Through the Years: Clash of the Champions 10 Recap

 

Clash 10 it is, and big plans for the NWA were in store. They PLANNED to have Sting beat Ric Flair for the NWA Championship at WrestleWar. Plans don’t always go the way they’re intended to. They also intended to have Dr. Death return and face Lex Luger for his United States Championship at WrestleWar. Once again, that’s not what happened. Going into this Clash, we had a cage match between three of the Four Horsemen, and J-Tex Corporation. Given that the feud has been extremely one-sided, I don’t even care. There’s also a match between the Steiners and Doom, where if Doom loses, they have to take their masks off. Not that there’s any suspense there either. Weird card.

 

– February 6th, 1990, from Memorial Coliseum in Corpus Christi, Texas

 

While silly, this intro video with somebody playing shoot ’em up gallery on the wrestlers was pretty good. Jim Ross and Jim Cornette are our hosts, even though Cornette said he wouldn’t be somewhere with that many Mexicans. What a disgusting individual! They roll through the matches, and Terry Funk will be conducting interviews from ringside. His comments were hilarious, too. This is the first time I can recall them calling the entire company World Championship Wrestling, and having the branding on the microphones. Gordon Solie is doing interviews in the back. The Road Warriors then crashed what he was doing, and had a promo where they talked about their match with the new Skyscrapers. TELL ‘EM HAWK! It would appear that is not our first match, though.

 

The Samoan Savage (w/Oliver Humperdink) vs. “Dr. Death” Steve Williams

Pre-Match Thoughts: Nice to see Doc back in the company. The Samoans basically had no use the WCW anymore, except in matches like these where they could put somebody over. Dr. Death had a hell of an entrance, HOLY SHIT WHAT IS THIS? He rescues some kind of victim, and demands they be taken to the hospital! WHAT DID I JUST WATCH???

Match Review: Doc attacks from behind, and we’re off. He hits the Savage with a clothesline, and chases him out of the ring. The Savage gets back in, and Doc bodyslams him. A shoulderblock follows that, and Doc tries another only for the Savage to clothesline him. Another clothesline follows that, and Doc gets thrown to the outside where Humperdink chokes him. Haha. Woman is now at ringside! Nitron is not there for some reason. Anyway, the Savage takes Doc down, and puts a nerve hold on him. Doc fights out, and gets powerslammed for 2. He fights out of the nerve hold again, and this time tries a sunset flip which gets blocked. Doc doesn’t sell the block, gets up, and clotheslines the Savage. He misses an elbow drop, and the Savage covers for 2. Now, he puts a chinlock on Doc, and back to the nerve hold shortly after. Damn, Cornette is going all in with the racist commentary. Doc gets knocked out of the ring, and Humperdink clocks him. Doc can’t and shouldn’t stand for that. He gets dragged back in there, and the Savage gives him a sidewalk slam. Up top he goes, and down he comes with a big splash that does not connect. Doc starts his comeback with a gorilla press slam, and hits the Savage with a dropkick as well. Following that, Doc blocks a hip toss and turns it into a backslide, which gets the victory at 7:54!

My Thoughts: I love seeing matches that end in non-traditional fashion. Like, for example, with a backslide. The match wasn’t that good, there was a lot of stuff surrounding it that was more interesting. First is that Nitron was gone, not that he was ever there for long. That’s why he wasn’t there with Woman. In addition to that, Dr. Death left after the show because his contract expired. So, they did all that with the introduction, for a guy who was gone. He went to Japan instead. So yeah, as for the match, it was below average, but the right length and all that. *3/4.

 

This WrestleWar ’90 commercial owned! Funny that they were advertising Luger and Dr. Death facing each other. That never happened!

Now we have Terry Funk about to conduct an interview with the FOUR HORSEMEN! It would rule if they decided to beat up Terry over what he did to Flair. Alas, they do not, and instead they have things to say. Flair says there’s a statement to be made. Ole Anderson is going to make that statement, and it’s regarding Sting having a title shot at WrestleWar. Ole says that Sting is being KICKED OUT of the Horsemen. He says that he was called because Flair needed to be rid of Sting, and that Flair waved he and Arn off multiple times. Ole said that Sting is a great Horseman, but NOBODY takes a title shot against Ric Flair. The only way Sting will leave this arena without being torn apart, will be if he tells the promotion he will not take a title shot against Ric Flair. HE’S GOT TWO HOURS. Ole also says that Sting will be kicked out of the Horsemen anyway, then Sting grabs a hold of him and FLAIR HITS STING. Flair said he tried to tell him, and Sting needs to get out of the business in the next two hours. BAH GAWD, WE’VE GOT A REASON TO KEEP WATCHING THE SHOW NOW! This was a perfect segment, in large part because of that hook for viewers, and because it made the Horsemen heels, which they were made for. The way Ole’s timeframe worked out didn’t make a lot of sense, but I was too wrapped up in what was going on to care. Also, this was really dumb in the sense that they could have done a babyface match with Flair and Sting. There was really no reason for them to turn the Horsemen at all. They were getting great crowd reactions and people were behind them. They didn’t even have a fourth guy to bring in to replace Sting! It was very short-sighted, did they have any plans for when Flair/Sting was over? Probably not.

 

The Mod Squad vs. Brian Pillman & the Z-Man

Pre-Match Thoughts: It has been a very long time since I’ve seen the Mod Squad. Pillman and Zenk look like something out of the mid-80’s, I really don’t like this direction for Pillman. He was ready for a singles push and didn’t need to move backwards.

Match Review: Pillman and Spike start the match with Pillman taking him down for a knee drop that gets 2. Spike misses a charge to the corner, gets hit with a dropkick, and taken down by an arm drag. Zenk tags in, and works a wristlock for a bit. Basher makes a tag in and gets taken down with an arm drag, then a monkey flip follows that. Pillman switches in, and hits Basher with an axe kick. Zenk follows with an enziguri for 2, and Spile makes the save. The Mod Squad tries a double team, but Pillman flies in with a DOUBLE AIR PILLMAN. Then, dropkicks send the Mod Squad out of the ring. Pillman and Zenk got booed a little bit, too. It’s just how they’re acting, it’s so forced and fake. Spike makes a tag in, and Pillman backdrops him. Spike comes back with a major face smash into the canvas, and in comes Basher. Basher does the same to Pillman, and the Mod Squad follows with a double slam for 2. They also choke Pillman in the corner, as Ross and Cornette now argue about Sting. Excellent! Basher clotheslines Pillman for 2, and once again they double team, this time with a gutbuster for 2. Spike puts Pillman in a front face-lock, but that won’t last for long, as Pillman gets out with some knees. He gets kicked and Basher tags in for a 2 count, then he puts Pillman in a chinlock. He tags out, and Spike elbow drops Pillman before putting the chinlock back on. Too many control holds. Pillman gets out and hits Spike with a flying back elbow, but Basher cuts him off from making a tag. Pillman gives Basher a crucifix for 2, but Spike tags in. It is long past time for Pillman to tag out. Spike slams Pillman and heads up top for a flying elbow, but it misses. Pillman finally makes the tag out, and Zenk backdrops Basher. A noggin-knocker to the Mod Squad follows that, and Zenk gives Basher a cross body for 3 at 9:57. This finish was kind of a mess, as Pillman and Spike were so close to the cover that it should have been broken up.

My Thoughts: This match was just too long. The finish was a mess, as I already said, and that didn’t help matters at all. In addition to that, anyone with a brain would have been able to guess the winner. I don’t often like matches where the outcome is not in doubt unless they deliver with a bunch of high spots, and that wasn’t the case here. *1/4. Still, with the Horsemen segment, a great start to the show.

 

Cactus Jack Manson vs. Mil Mascaras

Pre-Match Thoughts: Anyone who has read Foley’s books has ascribed some sort of importance to this match, including myself. The building was full, so obviously it was smart to bring in Mascaras. I liked the error Cappetta made in calling him “Captain Jack Manson.” What a name that would have been!

Match Review: The match begins with these two locking up, and Mascaras using a hip toss. He took Cactus down with a drop toe-hold and tied him up in a series of holds, and it’s back to square one. Mascaras takes Cactus down with a head-scissors, then hits him with a flying forearm. A dropkick follows that, and Cactus leaves the ring. He chases down Cappetta, and winds up tripping over a chair. Haha. Cactus gets back in the ring and Mascaras puts him in a full nelson, and Cactus gets punched a whole lot as well. Cactus has the book gimmick going, with the “I AM IN URGENT NEED OF ADVICE,” that was good for a laugh. He rams Mascaras into the buckle, and tosses him to the outside as well. He gives Mascaras a backbreaker, and goes for the elbow only for Mascaras to get up and dropkick him ONTO THE CONCRETE. THE NESTEA PLUNGE! One of the sickest bumps I’ve ever seen, with the best commentary to accompany it. CACTUS JACK IS DEAD! So, he gets up, gets back to the apron, and Mascaras suplexes him back in. Up top he goes for a cross body, and that’s the finish at 5:00.

My Thoughts: I watched the bump no less than 10 times. It was so hard to not keep watching it, as it was one of the craziest things I’ve seen in a wrestling match. Granted, I don’t watch hardcore promotions, so I’m sure there’s a lot worse. Anyway, the match was nothing but that bump and the way Cactus sold it. Cactus was a jobber, so it’s hard to be too upset about it. He did still need to refine his craft a little bit, as his offense did look weak when he was on the attack. The bump alone was worth *1/2. Mascaras looked good for his age, too.

 

Now, we’re going to hear from Missy Hyatt. She’s the new co-host of NWA Main Event! Great!

After the commercial, a band called THE TOUGH GUYS was playing some music. Cactus was upset by that, and chased the guitarist back to the stage. Then, the drummer named WOLF WILD steps in. He wasn’t having any of this, and he knocked down Cactus. We had a brawl, and cut back to the back for a promo. WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? They just made Cactus look like a total jobber for a guy they didn’t even use as a wrestler. I feel bad about this.

 

Kevin Sullivan vs. Norman the Lunatic in a FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE MATCH

Pre-Match Thoughts: Before the match, Norman was with Gordon Solie. He wears a cowboy hat now, and started talking about the falls count anywhere gimmick. He didn’t quite understand. This was a funny bit. As for the match itself, this could be really good. Sullivan had a lot of ideas, and Norman could go against the right guy. Sullivan is often the right guy, and this gimmick match is so out there that it could turn out perfectly. Norman’s entrance is just like Dr. Death’s, with the video and all. Norman went to the zoo! YES!

Match Review: Cornette went full blown again and called Norman a child molester. DAMN. Sullivan attacked to begin the match, and they go right outside. Sullivan jumps onto Norman from the apron, but gets posted and back in they go. I was really hoping for something better. Sullivan tries a sunset flip, but Norman squashes him. Norman sends Sullivan to the corner for a splash, but runs into Sullivan’s boot instead. Sullivan heads up top and Norman slams him down, then Norman heads up to the second rope for a splash that misses. Sullivan dropkicks Norman to the outside, and slams Norman as well for a 2 count. Sullivan chops away at Norman and sends him into the post, then he back suplexes him on the floor. That was an easy bump, and it got a 2 count. Sullivan chokes Norman with his shirt, and the match slows down a bit from here. I should have said slows down a lot. They trade punches in the ring, with Norman getting the better of it after headbutts. He chokes Sullivan with his shirt, and out they go again. Now they go towards the back with some silly brawling, and Sullivan gets sent into the rail for a 2 count. Sullivan backdrops Norman on the ramp for 2, and these guys are headed backstage! The crowd booed, but the match isn’t over. Sullivan goes into the WOMEN’S RESTROOM, and Norman follows him in. They fight in there, and somebody wins the match at 6:15. Sullivan stumbled out, but he wasn’t the winner. Norman was!

My Thoughts: The match was passable at best, but the finish was really bad. We couldn’t even see it! While that was bad, the bit where Sullivan tumbled out of the bathroom was actually good. It’s still a DUD, though. After the back suplex, it was about 2:40 or so of nothing happening. That was far too long. Match wise, this show has stunk, but everything’s building up to the end with Sting’s decision. Still frustrating to watch below average wrestling.

 

It’s time for a live episode of Funk’s Grill! He offers a very insincere apology about what happened to Sting, and starts shitting on the fans shortly after. Then, he calls out THE TOTAL PACKAGE! Luger walks the middle line when talking about Sting, until saying that Sting better understand what his place in the sport is. He also doesn’t accept the idea that Sting will walk into WrestleWar and win the title without having to go through all the matches around the country that Luger has had to go through. He also talks about his “allocades.” Now that’s funny. Funk tried to finish the interview there, but it keeps going. Luger didn’t talk about Dr. Death enough, I think. Then, Funk completely cut him off. All in all that was absolutely pointless, although not very boring.

 

The New Skyscrapers (w/Teddy Long) vs. The Road Warriors (w/Paul Ellering)

Pre-Match Thoughts: Really looking forward to seeing how MEAN MARK fits in this team. Sid is still gone with his injury, so they had to use somebody else. Mean Mark is a great fit. Awesome, the Road Warriors have their own entrance video! They said it’s time for the Skyscrapers to WALK THE PLANK. Maybe they should have changed course with Sid out, but they didn’t and this is where we’re at.

Match Review: Spivey and Hawk start the match off, and do the usual collision spots with Spivey throwing Hawk out of the ring, Hawk landing on his feet, and Hawk coming in with a clothesline. Spivey blocks a neckbreaker, and Hawk nails him with a shoulderblock anyway. Animal tags in, as does CALLOUS, and this will be my first chance to get a look at the future Undertaker. They do the collision spots once more, and Callous misses a cross body. Animal clotheslines him, and both guys tag out. Spivey gets chopped hard in the corner, and Hawk misses a charge to the opposite side, flying out of the ring. Spivey sends Hawk’s shoulder into the post, and back in they go. Spivey goes to work with an armbar, and tags in Callous for a continuation of that. He does OLD SCHOOL back in 1990, and keeps the armbar on. Callous goes for OLD SCHOOL again, and Hawk slams him down this time. Both guys make tags, and Animal takes Spivey out with a dropkick. He does the same to Callous, and powerslams Spivey. After dropping an elbow, Animal covers for 2. Callous and Hawk get in the ring, and Animal flips out of a double atomic drop for a double clothesline. Hawk and Animal then double clothesline Callous over the top, and Long has a chair that he gives to Callous while the Road Warriors are hitting Spivey with the DOOMSDAY DEVICE. Callous flies off the top with a chair shot to Animal, and now Ellering gets on the apron to deal with Long. No idea where the referee is during all of this. All six guys are fighting, and it culiminates in Hawk being given a spike piledriver and being blasted with a chair. Obviously, the Skyscrapers have been disqualified, and that happened around 7:15. Animal eats some chair shots too, and the Road Warriors just took a major beating.

My Thoughts: This match was slightly better than the rest, with Callous having the most impressive spot of the show so far. The ending was well engineered to build towards a match where the Road Warriors would get revenge, which is a pattern that had been followed for quite a while. It also usually worked. Spivey did a really good job with the chair too, he destroyed it. The spike piledriver was blown, but otherwise, it went well. **, I also thought that Mean Mark had the potential to be a top guy based on what I saw here. The agility was notably impressive.

 

Doom vs. The Steiner Brothers in a MASK VS. TITLE MATCH for the NWA Tag Team Championships

Pre-Match Thoughts: I’m quite certain that they changed direction and had Woman drop Doom while ignoring everything that she did to the Steiners. I’m fine with that as I think there was a better manager for Doom anyway. Everyone knows who Doom is, so it has been time for them to lose their masks. All in all, it’s a good thing. It’s funny for a team to put up their masks when they haven’t garnered any wins worth making you think they’ll keep them, too.

Match Review: Simmons and Scott Steiner will begin the match, and Ross points out that Doom’s identity is the worst kept secret in wrestling. OBVIOUSLY. Scott takes Simmons out with a powerslam, and drops some knees on him as well. Simmons comes back with punches and kicks, but he gets thrown into the corner and given a GERMAN SUPLEX. Reed tags in, and clobbers Scott until Scott comes back with a dropkick to send him over the top. He does the same to Simmons too! Scott brings Reed back in the hard way, and Reed has to retreat to his corner. Rick Steiner tags in, and he looks ready to go. He gets hit with a knee lift, and comes back with some throws to the corner and a backdrop. Steiner goes for the mask, but Simmons heads into the ring to put a stop to it. I do have some critiques about the style of match this is, but I’ll save them for the end. Simmons tags in and misses a charge to the corner, so Rick gives him a huge belly to belly throw. Reed tags in, as JR keeps plugging stupid shoes, and Scott tags in as well. Reed gets control with punches and tags in his partner, who draws Rick into the ring for no reason at all. Reed hits Scott with a big right hand after a cradle attempt, then Simmons slams Scott. He drops a leg as well, and tags in Reed after some headbutts. Reed nails Scott with a clothesline, and chokes away instead of covering. Doom switches without a tag, and Simmons throws Scott to the outside for Reed to drop him throat-first on the rail. When Scott gets back in, Simmons plants him with a big spinebuster for 2. Reed tags in for a double backdrop, but Scott comes back with a backslide out of nowhere for 2. Still, no tag. Simmons drops Scott with a piledriver for 1, as Rick had to run in to break it up. While Rick’s being removed from the ring, Simmons clotheslines Scott over the top rope. He follows Scott out there for some right hands, and they start trading punches until Scott gets rammed into the apron. Scott tries a sunset flip back inside the ring, and it gets 2. Reed uses a swinging neckbreaker for 2, and Scott comes back with the FRANKENSTEINER! Can he tag? YES.

Rick comes in with punches and an atomic drop to Reed, then there’s a STEINERLINE. He powerslams Reed as well, and hits Simmons with a STEINERLINE. He goes for Reed’s mask, and it isn’t off yet. He grabs Reed’s mask as he runs the ropes, and now EVERYBODY KNOWS! Rick then puts the mask on, cradles Reed up, and there’s the victory at 13:13! After the match, Simmons had to take his mask off to avoid a suspension. That’s exactly what he did.

My Thoughts: This was clearly the best match on the card. It was very physical and realistic looking, with the payoff that people really wanted to see. Obviously, there was no surprise who the masked men were. The thing was, this wasn’t even the end of Doom despite what happened being something that should have marked their end. They even went on to win the tag belts! *** for the match, good finish as well. I thought that the mask grabbing didn’t make sense early on, as if the Steiners won the match, the masks would be coming off anyway. At the end, it made more sense, because taking off the mask of Reed distracted him long enough to get rolled up from behind. That’s what I think of it, anyway.

 

The Great Muta, the Dragon Master, and Buzz Sawyer vs. Ric Flair (NWA Champion), Ole Anderson, and Arn Anderson (NWA TV Champion) in a STEEL CAGE MATCH

Pre-Match Thoughts: Sting has been kicked out of this match in favor of Ole Anderson. Once again, this is false advertising! Quite the hallmark of WCW. Before the match starts, the skit where the Horsemen kick Sting out is replayed. Watching it again, it’s clear to see Ole was the star of that segment. GET OUT OF THIS BUSINESS! GET OUT OF MY LIFE! In the back, Gordon Solie is with the Horsemen, who have more to say about what just happened, and they point out that Sting’s time is nearly up. This is one of the best angles that I’ve seen while doing this project, and watching it again makes that even more clear. J-Tex has been treated like a bunch of jobbers for a really long time, it’s difficult to buy them as being important in any way at all. Now this is a heel match, too. Flair’s entrance video was funny seeing as these guys just turned heel. This is quite the sturdy looking cage, but the match needs a lot more than that to bring some legitimacy to it.

Match Review: The people really want Sting. They paid to see the guy wrestle, so wouldn’t you? Arn attacks Sawyer, so here we go. Sawyer chops him a few times, and charges at Arn with a miss, causing him to fly into the cage. Arn misses his own charge, eating a boot in the corner. So, J-Tex are the babyfaces judging by the crowd reaction. Sawyer sends Arn into the cage, and Flair comes in with some chops. Sawyer gets rammed head first into the cage a few times and you can hear the sound, then Flair tags in. He and Sawyer trade chops, with Flair getting the better of it. The Dragon Master tags in too, and Flair takes him down with a back elbow. Ole tags in, and now all anyone cares about is what Sting’s going to do. Of course! The Dragon Master beats up Ole, only for Ole to get out of there and tag in Arn. Muta tags in to big cheers, and I hope he does something awesome. He gives Arn the HANDSPRING ELBOW, and puts him in the MUTA LOCK. AND HERE’S STING! He’s held back, and gets pulled off the cage. Brian Pillman and the Z-Man are out there to help Sting too, and they pull him away. Now, nobody cares what’s going on in the ring. Like, at all. I sure don’t. Sawyer and Ole are in the ring, and Ole backdrops Sawyer into the cage, causing him to take a HEAD DROP. MAN. Sting goes to charge towards the cage again, and this time, he gets pulled away and his knee gets ripped up. Sawyer suplexes Arn as that’s going on, and everyone knows something really bad happened. Sawyer heads up to the top of the cage for a big splash, and it misses. Now Arn gives the Dragon Master a spinebuster, and the Horsemen double team the J-Tex guys, leading to a brawl. Arn gives the Dragon Master a DDT, and gets the pinfall at 6:12. Well, what can you do?

Flair charges at Sting for some reason, which seems awfully dangerous, but that’s what happened anyway. So, as Flair beats up a guy with a blown out knee, the credits roll and the show is over.

My Thoughts: Going to focus on the match here and wrap up what happened to Sting at the end. Obviously, what happened in the match was totally irrelevant. I don’t really know if anything more was supposed to happen with Sting, but if it was, maybe the match would have come off a lot better. Sawyer tried his best to show his value with the backdrop bump and big splash, I thought that was great. Otherwise, this was just standard fare. For a cage match, that’s not acceptable, and on top of that the match that was advertised didn’t even happen. **.

 

NOW we’ll talk about Sting. He tore his patella, and was told that he needed to stay out until August. He was really ready to go by mid-June. They tried to turn Sting’s injury into something inflicted by the Horsemen off camera, of course. As we know based on things I put in my last article, they turned Lex Luger and the rest was history. There were a LOT of other booking related matters at this show too. Gary Hart was fired a while back, and I didn’t notice until now! They also had Tully Blanchard in Corpus Christi for the show, and didn’t debut him over a contract dispute. Obviously, money was an issue, as were dates. The Great Muta quit, and as already mentioned, Dr. Death quit. The Dragon Master quit too. Obviously, those are massive talent losses and will be a big deal going forward, as their singles side had been massively depleted. As for the show itself, I thought it sucked. There was one good match and one hot angle, but that was the minority of the show. The rest was trash. Next up, I’ll be watching WWF matches leading up to the 3rd episode of the Main Event, which was supposed to have Mike Tyson as the special referee and didn’t.

Wrestling Time: 55:46. This is actually quite a low mark for wrestling on a Clash episode. And seeing how it wasn’t good, that sucks.

Best: Four Horsemen kicking out Sting. Without question, of course.

Worst: Norman the Lunatic vs. Kevin Sullivan. The middle of the match really bothered me.

Card Rating: 4/10. This show sucked, other than three things of note. Steiners/Doom, Horsemen/Sting, and that bump Cactus took. At this point, it was rare for them to put on a bad show, but that became far more common.