WWE Vintage Collection TV Report
July 26, 2009
Aired in the U.K. on Sky Sports
Report by Cody Endres, PWTorch contributor

WWE's Vintage Collection show airs in the U.K. and Canada. The show is hosted by Mean Gene Okerlund. They show a varied assortment of older matches every week, similar to WWE's "Classics On Demand" pay subscription service.

-Gene Okerlund talked about the classic cruiserweight matches we've witnessed the past several weeks. Today we wrap things up with the demise of WCW's cruiserweight division as well as one of the greatest matches in WCW history. However, we start things off with the first star of WWE's Light Heavyweight division – Taka Michinoku.

1 – TAKA MICHINOKU vs. THE GREAT SASUKE

This match is from the In Your House #16: Canadian Stampede PPV held on July 6, 1997 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Announcers Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, and Vince McMahon reminisced about Antonio Inoki and Tiger Mask. Sasuke connects with a spinning kick to take control. Sasuke locks in a deep half crab submission, but Michinoku made the ropes. Michinoku with a snapmare and a dropkick to Sasuke's head. Sasuke back body drops Michinoku to the outside. Sasuke leaps off the top and barely grazes Michinoku with a kick. Bad landing for Sasuke. Back in the ring, Sasuke assaults his opponent with a plethora of kicks in the corner. Michinoku catches a kick and gives Sasuke a dragonscrew legwhip. Sasuke attempts to recover on the outside. Michinoku springboards off the top rope and takes him out with a plancha.

[Commercial Break]

-A video hyping the Night of Champions PPV aired.

Sasuke with a German suplex attempt, but Michinoku flips out of it. Michinoku with a hurancanrana for a nearfall. Sasuke catches Michinoku with a handspring back elbow which sends him to the floor. Sasuke hits the Asai moonsault. Ross compares Sasuke to Mankind since he puts his body on the line so much. Michinoku with an overhead belly to belly suplex for a nearfall. Michinoku connects with a springboard missile dropkick. Michinoku hits his Michinoku Driver, but Sasuke gets a shoulder up. Sasuke catches Michinoku with a dropkick as he leaps off the top. Sasuke with an Asai moonsault in the ring for a nearfall. Sasuke with a thunder fire powerbomb and a bridging tiger suplex for the win.

WINNER: The Great Sasuke in 9:29 of what aired. Not the best match I've seen between these two. Both men seemed tentative and the match was done at a slower pace than usual. The announcers couldn't even pronounce Michinoku or Sasuke correctly.

[Commercial Break]

-The "Please Do Not Try This at Home" video aired.

-Okerlund said that the WCW cruiserweight division was at its height during this next match. Both men had every intention of stealing the show. Okerlund called this match a work of art.

2 – EDDIE GUERRERO vs. REY MYSTERIO JR. – WCW Cruiserweight Championship – Title vs. Mask

This match is from the WCW Halloween Havoc PPV held on October 26, 1997 in Las Vegas, NV. Mike Tenay rambles about lucha history so Bobby Heenan cuts him off by asking about Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger). "Eddie sucks" chant to start. Eddie mocks Rey and mimics unmasking him. Eddie immediately goes for a punch, but Rey ducks. Fast offense to start. Rey with an arm drag, monkey flip, and a cross body that sends Eddie to the floor. Rey flips over the ropes and lands on the apron. Eddie simply grabs his feet and sends him crashing to the outside. Eddie sends Rey into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Eddie hits his signature rolling senton from the apron. Heenan calls Eddie one of the most talented men in the sport. Rey goes for some sort of handspring maneuver, but Eddie catches him in midair and drops him with a back suplex. Tenay said this was the ninth mask match of Rey's career. Eddie with a stalling brainbuster suplex for a nearfall. Eddie with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for another nearfall. Eddie yells in frustration. Eddie locks in an abdominal stretch and attempts to go after Rey's mask. The cruiserweight champ hoists up Rey from the abdominal stretch position and hits a nasty looking backbreaker for a nearfall. Rey hits a flying DDT out of nowhere and then sends Eddie to the outside with a dropkick.

[Commercial Break]

-A video package aired on Rey Mysterio.

Eddie locks in the camel clutch and tears up Rey's mask by stretching the eyehole. Eddie locks in the Gory Special, but Rey escapes with an armdrag. Rey goes for a dropkick and Eddie swats him out of the way. Eddie continues to work over Rey's back. Tenay talked about the history between Gory Guerrero and El Santo. Heenan asked if there's anything Tenay doesn't know. Eddie flings Rey into the corner and Rey flips over and gets caught in the tree of woe. Eddie misses a running dropkick and goes crotch first into the corner post. Rey with a plancha to the outside. Back in the ring, Rey hits a huracanrana for a nearfall. Rey throws Eddie to the floor with a headscissors. Rey leaps to the outside with a somersault flip and turns it into a flying headscissors.

[Commercial Break]

-A video package aired on Chavo Guerrero

Back in the ring, Rey connects with a corkscrew moonsault onto a standing Eddie for a nearfall. Rey goes for a split-legged moonsault, but Eddie gets his knees up. Eddie with a snap powerbomb for a nearfall. More "Eddie sucks" chants. Eddie runs across the ring and Rey sends him headfirst into the turnbuckle. Rey leaps from the apron with a springboard maneuver, but Eddie catches him with a backbreaker. Eddie rolls through a frog splash after Rey moves out of the way. Rey climbs the ropes and Eddie crotches him. Eddie climbs up and looks to be going for a Razor's Edge off the top. Rey turns it into a hurancanrana from the top for the sudden victory. After the match, Eddie attacks Rey and throws him out of the ring.

WINNER: Rey Mysterio Jr. in 13:16 of what aired to capture the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. A written description can't do this match justice. One of the best matches in WCW history and either man's career.

[Commercial Break]

-Footage aired from March 26, 2001 of Vince McMahon speaking to the WCW audience. Vince said he bought the competition and that he now owns WCW.

-Okerlund talked about the end of WCW. The WCW titles were gradually unified with the titles in WWE.

3 – X-PAC vs. TAJIRI – WCW Cruiserweight Championship/WWE Light Heavyweight Championship Unification Match

This match is from the Summerslam PPV held on August 19, 2001 in San Jose, Calif. All this title unification stuff still confuses me. It's going to be really difficult to look back at title histories and try to make sense of them. X-Pac celebrates after an armdrag. We listen to dead silence for a few moments. I'm guessing there has been some editing of Paul Heyman's announcing. Tajiri with a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Tajiri sends X-Pac to the floor with a headscissors and then connects with a baseball slide. Tajiri with an Asai moonsault on the outside. Fans chant for ECW in this WCW/WWE title unification match. X-Pac shoves Tajiri into the ringpost and nails him with a high kick.

[Commercial Break]

-A video package aired on Evan Bourne.

X-Pac puts Tajiri in a surfboard submission center ring. X-Pac looks to be going for the bronco buster, but Tajiri gets out of the corner and hooks X-Pac in the tree of woe. Tajiri with a running dropkick in the corner. Tajiri connects with his handspring elbow for a nearfall. Tajiri locks in the tarantula to the crowd's delight. X-Pac rolls through Tajiri's crossbody off the top rope for a nearfall. Tajiri catapults X-Pac into the corner and follows with a bridging German suplex for a nearfall. X-Pac hits a somersault plancha to the outside onto Tajiri. Back in the ring, X-Pac hits the X-Factor. X-Pac goes for the cover, but Tajiri turns it into his own pinning combination for another nearfall. Albert walks to the ringside area. Albert leaps onto the apron so Tajiri sprays him with mist. While the referee deals with Albert, X-Pac gives Tajiri a lowblow. X-Pac hits another X-Factor for the win. Jim Ross referred to X-Pac as a double champion. This actually wasn't the unification match as Okerlund advertised.

WINNER: X-Pac in 7:21 of what aired to win the WWE Light Heavyweight Championship and retain the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. What you'd expect between these two until the cheap finish.

-Okerlund talked about how much fun he's had the past several weeks looking back at classic cruiserweight action. Next week, the show will begin a Summerslam retrospective.

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