What the World Was Watching: WCW Saturday Night – January 14, 1995

–Sister Sherri provoking Stars & Stripes on last week’s show is replayed.

–Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan are doing commentary and they are taped from Atlanta, Georgia. The matches on this telecast were taped on December 8 and January 8. The announcers discuss the Hulk Hogan-Big Van Vader main event that has been signed for SuperBrawl.

–Opening Contest: Hacksaw Jim Duggan (3-0) pins George South after a three-point stance clothesline at 3:25:

Duggan toys with South, faking him out with a foam 2×4 to start the encounter and mocking him as he smashes South’s head into the corner turnbuckle ten times. Since South does not get any offense this squash goes on too long, but Duggan is very over with the Center Stage crowd.

–Dick Slater & Bunkhouse Buck (w/Colonel Robert Parker & Meng) (0-1) defeat Mike Corey & Gary Jackson when Buck pins Corey after a double fist at 2:14:

Jackson was an enhancement talent that worked the independent circuit in Illinois and Missouri and he appeared on WWF and/or WCW television during the late 1980s and early 1990s. According to cagematch.net, he is still wrestling for Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling and the Mid-Missouri Wrestling Alliance. Slater and Buck easily cruise to victory on today’s show, although they need a much better finisher.

–Gene Okerlund provides the Clash of the Champions Report.

–Sting (2-0) beats Mark Kyle via submission to the Scorpion Deathlock at 2:32:

The crowd is very happy to see Sting, with several women kissing him in the front row. Sting works the arm for a long time in this squash before doing the usual Stinger Splash/Scorpion Deathlock combo for the win.

–Okerlund interviews Sting, who thanks the fans for coming out. He repeats his argument that he nearly put Avalanche in the Scorpion Deathlock on Main Event and he will finish the job at the Clash.

–Bobby Eaton (0-3) defeats Dave Sullivan after falling on top of Sullivan after a suplex from the apron and Kevin Sullivan holding down Dave’s foot at 3:18:

Sullivan came into WCW in 1993 as the Equalizer but was then repackaged as Kevin Sullivan’s dyslexic brother. To start 1995 he was billed as Hulk Hogan’s biggest fan, sporting arguably the worst theme song in the history of professional wrestling, and he wrestles this match in one of Hogan’s t-shirts after giving away some of them to kids in the front row. Sullivan struggles to give Eaton a side suplex and things fall apart after that, with Kevin Sullivan running down to ringside and holding Dave’s foot well before he tries to suplex Eaton into the ring for the finish. Rating: ½*

–Okerlunds interviews U.S. Champion Big Van Vader and Harley Race, with Okerlund telling them that Nick Bockwinkel has “put them on ice” and not allowing them to appear at Clash of the Champions to keep Hogan and Vader separated. Vader says that Bockwinkel is just protecting Hogan, but he cannot stop him from buying tickets to the Clash.

–Dustin Rhodes (1-0) pins Carl Fergie after a bulldog at 3:16:

The Blacktop Bully, Colonel Parker, and Meng come out to ringside to scout this bout, where Rhodes outwrestles Fergie with some arm drags. The heels eventually get bored and leave and that is Rhodes’ cue to finish Fergie off with the bulldog.

–Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Jimmy Hart rebut Vader. Hart says that Hogan will be happy to buy Vader some seats to Clash of the Champions, while Hogan says that he is not hard for Vader to find. Savage is almost an afterthought here, but he says he is happy to watch Hogan’s back and he volunteers his services to be a guest referee for SuperBrawl.

–Kevin Sullivan & Avalanche (1-0) beat Al Phillips & Rob Morgan when Sullivan pins Morgan after a double stomp at 2:02:

Sullivan takes the fight to the jobbers right after the bell and Avalanche follows by using his weight to pummel both men. The Sullivan-Avalanche team is good, but it is odd that WCW is showcasing them on television instead of the Sullivan-Butcher combination that will be wrestling at the Clash.

–WCW Tag Team Championship Match: Harlem Heat (w/Sister Sherri) (2-0) defeat Stars & Stripes (3-0) when Booker T pins the Patriot after a collision to win the titles at 12:12:

This match is well balanced, with Stars & Stripes dominating the action for the first seven minutes and Harlem Heat using some timely cheating to turn the bout in their favor. Booker T forgets to kick out of a Marcus Bagwell sunset flip in the corner, forcing referee Randy Anderson to shrug off his three count as a near-fall. The Patriot ignores the referee not letting him into the ring after a false tag, somehow becoming the legal man, and during a four way brawl he and Stevie Ray clothesline each other. The Patriot proceeds to lay there for nearly a minute as Sherri revives Booker T and he rolls into the ring to score the winning pin. The ending of the match was terrible, but everything before that was rolling along nicely. Harlem Heat become the second black team – after Doom – to win the WCW tag team titles and it looks like Stars & Stripes attempt to win three matches in one day finally caught up with them. Rating: **½

–Okerlund interviews the Faces of Fear. Avalanche issues another warning for the Guardian Angel to stay out of his way at Clash of the Champions. Kevin Sullivan makes a Julius Caesar assassination in reference to what he plans to do against Hulk Hogan at the Clash, while the Butcher says he wants to see Avalanche make a pancake out of Sting.

The Last Word: Harlem Heat are definitely the hot team in the tag team division so it is good that they now have the titles. Of course, the title switch could have waited until Clash of the Champions since both teams were going to wrestle each other there. This show did a good job advancing the Hulk Hogan-Vader match for SuperBrawl, which was a big dream match at the time, but the Clash lacks a credible draw as none of the matches booked for it appear special.

Up Next: WCW Main Event for January 15!