Long before WWE made inductions into its Hall of Fame an annual event as part of WrestleMania, the competition was honoring the legacy of professional wrestling with its May pay-per-view. Dubbed “A Legends Reunion,” the 1995 event was the third annual gathering for WCW. But while WWE would give the inductees to their Hall of Fame a completely different event earlier in the weekend, WCW would just put the inductions in the middle of this show, short speeches from the wrestlers and all.
In 1995, WCW honored Dusty Rhodes, Terry Funk, Big John Studd, Angelo Poffo (the father of “Macho Man” Randy Savage), Wahoo McDaniel and Antonio Inoki, with a surprise induction for announcer and Hall of Fame emcee Gordon Solie. We also got a match between McDaniel and Dick Murdoch, with inductee McDaniel going over.
After the 1995 event, WCW had 17 inductees into their iteration of the Hall of Fame, but there would be no more. Despite running Slamboree events until the final event in 2000, this was the final time for a Hall of Fame. I can’t say I’m disappointed. With a mediocre card like this one, stopping everything for a ceremony just completely destroys the flow and makes for a really long night when watching the card.
Best Match: Lights Out Match: Sting defeated Big Bubba Rogers – Sting has been a consistent bright spot on some of the 1995 WCW cards, bringing a lot more energy than his compatriots, even though he’s been shuffled down the card into a feud with the former Big Boss Man. A rematch from UNCENSORED, Sting and Bubba went at it here and gave fans their money’s worth.
Worst Match: Kevin Sullivan defeated the Man With No Name – The former Brutus Beefcake had a rough first year in WCW. He came in as an ally of Hulk Hogan, turned on him to join Kevin Sullivan later that year and then got booted from Sullivan’s group (or was he a spy in the group for Hogan?), which led to him getting his ass kicked by Sullivan here. It was a terrible five minutes, capped off by Sullivan getting called from the ring by a figure on the video wall.
He’s Back – After losing a “retirement” match in a steel cage to Hogan at Halloween Havoc, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair has been a consistent thorn in the side of Hogan and Randy Savage, even going so far as to dress in drag to interfere in Hogan’s strap match against Vader in March. He’s finally brought back into the fold here, teaming with Vader against Hogan and Savage in a losing effort. But the match is secondary to the post-match shenanigans, which saw Flair and Arn Anderson beating on Savage until his father, Angelo Poffo, comes in for the save. The heels then turn their attention to the newly-minted WCW Hall of Famer. The beating of the senior citizen switches Flair’s heat from Hogan to Savage and sets up their feud for the summer.
Ranking Slamboree 1995
1 – Lights Out Match: Sting defeated Big Bubba Rogers
2 – Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage defeated “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and Vader
3 – WCW TV Championship Match – Arn Anderson (c) defeated Alex Wright
4 – IWGP Championship Match: The Great Muta (c) defeated “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff
5 – WCW Tag Team Championship Match: The Nasty Boys defeated Harlem Heat (c)
6 – Meng and Hawk battled to a double countout
7 – Wahoo McDaniel defeated Dick Murdoch
8 – Kevin Sullivan defeated the Man With No Name
*DISCLAIMER* The Top 10 rankings are for discussion purposes only and in no way reflect an official or authoritative list. It is simply my opinion. If you disagree, let me know in the comments. New arrivals to the Top 10 are in bold.
No new additions to the Top 10 this time around.
1 – WWF Championship Match: Diesel (c) and Bret “Hitman” Hart battle to a draw – Royal Rumble 1995
2 – WWF Championship Match: Diesel (c) defeated Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania XI
3 – WCW World Championship Match: Hulk Hogan (c) beat Vader by disqualification – SuperBrawl V
4 – Bret “Hitman” Hart defeated Hakushi – In Your House 1
5 – WCW TV Championship: Arn Anderson (c) defeated Johnny B. Badd – Clash of the Champions XXX
6 – Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage defeated the Butcher and Kevin Sullivan – Clash of the Champions XXX
7 – WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament Final Match: The Kid and Bob “Spark Plug” Holly defeated Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka – Royal Rumble 1995
8 – ECW TV Championship Match: Eddy Guerrero defeated Too Cold Scorpio (c) – ECW Three-Way Dance
9 – Sting and “Macho Man” Randy Savage defeated Avalanche and Big Bubba – SuperBrawl V
10 – ECW Tag Team Championship Three-Way Dance: Public Enemy defeated The Tazmaniac and Rick Steiner and Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko (c) – ECW Three-Way Dance
In four weeks, we revisit some more 1995 WCW with the Great American Bash! Stay tuned!