Tumbler with pictures in order of every WWF champion after they first won the title.
That's pretty cool. Weird that Batista was so far along in there, but I guess he didn't win the WWE title until the Cena deal in 2010.
champions — page 2
Champions and Their Belts…err “Championships”
Scott,
Seeing Brock smash Triple H'a World title on Monday's Raw got me thinking. I know in the past we've seen The Rock and I believe Chris Jericho's trophy cases with titles that they've won. My question is, are those the actual belts they won? Does the champion get to keep the belt they won or do they get a duplicate copy from WWE or purchase their own copies?
And speaking of champions and their "championships," do champions get to travel and take home their belts? I remember Mick Foley's story when he won the WWE Title and him pulling the belt out as his kids saw him win the thing on TV and also CM Punk's imfamous refridgerator picture. Do they still get to take home the belts? And if so, say for example Dolph Ziggler "forgot" to bring the belt with him to Raw, do they have copies backstage?
Thanks!
OK, belts. I get this one a lot, so let's go over it.
When you win a belt, you get the option of buying a replica copy for yourself, which is what most top tier guys do for the trophy case. There are actually two sets of belts: The "hero" belts that you see on TV, and the lower-grade versions that are made to be carried around the airports for house shows. The higher end TV belts do not stay with the wrestlers and are literally props for a TV show that travel as a part of the set dressing, but on the road, yes, guys will still travel with the crappy road belts. And yes, they have several copies just in case someone loses it at the airport or leaves it in a cab after a night of partying or whatever. The exception is the new WWE title, which was apparently so expensive and painstaking to produce that there are only about 3 copies of it made: The TV version, the road version, and a spare version.
WCW Clash of the Champions XXIII
Live from Norfolk, VA
Airdate: June 16, 1993
Attendance: 6,000
Hosted by Tony Schiavone and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
Tony and Jesse welcome us to the Norfolk Scope and promote the return of “Nature Boy” Ric Flair to the ring. Our double main event starts with a six-man tag match involving Sid Vicious, “Ravishing” Rick Rude, and WCW World Heavyweight champion Vader against Sting, The British Bulldog, and “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes and finishes with a best 2 out of 3 falls match for the WCW World Tag Team titles as The Hollywood Blonds defend against “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson. Jesse informs us that Paul Orndorff is injured but will be at ringside as “Dirty” Dick Slater takes his place against Ron Simmons.
Match 1: Ron Simmons versus “Dirty” Dick Slater (w/ Paul Orndorff)
While “Don’t Step to Ron” brings “The All-American” Ron Simmons to the ring Madusa Miceli’s former squeeze is accompanied by the World Television champion “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff. Tony states that Paul is suffering from a groin injury. After a lockup Simmons gets a right hand on Slater then an atomic drop.
Another lockup leads to a Slater single-leg takedown and toehold. Simmons kicks him into the ropes and monkey-flips him. Where’s Dusty Rhodes to say that he’s funky like a monkey? A slam and a shoulderblock get a quick 2 count for Simmons. Slater bails to ringside to regroup. Upon his return a test of strength occurs.
Slater whips Simmons off the ropes, but Simmons sunset-flips him. Slater nails him to end that rally. A fired up Simmons then goes to work on Slater and hiptosses him out of the corner. He gets into a three-point stance, but Orndorff hooks his leg. In order to take advantage of the distraction Slater gives him a forearm shiver.
Slater hammers on Simmons then applies a swinging neckbreaker for a 2 count. Simmons put his leg on the ropes to break the count. Orndorff gets on the apron to congratulate Slater prematurely, but Simmons can’t capitalize. They go toe-to-toe until Simmons tries a slam; however, Slater escapes. Simmons comes off the ropes, ducks a clothesline, and powerslams Slater for the pin. **
Call the WCW Wrestling Hotline at 1-900-909-9900 to hear the recap of the Clash!
WCW Beach Blast will be on PPV on Sunday, July 18! Call to order now!
Eric Bischoff and Larry Zbyszko are on camera and preview the NWA title match between Barry Windham and 2 Cold Scorpio. Bischoff then introduces the guest ring announcer for that match–Michael Buffer. Bischoff then interviews Buffer who offers a decent opinion on the current state of WCW.
Match 2: Marcus Alexander Bagwell versus Lord Steven Regal (w/ Sir William)
For those unfamiliar Sir William is Superstar Bill Dundee–former two-time AWA tag team champion when he wrestled alongside Jerry “The King” Lawler. As Regal is introduced Tony and Jesse have the following hilarious exchange:
Jesse: “I love this guy, Schiavone!”
Tony: “Why? Because he turned his nose up at everyone?”
Jesse: “No, ‘cuz he’s got clean fingernails. That’s hard to find in Virginia.”
After a lockup Regal gains the advantage with a single-leg takedown into an armbar. Bagwell counters with his own armbar. Immediately Regal counters with a somersault and hooks a hammerlock. Bagwell reverses, but Regal snapmares him. A Regal headlock is quickly countered back into Bagwell’s armbar.
Regal counters with a drop toehold into a front chancery. Instantly Bagwell counters with a hammerlock. Regal elbows his way out of that then delivers a forearm. Bagwell quickly retaliates and goes back to work on the arm. Initially it appears Bagwell will cross-corner whip Regal; instead, he yanks the arm flipping Regal to the canvas giving him a pained facial expression.
Regal counters the Bagwell armbar with a couple of forearms and a European uppercut. He then whips Bagwell off the ropes and clips him. After a couple of kicks to the knee he snapmares Bagwell into the ropes. A single-leg takedown is followed by a stomp to the head. Again Regal snapmares him into the ropes. He then grabs Bagwell’s left leg and drives his knee into the mat.
While Regal maintains a toehold on Bagwell Tony informs us that Catherine White will be in Cleveland this week in her quest to find Cactus Jack. I wonder if AJ Styles is with him. Bagwell counters with a sweet reverse enziguri. He then whips Regal off the ropes, but Regal sweeps the leg and goes back to work on it.
Another European uppercut segues into a drop toehold by Regal. Bagwell twists out of the toehold flipping Regal in the air. He follows with a couple of kicks to the midsection and his own forearm shot. Continuing the onslaught he gives Regal a back body drop. Next he whips Regal off the rope, hiptosses him, and floats on top for a 2 count.
When Regal attempts to grab the leg Bagwell hooks a backslide for 2. A running clothesline keeps Regal down. A rope sequence leads to a rollup by Bagwell. Regal uses momentum to roll through but botches it. He gets the pinfall regardless. **1/2
Eric Bischoff interviews Maxx Payne who offers to give Johnny B. Badd his Badd Blaster back. Johnny B. Badd comes out to receive it, but Payne shoots it off in Badd’s face instead. Having been shot off the platform Badd writhes in pain on the concrete floor.
Match 3: Maxx Payne versus Johnny B. Badd
Gary Michael Cappetta informs us that due to Badd’s injury Maxx Payne wins by forfeit. Z-Man runs from the back to confront Payne. He tries to whip Payne off the ropes but gets reversed. Z-Man ducks a clothesline and gives Payne a superkick and a dropkick. He then whips Payne off the ropes and gives him another dropkick.
Z-Man works Payne over in the corner and rams his head into the turnbuckle. Payne absorbs the blow though. He reverses a cross-corner whip sending Z-Man shoulder-first into the corner. When Z-Man rebounds from the corner Payne applies the Payne-killer. Referees Nick Patrick and Randy Anderson break the hold and stop the impromptu fight. No match = no rating.
REAL Match 3 for the NWA title: Barry Windham (champion) versus 2 Cold Scorpio
Michael Buffer asks us to man our battle stations, but he sank my battleship! Feeling out process to start until Scorpio delivers a dropkick. A collar-and-elbow tie-up leads to a Windham armbar. But out of nowhere Scorpio slams him. Windham takes him to the corner, cross-corner whips him, and follows with a clothesline.
Windham gives Scorpio another cross-corner whip but Scorpio floats over him. Double-leg takedown by Scorpio is followed by an attempt at a Boston crab, but Windham hooks the ropes. Never to miss a chance to make fun of the venues he visits Jesse says that the Norfolk Scope Coliseum was named after the mouthwash. HA!
Anyways, Windham takes over with a kick to the chest then gives him a top rope clothesline. He slams Scorpio then drops the knee to the forehead. Next he hooks Scorpio for a vertical suplex, floats over, and gets a 2 count. Scorpio mounts a brief comeback then whips him off the ropes; however, he misses the dropkick.
Windham takes advantage by delivering a DDT to Scorpio for a long 2 count. He tries to slam Scorpio, but Scorpio hooks an inside cradle for 2. He follows up with a gutwrench suplex for another 2 count. Windham thinks he has Scorpio where he wants him, but Scorpio rallies with a dropkick. Windham ends that with a short lariat to the midsection.
To continue the punishment Windham picks Scorpio up and drops him on the top rope then tosses him outside the ring. When Scorpio gets on the apron Windham hammers him in the chest. Scorpio comes back with a couple of shoulders to the midsection then instead of sunset flipping Windham he gives him a Thesz press for 2.
However, when Windham returns to his feet he puts a boot in the midsection then gives Scorpio a standing dropkick. He whips Scorpio off the ropes and gives him a Samoan drop for another 2 count. After a couple of rights Windham plants Scorpio with a belly-to-back suplex for yet another 2 count. He whips Scorpio off the ropes again, goes for the Samoan drop again, but gets countered into a sunset flip for 2.
Rudely Windham gets up and clotheslines him. He tries another belly-to-back suplex, but Scorpio counters with his own. After a poke in the eye Windham hoists Scorpio onto the top turnbuckle in order to deliver his patented superplex. Rather Scorpio blocks and front suplexes Windham. Scorpio then flies off the top with a splash for a very near fall. A short rope sequence culminates with a huracanrana from Scorpio. He follows with a right hand and a superkick. Next he comes off the ropes and flips Windham into a rollup for 2.
Scorpio slams Windham then gives him a springboard splash for another long 2 count. A missile dropkick should put Windham out and give Scorpio the title, right? NO! Windham’s out at 2. Scorpio tries to come off the ropes again but Windham sends him outside. Immediately Scorpio returns and tries another springboard but eats a right hand. Windham delivers the leaping DDT for the pin. ***
Backstage Eric Bischoff interviews Dustin Rhodes, Sting, and the British Bulldog. Sting informs us that the Masters of the Powerbomb will not master him.
Match 4: “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Sid Vicious, and WCW World Heavyweight Champion Big Van Vader (w/ Colonel Rob Parker and Harley Race) versus Sting, The British Bulldog, and “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes
Not only is this match decidedly 5 on 3, but Rude also has the Halliburton briefcase with the US title inside. Sting and Rude start the match. Sting grabs a headlock with Rude valiantly but unsuccessfully trying to break it twice with an overhead wristlock. He escapes and applies a hammerlock but gets countered. He then backs Sting into the corner and takes over with a back elbow. He whips Sting off the ropes, gets reversed, and receives a back body drop.
Sting military-presses Rude over his head and tosses him onto Vader and Sid. Sting goes after Sid and Vader but doesn’t forget that Rude’s behind him and nails him too. Rude tries to slam Sting but gets hooked with an inside cradle instead. Rhodes tags in looking to carve some Rude meat for dinner. He gives Rude some patented Dusty moves finishing with the bionic elbow to put Rude on the mat. He makes a cover. Vader comes off the ropes to squash Rhodes but ends up squashing Rude.
Bulldog and Sid tag in. Sid takes over initially but after getting leapfrogged he ends up getting pinballed with punches by the faces. Bulldog slams him then Sid thinks he can exit the ring on the face side and gets crotched on the second rope by Sting. With a surprised look on his face Sid gets clotheslined by Sting and then by Rhodes on the adjacent apron.
Again Sid gets a quick advantage and whips Bulldog off the ropes; however, he gets shoulderblocked to the mat. Rhodes tags in. Sid takes him to his corner so he can tag Vader in. Rhodes pinballs Vader with punches in the corner then gives him a vertical suplex. After a few elbows to the chest Rhodes drives an elbow to Vader’s right leg. He follows with a short clothesline to keep Vader down.
Rhodes mounts the top turnbuckle but misses the elbowdrop thanks to Rude shaking the ropes. Vader gives Rhodes a clothesline which Dustin sells with a 360 degree flip. Subsequently Vader hits the Vaderbomb but only gets 2. Rude tags in and works Dustin’s back with forearms. He follows with a gourdbuster for a 2 count.
Rude hooks Rhodes for another gourdbuster but receives one instead. Sid tags in and works over Rhodes. He takes Rhodes down with a side headlock but Rhodes counters with a headscissors. Amazingly Sid nips up and delivers a vicious clothesline to Rhodes for another 2 count. Vader tags in and pounds Rhodes into roadkill in the corner.
Vader mounts the second turnbuckle but receives a powerslam from Rhodes. Rude tags in and they do the tombstone piledriver reversal spot. Rhodes plants him so hard even Stone Cold Steve Austin would cringe. Sid makes the save. A false tag occurs and both Sid and Vader put the boots to Rhodes. Sting and Smith come in to stop the heel shenanigans.
Sting and Vader are on the floor, but Sting tries the Stinger splash and eats the steel railing instead. As the chaos continues Vader grabs the Halliburton and nails Rhodes with it. Rude makes the cover and gets the pin. After the match Vader powerbombs Smith. Rude tries to cream Rhodes with the Halliburton again, but Sting snags it from him and chases off the heels. **1/2
To set up the next match here is A Flare for the Old:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1gfms_a-flair-for-the-old_sport#.UTONlqJORcw
Match 6 for the WCW World Tag Team titles: The Hollywood Blonds (champions) versus “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair and “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson
The crowd loves the Horsemen as they make their way to the ring. Meanwhile “Stunning” Steve Austin rolls his imaginary camera and “Flyin’” Brian Pillman snaps the clapperboard when they make their entrance. Michael Buffer asks us to get ready to RUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!
Anderson and Pillman start. Pillman takes Anderson to the corner, backs up, and rolls his imaginary camera at him. Anderson responds with throwing Pillman down. Pillman briefly takes over until Anderson throws a couple of left hands. A cross-corner whip by Pillman gets reversed. Pillman tries to float over, but Anderson catches him and drops him throat-first on the top rope.
Austin tags in and makes machinations to Anderson that he’s got a beer belly. A short rope sequence culminates with an Anderson leg sweep. The crowd chants “We Want Flair” so Arn tags him in. The crowd ERUPTS! Two years in the making! Flair uses a thumb to the eye and goes to work on Austin in the corner. Following that he cross-corner whips Austin and back body drops him!
Flair brings Pillman in the hard way and rams his head into the turnbuckle as Austin is occupied by Anderson. Flair grabs Austin by the mouth and takes him to his corner to work him over. As Anderson posts Austin’s leg Flair makes Pillman eat some chops. Next he cross-corner whips Pillman and gives him a back elbow. Austin retreats.
When Austin returns Flair takes him to the corner and goes to work on him. He then takes him to his corner to eat an Anderson knee. Arn tags in and stomps a mudhole in him. He stomps on the arm and then gives him the Anderson slam. Flair tags in and gives Austin a snapmare followed by a kneedrop to the head. Next he lays out Pillman with a chop just for looking at him.
Anderson tags back in as the Horsemen focus on Austin’s arm. Pillman causes Flair to distract the referee so Austin whips Anderson into a Pillman choke with the towel. Anderson breaks with a jawbreaker, but Austin puts the boots to him. Austin chokes him to distract the referee again. Pillman takes advantage by using the towel again on Anderson.
Pillman tags in and returns the favor on the jawbreaker. Valiantly Anderson tries to fight back, but Pillman bites his face to thwart that effort. Austin tags back in and puts a knee into Anderson’ back. Anderson headbutts Austin but gets run into Pillman’s boot shortly thereafter. Pillman tags back in and rams Anderson’s head into the mat. He rubs Anderson’s face into the mat like Flair did to Ricky Morton in 1986. You can relive that moment here if you like.
Pillman controls with a front facelock then takes Anderson back to his corner for some double-teaming. Austin tags in and gives Anderson a vertical suplex. Subsequently he takes Anderson to the corner but Arn fights back sending Austin to the center of the ring. As Anderson tries to make a tag Austin tries to cut him off but Anderson backtracks so that Austin jumps into the ropes. Thinking he still has the advantage Austin rolls his imaginary camera at Anderson. Out of spite that earns him a DDT.
Pillman tags in as Flair gets the hot tag. Flair mounts the top turnbuckle and chops Pillman on top of the head. He chops Austin then nails Pillman. After a couple of chops he cross-corner whips Pillman and gives him an inverted atomic drop. Austin comes in but Flair whips him off the ropes and sends him over the top rope with an elbow.
Flair mounts the second turnbuckle above Pillman to administer the ten punch count with the fans, but Austin breaks it up. The Blonds whip Flair off the ropes. Flair ducks. Anderson trips Austin from the outside and Flair pins Pillman after a flying forearm. Horsemen are up one fall to zero. Before going to commercial Buffer mistakenly believes the match is over despite announcing a best 2 out of 3 falls match in the beginning.
When we return from commercial Flair and Pillman start the second fall. Pillman takes Flair to the corner and chops him three times. Flair returns fire with two chops and a right hand. Pillman switches and gives him three more chops. Then Pillman cross-corner whips him, but Flair does a Flair flip and chops both Pillman and Austin consecutively.
As Flair is on the apron Pillman shoves Flair to the floor. As Pillman distracts the referee Austin gives Flair a vertical suplex on the floor. Flair gets up and drags Pillman down to the floor with him. Pillman chops him four times, rakes the eyes, and rams Flair’s head into the steel railing. Austin takes over for him on the floor and drops him face-first on the steel railing. At this point the only thing Flair can do is a Flair Flop.
Pillman brings Flair into the ring and tags in Austin. Flair gets chopped by Austin and then choked with the towel by Pillman behind the referee’s back. Austin hoists Flair onto the top turnbuckle and gives him a textbook superplex. As Anderson rallies the fans behind Flair Austin cross-corner whips Flair and then puts the shoulder into Flair’s midsection. Flair tries to fight back, but Austin puts the boots to him in the corner.
Flair retaliates with a kick to the midsection followed by a couple of chops, but he can’t tag out. Pillman tags back in and chops Flair twice. Flair comes back with two chops of his own before shooting Pillman off the ropes. Pillman ducks a clothesline and both men collide. Austin tags back in, and Flair…makes the tag!
Anderson comes in and whips Austin off the ropes to give him a back body drop. Immediately he whips him again and delivers a shot to the midsection. Anderson whips him a third time and gives him his patented spinebuster. Before the referee can count Pillman makes the save. Flair distracts the referee and Pillman clips Anderson’s knee. Austin makes a cover but only gets 2.
Pillman tags back in and immediately goes to work on the knee. He takes Anderson to the corner, but Anderson headbutts him. Pillman tries to cross-corner whip him, but Anderson’s knee gives out. Pillman gets a 2 count using the ropes. Austin tags back in and continues to work on the knee. Anderson counters but can’t escape Austin’s clutches in order to tag out.
Pillman tags back in and stops Anderson’s efforts to tag Flair. He then applies a single leg crab. Austin applies pressure to Pillman’s head behind the referee’s back. While Pillman has Anderson by the leg Arn gets to his feet and gives him an enziguri! Austin tags back in and keeps Anderson in the ring. He drags Anderson back to his corner and distracts the referee. Meanwhile Pillman whips Anderson’s leg against the edge of the apron.
Pillman gives Anderson a snapmare and heads to the second turnbuckle. He tries a double axehandle, but Anderson makes him eat boot instead. Desperately Anderson makes the tag to Flair. Instantly Flair heads to the Blonds’ corner and chops Austin. He whips Austin off the ropes and chops him down. Next he tosses Pillman over the top rope. Supposedly Patrick didn’t see it. Flair chops Austin then gives him a belly-to-back suplex.
As Flair sets up for the figure-four leglock Barry Windham runs to the ring and nails Flair! The referee calls for the bell to disqualify the champs. Since the Horsemen didn’t win both falls by pinfall or submission the titles do not change hands. From out of the crowd “Pretty” Paul Roma comes in to help his fellow Horsemen. He assists Anderson in clearing out the Blonds. Anderson pushes Windham out of the ring to get him off Flair. ****
Tony interviews Windham who cuts a promo on Flair before Flair jumps on top of him. Security separates them as we are outta time!
Conceptually the Clashes were precursors to the PPVs in order to set the table for them. While the tag match was red hot with a schmoz ending it set up the NWA title match between Flair and Windham at Beach Blast. In the meantime it also set up Roma and Anderson versus the Hollywood Blonds. In our other main event the table is definitely set for the Masters of the Powerbomb versus Sting and Bulldog. Also the Rude-Rhodes storyline progressed well there. In addition the Badd-Payne story got an added twist for the blow-off at the PPV. Lord Steven Regal’s new character is a breath of fresh air to WCW. His heel schtick was very underrated and his wrestling acumen speaks for itself. I would personally like to thank Adam for giving me the opportunity to review this show.
Stay tuned to more Rock Star Gary reviews in the coming weeks!
Be sure to visit http://www.rockstargary.com to check out more info on me!
Clash of the Champions #35 – August 21, 1997
Standard warming about how old this is applies.
Clash
of the
Champions 35
Date: August 21,
1997
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville,
Tennessee
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Dusty
Rhodes
of the
Champions 35
Date: August 21,
1997
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville,
Tennessee
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, Dusty
Rhodes
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
Clash of the Champions more or less was WCW’s
Saturday Night’s Main Event. They started it up to go head to head
with Wrestlemania 4 and actually put a solid dent in it. The show
went on for 9 years but by the end no one cared at all. The show was
just worthless as there was already two hours of television a week so
in essence we were just getting an extra Nitro two weeks a year,
which is why this is the final one.
As for current
storylines, this is at the height of the NWO’s power but Sting is
looming. I think you know the story there. The main event is Luger
and DDP vs. Savage and Hall. See what I mean about how this just
isn’t that interesting of a show? Let’s get to it.
The
opening video just runs down the card. Other than the stupid tag team
main event this sounds pretty decent.
We get a clip of Dillon
saying that Sting has until Thursday to make his demands as Sting had
ripped up two contracts with match offers in them. Sting came through
the crowd and got in the ring and the fans chanted Hogan. Sting
pointed to the fans who were chanting it. This angle was freaking
sweet as hell. And then Hogan and his ego just had to kill it
dead.
US Title: Jeff
Jarrett vs. Steve
McMichael
Jarrett used to be a Horsemen and stole
McMichael’s wife Debra so Mongo wants to get the title to get some
revenge or something. This was the epitome of a feud that no one
wanted to see but would never die. Mongo is a Horsemen here meaning
we get to hear the sweetest theme music of all time. Jarrett was
neither interesting nor good at this time whereas Mongo never was
either of those things so we’ll give it to…damn who do we give
this one to?
Actually let’s just hope this ends fast. We
take a break and come back with Jarrett throwing Mongo into the steps
(His name was Steve Mongo McMichael in case you were wondering).
Debra chokes him and I still couldn’t care less. The WCW midcard
just completely sucked and while we were having Owen vs. Austin
followed by Rock vs. Austin in WWF at this point for the IC belt,
this just doesn’t hold up. Jarrett puts on a sleeper as a great
visual representation for this match.
Mongo gets his own and
Debra gets up on the apron. For no apparent reason Eddie Guerrero
runs out with a belt and goes up top but hits Jarrett by mistake.
Mongo covers for the title with ease. Debra tries to get him back and
fails at it.
Rating: D+. At least it was short. These
two feuded forever and no one cared ever. It just wasn’t
interesting at all but they thought they could just slap the Horsemen
name on it and get a good reaction from it through the south. There
wasn’t much here though so the time was good if nothing else. Mongo
held it for less than a month before Hennig turned heel and took
it.
Alex Wright comes out and speaks in English and Gene warns
him to speak in English which was stupid as hell. It’s as simple of
a promo as you could ask for. He has Ultimo Dragon tonight.
Gene
is with the guys from a show called Dinner and a Movie. In essence
they showed a movie and made food with a play on words of the movie
title. It was an ok idea but why are these guys on a wrestling show?
There’s your problem with WCW right there: too much corporate
interference.
Stevie Richards vs.
Raven
Raven “didn’t have a contract” at this
point and insisted on wrestling only in No DQ matches. This is a
grudge match or something as Richards was tired of Raven pushing him
around. Richards had allegedly had a career ending neck injury but
miraculously healed and showed up in WCW a few weeks later. They
point out Raven’s ankle issue as he has a thing on his shoe to
balance out the fact that his right leg is shorter than his left.
The Raven drop toehold hits to the chair as this is just a
squash match so far. He throws in a bulldog onto the chair for good
measure. Richards comes back with some decent stuff but at the end of
the day he remembers he’s Steven Richards and the other guy is
Raven and the best DDT other than Jake Roberts (who trained Raven)
ends it.
Rating: C+. It was a squash and a quick one at
that so we’ll just call it a bit above average for the DDT, which
is the coolest move in history. Richards would be gone in like two
weeks or so.
We get a cool video about Ultimo Dragon,
explaining a bit of his history and his name. WCW hit the ball so far
out of the park with this division that it’s insane. The name was
called Ultimate Dragon but that was incorrect, as it was supposed to
be Ultimo Dragon: Final Dragon, as in the final student of Bruce Lee,
who he emulated in the ring. That’s the kind of thing that you just
never get in WWE and it’s why the cruiserweights worked so well.
That and they never took them seriously. The shot of the
J-Crown (8 titles from around the world which were defended on WCW
television and included a WWF light heavyweight title that was active
for 20 years but only in Japan, meaning that a WWF Title was defended
on WCW television multiple times in 1996 and 1997) titles being piled
up is just awesome.
TV Title: Ultimo
Dragon vs. Alex
Wright
When Dragon won the title a few weeks prior,
it was the match where no one talked about the match whatsoever other
than the final three count as the whole match was nothing but talking
about the NWO. At the end they more or less said hey we have a new
champion! Now back to what we were talking about. It was just
ridiculous how that was all they talked about.
Wright was a
guy that they tried so hard to push but it just never played out like
they wanted it to. He was this young hotshot that was somewhat over
as a face so of course they turned him heel and no one cared after
that. Dragon really was underrated in the ring. In WWE they just
threw him into the cruiserweight division and let him die off because
that division sucked so hard it was pathetic. These two feuded for
the better part of a year and I don’t think anyone ever cared.
There was no focus at all on the title or anything as it was
always about the NWO. Dragon gets the Asai moonsault that he invented
and does better than anyone else. The commentary is all about them as
well which is NICE. We hit a very nice ending sequence as they fight
over pins but Wright hits a SWEET German suplex for the pin and the
title.
Rating: B-. This was a good match but just
boring as hell. The problem was that while these two had good
matches, it’s Ultimo Dragon vs. Alex Wright. There’s just no heat
at all and it’s not a great matchup while being a good match if
that makes sense.
Cruiserweight Title:
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris
Jericho
Eddie is challenging here and is freshly
full heel. Eddie’s cowardly heel stuff of running on his knees
always made me chuckle. How much commentary do you really need on a
Guerrero vs. Jericho cruiserweight match? The Canadian goes for that
running springboard dropkick to the guy on the apron that he uses a
lot but slips and botches it badly.
I guess once a year is
understandable. In a quick ending, they hit another fast series of
pinfalls but Jericho actually keeps Eddie down and gets the pin.
Eddie jumps him after the match.
Rating: C-. WAY too
short here but we just had to have Mongo and Jarrett earlier instead
of on Nitro right? The ending sequence was fun as always and these
two just flowed together pretty well. They needed more time though
and that’s why the grade is low.
Silver
King/Villano 4/Villano
5/Psicosis vs. Super
Calo/Juventud Guerrera/Hector
Garza/Lismark Jr.
More
or less the idea here is go out there and do a bunch of flips like
you do every night without ever getting pushed more than a tiny bit
against each other. This is Lucha rules, meaning if someone goes to
the floor then they don’t have to make a tag for someone else to
come in. I used to hate Mike Tenay but he’s worth his weight in
gold here.
There’s no real point to saying who is in as
they move in and out so fast that it’s hard to keep up with them.
We hit the big pile on with everyone hitting their big over the top
rope until Psicosis hits the guillotine legdrop off the top onto
Super Calo for the pin.
Rating: B-. It was just over
the top and ridiculous which is what these guys did best. This was
very fun and it worked well as it always did. These guys were well
paid to go out there and just get the crowd going and that’s what
they always did.
The cooking guys join the NWO. Tonight is
their one year anniversary but Hogan isn’t here tonight because
he’s in Canada doing a Hollywood movie. That’s WCW for you. We go
to a commercial and come back to DDP Diamond Cutting one of the movie
guys.
Konnan/Syxx vs.
Ric Flair/Curt
Hennig
Hennig was kind of an associate Horseman at
the time but soon he would join the NWO and injure Flair. If there
was ever a guy tailor made to be in the Horsemen, it’s Hennig. Syxx
(X-Pac) more or less beats up Flair but we’ll ignore the pop he’s
getting for doing it. That doesn’t exist. Flair gets his knee
knocked out as Hennig hits the Fisherman’s Suplex on Konnan to get
the win. This was a five minute train wreck.
Rating:
C-. This was just insane and it felt like it was about two minutes
long instead of the five that it actually was. Hennig denies being a
Horsemen but also denies not being a Horsemen while only saying one
thing. He actually does this which is impressive.
He would go
heel soon enough in another dumb move because he was perfect for the
Horsemen. He had the look, he could talk, he was over, he had the
attitude and he was great in the ring. Naturally he was thrown into
the NWO and forgotten about.
WCW Tag
Titles: Lex Luger/DDP
vs. Randy Savage/Scott
Hall
About ten guys come out for the NWO and they
have their party for it being their birthday. Apparently Nash is
letting Savage defend his half of the tag titles for no apparent
reason. Yeah of course we just throw two guys together that have
never teamed together before (according to the ring announcer) and
give them a tag title shot.
In WWF they would have won the
titles. People keep popping the balloons that the NWO dropped so it
sounds like people keep shooting guns or something and it’s really
annoying. And for no apparent reason everyone other than Nash leaves.
It’s exactly what you would expect from a match where the titles
simply weren’t going to change hands.
The faces dominate
early on but then the heels take over to set up the hot tag. Luger
gets Hall in the rack but takes an accidental Diamond Cutter and gets
pinned. What else is there to say here?
Rating: C+.
It’s ok and that’s about it. What more do you want here? They had
an ok match that no one cared about on a show that not a lot of
people actually watched. Are you looking for something huge here?
We
come back and Bischoff talks forever and then the lights begin to
flicker. They go off and we see Sting in the rafters with a vulture.
The famous speech in a child’s voice follows and the lights go out
again and the bird is on the top rope. The NWO is terrified and Nash
pulls the belt back to swing it at him as we go off the air. Think
about how stupid this was for the live audience for a
minute.
Overall Rating: C-. You could see
that this was about the name of the show and nothing more. Yeah there
were four title matches but that happened at almost every Nitro. Yes
two titles changed hands but who cares? It’s just not an
interesting show as Nitro was lighting the world on fire on Mondays
on a weekly basis. Ten years earlier this was an awesome idea but
here it just didn’t hold up at all. Not bad, but only watch if you
like this time in WCW. Otherwise it’s nothing of note at all.
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com
The Only Review Of Night of Champions 2012 That You’ll Ever Need
Night of Champions – 2012
Venue: TD Garden
City: Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 14,886
Buyrate: The event was up 20,000 from the year before, bringing in 189,000 buys
Venue: TD Garden
City: Boston, Massachusetts
Attendance: 14,886
Buyrate: The event was up 20,000 from the year before, bringing in 189,000 buys
We get a great video to
open the show about CM Punk and Cena. I have no idea what’s on this card, but
the Punk/Cena deal is a good sign.
open the show about CM Punk and Cena. I have no idea what’s on this card, but
the Punk/Cena deal is a good sign.
JBL comes out to announce.
Wow, he’s lost A LOT of weight. He’s a complete stick.
Wow, he’s lost A LOT of weight. He’s a complete stick.
The Miz [C] vs Rey
Mysterio vs Cody Rhodes vs Sin Cara – Intercontinental Championship
Mysterio vs Cody Rhodes vs Sin Cara – Intercontinental Championship
I have a question before
the match begins. Isn’t an ‘Intercontinental Champion’ the same as a World
Champion? I mean, intercontinental means
all the continents, right? And wouldn’t all the continents be the world? Or
does the world count the oceans, and IC doesn’t? I digress.
the match begins. Isn’t an ‘Intercontinental Champion’ the same as a World
Champion? I mean, intercontinental means
all the continents, right? And wouldn’t all the continents be the world? Or
does the world count the oceans, and IC doesn’t? I digress.
Really great opener. There
wasn’t a second of down time, and honest to God, for the first time I was
actually impressed by The Miz. The
match includes a lot of great spots, including everyone going for the pin on Miz
after a 619 and Frogsplash, with each pin feeling like it was going to
be the one. It was also funny to see Sin Cara all of a sudden decide he needed
to try and put an extra mask on folks.
wasn’t a second of down time, and honest to God, for the first time I was
actually impressed by The Miz. The
match includes a lot of great spots, including everyone going for the pin on Miz
after a 619 and Frogsplash, with each pin feeling like it was going to
be the one. It was also funny to see Sin Cara all of a sudden decide he needed
to try and put an extra mask on folks.
Miz hits the Skull Crushing
Finale on Cody Rhodes for the pin at 12:05 | ***1/2
Finale on Cody Rhodes for the pin at 12:05 | ***1/2
We get an absolutely DREADFUL scene with Kaitlyn
being hurt, giving the Claire Lynch performance of a lifetime.
Recap of Team Hell No. Am I the only one who
thinks their finisher needs to be Kane setting up for the Tombstone, as Bryan
then hugs him, and they both drop
down? S’perfect.
Team Hell No vs Kofi & R-Truth [C] – Tag-Team
Championship
Championship
The match is moving along nicely, and then it abruptly
stops so they can do the stupid “hug-it-out” spot. After that, the match
never really picks back up, and they end up winning in a way conducive to their
gimmick, but still lame.
Daniel Bryan kicks Kane off the turnbuckles onto
an unconscious Kofi for the pin at 8:22 | **
Teddy Long and Booker T are talking in a room
that’s reminiscent of the sweet WCW interview locker rooms where Lex Luger
is talking amongst lockers that display casually hung WCW and Total Package T-shirts
and foam fingers. Eve gets the title shot now that Speed Racer [oh ho ho] is
out.
Antonio Cesaro [C] vs Zack Ryder – US Championship
Zack Ryder won a battle royal on the pre-show to
earn this shot, tossing out Tensai last. The match is about as you’d
expect, with Zack Ryder getting the ever-lovin’ hell kicked out of him. Cesaro
is somewhat impressive, although
nothing I’d go crazy for. At one point
he does a pretty sweet move where he tosses Zack upward, and greets him with an
uppercut on his way down.
Zack himself gets a great moment where Cesaro goes for the suplex, but Zack
throws his weight, lands on his feet while still in a suplex hold, and
turns that into a neckbreaker. An average bout, very fitting for the US title.
Antonio hits Zack with the Neutralizer for the pin
at 6:32 | **
Ricardo, Del Rio, and Otunga do some wacky stuff
with neck braces.
Dolph Ziggler vs Randy Orton
JBL says this match would be good in a phone booth.
The only two people I believe could pull that off is Roddy Piper & Keith
David.
Honestly, I don’t watch much current wrestling
unless there’s a big time match that people are buzzing about. However, because
of these requests, I’ve been seeing a lot of Ziggler, and I’m sure you
all already know this, but he’s the man. He’s fresh, original, and one
hell
of a wrestler. Hell, he’s supposed to be the heel here, but the crowd is
cheering him like crazy. He and Vickie make one hell of a combo too.
Nice spot where Orton gets Ziggler outside, and starts to lose it. He slams
Zigger into the barrier, then lays him on top of it and does the second-rope DDT, effectively killing
him. So it makes Ziggler look like the man when Orton throws him in the ring,
and he’s able to throw his leg on the
ropes. Great match. Not as good as Ziggler’s bout with Sheamus, but still
great. Man, does Ziggler EVER win?
Orton throws Ziggler up in the air and hits the
RKO at 17:58 | ***3/4
Layla [C] vs Eve – Divas Championship
I truly cannot understand why they have women’s
wrestling. EVER. No one has EVER paid a ticket or spent a dime to watch women
wrestle. Perhaps in Japan, but in America? Not once. Not gonna lie though, Eve
having Layla in a head-scissors is
pretty hot. This was honestly a
pretty decent match, Eve is an actual talent, I think, although I could have
just caught her on a great night.
Eve hits Layla with a neckbreaker to snag the win
at 6:29 | **1/2
We get a commercial for Rock vs Cena. Has anyone
seen this? Is it as absolutely boring as I imagine it to be?
Kane & Daniel Bryan argue over who happen to be the Tag Team Champions. The major highlight being AJ drenched in ice cold Gatorade. That’s a
bit of alright. NAY…quite a bit of alright.
We get a recap of the Sheamus vs Alberto, in which
the entire feud is all about David Otunga taking a deposition from Sheamus.
This is all about banning the Brogue Kick. It’d be so much easier to get to
that point without all this crap. I’m
not looking forward to this, damn
you Jobber123.
Alberto Del Rio vs Sheamus [C] – World Heavyweight
Championship
Championship
Is it just me, or does Sheamus’ song really sound
like “it’s a shameful thing, Lobster Head”? Booker comes out and
announces the Brogue Kick legal. So, everyone got to see all that exciting court
room stuff simply for the entertainment value of it. It’s also
nice that
an interesting stip has been dropped. Also nice is when WWE chooses its
history. Sometimes they talk about how the WHC dates back to Lou Thesz
and Ed Lewis, other times it’s only 10 years old. Either way, two World Titles
is stupid.
Del Rio spends the first round of his momentum
working the arm in various ways, until Sheamus turns the tides by catching Del
Rio with a clothesline as he leaps off the turnbuckle. A Brogue Kick attempt is
thwarted, with Del Rio turning it into a chance for an
enzuiguri. I hate it when wrestlers telegraph their finishers like
Sheamus, Orton, and Shawn, because the person they’re targeting would have to
be Bernie Lomax to not see it coming. The ending was cooking along
pretty nicely there. I’m more than happy to admit that this was a great match,
much better than I expected.
Alberto eats the Brogue Kick and the pin at 13:56
| ***1/2
CM Punk [C] vs John Cena – WWE Championship
Cole says that at MiTB, Punk defeated Cena to
completely change WWE. I think that’s a bit of an understatement. I mean, back
then we had a stupid looking title belt, Triple H forcing himself in
main events, Cena being all over TV and the top of the company, 50/50 booking
crap, and talent being completely wasted! Now-a-days, well, the WWE
comes with a brand new hat!
It should come as no surprise what a great match
this is. The last two matches between these two, Punk and Cena were evenly
matched; however, this time the last year of experience has put Punk on
a different level. He dominates Cena for the first half of the match, and stops
Cena’s
comebacks at every turn,
countering the 5 Knuckle Shuffle twice, with one being a sweet counter into the
Vice, as he looks right into Cena’s face and screams “BEST IN THE WORLD!”. It’s also fantastic to see
Heyman on the outside, at times beaming like a proud father and at others
worrying like a wife. This match truly displays Punk as best in the world. Cena
can’t put him down, and Punk has an answer for him at every turn. An awesome
spot sees Punk hit a Rock Bottom, as he’s tried just about everything to wipe
Cena out. Both men are dead, absolutely dead, and I’m a bit upset that I
know who wins, because this would have been incredible to see live. Without a
doubt their best match to date. I’d love to go full monty, but I can’t with
that ending.
Both CM Punk & John Cena’s shoulders are down
for the count of 3 at 26:50 | ****3/4
We end with an awesome scene as Heyman and Punk
walk to the back, while Punk’s yells “I’m the best in the World! Best in
the World!” and Heyman pets his ego with “and that’s why I
respect you! That’s why I respect you!”
Showcase Showdown: Compared to the last two shows I reviewed, this one was disappointing me at first. The matches weren’t terrible by any means, but they weren’t blowing me away like last time. However, once we got towards the Main Event scene, things really picked up and this show became another thumbs up. After disappointing main events with Del Rio & Sheamus, they really had to prove themselves this time around and did so. CM Punk & Cena are this generation’s Rock & Austin. Untouchable chemistry both in the ring and on the mic. A match that people need to seek out if they don’t feel like watching the entire show.
Before I get into my shameless self-promotion, and I do mean shameless, I’d like to thank Steve Ferrari for proof reading this bad-boy.
Any requests or mailbag questions send to [email protected], or let me know in the comments section.
Str8 Gangster, No Chaser – The website was originally slated to play Han Solo, but passed so it could be the lead in the My Mother The Car Reboot. It still stands by it’s decision. It’s got Top 4’s, Man Movie Encyclopedia entries, Saved By The Bell Archive articles, movie reviews, as well as wrestling and horror.
WCW In 2000 – The only website out there dedicated to reviewing The Plan 9 From Outer Space [“Now let’s hear him call Boris Karloff a cocksucker”] of wrestling.
The Man Movie Encyclopedia – Vol.1 – My book on amazon. Current 5 star rating, with endorsements from Scott Keith & Maddox, not to mention other fellow BoD’ers. A perfect gift for Christmas, and every night of Hanukkah.
Night of Champions 2012
Night
of Champions 2012
of Champions 2012
Date:
September 16, 2012
September 16, 2012
Location:
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators:
Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield
Michael Cole, John Bradshaw Layfield
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
It’s
another WWE PPV here and in this case almost everything is for a
title. This doesn’t really mean much as almost every show has four
or five title shots but it’s an interesting theme I guess. The main
event here is Cena vs. Punk III for the title with Punk defending for
once, which is the third combination they could go with in their
series. Other than that not much really stands out here so let’s get
to it.
another WWE PPV here and in this case almost everything is for a
title. This doesn’t really mean much as almost every show has four
or five title shots but it’s an interesting theme I guess. The main
event here is Cena vs. Punk III for the title with Punk defending for
once, which is the third combination they could go with in their
series. Other than that not much really stands out here so let’s get
to it.
Pre-Show:
Battle Royal
Battle Royal
Brodus
Clay, Epico, Primo, Justin Gabriel, Tensai, Tyson Kidd, Michael
McGillicutty, Zach Ryder, Titus O’Neal, Darren Young, Jinder Mahal,
JTG, Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater, Ted DiBiase, Santino Marella
Clay, Epico, Primo, Justin Gabriel, Tensai, Tyson Kidd, Michael
McGillicutty, Zach Ryder, Titus O’Neal, Darren Young, Jinder Mahal,
JTG, Drew McIntyre, Heath Slater, Ted DiBiase, Santino Marella
The
winner gets a US Title shot at Cesaro later in the night. Cameron is
back from suspension apparently. Anybody but Santino. Anybody.
Slater asks everyone to stand back so he can dance and he’s
eliminated by 15 people at once. McGillicutty is thrown out as is
DiBiase in about 40 seconds. Brodus dumps Primo and Mahal a few
seconds later. The problem in battle royals is that there isn’t much
else to say other than who tosses out who until we get to the end.
Brodus puts out Epico and Tensai LAUNCHES Gabriel out.
winner gets a US Title shot at Cesaro later in the night. Cameron is
back from suspension apparently. Anybody but Santino. Anybody.
Slater asks everyone to stand back so he can dance and he’s
eliminated by 15 people at once. McGillicutty is thrown out as is
DiBiase in about 40 seconds. Brodus dumps Primo and Mahal a few
seconds later. The problem in battle royals is that there isn’t much
else to say other than who tosses out who until we get to the end.
Brodus puts out Epico and Tensai LAUNCHES Gabriel out.
Kidd
is sent to the apron and tries a slingshot hurricanrana but gets
powerbombed onto the pile of people. The monsters square off and
Santino tries a double Cobra to no avail. The Players and McIntyre
team up and dump Brodus, who may have hurt his shoulder. The Cobra
puts JTG out and Ryder dropkicks McIntyre out. Brodus leaves and his
shoulder seems fine so maybe it was just something quick. There’s
the Cobra and it drops Tensai and Young, with the latter getting
covered.
is sent to the apron and tries a slingshot hurricanrana but gets
powerbombed onto the pile of people. The monsters square off and
Santino tries a double Cobra to no avail. The Players and McIntyre
team up and dump Brodus, who may have hurt his shoulder. The Cobra
puts JTG out and Ryder dropkicks McIntyre out. Brodus leaves and his
shoulder seems fine so maybe it was just something quick. There’s
the Cobra and it drops Tensai and Young, with the latter getting
covered.
O’Neal
dumps Santino and we’re down to Titus, Young, Tensai and Ryder.
Titus suplexes Young onto Tensai before the partners go after Ryder.
The Players double team Ryder but get dumped by Tensai. Tensai
thought Ryder went out but he slid back in. Tensai charges into the
double knee in the corner but he blocks the Rough Ryder into a
powerbomb position. He goes to dump Ryder but Ryder counters into a
hurricanrana to eliminate Tensai for the win at 5:42.
dumps Santino and we’re down to Titus, Young, Tensai and Ryder.
Titus suplexes Young onto Tensai before the partners go after Ryder.
The Players double team Ryder but get dumped by Tensai. Tensai
thought Ryder went out but he slid back in. Tensai charges into the
double knee in the corner but he blocks the Rough Ryder into a
powerbomb position. He goes to dump Ryder but Ryder counters into a
hurricanrana to eliminate Tensai for the win at 5:42.
Rating:
C-. It’s a battle royal so
there isn’t much to say here. Ryder getting the shot is fine as the
fans are going to react to him. He doesn’t have much of a chance
against Cesaro but that’s ok as I’m sure more than one other title
will change hands tonight. This was about what you would expect, but
at least Santino didn’t win which would have been insufferable.
C-. It’s a battle royal so
there isn’t much to say here. Ryder getting the shot is fine as the
fans are going to react to him. He doesn’t have much of a chance
against Cesaro but that’s ok as I’m sure more than one other title
will change hands tonight. This was about what you would expect, but
at least Santino didn’t win which would have been insufferable.
The
opening video is all about Cena vs. Punk. They aren’t even hiding
that the Smackdown Title means nothing does it?
opening video is all about Cena vs. Punk. They aren’t even hiding
that the Smackdown Title means nothing does it?
Cole
talks about the Lawler story and says that Jerry is going home this
weekend. That’s great to hear. JBL is introduced as the replacement
and says that he’s just keeping the seat warm for Lawler.
talks about the Lawler story and says that Jerry is going home this
weekend. That’s great to hear. JBL is introduced as the replacement
and says that he’s just keeping the seat warm for Lawler.
Intercontinental
Title: The Miz vs. Sin Cara vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes
Title: The Miz vs. Sin Cara vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes
Before
the match, Miz complains about having to be in this and says that
he’s going to file a complaint against Booker T for making him do
this. Miz is champion coming in if you’re new at this. Rey is sent
to the floor to start but Cara sends Cody to the floor as well before
armdragging Miz outside too. Cody and Rey come back in as Cara drops
to the mat for no apparent reason.
the match, Miz complains about having to be in this and says that
he’s going to file a complaint against Booker T for making him do
this. Miz is champion coming in if you’re new at this. Rey is sent
to the floor to start but Cara sends Cody to the floor as well before
armdragging Miz outside too. Cody and Rey come back in as Cara drops
to the mat for no apparent reason.
It’s
time for the masked guys to fight. I know this has been a match
people have wanted to see and I’m not really sure why. Rey takes
Cara down for two but Cody makes the save. The unmasked guys go at
it for awhile and everything breaks down. Rey goes up but takes too
long so Cara goes after him. The Disaster Kick hits Cara but Miz
breaks up a superplex so he can hook a Tower of Doom which gets two
on Rey. Miz sends Cody to the floor as the fans sound like they’re
chanting for Cody.
time for the masked guys to fight. I know this has been a match
people have wanted to see and I’m not really sure why. Rey takes
Cara down for two but Cody makes the save. The unmasked guys go at
it for awhile and everything breaks down. Rey goes up but takes too
long so Cara goes after him. The Disaster Kick hits Cara but Miz
breaks up a superplex so he can hook a Tower of Doom which gets two
on Rey. Miz sends Cody to the floor as the fans sound like they’re
chanting for Cody.
The
short DDT gets two on Rey but Cara comes back with some high flying
stuff to send Miz to the floor, followed by a big dive. Rey hits a
headscissors on Cody on the floor followed by a seated senton off the
apron. Cara gets two on the champ off a slingshot senton but he gets
sent into the corner for the corner clothesline from Miz. Rey comes
in with a kind of Vader Bomb for two (why has that move become so
popular lately?) but Cody jumps him from behind for two of his own.
short DDT gets two on Rey but Cara comes back with some high flying
stuff to send Miz to the floor, followed by a big dive. Rey hits a
headscissors on Cody on the floor followed by a seated senton off the
apron. Cara gets two on the champ off a slingshot senton but he gets
sent into the corner for the corner clothesline from Miz. Rey comes
in with a kind of Vader Bomb for two (why has that move become so
popular lately?) but Cody jumps him from behind for two of his own.
Cara
puts Cody in 619 position but gets sent into the post by Miz. Miz
goes after Rey but winds up taking the 619 instead. The top rope
splash gets two for Rey on Miz but Cody saves. Cody tries to steal
the pin on Miz but Cara saves. Cody goes for Cara’s mask but Rey
saves. Rey gets sent to the floor with his sliding bump and Cara
hits Cody in the head with an enziguri from the apron.
puts Cody in 619 position but gets sent into the post by Miz. Miz
goes after Rey but winds up taking the 619 instead. The top rope
splash gets two for Rey on Miz but Cody saves. Cody tries to steal
the pin on Miz but Cara saves. Cody goes for Cara’s mask but Rey
saves. Rey gets sent to the floor with his sliding bump and Cara
hits Cody in the head with an enziguri from the apron.
Cara
tries to put another mask on Cody but Miz runs in and hits a
backbreaker/neckbreaker combo for two on Cara. Miz tries to
powerbomb Cara but Cara puts the mask on him instead. Cody tries
Cross Rhodes on Cara but Miz bumps into them (he can’t see because of
the mask) and hits the Finale on Cody for the pin to retain at 12:42.
tries to put another mask on Cody but Miz runs in and hits a
backbreaker/neckbreaker combo for two on Cara. Miz tries to
powerbomb Cara but Cara puts the mask on him instead. Cody tries
Cross Rhodes on Cara but Miz bumps into them (he can’t see because of
the mask) and hits the Finale on Cody for the pin to retain at 12:42.
Rating:
B-. This was a great choice for
an opener as they hit a great streak of near falls and saves in
there. The ending was creative but I’m really not sure what it
added. Miz pinning Cody doesn’t mean anything significant and he
would have hit the Finale on him in that situation if he could see or
not. Good opener here which got the crowd fired up.
B-. This was a great choice for
an opener as they hit a great streak of near falls and saves in
there. The ending was creative but I’m really not sure what it
added. Miz pinning Cody doesn’t mean anything significant and he
would have hit the Finale on him in that situation if he could see or
not. Good opener here which got the crowd fired up.
The
Prime Time Players are talking to Eve when someone comes up to tell
her there’s an emergency. Eve runs off and finds Kaitlyn down with a
bad ankle. She isn’t sure who attacked her but Eve says they’ll
figure out something.
Prime Time Players are talking to Eve when someone comes up to tell
her there’s an emergency. Eve runs off and finds Kaitlyn down with a
bad ankle. She isn’t sure who attacked her but Eve says they’ll
figure out something.
We
recap the Anger Management story with I believe the same video that
aired on Friday. Basically Kane and Bryan both have anger issues and
have been sent to anger management, resulting in some wacky outcomes
and a tag title shot tonight.
recap the Anger Management story with I believe the same video that
aired on Friday. Basically Kane and Bryan both have anger issues and
have been sent to anger management, resulting in some wacky outcomes
and a tag title shot tonight.
Kofi
Kingston/R-Truth vs. Kane/Daniel Bryan
Kingston/R-Truth vs. Kane/Daniel Bryan
Kane
and Kofi start but it’s quickly off to Truth. The big man powers
Truth down and it’s off to Bryan for some NO kicks which drive him
crazy. Truth armdrags him down and it’s back to Kofi with a top rope
forearm for two. A BIG kick to the face puts Bryan down and it’s
back to Truth for the spinning legdrop. The champions are the heels
here by default, but it’s more like they’re just the less popular
team.
and Kofi start but it’s quickly off to Truth. The big man powers
Truth down and it’s off to Bryan for some NO kicks which drive him
crazy. Truth armdrags him down and it’s back to Kofi with a top rope
forearm for two. A BIG kick to the face puts Bryan down and it’s
back to Truth for the spinning legdrop. The champions are the heels
here by default, but it’s more like they’re just the less popular
team.
Back
to Kane who pounds Truth down into the corner and stomps away a bit.
Back to Bryan and the fans erupt. The fans are going to turn this
guy face by force soon and it’s going to be massive. Bryan fires off
some kicks for two and it’s back to Kane for a low dropkick for two.
The challengers try to work together but Bryan misses a dropkick in
the corner and it’s time for a fight.
to Kane who pounds Truth down into the corner and stomps away a bit.
Back to Bryan and the fans erupt. The fans are going to turn this
guy face by force soon and it’s going to be massive. Bryan fires off
some kicks for two and it’s back to Kane for a low dropkick for two.
The challengers try to work together but Bryan misses a dropkick in
the corner and it’s time for a fight.
They
almost brawl but Bryan wants to hug it out, drawing the pop of the
night so far. JBL freaking out over stuff is something I’ve missed.
Truth FINALLY makes the hot tag after apparently writing the great
American novel while the challengers hugged. Kofi hits his usual
stuff and it sounds like the fans are booing him.
almost brawl but Bryan wants to hug it out, drawing the pop of the
night so far. JBL freaking out over stuff is something I’ve missed.
Truth FINALLY makes the hot tag after apparently writing the great
American novel while the challengers hugged. Kofi hits his usual
stuff and it sounds like the fans are booing him.
Kane
pulls Bryan to the floor to avoid Trouble in Paradise and they get in
another argument. Kofi dropkicks Kane and (almost) hits a flip dive
onto Bryan. NO Lock to Kofi doesn’t work as Truth makes the save to
more booing. Bryan kicks Kofi in the face but Kane tags himself in
and loads up the clothesline. Another argument with Bryan lets Kofi
run up for a rana but Bryan holds Kane’s foot. Kane stays on the top
but Bryan shoves him off into a splash to Kofi to win the titles at
8:30.
pulls Bryan to the floor to avoid Trouble in Paradise and they get in
another argument. Kofi dropkicks Kane and (almost) hits a flip dive
onto Bryan. NO Lock to Kofi doesn’t work as Truth makes the save to
more booing. Bryan kicks Kofi in the face but Kane tags himself in
and loads up the clothesline. Another argument with Bryan lets Kofi
run up for a rana but Bryan holds Kane’s foot. Kane stays on the top
but Bryan shoves him off into a splash to Kofi to win the titles at
8:30.
Rating:
B-. This was different but the
fans ate it up with a spoon. There was absolutely no other option
for this match as Kane and Bryan are currently over like free beer in
a frat house. The pop for the win is bigger than probably all of the
reactions for a tag title match in the last five years combined, so
at least people are paying attention now.
B-. This was different but the
fans ate it up with a spoon. There was absolutely no other option
for this match as Kane and Bryan are currently over like free beer in
a frat house. The pop for the win is bigger than probably all of the
reactions for a tag title match in the last five years combined, so
at least people are paying attention now.
Both
guys say they’re the champions post match but Kane sends fire from
the posts to end the argument.
guys say they’re the champions post match but Kane sends fire from
the posts to end the argument.
Kaitlyn
can’t go tonight and Eve says no one deserves the title match
tonight. Booker says Eve can have it. Teddy isn’t pleased.
can’t go tonight and Eve says no one deserves the title match
tonight. Booker says Eve can have it. Teddy isn’t pleased.
Cole
and JBL talk about breast cancer and how WWE is partnering with a
cancer research foundation which is why the middle rope is pink.
Nothing wrong with that at all.
and JBL talk about breast cancer and how WWE is partnering with a
cancer research foundation which is why the middle rope is pink.
Nothing wrong with that at all.
US
Title: Zack Ryder vs. Antonio Cesaro
Title: Zack Ryder vs. Antonio Cesaro
Ryder
won the preshow battle royal to get this shot. The word of the night
is Unfair, which is what Cesaro thinks this match is. Cesaro takes
him down with ease to start but Ryder takes Cesaro down by the wrist
to counter. A flapjack and dropkick get two for Ryder but Cesaro
shrugs them off and hooks a chinlock. A clothesline gets two for
Cesaro as does the gutwrench suplex.
won the preshow battle royal to get this shot. The word of the night
is Unfair, which is what Cesaro thinks this match is. Cesaro takes
him down with ease to start but Ryder takes Cesaro down by the wrist
to counter. A flapjack and dropkick get two for Ryder but Cesaro
shrugs them off and hooks a chinlock. A clothesline gets two for
Cesaro as does the gutwrench suplex.
Cesaro
gets the same off a regular suplex and the fans cheer for Ryder.
They slug it out but Cesaro throws him into the air and hits the
European uppercut for two. Cesaro hooks a reverse neckbreaker but
pulls Ryder onto his back for a submission hold. Ryder escapes and
hits a discus lariat for no cover.
gets the same off a regular suplex and the fans cheer for Ryder.
They slug it out but Cesaro throws him into the air and hits the
European uppercut for two. Cesaro hooks a reverse neckbreaker but
pulls Ryder onto his back for a submission hold. Ryder escapes and
hits a discus lariat for no cover.
A
rollup gets two for Ryder as does a middle rope dropkick. Ryder hits
a neckbreaker for two and Cesaro rolls to the apron. He goes up but
Ryder brings him down with a hurricanrana. Ryder loads up the Broski
Boot but Aksana pulls him to the floor. Back in and a European
Uppercut sets up the Neutralizer to retain the title at 6:40.
rollup gets two for Ryder as does a middle rope dropkick. Ryder hits
a neckbreaker for two and Cesaro rolls to the apron. He goes up but
Ryder brings him down with a hurricanrana. Ryder loads up the Broski
Boot but Aksana pulls him to the floor. Back in and a European
Uppercut sets up the Neutralizer to retain the title at 6:40.
Rating:
C-. This was perfectly fine.
It wasn’t a great match at all but for a thrown together PPV title
defense this was fine. Cesaro needs a bit more development but he’s
fine having random challengers like this one. Ryder is good to throw
out there as the people still like him so the fans react to what he
does. Nothing great but this was fine.
C-. This was perfectly fine.
It wasn’t a great match at all but for a thrown together PPV title
defense this was fine. Cesaro needs a bit more development but he’s
fine having random challengers like this one. Ryder is good to throw
out there as the people still like him so the fans react to what he
does. Nothing great but this was fine.
Otunga,
Del Rio and Rodriguez are in the back. Ricardo has his neck brace
off and Otunga yells at him, saying it needs to be on at all times
even though Ricardo says it’s not hurting anymore. They call Ricardo
stupid and he puts the brace back on.
Del Rio and Rodriguez are in the back. Ricardo has his neck brace
off and Otunga yells at him, saying it needs to be on at all times
even though Ricardo says it’s not hurting anymore. They call Ricardo
stupid and he puts the brace back on.
Dolph
Ziggler vs. Randy Orton
Ziggler vs. Randy Orton
Basic
grudge match here. The fans like Ziggler and they fight over a
lockup to start. Ziggler avoids a right hand and brags about doing
so. A clothesline takes Ziggler down and Randy stomps away. Dolph
comes back with a dropkick and a neckbreaker for two. Cole is
playing the straight man on commentary here tonight and it’s really
refreshing. Orton counters a suplex into a slingshot suplex for two.
grudge match here. The fans like Ziggler and they fight over a
lockup to start. Ziggler avoids a right hand and brags about doing
so. A clothesline takes Ziggler down and Randy stomps away. Dolph
comes back with a dropkick and a neckbreaker for two. Cole is
playing the straight man on commentary here tonight and it’s really
refreshing. Orton counters a suplex into a slingshot suplex for two.
The
backbreaker sets up some clotheslines from Randy but he can’t hook
the Elevated DDT. The camera keeps cutting to Vickie and it’s
getting distracting. Ziggler tries a hurricanrana but Orton counters
into a powerbomb. Orton gets shoved off the top and a missile
dropkick gets two for Ziggler. Dang it quit cutting to her. We get
it: she’s on the floor and shouting a lot. We can see that very
clearly from the regular camera shot.
backbreaker sets up some clotheslines from Randy but he can’t hook
the Elevated DDT. The camera keeps cutting to Vickie and it’s
getting distracting. Ziggler tries a hurricanrana but Orton counters
into a powerbomb. Orton gets shoved off the top and a missile
dropkick gets two for Ziggler. Dang it quit cutting to her. We get
it: she’s on the floor and shouting a lot. We can see that very
clearly from the regular camera shot.
Ziggler
drops a bunch of elbows capped off by the jumping elbow for two. Off
to a chinlock with the headstand by Ziggler but this time he bridges
forward to crank on the neck even more. Back up and another dropkick
gets two for Ziggler. Dolph goes up but gets crotched and
superplexed down for two. They slug it out and Ziggler holds his
own. He runs into an elbow but takes Orton down with the Fameasser
for two.
drops a bunch of elbows capped off by the jumping elbow for two. Off
to a chinlock with the headstand by Ziggler but this time he bridges
forward to crank on the neck even more. Back up and another dropkick
gets two for Ziggler. Dolph goes up but gets crotched and
superplexed down for two. They slug it out and Ziggler holds his
own. He runs into an elbow but takes Orton down with the Fameasser
for two.
They
head to the floor with Orton taking over. He hits the Elevated DDT
off the barricade but Orton throws Ziggler back in instead of taking
the countout. That only gets two back inside and Orton loads up the
RKO but gets countered into the sleeper. Orton throws him off his
back, throws Ziggler into the air and pulls him into the RKO for the
pin at 18:15.
head to the floor with Orton taking over. He hits the Elevated DDT
off the barricade but Orton throws Ziggler back in instead of taking
the countout. That only gets two back inside and Orton loads up the
RKO but gets countered into the sleeper. Orton throws him off his
back, throws Ziggler into the air and pulls him into the RKO for the
pin at 18:15.
Rating:
B+. Very good match here with
Ziggler more than hanging with Orton. JBL pushed the idea that if
Ziggler cashes in, Orton should get a title match. My guess is that
they’ll go with that feud after Orton gets back from the movie which
isn’t a bad idea. I’m not wild on Ziggler losing AGAIN but at least
it was in a competitive match.
B+. Very good match here with
Ziggler more than hanging with Orton. JBL pushed the idea that if
Ziggler cashes in, Orton should get a title match. My guess is that
they’ll go with that feud after Orton gets back from the movie which
isn’t a bad idea. I’m not wild on Ziggler losing AGAIN but at least
it was in a competitive match.
We
get a sneak preview of Dredd 3D.
get a sneak preview of Dredd 3D.
Divas
Title: Layla vs. Eve Torres
Title: Layla vs. Eve Torres
I
can’t say I blame them for swapping in Eve. Kaitlyn just can’t do
anything in the ring. JBL is talking about the Loch Ness Monster and
other conspiracy theories for some reason. Layla grabs a quick
rollup for two followed by a headlock. You can see the fans walking
to the back during the match. A low dropkick takes Eve down and they
shake hands, only for Eve to get a cheap shot to take over. Eve
hooks a headscissors choke as the fans chant OLE. Layla makes a
comeback but misses her bouncing cross body. The rolling neckbreaker
gives us a new champion at 6:35.
can’t say I blame them for swapping in Eve. Kaitlyn just can’t do
anything in the ring. JBL is talking about the Loch Ness Monster and
other conspiracy theories for some reason. Layla grabs a quick
rollup for two followed by a headlock. You can see the fans walking
to the back during the match. A low dropkick takes Eve down and they
shake hands, only for Eve to get a cheap shot to take over. Eve
hooks a headscissors choke as the fans chant OLE. Layla makes a
comeback but misses her bouncing cross body. The rolling neckbreaker
gives us a new champion at 6:35.
Rating:
D+. The match was technically
fine but my goodness the crowd being silent brings it down. Eve
being champion makes sense but it’s not like the title changes
anything with her. She’s FAR better in the ring than some of the
girls on the roster so I can’t complain much there, but they’ve
treated the title like nothing for so long that this doesn’t mean
anything at all.
D+. The match was technically
fine but my goodness the crowd being silent brings it down. Eve
being champion makes sense but it’s not like the title changes
anything with her. She’s FAR better in the ring than some of the
girls on the roster so I can’t complain much there, but they’ve
treated the title like nothing for so long that this doesn’t mean
anything at all.
Some
cancer survivors are here and at least they’re not booed.
cancer survivors are here and at least they’re not booed.
Now
we get a video about breast cancer.
we get a video about breast cancer.
Bryan
is shouting about being the tag team champions and runs into AJ who
is just standing around with her hips cocked to the side in a short
skirt. She doesn’t say anything so Bryan keeps walking and runs into
Dr. Shelby. Kane shows up and shouts that he’s the tag champions
(I’m not messing up with grammar. That’s what they’re saying).
is shouting about being the tag team champions and runs into AJ who
is just standing around with her hips cocked to the side in a short
skirt. She doesn’t say anything so Bryan keeps walking and runs into
Dr. Shelby. Kane shows up and shouts that he’s the tag champions
(I’m not messing up with grammar. That’s what they’re saying).
They
get in another fight and AJ snaps and tells them to calm down.
Shelby makes Bryan congratulate Kane but Kane won’t say anything.
Bryan yells that he’s the tag team champions but Kane pops up and
pours Gatorade over Bryan. Kane: “I’M GOING TO DISNEYLAND!”
Stop the shot. Just cut it now. This isn’t going to be topped.
Kane can be heard running off shouting that he’s the tag team
champions and AJ loses it with laughter.
get in another fight and AJ snaps and tells them to calm down.
Shelby makes Bryan congratulate Kane but Kane won’t say anything.
Bryan yells that he’s the tag team champions but Kane pops up and
pours Gatorade over Bryan. Kane: “I’M GOING TO DISNEYLAND!”
Stop the shot. Just cut it now. This isn’t going to be topped.
Kane can be heard running off shouting that he’s the tag team
champions and AJ loses it with laughter.
The
look on JBL’s face somehow makes it even better. “I came back for
THIS???”
look on JBL’s face somehow makes it even better. “I came back for
THIS???”
After
that hilarious moment, we bring it way down with a recap of Del Rio
vs. Sheamus. In short, they had a match, Sheamus beat Del Rio, they
had another match, Sheamus beat Del Rio again, Del Rio complained,
now they’re having another match and Sheamus can’t use the Brogue
Kick.
that hilarious moment, we bring it way down with a recap of Del Rio
vs. Sheamus. In short, they had a match, Sheamus beat Del Rio, they
had another match, Sheamus beat Del Rio again, Del Rio complained,
now they’re having another match and Sheamus can’t use the Brogue
Kick.
Smackdown
World Title: Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus
World Title: Alberto Del Rio vs. Sheamus
Sheamus
is in mostly white attire here which isn’t a great look for him. We
get the big match intros which is a nice touch. Before the bell
here’s Booker T. He’s concluded his investigation into the Brogue
Kick and the move is legal, thereby making the last two weeks TOTALLY
POINTLESS. Sheamus fires a quick Brogue Kick but takes out Otunga
instead. Referees come out to take Otunga to the back.
is in mostly white attire here which isn’t a great look for him. We
get the big match intros which is a nice touch. Before the bell
here’s Booker T. He’s concluded his investigation into the Brogue
Kick and the move is legal, thereby making the last two weeks TOTALLY
POINTLESS. Sheamus fires a quick Brogue Kick but takes out Otunga
instead. Referees come out to take Otunga to the back.
JBL
defends his own loss to Mysterio in 23 seconds as Sheamus pounds away
in the corner. A neckbreaker gets two for Sheamus and we head to the
floor where Sheamus hits the shoulder from the apron. Del Rio throws
him off the steps into the announce table to take over. Back in the
ring and Del Rio cranks on the arm followed by a kick to the ribs.
Del Rio uses Seth Rollins’ Blackout for two. Cole is talking about
the history of the title and thankfully they say it only goes back
ten years.
defends his own loss to Mysterio in 23 seconds as Sheamus pounds away
in the corner. A neckbreaker gets two for Sheamus and we head to the
floor where Sheamus hits the shoulder from the apron. Del Rio throws
him off the steps into the announce table to take over. Back in the
ring and Del Rio cranks on the arm followed by a kick to the ribs.
Del Rio uses Seth Rollins’ Blackout for two. Cole is talking about
the history of the title and thankfully they say it only goes back
ten years.
Sheamus’
shoulder gets sent into the post and a double ax off the top to the
arm gets two for Alberto. Del Rio goes up again but Sheamus knocks
him off, only to have Alberto grab an armbreaker over the ropes. An
attempt at another ax handle is countered by an ax handle from
Sheamus. Sheamus fires off more running ax handles and rams Alberto
face first into the post.
shoulder gets sent into the post and a double ax off the top to the
arm gets two for Alberto. Del Rio goes up again but Sheamus knocks
him off, only to have Alberto grab an armbreaker over the ropes. An
attempt at another ax handle is countered by an ax handle from
Sheamus. Sheamus fires off more running ax handles and rams Alberto
face first into the post.
There
are the ten forearms in the corner and Alberto is in trouble. White
Noise is countered into a Backstabber for two. The fans want
Ziggler. The Cross Armbreaker is countered into White Noise and the
fans still want Ziggler. The Brogue Kick misses and there’s the
enziguri in the corner for a very close two. Another Brogue Kick
misses but Sheamus escapes the Armbreaker but he can’t hook the
Cloverleaf.
are the ten forearms in the corner and Alberto is in trouble. White
Noise is countered into a Backstabber for two. The fans want
Ziggler. The Cross Armbreaker is countered into White Noise and the
fans still want Ziggler. The Brogue Kick misses and there’s the
enziguri in the corner for a very close two. Another Brogue Kick
misses but Sheamus escapes the Armbreaker but he can’t hook the
Cloverleaf.
Sheamus
charges at Del Rio but gets low bridged and his arm is trapped in the
ropes. Del Rio fires away kicks and Sheamus is in trouble. There’s
the Armbreaker but Sheamus rolls on top of Del Rio and powerbombs him
down to break the hold. Brogue Kick misses and there’s the
Armbreaker AGAIN. Sheamus almost taps but makes the ropes with his
feet instead. The corner enziguri misses for Del Rio and the Brogue
Kick finishes clean at 14:27.
charges at Del Rio but gets low bridged and his arm is trapped in the
ropes. Del Rio fires away kicks and Sheamus is in trouble. There’s
the Armbreaker but Sheamus rolls on top of Del Rio and powerbombs him
down to break the hold. Brogue Kick misses and there’s the
Armbreaker AGAIN. Sheamus almost taps but makes the ropes with his
feet instead. The corner enziguri misses for Del Rio and the Brogue
Kick finishes clean at 14:27.
Rating:
B. These matches are fine but
there are three problems with the feud. First and foremost, the
story is incredibly boring. I mean, they’re REALLY boring. Second,
Sheamus is not going to tap out to the Armbreaker. It’s flat out not
going to happen, just like 99.99% of all heel submission holds in
world title matches. It just does not happen in the WWE. Third,
Sheamus has beaten him twice coming into this so what was the point
of a third match? This feud needs to be over now, just like it
needed to be over a month ago. Still though, pretty good match.
B. These matches are fine but
there are three problems with the feud. First and foremost, the
story is incredibly boring. I mean, they’re REALLY boring. Second,
Sheamus is not going to tap out to the Armbreaker. It’s flat out not
going to happen, just like 99.99% of all heel submission holds in
world title matches. It just does not happen in the WWE. Third,
Sheamus has beaten him twice coming into this so what was the point
of a third match? This feud needs to be over now, just like it
needed to be over a month ago. Still though, pretty good match.
Video
on the National Guard which has some members here tonight.
on the National Guard which has some members here tonight.
We
recap Punk vs. Cena. Punk has been champion for about ten months but
he thinks he can’t get respect because of Cena. Tonight he gets to
define his reign, whatever that is supposed to mean.
recap Punk vs. Cena. Punk has been champion for about ten months but
he thinks he can’t get respect because of Cena. Tonight he gets to
define his reign, whatever that is supposed to mean.
Heyman
is in the ring and praises Punk, saying that Punk has described
himself as a Paul Heyman Guy.
is in the ring and praises Punk, saying that Punk has described
himself as a Paul Heyman Guy.
Raw
World Title: John Cena vs. CM Punk
World Title: John Cena vs. CM Punk
Punk
has the old school hoodie on and comes out first. Cena has a new
shirt. Punk’s trunks are Yankees colors. My goodness they’re
pushing the tar out of this heel turn. After the big match intros
we’re ready to go. Punk is getting booed but it’s not 100%. He
holds up the title for like a minute before the match starts. It’s a
pose off and Cena throws his shirt to the crowd where his dad catches
it.
has the old school hoodie on and comes out first. Cena has a new
shirt. Punk’s trunks are Yankees colors. My goodness they’re
pushing the tar out of this heel turn. After the big match intros
we’re ready to go. Punk is getting booed but it’s not 100%. He
holds up the title for like a minute before the match starts. It’s a
pose off and Cena throws his shirt to the crowd where his dad catches
it.
Cena
takes him to the mat and Punk’s trunks even have pinstripes on them.
Cena gets a quick headlock but it’s released quickly. Cole and JBL
keep rattling off stats and histories which is much better than Cole
laughing at stuff. A quick release fisherman’s suplex puts Punk down
but Punk elbows Cena in the face to escape. Punk takes over with a
headlock takeover and the dueling Cena chants begin.
takes him to the mat and Punk’s trunks even have pinstripes on them.
Cena gets a quick headlock but it’s released quickly. Cole and JBL
keep rattling off stats and histories which is much better than Cole
laughing at stuff. A quick release fisherman’s suplex puts Punk down
but Punk elbows Cena in the face to escape. Punk takes over with a
headlock takeover and the dueling Cena chants begin.
Cena
misses a charge in the corner and Punk dropkicks him in the face for
two. They’re still in first gear. Punk walks over Cena’s body to
get to the corner for some posing. That was awesome and he escapes
the AA attempt on top of that. A DDT gets two for Punk and he fires
some elbows to Cena’s chest. Off to a chinlock followed by a
bridging Indian Deathlock and Heyman has those evil eyes going on.
misses a charge in the corner and Punk dropkicks him in the face for
two. They’re still in first gear. Punk walks over Cena’s body to
get to the corner for some posing. That was awesome and he escapes
the AA attempt on top of that. A DDT gets two for Punk and he fires
some elbows to Cena’s chest. Off to a chinlock followed by a
bridging Indian Deathlock and Heyman has those evil eyes going on.
They
head to the floor as Cena tries to get a breather but Punk sends him
right back inside. Cena baseball slides him to the floor and throws
Punk into the crowd. A suplex on the floor takes Punk down and we
head back inside. The AA is countered into a high kick and it’s off
to a camel clutch. Back up and Punk fires off some jabs for two.
The GTS is escaped and Cena starts his finishing sequence, only to
counter the spinning slam into a cross body for two.
head to the floor as Cena tries to get a breather but Punk sends him
right back inside. Cena baseball slides him to the floor and throws
Punk into the crowd. A suplex on the floor takes Punk down and we
head back inside. The AA is countered into a high kick and it’s off
to a camel clutch. Back up and Punk fires off some jabs for two.
The GTS is escaped and Cena starts his finishing sequence, only to
counter the spinning slam into a cross body for two.
Cena
avoids the neckbreaker and takes Punk’s head off with a clothesline
for two. The Shuffle is blocked and Punk gets two off a neckbreaker.
Punk goes up for a cross body but Cena rolls through into an AA
attempt but Punk grabs the rope to block. Cena busts out a suicide
dive to take Punk out. Not bad at all. Back in and Punk slaps on a
very quick Anaconda Vice but Cena gets on top of Punk and puts on the
STF. Punk rolls out of that into a Crossface but Cena stands up with
it and slams Punk down to escape.
avoids the neckbreaker and takes Punk’s head off with a clothesline
for two. The Shuffle is blocked and Punk gets two off a neckbreaker.
Punk goes up for a cross body but Cena rolls through into an AA
attempt but Punk grabs the rope to block. Cena busts out a suicide
dive to take Punk out. Not bad at all. Back in and Punk slaps on a
very quick Anaconda Vice but Cena gets on top of Punk and puts on the
STF. Punk rolls out of that into a Crossface but Cena stands up with
it and slams Punk down to escape.
They
slug it out with Cena taking over but he walks into a leg lariat.
The knee in the corner sets up a clothesline followed by the Macho
Elbow for two. Cena counters the GTS into the STF and JBL (I feel
like I’m on Sesame Street) freaks out. Punk gets to the rope and the
GTS hits clean for two. A kick to the head gets two and Punk slaps
him in the face. GTS and AA are escaped but Cena hits the spinning
slam and Shuffle followed by the AA for a VERY close two. Heyman
looks like he’s 13 and finding a Playboy.
slug it out with Cena taking over but he walks into a leg lariat.
The knee in the corner sets up a clothesline followed by the Macho
Elbow for two. Cena counters the GTS into the STF and JBL (I feel
like I’m on Sesame Street) freaks out. Punk gets to the rope and the
GTS hits clean for two. A kick to the head gets two and Punk slaps
him in the face. GTS and AA are escaped but Cena hits the spinning
slam and Shuffle followed by the AA for a VERY close two. Heyman
looks like he’s 13 and finding a Playboy.
Cena
goes up but misses the top rope Fameasser and there’s the high kick
for ANOTHER close two. They’re in the main event slugout mode now
and it’s great stuff. Punk hits some shots to the face and a
spinning backfist. A knee to the head gets two and Punk goes up,
only to miss a moonsault. It wouldn’t have hit even if Cena had
stayed in the same place. AA is countered and a not so great GTS
gets two.
goes up but misses the top rope Fameasser and there’s the high kick
for ANOTHER close two. They’re in the main event slugout mode now
and it’s great stuff. Punk hits some shots to the face and a
spinning backfist. A knee to the head gets two and Punk goes up,
only to miss a moonsault. It wouldn’t have hit even if Cena had
stayed in the same place. AA is countered and a not so great GTS
gets two.
Punk
tries a Rock Bottom for two. Cena hits an AA out of nowhere for two.
Cena puts him on the middle rope and tries a belly to back superplex
but Punk knocks him off. John runs right back up and hits a middle
rope German for the pin and the title at 26:54. Both of their
shoulders were down and I think you know where this is going.
tries a Rock Bottom for two. Cena hits an AA out of nowhere for two.
Cena puts him on the middle rope and tries a belly to back superplex
but Punk knocks him off. John runs right back up and hits a middle
rope German for the pin and the title at 26:54. Both of their
shoulders were down and I think you know where this is going.
Yep
the referee is saying not so fast (my friend) and it’s a draw.
the referee is saying not so fast (my friend) and it’s a draw.
Rating:
A-. While it’s not as good as
MITB (that’s an unfair expectation though) and a bit below Summerslam
if I remember that match right, this was still top shelf stuff. The
ending sets up another match in the Cell where it belongs and I’d
certainly like to see another match between these two. I’m not wild
on the ending but it makes perfect sense. Great match too.
A-. While it’s not as good as
MITB (that’s an unfair expectation though) and a bit below Summerslam
if I remember that match right, this was still top shelf stuff. The
ending sets up another match in the Cell where it belongs and I’d
certainly like to see another match between these two. I’m not wild
on the ending but it makes perfect sense. Great match too.
Punk
clocks Cena with the belt.
clocks Cena with the belt.
Overall
Rating: A-. This was an
excellent show with nothing bad on it at all. The worst match was
probably the Divas and that was pretty much fine. Most importantly
of all though: they treated the belts like something that mattered
tonight and it made a noticeable difference. JBL on commentary was
great and Bryan/Kane are still great. You had two really good
matches and a bunch of other solid ones. Very good show here and
probably their best PPV since Wrestlemania.
Rating: A-. This was an
excellent show with nothing bad on it at all. The worst match was
probably the Divas and that was pretty much fine. Most importantly
of all though: they treated the belts like something that mattered
tonight and it made a noticeable difference. JBL on commentary was
great and Bryan/Kane are still great. You had two really good
matches and a bunch of other solid ones. Very good show here and
probably their best PPV since Wrestlemania.
Results
The
Miz b. Sin Cara, Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes – Miz pinned Rhodes
after a Skull Crushing Finale
Miz b. Sin Cara, Rey Mysterio and Cody Rhodes – Miz pinned Rhodes
after a Skull Crushing Finale
Kane/Daniel
Bryan b. Kofi Kingston/R-Truth – Kane pinned Kingston after a top
rope splash
Bryan b. Kofi Kingston/R-Truth – Kane pinned Kingston after a top
rope splash
Antonio
Cesaro b. Zack Ryder – Neutralizer
Cesaro b. Zack Ryder – Neutralizer
Randy
Orton b. Dolph Ziggler – RKO
Orton b. Dolph Ziggler – RKO
Eve
Torres b. Layla – Spinning Neckbreaker
Torres b. Layla – Spinning Neckbreaker
Sheamus
b. Alberto Del Rio – Brogue Kick
b. Alberto Del Rio – Brogue Kick
John
Cena vs. CM Punk went to a draw
Cena vs. CM Punk went to a draw
Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com
Night of Champions Predix
I won't be watching this one tonight, and that's not much of a loss. Quick predictions?
– Punk retains over Cena again, setting up the HITC rematch.
– Bryan & Kane must win the tag titles. Suggested names elsewhere have included No Chants In Hell, No-va-Kane, Team Hell No, and Team Friendship. All of these are reasons why they need the titles.
– Don't care who wins the battle royale, but it'll likely be Ryback winning and then getting the belt, even though it's too soon to have any impact that way. Either that or Brodus wins the battle royale and gets taken out by Leapin' Damian Sandow (is that feud still a thing?), leading to Ryback making the surprise Ultimate Warrior title challenge to Honky Tonk Cesaro.
That's all I got for this one.
WWE Classics- 10 Count: Uncrowned Champions Part 1
Chrono Chronicles: Clash of the Champions II
The Chrononaut Chronicles
NWA Clash of the Champions II: Miami Mayhem – June 8, 1988
– LIVE from the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida! Jim Ross is
stationed outside as limousines arrive to the building eight years
before the nWo made it their gimmick. JR claims that a host of
celebrities and dignitaries will be in attendance, and the
disappointment is immediate as the first limo contains Lyle Alzado,
Frances Crockett, and some dude who has some affiliation with the
ownership of the Chicago Blackhawks. The next limo opens up and it’s NWA
promoters Gary Juster and Elliot Murnick. Man, they’re really pulling
out the big guns tonight!
– Tony Schiavone and Bob Caudle are on commentary. No offense to Bob or Tony,
but is there some reason one of them can’t be standing around the parking garage
while JR handles the play-by-play?
– NWA United States Heavyweight Championship: Brad Armstrong vs. Barry Windham (w/James J. Dillon) ©
As noted previously, Barry Windham is now a heel and the newest member
of the Four Horsemen after turning on Lex Luger during a World Tag Team
Title defense against Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard, who regained
the belts in the process. Bolstering his new heel image, Barry started
wearing a fingerless black leather glove and using the clawhold, a
favorite maneuver of his father Blackjack Mulligan. Returning to singles
action, Windham captured the vacant US Title by defeating Nikita Koloff
in the tournament final. I’m not sure how Brad Armstrong earned this
title shot, although Tony notes that Armstrong has held tag team titles
as a member of the Lightning Express with Tim Horner. Brad holds his own
early on, frustrating the US Champion and causing him to regroup with
JJ Dillon. Armstrong works a headlock and shows some impressive strength
by catching Windham in mid-leapfrog and bodyslamming him, but Windham
breaks out of a chinlock via back suplex and powerslams Armstrong for a
two-count. Windham locks on a figure-four and it’s VINTAGE Horsemen, as
Dillon literally lends a hand from ringside for added leverage and Barry
also uses the ropes, but referee Teddy Long finally sees it and makes
him break the hold. Windham dumps Brad to the floor and drops his throat
across the guardrail, but back in the ring, Brad moves when Barry
attempts a flying elbowdrop off the top. The crowd is hot as Armstrong
is on fire and unloads on Windham, earning a near-fall with a flying
bodypress. Unfortunately, Brad goes to the well once too often and pays
for it, as Windham rolls through another bodypress and grips Armstrong’s
forehead with the clawhold in one fluid motion, holding him down for
the three-count at 13:55 to retain the NWA United States Championship.
*** Not a bad match, but it took a while to get going and Armstrong
didn’t sell the leg after being in the figure-four for a few minutes.
Windham was a natural heel and a perfect fit for the Horsemen.
– Tony and Bob interview former football star Lyle Alzado at ringside to push the pro wrestling sitcom, Learning The Ropes,
premiering in October. The show is about an underpaid high school
vice-principal who moonlights as a hooded jobber named The Masked
Maniac, featuring guest appearances from NWA stars such as Ric Flair,
The Road Warriors, Ron Garvin, and Dick Murdoch. Fun Fact™: in the
actual match footage of the Maniac, it’s Steve “Dr. Death” Williams
under the mask. This was your typical ’80s sitcom chock-full of wacky
hijinks and important life lessons, with the added hook that Lyle and
his kids had to keep his profession a secret.
– Making their return to the NWA, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express come down to
ringside for an interview and Robert Gibson & Ricky Morton both say
pretty much the same thing, warning that no tag team titles are safe
now that Rock ‘n’ Roll is back home. That might be more intimidating if
Robert hadn’t tripped over his own two feet on the way out, pre-dating
Shockmaster’s infamous entrance on Clash of the Champions XXIV by five
years.
Kids, this is what happens when you rock ‘n’ roll all night and party every day.
– Earlier Today aboard a fancy yacht previously used by the likes of
President Lyndon B. Johnson and Frank Sinatra, Lex Luger and champion
Ric Flair sign the contract for their “Match of the Century” for the NWA
World Title in Baltimore, MD, at the 1988 Great American Bash in July.
Despite the presence of the Four Horsemen, this is one of the handful of
contract signings in the history of professional wrestling that doesn’t
result in a beatdown or confrontation of some sort, although the Nature
Boy makes an off-handed remark about the Total Package having to make
it to Baltimore for his title shot. Would it have been too obvious to
attack Luger and throw him overboard?
Everything’s classier on a boat.
– Jim Ross is still standing outside as Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, and
Tully Blanchard emerge from a limousine and greet JJ Dillon and Barry
Windham. The NWA World Heavyweight Champion cuts a promo hyping Tully
& Arn’s Tag Team Title defense tonight and reiterates his prophetic
comment that Lex Luger still has to make it to the Great American Bash.
– And wouldn’t you know it, after the introductions for the next match,
we cut back outside as Lex Luger’s limo arrives and he is immediately
besieged by the Four Horsemen. How dense is Luger for not picking up on
those subtle hints that Flair and his boys were going to fuck his shit
up? The Total Package receives a royal asskicking and ends up laid out
and busted open. Parking lot beatdowns in pro wrestling never get old,
and the Horsemen were the masters.
God, you’re an idiot, Lex.
– NWA United States Tag Team Championship: The Sheepherders (Luke
Williams & Butch Miller w/Rip Morgan) vs. The Fantastics (Bobby
Fulton & Tommy Rogers) ©
Since the last Clash in which the Fantastics lost to the Midnight
Express by disqualification, Fulton & Rogers gained revenge when
they won the US Tag Team Title from the Express the following month.
Only months away from beginning their WWF run as The Bushwhackers, the
Sheepherders were ruthless and rugged heels who hated Americans and had
Yankee turncoat Rip Morgan waving the flag of New Zealand in their
corner. Schiavone delves into the history between these two teams as the
Sheepherders start strong and isolate Fulton, but the match spills out
to the floor and Morgan accidentally clotheslines Luke Williams. The
Fantastics eventually clear the ring after some back-and-forth, but the
Sheepherders take control again and work over Rogers until a double-team
goes awry and Tommy makes the hot tag. Bobby punches away on Butch
Miller, but he’s too close to the Sheepherder corner and Luke gouges his
eyes. The wild and woolly New Zealanders dish out some more punishment
until Fulton takes them both down with a crossbody for a two-count. As
soon as Luke & Butch kick out, Rogers jumps on top of them and
referee Teddy Long registers another two-count. What the hell? Fulton is
back on top for another two, and then Rogers gets his turn to cover
both Sheepherders for two. Schiavone declares that we’ve never seen
anything like that before (mostly because it defies all self-contained
logic) as Miller finally rolls out and Fulton covers Williams for a more
conventional two-count.
Rogers maintains control of Williams until he goes to run off the ropes
and Miller pulls down the top rope. After taking a nasty spill to the
floor, Rogers is tossed against the guardrail and whacked across the
back with one of the title belts and a chair. Luke scores a near-fall
and the Sheepherders continue to batter Tommy as he gets in a couple of
hope spots, but they keep cutting him off before he can tag out.
Williams baits Fulton into stepping into the ring in order to distract
the ref, but their plan backfires when Rogers reverses an Irish-whip and
Luke bumps into a chair being held by Butch on the apron. Miller
crashes to the floor and Rogers makes the hot tag, allowing Fulton to
roll up Luke for the 1-2-3 at 19:29 to retain the NWA US Tag Team
Championship. The Sheepherders attack the Fantastics after the bell and
drive them out of the ring. ****½ Dare I say, the Fantastics worked a
better Rock ‘n’ Roll Express style than Ricky & Robert themselves,
taking a beating like nobody’s business and building to the hot tags.
This match shows what the Sheepherders were capable of before they were
completely sanitized by the WWF. It’s odd that Vince McMahon looked at
these two crazy brawlers and decided that they should be loveable
babyfaces who just liked to eat sardines and lick each other’s faces,
but obviously he knew what he was doing because I loved the Bushwhackers
as a kid and they are still remembered fondly today.
– Looking dapper in a white tuxedo complete with formal gloves, Steve
Williams joins Schiavone on commentary and almost immediately stumbles
over his words as he cuts a rambling promo in support of Lex Luger.
Didn’t anybody pay attention to his promo on the last Clash? Is this a
rib?
Who dressed this man?
– Still confined to the parking lot, Jim Ross has an update: Lex Luger
has been taken to the hospital, the Horsemen were heard bragging that
their plan worked, and Jim plans on being in contact with the Total
Package. That’s really not much of an update, JR.
– The Varsity Club (Mike Rotunda & Rick Steiner w/”Gamesmaster”
Kevin Sullivan) vs. Ronnie Garvin & “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin
(w/Precious)
In storyline terms, the Garvins were on-screen brothers, but Ron was
actually Jim’s stepfather. I hope they never did any promos talking
about “Mom” and growing up together. Wrestling is a strange business.
Rick Steiner is the Florida Heavyweight Champion, a title bequeathed to
him by Mike Rotunda when Rotunda won the NWA World Television Title.
Kevin Sullivan is locked in a small cage at ringside but unlike JJ
Dillon at the last Clash, he is not suspended in the air; adding to the
intrigue, Precious has been entrusted with the key. It’s a wild four-way
to start as the Garvins grab the Varsity Club in a pair of sleepers and
they control the early portion of the match. The real story is Sullivan
trying to lure Precious over by waving around some mysterious papers,
while the Club isolate Ronnie and work him over in their corner. Jimmy
finally gets the tag and grounds Steiner with a front-facelock as I am
in awe of how bad Dr. Death is on commentary, shouting nonsense like
Hacksaw Duggan. Ronnie tags back in and sunset-flips Rotunda for a
near-fall, but the Varsity Club resume their dominance as they punish
Ron in and out of the ring. Ronnie headbutts Steiner and tags Jimmy, who
rolls up the Dog-Faced Gremlin for the pin at 13:11. Meanwhile,
Precious has decided to release Sullivan from the cage and he starts
choking her. Thankfully, this provokes Steve Williams to abandon his
commentary post and make the save, but for some reason Precious is not
very appreciative and she shoves Gorgeous Jimmy as well before walking
out alone. Must be that time of the month, or maybe she’s sick of her
husband being such a huge pussy. ** Not much of a match, since it was
designed as a backdrop for the ambiguous Sullivan/Precious angle to
build to the “Tower of Doom” match at the Great American Bash.
– Tony and Bob discuss the Road Warriors/Powers of Pain feud and
announce a Skywalker scaffold match scheduled for the Bash, which was
such a stupid idea that Barbarian & Warlord left the NWA before it
could happen. Using a helpful diagram, they also explain the stacked
triple-cage concept for the Tower of Doom, which was a match originally
held in World Class Championship Wrestling. But just in case you thought
the NWA stole the idea, Tony and Bob display an ancient parchment,
allegedly provided by Kevin Sullivan, with a depiction of the “original”
Tower of Doom.
That’s all the proof I needed.
– “Latin Sensation” Al Perez (w/”Playboy” Gary Hart) vs. “Russian Nightmare” Nikita Koloff
This is billed as a Special International Challenge Match, although Al
Perez is from Miami so I’m not sure how it’s much different from any
other match Nikita Koloff has with an American. The commentators do a
good job of noting the bad blood between the two participants and
putting over Perez as a wrestling machine. The bout goes back-and-forth
with Nikita displaying his superior size and strength, but Perez dumps
him to the floor and Gary Hart slams Koloff’s face on a table. Perez
rams Koloff’s back against the apron and adds to the punishment with a
double-axhandle off the apron and a bodyslam on the concrete floor.
Perez tries to suplex Koloff back into the ring, but the Russian
Nightmare lands on top for a near-fall. The Latin Sensation targets the
lower back with knees and a poor-man’s camel clutch, but Nikita powers
out by lifting Al up on his shoulders in an electric chair slam. Using
sound wrestling psychology, Perez goes to the back again, but Koloff
takes the advantage and knocks Perez out of the ring. Gary Hart hops up
on the apron to distract Koloff as Larry Zbyszko runs in and blindsides
him for the disqualification at 11:51. Nikita manages to clothesline
Larry, but the 3-on-1 odds are overwhelming and Hart, Zbyszko, and Perez
lay Koloff out with a chain. **½ The work here was solid, but Perez was
too bland to be a heel and Koloff had become stale as a babyface. If
the roles were reversed, this might have been something cool.
– NWA World Tag Team Championship: “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson &
Tully Blanchard (w/James J. Dillon) © vs. Sting & “American Dream”
Dusty Rhodes
Ladies and gentlemen, this is your main event! Schiavone admits that
Sting & Dusty Rhodes don’t team up often but says they are two of
the NWA’s premier athletes, explaining why they would receive a title
shot. Early on, Arn Anderson accidentally clotheslines the ringpost
during a scuffle at ringside and Sting works the arm, but Arn makes the
tag and Sting & Dusty unload on Tully Blanchard. Rhodes applies the
figure-four on Blanchard, but Anderson does something dastardly to free
his partner while JJ Dillon distracts referee Teddy Long. The Horsemen
dominate the American Dream, but Dusty hits a flying lariat off the
ropes and even pulls out a dropkick (he must be feeling motivated)
before making the hot tag. Sting squashes Tully with the Stinger Splash
and goes for the Scorpion Deathlock, but he turns his attention to Arn
and Tully knocks Sting out of the ring. The Enforcer drops Sting’s ribs
on the guardrail and scores a two-count after a sharp elbow across the
back of the head, but Sting blocks a pump splash (Vader Bomb) with a
pair of knees to the gut. Both men crawl toward their respective
corners, but Arn makes it first and Tully stops Sting from tagging out.
As usual, the Horsemen are tag team precision personified as they
execute a spot that sees Sting block a suplex from Anderson, so
Blanchard dives over his own partner for a sunset flip on Sting.
However, Sting won’t go down so Arn clotheslines him and Tully gets a
near-fall.
Tully dumps Sting out of the ring and Arn drills him with a DDT on the
floor, but Sting kicks out at one when Arn tries to pin him. Was that
the NWA’s way of proving that their wrestlers are tougher? In the WWF, a
whole feud was based around Jake Roberts DDTing Ricky Steamboat on the
floor, but here it’s basically a transition move. Sting hotshots Tully
to escape the Horsemen’s wrath and makes the hot tag to a fresh Dusty,
who unleashes elbows on Anderson, Blanchard, and Dillon. The big
elbowdrop on Arn only gets a one-count as Tully breaks the pin and all
four men are in the ring. Sting tosses the ref aside and brawls with
Blanchard at ringside while Rhodes and Anderson slug it out in the
squared circle. Dusty shoves the ref away and grabs Arn, but Barry
Windham runs down in a suit and tie and leaps off the top turnbuckle
onto the American Dream. Teddy Long has finally seen enough and calls
for the bell at 10:58, although no result is announced. Ric Flair also
runs in to stomp Sting while Windham locks in the clawhold on Rhodes,
busting the Dream’s forehead wide open with the sheer strength of his
gloved hand. ****¼ A hot main event furthering the Four Horsemen’s issues
with both Dusty and Sting, putting Windham and his clawhold over strong
at the end.
Now THAT’S a clawhold.
– Tony Schiavone, Jim Ross, and Bob Caudle wrap things up after a final
commercial break. Jim still plans on going to the hospital and promises
an update on Lex Luger this Saturday night at 6:05 on the Superstation,
while Tony urges us to stay tuned for the Atlanta Braves. Ahh, good ol’
TBS.
The Rundown: Although it wasn’t as strong a show as the first Clash of the Champions,
Miami Mayhem was a good effort and succeeded at pushing the storyline
between Ric Flair and Lex Luger toward their “Match of the Century” at
the Great American Bash. The beginning of the show was slow with only
one match and a lot of talking, but it picked up with the excellent
Fantastics/Sheepherders collision and the World Tag Team Title showdown
was a fun match-up. From the limousines arriving to the end-of-show
beatdown, the second Clash felt like a precursor to the nWo-dominated
editions of Nitro in the mid ’90s: a live two-hour show in primetime,
built mainly around the exploits of the top heel faction, both in and
out of the ring. Clash II drew another impressive TV rating, this time
on a Wednesday night and without the hook that Sting/Flair provided in
March, ensuring that we would see many more Clashes to come.
|
|
Clash of the Champions #34
Clash
of the Champions 34
of the Champions 34
Date:
January 21, 1997
January 21, 1997
Location:
Wisconsin Center Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Center Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance:
6,800
6,800
Commentators:
Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes, Bobby Heenan
Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes, Bobby Heenan
Reviewed by Tommy Hall
This
is another of the prime time specials from WCW and one of the last
ones. The NWO is in full control here and this show means nothing
for the most part as everything was about Nitro. Also we were more
or less in a deep freeze because everything was building to Sting vs.
Hogan which was in about 11 months. This is also the go home show
for Souled Out. Let’s get to it.
is another of the prime time specials from WCW and one of the last
ones. The NWO is in full control here and this show means nothing
for the most part as everything was about Nitro. Also we were more
or less in a deep freeze because everything was building to Sting vs.
Hogan which was in about 11 months. This is also the go home show
for Souled Out. Let’s get to it.
After
some yapping we’re ready to start.
some yapping we’re ready to start.
Cruiserweight
Title: Dean Malenko vs. Ultimo Dragon
Title: Dean Malenko vs. Ultimo Dragon
Dragon
is champion coming in here and Tenay is here for the sake of
knowledge. Malenko has lost two in a row coming into this including
one the previous night and the opener at Starrcade. The idiot that
is known as Tony Schiavone keeps calling him Ultimate Dragon. They
hit the mat and Dragon uses a bunch of spin moves to get out. They
stay on the mat and we take a break.
is champion coming in here and Tenay is here for the sake of
knowledge. Malenko has lost two in a row coming into this including
one the previous night and the opener at Starrcade. The idiot that
is known as Tony Schiavone keeps calling him Ultimate Dragon. They
hit the mat and Dragon uses a bunch of spin moves to get out. They
stay on the mat and we take a break.
The
NWO now has its own hotline.
NWO now has its own hotline.
Back
with them slugging it out. Dragon apparently lost the J-Crown at the
January 4th show at the Tokyo Dome to Jushin Thunder
Liger. This is a more hard hitting match than you’re used to with
these two. Long vertical suplex gets two and it’s off to a head
scissors on the mat. Dragon hammers away with kicks and Dean heads
to the floor for a breather.
with them slugging it out. Dragon apparently lost the J-Crown at the
January 4th show at the Tokyo Dome to Jushin Thunder
Liger. This is a more hard hitting match than you’re used to with
these two. Long vertical suplex gets two and it’s off to a head
scissors on the mat. Dragon hammers away with kicks and Dean heads
to the floor for a breather.
Half
crab by Malenko and here comes Dean. Off to another leg lock and out
to the floor. All Malenko here as he hooks on the figure four.
Actually he doesn’t as Dragon blocks it for a bit. They speed
things up a bit and it’s a spin wheel kick from Dragon to take Dean
down. Dean grabs a superplex to take Dragon down and we speed it up
even more. Powerbomb by Dean is reversed into a rana but we counter
stuff even more.
crab by Malenko and here comes Dean. Off to another leg lock and out
to the floor. All Malenko here as he hooks on the figure four.
Actually he doesn’t as Dragon blocks it for a bit. They speed
things up a bit and it’s a spin wheel kick from Dragon to take Dean
down. Dean grabs a superplex to take Dragon down and we speed it up
even more. Powerbomb by Dean is reversed into a rana but we counter
stuff even more.
Out
to the floor and Dean is whipped into the railing. Asai Moonsault
takes Dean down and the fans are into this to say the least. Back in
and a top rope moonsault gets two for Dragon. Now all the fans turn
and look at something else as Dragon gets a twisting rana off the
top. Tiger suplex is reversed into a Cloverleaf attempt but that
gets reversed. Another powerbomb is reversed into a butterfly
powerbomb and a third Cloverleaf attempt. Down goes Onoo and the
Cloverleaf ends this.
to the floor and Dean is whipped into the railing. Asai Moonsault
takes Dean down and the fans are into this to say the least. Back in
and a top rope moonsault gets two for Dragon. Now all the fans turn
and look at something else as Dragon gets a twisting rana off the
top. Tiger suplex is reversed into a Cloverleaf attempt but that
gets reversed. Another powerbomb is reversed into a butterfly
powerbomb and a third Cloverleaf attempt. Down goes Onoo and the
Cloverleaf ends this.
Rating:
B+. Great stuff here as they were incredibly crisp with both guys
working incredibly hard. The cruiserweight division was absolutely
incredible at this point and Dean was at his absolute peak in 1997.
Excellent match here with very little missing from it at all and an
incredible opener. Bets on anything being good compared to this?
B+. Great stuff here as they were incredibly crisp with both guys
working incredibly hard. The cruiserweight division was absolutely
incredible at this point and Dean was at his absolute peak in 1997.
Excellent match here with very little missing from it at all and an
incredible opener. Bets on anything being good compared to this?
Mike
Enos vs. Scotty Riggs
Enos vs. Scotty Riggs
Neither
gets an intro so what do you expect here? This is a very basic power
vs. speed match and Riggs is here to look good before his match with
Bagwell at the PPV. Both guys are incredibly generic and I see
absolutely no reason for this to be here. A running forearm ends
this for Riggs in about two minutes. Totally pointless match that
gets no rating. Riggs says he’s the heart and soul of WCW. I
can’t make this stuff up.
gets an intro so what do you expect here? This is a very basic power
vs. speed match and Riggs is here to look good before his match with
Bagwell at the PPV. Both guys are incredibly generic and I see
absolutely no reason for this to be here. A running forearm ends
this for Riggs in about two minutes. Totally pointless match that
gets no rating. Riggs says he’s the heart and soul of WCW. I
can’t make this stuff up.
Here
are the Horsemen, in this case Benoit and Anderson with some women.
Oh and Mongo is there too. The fans of course want Flair. Benoit
talks about how awesome he is and there’s a HUGE Benoit chant.
Anderson says finish Sullivan tonight. Mongo (huge booing for the
Bear here in Packer town). Debra says nothing of note at all.
are the Horsemen, in this case Benoit and Anderson with some women.
Oh and Mongo is there too. The fans of course want Flair. Benoit
talks about how awesome he is and there’s a HUGE Benoit chant.
Anderson says finish Sullivan tonight. Mongo (huge booing for the
Bear here in Packer town). Debra says nothing of note at all.
Chavo
Guerrero Jr/Chris Jericho/Super Calo vs. Konnan/La Parka/Mr. JL
Guerrero Jr/Chris Jericho/Super Calo vs. Konnan/La Parka/Mr. JL
Tenay
and the other commentators say the Horsemen are having issues because
Flair isn’t here. La Parka is replacing Psicosis who is injured
and Jericho is replacing Juventud Guerrera who just no showed. This
is under lucha rules, meaning if you hit the floor another member of
your team can come in just like a tag. Chavo vs. JL to start with
Jerry Lynn (what the JL stands for) destroying him.
and the other commentators say the Horsemen are having issues because
Flair isn’t here. La Parka is replacing Psicosis who is injured
and Jericho is replacing Juventud Guerrera who just no showed. This
is under lucha rules, meaning if you hit the floor another member of
your team can come in just like a tag. Chavo vs. JL to start with
Jerry Lynn (what the JL stands for) destroying him.
Off
to Konnan and Calo with Konnan continuing his team’s dominance.
Calo was a guy I never liked or got the appeal of for the most part.
We get some nice speed moves from those two with Calo looking kind of
awesome actually. Off to Jericho and La Parka for awhile now and
Parka is a bit nuts. Parka does a Spinarooni of all things but can’t
keep Jericho down. Konnan comes in and it’s a Doomsday Device with
La Parka throwing out a Whisper in the Wind instead of a clothesline.
That was kind of awesome.
to Konnan and Calo with Konnan continuing his team’s dominance.
Calo was a guy I never liked or got the appeal of for the most part.
We get some nice speed moves from those two with Calo looking kind of
awesome actually. Off to Jericho and La Parka for awhile now and
Parka is a bit nuts. Parka does a Spinarooni of all things but can’t
keep Jericho down. Konnan comes in and it’s a Doomsday Device with
La Parka throwing out a Whisper in the Wind instead of a clothesline.
That was kind of awesome.
Konnan
takes Jericho down and it’s off to Chavo. They are MOVING out
there. Jericho vs. JL at the moment with Jericho taking over.
Konnan comes in as does Chavo so there are four in the ring at once.
Out to the floor and JL dives on Jericho. Chavo dives on JL and La
Parka dives in general. Calo with a slingshot hilo to La Parka and
in the ring JL gets a rana on Jericho for two. Jericho wants a
superplex but settles for a super rana for the pin. Jericho looked
like a star here.
takes Jericho down and it’s off to Chavo. They are MOVING out
there. Jericho vs. JL at the moment with Jericho taking over.
Konnan comes in as does Chavo so there are four in the ring at once.
Out to the floor and JL dives on Jericho. Chavo dives on JL and La
Parka dives in general. Calo with a slingshot hilo to La Parka and
in the ring JL gets a rana on Jericho for two. Jericho wants a
superplex but settles for a super rana for the pin. Jericho looked
like a star here.
Rating:
B. Fun match here that was nothing but dives and speed. This is
something you got in WCW that was great: they mixed up the styles
every match almost. We’ve had a technical match, power vs. speed
and now lucha libre. Not bad for 40 minutes. Jericho looked awesome
here and of course would go on to mediocrity in WCW before becoming a
legend in WWE.
B. Fun match here that was nothing but dives and speed. This is
something you got in WCW that was great: they mixed up the styles
every match almost. We’ve had a technical match, power vs. speed
and now lucha libre. Not bad for 40 minutes. Jericho looked awesome
here and of course would go on to mediocrity in WCW before becoming a
legend in WWE.
Renegade/Joe
Gomez vs. Harlem Heat
Gomez vs. Harlem Heat
Guess
what we’ve got here. Gomez is a guy that Is just kind of around
while Renegade is the WCW version of Ultimate Warrior who hasn’t
meant anything in about 18 months. Booker beats on Gomez for a bit
and then Stevie and Sherri get to do the same. Axe kick to Gomez but
Renegade comes in to get what passes for a hot tag. Harlem Heat
destroys him and the Heat Seeker (Doomsday Device with a missile
dropkick) ends him quickly. Just a squash.
what we’ve got here. Gomez is a guy that Is just kind of around
while Renegade is the WCW version of Ultimate Warrior who hasn’t
meant anything in about 18 months. Booker beats on Gomez for a bit
and then Stevie and Sherri get to do the same. Axe kick to Gomez but
Renegade comes in to get what passes for a hot tag. Harlem Heat
destroys him and the Heat Seeker (Doomsday Device with a missile
dropkick) ends him quickly. Just a squash.
Masahiro
Chono vs. Alex Wright
Chono vs. Alex Wright
Chono
is NWO. He jumps Wright immediately but Wright charges back at him.
Wright backflips off the top and gets an enziguri. Not in the same
move mind you. He’s a dancer, not Spider-Morrison. The fans don’t
really like either guy here. Wright can move and gets a leg lariat
for about 9 but Nick Patrick won’t count with any speed at all.
is NWO. He jumps Wright immediately but Wright charges back at him.
Wright backflips off the top and gets an enziguri. Not in the same
move mind you. He’s a dancer, not Spider-Morrison. The fans don’t
really like either guy here. Wright can move and gets a leg lariat
for about 9 but Nick Patrick won’t count with any speed at all.
Chono
takes over again and throws Wright over the top which should be a DQ
but isn’t here because Patrick doesn’t want to count. Sunset
flip by Wright but the shoulder of Patrick hurts. Belly to back gets
no cover and then Wright misses a cross body. Mafia Kick ends Wright
pretty easily and the shoulder is fine of course.
takes over again and throws Wright over the top which should be a DQ
but isn’t here because Patrick doesn’t want to count. Sunset
flip by Wright but the shoulder of Patrick hurts. Belly to back gets
no cover and then Wright misses a cross body. Mafia Kick ends Wright
pretty easily and the shoulder is fine of course.
Rating:
D+. Just a quick match here with the idea being that it was a
preview of what the PPV is going to be like. The match itself means
nothing of course but it wasn’t really supposed to. Wright again
continues to mean nothing at all but being a midcard jobber to the
stars. Weak match but it got the point across.
D+. Just a quick match here with the idea being that it was a
preview of what the PPV is going to be like. The match itself means
nothing of course but it wasn’t really supposed to. Wright again
continues to mean nothing at all but being a midcard jobber to the
stars. Weak match but it got the point across.
Eddie
Guerrero vs. Scott Norton
Guerrero vs. Scott Norton
Patrick
is the referee again. Eddie is US Champion here but doesn’t have
the physical belt as Syxx stole it. Norton chops away and uses basic
power to take over. Eddie goes after the knee and gets Norton off
his feet like a smart man. He chops away which just makes Norton mad.
Norton is NWO if that clears anything up. Here comes the power game
again as I can remember the majority of this show from watching it
when it aired.
is the referee again. Eddie is US Champion here but doesn’t have
the physical belt as Syxx stole it. Norton chops away and uses basic
power to take over. Eddie goes after the knee and gets Norton off
his feet like a smart man. He chops away which just makes Norton mad.
Norton is NWO if that clears anything up. Here comes the power game
again as I can remember the majority of this show from watching it
when it aired.
Norton
does something I haven’t seen before as he sets him for a suplex
and just drops him without moving at all. No cover though as Norton
is wanting to show off here. Big powerbomb puts Guerrero down again
but a clothesline misses Guerrero and down goes Patrick. DDP,
currently the fastest rising star in forever comes through the crowd
and drops Norton with the Diamond Cutter and gets a huge pop. Frog
Splash makes Patrick count the three with a hilarious look on his
face.
does something I haven’t seen before as he sets him for a suplex
and just drops him without moving at all. No cover though as Norton
is wanting to show off here. Big powerbomb puts Guerrero down again
but a clothesline misses Guerrero and down goes Patrick. DDP,
currently the fastest rising star in forever comes through the crowd
and drops Norton with the Diamond Cutter and gets a huge pop. Frog
Splash makes Patrick count the three with a hilarious look on his
face.
Rating:
D+. Well they did a great job here of making it seem possible
that WCW had a chance on Satruday at the PPV. Not much of a match
but it wasn’t supposed to be. Eddie, like Jericho, looked great
here but that wouldn’t matter as we needed guys like Buff Bagwell
to get pushes and the TV time.
D+. Well they did a great job here of making it seem possible
that WCW had a chance on Satruday at the PPV. Not much of a match
but it wasn’t supposed to be. Eddie, like Jericho, looked great
here but that wouldn’t matter as we needed guys like Buff Bagwell
to get pushes and the TV time.
Giant
talks about Hogan. He’s in the dark here almost and talks about
how Hogan paid Giant to be on the sidelines and keep him from taking
out Hogan because no one can stop the Giant. He strikes a match and
says that Hogan is like this match. It gave light, it gave some
warmth, but eventually it gets blown out. At Souled Out, Hogan is
blown out. I’ve always liked this promo and it’s still pretty
awesome today.
talks about Hogan. He’s in the dark here almost and talks about
how Hogan paid Giant to be on the sidelines and keep him from taking
out Hogan because no one can stop the Giant. He strikes a match and
says that Hogan is like this match. It gave light, it gave some
warmth, but eventually it gets blown out. At Souled Out, Hogan is
blown out. I’ve always liked this promo and it’s still pretty
awesome today.
Chris
Benoit vs. Kevin Sullivan
Benoit vs. Kevin Sullivan
Woman
is here with Chris and looks pretty good here. This is falls count
anywhere again. Kevin wants to start it on the floor and Benoit says
let’s do it. They had another of these at the Great American Bash
the previous year and it was totally awesome. They’re in the crowd
almost immediately and are in the back quickly.
is here with Chris and looks pretty good here. This is falls count
anywhere again. Kevin wants to start it on the floor and Benoit says
let’s do it. They had another of these at the Great American Bash
the previous year and it was totally awesome. They’re in the crowd
almost immediately and are in the back quickly.
The
first room is the men’s room and Benoit knocks a towel dispenser
off the way with his head. Benoit throws a trashcan that hits Hart
and the referee. This is almost move for move the same match as
their Great American Bash match. Sullivan gets a clothesline for two
as we’re still in the men’s room. Now we’re talking about an
Andy Griffith movie.
first room is the men’s room and Benoit knocks a towel dispenser
off the way with his head. Benoit throws a trashcan that hits Hart
and the referee. This is almost move for move the same match as
their Great American Bash match. Sullivan gets a clothesline for two
as we’re still in the men’s room. Now we’re talking about an
Andy Griffith movie.
Back
into the arena and Benoit is kicked down the steps. Seriously, this
is the SAME MATCH. Back in the ring and Benoit is in the Tree of Woe
for the running knee. Double stomp to Benoit gets two. Woman comes
in and cracks Sullivan with a wooden chair to end Sullivan and give
Benoit the win. Well at least the ending was different I suppose.
Also they didn’t swerve us.
into the arena and Benoit is kicked down the steps. Seriously, this
is the SAME MATCH. Back in the ring and Benoit is in the Tree of Woe
for the running knee. Double stomp to Benoit gets two. Woman comes
in and cracks Sullivan with a wooden chair to end Sullivan and give
Benoit the win. Well at least the ending was different I suppose.
Also they didn’t swerve us.
Rating:
B-. Well yes it’s a good match but legitimately over half of
the spots are identical to the one at the Bash. Also the Bash’s
ending was better and it went on longer. It also helps that we got
to see it for the first time back then. Sometimes you need to see a
semi-shoot like this though as it makes things more interesting, as
it did here.
B-. Well yes it’s a good match but legitimately over half of
the spots are identical to the one at the Bash. Also the Bash’s
ending was better and it went on longer. It also helps that we got
to see it for the first time back then. Sometimes you need to see a
semi-shoot like this though as it makes things more interesting, as
it did here.
Benoit
hits him with a chair again post match.
hits him with a chair again post match.
Amazing
French Canadians vs. Steiner Brothers
French Canadians vs. Steiner Brothers
The
French Canadians are the Quebecers. Colonel Parker is with them in a
French Canadian soldier outfit I guess. They try the Canadian
national anthem but get cut off by Steinerized. The Outsiders
injured Scott in a form of attempted vehicular manslaughter and this
is his return. The Outsiders pop up on the screen to laugh at them
with Nash implying he’ll come out here.
French Canadians are the Quebecers. Colonel Parker is with them in a
French Canadian soldier outfit I guess. They try the Canadian
national anthem but get cut off by Steinerized. The Outsiders
injured Scott in a form of attempted vehicular manslaughter and this
is his return. The Outsiders pop up on the screen to laugh at them
with Nash implying he’ll come out here.
Scott
has a new look here which would eventually be what he wore as a heel.
The Steiners clean house to start and hit top rope clotheslines
almost at the same time. We take a break and come back with Rick in
some trouble. The Canadians beat him down and try their Cannonball
move but Rick gets out of the way just in time. The Canadians seem
to not tag at all. Here’s Scotty who destroys them both on his
own. A French flag shot fails and the elevated DDT ends Oulette with
ease.
has a new look here which would eventually be what he wore as a heel.
The Steiners clean house to start and hit top rope clotheslines
almost at the same time. We take a break and come back with Rick in
some trouble. The Canadians beat him down and try their Cannonball
move but Rick gets out of the way just in time. The Canadians seem
to not tag at all. Here’s Scotty who destroys them both on his
own. A French flag shot fails and the elevated DDT ends Oulette with
ease.
Rating:
C-. Without the commercial we saw about 3 minutes here so why not
rate it. Nothing worth note at all as it was again really just a
squash to set up the Steiners against the Outsiders at the PPV.
Scott would be about to get pushed to the moon as a solo guy and get
a major push. Anyway, this was domination.
C-. Without the commercial we saw about 3 minutes here so why not
rate it. Nothing worth note at all as it was again really just a
squash to set up the Steiners against the Outsiders at the PPV.
Scott would be about to get pushed to the moon as a solo guy and get
a major push. Anyway, this was domination.
Scott
Hall vs. Lex Luger
Hall vs. Lex Luger
Main
event time here and Hall has a small army with him. Luger has the
kind of rare black boots on. Luger does the pec dance and gets a
toothpick in his face for his troubles. All power by Luger to start
and he no sells the fallaway slam. A middle rope bulldog puts Luger
down for two though and Scott works on the arm. Chokeslam puts Luger
down but he’s up quickly.
event time here and Hall has a small army with him. Luger has the
kind of rare black boots on. Luger does the pec dance and gets a
toothpick in his face for his troubles. All power by Luger to start
and he no sells the fallaway slam. A middle rope bulldog puts Luger
down for two though and Scott works on the arm. Chokeslam puts Luger
down but he’s up quickly.
Some
fan shouts about oozing machismo which makes me smile a bit. He hits
the floor and the numbers (I only see the number Syxx but whatever)
catch up with him so that Hall can take over. Syxx interferes again
with Nash distracting the referee. The clothesline from Syxx gets
two. Now the fallaway slam works a bit better, getting two this
time.
fan shouts about oozing machismo which makes me smile a bit. He hits
the floor and the numbers (I only see the number Syxx but whatever)
catch up with him so that Hall can take over. Syxx interferes again
with Nash distracting the referee. The clothesline from Syxx gets
two. Now the fallaway slam works a bit better, getting two this
time.
Off
to the abdominal stretch as Luger is in trouble. Luger gets out of
it after about a minute but misses an elbow and here comes Hall
again. Luger comes back again and hits a slingshot dropkick of all
things and lets loose his rather limited offense. Atomic drops and
punches and clotheslines OH MY! No sign for the Rack yet but there’s
one after a powerslam. Nash breaks it up but Luger fights both of
them off. Where is WCW? Is there a good Old Maid game going on in
the back? Syxx finally gets a shot in and it’s a DQ.
to the abdominal stretch as Luger is in trouble. Luger gets out of
it after about a minute but misses an elbow and here comes Hall
again. Luger comes back again and hits a slingshot dropkick of all
things and lets loose his rather limited offense. Atomic drops and
punches and clotheslines OH MY! No sign for the Rack yet but there’s
one after a powerslam. Nash breaks it up but Luger fights both of
them off. Where is WCW? Is there a good Old Maid game going on in
the back? Syxx finally gets a shot in and it’s a DQ.
Rating:
C. Just a main event match here with an unsurprising finish. At
least they gave them some time here and we got a decent match out of
it. Luger probably should have gone over but I guess they wanted the
Outsiders looking as strong as possible going into the PPV. Not bad,
but just kind of there for a TV main event.
C. Just a main event match here with an unsurprising finish. At
least they gave them some time here and we got a decent match out of
it. Luger probably should have gone over but I guess they wanted the
Outsiders looking as strong as possible going into the PPV. Not bad,
but just kind of there for a TV main event.
The
Steiners come out for the save from the beatdown.
Steiners come out for the save from the beatdown.
Overall
Rating: B-. Pretty good show here from a weaker
period for WCW. There was some good stuff here but the bad is hard
to overlook. The opener is great of course but there wasn’t much
really good after that. The good outweighs the bad though and they
build up Souled Out pretty well so I can live with this. Not bad but
nothing great either.
Rating: B-. Pretty good show here from a weaker
period for WCW. There was some good stuff here but the bad is hard
to overlook. The opener is great of course but there wasn’t much
really good after that. The good outweighs the bad though and they
build up Souled Out pretty well so I can live with this. Not bad but
nothing great either.
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The SmarK DVD Rant for The Best of WCW: Clash Of The Champions
The SmarK DVD Rant for The Best of WCW: Clash Of The Champions (Blu-Ray) Hosted by Dusty Rhodes. Disc One The Clash of the Champions was of course Jim Crockett’s attempt to undermine Wrestlemania by putting a free show on cable TV in retaliation for Survivor Series, and damn if it didn’t work. Personally I didn’t have access to TBS until 1991, so I didn’t get to see live Clashes until the supremely crappy Lex Luger era, but given that was still the era of squashing jobbers on WWF Superstars, it was still neat. This collection is just Dusty reminiscing in between the matches, and otherwise it’s strictly a match collection without any historical stuff or documentary. (Clash 1) NWA World title: Ric Flair v. Sting From the first Clash, a show I haven’t actually watched in a good long while and a match that is worth another look. I should note that the Turner home video version I’ve always had before is the clipped TV version, whereas the godlike WWE library version is the full and uncut version. So this is Sting’s first big shot at the title, with a 45-minute TV time limit and a panel of judges to make sure there’s a winner. Including Jason Hervey and Eddie Haskell, so you know they mean business. Sting grabs the headlock to start and powers Flair down off a wristlock. They do the test of strength and Flair opts to chop out of it, but Sting no-sells it and hiptosses him out of the ring. Back in, Sting controls with a hammerlock and they criss-cross into a press-slam from Sting. Sting takes him down with a flying headscissors into the hiptoss, and back to the headlock again. Flair fights up and hiptosses out of it, but Sting counters and goes right back to it again. Flair fights up and Sting hiptosses him and tries another dropkick, but Flair dodges him. Sting gets tossed but pops right back in and fires away in the corner, then right back to the headlock again. Flair chops out of it and they slug it out in the corner, and Sting gets another press slam, into the bearhug. Flair makes it to the corner to escape and Sting tries to follow with the Stinger splash, but misses and hits his arm on the post. Flair is all over him, tossing him and running him into the railing. Back in, Flair throws the chops and Sting goes down, so Flair hammers on the back. Kneedrop times two and Flair rips at the face just to be a bastard. He rakes the face on the ropes and fires more chops in the corner, and Sting ends up on the floor again. Flair sends him into the railing again and they head back in so Flair can chop him again. Sting gets fired up, though, and slugs Flair right out of the ring, but charges at Flair and hits the post. So the arm is hurt again and Flair goes to town back in the ring, but Sting pops up and slugs away in the corner. Clothesline gets two. Flair tries to make a run for it, but Sting suplexes him back in and into the Scorpion Deathlock. Flair quickly makes the ropes, so Sting takes Flair to the corner again and shrugs off a chop. He slugs Flair down for two, but Ric is in the ropes again. Sting hiptosses him and tries a clothesline, but Flair moves and Sting hits the floor again. Flair takes a breather, but Sting comes in with a high cross for two. Flair catches him with the kneecrusher, however, and starts pounding on the knee. Another kneecrusher and Sting bails to the floor. Back in, Flair pounds on the knee again and adds a backdrop suplex, and now we go to school! Flair uses the ropes to assist as usual, but Sting powers into the reversal. Flair is up first, however, and goes after the knee again, then sets up on the apron for a suplex. Crowd freaks out, but Sting suplexes him back in instead, only to miss a big splash. They fight for the abdominal stretch and Sting wins that, but Flair hiptosses out. Flair chops him down and goes up, but Sting slams him off for two. He pulls Flair into the corner and posts him, then gets his own figure-four. Flair escapes, so Sting stomps on the knee again and yanks him out of the corner to work on the leg again. Flair Flip and he hits the floor, but Sting follows and beats on him. Flair tries a sunset flip back in, but Sting slugs him down and rakes Flair’s face on the ropes. Sting fires away in the corner, then no-sells Flair’s atomic drop and clotheslines him for two. Stinger splash misses and Sting hits the floor in dramatic fashion. Back in, they slug it out and Flair goes down, but comes back with a sleeper, so Sting rams him into the turnbuckle to break. Flair tosses him in desperation, but Sting comes back in with a sunset flip, which Flair blocks for two. Young kicks him out of the ropes and Sting gets two. Flair begs off and Sting whips him out, but Flair comes in with a high cross, reversed by Sting for two. Sting no-sells all of Flair’s offense now, hammering him in the corner to set up the Stinger splash. Scorpion Deathlock with time running out, but Flair hangs on until the time limit. The decision: Two judges for Flair, two for Sting, one for a draw. Silly booking aside, I definitely gave this one short shrift on the original rant, as the full match flows much better and you can see the storyline of young and hungry Sting fighting for his life but not knowing how to finish. Definitely a modern classic. ****1/2 (Clash 1) NWA World tag team titles: Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson v. Barry Windham & Lex Luger Luger overpowers Tully to start, and clotheslines both champions. Powerslam for Tully and he racks him, but Arn kicks him in the knee and quickly goes to work on it. The Horsemen switch off on the knee, but Barry gets a quick tag and cleans house. Lariat for Tully and he drops the knee, and his own powerslam gets two. Sleeper and Tully rolls out to escape, but Barry just hangs on. Tully tries going up and gets slammed off, and Windham follows with an abdominal stretch, leaving him open for a DDT from AA. That gets two. The crowd is just insane for the faces, popping for everything. Spinebuster gets two and Arn does the knucklelock spot and lands on Windham’s knees, but brings Tully back in as he pounds away for two. Windham comes back with a bodypress for two and they collide, setting up the pinfall reversal spot. Windham reverses the bridge into a gutwrench suplex, but Anderson cuts off the tag and works on the arm. Windham fights out of it, but Arn takes him down again, and they butt heads. Back to Tully for the slingshot suplex, but that only gets two. Arn can’t cut off another tag, and Luger is HERE. Clotheslines for everyone and the crowd is just going crazy as Luger is no-selling everything. Tully trips him up, but Luger comes right back with a powerslam for Arn and it’s BONZO GONZO. JJ grabs a chair, but Luger rams Arn into it and the pop redefines the term “blowing the roof off the joint at 9:34, ****1/4 Not only some of the loudest sustained heat for any match you’ll ever hear, but one of the fasted-paced tag team matches you’ll ever see, as they just packed everything but the kitchen sink into a 10-minute match and threw it all there. (Clash 2) NWA World tag team title: Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard v. Dusty Rhodes & Sting. Not quite Sting-Flair, is it? Anderson tosses Sting early on, but punches the post by mistake and Sting works the arm. Tully comes in and gets dominated, and Dusty adds his usual. Tully gets pinballed and Dusty uses a figure-four, leaving him open to a cheapshot, and indeed that’s what happens. Ah, heel psychology is chicken soup for the cheater’s soul. They pound Dusty on the floor, but he gets a lariat on Tully back in the ring. Dropkick and Sting comes in to clean house. Stinger splash on Tully, but the Horsemen sucker him in and punk him out. Arn gets an elbow for two. Pump splash misses, but Tully holds Sting in enemy territory. Arn DDTs him on the floor, but Sting shakes it off and comes back. Backslide gets two, and he hotshots Tully and tags Dusty. DDT Arn, big elbow gets two, and the whole thing breaks down into a no-contest at 10:45. Barry Windham attacks the Dream while Tully & Arn lay the beats on Sting. ** (Clash 3) Russian chain match: Ricky Morton v. Ivan Koloff. Ah, the Ivan face turn angle that drew so much money. Dave Sheldon is lurking around ringside in his guise as Russian Assassin #1. Ivan pounds Morton and clotheslines him with the chain as Ross hints at his face turn. Ricky crotches him with the chain, but gets nailed again. Koloff touches two corners, but Ricky breaks it up and bails. Back in, Koloff keeps stomping away and touches two again. Ricky kicks at the knee to take over and whips at the knee with the chain. Koloff hits him with the chain, but gets yanked off the top. Ivan chokes him out, but Ricky comes back. Ivan whips him and touches three, but Morton takes him down and pounds away. Koloff hits him with the chain again and goes up, but they knock each other out. Ricky recovers first and drags him to three corners, but Paul gives Ivan the riding crop to hold onto for leverage, before suddenly letting go and giving Ricky the win at 9:52. Ivan is unceremoniously turfed via a beatdown by the Russian Assassins, and Nikita was SUPPOSED to make the save, but he was already gone. Junkyard Dog was later subbed into the angle to replace him, which of course makes no sense whatsoever and basically killed the whole angle. Match was slow and plodding. * And then we skip WAAAAAAY ahead to Clash 9… (Clash 9) I Quit match: Ric Flair v. Terry Funk. Funk takes a swing at Flair to start and they lock up, but Flair dodges him and chops him right out of the ring. Back in, Flair unloads the chops and whips him from corner to corner, and then chops him out of the ring again. Flair follows with more chops against the railing and Funk backs off. Back in, Flair eschews subtlety and chokes him out, but Funk slugs back and kicks him in the face on the apron. Funk headbutts him down and pounds on the neck, elbowing him down and tossing him. Funk just kills him with shots on the railing, and then pops him one with the mike. Flair slugs back and they head back in, where Funk slugs him down again and fires away in the corner. He calls him an egg-sucking dog while punching him in the face, which is enough for an extra * from me. Flair atomic drops him to escape and comes back with a chop, but Funk catches a neckbreaker and slaps him around. Flair has had enough, however, and gives him the chops, and they head outside again, as Flair crashes onto him and murders him with chops. Funk tries to escape by going into the ring, but Flair pulls him out and rams him into the railing, and adds more chops. Funk retreats into the ring again and Flair badgers him with the mike, trying to choke him into submission. Flair goes after Gary Hart, however, and Funk clobbers him from behind and gets another neckbreaker, keeping on the weak neck. Funk taunts him over the PA before piledriving him, but Flair won’t quit. Funk drops a leg and tosses him, and piledrives him on the floor now. Flair still won’t quit. Back in, Funk pounds on the neck with elbows, and then takes him outside and slams him on the table. Flair comes back with chops as Funk sets up the table against the ring, and then rams Funk into it. Funk takes a walk, so Flair dives on him and sends him into the table, as he slides across it and hits his head on a chair. Ouch. Back to the chops, and Flair drops him crotch-first on the railing and then adds a chop for good measure. If in doubt, go for the family jewels. Back in, Flair drops the knee and Funk crawls back up, so Flair brings him down with an atomic drop and starts to work on the leg. He alternates kicks to the knee and chops, but Funk won’t go down. Finally the shots to the knee are too much and Funk has to run away, so Flair tackles him in the aisle and gets a running kneecrusher on the floor. Suplex back in and Flair goes for it, but Funk fights him off. A good old poke to the eyes works just fine, and Funk tries a suplex from the apron, but Flair reverses and suplexes him onto the apron, and goes back to the knee. He dodges Funk’s crazed punches and finally slaps on the figure-four in the middle of the ring. Funk fights it off a while, but eventually has nowhere to go and says “I Quit” at 18:35. The last 5 minutes were just Flair mechanically destroying Funk’s knee in classic fashion, and the whole match set a standard for I Quit matches that was never quite touched again. ***** (Clash 10) Cactus Jack Manson v. Mil Mascaras. Yes, kids, this is Mick Foley’s first brush with the bigtime as a slim, trim and shirtless Cactus was running less-than-rampant in the NWA and not exactly impressing people. A goofy gimmick didn’t help either, as Ross emphasizes many times here what a moron Cactus Jack is. Mascaras does a quick bow-and-arrow and headscissor takeover. Jack bails and does a stupid spot where he trips over a chair while threatening Gary Michael Capetta. Back in, Mil gets a Boston Crab, but Jack makes the ropes. Jack tosses him, but he won’t sell. Jack sets up for the big elbow, but Mil sneaks into the ring and pushes Mick off…into the Nestea Plunge, Mick’s signature spot at the time. For those who haven’t read his book, here’s a quick description: Foley falls backwards off the apron and lands flat on his back on the concrete. It’s quite possibly one of the sickest looking things I’ve ever seen to be done on a regular basis by a wrestler. So of course the bookers had him do it every night. Thankfully by 1990 he was over enough to retire it permanently. Mil finishes with a flying bodypress at 4:55. Point? ¼* (Clash 11) US tag title match: The Midnight Express v. The Rock N Roll Express. Eaton starts with Gibson and escapes a hammerlock, and Eaton gets frustrated quickly. Criss-cross and Eaton gets taken down with a headscissors. Lane comes in and nails him with a back kick, but Gibson gets an enzuigiri. Morton tags in and they work Lane over in the corner. Criss- cross ends with Lane getting hiptossed, but he slugs Morton in the mouth. Charge misses, however, and Ricky backdrops him, and armdrags Eaton on the way in. Rana and Eaton bails to the corner. Lane comes in and gets hit with an armdrag as well, and the RNR go for the arm. Gibson atomic drops Lane into the corner off a criss-cross, and it’s back to the face corner for a Morton rollup that gets two. Back to the armbar, and Eaton comes in to turn the tide. They head up top and Morton blocks a superplex, nearly falling on his head in the process. Yikes. It’s a CHINESE FIRE-DRILL and the MX double-backdrop Gibson, but both RNRs rollup both MXs for a collective two-count. Everyone backs off to regroup again. Morton hiptosses Lane, but Lane blocks a rana attempt and turns it into a double-team that puts Ricky down. They work him over with a necksnap and elbowdrop that gets two for Eaton. Eaton misses a charge, hot tag Gibson. He cleans house like a French maid and Eaton tumbles out with Morton as a result. Gibson goes to a leglock on Lane while Eaton bumps Morton into the railing, and Bobby nails Gibson off the top for two. Morton is back in and it’s BONZO GONZO, as the RNR hit Eaton with the double dropkick for two. Lane breaks it up, so the ref DQs the champs at 11:49. Holy CRAP that’s lame. Pretty uninspired stuff here. **3/4 (Clash 12) US title match: Lex Luger v. Ric Flair. This is the only time I can think of where Flair was CHALLENGING Luger for a title. Luger overpowers Flair to start, and then gets suckered into a test of strength. Flair of course cheapshots him, but Luger no-sells the chops and press slams Flair. Ric takes a breather outside, and returns to lay in a hellacious chop, which Luger no-sells. Another press-slam and Luger dumps Flair, after Flair practically flashed a neon sign saying “clothesline me over the top rope”. They brawl out and back in again and Luger no-sells everything Flair throws at him, and gets a third press-slam. The HORIZONTAL ELBOW OF DEATH misses, of course, and Flair takes over. Luger blasts out of the corner with a lariat, but Flair tricks the ref into checking on an “injury”, thus buying time. Luger walks right into a sucker punch, and Flair tosses him to take over, for real this time. Luger eats railing a few times, and they head back in, where Flair stomps away. He stands up Luger and chops him so hard that he goes flying backwards into the corner. They head out and Flair starts chopping him for the benefit of the front row, drawing the ire of the teenage girls in the audience. Back in, he goes to the knee, as usual, and keeps making frenzied asides to the camera. Must have had some REALLY good shit before the match. In the corner, he goes into an insane sequence where he chops and stomps the knee in succession. Luger fights back with a burst of energy, but Flair pokes him in the eyes on the way down. That is so cool. Luger blocks a hiptoss with a backslide for two, but Flair chops away. And CHOPS. Luger shrugs it off and hammers away in the corner, but Flair brings him out with atomic drop. Luger no-sells and clotheslines him for two. Flair comes back with a snapmare for two. Flair goes up and gets slammed, and Luger Flips him for good measure and clotheslines him coming along the apron. Back in, another press-slam (the fourth for the match) and a powerslam, and it’s rack time. Flair tries to bail, and then grabs a headlock, only to get caught in a bearhug. They head to the top and Luger superplexes him (a beauty one, too) for two. Luger pounds away in the corner and Flair goes low to stop it, and they tumble out to the floor and keep fighting. Stan Hansen hits the ring and decimates Luger for the DQ at 14:27. Really good match, but nothing we haven’t seen a million times before. ***1/2 (Clash 15) The Fabulous Freebirds & Bradstreet v. Tom Zenk & The Southern Boys. The Birds had recently lost the World tag titles to the Steiners after a grueling negative title reign where they lost the belts before they won them, which kind of tells you the direction of the company at that point right there. Even the laws of time and space were abandoning ship on them. The Freebird entourage at ringside was getting completely out of proportion to their place on the card at this point as well, featuring both Diamond Dallas Page and Oliver Humperdink as managers for a team that cut better promos than either one of them did. Ah, WCW. The Pistols control early with a pair of flying bodypresses, but the Birds regroup outside. Back in, Tracy Smothers uses his redneck kung fu on Hayes, and they bail again. Tony notes that the Freebirds should probably think about going after Tom Zenk’s recently-detached bicep. Wait, wait, let me put this sage wisdom into my PDA in case I’m ever in the ring with him, filed under “Blindingly Obvious” along with DDP’s eternal rib tape. Hayes comes back with his dreaded right hand and Bradstreet dumps Smothers, you’d think making him your hick-in-peril. But instead the faces defy expectations of the way the match should go and they all sunset flip in for the triple pin to end it really quickly at 4:46. *1/2 Was there an emergency Armstrong family meeting backstage that necessitated them going home RIGHT NOW or something? 4 out of the 6 guys never even tagged in! (Clash 16) Georgia Brawl Battle Royale: Your participants are Tom Zenk, Tommy Rich, Bobby Eaton, Ranger Ross, Tracy Smothers, The Great and Mighty Oz, PN News, Buddy Lee Parker, Steve Austin, Dustin Rhodes, Terrence Taylor, Big Josh, Barry Windham, One Man Gang and El Gigante. You’d think putting Kevin Nash and El Gigante in the same ring would cause a black hole of suck that might conceivably end the universe, but there they are. And PN News, too. In hindsight, Paul Neu may just have been 10 years before his time, at which point the wacky dancing fat guy became en vogue in the wrestling business and he wouldn’t have looked like a complete and utter tool. Of course, if he HAD become the big star in Rikishi’s place, I don’t think I could have lived with the promos: “Austin it was ME who ran you over! YO BABY YO BABY YO!” Trust me, say it out loud and it gets funnier. Sadly, Kevin Nash was nearing the end of his run as the Great and Mighty Oz at this point, and indeed the transition provided the world with one of those Moments in WCW History We’d All Like To Have Been Present For backstage, as someone actually proposed turning him from the living embodiment of a magical land into a snappy dressing Italian stereotype who wrestled in a tux, and someone else actually thought it was a good idea and gave the first person the go-ahead to implement it. It’s not even the original idea that I find so perplexing, it’s the fact that there was little quality control that “Vinnie Vegas” actually was considered a better gimmick than “The Great and Mighty Oz” by someone who was presumably being PAID to keep track of this stuff. These are the same people who couldn’t think of any way to market Steve Austin or Mick Foley, but felt Shockmaster had some good upside potential and El Gigante would be the next Andre the Giant. To be fair, Vince McMahon also gave it the old college try with Jorge Gonzalez, but at least he gave him that muscle suit to wear so that he could make a few bucks on the side as an anatomy teaching aid at local colleges. Anyway, El Gigante eliminates Oz & One Man Gang to win at 9:31, and trust me, you didn’t miss anything. I don’t rate battle royales. (Clash 17) US title match: Sting v. Ravishing Rick Rude. For those playing along at home, Rude’s music is expunged here in favor of Kenny G or something like it. Paul E. falls prey to that same weakness all great villains possess…the inability to shut up for long enough a time for your master plan to take effect. In this case, he gets on the mike to run down the crowd and gloat about how Rude was gonna win by forfeit, which allows Sting the time to arrive in his stolen ambulance and beat the count. They brawl on the ramp, where Sting presses Rude, but his knee buckles. Just a note to Test or any other mediocre wrestlers reading: “Selling” means actually having the injury affect your performance — not just clutching your ribs, doing a move like normal, and then clutching your ribs again. They head into the ring and Sting slugs away and backdrops Rude, completely grounded by the injury. He clotheslines him out, but Rude outsmarts him and trips him up, then posts the knee. Back in, Rude nails him off the top, but Sting blocks the Rude Awakening. Sting channels the Three Stooges to win a slugfest by faking Rude out, but Rude makes sure to fall FORWARD, and takes out Sting’s knee in the process. Sting falls back just as Paul jumps up and shatters the phone on his head. That’s so cool. It gets two. Sting comes back with a DDT, but he’s got nothin’, and when he gets desperate and goes after Paul again, Rude just hits the knee from behind and pins him to win the title at 4:15. THAT is how you push a new guy, and is one of the rare instances where WCW managed to use someone far more effectively than the WWF did. He would never be beaten for that title. ** I’m kind of stunned they put this match on here from Clash 17 and not the Enforcers v. Steamboat/Rhodes tag title match. And away we go AGAIN, skipping over 5 more shows until we get to… (Clash 23) WCW World tag titles: The Hollywood Blonds v. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson. This is 2/3 falls, and it was basically the Blonds one and only chance at the top of the card. Sadly the buildup for the feud isn’t shown here, because the “Flair for the Old” skit was hilarious. Pillman starts with Arn and mocks Flair as they fight over a lockup. He keeps trying a headlock, and Arn keeps taking him down, so Pillman smacks him around in the corner. Arn fires back and Pillman begs off, then cheats. AA hotshots him, however, and gets his own cheapshots. Oh, this is NASTY. Austin comes in and mocks Anderson, then grabs a headlock, but AA takes him down and Flair comes in. Crowd goes INSANE for that. Flair goes to the eyes and lays in the chops in the corner, backdropping Austin out of there and beating on Pillman for good measure. More chops for Austin and the crowd is loving every second. The Horsemen double-team the Blonds and they’re reeling, as Flair rips at Austin’s face. He finally pokes Flair in the eye to break up the momentum and bails. Back in, Arn works on the arm and gets the hammerlock slam, and Flair drops a knee and hits Pillman on the follow-through. Back to the corner, AA works on the arm again, but Pillman chokes him out with a towel from the apron and Austin chokes him down. More cheating from Pillman behind the ref’s back and the Blonds go to work on Arn, as Pillman comes in and chokes away. They take turns teeing off on Arn and Austin drops knees. The Blonds work him over in the corner and Austin suplexes him, but Arn fights back out of the corner. Austin misses a charge and gets DDT’d while showboating, and it’s hot tag Flair. He comes in from the top onto Pillman and starts chopping, and catches him with an atomic drop. He dumps Austin and slugs away on Pillman in the corner, and finishes Pillman with a flying forearm at 9:38. Buffer screws up and announces Flair & Anderson as the new champions as they fade to the break. Second fall sees Pillman chopping away on Flair in nasty manner, and it’s a Flair Flip, but Ric hits both Blonds on the way by. Austin takes care of him on the floor, however, with a suplex. Pillman adds some chops and rams him into the railing, and Austin adds his own shots, triggering a Flair Flop on the floor. Back in, Austin chops away and Pillman chokes him out behind the ref’s back. Austin brings Flair to the top and gets a superplex for two. He whips Flair around and pounds him into the corner, but Flair plays dirty and chokes back. Austin stomps a mudhole to end that, so Flair chops him away. Pillman comes back in and adds more chops, but Flair returns fire, and they collide for the double KO. Tags on both ends, as Anderson backdrops Austin and boots him down. Spinebuster gets nothing, as Pillman breaks it up and the ref ushers Flair out. They clip Anderson, however, and Austin gets two. Pillman goes to town on the injured knee of Anderson, and the knee gives way on an irish whip. Pillman gets two. Austin keeps on it with a toehold, but Anderson manages to take Austin down and kick away from it. Pillman cuts off the tag and goes to a half-crab, with help from Austin. Pillman keeps stomping the knee, but Anderson gets an enzuigiri. Austin cuts off the ring again, dragging him back to the heel corner, and Pillman rams the knee onto the apron. Pillman comes in and goes up, but lands on Arn’s foot. Hot tag Flair, and he’s a house afire. He tosses Pillman and chops Austin down, into a backdrop suplex and figure-four, but Barry Windham runs in for the DQ at 21:12, which under WWE rules would have changed the titles. Paul Roma makes the save, kicking off the low point in Four Horsemen history. Great match, though, filled with terrific old-school cheating and tag team formula stuff. ****1/4 (Clash 25) Brian Pillman v. Steve Austin Never actually done this show, in fact. THE HOLLYWOOD BLONDES EXPLODE! Welcome to WWE Home Video Editing Hell. Both the entrance themes are edited out, and all of Jesse Ventura’s commentary as well, which gives you Tony Schiavone doing solo commentary and a strangely muted crowd. Pillman attacks to start and chases Robert Parker, which allows Austin to clobber him on the outside, but Pillman comes back with a backdrop and chops away. They brawl to the ramp and Austin tries a piledriver, but Pillman backdrops out of it, only to conveniently fall onto the railing for his trademark bump. Back in, Pillman gets a slingshot bodypress for two, but Austin puts him down with a press slam for two. Austin goes to a half-crab and uses the ropes, but gets caught. Pillman fires back with chops and gets an elbow out of the corner for a double KO, but Parker uses his hanky to fan some oxygen at Austin first. Austin goes up and gets crotched, and Pillman gets a dropkick on Austin on the way down for two. Austin gets a slingshot shoulderblock for two, but misses a charge and Pillman hits a DDT for two. Austin gets a samoan drop and goes up, but misses a flying splash and Pillman rolls him up for two. Austin with a stun gun that puts Pillman on the apron, but Parker trips him up and Austin pulls the tights for the pin at 9:11. Good match at the end, although it took a while to get there for some reason, but the editing basically butchered it because the audio issues were ridiculous to sit through. ***1/4 (Clash 26) World TV title: Lord Steven Regal v. Dustin Rhodes. Dustin takes him to the corner to start, but gives a clean break. Another lockup and Regal takes him to the corner this time, but no clean break. They slug it out and Dustin gets a dropkick that sends Regal to the floor, where he regroups. Rhodes works on the arm and tosses Regal across the ring off a wristlock. They try the test of strength and Regal takes him down with a standing armbar and goes to a headlock, then overpowers Regal, prompting him to bail. Back in, Rhodes grabs a headlock and they work off that, as he releases and slams Regal for two, and then goes back to the headlock. Regal escapes from that, but Dustin takes him down again and goes back to the headlock on the mat. Regal finally brings him to the corner and escapes with forearms, then drops a knee and applies a wristlock on the mat. Dustin fights up, so Regal hits him with a gutwrench suplex for two. Dustin fights out of another headlock and slugs Regal down, but he gets taken down and pounded by Regal again. They fight over a wristlock, but Regal wraps him up with a straightjacket hold until Dustin flips Regal to escape, and a clothesline gets two. Regal bails again and does some stalling while making a big show of checking Sir William’s watch, and he finally comes back in with a sunset flip. Dustin blocks it and pounds him on the mat. Lariat gets two. They do the chase and Dustin wins with a dropkick for two. Regal rolls him up again but it’s in the ropes. Regal bails again and leads Rhodes on a chase up to the ramp, but he charges and gets backdropped in, and Dustin gets two. Regal bails again and Dustin follows to lay in punishment. Back in, an elbow from the top sets up the bulldog, but time expires at 15:00. Nothing wrong with it so much as it didn’t go anywhere. ** (Clash 26) Ric Flair & Sting v. Vader & Rick Rude. This is elimination rules. Just about any combination of these four is a **** match, more or less. Sting starts with Rude, and hip-swivels result. Rude’s were better. Sting powers Rude down with a wristlock and works on the arm, but Rude takes him to the corner and pounds away with knees. Vader comes in and clobbers Sting, then presses him onto the top rope. Slam and he goes up and tries a sunset flip (!) from the middle rope, which Sting blocks with a buttdrop. That’s kind of backwards, isn’t it? Vader starts a war of punches and wins that pretty handily, but Sting comes back with an insane german suplex and brings Flair in. Flair chops Vader down and seems to be on a sugar buzz tonight, as he thumbs the eye and slugs Vader down, then brings Sting back in as we take a break. We return with Sting getting bearhugged by Rude. Flair comes in and gets the atomic drop, however, and they botch a blind charge spot. Vader comes in and splashes Flair in the corner, then slams him and goes up with a pump splash. Race wants MORE pain, though. I can’t advocate sadism. Oh, okay, maybe just this once. Vader brings him to the top and superplexes him, and just casually works him over. Back to the top again as Vader boxes his ears and Race wants another superplex, this one from the top rope, and he delivers it. However, Vader brings Flair to the floor for more punishment, and they both get eliminated via DQ or countout or something, they weren’t really clear on that. So it’s Rude v. Sting, as Sting tosses Rude into the ring and goes up with a flying lariat. Backdrop and a botched atomic drop, as Sting hurts his neck on the way down. Rude goes up and gets a forearm from the top. Rude clotheslines him and drops a fist for two. Rear chinlock is countered with an electric chair drop by Sting, but a splash hits knees. They clothesline each other and Rude recovers first and tries the Rude Awakening, but Sting holds onto the ropes to block, and gets his own. That gets two. Rude comes back with an atomic drop, but misses a blind charge. They do the tombstone reversal, won by Sting, and he goes up with a flying splash to finish at 20:46. Good, but not up to their usual standards, as Flair and Vader’s elimination kind of sucked the fun out of the match. *** Disc Two And now, the later, crappier years. (Clash 27) “Unification” match: Sting v. Ric Flair. And don’t even get me started on the reasons behind this match. Sting was the International World champion and Flair was the actual WCW World champion, and just leave it at that. Flair goes for the arm to start, but Sting keeps kipping up. They trade hammerlocks and Sting shoves him down, so Flair bails to the ramp and regroups. Back in, Flair grabs a headlock, but Sting escapes and gets a press-slam. And hey, why not another one? Flair bails again and stops for a Flair Flop outside, and stalls. Back in, Flair goes to the eyes and tries a chop, but Sting is having none of that. He hiptosses Flair and follows with a trio of clotheslines, and Flair bails again. Way too much stalling thus far. Back in, Flair finally takes over with a cheapshot, but Sting no-sells and comes back with a hiptoss, only to whiff on a dropkick. Flair goes for the leg, but Sting comes back and Flair bails again. Flair decides to start chopping, but Sting fires back…and misses the Stinger Splash. And NOW Flair takes over, dumping Sting behind the ref’s back and laying in the chops. Back in, Flair necksnaps him on the top rope and drops a knee. Another one gets two. Back to the chops, and a backdrop suplex, but Sting escapes the figure-four. Flair gets a back elbow and grabs a sleeper, but Sting fights out of it and sends Flair into the corner. Sting knocks him down and gets a sloppy slingshot into the corner, but Flair bails. Sting suplexes him back in for two. Flair Flip and Sting clotheslines him off the apron, then brings him in for another clothesline, which gets two. They go up and Sting brings him down with a superplex, but goes for a flying splash and misses. Flair gets a suplex, but Sting no-sells and hiptosses him out of the corner, into a dropkick and a press-slam. A clothesline puts Flair on the floor, so Flair slickly hides behind Sherri Martell, who was supposedly on Sting’s side that night. Sting follows with a pescado and wipes out Sherri as a result. No one ever said she was afraid to take a bump. Back in, Sting gets a backslide for two. Clothesline and he checks on Sherri, but Flair rolls him up for the pin at 17:11 to unify the belts. I gave this a really good rating back in like 1998, but they didn’t click at all here and Flair seemed really off his game. *** Flair & Sherri reveal their alliance and team up on Sting afterwards, but Hulk Hogan makes the save, which doesn’t get half the pop they were probably banking on. (Clash 28) US title: Stunning Steve Austin v. Ricky Steamboat From August 1994, in what would end up being the match that ended Steamboat’s career. JIP with Steamboat holding an armbar, which turns into a nice little mat segment. Austin tosses him out and they brawl outside, with Austin turning into a footrace before running into a chop. Back in, they trade sleeper attempts, but Austin escapes with KICK WHAM STUNNER…or just a jawbreaker, whatever. Austin throws chops in the corner, but gets hiptossed before missing a charge and hitting the post. Steamboat walks the ropes to hurt the arm, and follows with the flying chop for two. Austin comes back with a kneedrop for two and slugs away on the ropes. He goes to the chinlock and we take a break. Back with Austin getting a suplex for two. They fight on the top and Steamboat goes down, but crotches Austin. He fights for a superplex, but Austin hits it instead. Steamboat keeps coming and nails Austin coming off the top, however. Steamboat back up, but the flying bodypress misses and Austin sends him facefirst into the mat. He doesn’t follow up, though, slapping him around instead of pinning him, which allows Steamboat to fight up again. Steamboat is PISSED and fires away, chopping Austin down for two. Spinebuster gets two. Electric chair gets two and Steamboat’s back is killing him, you can see it. Small package gets two. Rollup gets two. Backslide gets two. Sunset flip gets two. Austin finally ends the rally with a clothesline and dumps him, but Steamboat pulls himself in and gets a rollup for two, then finishes with a small package at 10:30 to win the US title. That finishing sequence, with Steamboat’s babyface comeback and the series of insane near-falls on a desperate Austin, was some of the best American pro wrestling you will ever see. ****1/4 (Clash 32) Ric Flair & The Giant v. Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage Kevin Greene is hanging out at ringside in all his mullet glory in support of the Megapowers. Flair throws chops on Savage to start, but gets backdropped out of the corner as per usual. Savage sends him into the corner for a Flair Flip, which ends with Hogan clotheslining him off the apron and back into the ring. Flair comes back with the chops, but Savage gets a backslide for two. Flair gets double-teamed in the corner, but backs off and brings The Giant in. It’s kind of hilarious hearing Tony call him “400 pounds” considering how downright skinny he is compared to today. Giant overpowers Hogan and slams him while Tony and Brain talk about Wrestlemania III in kind of a surreal conversation. Giant pounds Hogan down while Elizabeth’s boobs show a lot of concern at ringside. Giant with a backbreaker, but an elbow misses and Hogan is once again calling for the slam, this time getting it pretty easily. Giant still tags Flair, however, and it’s a delayed suplex, which Hogan no-sells to make the comeback. Giant mugs him outside the ring, however, and this is all very laughable stuff because Giant barely knows what to do out there and Hogan won’t sell. Back in it’s hot tag Macho for the double axehandle on Flair and he goes up to finish, but Jimmy Hart distracts the ref after the big elbow. Flair gets the INTERNATIONAL OBJECT and puts Savage down for the pin at 9:49. This was all very dull and pedestrian with a Las Vegas crowd who couldn’t give a shit about anyone but Hulk, if that. *1/2 (Clash 33) Madusa v. Bull Nakano We are now into the real Nitro era, as the set has been totally overhauled to look like Nitro, basically. And again, all the entrance music is totally overdubbed with generic nonsense. Why even bother with the entrances? Nakano gets a hairtoss as Madusa bumps around for her, and Bull uses nunchuks as the ref somehow totally misses it. Splash gets two. Madusa fucks up a springboard bodyblock, perhaps because the weight of her giant boobs threw off her center of gravity, but Nakano gets a sitdown splash for two. Madusa dropkicks her off the top and follows with a dive, hitting Sonny Onoo instead of Bull. Back in, Onoo hits Bull by mistake and Madusa rolls her up for the pin at 2:40. Whatever. ½* (Clash 33) Diamond Dallas Page v. Eddie Guerrero At least they still have the rights to both pieces of music. Eddie fires off a headscissors, but misses a charge and RAMS himself into the post. Page goes to work on the injured shoulder and goes to the chinlock, but Eddie fights free and gets a legsweep. They slug it out with Eddie showing good fire for the comeback, and the somersault splash gets two. DDP comes back with a powerbomb for two. They head up and Eddie headbutts him down and finishes with the frog splash at 4:20 to win DDP’s Battlebowl ring. DDP beats the hell out of him afterwards, and amazingly they actually paid this feud off by putting them into the finals of the US title tournament against each other at Starrcade. **1/4 (Clash 33) WCW World tag titles: Harlem Heat v. The Steiner Brothers v. Lex Luger & Sting THREE matches from this shit show? And again, all the music is intact. Booker hits the sidekick on Scott and they quickly fight to the top, but Scott slams him off and Luger adds a clothesline from the apron. Scott tags in Luger and Stevie pounds on him in the corner, but walks into a clothesline. Rick Steiner comes in and clotheslines both guys, then adds the flying bulldog on Stevie for two. Stevie superkicks Rick and the Heat go to work on him in the corner, but Rick fights back until Sting tags himself in. Sting goes up with a flying chop on Stevie for two, and he dumps Booker. Back in, Sting with the press slam for two. Luger comes in with a delayed suplex for two. Sting tags himself in and trades wristlocks with Scott Steiner, then hits him with a stungun and goes up with a flying clothesline for two. Steiner comes back with an inverted DDT and butterfly bomb for two. Rick and Luger exchange clotheslines off a slugfest and Rick gets a release german suplex, and over to Scott for the belly to belly. Luger catches him in something resembling the torture rack, but the Heat sneak in and break it up. Everyone brawls on the floor, leaving Scott Steiner and Booker. Scott hits the frankensteiner, but the Outsiders are coming down the aisle, so Patrick stops the count at two and calls for the DQ at 10:58. Normally that would be a stupid finish, but of course that’s the gag – Patrick was trying to screw the Steiners over because he was secretly a heel. The last few minutes, with Sting/Luger v. Steiners, are GREAT. The rest is pretty dull and disjointed, but Luger and Rick throwing each other around the ring is tremendous fun. ***1/4 Sadly, Sting’s motivation would be short-lived, as he would ascend to the rafters a month later and stay there for 14 months. (Clash 34) Cruiserweight title: Ultimo Dragon v. Dean Malenko They trade hammerlocks on the mat and take a break. Back with Malenko’s suplex attempt getting foiled, but he fires away in the corner instead and hits the delayed suplex for two. Dragon fires back with kicks to chase Dean out of the ring. Dean recovers and comes back in with a backdrop suplex and into an anklelock on the mat. Half-crab and STUMP PULLER as Dean works on the leg in mechanical fashion. They head to the floor and Dean runs the leg into the post, and back in for a figure-four. Dean releases and hits a corner clothesline, but a second try runs into a spinkick. Dragon goes up and Malenko follows with a superplex and a rollup for two. Heenan: “What do you call 40 millionaires watching the Super Bowl? The Dallas Cowboys.” And as if inspired by that joke, Dean and Dragon start firing off highspots and trade near-falls, fighting to the floor for Dragon’s Asai moonsault. Back in, Dragon goes up and snaps off a moonsault for two. They head back up and Dragon gets a rana to bring him down, and a small package gets two. Malenko tries a powerbomb, but Dragon flips out and escapes, so Malenko does it again and gets the Cloverleaf for the submission and the title at 11:58. **** Dean was crazy over here. (Clash 35) Cruiserweight title: Chris Jericho v. Eddie Guerrero Guerrero takes him down and trashtalks right away, but Jericho comes back with an armdrag and dropkick, sending Eddie running to hide behind the ref. Jericho presses him off a criss-cross and starts chopping, into a faceplant that has Eddie hiding again. Eddie sneaks in from behind and clubs him down, then follows with a back elbow and slingshot splash. Eddie puts him on top and brings him down with a rana for two, but Jericho reverses the ropewalk into a powerbomb. Jericho follows with a Giant Swing and he’s visibly sucking wind. Leg lariat puts Eddie on the apron and Jericho follows with an embarrassing trip on the top rope during his springboard cross body. Then he botches a suplex off the apron, so Eddie takes over again with a superplex for two. Not a good match for Jericho. Jericho tries a powerbomb, but Eddie slips out, so Jericho goes with a german suplex instead for two. They criss-cross into an Eddie sunset flip, and it turns into a pinfall reversal sequence where Eddie is obviously wrestling himself and taking Jericho along with him, ending with Jericho on top for the pin to retain at 6:40. This was pretty awful by Jericho’s usual standards. ** (Clash 35) Scott Hall & Randy Savage v. DDP & Lex Luger Last match ever on Clash of the Champions. Oh god, we have to listen to the Michael Buffer imitation announcer so they can save a couple of bucks. The editing now also carefully avoids showing Buffer so we don’t think that he might be announcing, either. Big Kev announces that Savage will be defending the tag titles tonight as his surrogate, giving Tony another chance to use his new catchphrase: “Verbally binding contract”. Luger and Hall fight over a lockup to start, as Hall gropes him like he’s a senior citizen. Ha, there’s a reference I haven’t done in a while. Luger gets tossed and Nash clotheslines him from behind, and back in the nWo beats on Luger and Savage gets the double axehandle. Over to DDP and he slugs Hall to the floor, but gets tripped up as a result, allowing Savage to put him down from behind. Back to Hall for the blockbuster slam for two. Savage slugs away in the corner, as does Hall, and Savage elbows DDP down for two. Page gets tossed and Savage brings him back in, allowing Hall to get the corner clothesline. Back to Savage and then Hall as they do some good quick tagging, but Page comes back with the discus clothesline on Hall and it’s hot tag Luger. Luger whips them into each other and then clotheslines them, leading to the torture rack on Hall before Savage saves. DDP and Luger collide, however, and Luger eats a Diamond Cutter by accident, as Hall falls on top for the pin at 9:53. Well at least it had a clean finish. Pretty solid tag match as well. **1/2 Dusty wraps things up. Blu-Ray Bonus Matches! (Clash 4) The Midnight Express v. Ric Flair & Barry Windham Now this is why I wanted this set. Someone sent me a batch of old Clashes years ago, and I was really bummed when the fourth one wasn’t in watchable condition, because I had never seen this match before. This is basically all four guys in their stone cold primes, with the Lane/Eaton Express just coming off their only World tag titles, and the Horsemen holding both singles titles. Eaton immediately slaps Flair down and does his own strutting. They slug it out in the corner and we get the Flair Flip, ending with Lane slugging him down on the apron. Stan in with a sidekick and an enzuigiri, but Flair makes the tag to Windham. Lane hits him with a dropkick and the Horsemen regroup, allowing Windham to slug Lane down. He goes up and misses an elbow, and Lane puts Windham onto the floor with a kick and slingshots him back in. Here’s Windham, this GIANT dude, bumping all over for the smaller Express because it WORKS and he knows it. I love it. Eaton hits Flair with a series of slams and clotheslines both Horsemen, so they bail and regroup again. Back in, Lane takes Flair down for a figure-four, and Eaton gets his own on Windham as it’s the Rock N Roll Express tribute spot. Flair finally dumps Lane, but Stan comes back in with an elbow for two. Lane and Flair slug it out and Flair goes down again, but finally gets a cheapshot on Eaton to gain some momentum. Eaton slugs him down, however, and Lane adds an elbow, but he falls prey to a cheapshot from Windham while Paul E. Dangerously drops in with a promo. Flair goes up and takes too long, allowing Lane to slam him off, and Eaton comes back in to pound him in the corner. Another Flair flip, but this time it ends with Eaton getting a neckbreaker. Express with the FLAPJACK on Flair, and that gets two. Eaton with a rollup for two, but Windham nails him from behind to break it up and make Eaton YOUR face-in-peril. Windham with a delayed suplex and powerslam, and Flair drops the knee and slaps him around. Eaton gets dumped and Flair adds some nasty chops on the floor, then brings him back in for more. Windham blows in with the lariat for two. Side suplex and he drops the knee and grabs the sleeper, but Flair comes in for the slugfest with Eaton and he loses. Hot tag Lane and the Express gets the DOUBLE GOOZLE on Windham (with a great delayed sell), setting up the Alabama Jam. The managers brawl at ringside, allowing Flair to nail Eaton with JJ’s shoe and Windham to steal the pin at 17:40. I have no idea why they didn’t include this on the regular DVD, it’s tremendous. **** (Clash 18) Sting & Ricky Steamboat v. Rick Rude & Steve Austin. Austin & Steamboat start, and the Dragon overpowers him. They slug it out, won by Steamboat, and Austin bails. Back in, Steamboat backslide gets two, and he just goes back to it again for two. Small package gets two and Austin goes nuts and gets dumped. The heels regroup. Back in, Rude wants Sting, then backs off in a great bit of psyching out. Rude slugs away, but gets atomic-dropped. Sting clotheslines him down and rakes the back, driving new commentator Jesse Ventura insane. Sting goes to a rear chinlock, but spices it up as the faces play mindgames with the heels by switching off without a tag a few times, and the crowd absolutely eats it up with a spoon. Sting tries a testicular-drop, but lands on Rude’s knees and Austin comes in. Back elbow gets two, and Sting is YOUR Face-in-peril. Rude clotheslines him for two after a tag tease. Austin gets a backdrop suplex, but Sting tags the Dragon. DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER OF DOOM gets two on Austin. Victory roll, no ref. Rude nails him, and Austin gets a back elbow and the heels work him over. Austin blocks a rollup, but gets cradled for two. Pier-six, Sting and Austin brawl onto the ramp, and back to the ring as Austin tries to slam Steamboat, only to see Sting plow into him with a flying bodypress that results in Steamboat & Sting dogpiling Austin for the pin at 11:21. Just awesome effort out of everyone here. **** (Clash 22) Thundercage: Dustin Rhodes & Sting v. Vader, Paul Orndorff & Barry Windham. Ron Simmons was supposed to be on the babyface team, but was eliminated by a pre-match attack from Vader in the previous segment. Rhodes backdrops Windham out of the corner to start and they slug it out, but Windham misses an elbow. Rhodes slugs away in the corner and gets a clothesline, bringing Sting in for a bulldog. Press slam and Windham brings Vader in for a go. Sting slugs him on the ropes, but Vader returns fire with mustard on it. Sting keeps punching and gets an atomic drop, and a DDT finally puts Vader down. Stinger splash and he keeps slugging away, and adds some for the other heels, too. Vader actually does a Flair Flip, but catches Sting with a shot to the head on a charge. He goes up with a flying clothesline and then adds a flying splash from the second rope, which misses. Sting kicks away and clotheslines him out, but Orndorff sneaks in with a german suplex to break up the jubilation. Orndorff comes in and stomps away, clotheslining Sting down and dropping an elbow. He drops an elbow on the lower abs, and Windham comes in with a shot off the top and slugs Sting down. Suplex gets two. Dustin gets suckered in and allows some double-teaming by the heels, and they continue working him over in the corner. Vader splash in the corner and a clubbing forearm put Sting down, and a press slam (with a shot on the way down) follows. That’s so cool. Windham sets up for a superplex , but Sting fights out and collapses to the mat. Hot tag to Rhodes is made, and he valiantly tries it 1-on-3, catching Windham with a lariat and slugging the other two down. Corner clothesline and he slugs away, but now Cactus Jack runs in with bolt-cutters to let himself in, and attacks the heels with his boot, laying them all out. I guess he’s your substitute for Simmons. Orndorff finally tosses him, leaving himself one-on-one with Rhodes, but a piledriver attempt is foiled by a boot to the head and Jack gets the pin at 11:22 to officially turn face. Match was going okay until the non-sensical finish. *** The Pulse Hopefully volume 2 is coming, because there’s still HOURS of great matches they could have put on here. Blonds v. Steamboat & Douglas, Enforcers v. Steamboat & Rhodes, Windham & Rhodes v. Steamboat & Douglas, Fantastics v. Midnights, Flair v. Steamboat…there’s still tons of material to mine here. This first shot at it is pretty great, with one ***** classic and a bunch of **** classics, and that’s enough for a hearty recommendation from me.
Best of the Clash of the Champions DVD Coming
– WWE is currently developing a “Best of the Clash of the Champions” DVD set. The presentation will be hosted by Dusty Rhodes, who created the event.
Clash of the Champions was a series of quarterly-scheduled events on TBS meant to compete with WWE’s Pay-Per-Views. The first one featured a classic 45-minute draw between Sting and Ric Flair and aired opposite WrestleMania IV.
The DVD set is expected to be released on May 22.
I’m sure a lot of people here will be happy with this. What matches/segments would you like to see on this set?
Night of Champions 2011 Results thread (Page 3) – WWE Night of Champions – Pro Wrestling – The W message board
http://the-w.com/t/44267.2#470197
Just wanted to highlight this post on CRZs board because it sums up perfectly why all us disgruntled fans are probably gonna give up on them again.
Night of Champions 2011 Results thread (Page 3) – WWE Night of Champions – Pro Wrestling – The W message board
http://the-w.com/t/44267.2#470197
Just wanted to highlight this post on CRZs board because it sums up perfectly why all us disgruntled fans are probably gonna give up on them again.
The SmarK Rant for WWE Night of Champions 2011
http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/19/the-smark-rant-for-wwe-night-of-champions-2011/ Anyone expecting anything other than Super Cena beating whatever his name was got what they deserved, frankly.
The SmarK Rant for WWE Night of Champions 2011
http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/19/the-smark-rant-for-wwe-night-of-champions-2011/ Anyone expecting anything other than Super Cena beating whatever his name was got what they deserved, frankly.
Roundtable: Night of Champions
http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/17/rasslin-roundtable-night-of-champions/comment-page-1/#comment-64204 I figured I was going to be checking out this PPV at the theatre on Sunday anyway, so I might as well throw my hat into the picks game.
Roundtable: Night of Champions
http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2011/09/17/rasslin-roundtable-night-of-champions/comment-page-1/#comment-64204 I figured I was going to be checking out this PPV at the theatre on Sunday anyway, so I might as well throw my hat into the picks game.