Welcome back to the Dark Match Dungeon, the internet’s wax museum of oddities, curiosities, and forgotten footage of today’s pro-wrestling stars. (Please refrain from touching any of the exhibits, the oils on your skin can damage some of our older attractions.) This week I decided to focus on old WCW matches to see who I could find, and lo and behold, I think I found something pretty interesting. Rhyno is currently in a bit of a quarrel with Baron Corbin over in NXT, but did you know that he had a few matches in WCW 20 years ago? The Man-Beast has been at it for a long time, but you’re about to witness some Year One Rhyno (as Terry Richards) in action against “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan.
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What To Look For:
– I know it’s basically a trope at this point, but what’s with Duggan’s “U-S-A” chant against domestic opponents? Detroit’s pretty rough, but it’s still in America.
– Is it just me, or does young Rhyno look a bit like Chad Gable? Can we do a storyline where Gable is looking for his real dad before he leaves NXT and becomes champion of everything?
– The guy in the crowd at the 2:18 mark who starts mimicking Duggan’s mounted punches. We’ve all been there, dude.
– What’s with the hip-shaking before the 3-point stance clothesline? Is this where Big E got his ideas?
– The entrance ramp doors on the WCW Saturday Night set, which I’m pretty sure were stolen from the Satellite of Love in the not-too-distant future.
Rhyno wrestled for both WCW and WWF in 1995, interestingly enough. Soon after those appearances, he dropped “Terry Richards” and started competing as Rhyno. However, it wasn’t until he joined ECW in 1999 and became Paul Heyman’s pet ballistic missile that he really started gaining steam. As of now, I believe he’s the oldest wrestler on the NXT roster… unless, of course, Hacksaw wants to come back and give this some closure.
