Arn Anderson vs Bobby Eaton (WCW, 5-19-1991)

WCW SuperBrawl, St. Petersburg, FL

Arn Anderson, one of my all-time favorites, recently turned 60. Here he is defending the WCW TV title against Beautiful Bobby Eaton at the first SuperBrawl event, slotted in between the excellent Steiners-Sting/Luger match and the Flair-Fujinami main event. This is also one of my all-time favorite wrestling shows, period. I had the VHS tape as a kid and wore it out. I just love the show. I know every inch of it, and have probably watched it, without the VHS cuts, three or four times since WWE Network came to be. It’s a comfort show.

Dusty says that Eaton is sort of a rookie again, now that he’s going it alone as a singles wrestler. “It’s a new season. It’s the first season he played alone.”

Jim Ross knows that Arn Anderson has the great left hand, but Bobby’s right is no slouch, either. They trade headlock takeovers and headscissors early, then Anderson walks right into that nasty right hand from Eaton. He sells the shit out of it, spitting when it lands, then super dazed trying to get up, checking his teeth and trying to shake the cobwebs. Eaton just waits, because he is now a Nice Man. In reality, everyone says he always was a Nice Man, of course, but I mean in the ring here.

Arn takes a cheapshot to gain the advantage, and rakes Bobby’s eyes over the top rope, then lands a left to the ribs and one to the head in the corner. Whip to the corner is reversed, but Anderson goes up and over, then runs into a knee, then runs into a foot. Hard clothesline from Eaton, a left-arm shot there. Eaton goes for a pin and gets two, then grabs an armbar, sitting over Anderson’s back while applying the hold.

No clean break when they get to the ropes, as Arn takes the opening and knocks Eaton to the floor. Eaton back to the apron, Anderson bounces his head off the turnbuckle pad. Right hand from Eaton, then he climbs to the top, only for Anderson to slam him off to the entrance ramp, where Eaton lands face first. Anderson goes for a piledriver on the ramp, but Eaton backdrops him over, then backdrops a charging Arn back into the ring. Eaton up top — flying double axhandle connects. Another cover gets two.

Eaton back to the armbar. Up into a hammerlock after a minute or so, and then the corner. Arn takes another cheapshot, punching over Nick Patrick, and then wraps Bobby’s leg around the ringpost. He does it again. He’s trying to take Eaton’s speed and flying ability, and thus the Alabama Jam, out of the equation.

Anderson drags him back to the center and drives knees into Eaton’s leg, then cranks on the toe and sits on the thigh. Anderson stands it up with a toehold, using the ropes for some leverage, barking at Patrick to “ask him.” He continues to work on the leg, then tries to spin it around again, and Eaton kicks him into the corner, face-first.

Eaton up and limping, but he slams Anderson’s head into every turnbuckle pad, repeatedly. Eaton limps over, and Anderson hits him in the knee before he can take advantage. Anderson slides out and drags Bobby’s leg with him, jacking it over the apron, then lands a hard left hand.

Anderson staying right on top of Eaton as he gets back into the ring. Eaton is severely hobbled, but his right hands are still working. “Sweet home Alabama!” Jim Ross exclaims. A roundhouse right hands, and Eaton and Anderson both go down. Anderson goes right back to the leg, but Eaton grabs a chinlock from behind, too.

Anderson puts the ankle over the bottom rope and ass splashes the knee. Eaton vocally sells great throughout this punishment. Anderson stays on the leg. Eaton keeps fighting back with right hands, simple and as much as he can manage on one leg. Anderson goes for a Vader bomb type splash, but Eaton gets the knees up. Eaton finds enough to run, but Anderson spinebusts the shit out of him for two.

Anderson up and going to the second rope in the corner, comes off for a sledge but gets caught with a right hand to the gut. Bobby with a swinging neckbreaker, trying to string together offense. Eaton with a scoop slam, and he’s shaking off the knee pain and going to the top. Horseman Barry Windham comes down, but Brian Pillman, who had a short but fun taped first match earlier in the night with Windham, chases him out — Alabama Jam hits and we’ve got a new TV champion!

Rating: 3/5. The crowd is never super into it and it’s not a real HOT match, but it’s very solid, two great professionals doing their work. Eaton never really took off as a singles star or a babyface, and wound up joining the great Dangerous Alliance in late 1991, where Anderson and Eaton became a terrific team.