WCW Clash of the Champions 17 (11.19.91) review 

 

November 19, 1991 

 

We’re in Savannah, Georgia at the Savannah Civic Center. Hosts are Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone. Coming off the back of Halloween Havoc we have two big questions. One: Is Barry Windham able to challenge for the tag belts tonight? Two: Can Rick Rude dethrone Sting as the US champion? Luger has Rick Steiner in the main event, but no one thinks Rick wins there.  

 

Unlike previous Clash episodes, this one doesn’t have a subtitle. Like “Ragin Cajun” or, where are we?, “The Hammer in Savannah”. Missy Hyatt announces she’ll be interviewing WCW’s newest rookie; Marcus Alexander Bagwell. We are at the Bagwell Era. This is actually clipped off the tape I watched. So, disregard?  

 

Lumberjack Match: 

Thomas Rich vs. Big Josh 

This is unfair on Tommy as Josh is an actual lumberjack. The stipulation is perhaps a little on the nose! The match is fine. Rich bumps around a lot, and Big Josh only gets in trouble when he’s thrown out to the heel ‘Jacks. Taylor trips his own guy, and Josh hits the vertical splash for the win. * 

 

The sad beginning of the end for the York Foundation. Tommy “Wildfire” Rich, a guy who made history in the NWA as it’s youngest ever champion, is now looking old and tired. He’s only 35 years old here. THIRTY-FIVE! If it was modern era, he’d still be waiting for the NXT call up.  Instead, the rest of his career is bit parts in promotions like SMW, USWA and ECW. The latter where he played a role in the FBI.  

 

Firebreaker Chip vs. Bobby Eaton 

Everyone knows this is a squash and are not interested. Chip, bizarrely, comes off the ropes a few times! He’s showcasing some of his range here. He’s not a graceful flier, but I appreciate the effort. Eaton politely allows Chip to do some bumbling acrobatics before taking over. Chip decides to throw himself face first into the buckles, for reasons, and Eaton beats him with a Saito suplex. Eaton looked hot after the fall, suggesting he wasn’t impressed with Chip’s skillset. Chip looked clumsy here, and you can see why he never caught on. * 

 

Promo Time: Sting 

There’s yet another prize box for Sting.  

Yes, I know. Yes, he really is that stupid. Madusa is in the box, confusing Sting as usually it’s someone who’s come to fight him. Dumb ass Sting stands there looking stupid until Lex Luger sneaks out and chopblocks him. Sting, as a character, deserved everything he got. What a moron.  

 

Diamond Studd vs. Z-Man 

JIP! Picture in picture too as Sting gets carted out in an ambulance to get his knee checked. The long term here is Sting vs Luger for the belt in 1992. You would think Starrcade but BATTLEBOWL. Zenk wins here with a roll up and Hall gives him the Diamond Death Drop for his troubles. Amazingly, this is the point where WCW gave up on Scott Hall and let him go to the WWF. Thus creating one of Vince’s most endearing characters of the 1990s, Razor Ramon, and giving the Fed a star (like they did with Undertaker. And Nash. And then Austin. And Foley).  

 

WCW TV Championship 

Steve Austin (c) vs. PN News  

Somehow, I don’t think this will live up to Austin’s last title match against Dustin Rhodes. PN News hits a dropkick in this, and I swear only one foot leaves the ground. How can you do a dropkick in such a fashion? Austin’s approach here is to take a load of bumps and hope for the best. He actually makes PN News look ok. If that’s not a sign he was meant for greatness, I don’t know what is. Austin dodges a fat splash in the corner and pins with his feet on the ropes. Great performance from Steve here. To make PN News look worthwhile is quite an accomplishment. ** 

 

Cactus Jack vs. Van Hammer 

Van Hammer is unbeaten coming into this. Someone has decided they’ve seen enough. I have to think it was the stinker Van Hammer had at Halloween Havoc that did it. Van Hammer does the big boot, legdrop gimmick here brother. That shit isn’t going to job done around here, dude. The match is scrappy with Mick carrying the load. He whacks Hammer in the throat with the Flying V guitar, and there goes Van Hammer’s unbeaten run. *½ 

 

To his credit Van hammer actually nails his slingshot suplex on the ramp afterwards, kickstarting a feud between the two.  

In another innovation from WCW, we get Jim Ross on the phone, an actual phone, to Eric Bischoff. Quite why they need to show the actual phone here is odd, but I do like it. It feels quite real. Shout out to the producer yelling at Tony to get his head out of the shot. Bischoff gives a vague update on Sting. We then get VT of the car door attack on Barry Windham at Halloween Havoc. JR suggests Windham “may not” wrestle tonight. The Enforcers are very happy about eliminating the top contenders for their belts. 

 

WCW World Tag Team Championship 

Enforcers (c) vs. Dustin Rhodes & X 

Windham has a soft cast on his arm and cannot compete as he’s had surgery on his broken hand.  

So, they announce a new partner for Dustin and THIS THING emerges. Everyone is like “man, fuck WCW, what is this nonsense?” The costume comes off and… 

Steamboat literally just quit WWF about six months into a two-year deal. It was a run he found creatively unfulfilling. WWF stuck a Dragon gimmick on him, (parodied here with the costume) and it never really landed. Ricky himself thought he was being punished. This return was totally unexpected though and the crowd pop it HUGE. Great stuff. They’ve done an unmasking and a surprise return on back-to-back shows and nailed them both. What’s up?  

 

Steamboat starts fast, and the champs have to bail to compose themselves. Arn saying “he’s just a man” to try and get the Enforcers to settle is great selling. Larry looks ancient here and he retired in 1992. He’s 40. The Enforcers control a bit before an inevitable comeback. Then they bail and calm everything down again. Everyone plays their role well here. Dustin is inexperienced, so he’s desperate to get in there and that allows Steamboat to become isolated.  

This is elite tier cheating from the Enforcers. Look at Larry pushing Arn’s head for additional pressure on the Boston crab. Win if you can, lose if you must, but always, always cheat. Hot tag to Dustin and I love how manic he is. Throwing shots at both heels, who both look discomboluted by the hot tag. Steamboat comes back in blind and gets Arn with the high cross, with Dustin making a great stop on Larry as he tries to break it up. Huge pop for the title switch. ***¾.  

 

I’ve seen people say this is the greatest formula tag ever done, but I don’t think it is. I generally don’t love formula. This is certainly very good and everything worked perfectly. Generally, Midnight Express did this sort of thing to a higher level. A very good match though. Would recommend it.  

 

We get some cool down VT of Jushin “Thunder” Liger before Paul E gets a promo about Sting’s title match. He has the contract for the match, because of course he has lawyers, and points out if the champion doesn’t show up, they must forfeit. Great shtick from Paul E here. Jim Ross then gets on the blower to the hospital. Bischoff explains the loophole to Sting. “Get someone to drive the van”. Is he talking about the ambulance? Sting then steals an ambulance. The US title is more important than the lives of these people, Eric!  

 

WCW Light Heavyweight Championship 

Brian Pillman (c) vs. Johnny B. Badd 

Johnny has the BADD BLASTER. Everyone loves the Badd Blaster. This match has decent energy. They whip through some flying stuff and some outside the ring business. It’s very solid. Badd does manage to get lost again. He can’t seem to work a match without forgetting something. Badd works babyface and you can see the future of the character. Teddy Long decides to have a chat with the referee, which costs Johnny the win and then Pillman pushes Badd into Long to get the roll up. A very decent match up. **¼. Signs that Badd could be a fun worker. Badd decks Long with the KISS THAT DON’T MISS to officially turn face. The angle felt a bit rushed, but Badd wasn’t working out as a heel.  

 

WCW United States Championship 

Sting (c) vs. Rick Rude 

Paul E rants about Sting failing all his fans. When he realises Sting is here Paul is all RING THE BELL! It’s funny. Sting limps into the building and it’s fucking on! Now this is HEATED, brother. Sting does a great job of balancing babyface fire and selling the leg. Rude bumps around like a champ. Rick has always been a fantastic guy for getting babyface fire over. It’s an ideal match up. Unfortunately, the overwhelming arc of the match is Sting’s injured leg. At least they stick to it, and it makes sense. Paul E smacks his phone over Sting’s head, but he kicks out of that! This draws Sting into going after Paul, which is Heyman doing his job. Rude chopblocks the knee and wins with a handful of tights. Absolutely fantastic storytelling here. This whole segment should be watched by anyone who doesn’t understand pro-wrestling. It’ll make sense after this, brother, I promise! *** 

 

We get an interview with the winners, and Paul E goes off on WCW. Spitting, literally, on the committee. He calls his group the Dangerous Alliance for the first time and says WCW now answers to them.  

 

WCW World Championship 

Lex Luger (c) vs. Rick Steiner 

Apparently, and I’m not 100% on this, Scott was offered this spot, and Rick made him turn it down. The idea being that had been around longer and was due, I guess? The simple fact of the matter was that as soon as Scotty got a big singles push, the Steiners were done as a team. Rick is wanting to delay the inevitable. WCW are already starting to panic about Luger’s contractual situation. It’s due to expire in 1992 and he’s not signed a new one. They don’t want a repeat of the Flair Situation, where their world champion hops over to the opposition. Possibly even taking another title belt with him. There’s conspiracy talk about Rick being considered for the belt here to ensure that definitely doesn’t happen. 

 

The match plods along with Rick hitting the odd suplex or clothesline. Luger spends the bulk of the match getting his ass kicked. He can’t sell that beating like a Flair though. He can’t make it as exciting. His cheating isn’t as good either. He’s just not as good at ring positioning. You can see his positioning and the thinking behind it. It doesn’t feel natural at all. Mr Hughes tries to run in and save the title, but Scott hits him with a Frankensteiner! Poor Curtis landed on his head. In the midst of the chaos Lex smacks Rick with the title belt to retain. This was just a perfectly ok match. The chaotic finish was very nicely put together though. **¼  

 

The 411: 

A diamond in the rough from WCW in the second half of 1991. A good card with several great moments. Steamboat’s return and the sheer heat on the Rude-Sting angle and match both landed big time. The main event is a little flat but it’s passable. The only North American show that landed better than this in 1991 was Wrestlewar. Which I did not expect considering WCW’s recent ineptitude. A surprising thumbs up and one of the most enjoyable shows of the year. I know that’s a low bar, but it really was fun.