Richard Morton vs Flyin’ Brian (WCW, 10-27-1991)

WCW Halloween Havoc, Chattanooga, TN

This is the finals of the tournament to crown the first WCW light heavyweight champion. Morton had gone to the York Foundation and gone from Ricky to Richard, but he dressed exactly the same with the exact same haircut. This is one of the funniest things in wrestling history to me. This match, like the Chamber of Horrors, has the REFER-EYE CAMERA, which means a referee, in this case Nick Patrick, is wearing a helmet. The weight limit for this division was 236, heavier than the WCW cruiserweight division (225) or today’s WWE cruiserweight division (205, of course).

Jim Ross goes on and on about walk-on All-American Brian Pillman from Miami of Ohio. They lock it up, Morton shoves Pillman to the corner, they both miss right hands. C&E again, Morton with an armdrag. Quick C&E, Morton goes to the eyes. Morton off the ropes, slides through the legs and out of the ring to frustrate Pillman, using veteran savvy. And the computer assistance of Alexandra York!

C&E, Morton to the nose with a right hand. Morton goes for a hiptoss, Pillman blocks. Morton flipped out, slam from Pillman, and a Spinning Karate Kick. Morton knocked out to the floor. Morton back in, playing cautiously. C&E, Morton pushes Pillman to the corner. Kneelift from Morton. Right hand.

Whip to the corner, Pillman kicks up and over, to the other side, fakes Morton out, and lands a double axhandle from the second rope for two. Side headlock takeover, two count. They trade a little, Morton with a headscissors.

Pillman hits a Japanese armdrag takeover, then an American style armdrag takeover, then back to the side headlock. Boy, the REFER-EYE CAMERA is annoying. Another WCW thing that didn’t stick because it sucked too much.

Pillman off the ropes, Morton hits him with a back elbow, then misses an elbowdrop. Another side headlock from Pillman. Let’s talk about The Ed Block Courage Award. HE WAS TOO LITTLE TO PLAY COLLEGE FOOTBALL. TOO LITTLE TO WRESTLE. It should be noted Pillman is bigger than Morton.

Pillman with a leapfrog, but he runs into an inverted atomic drop. Morton goes to the shoulder, which Pillman has had problems with in the past. But Pillman goes to the gut with a couple shots, only for Morton to rake his eyes and dump him to the floor. Pillman right back in, catches Morton in a roll-up for two. Morton up quicker with a clothesline for two.

Morton to an armbar, kneeling behind Pillman, then standing. Pillman stands up, but Morton yanks the hair to bring him back down to the mat. Schiavone refuses to believe Pillman will quit in this match, his chance to become a champion.

Pillman up with right hands to get out, shoulderblock, off the ropes again and runs into a kneelift. Morton right back to the shoulder. Top wristlock after. Pillman sent into the corner, bounces out and misses a clothesline, but drops Richard coming back. Morton to the eyes again. Pillman cannot get any momentum. Morton’s VETERAN PRESENCE is too much.

Back suplex from Morton for two. Morton with a choke, breaks at a count of three. Pillman’s boot caught by Morton, but then an enzuigiri! Another “spinning karate kick,” if you’re Jim. Backdrop from Pillman, but he walks into a kick to the gut. Right hands to the jaw from ol’ Rickard. Overhand chop from Pillman, then another. Another. Morton reeling.

Pillman off the ropes, shoulders Morton down, and they both tumble out to the floor, on different sides of the ring. Morton up first and goes over to Pillman, who gets shoved into the post shoulder-first. Morton back into the ring, but Pillman is going up and catching him off-guard — flying crossbody for the win!

Rating: 2/5. Technically sound but with a crappy finish and not enough action. The problem with the first WCW light heavyweight division is that when Jushin Liger wasn’t involved, the wrestling wasn’t different enough to stand out, so it was just two “small” guys instead of big guys. Doesn’t help that Morton was miscast as a heel and as a singles wrestler in general. It’s still maddening that WCW had the chance in ’91 to put Morton and Eaton together as a tag team but had them both semi-flounder as singles guys instead.