2. Vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCW Bash At The Beach 1994)
When Hulk Hogan arrived in the company, World Championship Wrestling started to change. All of a sudden, the place began taking on a different aura. Previously, the NWA/WCW had been known as a hot bed of classic pro wrestling, but that gave way to the histrionics of Hulkamania relatively quickly. This spelled trouble for traditional workers like 'Stunning' Steve Austin. Bash At The Beach 1994 was Hogan's first WCW Pay-Per-View appearance. In the main event, he defeated Ric Flair, but it was another match that stole the show from an in-ring perspective. Less than an hour before the featured bout, Steve Austin defended the WCW United States Title against Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat. Both matches would be similar in length, but Steamboat and Austin worked a lot harder during their allotted time. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x30dqag_wcw-bash-at-the-beach-1994-ricky-steamboat-vs-steve-austin_sport The US Title would be as high as Austin would go in WCW, despite Ric Flair going to bat for him with the office. The arrival of Hogan made it impossible to foresee new main event talent being created however, but at least people got to see great matches like this one. The pacing and drama are off the charts, made even better by impassioned commentary by Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan.