WCW Clash of the Champions XXV

RATING LEVELS:

Curt Hennig – A “GOAT” show, as Perfect as possible

Watch It – A consistently good show worth watching in its entirety

Watch It…With Remote in Hand – 3 or more above-average ratings

High Risk Maneuver – Mostly filler, inessential, but 1-2 good matches

DUDleyville – Zero redeeming qualities, chore to watch

CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XXV – November 1993

St. Petersburg, Florida

CHAMPIONSHIP BACKGROUNDS: At this time, Vader was the WCW World Heavyweight Champion while Rick Rude held WCW’s other World Heavyweight Championship, “The Big Gold Belt” or WCW International World Championship, otherwise known as the title formerly known as the NWA World Championship. The Nasty Boys held the WCW Tag Team Titles, Dustin Rhodes was the recognized US Champion, and Lord Steven Regal held the TV Championship.

COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone & Jesse Ventura

For the first time in my journey through WCW, “Mean” Gene Okerlund pops up, welcoming viewers to tonight’s historic 25^th edition of the Clash of the Champions. He then introduces tonight’s color team, Schiavone and Ventura.

The opening contest is Rick Rude vs. Road Warrior Hawk for Rude’s International World Heavyweight Championship. Rude’s 1993 is one of the most frustrating years a wrestler may have ever had as he went from a very strong 92’ to the poorest performances of his entire career in a span of a few months. By this point, his offense has been reduced to mostly just strikes and headlocks. The single side backbreaker he does attempt looks like it causes more pain to him than to Hawk. He still bumps moderately well, and his pre-match promo and signature airbrushed tights are still “mark out” worthy, but whether he’s in there against Ric Flair, Dustin Rhodes, or Road Warrior Hawk, things just ain’t clicking. Speaking of Hawk, Road Warrior fans will be just as disappointed with his efforts here. From the very start, Hawk is emotionless, his facial expressions and stare needlessly void of energy when the audience wants to see the tongue-baring bad ass toss Rude around like a sack of potatoes. If he was trying to add a sense of gravitas to the idea that he is challenging for a major singles championship and wants to stay focused, he overplays his hand by neglecting to show any enthusiasm at all. Throw in a horrendous finish and what you end up with is a match that will make you question why Hawk was even put in this spot, why a past-his-prime and noticeably out-of-steam Rick Rude was still being promoted as a World Champion (and not booked to put over Flair in at least one of their PPV bouts that year), and why anyone would subject themselves to the strict diet of mid-90s WCW programming that I have. (1/5)

Next up, The Shockmaster vs. The Equalizer. Nothing too good to say about the match, though, I’m admittedly a huge fan of The Shockmaster’s entrance music. At this time, WCW had fully transitioned Shockmaster into a comedy character, a klutz that wears a construction helmet because he trips over stuff, but the piece de resistance is his theme song – the sound of a struggling amateur trying to play various classic rock riffs. Unfortunately, there are far better videos on YouTube where his song is more audible than this one. (.5/5)

Thank god – Steven Regal defends his Television Championship next against Johnny B. Badd. Holy headlock takedowns, Batman! This is a very fast-paced match, what some would dub a “sprint,” and it absolutely works, as Regal is forced to stop Badd’s momentum at all costs. Easily the best match of the night up to this point and Johnny B. Badd's best outing by wide margin. Similar to Regal's matches with Bulldog and Marcus Bagwell from this year, the Brit has a knack for pulling out the best from his opponents. (3.5/5)

Stunning Steve vs. Brian Pillman starts right off with the former Cincinnati Bengal catching Austin with rights and lefts, followed by some brawling on the outside. In terms of energy, Pillman shows a ton more than he had working as a cocky, methodical heel. Unfortunately, as hot as the crowd is at the start of the bout, the heat cools as it continues, possibly because finding sympathy for Pillman is a bit difficult after he’d spent a considerable amount of time working as a total prick. Ignoring fan engagement, this match really holds up with both men delivering  their best trademark spots and working hard to get over the idea that this is a highly personal grudge match. The finish looks a bit sloppy at first glance (the post-match replay helps) and I would’ve liked to see this one go an extra 5-7 minutes considering this was essentially the “blow off” to what could’ve been one of the company’s best feuds ever. (3.5/5)

Before our next match, “Mean” Gene is in the Battlebowl Control Center and we hear from Paul Orndorff and Sting about the pay-per-view set for two weeks from tonight’s show. The Battlebowl concept is an interesting one to think about because of how much the gimmick screams “Order At Your Own Risk” to me. It is a creative idea, to be sure, but one that also tells fans, “Hey, y’know those storylines we’ve been developing for the past few weeks? Like Pillman vs. Austin or Sid’s split with Colonel Parker? And what about the 5 titles we have? You care about those, right? Well, at this show, no titles will be defended and we can’t guarantee that any rivalries will continue. It’s just going to be random matches – good or bad.” Obviously Battlebowl’s card was never going to be 100% random, but it is hard to sell a show based on the premise that Sting’s tag partner could be Ric Flair…or Charlie Norris, that Pillman and Austin might be FORCED to reunite, but could just as easily get paired with The Shockmaster and Brian Knobbs. By not guaranteeing anything, you are guaranteeing nothing.

Dustin Rhodes defends his United States Championship next against Paul Orndorff. Orndorff is accompanied by the Assassin again, while Dustin is seconded by his father, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, who gets massive love from the Florida crowd. The match itself is nothing to write home about, which is unfortunate but fairly common with Orndorff during this part of his career – dependable always and consistently jeered with passion by the live crowds, but not necessarily capable of consistent “show stealing” performances. This match is weighed down heavily by both men sticking to arm bars, wristlocks, chin locks, and headlocks, though the crowd does keep it alive. After a forgettable finish, the crowd erupts for Dusty Rhodes and the Assassin coming to blows. (2.5/5)

The best spot in the next match, The British Bulldog and Sting vs. The Nasty Boys, happens before the match itself even begins – when Rick Rude runs out to hit the Bulldog with a Rude Awakening on the entranceway. Most of this contest is Sting dominating the Nasties, which is a bit odd considering that Bulldog is incapacitated for the majority of the match and it may have been a better story to actually build towards Bulldog waking up for the hot tag. Instead, Sting basically has control of things throughout, then eats a little offense, and is able to make the tag with little difficulty. Bulldog, who deserves credit for effectively selling Rude’s finish, cleans house, but as is the case in nearly every Nasty Boys’ match I’ve ever seen, the referee is completely inept and the heels take advantage. Not one for any man’s DVD set, but Knobbs does apply a fairly impressive gut wrench slam that’s worth mentioning. (2/5)

Main event time – Vader vs. Ric Flair for the WCW World Championship. Playing on the main event of the very first Starrcade, the match begins with Flair locking in a figure four on Vader’s manager, Harley Race. This ends up being a bad move as Vader is able to take control early, decimating Flair with rights and lefts in the corner. Unlike in his matches against Rude, Flair is really able to play the babyface role correctly here, desperately trying his best to take advantage of the monster’s mistakes. Unfortunately, Vader doesn’t make many, which allows for the development of a great story up until the finish, which is disappointingly screwy at a time when it seemed every title match ended in shenanigans. After the match, “Stunning” Steve Austin and Colonel Parker come in for a run-in on the Nature Boy, hinting to a potential feud in the works between these two that might’ve been pure gold had it ever actually happened. More confusing, though, is that Flair isn’t saved by the Horsemen (Arn Anderson was possibly nursing injuries sustained by Sid’s scissors attack, but what about Paul Roma?) but by Dustin Rhodes and The Shockmaster. (3/5)

With an average match/segment score of 2.29-out-of-5, WCW lobbed a real meatball with this show. While it doesn’t rank as the absolute worst show I’ve seen, it falls close to it thanks to a horrible opening match, an even worse second bout, and underwhelming outings in Pillman/Austin and Vader/Flair. When Johnny B. Badd is in the best match of the night, you know you’re dealing with a pretty poor show. What could’ve helped matters? Simply, better finishes. Nearly every match ended with some sort of garbage. I understand that definitive victories were typically held off until pay-per-view during this time, but an abundance of weak match endings hurt the overall presentation.

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville