Event: WCW SuperBrawl III
Location: Asheville, NC
Announced Attendance: 6,500

They circle each other to start, they go into a Test of Strength which Windham gets the better of as he tosses Muta to the mat. Back up, tie-up, side headlock by Muta and he takes Windham down while maintaining the hold. Windham slowly returns to his feet, Irish whip by Windham but Muta shoulderblocks him down. Jumping back kick by Muta and he hits another side headlock takedown. Windham tries to get out of it but Muta keeps the hold applied as he brings Windham back to the mat. Again Windham tries to get out of the hold with no success, but finally he pushes Muta into the ropes to force a break. Punch by Windham, Irish whip, reversed, but Windham hits a shoulderblock. Windham goes off the ropes but Muta catches him with a dropkick. Side headlock takedown again by Muta, Windham hits a backdrop suplex but Muta keeps the hold applied. Back up, Windham pushes Muta into the corner and punches him in the stomach. Vertical suplex attempt by Windham but Muta reverses it and hits one of his own. Snapmare by Muta and he nails the Flashing Elbow. Side headlock takedown by Muta, but Windham muscles out of it. Muta gets the hold re-applied and gets Windham on his back, Windham struggles to his feet and elbows out of the hold. Elbow to the face by Windham, Irish whip, reversed, but Windham avoids the dropkick attempt. Windham picks up Muta and delivers a DDT. Windham picks up Muta and kicks him in the chest, punches by Windham and Muta rolls out of the ring. Windham goes out after him and hits a backdrop suplex on the floor. Windham returns to the ring and grabs Muta from the apron, bringing him back into the ring with a vertical suplex. Cover by Windham, but it gets a two count. Scoop slam by Windham and he hits the knee drop. Cover by Windham, but it gets a two count. Windham picks up Muta, Irish whip, and Windham applies a sleeper hold. Windham uses the ropes for extra leverage in the hold, but eventually he gets caught and has to release the hold. Forearm drop by Windham and he punches Muta to the mat, cover, but it gets a two count. Windham picks up Muta and hits a gutwrench suplex. Cover, but again it gets two. Chop to the head by Windham and he throws Muta out of the ring. Windham goes out and punches Muta before returning to the ring. Windham comes back out after a moment however and drops a forearm from the apron. He gets back in again and this time Muta rolls in as well, Windham picks up Muta and punches him but Muta returns fire. They trade blows, but Windham gets the better of it. Windham picks up Muta, scoop slam, and he hits an elbow drop. Cover, but Muta gets a shoulder up. Reverse chinlock by Windham, Muta elbows his way out of it and hits a shoulderblock. Muta goes off the ropes and goes for a sunset flip, but Windham blocks it and punches Muta in the head. Windham picks up Muta, Irish whip, but Muta ducks the lariat and hits a crossbody for a two count. Windham recovers first and he rams Muta into his boot. Windham goes for a piledriver but Muta back bodydrops out of it. Elbow to the back of the head by Windham and he hits Muta with a series of punches. Leg drop by Windham, cover, but it gets a two count. Muta comes back with a spin kick, but Windham is up first and he rakes Muta in the eyes. Windham picks up Muta and puts him onto the top turnbuckle, Windham joins him but Muta chops him off and Windham falls to the mat. Diving chop from the top turnbuckle by Muta, Irish whip from the corner and Muta nails the Space Flying Elbow. Rib breaker by Muta, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Windham rolls out of the way of the moonsault attempt. Windham picks up Muta, kick to the stomach by Windham and he goes for a suplex, but Muta lands on his feet and hits a backdrop suplex. Muta is up first, rib breaker by Muta and he goes for a second moonsault, but this time Windham gets his knees up. Lariat by Windham, he picks up Muta and nails the elevated DDT. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner and new champion: Barry Windham

Match Thoughts: This was a very old school NWA match and probably one of the last ones as Vader didn't really wrestle in the old NWA style and he was dominating WCW by this time (obviously when Hogan joined up, "NWA style" went out the window). By that I mean that it was a long match, lots of "rest holds" early as they wore each other down, but you didn't see a lot of the Muta-isms. No wasting time at ring side, no real cheating in the ring, and no poison mist. Face/heel dynamics has never stopped him from doing these things so I think it was more a concentrated effort by both wrestlers to go old school. And in general I think it worked, Muta spending the first 10 minutes of the match doing side headlocks was a bit much but once we got past that the match was really entertaining. Windham was bigger and he just wore down Muta, to the point that sometimes Muta would do an offensive move but he couldn't even recover before Windham did. Muta going for the moonsault at every opportunity made sense, as he knew that Windham had beaten him down and he had to take every chance he could to win the match. It didn't work though since Windham wasn't worn down enough, and Windham got a clean definitive pinfall victory. Overall I enjoyed it, it took me back to watching wrestling when I was a kid in a area that was controlled by NWA/WCW at the time and I saw a lot of matches like this. Definitely recommended. Score: 7.5

Back to Match Reviews