Slamboree 1996: WCW Spins the Lethal Lottery Until Everybody Gets Dizzy

The opening Lethal Lottery match has a hook that should be impossible to ruin: Road Warrior Hawk and Animal are on opposite teams, with Booker T and Lex Luger filling out the draw. Instead, Hawk barely participates and the match becomes a series of basic power exchanges before everybody brawls outside for a double count-out. CAGEMATCH currently rates it 3.51, while TJR gave it one-and-a-half stars and Scott Keith called it a dud. The tournament eliminates all four men immediately, turning a potentially memorable pairing into paperwork.

Public Enemy against Chris Benoit and Kevin Sullivan is short, chaotic and more useful for the growing Benoit-Sullivan tension than for the tournament. Rocco Rock supplies the most athletic offense, Benoit answers with a sharp powerbomb, and the match turns into the expected ringside brawl before a table spot leaves Benoit exposed for the pin. TJR gave it one-and-a-quarter stars, while Scott Keith went to half a star. At under five minutes, there is not enough time for the teams to develop chemistry or for the betrayal tease to breathe.

Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner facing each other is the first tournament pairing that feels like the Lethal Lottery concept actually paid off. Their exchanges are crisp, physical and far more interesting than the surrounding Booty Man and Craig Pittman work. The match loses momentum whenever the brothers tag out, but the contrast is revealing: the Steiners can create urgency in seconds while the rest of the bout struggles to keep the crowd invested. CAGEMATCH currently rates it 5.22, and TJR gave it two stars. The good section is very good; the rest is filler.

VK Wallstreet and Jim Duggan against Steven Regal and Dave Taylor is a short mismatch of styles that never finds a useful rhythm. The Blue Bloods try to work the arm and create traditional tag structure, but Duggan's broad comedy and Wallstreet's reluctance to cooperate keep resetting the match. Duggan eventually tapes his fist and steals the pin, which gets the crowd reaction WCW wants without making the wrestling any better. Scott Keith rated it a quarter star. The four-minute runtime keeps it from becoming exhausting, but there is almost nothing here worth revisiting.

Dick Slater and Bobby Eaton against Alex Wright and Disco Inferno is another compressed tournament match that feels more like a bracket update than a pay-per-view attraction. Wright provides the cleanest movement and briefly gives the match energy, but Disco has little impact before Slater uses his boot to steal the finish. The veterans advance without gaining much momentum because the audience has barely had time to understand the pairing. Scott Keith rated it a dud, and TJR was only slightly kinder. The match is too short to become boring and too slight to become meaningful.

Diamond Dallas Page and The Barbarian against Meng and Hugh Morrus is one of the more energetic Lottery bouts because the regular Dungeon partners spend part of the match fighting each other. Meng and Barbarian trade hard shots, Morrus takes a dangerous-looking superplex, and Page keeps inserting himself at useful moments until the simultaneous-pin confusion sends his team forward. CAGEMATCH currently rates it 4.97. TJR gave it two stars, while Scott Keith went to half a star. It is messy, but Page's presence gives the match a clearer personality than most of the tournament.

Scott Norton and Ice Train against Big Bubba Rogers and Stevie Ray is exactly the kind of Lethal Lottery match that makes the concept feel like punishment. The wrestlers trade clubbing offense and clotheslines with little variation, then Bubba collides with Stevie Ray and Norton collects the pin. There is no compelling team conflict, no memorable sequence and no sense that the result matters beyond filling the next round. TJR gave it one star and Scott Keith called it a dud. The only real positive is that the match ends in under four minutes.

Ric Flair and Randy Savage against Arn Anderson and Eddie Guerrero has the best storyline ingredients in the tournament and almost no time to use them. Flair and Anderson remain effectively allied despite standing on opposite teams, Savage is furious with Flair, and Guerrero tries to survive between three men with larger stories. Anderson eventually turns on Eddie with a DDT, allowing Flair to score the pin while the Horsemen continue beating Savage afterward. CAGEMATCH currently rates the match 4.57. Scott Keith gave it two stars. The angle is entertaining; the actual four-minute match barely exists.

Dean Malenko versus Brad Armstrong is a needed change of pace because it is simply a championship match with a beginning, middle and end. Malenko targets the knee, Armstrong counters with clean technical offense and even traps the champion in his own Texas Cloverleaf before Malenko reaches the ropes. The second-rope gutbuster gives the finish some originality. CAGEMATCH currently rates the match 5.64, while both TJR and Scott Keith landed around two to two-and-a-half stars. The crowd is quieter than the work deserves, but the match is technically sound and refreshingly coherent.

The second-round meeting between Slater and Eaton and the team of Wallstreet and Duggan is shorter and less interesting than the first-round material that produced it. Duggan and Wallstreet argue, Eaton takes advantage with a roll-up, and another bracket slot is filled before the audience can develop much investment. The match exists almost entirely to reduce the field for BattleBowl. Scott Keith gave it half a star, and the broader review consensus treats the middle tournament rounds as the show's biggest pacing problem. Four minutes of functional advancement is still four minutes that could have been removed.

Diamond Dallas Page and The Barbarian against Rick Steiner and The Booty Man continues Page's gradual elevation but offers little as a standalone match. Rick brings the best physical offense, Barbarian supplies heavy strikes, and Page repeatedly positions himself to capitalize on mistakes. The finish comes when Page interrupts Booty Man's attempt to pin Barbarian, allowing his partner to advance. CAGEMATCH currently rates the match 3.39, and TJR gave it one-and-a-quarter stars. Page feels increasingly important, which is the point, but the tournament structure makes the route there feel much longer than five minutes.

Konnan versus Jushin Thunder Liger is one of the more substantial matches on the card, even if it never becomes the international showcase the names promise. Liger controls stretches with quicker offense and a Ligerbomb, while Konnan relies on power and catches the challenger during a top-rope attempt before finishing with the Splash Mountain. CAGEMATCH currently rates it 5.63 and records a three-and-a-half-star Observer rating. TJR gave it three-and-a-quarter stars, while Scott Keith went to three. The chemistry is uneven, but the match is comfortably above most of the tournament.

The BattleBowl final is a confused battle royal whose most important achievement is putting Diamond Dallas Page over. Page is visibly thrown out early, but the referee misses the elimination and he returns. The match then introduces pinfalls with little warning, turning the rules into another WCW puzzle. Page eliminates several opponents with the Diamond Cutter and finally beats Barbarian to become Lord of the Ring. CAGEMATCH currently rates the match 3.95, while TJR and Scott Keith both gave it roughly two stars. The execution is poor, but Page winning is a meaningful step in his rise.

The Giant versus Sting is the best sustained match on the card because Sting understands exactly how to make the champion look dangerous without making the outcome feel predetermined. Giant controls with size and surprisingly athletic offense, while Sting's comeback gets the loudest reaction of the night. The finish becomes overbooked when Lex Luger and Jimmy Hart struggle over the megaphone and Sting is accidentally struck before the chokeslam. CAGEMATCH currently rates the match 5.65. TJR and Scott Keith both gave it three stars, and Leighty also praised the hot crowd and Sting's performance.