What the World Was Watching: WCW Worldwide – January 21, 1995

–Eric Bischoff and Bobby Heenan are doing the commentary. These Worldwide tapings were done on November 1, 1994 in Orlando, Florida. Heenan puts over the attractiveness of Sister Sherri and warns WCW Champion Hulk Hogan to be on the lookout for Big Van Vader.

–Opening Contest: Dustin Rhodes (2-0) beat Frankie Lancaster with a bulldog at 2:59:

Lancaster was a long-time WCW jobber, renowned for selling punches better than his enhancement counterparts. He became very roided up by the late 1990s and did an interview with ABC News in Tampa, Florida in October 2007 about some of the health problems he suffers because of them. Lancaster trades offense with Rhodes in this brief match, appearing to have the upper hand before he is caught with a bulldog out of nowhere to continue his losing ways.

–Gene Okerlund interviews Sting, who chides the weight of Avalanche and expresses confidence that the Guardian Angel will give him a fair chance to defeat the big man at Clash of the Champions.

–Kevin Sullivan & Avalanche (w/the Butcher) (2-0) defeat Ron Oakes & Chris Nelson when Avalanche pins Oakes and Nelson after the Avalanche Splash at 2:15:

Sullivan is going to face off with his brother Dave on Saturday Night so the announcers spend time putting that over. Sullivan lays waste to the jobbers first and then Avalanche uses his weight to turn the jobbers into pancakes, stepping on Nelson’s chest and using that momentum to “avalanche” Oakes in the corner. Since he is named Avalanche that should really be his finisher. Avalanche, with some difficulty, stacks the jobbers on each other and squashes them both for the victory. This did a good job putting Avalanche over before Clash of the Champions.

–Non-Title Match: Big Van Vader (United States Champion w/Harley Race) (2-0) pins Dave Walby after a powerbomb at 2:27:

Walby wrestled Vader a year before on Saturday Night in a losing effort and he fares no better this time as Vader runs through some power moves as he calls out Hulk Hogan. He spikes Walby with a powerbomb as Bischoff complains that the move should be banned from WCW.

–Okerlund runs down the card for Clash of the Champions.

–The Blacktop Bully (w/Colonel Robert Parker & Meng) (1-0) beats Steve Collins via submission to the Breaker 1-9 at 3:19:

Collins is a jobber with a gimmick, sporting a lifeguard outfit and life preserver. The Bully works over Collins arm for what seems like an eternity before locking in the Breaker 1-9 for a submission win. The Bully tosses a business card onto Collins that urges people to call 1-900-4-A-Bully.

–Okerlund interviews the Guardian Angel, who repeats his previous talking points about how he is going to treat Sting and Avalanche the same way at Clash of the Champions.

–Non-Title Match: Harlem Heat (WCW Tag Team Champions w/Sister Sherri) (3-0) defeat The Fantastics when Stevie Ray pins Tommy Rogers when Booker T elbows Rogers in the back of the head off the top rope at 10:19:

As a consequence of the taping schedule, Harlem Heat’s entrance is not aired so they are not shown without the tag team titles. Sherri also does not have her “Sister” look, sporting more of the look she had under the Sensuous Sherri gimmick. The Fantastics were most known for a run in the late 1980s NWA and their work in Smoky Mountain Wrestling helped get them some Worldwide matches in WCW. The Fantastics cheat to create the hot tag, but Harlem Heat repay them in kind when Booker T breaks up a pin behind the referee’s back when the Fantastics hit their Rocket Launcher finisher. Bobby Fulton looked really good here, but Rogers timing was off and both men did not work well as a unit despite their history together. The finish was also a mess as Fulton casually watched Booker T break up a pin and then neglected to keep an eye on him moments later when he repeated the spot. Rating: *½

–A replay of the promo by Jimmy Hart, Hulk Hogan, and Randy Savage that aired on last week’s episode of Saturday Night is shown.

–Tune in next week to see the Nasty Boys, Stars & Stripes, and Diamond Dallas Page in action! The feature match will be Hacksaw Jim Duggan against Bunkhouse Buck! And hear what Hulk Hogan has to say about facing Big Van Vader at SuperBrawl!

The Last Word: The main event exposed why WCW needed to retool some of its finishes. Harlem Heat won on this episode with the same “sneaky” finish that they used to beat Brad and Scott Armstrong on Saturday Night several weeks ago, not to mention that they won the tag team titles in a weird double knockout spot shortly thereafter. Assuming they keep the titles, there are few babyface challengers for them aside from the Nasty Boys so if Stars & Stripes fail to get the belts back at Clash of the Champions that feud appears imminent.

Up Next: WCW Saturday Night for January 21!