SuperBrawl VI (2025 Redo): Hogan vs. All Y’All (Includes Full Show)

SuperBrawl VI
Date: February 11, 1996
Location: Bayfront Center, St. Petersburg, Florida
Attendance: 7,200
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Dusty Rhodes

It’s a double main event here and that should make for a good show. The two main events happen to both be inside a steel cage, with Randy Savage defending the World Title against Ric Flair, plus Hulk Hogan vs. the Giant. Other than that, we have the usual variety of title matches, plus a respect match between Brian Pillman and Kevin Sullivan which I’m sure won’t mean much. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is a very, very generic “here’s a voiceover listing off the matches”, though at least the guy doing the voice is energetic.

Commentary hypes up the cage matches.

Public Enemy vs. Nasty Boys

Thank goodness this is a street fight. It’s a brawl to start with the Nastys being sent outside with the Enemies following them. That means it’s already time for a table, but Sags chairs the heck out of the table wielding Rock. Grunge chairs Sags right back and the table is set up at ringside. Knobbs slams Rock off the apron and through the table for two (as street fight apparently means falls count anywhere) as Sags comes back with a trashcan (actually complete with trash for a change).

Back in and Sags piledrives Grunge through a trashcan, with Grunge getting a foot on the rope for the save. Knobbs suplexes Rock through a table at a merchandise stand which would only be there for this segment as fans wouldn’t be allowed near there. They take turns smashing each other with trashcan lids until Knobbs is laid on a table, with Rock missing a flip dive through the table. Knobbs hits him with a piece of the table for the pin at 7:49.

Rating: B. I can appreciate the idea that the four of them didn’t bother trying to do anything other than beat the fire out of each other. It’s not a good match and barely wrestling, but that’s exactly what they were going with here. That made for an entertaining match and I had a good time with the whole thing as they were certainly putting in the work here.

Gene Okerlund talks about how two former WWF champions could be on their way to WCW. I’m sure that won’t go anywhere. Anyway, Konnan is ready to defend the US Title and won’t let the fans down. He’s beaten the One Man Gang before and he’ll do it again.

TV Title: Johnny B. Badd vs. Diamond Dallas Page

Badd is defending and is putting up the title and the Diamond Doll (Kimberly) and the winner gets her remaining Bingo winnings, which is about six and a half million dollars (1996 WCW was weird). It’s a brawl on the floor to start with Page being whipped into the barricade. Badd flips him over the top, leading into the regular discussion of whether or not that counts as a DQ.

Back in and Badd gets in a snapmare into a backslide for two but Page knocks him down without much trouble. Page wants a TEN from Kimberly, who turns him down, and then talks a lot. Badd’s sunset flip gets two but Page is back with a running tornado DDT. Instead of covering, Page poses and yells even more (Heenan: “Oh no.”) so Kimberly gives him a ZERO.

Page chokes away and grabs the chinlock as things slow down a good bit. Back up and Badd gets two off a rollup, followed by an ax handle. Badd hits him in the ribs, with Schiavone saying it was right in the solar-plexus. Heenan: “That’s just outside of Phoenix. About 20 minutes.” A top rope sunset flip and a sitout powerbomb give Badd two but Page plants him right back down. The sleeper goes on but Badd jawbreaks his way to freedom, setting up a sleeper of his own. That’s broken up so Badd hits a quick Tombstone for the pin at 15:00.

Rating: C+. This was around the time when Badd had gotten rather good at everything he did and figured out his style to the letter. That was on display here, as his high flying stuff worked well and he felt like a star in the making. It’s also weird to see Page as anything less than the polished star he would become, but he was far different at this point.

Harlem Heat is ready to fight Sting and Lex Luger for the Tag Team Titles. Then they’ll move on to face the Road Warriors (who get the winners of Harlem Heat vs. Sting/Luger later tonight).

Tag Team Titles: Sting/Lex Luger vs. Harlem Heat

Sting/Luger are defending. Booker knees Sting into the corner to start so it’s off to Luger. Some forearms have Booker in trouble but he gets up a boot to stop a charge in the corner. It’s already back to Sting, with Booker grinding away on a headlock. Sing suplexes his way out and hands it off to Luger, who misses that big elbow that has missed every time ever, allowing the Heat to take over. The slow beating is on and we hit the nerve hold on Luger, with commentary talking about how hard it’s going to be to wrestle again tonight.

Booker comes back in for a heck of an ax kick and grabs the front facelock. Heenan wonders why Sting won’t come in and Rhodes says that Sting isn’t a dummy. Yes he is. Luger makes the tag but the referee doesn’t see it, but Sting comes in anyway and hammers away. Ray pulls the top rope down to send Sting outside, leaving Luger and Ray inside. Cue the Road Warriors to hit Ray in the ribs with something made of metal to give Luger the pin at 11:49.

Rating: C-. Rather boring match for the most part here, with a lot of laying around and going in slow motion, which shouldn’t be the biggest surprise as Sting and Luger have another match tonight. Sting and Luger are a big time tag team, even if they have some issues (to put it mildly). Not much of a match here, but there are some extenuating circumstances.

Post match Sting and Luger are happy with their win, though Sting doesn’t know what happened with the Road Warriors, with Luger moving them along before anything can be said.

US Title: Konnan vs. One Man Gang

Konnan is defending after taking the title from the Gang a few weeks ago. Gang hammers him down in the corner to start, which is about all you should expect from him here. Back up and Konnan hits a dropkick to send him into the ropes, where a crossbody sends Gang outside. A running flip dive off the apron drops Gang again but he drops Konnan again without much trouble.

Back in and Gang slowly hammers away, including a side slam, and we look at a WCW Motorsports driver in the crowd. Konnan fights up and hits some dropkicks but misses another, allowing Gang to hit the 747. Gang pulls him up at two and commentary realizes this is stupid. The middle rope 747 misses (ignore that Konnan had moved before Gang jumped) and a top rope flip dive gives Konnan the pin at 7:48.

Rating: D+. There’s just only so much you can do with this kind of a match. The Gang is someone who can do well enough, but that wasn’t the case here as he was just doing the big man offense and then screwed himself over. The interesting note: Gang was only 36 years old here. He’s one of those guys who looked WAY older than he was as I would have guessed he was in his early to mid 40s by this point.

The Road Warriors have no issue with Sting, but they’ll do anything to hurt Luger, which is why they took out Harlem Heat earlier. Tonight, it’s time to take the titles back. Hawk says they’ll be deviating septums and detatching retinas.

Taskmaster vs. Brian Pillman

This is an I Respect You strap match, as they’ll be tied at the wrist with a strap and you only win by making your opponent say “I Respect You”. They go straight to the brawl to start and trade some whips with the strap (which isn’t attached yet). Pillman grabs the mic and says “I RESPECT YOU…..BOOKERMAN” to give Taskmaster the win at 59 seconds.

Ok so what happened here. Basically Pillman was doing his Loose Cannon thing and he and Sullivan (or Eric Bischoff, depending on who you believe) decided to work everyone. This wound up resulting in Bischoff firing Pillman, who was supposed to go to ECW and then come back. The catch was he wound up signing with the WWF instead, which was basically what he wanted all along and needed to get out of his contract with WCW. In theory at least, as it’s one of those stories that has about 14 different versions over the years.

As for here though, Arn Anderson comes out in street clothes and he’ll be doing the match with Sullivan instead.

Arn Anderson vs. Kevin Sullivan

Anderson hammers him down to start and ties up Sullivan’s legs. That’s broken up and Sullivan gets in a low blow before whipping away. Back up and Anderson whips away as well, allowing him to choke Taskmaster in the ropes. That’s not enough yet so Sullivan fights back, only for Ric Flair to come out and call it off, saying it’s time to take out Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan. They seem to agree and we’ll call it a no contest at 3:25.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do anything here and that’s the smart move, as there was no reason for these two to be fighting. It’s a fine example of “they did what they could”, which was giving the fans the violence advertised, albeit not with the right people. I can’t bring myself to get mad at them here as it’s not their fault that they were thrown into a rough spot.

Post match they seem to agree, which feels like a way to fill time. Flair yells at some fans too.

The Giant promises to be really, really, extra super mega evil in the cage. Jimmy Hart shouts a lot.

Tag Team Titles: Road Warriors vs. Sting/Lex Luger

The Warriors are challenging. Luger tries to walk out but Sting gets him to come back…eventually, and we’re finally ready to go. Well hang on as Luger runs off again and has to be coaxed back, which finally allows the opening bell. Hawk runs Sting over with a shoulder to start and then hits a dropkick. Sting is sent outside but comes back in for a swinging neckbreaker.

They go down into some awkward grappling until Hawk grabs an STF. Sting makes the rope so Animal comes in for an armbar. That’s broken up and Sting gets over for the tag to Luger, who is tentative at best to come in. Luger kicks away but walks into a big boot from Animal, followed by a powerslam. Animal grabs another armbar before handing it off to Hawk to hit a corner clothesline. Luger is sent outside and into the barricade, which fires him up for some reason.

A clothesline drops Hawk and Sting is back in for a snap suplex. Animal comes back in and gets knocked down as well, only for Sting to do his falling low blow. Now Luger is willing to come in for an atomic drop but the threat of Hawk coming in means it’s back to Sting. The top rope splash hits raised knees and it’s back to Hawk to beat on Luger. The chinlock goes on but Luger hits a quick jawbreaker, allowing Sting to come in for…a lockup.

Animal is sent into the corner for the Stinger Splash but Hawk makes the save with a clothesline. Luger doesn’t seem to mind, prompting Rhodes to ask “WHAT IS HE DOING”. Hawk is right back with a chinlock and bodyscissors, followed by the same thing from Animal. Sting fights up again and hits a suplex but Animal pops up. Animal’s suplex makes Sting pop right back up as well (the fans like that) so Animal hits a dropkick. Everyone brawls to the floor…and the referee throws it out at 13:55.

Rating: C-. They were starting to go somewhere with Luger not wanting to get involved and the four of them brawling around. The problem is they didn’t get very far out of first gear and things were just picking up when they stopped. It was another case where they didn’t want either side to lose so we got this rather lame ending instead. Give it a finish and it’s better, but there was only so much to be gotten out of a match like this.

Ric Flair, with Woman, is ready to make Randy Savage bleed, sweat and cry in the cage, as Flair takes the title back.

The cage is lowered.

Ad for Uncensored. Oh sweet goodness that show.

Randy Savage is glad to have Elizabeth back and says it’s time to expect the unexpected in the cage. The blue and yellow are a cool color combination for Savage.

Commentary hypes up the World Title match.

WCW World Title: Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage

Savage is defending and Woman/Elizabeth are here too. Before the match, Flair gives Elizabeth one more chance to switch sides but that’s not happening so we’re ready to go. Flair is rather tentative about getting in the cage so Savage hammers away, only for Flair to chop his way out of trouble. The big knee connects and Flair slugs away….before knocking the referee down. Savage gets a backslide for no count and the referee is back up as Savage hits a clothesline.

Flair drops him with an elbow and fires off the chops in the corner, followed by another elbow to keep Savage in trouble. Savage catches him up top with the slam down and it’s already time for the Figure Four on Flair. The rope is reached but it doesn’t matter in a cage. Savage eventually lets it go and hits him in the face for two before climbing to the top of the cage (that can’t go well).

Flair punches him out of the air to take over again and a suplex gets two. Savage is sent head first into the cage and Flair just lets him hang there for a bit. The real Figure Four goes on, with Flair grabbing the ropes to no avail. Savage grabs them as well so Flair gets into it with the referee, who grabs Flair by the hair for the break. Savage fights back and sends him into the cage as Woman starts the shrieking.

Flair is busted open so Savage goes for the cut, with a few shots knocking Savage back down. Flair’s attempt at going up means it’s time for the trunks to come down (dang he loved that spot WAY too much). Savage covers for two (ignore the bell ringing) so Flair hits him low. Flair starts going up and we get the trunks pulled down AGAIN (thankfully with some censoring this time).

Savage is knocked down hard but Flair collapses as well for a double breather. Back up and Flair is sent hard into the cage, though he’s able to backdrop Savage into the cage (as we go wide because of the cut). Woman throws powder at Savage but misses, only for Elizabeth to hand Flair her shoe. The big shot to the head gives Flair the pin and the title at 18:56.

Rating: B+. These two were basically incapable of having a bad match so giving them the better part of twenty minutes in a cage with an emotional finish was a guaranteed hit. They worked well together and it’s fun watching them just trying to hurt each other. Savage never really came close to winning either, which wound up not even being an issue, as it was more about the violence and surviving than going for a win.

Post match Elizabeth is rather pleased with what happened and goes to stand next to Woman. Cue Hulk Hogan to chase them off and hit Arn Anderson (here to celebrate) with Flair with a chair. Savage is taken out after being hit in the eye, with Hogan being nice enough to help him.

Hogan (with his eye bandaged after a recent attack) rants about Elizabeth and thinks it might go back to when they officially separated four years ago. He does remember Elizabeth’s shoe coming off pretty fast on Nitro so maybe something was up. There won’t be any Savage having his back tonight so the big man upstairs will cover his blind side.

Hulk Hogan vs. The Giant

In a cage, escape only (note that you have two cage matches with different rules, because WCW), with Taskmaster and Jimmy Hart here too. Hogan sends him into the cage to start and fires down the right hands in the corner. A bite to the head and rake to the back keep Giant in trouble but he forearms Hogan in the back. The knuckle lock keeps Hogan down and Giant kicks him in the ribs a few times for a bonus.

Hogan is sent into the cage and then choked with a shirt, leaving Giant to rattle his neck. Giant misses the big elbow but Hogan isn’t able to slam him so early. The stomping continues and Hogan is sent into the cage for a bonus. It’s too early to go through the door so Giant gives him a backbreaker to stay on the back.

Hogan goes into the cage again and we hit the bearhug (of course). That stays on for a rather long time until Hogan fights out, only to get caught in the chokeslam. It’s 1996 though so Hogan doesn’t have to sell, meaning it’s time to send Giant into the cage over and over. Three legdrops connect and Hogan goes up, only for Giant to catch him on top. That’s fine with Hogan, who knocks him down and climbs out for the win at 15:04.

Rating: C-. You know what you’re going to get in a Hogan cage match and they didn’t deviate from the plan in the slightest. This was every box checked you could ask for, with Hogan surviving everything, including the chokeslam, and then winning. Giant popping up after three legdrops is stupid in its own right, but this was designed to give Giant lose without taking a pin, though it didn’t really protect him that well.

Post match Hogan grabs a chair and throws Taskmaster inside, leaving Giant cowering. Heenan: “Where’s the rest of the Legion Of Doom?” Cue Meng, the Barbarian, Hugh Morrus, Shark, Zodiac and the One Man Gang. That makes it eight on one…..and HOGAN BEATS THEM ALL UP. Even with the chair, that’s totally ridiculous, and here is Loch Ness, the new monster of the team, who is held back by the team and doesn’t actually get in the cage. Hogan poses to end the show.

Roll credits.

Overall Rating: C. This is a rough one, as the good is rather good, but the boring stuff brings it way down. That’s a problem throughout the show, as Savage vs. Flair (and the rather awesome Liz turn) can only make up for so much of the rest of the show. Sting and Luger’s stuff is interesting outside of the ring, but the parts between the bells….not so much. The Hogan stuff is just horrible though and you could see how ridiculous everything was getting at this point. Overall, it was clear that WCW had potential, but it wasn’t going to matter with Hogan choking the life out of the place.

 

 

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