WCW Clash of the Champions XXXII

The Clash of the Champions XXXII – January 1996

Las Vegas, Nevada

COMMENTATORS: Bobby Heenan and Tony Schiavone

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight’s show, the WCW World Heavyweight Champion is Randy “The Macho Man” Savage. Lex Luger and Sting defeated Harlem Heat to become the WCW World Tag Team Champions. Johnny B. Badd was the Television Champion and the United States Championship was held by the One Man Gang, who would not appear on the broadcast.

Just a few hours before this show, "The Macho Man" Randy Savage became WCW World Champion and Harlem Heat dropped the WCW Tag Team Titles to Lex Luger and Sting on an episode of Monday Nitro.

Speaking of tag teams, Public Enemy arrive for the opening match in their debut contest for WCW, taking on The Nasty Boys. From the get go, Heenan and Schavione have a few lines about how "non-technical" this match will be, playing up the unorthodox style of both teams. Within the first two minutes, Sags ventures to the back to bring a table to the ring, a prop the boys in Public Enemy are very familiar with. Rocco Rock hits a moonsault and Sags connects with a piledriver, but the biggest reaction of the match happens as the Nasty Boys set up a table (which eventually leads to a second moonsault from Rock to Knobbs). Sags leveling Johnny Grunge with the table during the post-match makes it clear that these two teams are nowhere near done with one another. In terms of building up to a future match, this works for me, but it still doesn't make this a "must watch" bout. (2/5)

The Giant and Ric Flair are with Eric Bischoff, sharing their thoughts about tonight's main event. Flair is obviously a master of the mic but The Giant isn't too terrible, a victim of poor writing more than his own inability to deliver a convincing promo.

Next up, "Das Wunderkind" Alex Wright takes on "The Iceman" Dean Malenko. I'm not a massive Wright fan, but his agility and technical skills are a nice match for Malenko's impressive quickness and varied moveset and, in terms of workrate, this match delivers about three dozen big moves in a third of the amount of time they'd usually need. Fans of "go-go-go" wrestling will enjoy this, but anyone looking for a more nuanced, deliberate pace will not. Malenko does try to insert some psychology into it by attacking Wright's leg throughout, but it is not enough to really establish, cement, and properly conclude a full story. (2.5/5)

Kevin Sullivan, accompanied by Jimmy Hart, walks down the aisle, followed by an Elvis impersonator, who arrives to the familiar sound of Disco Inferno's theme song. A quick Google search reveals that the man under the mask was none other than WCW job guy Mike Winner, who is taken out quickly by the Taskmaster. Terrible segment. (0/5)

"Mean" Gene is at the Little White Chapel with Bunkhouse Buck and "Dirty" Dick Slater, both awaiting the arrival of Colonel Parker and Sister Sherri, who will be getting married on tonight's show.

Back in Las Vegas, Sting and Lex Luger, the WCW Tag Team Champions arrive. They are quickly joined by The Road Warriors, making what has to be their fourth or fifth "comeback" in WCW. Hawk is incomprehensible at times, but in terms of building up to a match, this segment works wonderfully based on the history all four share. There is also a nice line about The Road Warriors having to wait in line behind The State Patrol, a pretty funny quip considering the source (Lex Luger). Good stuff, but not necessarily long or important enough to seek out. (2.5/5)

Back in the ring, Brian Pillman arrives for his match against Eddie Guerrero. Pillman's antics are perfectly bizarre and unpredictable from the first second he is on screen, the type of performance that shows just how clever and innovative Pillman was. When the Loose Cannon puts his hands on Bobby Heenan, causing the Brain to leave the commentary table (and audibly ask "What the fuck are you doing?"), the match "breaks down" and, to be honest, no matter how many times I watch the match or read about the match, I'm still not sure who was in on what. At this point in his career, Pillman was still a decent worker, though not as remarkable as he once was and considerably less flashy. Guerrero hits a few nice moves, but really, this match is all about establishing Pillman's lunatic character. (3/5)

Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Kevin Greene arrive to share their thoughts with Eric Bischoff. Not a very consequential segment.

The Tag Team Championships are on the line in the next bout - with the newly crowned champs Lex Luger and Sting taking on The Blue Bloods, Lord Steven Regal and Bobby "The Earl of" Eaton. This one is strikes-and-gutters, some good work out of Regal balanced out with some equally sloppy spots from Luger. The finish is particularly well done, with Regal inadvertently knocking Eaton off the top rope and costing his team the 2-on-1 advantage they had over Sting. Not too terrible, but not too good either. (2/5)

Harlem Heat and Colonel Parker are at the White Chapel with Mean Gene when a limo pulls up and out comes Sister Sherri. Parker tells her that he gambled away all of his money, a shocker that upsets the bride. This is the type of Hee Haw-level southern comedy that I can't get myself to like.

Back in the arena, Eric Bischoff welcomes Brian Pillman, who threatens to name the "7 words you can't say on TV." Instead, Pillman cuts a promo about respect - including a knock against Kevin Sullivan. Nothing too revolutionary, but a good 30 seconds out of the Loose Cannon.

Mike Tenay joins the commentary team to help out with this match - Konnan defending the Mexican Heavyweight Championship against Psicosis. This is Psicosis' debut so the crowd doesn't respond to his entrance at all, nor is there much of an applause for Konnan, whose colorful attire will certainly surprise anyone more familiar with the "gangsta" look he used for most of his WCW run. Konnan's offense is absolutely vicious in the early minutes, connecting with a variety of cool submissions and a pair of german suplexes that look like legit concussion-causers. Psicosis does most of the bumping early on, but finally gets a bit of offense in with a huge tope to the outside. The finish is a bit anti-climactic, the set-up german suplex from the top rope looking significantly more devastating than his submission maneuver. While this match gave a good glimpse at what Konnan could bring to the table, Psicosis comes off as a lowly non-challenger. The dead crowd and Konnan's atrocious music detract even more from the presentation and prevent this from being anything like a "star making" moment for him. (1.5/5)

Back at the chapel, Sister Sherri is in the limo, changing into her wedding dress. Mean Gene announces that after the next commercial break, "the biggest wedding in television history" will begin!

Following a quick plug for the WCW Hotline, we are back at the chapel, where Okerlund has decided to walk Sister Sherri down the "aisle" (a parking lot) to make it official with Colonel Parker. Oddly, nobody objects to the wedding - even their respective clients, longtime enemies. Before Sherri can say "I do," though, Madusa arrives and attacks her, the two engaging in one of the most vicious and physical brawls between two performers, male or female, I've ever witnessed. Bonus points for Booker T being unable to keep the smile off his face and Disco Inferno's meaningless participation. All in all, not a great segment, but not necessarily the worst wrestling wedding ever either. In terms of giving structure to the show, it worked but it didn't work well. (2/5)

Main event time and Michael Buffer is on hand for tonight's massive tag match - The Giant and Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. There is really nothing great here, with typical action and a schmoz finish to continue the rivalry between the goodies and baddies. I wasn't expecting a 5-star classic or anything, but this match doesn't even go 10 minutes. Completely forgettable, inconsequential filler masquerading as a "main event." Maybe some sort of stipulation would have helped this? Even the arrival of Miss Elizabeth leads to nothing. (0.5/5)

With an average match/segment of 1.77-out-of-5, Clash of the Champions XXXII is way more of a chore to sit through than it should be. Considering the talent in WCW at the time, this show could have been a red hot TV special - but, instead, it pinballs between mediocre and outright boring. The main event is meaningless, Pillman/Guerrero is more unique than good, and Konnan/Psycosis is an incredibly one-sided disappointment. The opening tag match is too short to leave much of an impression and Wright/Malenko is kinda just there - an exhibition of two talented grapplers, but nothing worth hunting for. Sometimes, though, a show like this works because it offers a snapshot into an interesting time in a company's existence. Unfortunately, even on that level, this show misses the mark. While there were a handful of intriguing storylines and characters in place, much of what WCW had to offer at the time was a lame retread of storylines past, with Hogan battling monsters, Savage and Flair embroiled in their endless rivalry, and guys like Lex Luger, Sting, The Road Warriors, and The Nasty Boys being pushed above newer, fresher talent.

FINAL RATING - DUDleyville