05/07/1994 WCW SN 

WCW United States Championship: Steve Austin (C) def. Dustin Rhodes in 10:28

Since we just watched their Starrcade ’93 match, I wanted to see what a rematch between these two Texan future legends would look like. The program between these two was over, but Dustin’s feud with the Stud Stable continued, and he was gearing up for his second PPV match with Bunkhouse Buck at Slamboree. The next one was going to be a bullrope match, so Dustin came to the ring with one. Both men worked at a really brisk pace, and this was the best crowd they had worked in front of compared to their previous matches. They had some good mat work at the beginning and a few believable nearfalls early and late in the match. The match felt more back-and-forth at the end than formulaic, which was also a big plus. Dustin had Austin pinned after a bulldog, but Col. Parker had the ref distracted, allowing Buck to blast Dustin with the cowbell. You can argue the finish was bad, but I liked it as a story development feud for Rhodes and Buck. Rhodes’s feud with the Stud Stable continued until he left in March 1995, and spanned about eighteen months, so there was plenty more to come. I may have liked this match more than most, but I also felt like it was clearly better than either of their 1993 PPV bouts. ***1/4

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