Bret Hart > Vader in 1991 seems like a pretty huge upset.

Vader's US run in WCW didn't get going until 1992. Hence the result. Still an upset, though.

Ah, gotcha. I really need to up my NWA/WCW knowledge. I was kind of framing it through the lens of Flair/Vader in '93, and Bret being at the IC Title level in '91.

It's going to be a couple more days before I release Day 5, but thought this was funny: I was writing up the Pillman-Roberts match with one result in mind, got to the ending sequence, hated it, and completely changed the finish AND the winner as a result. Ha!

I had wondered how much of this was mapped out already. I like that you're doing what feels right organically as you go. Stephen King's On Writing was such an education. He says that the overwhelming majority of his books were written one word at a time and based on what felt right as he wrote, without mapping the whole thing out first. He demonstrated disdain for most of the books that he did an outline for first. It was cool to hear that he just wrote and let the books come to him.

FIRST ROUND, DAY 5
Group B: Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Rick Rude
With early exits already sealed for these two, this amounted to little more than a contest of pride. Which may have been what made it good, since these guys both have quite a bit of pride and didn't want to go out without a win. Misawa took to the air a bunch early, scoring with his flying, twisting clothesline (I love that move), another twisting crossbody from the ring over the ropes to the floor, and a dropkick from the top back into the ring for a close two. Rude dodged another Misawa charge in the corner, then dropped him with a high-angle back suplex that was the start of Rude's working over Misawa's neck, mostly with wear-down and submission holds. Misawa's main offense from that point came in the form of elbow strikes, including a roaring version that floored Rude for a close two. Misawa tried to make Rude tap with a facelock but Rude got to the ropes. Rude tried to counter a backdrop setup with the Rude Awakening, but before he could hit it, Misawa turned out of it and surprised Rude with a Tiger Driver for the win. Nice effort from both guys here. WINNER: Mitsuharu Misawa, 12:58. ***

Group C: Brian Pillman vs. Jake Roberts
With everyone in this group entering the day 1-1 for 3 points, it was pretty simple: Win and advance, lose and go home. Pillman was simply too quick for the Snake at the start, scoring with arm drags and hip tosses, ducking a clothesline and coming back with a crossbody for two, trying two other cradles for two-counts, then going up top and scoring with a dropkick, with Roberts desperately rolling to the floor before Pillman could make a cover. As Roberts walked around the outside area, Pillman tried to slingshot himself over the ropes and down on the Snake, but Roberts saw it coming and moved out of the way, and Pillman ate the guardrail (way more of it than intended, as it split his bottom lip pretty bad). Roberts wasn't about to let that opening go to waste, as he hotshotted Pillman back across the guardrail before rolling him back in. He jabbed away at Pillman's jaw before scoring with a short-arm clothesline for two. A reverse atomic drop/knee lift combo also scored two. Roberts signaled for the DDT, but Pillman desperately started throwing haymakers before the Snake could secure the front headlock. Roberts caught a kick, but Pillman hit an enziguiri to buy time. An irish whip was reversed by Roberts, but Pillman came back with a flying forearm. Sensing an opening, Pillman went up top and went for his flying clothesline, but the Snake dove to the canvas and Pillman went flying over him and crashed to the mat. As Pillman struggled to get up, Roberts grabbed him and snapped off his DDT, and that was all she wrote. The Snake is through. Nice effort from Pillman, but a couple high-risk moves backfired. WINNER: Jake Roberts, 14:21. ***

Group A: Jushin Liger vs. Great Muta
So here's the situation entering this match: Liger, who has lost his first two matches, needs to win and have Sting defeat Davey Boy Smith later in the night in order for a three-way tie for second place to occur. In that case, Great Muta's win (over Davey Boy) came in 14:01, while Davey Boy's win (over Liger) came in 18:44. So basically, Liger needed to win in under 14:01 to potentially earn second place in the group. Also, pretty cool touch by the World Cup organizers to put the running time of the matches up on the video boards so fans tracking this stuff could tell what the time was. Now, I'll just go ahead and tell you up front: this match was OFF THE CHARTS. Knowing he had to, Liger went for broke from the bell with a spinning wheel kick and a snapmare-running dropkick combo that put Muta on the defensive. It quickly became a match where Liger wanted to fly — scoring with a springboard moonsault, a running crossbody and a second-turnbuckle senton splash, all for two-counts in the first four minutes — and Muta wanted to ground him, finally successfully doing so with a dropkick to Liger's knee, then a dragon screw. A kneebreaker and figure four followed, with Liger getting to the ropes. Liger got back on the offensive by countering another kneebreaker attempt by twisting in midair to hit a DDT. Now there were 10 minutes elapsed and Liger had to go for broke. A hurricanrana and pinning cradle got a close two. A German suplex got another two. Muta was reeling and Liger back suplexed him, then went up top again, but Muta got out of the way of the frog splash at 11:30. Now Muta intelligently applied the Muta Lock (bridging leg grapevine and chinlock), bleeding more time before Liger fought his way to the ropes. At 13 minutes, Muta went for a Saito suplex, but Liger slipped out the back door and countered with a stunning tombstone piledriver, only for Muta to kick out at two. Liger went for, and hit, the Liger Bomb at 13:45, but Muta was too close to the ropes and grabbed them at two. Liger hurried to set Muta on the top turnbuckle to prep for a back superplex, but Muta answered with elbow strikes and Liger was sent backward to the canvas as the 14-minute mark passed and ended Liger's chance to advance. Muta scored with the shining wizard twice, but Liger kicked out at two. A full nelson slam also scored a two, then Muta went for the moonsault but got nothing but canvas as Liger got out of the way. As Muta got to his feet, Liger scored with a tornado DDT and Muta wound up going under the ropes to the floor. Liger went onto the apron, then went for broke with an Asai moonsault that scored perfectly. Liger rolled Muta in, went up top and scored with a missile dropkick, but again only got two. Liger went up top yet again looking for a super hurricanrana, but Muta countered with a nasty powerbomb that I still can't believe Liger kicked out of. But the move really took it out of Liger, and Muta scored with a backbreaker drop, then hit his moonsault to finally bring an end to 20 glorious minutes of greatness. WINNER: Great Muta, 20:19. *****

Group D: Rick Steiner vs. Steve Austin
I could write three or four sentences about the Group D scenarios here, but the bottom line was, with Boss Man having to face Hogan later in the night, Steiner knew if he took care of business, he was going to be close to a lock to advance. However, Austin — who had to win to have any chance of advancing, and had to do so in less than 12:03 — came out on fire, much like Liger, albeit in a different, more brawling fashion. Steiner reversed an irish whip and sent Austin into the corner, but Austin came out with a Thesz press and kept firing away. However, a backdrop attempt got countered with a boot to the face, and Steiner scored with a clothesline to slow Austin's early roll. Steiner then grounded Austin with a grinding headlock takedown, though Austin tried counter pinning attempts twice to no avail. Back up, Austin sent Steiner off the ropes but was shoulderblocked down. Steiner went off the ropes again, over a prone Austin, off the other side and Austin surprised Steiner with a sleeper. Steiner started to fade, then fought back to his feet and backpedaled, smashing Austin into the corner. Steiner staggered out of the corner for a moment, then came back at Austin with a clothesline attempt, but Austin ducked it and rolled up Steiner for two. Steiner was quick to get up, but Austin was one step ahead, sending Steiner chest-first into the ropes, then rolling him backward for another pin attempt and another two. Austin then went for a suplex, but Steiner blocked it, then delivered one of his own for two before clamping on a chinlock at the seven-minute mark. Austin fought to his feet and scored with a jawbreaker to get out of the hold, then a swinging neckbreaker for two. Austin went for a back suplex, and had Steiner up, but Steiner kicked his feet and reversed with a bulldog — something I hadn't seen before — for a close two. Steiner sent Austin off the ropes, but Austin ducked a clothesline, then tried to score with the Thesz press again, only for Steiner to catch him, then throw him with a release belly-to-belly suplex that sent Austin all the way to the floor. Wow. Steiner waited for Austin to climb onto the apron, then met him and set up for a suplex back into the ring, but Austin countered by dropping down and hotshotting Steiner's neck across the top rope — an obvious setup to the stun gun. Steiner went down, and Austin came off the ropes and scored with a driving elbow right to the throat. He glanced at the clock, saw 11:30 and knew he had to go for the win. He whipped Steiner to the ropes and ducked down to go for the lift and the stun gun, but Steiner countered with a DDT, then went up top. As Austin rose, facing away from the corner, Steiner scored with a flying bulldog for the pin. That was a good match and a nice effort for Austin despite finishing 0-3. WINNER: Rick Steiner, 12:46. ***1/2.

Group D: Hulk Hogan vs. Big Boss Man
Yeah, so Boss Man now needed to win this match, and do so under a certain time (12:57, to be exact), in order to advance out of a three-way tie for first place along with Hogan and Steiner. And if he were to do this, Hogan would end up the odd man out. Ummm, that was NEVER going to happen, and everyone knew it. I was still looking forward to this match, because these two had wrestled a cage match for the WWF title a few years earlier that was pretty good (and has a great superplex in it). Of course, Boss Man was a heel then and he's a babyface here. That was one of a few reasons why this fell mostly flat, but the main one was both guys lacked much motivation. This wound up being a pretty paint-by-numbers Hogan match, ending with a kickout of the sidewalk slam, a Hulk-up and the rest of it. No high spots to speak of. Oh well. WINNER: Hulk Hogan, 9:42. **

Group B: Steve Williams vs. Sid Justice
This one was pretty simple: Both guys had already advanced, it was just a matter of which one would win the group. And it didn't last long, as neither guy took a step back and there was no real feeling-out process. A couple shoulderblocks led to stalemates, before Sid got a big boot up into Williams' face. Williams staggered back off the ropes, then charged back out and this time dropped Sid with a big shoulderblock. He dropped down and applied a side headlock, really wrenching on it, before Sid rose and sent Williams off the ropes. Williams ducked a clothesline on the rebound, and both were floored by a double clothesline on the way back. They both slowly rose, then started trading haymakers before Sid raked Williams across the face, then slammed him down and dropped a leg for barely a two. Sid applied a front facelock, and Williams rose and tried to lift Sid up and over, to no avail. But he did push Sid to the ropes, then as the ref looked for a clean break, unloaded a vicious chop. A whip to the ropes was reversed, but Williams caught Sid looking for a backdrop and kicked him in the mush, then went off the ropes and dropped the taller man with a flying shoulderblock. Sid struggled back up, and Williams came from behind and scored with a bridging back suplex for two. Williams picked Sid up and hit the first part of the Oklahoma Stampede into the corner, but Sid prevented the completion of the move (the powerslam) by grabbing onto the ropes, then caught Williams with a sidewalk slam for two. Sid went for his powerbomb but Williams dropped to a knee. Sid rained down nasty forearm shots across Williams' back, then had Williams halfway up, but Williams fought out of it, then executed a sweet Northern Lights suplex for two. Williams sent Sid to the corner, but got caught with a back elbow on the way in, and then Sid floored him with a clothesline from behind. Sid went for an elbow drop and Williams moved, then Williams used an Oklahoma Roll for the surprise three. Didn't see that coming, and neither did Sid, who was pretty pissed. Overall, despite the short length (which might have helped), this was better than I expected, especially for a Sid match. WINNER: Steve Williams, 8:03. ***

Group A: Davey Boy Smith vs. Sting
With Sting and Muta each sitting at 6 points, the Bulldog had to defeat Sting in less than 14:01 to create a three-way tie atop the group and knock out Muta. Sting was already assured of a spot in the tournament. Two collar-and-elbow lockups led to each man shoving off the other. Sting went off the ropes and was immediately press slammed by Bulldog. Sting popped up, Bulldog went off the ropes and Sting promptly press slammed him, then cinched in a side headlock. Bulldog rolled him over for a two, then worked to his feet, driving a couple forearms into Sting's ribs before sending him off the far side. Sting floored Bulldog with a shoulderblock, then ran off the ropes, over Bulldog to the other side, and Bulldog went for another press slam but Sting escaped out the back side and rolled Bulldog up for two, then took him down with the side headlock. Bulldog got to his feet and reversed the headlock into a top wristlock, forcing Sting back to the ropes before lifting a knee into his midsection. A whip to the ropes led to a backdrop, then a body slam, but Sting moved out of the way of an elbow drop and applied an arm bar. Bulldog rolled one way, then the other, then kipped up and reversed with an arm ringer — classic Bulldog. He maneuvered Sting into a hammerlock, but Sting answered with a nasty elbow into Bulldog's kisser. Sting went off the ropes but ran into a back elbow, and Bulldog went for the pin and got two. Now Bulldog turned up the heat, hitting a powerslam (not his finisher version) for two and a stalling vertical suplex for another two. He went for a running bulldog but Sting put on the brakes and sent Bulldog chest-first into the corner, then rolled him up for a two. Sting then scored with a couple clotheslines and a dropkick for two. Sting went for a suplex of his own, but Bulldog blocked, then put Sting up on the top turnbuckle. Bulldog climbed up and the two exchanged right hands before Bulldog hooked Sting and hit a superplex, but again he only got a close two. With time running short, Bulldog picked up Sting looking for the running powerslam, but Sting slipped out the backdoor and shoved Bulldog into the corner, then scored with the Stinger Splash and locked in the scorpion deathlock, forcing Bulldog to tap to end a really good match. Bulldog congratulated Sting, then exited as the ref raised Sting's arm — and from behind, Sid Justice blasted Sting with a chair to the back, to a thunderous round of jeers. Justice put the chair down, pulled up Sting and powerbombed him on it, then raised his arms and screamed “I'm the man!” Well, that sets up their round-of-16 match. WINNER: Sting, 14:14. ****

Group C: Ricky Steamboat vs. Terry Funk
The winner advances, the loser goes home. Funk talked a lot of trash in the opening staredown, trying to get in Steamboat's head. Steamboat didn't seem the least bit fazed, as he scored with two sweet arm drags (like only he can do) and a Japanese version before locking on an armbar. Funk fought his ay up and tried a scoop slam counter, but Steamboat held on and Funk was flipped back to the mat. Funk got up and used Steamboat's hair to back him into the ropes, then drove a knee into his midsection before sending him off the other side. He tried a hip toss, but Steamboat blocked it twice, then hip-tossed Funk instead before dropkicking him through the ropes to the floor. Steamboat was held back by the ref for a moment, and that gave Funk enough time so that when Steamboat did walk over, Funk grabbed his foot and sent him to the canvas before dragging him out and sending him into the guardrail, then slamming him onto the floor. Funk picked Steamboat up, sent him inside the ring, then entered and dropped a knee across the forehead for two before applying a chinlock. Steamboat fought up and buried a couple elbows to the midsection, but when he tried to shove Funk to the ropes, Funk grabbed his hair and applied a headlock, taking Steamboat down as the ref admonished him. Steamboat struggled up again and tried to send Funk off the ropes again, but Funk again grabbed his hair and reapplied the headlock … but this time Steamboat grabbed Funk's hair and forced him into the corner, then started laying in chops. Funk threw some lefty bombs and they exchanged punches (Funk) and chops (Steamboat) as the crowd got into it. Steamboat whipped Funk to the opposite corner, then backdropped him as he bounced out. Steamboat went to the top and scored with an overhand chop to the head, but only got two. Steamboat went up top again but Funk met him in the corner, crotching him on the top turnbuckle. Now Funk climbed up, and they once again exchanged punches and chops, but Steamboat won the battle and Funk fell to the canvas. Steamboat rose up and went for his flying crossbody, but Funk dove down out of the way and Steamboat crashed hard. Funk pulled him up and piledrove him, but Steamboat kicked out just before the three to a big pop, earning a shocked look from Funk. (Yep, that's a finisher kickout, LKJ.) Funk then switched focus to Steamboat's leg, using his patented spinning toe hold, but the third time he did it, Steamboat reached up and rolled him into a tight small package for the three to advance and bring Day 5 to a close. WINNER: Ricky Steamboat, 16:38. ****

STANDINGS
GROUP A
Sting 3-0, 9 points
Great Muta 2-1, 6 points
Davey Boy Smith 1-2, 3 points
Jushin Liger 0-3, 0 points

GROUP B
Steve Williams 3-0, 9 points
Sid Justice 2-1, 6 points
Mitsuharu Misawa 1-2, 3 points
Rick Rude 0-3, 0 points

GROUP C
Jake Roberts 2-1, 6 points (head-to-head win over Steamboat)
Ricky Steamboat 2-1, 6 points
Brian Pillman 1-2, 3 points (head-to-head win over Funk)
Terry Funk 1-2, 3 points

GROUP D
Hulk Hogan 3-0, 9 points
Rick Steiner 2-1, 6 points
Big Boss Man 1-2, 3 points
Steve Austin 0-3, 0 points

GROUP E
Jumbo Tsuruta 2-0, 6 points
Ted DiBiase 1-1, 3 points
Arn Anderson 1-1, 3 points
Kenta Kobashi 0-1, 0 points

GROUP F
Bret Hart 2-0, 6 points
Vader 1-1, 3 points
Scott Steiner 1-1, 3 points
Shawn Michaels 0-2, 0 points

GROUP G
Stan Hansen 2-0, 6 points
Randy Savage 1-1, 3 points
Toshiaki Kawada 1-1, 3 points
Mr. Perfect 0-2, 0 points

GROUP H
Barry Windham 2-0, 6 points
Ric Flair 1-1, 3 points
Ron Simmons 1-1, 3 points
Earthquake 0-2, 0 points

NEXT UP
FIRST ROUND, DAY 6
Group F: Vader vs. Shawn Michaels
Group E: Kenta Kobashi vs. Ted DiBiase
Group H: Ric Flair vs. Earthquake
Group G: Mr. Perfect vs. Stan Hansen
Group H: Ron Simmons vs. Barry Windham
Group F: Scott Steiner vs. Bret Hart
Group E: Arn Anderson vs. Jumbo Tsuruta
Group G: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Randy Savage

ROUND OF 16 MATCHES (DAY 7)
Sting vs. Sid Justice
Jake Roberts vs. Rick Steiner
Steve Williams vs. Great Muta
Hulk Hogan vs. Ricky Steamboat
Group E winner vs. Group F runner-up
Group G winner vs. Group H runner-up
Group F winner vs. Group E runner-up
Group H winner vs. Group G runner-up

FIRST ROUND, DAY 6
Note: Every single one of these groups entered the day with the leader at 6 points, two wrestlers at 3 and the last-place wrestler with 0. Each one had the potential for either three-way ties for first place at 6 points, or three-way ties for second place with 3 points. I'm not going to mention all the scenarios at play in detail unless absolutely necessary.

Group F: Vader vs. Shawn Michaels
Vader could lock up a tournament spot with a win, while Michaels had to win to have a slim chance at moving on. Yeah, good luck with that. As he showed in his match with Steiner, Michaels is more than just a good-looking athlete, he's got some toughness you wouldn't expect. He needed every ounce of it, because Vader was at his diabolical best. Michaels stayed out of dodge with pot shots for the first 90 seconds or so, but Vader started crushing Michaels with that modified Thesz press, clotheslines, forearms and one of the most insane backdrops ever. Michaels must have been 9 feet in the air at the apex. Ye Gods. He did have a couple offensive moments, ducking a clothesline and scoring with a flying forearm on the rebound, and later nailing a superkick, then a top-rope dropkick for two (and a massive Vader kickout). But a top-rope crossbody attempt went horribly wrong when Vader caught him, then dropped him to the mat with a powerslam in perfect position for a second-turnbuckle Vader Bomb that decisively ended things and put Vader through. WINNER: Vader, 9:06. ***

Group E: Kenta Kobashi vs. Ted DiBiase
This was a big match for both guys. Kobashi had to win it to have any chance of advancing as the runner-up in a three-way tie for second, and DiBiase needed to win it, then root for either a Tsuruta win or a lengthy Anderson victory later in the night to get a spot. But forget all that: This wound up being a real treat of a match pitting a conniving heel against a young underdog babyface full of fighting spirit, and the crowd was super into this, pulling for Kobashi. It didn't have a ton of high spots (though it had a couple I'll get to), but was a master class with DiBiase maintaining control with old-fashioned wrestling and some standard heel tricks, to the point that every time Kobashi rallied (and there were several), it felt huge. Then DiBiase would either counter a move (a headlock with a back suplex) or dodge a move (a flying shoulderblock, a running leg drop) to gain the advantage back. The crowd popped pretty big when Kobashi first blocked a vertical suplex attempt, then hit his Orange Crush (vertical suplex turned into a sit-down powerbomb), only for DiBiase to kick out just before the three. Kobashi slammed DiBiase and went for the moonsault, but DiBiase got his knees up, then locked in the Million Dollar Dream. Kobashi appeared out after 20 seconds, but after two arm drops, he kept it up on the third and drew off the fans' cheers to make it to the ropes. DiBiase whipped him into the corner, but Kobashi came out with a flying clothesline for another two. Kobashi then hit the ropes looking for a big lariat, but DiBiase ducked it, then rolled Kobashi up from behind and — with a big handful of tights — got the three. The crowd was REALLY disappointed at that, which shows you how well both men did. WINNER: Ted DiBiase, 14:41. ****

Group H: Ric Flair vs. Earthquake
I was of two minds about this match. On one hand, no matter what you think about Flair, if you don't have him in your top five wrestlers worldwide at this point in time, you're crazy. A lot of people have him top two (I do think that's debatable). So how on Earth could Flair not make the round of 16, at least? On the other hand, what on Earth is he going to do against Earthquake? It's a terrible matchup for Flair despite Earthquake not having a win in the event to date. So I really had no clue how the bookers were going to solve this riddle … that is, until Earthquake was halfway down the entrance aisle, when Flair drove the top of a steel chair into the back of Earthquake's left knee in a surprise attack. Well, there's that, I suppose. Then we got utter chaos as Flair — stomping away at the knee of a downed Quake — was surrounded by security and staff members. There was a long delay as officials discussed whether to disqualify Flair from the event (clearly a work, I'm not that stupid), with Flair begging them not to. This was still going on when Quake, somehow back on his feet, grabbed an unaware Flair and sent him hard into the barricade, then grabbed him again and (gingerly) walked Flair to the ring, sliding him in before rolling in himself. The officials looked at the referee, shrugged and gave the nod, the ref called for the bell, and we had a match. Quake lifted and slammed Flair hard, and Flair begged off in the corner, but as Quake came at him, Flair kicked his left kneecap and Quake crumpled. Flair worked the knee over with knee drops before draping it over the bottom rope and crashing onto it. Quake was really in bad shape, and Flair slapped on his figure four. Quake didn't give up, but passed out after about two minutes and was counted down. The officials looked like they regretted letting this go on instead of DQ'ing Flair, but the decision had been made. I guess that's one way to get out of the booking fix they left themselves in, as Flair clinched a tournament spot. WINNER: Ric Flair, 4:28. *

Group G: Mr. Perfect vs. Stan Hansen
I'm surprised Perfect didn't withdraw before this match with his bad back. He was never going to win, and he had to know that, deep down. But he went on with it anyway, trying grimly to block out the pain and perform as best he could. It actually threw Hansen off a bit early, as he seemed reluctant to really unload on his wounded prey. But once Perfect scored with a dropkick (grimacing after landing on his back following the move), a snap-mare and a rolling neck snap (and another grimace), Hansen had pretty much had enough, catching Perfect with a side suplex that made Perfect scream in pain and most of the crowd wince. Hansen dropped all his weight on the back with two nasty knee drops, then applied a camel clutch. The ref thought about calling the match off, but Hansen — sensing that — actually let go of the hold rather sadistically, saying “It ends when I want it to end.” He wrapped Perfect in a bear hug, and Perfect quickly tried to get out of it with punches, but Hansen ran him back-first into the turnbuckles, causing Perfect to collapse in the corner. Hansen brought him out and promptly powerbombed him before making a nonchalant cover, and Perfect rolled a shoulder up at two. Hansen set him up for a suplex, but Perfect countered with an inside cradle for a close two. That pissed Hansen off, and he went for the lariat, but Perfect ducked and rolled him up again, getting another close two. Perfect ran off the ropes, but Hansen powerslammed him (to another gasp from the crowd, which was starting to pull for Perfect), then after Perfect slowly got up, nailed the lariat to bring an end to things. Full credit to Perfect over these last two matches, giving what he could in obviously tough health. WINNER: Stan Hansen, 7:53. **1/2

Group H: Ron Simmons vs. Barry Windham
The story here was that Simmons needed to defeat Windham inside of 19:30 to advance over Windham (with Flair already locked in). Simmons muscled Windham to the ropes on the initial lockup, and both men broke clean. On the next lockup, Windham got a headlock and took Simmons down. Simmons worked his way up and sent Windham off the ropes, and neither man budged on Windham's shoulderblock. Windham told Simmons to go off the ropes, he obliged, and another stalemate resulted. Now Windham ran off the ropes, ducked Simmons' clothesline, but Simmons caught him on the way back with a sweet release belly-to-belly suplex. Windham got up OK, but Simmons then nailed him with a Samoan drop for two before applying a chinlock. Windham fought up and buried two elbows into Simmons' gut, then ran off the ropes and into a Simmons sleeper hold, but Windham turned into it and back suplexed Simmons to the mat for two. Windham then applied a leg scissors around Simmons' body, working on his back, but Simmons countered with kind of a crude pinning roll-up for two. Windham was quick to get up, and Simmons met him with a nasty European uppercut before sending him off the ropes, but Windham surprised Simmons with a dropkick on the return, sending Simmons crashing to the mat, then under the ropes to the floor. Windham went out after him and tried whipping him to the guardrail, but Simmons reversed it and Windham hit the steel hard. Simmons slammed him on the padded floor, then pulled him up and rolled him back inside. Windham got up, but Simmons applied a full nelson, lifted him and slammed him hard to the mat for two. That was impressive considering Windham's height advantage. Simmons grabbed Windham's legs and tried to turn him for a Boston crab, but Windham grabbed the ropes before the hold could be applied. Simmons pulled him up and went for a suplex, but Windham blocked, then countered with his own, before running off the ropes and dropping a leaping elbow for two. Windham pulled Simmons up and scored with a pendulum backbreaker for another two. Windham pulled him up again and tried to whip him to the ropes, but Simmons reversed. However, Simmons put his head down and Windham promptly hit a DDT, showing a bit of surprise when Simmons kicked out again at two. Windham set Simmons up for a piledriver, but Simmons blocked it, then backdropped Windham off — dropping to his knees holding his back afterward in a bit of nice selling. Windham was the first one up, and sent Simmons off the ropes, but Simmons ducked a clothesline and scored with a spear on the way back. Now Simmons sent Windham off the ropes and scored with a huge spinebuster that got a close two, with Simmons showing some frustration. The crowd was really hot by this point. Simmons pulled Windham up and set up for a suplex, but muscled him onto the top turnbuckle before climbing up looking for a superplex. Windham fought back with right hands, and the two soon were exchanging blows up there before Simmons managed to hit the superplex to a big pop. He was slow to make the cover, and that might have cost him on a close two-count. Simmons went to the second turnbuckle as Windham slowly got up, then went for a diving clothesline but Windham dove out of the way. Windham scored with an atomic drop and a bulldog, but again only got two. The clock was now past the 18-minute mark. Windham tried a gutwrench suplex but Simmons blocked it, lifting knees into Windham's body, before sending him off the ropes looking for his scoop powerslam. Windham grabbed on to the top rope to stop short, then kicked Simmons in the gut as he charged in response, before hooking him and executing the slingshot suplex — only to have Simmons kick out at two again. As Simmons struggled up, Windham hit the ropes and scored with a massive lariat, and the whole building was shocked when Simmons kicked out. Windham pounded the mat twice in frustration, then a determined look crossed his face, and as Simmons rose one more time, Windham drilled him with a second lariat and got the three to end an absolutely fantastic contest. Windham helped Simmons up and patted him on the back, before the ref rasied Windham's hand. WINNER: Barry Windham, 20:46. ****1/2.

Group F: Scott Steiner vs. Bret Hart
Steiner had to beat Hart in under 15:36 to advance over Hart (with Vader already through). Not an impossible ask, but Hart knew the situation and wrestled a smart match trying to bleed the clock. He avoided an opening lockup by dropping down for a single-leg takedown attempt which Steiner blocked, and a bit of amateur-style wrestling eventually led to both men being in the ropes and giving a clean break. Once in the middle, Hart again wanted no part of a lockup and quickly ducked behind Steiner, taking his legs out before jumping forward to apply a side headlock which Steiner quickly reversed into a hammerlock. Hart was in no hurry — he's not losing to a hammerlock, after all — and slowly got up, before reversing the hold. Steiner, however, was in a bit of a hurry and quickly slammed Hart with a back elbow right to the face. With Hart doubled over holding his face, Steiner quickly powered him over with a gutwrench suplex for two. Hart was bleeding from his nose, which might be broken, and Steiner saw this and focused on it with punches and a facelock, drawing some jeers. Hart struggled up, then got out of the facelock with a leverage move that threw Steiner forward and to the mat. Steiner was quickly up and clubbed Hart a couple times before sending him off the ropes. Steiner actually went for the Frankensteiner here, but Hart used the ropes to apply the brakes and Steiner crashed to the mat. Hart then grabbed Steiner's legs as if to go for the sharpshooter, but Steiner struggled enough that Hart simply stomped him in the gut, then dropped an elbow before putting him in a chinlock and slowing the pace again. Steiner worked his way up, then lifted Hart up on his back and backpedaled, sandwiching Hart in the corner. Steiner bured a couple shoulders into Hart, then sent him hard to the opposite corner, with Hart slamming into it chest-first to a gasp from the crowd, but a cover got only two. Steiner whipped him off the ropes and launched him with a huge backdrop, and Hart quickly bailed out of the ring to buy/waste time. Steiner went out to get him and Hart capitalized by grabbing him around the waist and pushing him back into the ring apron. Hart then rolled in as Steiner grabbed at his back, before Steiner rolled in and promptly got drilled by a forearm smash to the back. Hart dropped two knees into the lower back, then kept a knee there as he wrenched up on Steiner's chin. Steiner grabbed the bottom rope to force the break, and used the ropes to try to get up, but Hart kept pounding away at his back. Steiner reversed an irish whip to the ropes, then temporarily caught Hart when he went for a crossbody, but Hart kicked his legs and Steiner eventually fell to the canvas, having to kick out at two. Hart sat Steiner up, put a knee square in his back and pulled both his arms backward in a submission hold, with Steiner gritting his teeth in pain. Steiner found a way to stand, with Hart still holding onto his arms with a foot in his back, and walked his way to the ropes. Hart threw another forearm square into Steiner's back, then scored with a pendulum backbreaker for two. Hart went to the second turnbuckle looking for an elbow drop, but Steiner got a boot up into Hart's face, and Hart went down like a sack of potatoes holding his nose. The clock was at 13 minutes, so Steiner didn't have a lot of time to rally. But he got going with a couple Steinerlines, then after grabbing his back, he grabbed Hart and scored with a massive T-bone suplex for two. Hart got up but Steiner scored with a bridging German suplex for a close two. Then Steiner picked Hart up, and somehow — bad back and all — did a backward flip powerslam that awed the crowd, but still only got a close two. Steiner said he was going to end it, whipped Hart to the ropes and went for the Frankensteiner again, but this time Hart countered with a sitdown powerbomb, only to have Steiner kick out at a close two. The clock passed 15 minutes as Hart set up Steiner for a snap suplex, but Steiner blocked it twice. He tried to lift Hart, couldn't quite do it with his bad back on the first attempt, but got him up on the second — and dropped Hart down head-first with an INSANE Steiner Screwdriver for the three and a huge pop! And the clock read … 15:33! Steiner moves on in incredible fashion. Wow, that was great. WINNER: Scott Steiner, 15:33. ****

Group E: Arn Anderson vs. Jumbo Tsuruta
Tsuruta was locked into the round of 16. Anderson needed to beat the All-Japan ace and Triple Crown champion inside of 14:41 to advance and knock DiBiase out. In other circumstances, I think Anderson would have tried to wear the much bigger Tsuruta down over 20 or 25 minutes, but he didn't have that option here. Tsuruta powered Anderson to the ropes on the initial lockup, and went to give a clean break, but Anderson lifted a knee into his midsection and cranked on a side headlock. Tsuruta tried to send him off to the ropes, but Anderson had none of it, putting on the brakes and wrenching down. Tsuruta tried it again to no avail, and Anderson mercilessly flipped Tsuruta to the mat and kept cranking on his head. Tsuruta fought to his feet and backed Anderson to the ropes again, but Anderson refused to break at five, forcing a second five-count that he finally broke at four — after which Tsuruta slapped the Enforcer hard right across the jaw! Wow, that had some stink on it, and it lit the crowd up. Lit Anderson up too, as this instantly turned into a brawl with haymakers thrown both ways. Tsuruta started winning the exchange, whipped Anderson off the ropes and scored with his famous jumping knee, before doing his signature “Hoo!” shout with raised hand. Now it was Tsuruta's turn to clamp on a headlock and not let go when Anderson tried throwing him off, taking him down to the mat. Anderson fought to his feet and buried two elbows to the midsection, but Tsuruta promptly picked him up and dumped him with a slam, then applied a leg scissors on his neck. He twisted and raised up to apply more pressure, before Anderson worked his way to his feet and was able to press down on both of Tusruta's knees to break the hold. Anderson quickly tried to get Tsuruta in a headlock, but Tsuruta reversed into a hammerlock and Anderson beat the mat in frustration. Anderson fought up and elbowed Tsuruta right in the kisser, then turned around and ate a forearm from Tsuruta, who tried to whip Anderson to the ropes. Anderson reversed it and scored with his signature spinebuster but only for two. Anderson grabbed a leg and turned Tsuruta over into a half-crab — one of Tsuruta's favorite holds, actually — and Tsuruta had to fight to reach the rope. As Tsuruta pulled himself up, Anderson grabbed the same leg, but Tsuruta scored with an enziguiri and both men stayed down for a bit. When they rose, Anderson went for a DDT but Tsuruta quickly countered with a vertical suplex for two. Tsuruta whipped Anderson off the ropes and went for a lariat, but Anderson ducked it, and the two men clashed heads when Anderson rebounded back, with both again crumpled on the mat. This time Tsuruta was the first up, and as Anderson made it up, Tsuruta went for his backdrop driver, but Anderson blocked it with elbows, then scored with a Russian leg sweep. He went to the second turnbuckle and tried to hit a double axehandle, but Tsuruta caught him and hit a sweet release overhead belly-to-belly suplex. However, Anderson was too close to the ropes and got a foot on them to break the count. Tsuruta whipped him off the ropes again and went for his jumping knee again, but Anderson dodged it — but he didn't dodge Tsuruta's lariat coming back, and Anderson barely kicked out in time. Tsuruta rose his arm up to indicate going for the lariat again, but Anderson reversed the irish whip, surprised Tsuruta with a boot to the gut and scored with the DDT. However, this time Tsuruta wound up too close to the ropes and got a foot on them to break the count. Anderson hooked the leg to restart the count but Tsuruta kicked out at two. With time running out on his advancement chances, Anderson set Tsuruta up for a possible brainbuster, but Tsuruta blocked it, then lifted Anderson up and hit his own, only to get a very close two as Anderson somehow got a shoulder up. Undaunted, Tsuruta hauled Anderson up and quickly hit his backdrop driver for the three, completing his perfect group run. Good effort by Anderson, but not quite enough. WINNER: Jumbo Tsuruta, 14:28. ***1/2

Group G: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Randy Savage
The winner advances, the loser goes home. (I have no idea what would have happened had they gone to a draw, but it didn't end up mattering.) My head said Savage would win, as he's a huge name to send home this early, but man, Kawada has been all kinds of great, so my heart was behind him. Quite a contrast between the charisma and flashiness of Savage (who was wearing a very shiny silver outfit) and the steely gaze and total lack of emotion of Kawada. The initial lockup led to Kawada powering Savage to the ropes, and a clean break. The same thing repeated itself, but Savage didn't allow a second clean break, clamping on a headlock. He immediately got sent off the ropes, then shoulderblocked to the mat by Kawada, who just stood there as Savage quickly got up. Then both men stared the other down. This was more awesome in person than it probably is in print, because Kawada is such a badass. Savage was looking around like, 'Who the hell is this dude I have to face?' Savage went for a lockup but Kawada kicked him in the gut, sent him off the ropes, jumped up and kicked Savage square in the face, with Savage selling it like he'd been shot and Kawada soaking up the jeers. Kawada grabbed Savage by the back of the head and kicked his forehead with rapid-fire punt-like strikes before locking him into an abdominal stretch. A pained Savage finally was able to push Kawada's leg off enough to power him over with a hip toss, but Kawada was quickly back up and scored with a spinning leg lariat. He tried a senton bomb, but Savage rolled out of the way. Kawada got to his feet, but from behind Savage ran Kawada toward the ropes, vaulted over them and draped Kawada's throat across the top rope in a guillotine move, sending him crashing back to the mat. Savage quickly ran in and made the cover but got only one, before applying a chinlock. Kawada got to his feet and, using his low center of gravity, flipped Savage right over his head and forward to the mat, then kicked him hard square between the shoulder blades, drawing a gasp from the crowd as Savage rolled around in serious anguish. Kawada picked him up by the arm and proceeded to nail Savage with multiple chops, pulling him up by the arm over and over — I think it was seven chops in all — before going for a cover and getting two. Kawada pulled Savage up again and whipped him to the corner, then went for a running clothesline, but Savage got a boot up. As Kawada staggered, Savage got up on the second turnbuckle and came down with a double axehandle on the back of Kawada's head, sending him to the mat. A hook of the leg got a two. Savage pulled Kawada up and repeated his top-rope guillotine move with success, then rolled back in and started really picking up the pace with a nice series of moves — a neckbreaker for two, a back suplex for two, a reverse atomic drop and clothesline from behind for two. He slammed Kawada and went up top, looking to land a big flying axehandle on his rising opponent, but Kawada met Savage coming down with a massive front kick right to Savage's upper chest that floored him and shocked everyone. Savage did well to kick out at a close two, but soon found himself locked in the deadly stretch plum submission, getting tortured. He was in this sucker for two minutes and his arm dropped twice when checked, but he (barely) kept it up the third time and somehow fought to the ropes. Kawada pulled him up and set him up for a powerbomb, but Savage dropped to a knee. Kawada quickly scored with more of those punt-like kicks to the forehead, then got Savage up, but Savage, at the apex of the lift, kept rotating and countered with a facebuster. Instead of going for the cover, he went up top, and this time his flying double axe connected. Now he went for the pin, but only got two. Savage slammed Kawada and went looking for the big flying elbow, but Kawada got up and met Savage in the corner. They struggled for a bit, and Savage nearly lost his footing, before Kawada pulled off a second-turnbuckle superplex. He was slow to make the cover and got only two. Kawada wasted little time positioning Savage for his powerbomb, and this time he hit it perfectly, stacking Savage for the pin — but Savage kicked out at the last possible moment. Wow, I actually bought that one. Savage crawled to the corner, and was in a sitting position there when Kawada blasted him with a running knee that looked all kinds of brutal. He then hooked up Savage looking for a brainbuster, and got him up, but Savage slipped out the backdoor and rolled Kawada up, with Kawada kicking out at two. Kawada easily beat Savage up and sent him off the ropes, but Savage ducked a lariat and came back with a flying back elbow that dropped him. Both guys were slow to get up, and it was Savage scoring with left jabs and finally a huge overhead right elbow smash that bent Kawada forward, in prime position for Savage to hit a piledriver. Instead of going for the pin, he went to the top, raised his arms in the air and went for his flying elbow. He seemed up there forever, but Kawada didn't move and the elbow found its mark for the three to end another great match. Man, the first half of this card sucked pretty bad (except for Kobashi-DiBiase) but the last four matches were amazing. WINNER: Randy Savage, 20:03. ****

FINAL GROUP STANDINGS
GROUP A
Sting 3-0, 9 points
Great Muta 2-1, 6 points
Davey Boy Smith 1-2, 3 points
Jushin Liger 0-3, 0 points

GROUP B
Steve Williams 3-0, 9 points
Sid Justice 2-1, 6 points
Mitsuharu Misawa 1-2, 3 points
Rick Rude 0-3, 0 points

GROUP C
Jake Roberts 2-1, 6 points (head-to-head win over Steamboat)
Ricky Steamboat 2-1, 6 points
Brian Pillman 1-2, 3 points (head-to-head win over Funk)
Terry Funk 1-2, 3 points

GROUP D
Hulk Hogan 3-0, 9 points
Rick Steiner 2-1, 6 points
Big Boss Man 1-2, 3 points
Steve Austin 0-3, 0 points

GROUP E
Jumbo Tsuruta 3-0, 9 points
Ted DiBiase 2-1, 6 points
Arn Anderson 1-2, 3 points
Kenta Kobashi 0-3, 0 points

GROUP F
Vader 2-1, 6 points (beat Steiner in 11:13)
Scott Steiner 2-1, 6 points (beat Hart in 15:33)
Bret Hart 2-1, 6 points (beat Vader in 15:36)
Shawn Michaels 0-3, 0 points

GROUP G
Stan Hansen 3-0, 9 points
Randy Savage 2-1, 6 points
Toshiaki Kawada 1-2, 3 points
Mr. Perfect 0-3, 0 points

GROUP H
Barry Windham 3-0, 9 points
Ric Flair 2-1, 6 points
Ron Simmons 1-2, 3 points
Earthquake 0-3, 0 points

TOURNAMENT BRACKET
Sting vs. Sid Justice
Jake Roberts vs. Rick Steiner
Steve Williams vs. Great Muta
Hulk Hogan vs. Ricky Steamboat
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Scott Steiner
Stan Hansen vs. Ric Flair
Vader vs. Ted DiBiase
Barry Windham vs. Randy Savage

DAY 7 ORDER OF MATCHES
Jake Roberts vs. Rick Steiner
Vader vs. Ted DiBiase
Steve Williams vs. Great Muta
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Scott Steiner
Barry Windham vs. Randy Savage
Sting vs. Sid Justice
Stan Hansen vs. Ric Flair
Hulk Hogan vs. Ricky Steamboat

*******

I will probably take a couple weeks to recharge, as I struggled to work my way through Days 5 and 6. I think it will be a little easier not having to worry about advancement scenarios and the like anymore.