I loved outdoor wrestling events and as a kid Road Wild was a favorite. Of course, now we know that the PPV series made no money for WCW. Let’s see if WCW Hog Wild 1996 holds up twenty-four years later!
The first show in the Road Wild series took place on August 10th at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota.
Low-Tier
The tag team of Fire & Ice shattered and we got Scott Norton vs. Ice Train. Separately and as a team, both wrestlers were good, rough big man-type wrestlers. You know, power brawlers for the most part.
However, the two of them facing off was really necessary. I mean, there was a minor running story here but this could’ve been resolved on WCW Saturday Night.
Remember, the Road Wild series of PPVs always ran on Saturday during the Sturgis Rally meaning Saturday Night aired before it.
That pre-PPV episode actually had some matches I’d put in the place of Norton-Ice Train…like The Nasty Boys vs. High Voltage or Konnan vs. Chavo Jr. All the matches were short but some were more interesting.
Enough ragging on that match, Bull Nakano vs. Madusa wasn’t a bad match but it was just four or five minutes too short. These two were capable of good matches as they had several in the past.
The main event saw Hollywood Hogan, the crown jewel of the nWo take on WCW World Champion The Giant. To be honest, this match was decent in execution but slow and boring.
All matches don’t have to be fast-paced and actually, this bout had the right amount of time for the main event bout. It was just that they took the almost fifteen minutes they had and deliver a match that felt longer.
At least we got the nWo World Championship belt out of this match.
Mid-Tier
Something was just missing from the World Tag Team title bout between champs Harlem Heat and The Steiners. I enjoyed the action and it was a match that could’ve gone either way.
It had two main problems: the ending and the length. This should’ve gone fifteen minutes max—at least on this event. That’s the time limit sweet spot for both teams.
In the semi-main event, we had the purest WCW team of Sting and Lex Luger—yes, Lex Luger—against The Outsiders! On paper, this is a money match.
Sting is WCW’s ace and Lex Luger was team WCW and The Stinger’s friend. Luger will be Team WCW until he retires. Anyone who believes otherwise gets their internet service from America Online CDs.
Across the ring, we have the hottest team in the company: The Outsiders. This match wasn’t bad, it felt like it dragged on a bit but actually, it was just that this match followed Flair vs. Guerrero.
It was going to be hard to follow that. At least it didn’t follow Benoit vs. Malenko. Decent-at-best match that could’ve probably been better if it was the main event instead with Hogan vs. Giant as the semi-main event.
You know, just a match to tank Flair vs. Guerrero or to mellow the home audience out.
Exotic-Tier
Rey Misterio Jr defending his WCW Cruiserweight against Ultimo Dragon—credited as “The Ultimate Dragon”—was a dope match as expected. Bonus points on making this the opener since it could’ve wowed deeper into the card as well.
It’s still the first half of the PPV and we got a second banger in Chris Benoit vs. Dean Malenko. These two just clicked in the ring. Their chemistry was actually better than what resulted in Rey Rey vs. Ultimo at the top of WCW Hog Wild.
They would go on to have several other matches after this one before becoming the attack team for The Four Horsemen in 1998. The Sturgis crowd aside, this match rocked and almost ran twenty-seven minutes.
As soon as he won the U.S Championship, Ric Flair was busy having strong matches with folks. There was a solid match against former WWE enhancement talent Jim Power on the Nitro after Bash at the Beach.
There would also be one against The Booty Man better known as Brutus Beefcake. Let’s forget that match. Do you know what you shouldn’t forget? His defense against Eddie Guerrero at WCW Hog Wild.
It would be the last dope match of the show before the semi-main event and the main event sauntered in dampened enthusiasm for the show.
WCW Hog Wild Verdict: Mid-Tier (6.5/10)
For the most part, this wasn’t a bad show at all. I was into the atmosphere when I was 11-years old and throughout middle school I always thought this show was cool.
Re-watching it years later and I have to say that the motorcycle rally vibe kind of took me out of some matches.
Now, some bouts were just going to be in that low-tier but the Harlem Heat vs. Steiners and Sting & Luger vs. The Outsiders could’ve probably ascended beyond mid-tier if WCW Hog Wild was held elsewhere or indoors.
Of course, that would defeat the purpose of the event.
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