World Championship Wrestling: SuperBrawl III (02-21-1993) Big Van Vader vs. Sting

That’s some hard whooping right there!

This is a white castle of fear leather strap match.

All one needs to know about this match is summed up in one moment. Sting has Big Van Vader on the canvas, and he starts whipping Vader with the leather strap. The camera cuts to an old lady, I immediately thought of my grandma, and she’s screaming at the top of her lungs “Hit him! Hit him! Hit him!” Hit him Sting sure as heck does, and he opens up some deep gashes on Vader’s back (and Harley Race may have deepened them by blading Vader’s back, I honestly couldn’t tell). Later in the match Sting really lays into Vader with Punches in the corner and busts open Vader’s ear hardway. Throughout most of the match Vader is spewing blood from either his back, or his ear. And besides thinking the match is pretty awesome, all I could think was that the old lady was probably still yelling for Sting to, “Hit him!”

There’s no much for me to say beyond what I’ve said. Both guys make great use of the strap gimmick. The rules were a bit hazy, and the slight ref bump that takes place is freaking ridiculous. But, Sting and Vader work a hell of a match. They bring the bile, the hatred, and the intensity in a way that is very enjoyable. They also bring the high impact, including such moments as a nasty Release German Suplex from Sting and an eye opening Avalanche Samoan Drop from Vader.

Look, I won’t mince words, I love me some Vader, and when he gets in the ring with Sting they manage to bring out the best in one another. This match is no different, and for the time being it’s a damn fine end to their present feud. This may be the best Sting/Vader match I’ve seen, and they’ve had their share of great ones. Seeing a great strap match between two great wrestlers who have great chemistry; that means I just had a great time watching some wrestling.

Cheers,
Bill Thompson