WCW Battlebowl 1993 Review (Lethal Lottery)

November 20, 1993 Location: Pensacola, Florida, USA (Pensacola Civic Center) Announced attendance: 7,000 PPV buys: 55,000 (down 45% from Halloween Havoc 1993’s 100,000 PPV buys; down 78% from WWF’s last PPV – SummerSlam 1993 – 250,000 PPV buys)

The battlebowl concept was introduced at Starrcade 1991, being used at the following year’s edition as well. In 1993, WCW decided Battlebowl deserved its own pay-per-view. As you can see above, the buyrate was horrendous – the worst WCW/WWF PPV buyrate of 1993 – and the show ended up being replaced by World War 3 a couple of years later. Join me as WCW wrestlers go through the lethal lottery (8 tag team matches drawn at random) to qualify for battlebowl (a 16-man battle royal where the winner gets… a ring) in the main event. Who will be the lucky man? Let’s find out!

Even though it’s irrelevant when it comes to this PPV…

Here’s the list of WCW champions heading into Battlebowl 1993:

• WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Big Van Vader [249th day of his 3rd reign] – previous champion: Sting

• WCW International World Heavyweight Champion: Rick Rude [63rd day of his 1st reign] – previous champion: Ric Flair

• WCW United States Heavyweight Champion: Dustin Rhodes [83rd day of his 2nd reign] – previous champion: Dustin Rhodes, before it was vacated

• WCW World Television Champion: Lord Steven Regal [63rd day of his 1st reign] – previous champion: Ricky Steamboat

• WCW World Tag Team Champions: The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags) [28th day of their 2nd reign; Knobbs’ 2nd individual reign & Sags’ 2nd individual reign] – previous champions: 2 Cold Scorpio & Marcus Alexander Bagwell

Note: in title matches, the defending champions are underlined

Enjoy the review!

Your hosts are Jesse Ventura & Tony Schiavone

We hear from the commentators to start the show. Schiavone talks about the history of Battlebowl, and says last winner’s Great Muta is not here to “defend” his achievement. That’s how important winning Battlebowl is! They explain the rules and we see the wrestlers in two different dressing rooms (babyfaces and heels) waiting for their names to be announced.

Mean Gene & Fifi will draw the names throughout the night. And there’s already a crazy dynamic in the very first match…

Lethal Lottery Tag Team Match #1: Big Van Vader & Cactus Jack (w/ Harley Race) vs. Kane & Charlie Norris

Vader and Cactus Jack, who had a Texas Death Match at Halloween Havoc one month earlier, immediately start fighting each other on the ramp! Vader wants to walk away, but Harley Race talks him into wrestling in order to qualify for the main event.

The action properly starts with Harlem Heat’s Kane (Stevie Ray) and Cactus in the ring. Cactus dumps Kane to the floor. Vader wants some of Kane, but Cactus rakes Vader’s eyes and goes after Kane himself. And now Harley Race is talking some sense into Cactus Jack! Back inside the ring, Kane takes Cactus down with a slam before tagging in Norris. This guy really does come across like the Vinted version of Tatanka. Cactus quickly turns things around against Norris, unsurprisingly. Vader gets tagged in by Cactus Jack… properly. Now THAT is surprising. Vader slams Norris rather easily and squashes him with the Vader Bomb. He throws Norris into the floor, apparently wanting to have more fun before winning. However, Cactus appears from out of nowhere and jumps off the apron with a senton to Norris. Vader with a clothesline back inside the ring, and Cactus comes in with a legdrop for two. Backdrop suplex by Cactus gets two, with Kane breaking up the pin. Kane comes in off the tag and he finally gets some offense going with a clothesline to Cactus. Vader wants to go at it with Kane, but the referee eventually forces him to leave. Charlie Norris manages to hit a suplex on Cactus as well as some weak chops. He applies a chinlock on Cactus, with Vader coming in to break the hold with a clothesline. Kane comes in, only to get hit with Cactus’ double-arm DDT. Norris comes in again, he runs wild on Vader for about five seconds until Vader runs him over with a huge clothesline. The World Champion follows it up with a splash, and the Powerbomb is academic at 7:34 (with Norris fucking up the finish).

Winners: Big Van Vader & Cactus Jack

• Rating: Nice opening contest because of the crazy dynamic with Vader and Cactus. Their interactions made this match interesting, despite Charlie Norris’ attempts to drag it down. Solid and overall fun match that could’ve been even better with someone else in Norris’ place. **

And now, we go back to Mean Gene & Fifi as we get ready for our second match.

Lethal Lottery Tag Team Match #2: Paul Roma & Erik Watts vs. Johnny B. Badd & Brian Knobbs (w/ Missy Hyatt)

Badd and Roma get things started. Badd wins the opening exchange by taking Roma down with an armdrag. Roma with some offense, just to walk into yet another armdrag. Nasty Boy Knobbs is in, ready to turn this into a street fight. Roma takes him down, though, hitting a slam and a dropkick before tagging in Watts. He gets to run wild on Knobbs for a while, surprisingly, even dropkicking him all the way to the floor. Johnny gets tagged back in and gets into a wrestling sequence with Watts, who ends up missing a blind charge. Knobbs comes back in, but struggles to take control once more. He rakes Watts’ eyes and tags Badd back in. Johnny gives Watts a second, though, choosing not to take advantage of Knobbs’ cheapshot.

Roma & Watts hit a double-team elbow smash for two. Powerslam by Roma, but Missy Hyatt distracts the referee on the apron and Knobbs breaks up the pin. Knobbs keeps cheating all the time, yet Johnny never takes advantage of it. Finally, Knobbs gets back in and delivers a suplex for two. Abdominal stretch by Knobbs with Johnny refusing to add some extra leverage. What does this guy have against winning!? Roma makes the “hot” tag to Erik Watts (absolutely no reaction), and Watts runs wild with a slam followed by an elbowdrop. He rams Knobbs’ head into the turnbuckle numerous times, finally waking up the crowd as they count along. Watts with a bodypress, Knobbs rolls through and grabs a handful of tights for the win at 12:56. And Johnny doesn’t accept the win. What an idiot.

Winner: Brian Knobbs & Johnny B. Badd

• Rating: Needless to say, my expectations weren’t high when I saw this match on paper. But the truth is they actually put on a fine little match. Not that it was amazing or anything close to that level, but they did tell somewhat of a story to carry us through the match. It got repetitive after a while, and it was definitely a bit longer than needed, but this wasn’t bad at all. *1/2

Meanwhile, Mean Gene is distracted with Fifi, so to speak. They get back to business and send us to the next match.

Lethal Lottery Tag Team Match #3: The Shockmaster & Paul Orndorff vs. Ricky Steamboat & Lord Steven Regal (w/ Sir William)

Regal’s disgusted face is fantastic. Meanwhile, Shockmaster encourages the fans to chant “Paula” at his partner. Steamboat and Orndorff go at it to start, in a rematch from Halloween Havoc. They take the fight to the floor, with Orndorff getting the better of it. Steamboat gets the upper hand back inside the ring, though. Quick two count by Steamboat before applying a chinlock. Steamboat scores with an atomic drop, but Orndorff bounces off the ropes and their heads collide. Tags to their respective partners. Regal doesn’t seem to like the idea of having to face Shockmaster. He overpowers Regal quite easily, which angers him even more. Regal’s character work was already perfect at this point. Shockmaster with a slam on Regal, who was going for a bodypress. Orndorff comes in for his team, with Regal stopping for a handshake from his fellow heel. They get into a wrestling sequence and shake hands again. Steamboat and Shockmaster are both going crazy in their respective corners.

Steamboat finally has enough and tags himself in, only to get caught with a stun gun-like move by Orndorff. Powerslam by Orndorff and he tags in Shockmaster, who misses an elbowdrop. Regal asks for a tag only to short-arm Steamboat at the last second just to be funny, but Shockmaster forces the tag. Shockmaster slams Regal into the ring, although he misses a blind charge immediately. Regal avoids an elbowdrop from the interfering Orndorff as well, causing him to hit Shockmaster. Sir William hands Regal the umbrella as Orndorff & Shockmaster confront each other. However, Steamboat is not having it and he ends up hitting Regal himself with the umbrella. What do these babyfaces have against winning matches? Anyway, Shockmaster follows it up with a splash that sends him and Orndorff into Battlebowl at 12:26.

Winners: The Shockmaster & Paul Orndorff

• Rating: Talk about exceeding expectations. This match was really fun to watch, mostly thanks to Regal’s mannerisms and facial expressions. Everyone did well here, but Regal was the one in the driver’s seat having great interactions with all three. Pretty good, honestly. ***

And now, Schiavone and Ventura promote Starrcade. We see a video of Ric Flair offering to put his career on the line against Vader’s World Title at Starrcade in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Lethal Lottery Tag Team Match #4: Awesome Kong & The Equalizer vs. King Kong & Dustin Rhodes

Dustin Rhodes and The Equalizer go at it to start, with Dustin getting the better of that exchange. Equalizer ends up tagging Awesome Kong in. Dustin’s dropkicks don’t seem to work, so Dustin thumbs him in the eye and rolls him up for two. Finally a babyface with some damn attitude on this show! However, Awesome Kong overpowers Dustin, but he misses an elbowdrop and Dustin makes the tag to King Kong. And now, The Colossal Kongs EXPLODE… or maybe not, as King Kong tags Dustin back in and Awesome Kong destroys him. The Equalizer comes in and stays in control until King Kong hits him with a clothesline.

Equalizer responds with a clothesline of his own and he brings it to King Kong in the corner. Tony Schiavone then adds a hilarious line, claiming “this is what you call not moving around much and just pounding away”. That’s a perfect way to describe this match! The Equalizer and King Kong stay in there for a little longer, until they seemingly get bored (like the crowd) and both tag out. Dustin’s bionic elbow gets two, as does a sunset flip with Equalizer breaking up the pin. It’s a PANDEMONIUM from there. Awesome Kong splashes his own partner for whatever reason, but hits heads with his full-time partner (what a mess, I know…) and Dustin bulldogs him to mercifully end this at 05:55.

Winners: King Kong & Dustin Rhodes

• Rating: After a few matches with rivals teaming up, this was the contractually obligated “tag partners on opposite teams” segment that had to happen at least once on this PPV. The only problem is that said tag team was not over at all, and Dustin Rhodes – the more established star of the four – couldn’t save this. The fact the Colossal Kongs didn’t even face each other once makes this completely pointless. My overall opinion for this match? What Tony Schiavone said! 1/2*

The extremely weird and unnecessary (passive aggressive!) sex-related segments between Mean Gene and Fifi continue every single time they’re on camera. There’s no point in recapping them, really…

Lethal Lottery Tag Team Match #5: Sting & Jerry Sags (w/ Missy Hyatt) vs. Ron Simmons & Keith Cole

Sting and Nasty Boy Sags exchange some words before the bell. Ron Simmons runs wild on Sags with a hiptoss, a dropkick, an armdrag and a running shoulderblock. Keith Cole comes in to work on the arm. That goes on for a little longer, with fans starting a “we want Sting” chant. Sags clotheslines Cole, before faking the tag to Sting just to be a prick. Sags unloads on Cole in the corner, but walks into an armdrag/armbar combo and now he’s yelling for Sting’s help! We’re down to Sting v Simmons, which should be interesting. Simmons overpowers Sting and gets the better of their showdown at first. Stalemate.

The “second round” is won by Sting, and the fans appreciate their work. They both tag out, though, with Cole working on Sags’ arm again. That doesn’t last long, as Sags turns things around quickly before tagging in Sting. Simmons comes back in as well, and Sting scores with a bodypress for a one count. Clothesline by Sting. Ron with a cheapshot followed by some choking, establishing himself as the heel-in-peril. Keith Cole comes in with an armbar, leading Simmons to tag himself back in and catapult Sting under the ropes. It’s back to Cole, who applies yet another armbar to really piss off Simmons. Obviously, Sting escapes and eventually hits the Stinger Splash, but Sags blind tags himself in to score the win. Sags adds a little flying elbowdrop on Cole and pins him at 13:14. Simmons gives Cole a Spinebuster afterwards, just for being stupid.

Despite the heel turn, WCW management had given up on Ron by this point. He’d be gone from the company less than a year after this, with this being Simmons’ last WCW PPV match.

Winners: Sting & Jerry Sags

• Rating: Basic match with the main story being Ron Simmons’ heel turn. Ron was aggressive and I liked his small interactions with Sting. There wasn’t much more to it otherwise, and the match could’ve been shorter. *1/4

Lethal Lottery Tag Team Match #6: Stunning Steve Austin & Ric Flair (w/ Col. Robert Parker) vs. Maxx Payne & 2 Cold Scorpio

Stunning Steve lets Flair know he’s the captain of the team before the match starts. Considering Flair could’ve been retired a month later, who can blame Austin for wanting to assume control? Maxx Payne shoves Austin down to start and Flair struts when Austin asks for a tag. See, Flair’s heart is clearly not in this one. Maxx takes it to Austin some more, who’s apparently wrestling a handicap match, before tagging Scorpio in. Austin sets him up for a suplex off the apron, Scorpio blocks it and they get into a fast sequence. Scorpio takes Austin down with a dropkick, and now Flair tags himself in. Naitch wrestles Scorpio down to the mat, Scorpio bridges out of a pin attempt and backslides Flair for two. Maxx Payne comes back in. Flair goes to work on his leg, but makes the mistake of going up top. He obviously gets slammed off, but Maxx misses an elbow and Flair tags out. Austin ends up walking into a backdrop, and he stops to regroup. “I need another partner”, says Austin! Col. Parker encourages him to get back in, and he finally takes control. See, all he needed was a little motivation!

Austin brings in Flair, who takes over with the chops. Scorpio turns the tables, though, hitting Flair with a Stinger Splash, a suplex and a standing moonsault for two. Scorpio uses his speed to score an O’Connor Roll for two, but Flair takes him down with the mother of all chops. He put some mustard on that one, let me tell you! Off to Austin, whose slam is reversed into a quick sunset flip by Scorpio for two. Scorpio with a big superkick. He goes up, but Parker distracts the referee and Austin crotches Scorpio on the top turnbuckle. Superplex by Austin gets two. Austin brings Flair in after a backbreaker, and Naitch follows it up with the Flair kneedrop for two. Backdrop suplex gets two. Austin comes back in with a kneedrop of his own for two. Austin applies an abdominal stretch and grabs the ropes for a little leverage, yet Flair breaks the hold. You mean to tell me the DIRTIEST PLAYER IN THE GAME isn’t down for a little shortcut? Come on! Austin and Flair slap each other for a while, but Flair turns his attention to Scorpio and hits a delayed suplex for two. Austin & Flair actually hit a double-team move, but Maxx breaks up the pin. He’s still in this match?? It’s been a while, big guy. Chinlock by Austin, which Scorpio escapes before hitting a spinkick. Both men tag out to their respective partners, and Maxx no-sells Flair’s chops. He actually gets to run wild on Flair with some power moves, but eventually misses a blind charge in the corner, hitting the buckle with his knees. You know what that means – it’s Figure Four O’Clock! Austin prevents Scorpio from saving, and Maxx can’t withstand the payne and gives it up at 14:31.

Winners: Stunning Steve Austin & Ric Flair

• Rating: Very good action here along with some nice bickering between Ric Flair and Steve Austin. Maxx Payne spent most of the match on the outside, which was probably for the better. ***1/4

Only two more tag matches left to go before the main event.

Lethal Lottery Tag Team Match #7: Rick Rude & Shanghai Pierce vs. Marcus Alexander Bagwell & Tex Slazenger

Oh look, yet another thrilling EXPLOSION of a midcard tag team. During his entrance, Tex Slazenger aka Mideon says he doesn’t know who’s picking them names, but somebody’s gonna pay. In case you missed this entire show until now (and I wouldn’t blame you!) it’s been well established who’s picking “them names”, my friend!

Rude and Bagwell get things started. Rude shoves Bagwell a couple of times to show off his strength. Big suplex by Rude before Slazenger comes in to work on Rude’s arm. Pierce tags in to go up against his tag team partner, but he changes his mind and tags Rude back in. Slazenger jumps Rude from behind and takes over. Bagwell goes to work on Rude’s arm until Shanghai comes in. Shanghai tries a backdrop suplex, but Bagwell lands on his feet and hits a hiptoss, a slam and a splash for two. Bagwell follows it up with a wristlock on the mat. Rude comes in with aggressive strikes to Bagwell before tagging Shanghai back in.

Bagwell takes Shanghai Pierce down with a chinlock. Suplex by Bagwell and he goes for a cover, but Slazenger is distracting the referee for whatever reason. That allows Rude to pull the top rope to send Bagwell crashing to the floor. Rude rams Bagwell into the apron and Shanghai takes advantage of it. Tag to Rude back inside the ring, who hits a delayed inverted suplex on Bagwell. Rude and Pierce exchange quick tags to stay in control. Bagwell finally makes the tag to Tex, but the referee missed it and the punishment on Bagwell continues. This thing is dragging badly… Shanghai cuts off a brief comeback attempt by Bagwell, hitting a big boot and a pretty good gutwrench sitout powerbomb. Tex actually comes in to break up the pin and Bagwell tags him in, as the tag team partners finally go at it. They brawl for a while until Rude sneaks in with the blind tag, and the Rude Awakening keeps Slazenger down at 14:50. Shanghai & Slazenger shake hands afterwards and beat up Bagwell just for fun.

Winners: Rick Rude & Shanghai Pierce

• Rating: To say this match didn’t need 15 minutes would be a huge understatement. Admittedly, it did pick up in the last few moments, but it dragged up until that point. *1/2

And now we go to Mean Gene & Fifi for what will FINALLY be the last qualifying tag match…

Lethal Lottery Tag Team Match #8: Road Warrior Hawk & Rip Rogers vs. Davey Boy Smith & Kole

In case you’re not aware, Rip Rogers was a jobber who mostly appeared on shows like WCW Saturday Night at the time. Pretty clever on WCW’s part, right. Hawk destroys his own partner during the entrances and essentially wrestles a handicap match. Hawk and Bulldog get into a test of strength, but Kole (aka Booker T) won’t shut up on the apron, so Bulldog tags him in. Kole actually slugs away on Hawk and grounds him with a chinlock. Meanwhile, Davey Boy Smith is cheering for Hawk – his opponent, remember – in the corner. I’m so tired of this stupid show. Kole stays in control as poor Rip Rogers has finally managed to crawl his way to ringside. Rogers gets nailed by Kole and now Bulldog encourages the “LOD” chants. What the… Kole goes after Rogers yet again and applies a chinlock on Hawk. The Road Warrior finally comes back with a clothesline, but Kole thumbs him in the eye and hits a backbreaker. Kole goes up top, but misses a flying elbowdrop. Hawk tags in Rogers and slams him onto Kole, allowing the jobber to score the fluke pin at 7:55.

Winners: Road Warrior Hawk & Rip Rogers

• Rating: Again, pretty clever on WCW’s part and it was fun to a degree. That doesn’t make it necessarily good, though. Plus, the fact Davey Boy Smith clearly gave zero fucks about qualifying for the “prestigious” main event says it all about what I’m watching. *

Main Event

16-Man Battlebowl Battle Royal

The participants: Cactus Jack, Big Van Vader (w/ Harley Race), Johnny B. Badd, Brian Knobbs, The Shockmaster, Paul Orndorff, King Kong, Dustin Rhodes, Sting, Jerry Sags, Stunning Steve Austin (w/ Col. Robert Parker), Ric Flair, Rick Rude, Shanghai Pierce, Road Warrior Hawk & Rip Rogers.

I’d like to remind you this is all for a PRESTIGIOUS “gold diamond” ring that means absolutely nothing in the long run. But who cares? The bell rings and they all go after each other. Rip Rogers is the first man eliminated, in what has to be one of the biggest upsets in wrestling history. I believe Johnny B. Badd threw him out. Cactus Jack gets rid of Shanghai Pierce. Flair and Austin fight outside the ring after going out through the middle ropes, so they stay in it. Johnny gets thrown over the top rope, but lands on the ramp so he’s still in it as well. He gets back in, only to get eliminated (this time for real) by Paul Orndorff. Wonderful nearly gets Flair out, but Hawk saves Naitch for whatever reason. Cactus gets dumped – way too early, in my opinion – by Vader. Orndorff is eliminated a few seconds later as well, at the hands of Dustin Rhodes. The Shockmaster eliminates King Kong, and The Nasty Boys throw Shockmaster out immediately. Vader throws Sting over the top with a gorilla press slam, but Sting manages to stay in there after landing on the ramp. The nine men left in the match keep kicking and punching each other with no one getting eliminated. Vader goes after his next challenger, Flair. The Nasty Boys with double-teams. Rude and Vader face off in a meeting of the World Champions. Vader with a clothesline to Sting. No one is going for eliminations. Dustin and Austin leave the ring through the ropes, with Austin ramming Dustin face-first into the post. Rhodes is bleeding as a result. Back in, Rhodes gets rid of both Nasty Boys but gets thrown out by Austin immediately afterwards. Hawk eliminates Rude. Vader eliminates Hawk. Did they suddenly remember they must eliminate people over the top rope!?

Final Four: Sting, Big Van Vader, Ric Flair & Stunning Steve Austin

Vader goes after Flair as they promote the upcoming Starrcade main event. Meanwhile, Sting and Austin face off over in the other corner. Flair leaves the ring to fight Harley Race just for old times sake. He nails Race with a suplex on the ramp, but Vader comes up with a stiff-looking elbowdrop to the… lower regions. Vader follows it up with a huge splash on the ramp. Sting is applying a Scorpion Deathlock on Austin in the ring, but he releases the hold and unloads on Vader to save Flair. Austin joins the action as well, as all four wrestlers are fighting on the ramp. Meanwhile, doctors come to check on Flair and a stretcher is brought out, seemingly removing Flair from the equation. Gary Cappetta makes it official, leaving it down to Vader, Sting and Austin. The heels team up on Sting, but The Stinger makes the comeback to finally wake up the fans. Sting ends up getting caught, though, and Vader clotheslines him. Vader splashes Sting twice. Sting moves out of the way of a third splash and he still has some fight left in him. He runs out of gas, however, and Austin lays him out in perfect position for the Vader Bomb. Vader hurt his own back hitting the move. Vader’s running corner splash ends up hitting Austin instead of Sting, and The Stinger throws Austin over the top, but onto the ramp. Vader does the same to Sting. Meanwhile, Austin falls to the floor for whatever reason and he’s gone in the dumbest way possible. We’re down to Sting vs. Vader in a repeat of their classic feud. Vader slugs away but misses a clothesline and Sting knocks him out. Sting, being out of it, falls right on Vader’s balls. He actually gets Vader on his shoulders and sets him up on the top turnbuckle, but the Stinger Splash misses and Sting… lands to the floor at 25:32. Whatever.

Battlebowl winner: Big Van Vader

• Rating: After all the hype and promotion, this ended up being a basic battle royal. And not a very good one at that, by the way. There were eliminations left, right and centre in the first few minutes. Then, there were none for a long time, until everyone went out pretty much at the same time. The final four was exciting, but Steve Austin’s elimination was beyond lame. Vader got the better of Sting in their brief confrontation, which could’ve been booked better as well. While not a bad battle royal in a vacuum, it was far from great and the stupid concept hurt it to begin with. **1/2

END OF THE SHOW

Final thoughts: This show/concept has already been knocked to death by everyone, including me during this review. Were there some good matches along the way? Absolutely. Was that enough to make this a watchable PPV? Absolutely not. A lame concept that ends up meaning nothing in the long run = a crappy show. 3/10

WCW Battlebowl 1993 Full Results

Point System

Click here to know more about the point system.

Exceptionally, due to the different nature of this particular show, there is a small twist: the Battlebowl winner gets 3 points for the victory, while all the other participants drop 1 point.

That’s gonna be all from me today. Don’t miss any of the upcoming reviews on the site. WCW Starrcade is coming up soon, but also WWF Survivor Series as well as episodes of WWF Monday Night Raw. Take care, everyone!

Written by:

Tomás Cunha