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-Opening montage shows some of the highlights from all 35 editions of Clash of the Champions with Dusty Rhodes narrating as only he can.
-Dusty Rhodes talks about the concept of show being meant to compete with Wrestlemania. There was only way to main event the first ever Clash of the Champions…
-NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match: Ric Flair (w/J.J. Dillion) (champion) vs. Sting (Clash of the Champions – 27th March, 1988)
Match in Five Words or Less: Flair Makes Sting
Match Highlights: This is one of those matches that will live forever and be iconic for all of time. J.J. Dillion is at ringside… sort of. He’s high above in a cage. Ric Flair was only a five time world champion at this time. There are three judges at ringside to decide the match if it goes to a draw. Jason Hervey is also at ringside. Keep in this mind… this was before Eric Bischoff’s involvement. Because this is on TBS, there is a 45 minute time limit. Sting immediately kips up and shows he’s ready. Flair goes back to the arm, but Sting powers out. Flair goes to the ropes and claims a hair pull. Why? Cause he’s a heel. Sting dominates a test of strength. Into the corner for a chop. Nope. Hip toss and a dropkick by Sting. Basic exchange next. Right hand and a chop along the ropes. Shoulder tackle. Sting leapfrogs and then hits a press slam. Headscissors out of the corner. Another hip toss and a headlock takeover for a near three count. Shoulder block by Sting. Headlock of his own. Shoulder block. Hip toss by Sting off a reversal and to the hold. Gotta love the two counts off a headlock. Flair gets a nearfall using the tights. Chop in the corner by Flair. Sting straddles him but decides to punch him. Counter with a punch. Another punch. Beel. Awkward dropkick in the corner. Flair flop and both men are down. Flair tosses Sting out, but Sting comes right back in. No hesitation in the corner this time as he punches him. Knee into the midsection. Sting continues using the headlock. Flair is desperate and continues going for the tights. Tommy Young notices it and ends that bit of cheating. Forearm to the side of the midsection by Flair. Chop. Punch. Another chop. Sting turns it into an exchange. Pair of kicks. Another press slam. Bearhug. Flair tries reaching for the ropes, but Sting drives him down and gets a nearfall. Sting pounds his chest but misses an elbow drop. He no sells. Charge and he nails his shoulder on the turnbuckle. Flair begs off as Sting rubs his arm. One punch but Flair gets an inverted atomic drop. Flair sends Sting hard into the barricade. Flair goes back to the ring as Sting remains outside. Chops in the corner. Whip to the other outside and Sting collapses face first. Another whip and a punt. Flair is focusing on Sting’s back. Back-to-back knee drops and a back rake. Flair rakes the challenger’s eyes across the ropes. Back to the outsides goes Sting. Champion goes for a chair but Young pulls it away. Another shot to the midsection and Sting sent to the spot on the rail. Strikes in the corner. Sting gets all fired up. Right hands send Flair to the floor. Choking. Sting clothesline the ring post. Of course, the champion takes advantage. Flair pulls him by the hair, but Sting punches him to the corner. Knee and a series of punches. Beel and a clothesline. Sting suplexes Flair off the apron and into the ring. Scorpion Deathlock! Flair crawls under the ropes. Choking in the corner. Chop no sold. He begs off. Sting goes for the clothesline and ends up on the outside. Flair guillotines Sting on the top rope. Sting no sells and hits a cross body. 1-2-NO! Kneebreaker from Flair. Kick to the back of the knee by Flair. Another kneebreaker sends Sting to the outside. Knee to the midsection and a kick. Back suplex. Figure four leglock… which could have meant the end. Flair uses the bottom rope liberally. Sting pulls Flair to the middle of the ring in order to reverse the hold. Flair gets the ropes and the hold is broken. Kick to the knee and he heads outside. Flair tries to suplex Sting. Sting counters and brings him back in the ring with a vertical suplex. I’d like to point out the crowd is nuclear for all of this. Running splash is met with knees. Sting hooks an abdominal stretch. Flair meekly counters out. Elbow drop misses. Hard chop. Sting hits him in the gut. Slam off the top. Cover and two. To the post where Sting crotches him. Young helps the champion out of the corner. Kick from Sting. Figure four leglock of his own. Flair grabs the rope as Sting shouts words at Dillion. Five punches and a hip toss. Right hands. Kick to the leg. He sits down hard on the leg. Young shoves back on the champion. Flair flips over and goes to the outside because his leg is too injured to walk across. Head first into the rail. Flair rammed into the apron. Then into the ring post. Flair flops nearly into the crowd. Sunset flip. Sting doesn’t go down and delivers right hands. Back rake. Five punches and an atomic drop. Right hand by Sting. 1-2-Flair gets his foot on the ropes. Another whip. Stinger Splash misses and he crumples on the floor. Pair of chops. Off the ropes with a shoulder block by Sting. Sleeper from the champion. Sting sends him into the buckle. Sting sent to the outside. Shoulder block. Sunset flip. Flair grabs the ropes. Young sends him off. Sunset flip gets two. Flair sent up and over. Off the top with a cross body. Sting reverses. 1-2-NO! Chop and kick no sold. Right hands from Sting. Series of kicks. Five punches. Whip and a Stinger Splash. Scorpion deathlock. Flair does not give up in the time remaining, and we go to the judges. One judge, the hot blonde female, gives it to Flair. Another gives it to Sting. The third one calls it a draw. So we have a draw.
Match Analysis: Maybe this wasn’t the four star classic it should have been, but this match is iconic for a reason. Here you have two guys playing their roles outstandingly. Flair was the dastardly heel veteran champion who would not die. The challenger no sold a lot of offense, but it made sense within the context of the match. Sting was able to withstand what Flair did and stayed with him. His offense was a little repetitive at times, but there was definitely potential. Sting would get a heck of a lot better and become a WCW stalwart. The crowd was also way into things and made the match all that much better. And Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone were outstanding. Very good match that makes the DVD worth checking out all by itself.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Draw/45:00/***1/2
-NWA World Tag Team Championship Match Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard (w/J.J. Dillion)(champions) vs. Lex Luger & Barry Windham (Clash of the Champions – 27th March, 1988)
Match in Five Words or Less: Going Bonkers
Match Highlights: Luger was just coming off a run with the Four Horsemen and thought forming a super team with another young competitor would be just the trick. Tully and Arn were the dastardly veteran tag team ready to put the young whippersnappers in their place. Windham and Luger were called “The Twin Towers” and ironically their team was almost as short-lived as the Houston Rockets. In fact, to further expand this metaphor, you could almost make a case that Windham and Ralph Simpson had a very similar career track. Look it up. Luger quickly takes control and clotheslines both Horsemen. Powerslam on Blanchard. He calls for the Torture Rack and applies it. Anderson kicks Luger in the knee. Anderson pounces on the left knee. Horsemen focus on it. Luger breaks free and enters Windham. He cleans house and hits a lariat on Blanchard. Powerslam gets 2.9. Sleeper. He goes all the way to the outside. Tommy Young orders Windham in the ring. Anderson helps his partner. Blanchard guillotines him. To the top but Windham slams him down. Right hand to Anderson. Abdominal stretch. Dillion goes on the apron. Anderson hits a hard left hand and DDTs Windham. Spinebuster gets a nearfall. Anderson locks knuckles with Windham and presses his shoulders down. Anderson comes down with knees but eats Windham’s in the gut. Blanchard hits an elbow strike. Right hands. Cross body by Windham gets two. They collide head to head. Cover for two but Windham bridges out and hits a gutwrench suplex. Anderson with left hands. To the arm and he twists it. Windham kicks Anderson away. Knee drop misses. Punch from Anderson. Forearm by Windham. Blanchard hits a slingshot suplex. 1-2-NOOOOOO! Windha, with a punch. Tag to Luger just in time. Back elbows for everyone. Clothesline on Anderson. Short clothesline. Noggin knocker. Anderson gets a knee in. Shoulder tackle by Luger. Knee in the back by Blanchard. Into the corner goes Anderson. Powerslam by Luger. Windham nails Blanchard. Anderson gets tossed into a chair being held by Dillion. Luger covers, gets three, and the place goes BANANAS! I mean, they are standing and stomping their feet.
The celebration would not last as Windham turned on Luger in the rematch and joined the Horsemen. He, along with Blanchard, Anderson, and Flair, comprised the greatest version of the group in history as all four men would hold titles at the same time for much of 1988.
Match Analysis: This is one of the best under ten minute matches in the history of wrestling. These two teams set a breakneck pace early and never let up. I never had a chance to breath, and yet they were still able to have everything make sense and keep the crowd into things without confusing them. Love this match dearly and I doubt you’ll ever see type of tag match in WWE again. Plus, the crowd truly cared about who won or lost.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: NEW NWA Tag Team Champions-Lex Luger and Barry Windham/9:45/****1/2
-Dusty Rhodes talks about the war between WWE and WCW. However, instead of waiting a year for Clash of the Champions II, they waited only three months.
-NWA World Tag Team Championship Match Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard (w/J.J. Dillion)(champions) vs. Sting & Dusty Rhodes (Clash of the Champions II – 8th June, 1988)
Match in Five Words or Less: Not This Time
Match Highlights: Nothing notable as far as backstory except to mention Teddy Long is the referee. Gotta love Dillion in a tuxedo too. Sting begins with Anderson. Anderson tries working the arm but exits quickly after two kip ups from Sting. Anderson gets a cheap punch and tosses Sting on the floor. He accidentally clotheslines the post. Sting wraps his arm around the post. Into the ring and he focuses on the arm. Blanchard tags in and gets armdragged. Knee to the midsection. Sting hip tosses him and hits a beautiful headscissors. He could really get up there. Rhodes with a series of jabs. Double fists and an elbow on Anderson. Blanchard gets a quick boot up. Rhodes catches him and takes Blanchard into the corner. Out with an elbow. He punches him right in the nose. Figure four leglock. Dillion goes on the apron, and Anderson helps break the hold. Heat segment on Rhodes. Flying lariat and Rhodes follows up with a boot. Tag to Sting. Right hands for everyone. Blanchard sent in the corner. Press slam. Into the corner again. Stinger Splash. Anderson interrupts a potential scorpion deathlock. Anderson drops Sting neck first across the rail. Advantage maintained by the Horsemen with some nice teases from Sting. DDT on the concrete. Dillion tosses Sting back inside. Blanchard covers but Sting kicks out at one. That was odd. Beating continues. Boots from Sting. Backslide but Blanchard tags. Slingshot on Blanchard. Rhdoes tags and it’s elbows for everyone. DDT on Anderson. Back elbow off the ropes. Elbow drop out of the corner. Blanchard breaks the count. All four men brawl. Teddy Long gets tossed around, and he has no choice but to toss the match out.
Barry Windham attacks from behind and applies a claw on Rhodes. Ric Flair joins in on the fun. This was off the heels of the Horsemen making Lex Luger bleed earlier in the night.
Match Analysis: Unlike the previous clash, this was not competing with Wrestlemania. Therefore, I guess the NWA felt less of a need to make this a big show. This was a perfectly acceptable tag match with the usual television screwy finish. Good action throughout and this had a similar vibe as the previous match on the DVD.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: No-contest/10:58/***1/4
-Russian Chain Match Ricky Morton vs. Ivan Koloff (Clash of the Champions III – 7th September, 1988)
Match in Five Words or Less: Why, Part I?
Match Highlights: This is the old “touch all four corners” rules version of this match. Koloff uses the chain on Morton. Paul Jones has been calling Koloff a weak link in the team of Russians. Morton uses the chain on Koloff’s lower region. Koloff drags Morton and touches two corners before being broken up. Morton tossed to the floor. Tug of war with the chain. Morto wins the leverage battle. Shot to the midsection. Double chops. Koloff kicks him away. Koloff chokes him with a chain. Morton hits Koloff with the chain but has trouble dragging Koloff around the ring. Double axehandle with the chain. Morton pulls Koloff off the top rope. Koloff hits Morton in the throat. Choking. Morton out of a choke with a right hand. Shot to the hip. Koloff rips the eyes. Snapmare and he whips Morton with the chain. Koloff touches three corners, but Morton holds onto his leg and takes him down by the ankles. Choking by Morton. Whips to the side. He knocks Koloff down. Kick by Koloff. Knee drop. Morton hits Koloff coming down. Both men have to recover. Morton touches three corners rather easily. Koloff battles. Morton kicks him. Koloff holds onto the bottom rope. Koloff ties his legs up and even grabs the object Jones is holding. Morton uses all of his strength to get the fourth corner and gets the victory.
Some masked guy attacks Morton as Koloff and Jones argue. Koloff decks his now former manager. Another assassin attacks. I believe this Koloff face turn made zero dollars for the NWA. The beating goes on for quite some time until they just cut away.
Match Analysis: The match was basically nothing special as Koloff was way past his prime, and Morton always did better in tag team matches. At least the finish wasn’t the babyface hitting three of the four corners behind the heel before sneaking around to get the fourth. I dug the creative finish, and if this type of match were to be brought back, this is the type of finish I’d want to see.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Ricky Morton/9:52/**1/2
-“I Quit” Match-NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Nature Boy’ Ric Flair (NWA World heavyweight champion) vs. Terry Funk (w/Gary Hart)(Clash of the Champions IX – 15th November, 1989)
Match in Five Words or Less: Five Letters. Two Words.
Match Highlights: Funk broke the champion’s neck after Flair defeated Ricky Steamboat to end their incredible series of matches. Essentially, Flair had five of the best matches in the history of pro wrestling in one calendar year. This was number five in that series. Oh, and Gordon Solie is doing this match with Jim Ross. That’s an extra star by itself. Funk misses a chop. Flair chops Funk over the top rope. Funk almost goes over the rail and takes a swing at a fan. Trio of chops in the corner. Whip and one more chop. To the floor for more strikes. Flair heads back in the ring as Funk stays away. Shoulder tackle by Funk. Flair takes him down by the leg and goes to work. Funk nails him in the face. He works over Flair while both men are on the apron. Chop on Flair. Headbutt puts the champion down on the mat. Clubbering blow to the back. Chop by Flair. Left hand by Funk. Elbow strike to the head and Flair tossed outside. More punches from Funk as Flair is sprawled on the rail. Funk begins using the microphone. Flair punches Funk. Funks rolls inside. Punches in the corner as he calls for the microphone. Funk continues asking Flair if he wants to give. Chop in response. Neckbreaker and the crowd goes silent because they know Flair has a bad neck. Choke by Flair. Series of chops and Funk rolls out. Funk’s head rammed into the rail. Chops and punches. Into the rail. Funk is spasming. Gary Hart gets chased away. Flair grabs the microphone and slaps Funk around. Hart distracts Flair long enough for Funk to nail him from behind with a clubbering blow. Neckbreaker. Funk asks Flair if he wants to quit before he hits him. Flair says no. Piledriver by Funk. Funk drives Flair’s head into the mat multiple times. To the outside goes the champion. Funk piledrives Flair on the concrete. Microphone shot. Funk slams Flair onto a table. He moves the table. Shot to the midsection. Pair of chops and punches. Funk sent head first into the table. Flair jumps on his back and nails him. Funk sent flying across the table. Flair moves Hart out of the way. Flair crotches Funk on the rail. Knee drop but Funk exits. Inverted atomic drop. Flair moves Funk’s knee towards the rope and gets a pop. Crowd knows what’s coming. Stiff strikes and a stomp of the leg. Funk tries limping away. Flair jumps on his back again. Kneebreaker. Vertical suplex back into the ring. Figure four attempt but Funk pokes the champion in the eye. Flair suplex Funk on the ring apron. Funk’s knee sent into the apron. Back and forth they go. Figure four leglock. Funk pulls Tommy Young over but won’t give…. Until he can no longer stand the pain. He says it.
Gary Hart yells at Funk after the match. Funk said he would shake the champion’s hand before the match, and indeed he does. Hart nails Funk. Flair goes after Hart. Great Muta and his manager come down for a beatdown. Here comes Sting to make the save. Splash on the manager. Flair suplexes Muta. We get duel submissions. Lex Luger grabs a chair and nails Sting in the back. Flair goes after Luger. Muta nails Flair with a chair. Double team on Flair. Heels stand tall. Luger also destroys a trophy that Flair had won earlier.
Match Analysis: You could feel the intensity between Flair and Funk for the entirety of this match. What a classic brawl between two of the greatest of all time. The psychology was borderline perfect considering the body parts each man attacked. THIS is how you blow off a feud.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Ric Flair/18:33/*****
-Mil Mascaras vs. Cactus Jack Manson (Clash of the Champions X – 6th February, 1990)
Match in Five Words or Less: Not A Career Highlight
Match Highlights: Mick Foley wrote about the story behind this match. Let’s just say he’s not a fan of it. Manson looks very svelte and almost in shape. Hip toss by Mascaras. Drop toehold and a bow and arrow submission. He rolls Manson around. Applied headscissors by Mascaras. Flying headbutt and a dropkick. Manson chases the ring announcer and takes a random bump off a chair. Oy vey. Full nelson by Mascaras. Elbow and a right hand by Foley. Mascaras with right hands of his own. Boston crab and Manson reaches the ropes. Into the corner for a kick and right hand to the back. Mascaras sent head first into the turnbuckle. Manson sends Mascaras to the floor. Backbreaker. Manson goes for the elbow. Mascaras dropkicks Manson, and Manson’s head THUDS the concrete. Jesus H. Christ. Suplex and Masacaras doesn’t protect him at all. Cross body ends the match.
Match Analysis: What a bloody awful match. Mascaras ate poor Mick Foley up and let him get nothing. I only give this a star because Manson at least tried.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Mil Mascaras/5:00/*
-NWA United States Tag Team Championship Match: Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane w/Jim Cornette)(champions) vs. Rock & Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) (Clash of the Champions XI – 13th June, 1990)
Match in Five Words or Less: Not Their Best
Match Highlights: These two teams had a million matches across the country, and most of them were at least four stars or more. Eaton and Gibson start. Armdrag out of the corner by Gibson. Shoulder tackle by Eaton. Hip toss by Gibson. Headscissors and he maintains it as a hold. Eaton takes him to the corner. Lane enters and Gibson steps away. Shoulder tackle by Gibson. Savant kicks by Lane. Gibson hits an enziguri. Morton holds Lane as Gibson slaps him. Stand-off. Shoulder tackle by Morton. Hip toss. Lane with a straight punch in the corner. Hard whip but Lane misses. Back drop by Morton. Kick and right hand to the midsection. Tag to Eaton. Armdrag by Morton. Eaton uses the hair to take him to the ropes. Pair of strikes. Morton hits a dropkick. Rana. Cornette slows his men down. Lane tagged. Armdrag by Morton again. Gibson goes to the arm. Lane sends him off the rope. Atomic drop by Gibson. Into Eaton as their heads bang together. Gibson gets a front facelock. Quick roll-up and two by Moron. Armdrag. Eaton in with a poke to the eye. Morton placed on the top rope. Hard punches by Eaton. Morton counters out of a suplex. O’Connor roll. Lane sends Morton into the buckle. Lane nails Gibson from behind and manage a double back drop. Double roll-ups but they only get two. Morton dropkicks Lane. Cornette jumps on the apron and gathers his team. Hip toss by Morton. Cornette distracts the official. Eaton brings Morton down by the hair. Eaton hits a standing vertical suplex. Snapmare by Lane. Perfect neckbreaker as Eaton hits an elbow drop. Hard whip. Morton ducks a blind charge. Gibson in with punches for everyone. Shot to the midsection on Lane. Knee lift. Eaton knocked down. Gibson out of the corner with a clothesline. Eaton breaks the count. Clothesline sends both men over. Gibson grabs Lane’s leg. Eaton sent crashing into the rail. Robert sent into his own partner. Gibson grabs a sleeper hold. Eaton nails Gibson from behind. Lane covers for a nearfall. All four men are in the ring. Double dropkick by the Express. Lane grabs the referee to break the count. The Midnight Express are disqualified. Rock ‘n’ Roll Express win the match but not the titles.
Match Analysis: Give this a few minutes more and a better ending… you’ve got another classic. As it turns out, this was just a really good tag team match with no formula and lots of action. Good stuff all around here.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Rock ‘n’ Roll Express/12:08/***1/4
-NWA United States Championship Match: Lex Luger (champion) vs. Ric Flair (Clash of the Champions XII – 5th September, 1990)
Match in Five Words or Less: Role Reversal
Match Highlights: A very odd match here as this is not a world title match and Flair is the challenger. It’s incredible to think that in this one United States title reign, Luger completed both a heel and face turn. Immediate shoulder tackle off the ropes by Luger. Kicks from Flair Into the corner for a chop. Luger no sells. Kick. Whip reversed by the champion and he press slams Flair down. Knee to the midsection and clubbering blow by Flair. Whip and a chop. Luger shows off his muscles. Another press slam. Clothesline over the top rope. Flair limps around. Luger hits a clothesline. Shot to the gut and a poke to the eyes. Guillotine on the top rope. Luger isn’t phased. He poses. A third press slam. Running elbow drop misses badly. Pair of chops in the corner. Whip but Luger comes out with a clothesline. Flair claims injury. Nick Patrick keeps Luger away. Flair hits a sucker forearm and tosses him through the middle rope. Luger whipped into the rail. Another whip. Patrick and Flair shove it out. Straight right hand sends Luger down to the floor. Some words for the brass and another chop. Luger sent outside. Flair has a violence party on the floor. Off the ropes and a kick to the leg. He rams Luger’s knee into the side of the ring. Another kick to the leg. Into the corner for more work on the knee. Back and forth and Luger takes control with punches. Thumb to the eye by the challenger. Hip toss blocked. Luger gets a backslide. 1-2-NO! Chop by Flair goes nowhere. Punches in the corner. Flair takes him out. Clothesline. Cover despite the bad knee. 1-2-NO! Snapmare. Flair heads to the top, and we all know how well that goes. Luger slams him down. Whip to the corner. Clothesline by Luger. Press slam. Powerslam. Bearhug by Luger. Superplex. Cover but Flair gets his foot on the rope. Right hands in the corner by the champion. Patrick hooks the arm. Flair gets an eye poke. Flair cross body and they awkwardly fall to the floor. Flair sends Luger into the rail. Luger comes in the ring. Stan Hansen beats up the champion to set up a match at Halloween Havoc.
Match Analysis: These two had a million matches of similar quality. Nothing wrong with it but you could probably find a ton of better matches. Good while it lasted except for the finish.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL United States Champion-Lex Luger/15:28/***1/4
-The Young Pistols (Tracy Smothers and Scott Armstrong) & Z-Man vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) (United States Tag Team Champion) and Badstreet (w/Diamond Dallas Page and Big Daddy Dink) (Clash of the Champions XV – 12th June, 1991)
Match in Five Words or Less: That Was Short
Match Highlights: Smothers and Armstrong had one career highlight as a team, a spectacular ****1/2 classic at Great American Bash 1990 against the Midnight Express. Everything else? Meh. Garvin and Z-Men begin. Faces take control early. Pistols hit cross bodies on the Freebirds to clear the ring. Hayes and Smothers enter the ring legally. Dropkick and pair of right hands. Armstrong press slams Garvin. Z-Men hits springboard clotheslines on both men. Freebirds isolate Smothers in their corner. Badstreet clears the apron. Heels clear the ring. Faces quickly come back in and it’s sort of a battle royal. Trio of sunset flips… and they all get three?
Match Analysis: Not much to this match as this was quite the brisk affair. Not sure why this had to be included on the DVD except to get Michael Hayes on here. This was decent while it lasted but this isn’t anything worth writing about.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Young Pistols and Z-Man/4:49/*1/2
-15-Man Battle Royal (El Gigante, Z-Man, Thomas Rich, Bobby Eaton,Ranger Ross, Tracy Smothers, Oz, P.N. News,Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker, Steve Austin, Dustin Rhodes, Terrence Taylor, Big Josh, Barry Windham, and One Man Gang) (Clash of the Champions XVI – 5th September, 1991)
Match in Five Words or Less: Andre Wanna-be
Match Highlights: This is actually the opener of this particular Clash, and many of these guys have matches later in the night. A bunch of guys get tossed. El Gigante wins. Not rating this.
Match Analysis: I’m sure WCW was trying to get Gigante over as the next Andre the Giant, but it clearly wasn’t ever going to work. Gigante had none of the charisma nor any of the charm of Andre. I’m sure he was a wonderful guy, but WCW had no business trying to turn him into a big wrestling star.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: El Gigante/9:33/N/R/
-WCW United States Championship Match: Sting (champion) vs. Rick Rude (w/Paul E. Dangerously (Clash of the Champions XVII – 19th November, 1991)
Match in Five Words or Less: Sting In Danger
Match Highlights: Hell yes. I’ve seen this angle and match in clipped form but really want to see the whole thing. This alone will make disk two worth it. So Paul E. Dangerously was fired from being a WCW announcer but he still had his manager’s license. Rick Rude was a giant WWF star who was about to make an even bigger splash in WCW. Dangerously needed to make a big splash, so he became Rude’s manager and would go onto form The Dangerous Alliance. Not necessarily the Four Horsemen, it was sort of a transitional group from the Horsemen to the nWo. The Alliance didn’t have nearly the cohesiveness of the Horsemen, but there was a definite sense that these guys wanted to take over WCW in a similar way as the New World Order. Sting got his knee attacked earlier in the evening, and there was a distinct possibility he wouldn’t make it to the ring. Dangerously rants and raves as an ambulance shows up. Sting limps to the ring. The fight starts on the entrance as Sting press slams Rude. He limps around for a bit before kicking Rude to the floor. Rude rakes the eyes. Sting catches Rude coming off the top with a right hand. Back drop. Rude sent head first into the buckle twice. Big right hand. Clothesline sends Rude over the top rope again. Rude comes back and rams Sting’s knee into the post two times. Rude clotheslines Sting in the back off the top rope. Sting blocks the Rude Awakening finish. Clothesline misses. Rude to the eyes and a series of right hands. Sting fires back. Big right hand. Rude collapses but nails Sting in the knee on the way down.Dangerously nails Sting in the back of the head with his giant cell phone. Rude covers. 1-2-NO! Sting hits a DDT. Dangerously climbs on the apron. Rude clips Sting. He cradles him and holds the tights for three to win the match and the championship.
Match Analysis: Look, this wasn’t the greatest match of all time, but Rude was established as an immediate threat here. Great dastardly heel tactics from Rude and Dangerously. The crowd almost went into hushed silence when Sting lost, and that’s really the reaction I think they were going for there. Very good stuff from WCW in what was a not so good era for them.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: NEW United States Champion-Rick Rude/4:50/**
-2 out of 3 Falls Match- WCW World Tag Team Championship: The Hollywood Blonds (Steve Austin and Brian Pillman vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (Clash of the Champions XXIII – 17th June, 1993)
Match in Five Words or Less: Should Have Been Bigger
Match Highlights: This was Flair’s first match in WCW in two years. The Blonds were making old jokes about the Horsemen… in 1993! Anderson sends Pillman down by the hair. Pillman with a knee and slap in the face. Anderson comes out with left hands. To the eyes and another chop from Pillman. Anderson drops Pillman across the top rope and wants Austin. Austin mocks Anderson’s midsection. Austin gets a quick elbow. “We want Flair” chants, and hey, WCW can actually deliver this time around. Quick poke to the eyes. Chop. Right hand. Another chip. Whip across and a back drop. Flair works over Pillman as well. Fish hook on Austin. Another chop and right hand. Anderson crotches Austin on the post as Flair whips Pillman and back elbows him. Austin is sent outside. Takedown by Austin. Right hands. Flair with a chop. Anderson with a series of stomps. He works over the left arm. Hammerlock slam. Flair snapmares him over and hits a knee drop. Pillman taken off the apron. Anderson hits a knee in the midsection. Back to the arm. Pillman uses a towel to choke Anderson so Austin can take advantage. Choking. Pillman uses the towel once again. Pillman hits a chinbreaker. Rake of the eyes and biting. Austin with a kick to the gut and an elbow to the back of the neck. Kick from Anderson. Headbutt. Austin with a kick. Anderson sent into the turnbuckle head first. Continued double team from the Blonds. Austin hits a vertical suplex. Clubbering blows and a headbutt from Anderson. Austin misses a charge and gets hit with a DDT. Flair tags and hits a right hand off the top. Chops on Pillman. Whip and an inverted atomic drop. Austin elbowed out. Anderson is on the floor with a bad knee. Punches in the corner on Pillman. Austin hits him from behind. Flair ducks and hits a flying forearm on Pillman. This is good enough to get the Horsemen the first fall.
Flair and Pillman are ready to start the second fall. Anderson is still favoring his knee. Pillman with chops. Flair comes back with a series of his own. Back and forth they go. Flair flop but he hits a chop on both men. Flair sent crashing down to the floor. Austin hits a vertical suplex. Pillman lambasts Flair with chops on the outside. Flair dropped neck first on the guard rail. Heat segment on Flair continues. Chops from Austin. He places Flair on the top rope. Superplex. Flair whipped hard into the corner. Shoulder blocks by Austin. Flair chokes his way out of the corner. Austin goes to the eyes. Stomps in the corner. Kick by Flair and a chop. Elbow to the back of the neck by Austin. Pillman hits a series of chops. Flair with some of his own. Double clothesline and both men are down. Anderson comes in and hits a quick back drop. Shoulder block. Pillman knocked down. Spinebuster on Austin. Pillman saves his partner. Patrick takes Flair out of the ring. Pillman clips Anderson’s knee. Austin covers but only gets two. Heat segment as they focus on Anderson’s knee. Hot tag to Flair. He goes crazy on everyone. Pillman tossed over the top rope but Patrick doesn’t see it. Back suplex. Figure four leglock but here comes Barry Windham. He works Flair over. We have a disqualification. Even though they won two fall, Flair and Anderson cannot win the title because they won the second fall on a DQ.
Match Analysis: Because this Clash of the Champions did not do so well in the ratings, this feud never got explored again. Austin and Pillman would be split up shortly after this match. Flair and Anderson would middle around until the end of 1993. The feud did sort of go on with Paul Roma replacing Ric Flair, but a lot of people stopped caring by that point. I can only imagine what these two teams could have done given more time. Nonetheless, this was one of the better matches in the history of the Clash as both teams brought and delivered an underrated classic.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Ric Flair and Arn Anderson/22:30/****1/4
-WCW United States Championship: Steve Austin (w/ Rob Parker)(champion) vs. Brian Pillman (Clash of the Champions XXV – 10th November, 1993)
Match in Five Words or Less: Hollywood Blonds Explode!
Match Highlights: Pillman attacks the champion as soon as he comes in the ring. Parker creates enough of a distraction so Austin can take control. Pillman sends Austin into the rail hard. These two teams were a great tag team in 1993 so it makes perfect sense that they would be broken up quickly. Pillman continues working Austin over. Headscissors. To the outside where Austin goes for a piledriver. Pillman hits a back drop. Splash met with double boots. Austin tosses Pillman hard into the rail. Leaping elbow to the back. Pillman hits a chop. Boot from Austin. Snapmare and a knee drop. Pillman hits a springboard cross body. Austin hits a modified stun gun for two. Leaping knee drop. Pillman poke the eyes and chops Austin. Austin chokes the challenger. Snapmare. Boston crab. Austin grabs on the middle rope and shifts it to a single leg crab. Side elbow by Pillman. Right hand. Elbow exchange. Right hands to the corner. Pillman hits a springboard back elbow. Pillman crotches Austin on the top rope. Chops by Pillman. Gordbuster by Austin. Pillman catches Austin with a dropkick. 1-2-NO! Shot to the back by Austin. Pillman hits a sloppy rana and gets two. Chop by Pillman. Austin sent into the corner. Shoulder block by Pillman. Austin catches the challenger in a powerslam. Charge misses. DDT by Pillman hits. Crucifix pin but Austin samoan drops him. Knee drop misses. Cradle for a long two count. Stun gun. Parker grabs Pillman’s legs. Austin covers a fallen Pillman and gets the victory.
Match Analysis: Incredibly, this was one of the few major singles matches these two ever had despite a nasty break-up. Flashes of brilliance were certainly shown, but both of these were capable of delivering so much more. Good match. Needed more. These last couple matches really show why WCW did so poorly in 1993, not because of the match quality but the missed opportunities and bad finishes.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL United States Champion-Steve Austin/7:44/***1/4
-WCW Television Title Match: Lord Steven Regal (champion) vs. Dustin Rhodes (Clash of the Champions XXVI – 27th January, 1994)
Match in Five Words or Less: Time Limit Regal
Match Highlights: William Regal was the television champion quite often during the middle of the 1990s. Dustin Rhodes spent most of 1993 wrestling for the United States title, so this was a bit of a step down for him. This has a 15 minute time limit, and they wrestle the match like it’s going to a time limit. It’s so blatantly obvious the whole time. Rhodes with an early flurry… and he grabs a hold. Hard hip toss and Regal sells the arm. More stalling. Regal takes control on the mat. Regal ends up on the outside again. Rhodes works a headlock. More moves with “lock” at the end. Regal grabs a wrist submission. I’d fall asleep during this enthralling action if not for Gordon Solie and Bobby Heenan on commentary. Regal grabs a chinlock. Rhodes punches away. Regal runs away to milk the time some more. Lots of punching from Rhodes. Flying lariat gets two. Regal runs around for a bit. Rhodes counters a suplex and hits a dropkick. Regal hooks the tights, but Patrick doesn’t count. Regal runs around a bit. Uppercuts. Back drop by Rhodes. Cross body back in the ring. Regal runs away AGAIN! Right hand on Regal. He sends Regal head-to-head with his manager. Right hand off the top rope. Bulldog. Bell rings. Time limit.
Match Analysis: The very definition of a two star match. It wasn’t so bad, but man was this not fun to watch. The crowd couldn’t get into any of this. They did this same sort of match with Regal and a number of opponents. They were very similar in quality. Maybe this one was a little worse considering Dustin Rhodes wasn’t at his best in 1994. I have no earthly idea why this was on the DVD. This was the best of nothing.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Time Limit/15:00/**
–Elimination Tag Team Match: Sting & Ric Flair vs. Rick Rude & Vader (w/Harley Race)(Clash of the Champions XXVI – 27th January, 1994)
Match in Five Words or Less: Two Feuds. One Match
Match Highlights: Sting and Rude start. Feeling out process as each man has a sexy party. This is an elimination tag match, which is pretty random if you ask me. Sting works the arm. Rude with forearms and knees to the midsection. Elbow to the back of the neck. Vader squishes Sting down. Press slam sends Sting throat first into the top rope. Body shots. Hard slam. Sunset flip off the top rope. Sting sits down on a sunset flip. Rude comes in and helps his partner. Mask comes off. Vader with more body shots. Sting comes back with right hands of his own. Vader sends him down. German suplex by Sting…I’m not kidding. Flair tags in and goes to work. Violence party in the corner. Big chop. Straight right hand. Thumb to the eye and another series of right hands. Chop and tag to Sting. After a commercial, Rude has Sting in a bearhug. Sting gets out of the hold and drops Rude down. Flair tags and hits a double axehandle. Inverted atomic drop and chop. Rude gets a boot? Vader stomps Flair. Whip and running splash. Bodyslam. Vader Bomb HITS! No cover as his finisher in WCW is the powerbomb. Flair placed on the top rope. Superplex. Flair placed on the top rope. Series of jabs. From the top and another superplex. Wow. Vader sets Flair up and goes to the top. Sting finally moves Flair himself. Rude clotheslines him from behind. DDT by Rude and he kicks Flair out. Vader threatens to use a chair but Nick Bockwinkel blocks him. Amidst the chaos, the referee counts Vader and Flair out of the match. Sting clotheslines Rude over the top. Flair is being helped out of the ring. Sting tosses Rude back in the ring. Flying clothesline off the top. Back drop. Inverted atomic drop but Sting lands on his head. Rude goes up top. Right hand hits. Clothesline by Rude. Fist drop. Modified chinlock. Sting lifts him up and drops him in an electric chair. Running splash met with knees. Double clothesline and both men are down. Rude Awakening blocked as Sting holds onto the ropes. Rude Awakening but Rude puts his foot on the ropes. Inverted atomic drop. Charge misses. Sting takes a knee into the midsection. Tombstone piledriver reversed. Sting climbs up top and hits a big splash. Sting wins.
Match Analysis: This felt like a match to set up future events, which is okay since a much bigger PPV was coming forth down the line. You can really see some of the things that made Vader such a great wrestler during this time period. He was a beast of a man who could fly off the top rope. For him to do a sunset flip is amazing to me, whether wrestling is worked or not. Enjoyable contest with four pros.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Sting/22:52/***
-Championship Unification Match Sting (WCW International Champion) vs. Ric Flair (WCW World Heavyweight Champion) (Clash of the Champions XXVII – 23rd June, 1994)
Match in Five Words or Less: Doesn’t Matter
Match Highlights: Winner of this match has the privilege of jobbing out to Hulk Hogan in his first ever WCW match a month later. Sherri is in Sting’s corner and apparently going to manage him. Six years ago, they met at the first Clash. Now they’re unifying two belts… even though Sting’s belt doesn’t amount to a hill of beans. Sting shows off his power early. Basic mat work. Sting shoves Flair down. Shoulder tackle by Flair. Sting press slams him. A second one and Flair heads outside. He flops in front of Sherri. Poke to the eyes. Chop no sold. Hip toss by Sting. Clotheslines. Flair flops over the top rope. Knee to the midsection by Flair back in the ring. Right hand to the face. Into the corner for another right hand. Chop. Sting glares at him. Sting poses, hip tosses him, and hits a dropkick. Another dropkick misses. Figure four leglock countered into a small package. Flair shoves Randy Anderson. He takes a walk on the outside. Right hands out of the corner by Sting. Whip across. Stinger splash misses. Over the top and to the floor. It would be a disqualification, but Anderson didn’t see it. Chop. Straight right hand. Guillotine on the top rope. Pair of knee drops. Feet on the ropes and Flair gets a series of two counts. Back suplex. Sting kicks Flair away. Chop misses. Back elbow connects. Kick to the side of Sting’s body. Sleeper. Sting rams Flair’s head into the turnbuckle. Shoulder tackle by Sting. Slingshot. Flair flop. Vertical suplex back in the ring. Flair sent up and over. Clothesline. Punches in the corner. Atomic drop by Flair. Big punch gets two. Sting places Flair on the top rope. Superplex connects. Big splash misses. Vertical suplex. Sting comes right up. Beel and a dropkick. Press slam and another clothesline. Flair sent over the top. Sting dives and nails Sherri. Ouch. Sting hooks a backslide. Referee comes in late and only gets two. Sting checks on Sherri. Flair rolls Sting up and hooks the tights to get three.
Flair and Sherri commence a beatdown on Sting. She was fooling Sting all along. Not the first or last time that would happen to the poor Stinger. Hulk Hogan makes the save.
Match Analysis: Bit of an odd finish for a title unification match, but it didn’t matter all that much since Hogan was going to take the world heavyweight title a month later regardless. This was the usual excellent match between these two despite not having all that much significance.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: NEW Unified World Champion-Ric Flair/15:26/***
-WCW United States Championship Match: Steve Austin (champion) vs. Ricky Steamboat (Clash of the Champions XXVIII – 24th August, 1994)
Match in Five Words or Less: Steamboat’s Last
Match Highlights: Applied headscissors by Steamboat. Slap exchange. Shove by Steamboat. Applied headlock by Steamboat. Announcers spend more time talking about Hulk Hogan being taken out than commenting on the actual match. Austin gets a two count. Hold of the tights for another two. Chop exchange. Yeesh. Austin gets a boot and another chop. Chop misses. Steamboat gets a pair of dropkicks. Another chop. Whip across. Austin gets a back elbow. Powerslam by Steamboat. Armbar by Steamboat. Exchange of nearfalls. Armdrag into the armbar by Steamboat. Knees from Austin. Snapmare. Steamboat grabs the left arm again. Austin tosses Steamboat through the middle rope. Steamboat drags Austin out and chops away at him. Short clothesline. Austin applies a sleeper. An immediate counter. Jawbreaker by the champion. Steamboat sent into the turnbuckle. Chops from the challenger. Leapdrog and hip toss. Austin whips Steamboat. He rams his own shoulder into the post. Steamboat rams Austin’s shoulder into the steel. Guillotine of the arm across the top rope. Chop off the top. 1-2-NO! Austin pokes Steamboat in the eye. Running knee drop. Austin sends Steamboat into the mat head first. Right hand and a chop from Austin. Snapmare and knee drop. Chinlock. Elbows from Steamboat. Mongolian chop. Up and over. Austin counters. Steamboat hits a clothesline. Big running splash met with knees. Cover for two. Elbow drop off the middle rope. Vertical suplex. Steamboat places Austin on the top rope. Austin slaps him down.Right hand and a chop from Steamboat. Another headbutt by Austin. Steamboat crotches the champion. Gordbuster from Austin. Steamboat connects with Austin coming off the top rope. Head first into the mat. Steamboat misses a cross body off the top. Austin taunts his challenger. Smacking on the back of the head. Takedown by Steamboat. Series of right hands. Double chops. Spinebuster leads to a two count. Austin climbs up. Steamboat hits the electric chair. 1-2-NO! Inside cradle gets two. Another jackknife pin gets two. Backslide. Sunset flip. Austin hits a clothesline. Austin takes Steamboat over. Kip up. 1-2-NO! Body slam turned into a small package. Steamboat wins the title.
Match Analysis: This was a match so good that the announcers actually had to start paying attention. Sadly, this would be Steamboat’s last match for nearly 15 years as a back injury suffered in this match ended his career for all intents and purposes. Excellent match from both men nonetheless. These two always had good chemistry and all of it was showcased here. Lots of good work on the mat and an incredible series of nearfalls.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: NEW United States Champion-Ricky Steamboat/20:02/***3/4
-Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage (WCW World Champion) (w/Kevin Greene and Elizabeth vs. Ric Flair & The Giant (wJimmy Hart) (Clash of the Champions XXXII – 23rd January, 1996)
Match in Five Words or Less: Generic Tag Match
Match Highlights: Kevin Greene comes in the ring early on, and he almost begins wrestling with Flair. Flair says another time. Chops from Flair. To the corner and a back drop by Savage. Series of short clothesline and a right hand. Flair flop. Hogan boots him down. Shot to the midsection by Flair. Chop in the corner. Straight right hand. Giant nails the champion in the back. Hip toss turned into a backslide by Savage. Short right hand turns into a series of jabs. Hogan punches Flair. Giant tags in and wants Hogan. Giant powers Hogan into the corner. Shoulder block by Giant. Hogan goes for a bodyslam but cannot hit it. Giant gets a bodyslam of his own. Whip in the corner and kick to the midsection. Elbow to the back of the head. Another whip and kick. Headbutt into the midsection. Backbreaker. Off the ropes but an elbow drop misses. Rake of the eyes by Hogan. Bodyslam! Hogan sells his back. Tag to Flair. Vertical suplex. Hogan no sells. Punches by Hogan. Back drop. Clotheslines. He goes after the Giant. Flair pokes him in the eye. Hogan to the corner. Flair hits him in the knee. Giant bearhugs Hogan. Back in the ring. Chop no sold. Hogan reverses a whip but takes a back elbow. Slam off the top rope. Savage with jabs on Flair. Right hand. Double axehandle. Bodyslam. Hogan goes after the Giant. Savage elbow drops Flair. Hart distracts the referee. Hart takes a jab in the face. Flair nails Savage in the fact with a foreign object and gets the victory.
Match Analysis: Similar to the elimination at the end of disk two, this was just a tag team match to set up an upcoming pair of singles matches. Nothing wrong with it but it wasn’t particularly great. Hogan’s first two years in WCW were not exactly exciting.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage/9:54/**
-Medusa vs. Bull Nakano (w/Sonny Onoo) (Clash of the Champions XXXIII – 15th August, 1996)
Match in Five Words or Less: Token Women’s Match
Match Highlights: Before Madusa was a punchline, she was one of the top female wrestlers in either WCW or the WWF. These two had some very good matches a few years prior. Madusa with some hard strikes. Dropkick misses. Hair drag by Nakano. A second one. Numchuck shots to the midsection by Nakano. Well, that’s mildly racist. Clothesline by Nakano. Running splash gets two. Whip. Awful cross body gets two. Series of hair takedowns. Sunset flip. Nakano sits down for two. Madusa catches Nakano with a dropkick. Big dive and she hits Onoo. Nakano tosses her back in the ring. Onoo kicks Nakano. Roll-up by Madusa gets three.
Match Analysis: I feel like WWE only put this match on because there were literally no other women’s matches to be featured.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Madusa/3:33/*
-Match for the BattleBowl Ring: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Eddie Guerrero (Clash of the Champions XXXIII – 15th August, 1996)
Match in Five Words or Less: Why, Part II?
Match Highlights: Long story short, DDP had a secret benefactor who helped him get back into WCW after losing his career. I believe it was intended to be Ted Dibiase, but the nWo changed all of that. Page would eventually become one of the biggest babyfaces in the whole company after turning the group down. Incredibly, he was the biggest WCW star to never ever be associated with the nWo in any shape or form. Guerrero hits an immediate shoulder block. Headscissors and a dropkick. Shoulder first into the post. Stomps by Page. Gutwrench into a gutbuster. Side suplex before turning into a chinlock. Leg sweep by Guerrero. Right hand exchange. Guerrero comes out on top. Back elbow. Springboard splash. Jawbreaker and powerbomb by Page. 1-2-NO! page places Guerrero on the top rope. Big shove. Guerrero gets the frog splash and wins the Battlebowl ring. Page diamond cutters him after the match. Some choking and a toss of the referee. Running diamond cutter. Chavo Guerrero tries to make the save, but Page hits third diamond cutter.
Match Analysis: You can tell the Nitro mentality was starting to take over WCW as this was a really short contest with not much to it. Quick back and forth. This set up a Page and Chavo Guerrero at Fall Brawl ’96. These two could have probably had great matches come late 1997 and early 1998.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Eddie Guerrero/7:11/**
-WCW World Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Match: Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray w/Sherri) (champions) vs. The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) vs. Sting & Lex Luger(Clash of the Champions XXXIII – 15th August, 1996)
Match in Five Words or Less: The No Interference Disqualification
Match Highlights: The shadow of the nWo surrounds this match. This is one of the early examples of a triple threat match. Scott starts with Booker T. Knee and clubbering blow by Booker. Scott rams him into the turnbuckle and punches away. Booker tags and gets an axe kick. Scott crotches Booker on the top rope. Luger clotheslines Booker. Harlem Heat regroups. Luger and Stevie Ray enter the ring. Into the ring for some clubbering by Stevie. Charge misses. Stomps from Luger. Big clothesline. Rick blind tags and clotheslines both men in the ring. Bulldog. Cover but Luger breaks the count. Shoving between Luger and Rick. Harlem sidekick on Rick. Rick slams Booker after a commercial. Sting tags Rick in the back and hits a chop. Two count. Sting eventually hip tosses Booker over the top rope. Leapfrog. Kick and a press slam. Stevie saves his brother. Axehandle by Luger on Booker. Vertical suplex. Ray goes after Sting. Snapmare and a knee drop. Scott and Sting face off. Off the ropes and a shoulder tackle. Sting stun guns Scott. Clothesline off the top. Rick breaks the count. He and Luger confront each other. Scott counters a suplex and hits a reverse DDT. Kick and a tiger driver. Luger makes the save. Rick whips Luger into the corner. Luger comes out with a clothesline. Whip and running clothesline. Charge misses. Release German suplex by Rick. Scott hits a belly-to-belly suplex. Luger catches Scott and transitions into the torture rack. Rick kicks the knee. Six way brawl. Axe kick by Booker T. The other four men brawl on the outside. Here come the Outsiders. Scott Steiner gets a Frankensteiner. Nick Patrick goes down to count but calls for a DQ because he sees the Outsiders.
Match Analysis: This was meant to set up Nick Patrick’s heel turn. No, I’m not kidding. Just an average match between six guys were just sort of going through the motions.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: No-contest/12:18/**1/2
-WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match: Ultimo Dragon (champion) vs. Dean Malenko (Clash of the Champions XXXIV – 21st January, 1997)
Match in Five Words or Less: Not Stinko
Match Highlights: This is a rematch from both Starrcade and Nitro the night before. Feeling out process to begin. Malenko rams Dragon’s head into the turnbuckle. Forearms. Stalling vertical suplex. Cover for two. Chinlock. Into an applied headscissors. Dragon gets a kick to the back. Series of kicks. Stiff kick to the midsection. Malenko takes a walk. Back drop driver on Dragon. He grapevines the leg of the champion. Single leg crab. Dragon kicks away on Malenko. Kneebreaker by Malenko. He stretches Dragon. Malenko tosses the champion to the outside. Stomp of the leg against the rail. Figure four leglock. Dragon holds up the left leg. Malenko whips Dragon and hits a running clothesline. Spin kick by Dragon. Superplex! Malenko gets a roll-up for two. Clothesline misses. Kick by Dragon. Powerbomb countered into a rana. 1-2-NO! Kick by Dragon. Springboard dropkick sends Malenko to the floor. Duck of the clothesline. Dragon whips Malenko into the rail. Asai moonsault. Vertical suplex by Dragon. Moonsault. 1-2-NO! Malenko placed on the top rope. Rana off the top rope! Crowd completely missed that. Texas cloverleaf turn into a roll-up. Kick by Malenko. Standing clothesline. Tiger driver. Onoo knocked to the floor. Takedown and Malenko rolls over. Dragon submits.
Match Analysis: I wish WWE would release an entire three disk collection of the cruiserweights. I differentiate that from the high flyers disk. These two had a great little match, and they used moves that were pretty uncommon for 1997. I dug every moment of this and am sad that neither guy really gets credit for being great like they should.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: NEW Crusierweight Champion-Dean Malenko/12:03/***1/2
-WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match: Chris Jericho (champion) vs. Eddie Guerrero (Clash of the Champions XXXV – 21st August, 1997)
Match in Five Words or Less: Almost A Rudo
Match Highlights: Guerrero was basically a heel at this point. Jericho was at the tail end of his lame babyface run in WCW. Snapmare and Guerrero talks trash. Armdrags by Jericho and a dropkick. Guerrero shows Mark Curtis that his hair was pulled. Jericho hits a shoulder tackle. Press slam. Kick to the midsection and a chop. Flapjack. Guerrero cowers to the official again. Guerrero nails Jericho from behind. Hard chops. Back elbow by Guerrero. Springboard senton. European uppercut. Rana off the top rope. Kick. Rana countered into a powerbomb. Jericho with a giant swing. Both men are dizzy. Running leg lariat sends Guerrero to the outside. Springboard… and he collapses. That was a fail. Suplex blocked. Jericho takes him over himself. Quickly back in the ring. Guerrero catches Jericho and hits a superplex. Cover for two. Powerbomb countered. Release German suplex by Jericho. Leapfrog. Sunset flip by Guerrero. Exchange of nearfalls. Jericho ends up on top and gets three!
Guerrero dropkicks Jericho after the match. Brainbuster. He puts the belt on top of the champion. Frog splash.
Match Analysis: This could have been really awesome given more time. As it is, it was a good seven minute contest. Lots of different styles showcased in the brief time. These guys were so smooth. Lots of high flyers could learn from these guys as far as style and grace. There really is an art to flying around the ring. It’s not just about taking risks.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL Cruiserweight Champion-Chris Jericho/6:42/**
-Diamond Dallas Page & Lex Luger vs. Scott Hall & `Macho Man’ Randy Savage (Clash of the Champions XXXV – 21st August, 1997)
Match in Five Words or Less: Idiot Babyfaces
Match Highlights: Apparently, this is also for the WCW tag team titles. The nWo considers themselves a wolfpack. I wonder if anyone ever got roofied, particularly from a drug dealer named Doug. Luger overpowers Hall early on. nWo interferes and takes control. Nash gets tossed from ringside. Page tags in. Atomic drop and right hand. Short clothesline. Hall trips Page. Savage clotheslines Page from behind. Choking along the bottom rope. Heat segment on Page. Luger hot tag and he goes crazy on both men. Clotheslines for everyone. Atomic drop on Savage. Hall sent into Savage. Double clothesline. Savage tossed over the top. Torture rack on Hall. Savage kicks Luger and pokes Page in the eye. Accidental diamond cutter on Luger. Hall covers Luger and wins.
nWo begins celebrating since it’s their one year anniversary. The New World Order spends the next few minutes masturbating and talking themselves up. Sting appears in the crowd. A mysterious voice says some esoteric things. And we’re out.
Match Analysis: Nothing like making the babyfaces look like total morons. Well done WCW. The New World Order act was starting to wear thin by this point. And it would ultimate lead to WCW’s downfall.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Scott Hall and Randy Savage/8:49/**
-NWA United States Tag Team Championship: The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane w/Jim Cornette)(champions) vs. The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rodgers) (Clash of the Champions – 27th March, 1988)
Match in Five Words or Less: They’ve Done Better
Match Highlights: Immediate brawl gets things going right away. These two teams had some wild matches in multiple territories, including an incredible ****1/2 on an episode of Worldwide. I can’t remember if that aired before or after this match. Eaton tries using a chair but misses. Fulton connects. Double team by the Fantastics. Eaton punched down. Back to the outside. Rodgers gets tossed into a chair being held by Cornette. Chair shot again delivered by Lane. Fulton choked along the rail. Things finally settle down. Dropkick by Rodgers into a bodyslam by Rodgers. Lane sent upside down into the corner. Ten punches by Fulton in the corner on Eaton. Nice double team as Eaton goes high while Lane goes low. Heat segment on Rodgers. Rodgers even gets tossed into a table being held by Cornette. That was awesome. Eaton hits an elbow drop but can’t cover. Lane hits a gutwrench suplex. Backbreaker by Lane. Eaton comes off with another elbow drop. Eaton with punches in the corner. Sunset flip by Rodgers but there’s no official. Another side kick by Lane. Rodgers thrown through the ropes. Bodyslam on the table. Fulton goes to help his partner. Shots to the body by Lane. Drop toehold into an elbow drop by Eaton. Rodgers knocks Lane off the apron. Fulton gets tagged in but the referee didn’t see it. Official gets tossed over the top rope. Cornette nails Eaton with the racket. Rocket launcher hits. Tommy Young counts three, but the other official throws the pinfall out since he got tossed outside of the ring. Awful awful finish. Cornette belts both referees with his racket. They whip Fulton around.
Match Analysis: These were the sorts of finishes that the NWA used all the time, and it really came back to bite them in the end. Dusty finishes were okay to use once in a while but not the amount of times they were used. These two teams did far better in other matches. This was just barely above average.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL United States Tag Team Champions-Midnight Express/10:15/**3/4
-WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Hulk Hogan (champion) vs. Ric Flair (w/Woman and Miss Elizabeth) (Clash of the Champions XXXIII – 15th August, 1996)
Match in Five Words or Less: Yay nWo Finish
Match Highlights: This might be the saddest match on the DVD considering three of the five participants are dead while Flair and Hogan have become parodies of themselves. Flair works a headlock. Hogan counters into a pair of covers for two. Shoulder tackle by Hogan. Hogan places Flair on the top rope. Right hand blocked. Flair slaps Hogan. Stand-off. Hogan outwrestled Flair to the mat. Well, that was bizarre. Chops by Flair. Straight right hands. Hogan sent out. Double axehandle off the apron. Right hand to the midsection and a chop. Hogan tells Flair to move away. Hogan controls a test of strength at first. Flair bites him. Chop. Awkward exchange. Kick to the midsection. Flair flop and he goes to the floor. Flair sent head first into the rail. Hogan rakes Flair’s eyes. Into the post goes the challenger. Hogan whips Flair in the corner. Right between the eyes. Vertical suplex. Hogan hulks up. Series of right hands. Boot. Leg drop. Figure four leglock. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash interfere. DQ. The Four Horsemen and Sting make the save for Flair.
Match Analysis: A lot of nWo matches ended in the same way. This was a weird match as Flair was actually playing babyface against Hogan. Neither guy seemed sure what to do since their roles had always been reversed. Not much to the finish as this was a set-up for the Wargames that took place a month later.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Ric Flair/10:09/**
The Verdict: There are enough classic matches and hidden gems to make this a worthwhile endeavor. The value of this concept lost a lot of luster as there became more PPVs and Nitro really started to take off. You’ve got to give the NWA and WCW credit for the concept as it gave fans a chance to see more pro wrestling in prime time when something like that wasn’t common. Well worth checking out.