrawl II, it’s easy to understand why. Sting won his second WCW World Championship in the main event ending Lex Luger’s heel title run. Fans always loved Sting, and this kicked off his best ever run as champion.
Rick Rude and Ricky Steamboat battled for the US title in the semi-main event and best match of the night. Two excellent wrestlers with amazing chemistry, figuratively, set the ring on fire with one of their best ever matches. If those two weren’t enough, a solid tag title match featured Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton defending the titles against the Steiner Brothers. SuperBrawl II is easily the best SuperBrawl event.
Those are my rankings. How would you rank them?
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