FEBRUARY 22
1991
Fresh off of a heel turn, Eric Embry faced Bill Dundee at a USWA show in the Dallas Sportatorium. The *** match ended in a disqualification when longtime foe Gary Young hit the ring to help Embry put the boots to Dundee. Also on the card, Eddie Gilbert faced Jeff Jarrett in a very good ***1/2 match — a strong match in an underrated feud.
1992
All Japan Pro Wrestling held a show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo highlighted by Doug Furnas and Dan Kroffat facing Toshiaki Kawada and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi in a **** match.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fZjmDvn3jU
The Moondogs attempted an ambush on a lone Jeff Jarrett on USWA television, but Jarrett was prepared, hurling furniture at the duo and running them off, a rare case of a babyface getting the better of The Moondogs around this time.
The best television match of the Dangerous Alliance run happened on World Championship Wrestling when Sting, Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes faced Rick Rude, Larry Zbyszko, Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton in a **** match taped on February 17 in Rock Hill, SC. The show did a 2.7 rating.
1993
Hulk Hogan returned to WWF television after a nearly nine-month absence on Monday Night RAW, joining forces with Brutus Beefcake and Jimmy Hart in front of the live crowd after doing a taped sit-down interview with Vince McMahon earlier in the show where he accuses the media of “tabloid terrorism”. The reaction was not as strong as one might expect, suggesting that perhaps the bloom was off the rose with Hulkamania. Also on the show, the Nasty Boys and Tatanka defeated the Beverly Brothers and Shawn Michaels when Tatanka pinned Michaels to set up their Wrestlemania IX encounter. The show drew a 3.0 rating, which was good but disappointing considering that Hogan’s return was hyped heavily and the rating was actually lower than the week before. You can watch this episode of RAW on the WWE Network.
1994
What was likely the best CMLL match of the year happened in Arena Mexico when El Dandy squared off with Javier Llanes in a ****1/4 match, the first Dandy mat showcase in quite a while.
1998
WCW held SuperBrawl VIII at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA, in front of 12,620 fans. In the main event, Hulk Hogan and Sting rematched for the vacated WCW World Title. Sting defeated Hogan after interference from Randy Savage. Sting could never recover the momentum he had going into Starrcade ’97. Also on the show, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash defeated The Steiner Brothers to regain the WCW World Tag Team Titles after Scott turned on his brother Rick and joined the NWO. Scott floundered for a while as a singles heel before settling into the “Big Poppa Pump” gimmick. Meanwhile, Diamond Dallas Page defended the U.S. title against Chris Benoit in a ***1/2 match and WCW Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho defeated Juventud Guerrera. As a result of the pre-match stipulation, Juventud was forced to unmask. Booker T was the marathon wrestler of the night, wrestling in two back-to-back matches totaling around 24 minutes of ring time – the first against Rick Martel, where he won the WCW TV title; and the second an immediate defense against Perry Saturn. Martel was injured in the match, prematurely stopping an impressive comeback and ending his career for good. The show did just under 400,000 buys, and you can watch it on the WWE Network.
1999
WWF Monday Night RAW aired a show taped on February 16 in Chattanooga, TN. In the main event, The Undertaker defeated Kane in an Inferno Match. Vince McMahon, who was at ringside in Kane’s corner, received a box that contained a teddy bear during the match, which left him despondent. The show drew a 5.5 rating.
WCW Monday Nitro aired live from Sacramento, CA, in front of 13,921 fans. The main event saw Goldberg face Scott Steiner in a short match that ended in a disqualification. Also on the card, Rey Misterio Jr. avenged his loss from the night before by defeating Kevin Nash in a quick, nothing match where Nash was caught off guard. Booker T also defeated Bret Hart cleanly in a ***3/4 match. The episode ended with a second less famous and even more mean-spirited NWO parody of The Four Horsemen (and Roddy Piper). The show drew a 4.8 rating.
In The “To Watch” Queue:
Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Stan Hansen & Johnny Ace (AJPW 02/22/92)
Ricky Steamboat vs Ricky Morton (WCW Pro 02/22/92)
Sting, Marcus Bagwell, Rick & Scott Steiner vs Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Larry Zbyszko & Cactus Jack (WCW Pro 02/22/92)
