Sage Cortez
Alright, so it’s time for Clash of the Champions 12. Here we have yet another Lex Luger vs. Ric Flair match, which is interesting seeing as nobody at the time wanted to see it. As always, some interesting stuff happened leading into the show. Paul Orndorff wound up quitting the company because he was facing Stan Hansen and didn’t want to job for him. Mean Mark Callous also wound up quitting. I’ve read that Ole Anderson told him he’d never draw a dime and that’s why he left. Barry Windham got hurt during an outdoor match when it started raining outside. I’m looking forward to this one as I don’t know the results. Yet.
– September 5th, 1990, from the Civic Center in Asheville, North Carolina
In case I forgot (I didn’t) the video package at the start of this show reminds me that Sting is facing THE BLACK SCORPION. That sounds like something to look forward to! The other matches are talked about by Jim Ross and Bob Caudle, who will be our commentators. However, they didn’t mention any matches I didn’t mention. They plugged Sting on their 900 line, and really, 10 matches sounds like too many. Especially for a show that only hits 1 hour and 53 minutes on WWE Network.
The Fabulous Freebirds (w/Buddy Roberts) vs. The Southern Boys (w/Bob Armstrong)
Pre-Match Thoughts: I dig the idea of this match, with the Southern Boys having Steve’s dad in the corner to make sure nothing happens this time. It was funny that so much of the Badstreet USA was played here. The Freebirds were sporting all the Confederate stuff they could. Even facepaint. Quite a few people were cheering them. Lot of empty seats on camera, by the way. The Southern Boys also had their Confederate stuff, which you know, if I wasn’t southern, and I’m not, I wouldn’t know who the hell to cheer. I may even be so repulsed that I changed the channel. Just speaking in terms of a 1990’s wrestling fan from the part of the country that wasn’t treasonous.
Match Review: Smothers and Hayes will start the match off, and Hayes employs some stalling. Smothers takes Hayes to the corner for some punches, then gives him a backdrop and clothesline. Garvin tags in for the first time, and locks up with Smothers until Smothers kicks him in the face to knock him out of the ring. Hayes tags in for some double teams, but Armstrong flies in with a cross body on them both for a 2 count. That leap looks so impressive. The Southern Boys then tease giving out one of those leaps again, then clear the ring again, this time with dropkicks. That’s a nice spot. Hayes then makes a legal tag, and Smothers dodges his charge to the corner only for Hayes to jab him and knock him from the apron out to the railing. Garvin then clotheslines Smothers, and keeps him out there with a running knee. Smothers comes back in with a flying kick from the apron, but can’t make a tag yet. Garvin cuts him off, slams him, and tags in Hayes once more. Hayes gives Smothers a bulldog, and that gets a 2 count. Hayes blocks a sunset flip, and boots the kid to keep him down for a chinlock. He continues to keep Smothers from tagging, then Garvin tags in and drops him throat-first on the top rope. Garvin then slams Smothers, and heads up top for the first time. Smothers gets up, slams him down, and makes the big tag out!
Armstrong gives Hayes a backdrop, then has one for Garvin too. He hits the Birds with dropkicks, then Roberts grabs his foot as he runs the ropes. Hayes cradles Armstrong up, but of course BULLET BOB gets in there and clocks Hayes with a right hand. So much for that cheating. Armstrong covers, but that only gets 2. Then, the Southern Boys give Garvin a double shoulderblock. They try the same to Hayes, but miss. The Southern Boys then take the Birds down with stereo sunset flips after Hayes misses out on catching a foreign object, and those get a 3 count at 8:34. The Freebirds try to take care of their opponents, and it’s time for a triple team on Bullet Bob. The Birds give him a DOUBLE DDT, and that’s the end of it.
My Thoughts: Look, this is exactly why the NWA was fucked up. They scheduled a six man tag and advertised it, then bailed on it. That explains a lot. I would have liked to see the previously scheduled match. Besides that, the match was fine. Nothing spectacular, and not one of their best matches. I’ve already mentioned many problems I had with it, and the outfits, and all that stuff. ** is what I’ll go with. You know what else doesn’t make sense? That they had that post-match when Bullet Bob and Buddy Roberts weren’t on any following shows.
Tony Schiavone was with the new United States Tag Team Champions, the Steiner Brothers. They cut a very generic babyface promo and said that they deserved a rematch for the big belts. They’re also facing a team named MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE. I don’t even know who that is yet. I’m a bad reviewer.
Buddy Landel vs. Captain Mike Rotunda
Pre-Match Thoughts: This is a joke of a match. I could not possibly care less, how could anyone? Rotunda was pushed so far down the card, Landel was irrelevant, and I don’t even know why this was here. Maybe to keep them happy.
Match Review: These guys lock up, and start shoving as there was currently a parage of people leaving their seats. Landel puts Rotunda in a headlock, but gets clotheslined shortly after. Rotunda takes Landel down with a headlock, then hip tosses him. Landel accuses Rotunda of grabbing his trunks, but that did not happen. They exchange hammerlocks, then Rotunda hip tosses Landel again. He slams Landel as well, and covers for 2. Looks like we’ll have rankings announced tonight! Awesome. Rotunda grabs on with an armbar, then gets clotheslined. Landel drops an elbow for 2, then puts Rotunda in an abdominal stretch. He cheats by holding the ropes, but Rotunda hip tosses him again to reverse it. Rotunda misses an elbow drop though, so Landel suplexes him. Landel goes to the second rope and gets hit on the way down, then Rotunda hits him with a back elbow. Rotunda follows that with a leg drop that gets 2, then he puts Landel in a backslide after reversing a hip toss. Surprisingly, that gets 3 at 5:39.
My Thoughts: This match didn’t suck, but nobody cared. It wasn’t the point of people sitting there and not caring, it was even worse because people were walking around during their match. That’s pretty low on the totem pole and I wouldn’t be too happy about it if I was working that match. * seems fair.
The Freebirds were with Tony Schiavone, it looks like Garvin didn’t even work. His facepaint is completely applied still. He cut the promo here, then Buddy Roberts chimed in. Michael Hayes finished it off, but Garvin did the best. Following that, the Freebirds went to Hollywood! Looks like some marks wanted memorabilia signed. There were then camera shots of them doing things in LA, and the fans trailed them to their limo as they left. This was funny.
THE MASTER BLASTERS vs. Tim Horner & Brad Armstrong
Pre-Match Thoughts: Horner and Armstrong were a fun team, but they got saddled with something bad here. The Master Blasters looked GIGANTIC. For whatever reason, they’re called IRON AND STEEL. Why can’t I call one of them Kevin Nash? Anyway, yeah, that’s who one of these guys are. No idea who the other is.Nash got the name of STEEL. Nash looks hilarious with a mohawk, by the way.
Match Review: Horner and STEEL will start the match off, and Horner gets shoved across the ring. Steel clobbers the guy, then puts him on his shoulders and tags out. Iron hits Horner with a knee, and drives Horner back to the corner. Steel tags in for a double back elbow, then he chops Horner in the corner. Horner dodges a charge, but misses a dropkick. Iron makes a blind tag in and botches a diving headbutt, which looks so bad. Armstrong tags in and gets taken down by a shoulderblock, then Steel tags in for a double clothesline that gets 2. Steel powerslams Armstrong for 2, then Armstrong goes for a cradle, only to have it blocked. Steel misses an elbow drop, so Armstrong dropkicks him a few times. Armstrong runs into a big boot, though. So, Iron tags in, and hits Armstrong with yet another shoulderblock. He follows that with a bodyslam, and lands an elbow drop for 2. Iron follows with a leg drop that gets 2, but Armstrong dropkicks him down the canvas and tags out. Horner backdrops Iron, then puts him in a sleeper. Steel rushes in to break it up, so all four are in. Armstrong gets tossed out of the ring, then the Master Blasters team up on Horner, hitting him with a double shoulderblock for the pinfall win at 4:52.
My Thoughts: The Master Blasters were a special kind of terrible, in large part because neither of them knew how to wrestle. You could see that Kevin Nash had potential, though. Good size, good mannerisms, but nothing else. This match was absurd. No doubt a DUD, even good wrestlers can’t work with guys who don’t know how to.
Before the next match, there are comments from Brian Pillman about his attempt to RUN THE GAUNTLET. I’m not going to watch that attempt, but Danny Spivey faced him in the last match and beat him. What the hell was the point of that?
Also before the next match, Missy Hyatt interviewed Ric Flair! Flair was sporting a new haircut, although not as aggressive a cut as he’d sport a few months after this. He said his goal now was to become the UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION.
The Nasty Boys vs. Jackie Fulton & Terry Taylor
Pre-Match Thoughts: This is a very unceremonious way for Taylor to return to this company and a role in which he doesn’t have a terrible gimmick. The Nasty Boys were on the rise, just joining the company. Does anyone think they’d lose this match?
Match Review: Brian Knobbs will begin the match, and get taken down with an arm drag by Fulton. Knobbs takes over with punches, then puts a wristlock on him. Sags comes in to make it a double wristlock, which Fulton flips out of. Fulton takes the Nasties down with a double arm drag, then a cross body knocks them both down. Taylor tags in and takes Knobbs down with a neckbreaker for 1, and Knobbs tags out after they fight over a wristlock. Taylor drops the Nasties with arm drags, then gives Sags a hip toss on his way out. Fulton goes to work on the arm with some elbows, then tags right back out. Taylor gets clocked in the face by Sags, then gets tossed out of the ring. Taylor posts Sags when Sags follows him out there, then hits Sags with a double axehandle from the ring apron. Back in they go, and Taylor takes Sags down with a cross body for 2. Knobbs makes a tag in, and he gets taken down with more arm drags. Taylor heads back in, and gives Knobbs a back suplex. Back out he goes, and Fulton comes off the top with a missile dropkick for 2. Taylor tags in and Knobbs drives his head back into the canvas, then Sags tags in for a knee drop. Knobbs gets back in there, and this time Sags throws him into Taylor for a splash in the corner that gets 2. Taylor tries to come back with a sunset flip, and it gets 2. He then evades Knobbs who then runs into Sags as he was attempting a double team, so Fulton tags in and slams both Nasties. Fulton also dropkicks them, amd gives Knobbs a GERMAN SUPLEX for 2. Fulton then heads up top, but Knobbs powerslams him on the way down. He tags in Sags, and Sags leaps off the top with a FLYING ELBOW for the victory at 7:11.
Taylor tries to get something back by knocking Knobbs out of the ring, but nobody cares.
My Thoughts: This was an impressive debut for the Nasty Boys, with good action throughout. The match suffered from a lack of suspense and structure, but in terms of pulling off impressive spots, the match worked. I thought the finish was good in that fans seeing a big guy like that fly through the air is always impressive. **1/4, would have been better if more structured. It was just moves, but quite entertaining moves.
Tony Schiavone is with SID VICIOUS, who doesn’t have a match here. He wants to send a message to Sting, who he’s going to face at Halloween Havoc. This is a promo to announce his interest in fighting for the NWA Championship. Hilarious promo, but not exactly typical Sid. No calm-mannered comments, JUST YELLING BROTHER.
“Wild” Bill Irwin vs. Tommy Rich
Pre-Match Thoughts: The way they keep bringing Irwin back to lose…with the way they kept using Rich to constantly lose. Quite the clash we have here. Every match on this show so far has been completely meaningless. It’s very disappointing in comparison to how the cards were previously structured. Nearly an hour in and this is pretty much trash. Rich got a fair amount of cheers for once.
Match Review: Rich rushes in and goes to work with a big right, but Irwin hits him with a high knee. Irwin follows that with shoulderblocks, then Rich hip tosses Irwin over the top rope. Disqualification? No. Rich brings Irwin in the hard way, but misses an elbow smash and gets chopped down. Rich kips up, and gives Irwin a back suplex for 2. Rich takes Irwin down with a headlock, then gets up to keep doing it. Okay. Irwin comes back with a sidewalk slam, then boots Rich in the face to knock him to the apron. Irwin then knocks Rich down to the railing, and follows him out with an elbow from the apron. Back in they go, and Rich flips through a side slam to put a SLEEPER on Irwin. Irwin drives Rich back into the corner, misses a charge to the opposite side, and Rich takes him down with a THESZ PRESS. He keeps the cover on, and that gets the win at 3:55.
My Thoughts: This match was short, inoffensive, and meaningless. They both worked hard, but with four minutes to work with, they better work really hard. *1/4 for what I saw here, nothing special. I’m shocked Rich won!
HELL YEAH, TIME FOR THE WCW TOP TEN.
Singles
10. BUDDY LANDEL
9. TOMMY RICH
8. JUNKYARD DOG
7. BRIAN PILLMAN
6. STAN HANSEN
5. SID VICIOUS
4. BARRY WINDHAM
3. ARN ANDERSON
2. RIC FLAIR
1. LEX LUGER
Tag Teams
10. Mike Rotunda and Tim Horner
9. Junkyard Dog and El Gigante
8. Brian Pillman and the Z-Man
7. Samoan Swat Team
6. Fabulous Freebirds
5. Southern Boys
4. Midnight Express
3. Arn Anderson and Barry Windham
2. Rock ‘n’ Roll Express
1. Steiner Brothers
I have a few critiques of these. How did they explain Sid Vicious jumping up into title contention? How about those teams? Some of those weren’t even teams. Absurd.
Before more matches, STAN HANSEN cuts a great promo. HELL YEAH, LOOK AT THAT TOBACCO JUICE HE’S SPITTING. He wasn’t happy about his ranking.
Bambi vs. Susan Sexton for the prestigious LWPA Women’s Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Yeah, I’ve got nothing here. This doesn’t belong on the show. If you don’t know people in a match, it shouldn’t happen. I don’t anticipate that anyone in the crowd knew who these women were.
Match Review: I expect bad commentary here. The ladies shake hands, and we’re underway. Bambi takes Sexton down with a hip toss, which is followed by a drop toe-hold from Sexton. Bambi puts a head-scissors on her, and things normalize shortly after. They exchange wristlocks, then Sexton throws Bambi over her shoulder. Sexton then takes Bambi down with a shoulderblock, and bodyslams her afterward for 2. Bambi comes back with a headlock takeover, then rolls Sexton up for 2. Bambi then shoots Sexton into the corner, elbows her, and Sexton comes back with a flying forearm from the second rope. She backdrops Bambi, then picks her up for a bodyslam. Sexton drops an elbow, and that gets 2. Bambi then tries a cradle, Sexton reverses, and that gets a win at 4:10.
My Thoughts: This was really boring. It wasn’t bad at all, but they had a hard time holding my interest because I wasn’t invested in the characters. Ordinary stuff, *. Women’s wrestling had much better days to come.
MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE vs. The Steiner Brothers for the NWA United States Tag Team Championships
Pre-Match Thoughts: Why did Ole Anderson debut two brand new heel teams on this show? Could these guys even work? Why were they given names like Hunter and Silencer? Fortunately, such things were not the future of the business. If they were, I don’t know if I’d have ever gotten interested in this mess. An hour into this show and nothing but trash, just saying. I can only tell Hunter and Silencer apart because one of them has a hairy chest and looks somewhat like Davey Boy Smith. The other does not. The Steiner Brothers beat the Midnight Express to win these straps.
Match Review: Scott and Hunter lock up and Scott takes him down, which leads to a really weird looking leg-lock. Scott then puts a wristlock on him and trips him, then follows with a hip toss. Hunter takes him to the corner and tries a hip toss, which gets reversed into another one by Scott Steiner. Scott follows that with a backdropp, then Silencer rushes in and Scott arm drags both these guys for a while. Rick rushes over there and hits them with a DOUBLE STEINERLINE, which clears them from the ring. Silencer then makes a legal tag in, and lands some big rights. Scott gives him a German suplex, then tags out for the first time. Silencer gives Rick a bodyslam, then nails him with a back elbow for 1. Rick comes back with a big powerslam, and Hunter tags in once more. Rick throws Hunter into the ropes for a STEINERLINE, then puts him on his shoulders. Scott then climbs up to the top rope and GIVES THE POOR GUY A DDT, which leads to the Steiners winning via pinfall at 6:25.
My Thoughts: That was an amazing, but very unsafe looking finish. I couldn’t believe that I saw that. At least they made this new team look like jobbers, although they appeared to have potential. They reminded me a LOT of the Ascension. That’s not really a good thing. Glad the way this went, I was sufficiently entertained. **, as far as this show goes, I haven’t seen much better.
Stan Hansen vs. The Z-Man
Pre-Match Thoughts: This should be funny, especially given how Zenk has been booked since Ole took over. Hansen had to be put over big before his match against Lex Luger, so that’s what was going to happen here. They sacrificed a name opponent who hadn’t done that well to do so. Everyone loves Stan Hansen, right?
Match Review: As soon as Zenk hops in the ring, Hansen throws him back out. Zenk climbs back into the ring quickly, gets pulled back out, and Hansen rams him into the rail. He cracks Zenk across the back with a chair, then rams him into the ramp. Haha. I’m digging this. Back inside, Hansen gives Zenk a suplex. He follows that with an elbow drop for 2, and elbows him a few more times. Hansen keeps control with a headbutt, then we pan to the back where Lex Luger is with Tony Schiavone. I guess Luger has things to say. Hansen gets chopped around a little bit, but lands an elbow to put a stop to it. Hansen follows that with a back suplex, but Zenk tries a cross body from the second rope. That’s followed with dropkicks that get a 2 count, but Hansen hits him with a shoulderblock. Hansen then drills Zenk with the LARIAT, and it gets 3 at 3:18.
My Thoughts: Why the hell are all these matches so short? It was so much better when these shows had longer matches. I feel like I don’t even get the opportunity to really watch these guys work in this format. It’s infuriating. Hansen worked hard but this match didn’t mean shit. For a company that needed to save money, you’d think they’d follow through with their plans to trim the roster and utilize their talent more judiciously. Instead they didn’t. *1/2.
Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger for the NWA United States Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Not only is it strange they made this match again, but it’s strange to see Flair challenging Luger for his secondary title. It was the best way to use him at that time, though. Obviously, they wouldn’t have had him put Sting over again on television as that would hurt his brand and drawing power. Before the match, a video of WrestleWar was shown. Luger had a promo as well, and said that Flair was the best wrestler of all-time, but Flair is now trying to get something that Luger has. You know what’s really funny about this? That they’d make the match again and there be no chance of Luger going over clean. Again. The crowd finally woke up too.
Match Review: These two lock up, and Luger takes Flair down with a shoulderblock. Flair comes back with chops, none of which are sold. Luger then picks Flair up for a press slam, and Flair ducks out of the ring. When Flair gets back in there, he rakes the eyes and chops away once more. Luger no-sells it, and puts Flair down with another press slam. Luger then clotheslines Flair over the top, and hits him with another one on the floor. They get back in, and Flair starts posing after a failed rope assisted choke. Luger gives Flair a third press slam, but misses an elbow drop. However, Luger gets up and clotheslines Flair, and Flair starts selling a shoulder injury. Turns out he was faking! He sucker punches Luger, throws him out of the ring, and throws him into the rail. Flair does so again, and waits for Luger to get back in there. After some chops, Flair tosses Luger to the outside again. He chops him and rams him into the rail, then brings him back in and goes to work on Luger’s knee. They start trading shots, but Flair pokes Luger in the eye to stop it. Flair goes for a hip toss, but Luger reverses to a backslide that gets 2. He then punches Flair in the corner, and clotheslines him for 2. Flair takes Luger down with a snap mare and tries his own covers for 2, then heads up top only for Luger to slam him down. Luger then sends Flair upside down in the corner, and before Flair can run the apron, Luger clotheslines him. Luger gives Flair yet another press slam, and follows that with a powerslam. He signals for THE RACK, but gets poked in the eye again. Luger grabs Flair and takes him to the corner, and this looks like a SUPERPLEX. Luger covers for 2, and Flair pokes him in the eye again to stop a barrage of punches. Flair and Luger then tumble over the top after a cross body for Flair, and Flair whips Luger into the rail again. Luger doesn’t sell it, and down to the ringside area comes STAN HANSEN for a DQ at 14:26.
Hansen beats up Luger and drops some elbows on him, then chokes him with his BULL ROPE. He then spits some chew on Luger and leaves.
My Thoughts: I don’t think this was as good as the great matches between these two, but it was certainly good enough. These guys had great chemistry, and this was the only match on the show given the length for it to be a good match. As previously stated, I question the wisdom of making this match when they weren’t going to put Luger over. I also don’t see them furthering anything along for Flair leading to Halloween Havoc. This was a shorter version of their previous matches, and in many respects that seemed like the right way to go about it. It’s clearly the best match on this show given the crap I’ve watched. ***1/2. Loved the action.
THE BLACK SCORPION vs. Sting for the NWA Championship
Pre-Match Thoughts: Now this should be fun. Nobody knew who the Black Scorpion was, but this match was somewhat sold on the idea that people would find out. It’s also Sting’s first chance for a big time title defense. Did they handcuff him with that? Perhaps. There were comments made by the Black Scorpion before this match! He said that if Sting beat him, he’d tell the world who he was. Sting then said he was taking this match seriously, didn’t have a lot to say, and he just wanted to find out who the Black Scorpion was.
Match Review: The Scorpion was wearing a mask, so of course nobody could tell who he was. The match starts, and Scorpion pretty much clobbers the champion. Sting comes back with his own stuff, then gets hit again. Scorpion and Sting continue to exchange, and eventually Sting winds up on the canvas with Scorpion choking him. Sting leaves the ring, but Scorpion follows him, only to be dropped on the barricade. Back in they go for more punching, and Sting slams his opponent. Sting goes for the mask, but Scorpion rakes the eyes. He chokes away at Sting as well, then they wind up on the ramp. Scorpion slams Sting on it, but Sting trips him and goes for the hood again. This time, Scorpion crawls back into the ring, and Sting dropkicks him. Sting rams Scorpion into the mat, but Scorpion comes back with a choke. Again. Sting gives him a press slam, and decides to head up top for the first time. He comes down with a cross body that gets 2, but Scorpion takes him down with a snap mare, leading to a knee drop for 2. Sting comes back with a clothesline, then sends Scorpion to the corner for the STINGER SPLASH. Surprisingly, that gets 3 at 7:12.
Sting goes to take the mask off, but Scorpion had a red mask on. Now that’s funny. OH MY GOD, HERE COMES ANOTHER SCORPION. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT? The look on Sting’s face sums up everyone’s thoughts.
My Thoughts: With that finish, you’d think it would be the end of the feud. I’m glad it wasn’t as I like seeing what depths a company will go to to try to make a bad idea work. The Scorpion working this match was Al Perez. He did jack shit, and it’s easy to see why, they didn’t want him giving away any of his own spots. This whole thing just made Sting look bad. The match completely stunk, there were just punches, kicks, and chokes. The only saving grace is that they put Sting over with a pinfall win, and that’s good for 1/2*.
After a commercial, Sting is in the ring with Jim Ross. He was talking about the second Black Scorpion, and Sting said that he didn’t accomplish his goal, so he’s not happy. I don’t really like that tone from a babyface, it makes him look bad to be that bothered. The formula the WWF used for their top babyfaces was much better. Now, HERE COMES SID VICIOUS. He said Sting has problems with him because he has what Sid wants. I dig that. Sid doesn’t give a shit about the Black Scorpion, so he follows Sting out to the ramp and attacks him from behind. He grabs the title belt and hits Sting with it, then spits on him. Ooh. Sid then continues his promo and says he’s going to be the next champion because HE RULES THE WORLD. YES.
While I love Sid, and really love the idea of Sid being a champion, everyone knows that wasn’t a good idea. At that time he could barely even wrestle. I don’t think there’s a way to describe how bad Sting was made to look here. Not only did he not look like a top star, he didn’t look like the champion. He was the champion, too. That’s not good. This show was not good. There was so much wrong with it. There were many empty seats, and even more during the angle after Sting’s match. There were too many meaningless matches. The Master Blasters and Maximum Overdrive were too similar. Not only were there too many meaningless matches, but they weren’t good matches. You know something else wrong with it? Once again Arn Anderson wasn’t defending his TV Championship on it. It was a throwaway show, and a bad one at that. Next up for me, it’s back to the WWF for a little while.
Wrestling Time: 1:05:42. For ten matches to take such a short of time…yeah, that’s something. Reflective of the problems I had with this.
Best: Lex Luger vs. Ric Flair. It usually was!
Worst: Master Blasters vs. Brad Armstrong and Tim Horner. A lot of competition for this honor, but this takes it.
Card Rating: 3/10. That’s usually the lowest rating I give out. Luger/Flair and the hilariousness of the closing angle were the sole redeeming factors. I don’t understand why the show was booked this way or how anyone could have thought the company would be successful following this pattern.
