Former WWE Superstar explains why he no-sold moves in his match against Alex Wright
Former WWE Superstar Paul Roma has provided an insight into why he did not acknowledge some of Alex Wright’s offense during their infamous WCW match.
On February 19, 1995, Roma repeatedly no-sold Wright’s moves during his loss against the then-rookie at WCW SuperBrawl V. The controversial encounter led to the former Four Horsemen member’s release from the company.
Roma recalled on the “Cheap Heat Productions Podcast” how WCW’s higher-ups booked him to lose at short notice. As a result, he decided to take matters into his own hands:
“I did what I needed to do to keep what I figured to be strong,” Roma said. “It wasn’t personal against Alex Wright.” [15:04-15:13]
Wright recently told WSI’s James Romero that he would have been able to handle the situation if the match became a real fight. However, Roma disagrees:
“They asked him, ‘If he had his way with you, would you have stopped it? Could you have prevented it?’ and he said, ‘Yes.’ Well, again, not tit for tat, but that’s what it sounds like right now… that wasn’t gonna happen. Nobody’s gonna have their way with me. It’s just the way that it was. I was just that person.” [15:30-15:52]
Roma performed for WWE between 1984 and 1991. He went on to work for WCW, where he joined forces with Arn Anderson and Ric Flair in the Four Horsemen stable in 1993.
Paul Roma spent two years in WCW after leaving WWE
The finish saw Alex Wright roll-up Paul Roma for a pinfall after the latter’s tag team partner, Paul Orndorff, accidentally caused a distraction. Roma purposely kicked out before the three-count, but the referee still awarded the win to Wright.
🗓 ON THIS DAY 🗓
19th February 1995
Paul Roma goes into business for himself at Superbrawl V.
He refuses to sell properly for Alex Wright and even kicks out of the roll up finish on PPV.
He is informed the next day that his contract won't be renewed the following month. https://t.co/YgexxDzj5i
The former WWE Superstar also spoke about how the match ultimately led to his dismissal from WCW:
“We did our thing, he went along with the program,” Roma continued. “I kicked out on two and a half and obviously they got the three-count for the belt. I went into the locker room. People were telling me what a great match it was. Paul Orndorff said, ‘What a great match.’ I got home, I received a letter from FedEx. I read it. It basically said, ‘Finish out your bookings, we no longer need your service.’” [15:53-16:22]
Ric Flair, a WCW booker at the time, disliked the match and felt that Roma did not want to wrestle anymore. The 63-year-old told Flair over the phone that a lot of people enjoyed the match and he still wanted to wrestle. However, the decision to release Roma had already been made.
Do you think Paul Roma was right to no-sell some of Alex Wright’s moves? Let us know in the comments section.
Please credit the “Cheap Heat Productions Podcast” and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
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