Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas vs. The Hollywood Blondes Riff on the WCW Tag
I like to joke whenever a tag match has multiple heat segments that it's a Collision tag. Given the proclivity early AEW Collision had for big, lengthy multiman tags, and the need to use multiple control segments to extend the runtime, I've just mentally associated that particular structure with that particular brand of TV. Here, in 1993 WCW, we see the progenitor of that philosophy, and almost certainly some of the source material that AEW creative and CM Punk were pulling from when carving out the identity for a new weekly television show.
Funnily enough, while watching this match, it wasn't the traditional southern tag--perhaps best embodied by the Midnight Express vs. Rock 'N' Roll Express feud--that came to mind so much as the older AWA tag matches featuring Nick Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens. That quality comes through with Steve Austin and Brian Pillman here where their control is often more about making the most of opportunities of positioning and numbers. It's less that they have these big cheating transitions to work into the heat but rather that they're just able to sneak in enough offense to build momentum and double team their target behind the referee's back. The choking with the towel is a nice signature bit here that I enjoyed, something distinct to make them stand out against similar heel teams of the era, and applied well and with variety throughout the match.
It's perhaps funny to note that Shane Douglas is the designated face-in-peril for this match. It's funny because sympathetic selling has never been one of his strongest suits, and also because the live crowd appears to see right through him. This audience doesn't seem to care for Douglas at all, and he's poorly cast in the Morton role despite doing a competent job selling the injury to his bad leg throughout the match. What's perhaps funniest about Douglas' role here is that by going so long in a TV setting, the most convenient places to cut for commercial are during his extended bouts selling for the Blondes. It's almost as if everything has conspired to cover up for the fact that Douglas doesn't really have the people with him here.
One person that just does not apply to, however, is Ricky Steamboat.
Are there many things in life more joyous than watching Ricky Steamboat wrestle? He's a wonder here as he always is, being the glue holding this match together. Cast into the veteran hot tag role, he's best here at bumping the heels around. It's his dynamic presence in the ring that brings out some of the best of both Pillman and Austin as they bump and stooge around the ring for a good half of the runtime. He's so attuned with the live audiences, riling them up, reeling back on a chop or a punch just to give that brief bit of anticipation for everyone to rally behind him. On the apron, he's a wonder as well, alive and actively bringing some heat to proceedings here.
Wisely, the finish hinges on the performances of the best workers in the match. Austin's timing both stooging and stalling are pivotal to the Blondes finding their final opening here. There's even a sort of tragedy of misfortune here as it's Steamboat and Pillman knocking heads--something that didn't read as intentional offense on Pillman's part--that puts the defending champion in the position to be blasted with the championship belt. Devastating stuff, and perfectly timed as well. It's the kind of to-the-point highway robbery that sends one frothing from the sheer injustice of it all, especially given how much of this match is the Blondes just getting their asses absolutely beat.
Nothing in here reinvents the game, and you're likely to find a whole host of better WCW tag matches (and JCP going further back into the lineage), but the relative ease with which it's all achieved highlights the regularity with which such greatness could be achieved.
Rating: ****