WCW Clash of the Champions IX: New York Knockout
Troy, NY - November 1989
CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's broadcast, Ric Flair is the reigning WCW World Champion, Lex Luger is the United States Champion, The Great Muta is the recognized Television Champion, and The Steiner Brothers hold the WCW World Tag Team Championships (having defeated the Freebirds just a couple days before this event).
COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross and Gordon Solie
The 9th Clash kicks off with two legendary teams colliding - The Road Warriors taking on The Fabulous Freebirds. Unfortunately, this is a "tease" match at best, a bout that, on paper, looks like it could be a classic but was probably designed to grab viewers flipping through the TV dial, help promote tonight's main event, and provide little more than a brief glimpse into two main event-level teams. Effective, but inessential viewing, though, there is at least a little fun to be had in hearing the New York audience's mega-pop for the LOD. (1/5)
Sting and Ric Flair are awarded some prestigious plaques from Bill Apter of Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Its not a good segment, its not a bad segment, but it is a segment.
After a video promo from Nancy "Woman" Sullivan, we're back in the ring for Doom vs. Eddie Gilbert and Tommy Rich. I was very impressed by Doom's debut, particularly the spirited work of Ron Simmons, but this match is less noticeably less intense and captivating. The New York crowd is warmer to Rich than the Philly crowd who chanted "Tommy Sucks" at him at Halloween Havoc, so at least he's got that going for him. Not a good match, but not woeful and, at roughly 5 minutes, its not like its a chore to get through. (1/5)
The Steiners share their thoughts in a backstage interview with Jim Cornette. Rick Steiner is awesome here, charismatically demented. This is the first moment of the show that makes me glad I'm watching. The team gives an official name to Scott Steiner's hurricanrana, dubbing it the Frankensteiner for the first time ever. (+1)
The Dynamic Dudes come out to a surprisingly decent reaction (they're still booed mostly, just not out of the building like in Philly) for their match against the more popular team of Stan Lane and Bobby Eaton, The Midnight Express. The story coming into this match is that the Midnights and the Dudes have been competing a bit over the managerial services/attention of Jim Cornette, who was unofficially managing the Dudes but still technically managed the Midnights. This is easily the best Dudes match yet (ever?), though, its not without its flaws - at this point, Douglas may have been a 7-year veteran, but his arm drag is pretty ugly and he just can't seem to get his timing right. Johnny Ace isn't much better and at least Douglas is willing to launch himself to the outside with an insane crossbody to the floor at one point. Eaton and Lane have much better matches in their catalog. What nudges this one into slightly above-average territory is the finish, a perfectly executed and crowd-pleasing turn of events that definitely spices up the tag team division. (3/5)
"Dr. Death" Steve Williams takes on The Super Destroyer next. Destroyer is being played by journeyman Jack Victory, not Scott Irwin (who also donned a similar mask to portray a different Super Destroyer in various feds in the early 80s) or Don Jardine (the Super Destroyer of the AWA) or Hulk Hogan (who also briefly portrayed the Super Destroyer at the very start of his career). Any which way, Williams makes fairly quick work of him and impressively press slams him at one point. Norman the Lunatic makes a cameo appearance dressed as Santa Claus. I wanted this to be an even more one-sided squash followed by Williams destroying Norman, but its neither. A point rewarded for Williams' feats of strength. (1/5)
Finally, a legitimate match between two evenly matched teams - The Steiners vs. The Skyscrapers. The Steiners are mega-over and Teddy Long receives a deafening "Peanut Head" chant upon his entrance, so this match definitely could've been awesome had it been designed to be awesome. Instead, Dan Spivey gets almost all the minutes for his team (Sid was definitely being protected) and the Steiners "get their shit in" in record time before Doom show up. Woman had promised the Steiners a "big surprise" during their match tonight and a mystery man shows up to protect her from Rick Steiner, though he doesn't actually do anything. The Road Warriors run down as well before Jim Ross cuts to a commercial. A little research reveals that the mohawked giant that debuts here is noneother than "Big Sky" Tyler Mane (aka Sabretooth from the X-Men movie and Michael Myers from Rob Zombie's Halloween remakes). The 6'9'' Mane is also one half of what I'd call one of the worst matches to ever occur on pay-per-view, Big Sky vs. Charlie Norris from Fall Brawl 93'. Disappointing match considering that, when it started, you had the ingredients for something special. (1.5/5)
The Steiners and The Road Warriors cut a promo together, though Animal's message is completely incomprehensible. It takes a lot of intensity to out-intensify Scott Steiner, but Hawk and Animal do it. Cool segment.
The United States Championship is on the line next with "Flyin'" Brian Pillman taking on Lex Luger in a rematch from Halloween Havoc. Before the match begins, Jim Ross reveals that Starrcade will feature a one-night-only round robin tournament featuring Flair, Luger, Sting, and Muta - which is a pretty intriguing concept and one I'm fairly sure was never repeated. I'm guessing we'll find out why when I review it...Anyway, Luger and Pillman lock up to start things off and though a portion of the audience chants "Luger," Lex wisely jaws at the crowd to maintain his heel status. From here, the Total Package earns his nickname - bumping, selling, playing the coward and the bully, effective heel offense, he does everything well here. Pillman may not have the whole crowd behind him, but his fierce determination and relentless attempts to pin the champ are clearly the signs of a babyface who "gets it." Their match at Halloween Havoc a month prior showed that they had chemistry, but I wouldn't call it a classic. I enjoyed this one better, though, it does suffer from the trappings of being a "TV match" - a runtime under 13 minutes, a non-decisive, cheap-albeit-well-executed conclusion - keeping it from attaining all-time great "must watch" status. (3.5/5)
Main event time - Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk in an "I Quit" Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship match. The culmination of a bitter and violent feud, Flair and Funk waste no time brawling in and out of the ring to start things off. Funk eventually assumes control and goes right after Flair's neck, a not-so-subtle nod to the origin of this rivalry, when Funk unceremoniously congratulated Flair on his win over Ricky Steamboat by piledriving him through a table and nearly retiring him months prior. The match really goes up a notch, though, when Flair gets his comeback, riding Funk into the guardrail in the most brutal spot of the match and then sending him crashing onto a table seconds later before getting some crowd-pleasing revenge on Funk's manager, Gary Hart. Dave Meltzer gave this match the full 5-star score in The Observer years ago and this sort of praise has been echoed ever since, but I wasn't necessarily as impressed. For such a violent rivalry, one kind of expects there to be some blood, maybe some more weapon usage, maybe even some more believable moments when Flair or Funk are almost going to say "I Quit" but somehow to fight through the pain. Though not necessarily a knock against it, this is a straight-forward, Point A-to-Point B match that just happens to feature almost flawless execution and intense, emotional physicality rarely seen before or after. Am I rushing out to tell friends and family about it, though? Not really. A 5-star match, to me, is one that provides moments that amaze me, that show me something I've never seen before in almost 30 years of watching wrestling. (4/5)
Bonus point for the post-match shenanigans, with Funk essentially turning face by showing respect to Flair (and then getting stabbed in the back by Hart) and The Great Muta, Sting, and Lex Luger all racing down the aisle to build to Starrcade 89's Ironman Tournament. I particularly love Luger taking a chair to Flair's Pro Wrestling Illustrated award. (+1)
Clash of the Champions IX may be beloved by older fans, but if you're like me and don't have that built-in nostalgic appreciation for it, you may be puzzled by its acclaim. The main event has been hyped for so many years that, watching it for the first time, it is easy to be underwhelmed (especially if you don't go back and watch the major shows leading up to it). Luger/Pillman is an improvement on their Halloween Havoc match and the Midnight Express/Dudes match is easily the best Dudes bout I've seen yet, but the rest of the show is more miss than hit. With a Kwang score of 2.43-out-of-5, I'm giving this one a....
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
Sting and Ric Flair are awarded some prestigious plaques from Bill Apter of Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Its not a good segment, its not a bad segment, but it is a segment.
After a video promo from Nancy "Woman" Sullivan, we're back in the ring for Doom vs. Eddie Gilbert and Tommy Rich. I was very impressed by Doom's debut, particularly the spirited work of Ron Simmons, but this match is less noticeably less intense and captivating. The New York crowd is warmer to Rich than the Philly crowd who chanted "Tommy Sucks" at him at Halloween Havoc, so at least he's got that going for him. Not a good match, but not woeful and, at roughly 5 minutes, its not like its a chore to get through. (1/5)
The Steiners share their thoughts in a backstage interview with Jim Cornette. Rick Steiner is awesome here, charismatically demented. This is the first moment of the show that makes me glad I'm watching. The team gives an official name to Scott Steiner's hurricanrana, dubbing it the Frankensteiner for the first time ever. (+1)
The Dynamic Dudes come out to a surprisingly decent reaction (they're still booed mostly, just not out of the building like in Philly) for their match against the more popular team of Stan Lane and Bobby Eaton, The Midnight Express. The story coming into this match is that the Midnights and the Dudes have been competing a bit over the managerial services/attention of Jim Cornette, who was unofficially managing the Dudes but still technically managed the Midnights. This is easily the best Dudes match yet (ever?), though, its not without its flaws - at this point, Douglas may have been a 7-year veteran, but his arm drag is pretty ugly and he just can't seem to get his timing right. Johnny Ace isn't much better and at least Douglas is willing to launch himself to the outside with an insane crossbody to the floor at one point. Eaton and Lane have much better matches in their catalog. What nudges this one into slightly above-average territory is the finish, a perfectly executed and crowd-pleasing turn of events that definitely spices up the tag team division. (3/5)
"Dr. Death" Steve Williams takes on The Super Destroyer next. Destroyer is being played by journeyman Jack Victory, not Scott Irwin (who also donned a similar mask to portray a different Super Destroyer in various feds in the early 80s) or Don Jardine (the Super Destroyer of the AWA) or Hulk Hogan (who also briefly portrayed the Super Destroyer at the very start of his career). Any which way, Williams makes fairly quick work of him and impressively press slams him at one point. Norman the Lunatic makes a cameo appearance dressed as Santa Claus. I wanted this to be an even more one-sided squash followed by Williams destroying Norman, but its neither. A point rewarded for Williams' feats of strength. (1/5)
Finally, a legitimate match between two evenly matched teams - The Steiners vs. The Skyscrapers. The Steiners are mega-over and Teddy Long receives a deafening "Peanut Head" chant upon his entrance, so this match definitely could've been awesome had it been designed to be awesome. Instead, Dan Spivey gets almost all the minutes for his team (Sid was definitely being protected) and the Steiners "get their shit in" in record time before Doom show up. Woman had promised the Steiners a "big surprise" during their match tonight and a mystery man shows up to protect her from Rick Steiner, though he doesn't actually do anything. The Road Warriors run down as well before Jim Ross cuts to a commercial. A little research reveals that the mohawked giant that debuts here is noneother than "Big Sky" Tyler Mane (aka Sabretooth from the X-Men movie and Michael Myers from Rob Zombie's Halloween remakes). The 6'9'' Mane is also one half of what I'd call one of the worst matches to ever occur on pay-per-view, Big Sky vs. Charlie Norris from Fall Brawl 93'. Disappointing match considering that, when it started, you had the ingredients for something special. (1.5/5)
The Steiners and The Road Warriors cut a promo together, though Animal's message is completely incomprehensible. It takes a lot of intensity to out-intensify Scott Steiner, but Hawk and Animal do it. Cool segment.
The United States Championship is on the line next with "Flyin'" Brian Pillman taking on Lex Luger in a rematch from Halloween Havoc. Before the match begins, Jim Ross reveals that Starrcade will feature a one-night-only round robin tournament featuring Flair, Luger, Sting, and Muta - which is a pretty intriguing concept and one I'm fairly sure was never repeated. I'm guessing we'll find out why when I review it...Anyway, Luger and Pillman lock up to start things off and though a portion of the audience chants "Luger," Lex wisely jaws at the crowd to maintain his heel status. From here, the Total Package earns his nickname - bumping, selling, playing the coward and the bully, effective heel offense, he does everything well here. Pillman may not have the whole crowd behind him, but his fierce determination and relentless attempts to pin the champ are clearly the signs of a babyface who "gets it." Their match at Halloween Havoc a month prior showed that they had chemistry, but I wouldn't call it a classic. I enjoyed this one better, though, it does suffer from the trappings of being a "TV match" - a runtime under 13 minutes, a non-decisive, cheap-albeit-well-executed conclusion - keeping it from attaining all-time great "must watch" status. (3.5/5)
Main event time - Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk in an "I Quit" Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship match. The culmination of a bitter and violent feud, Flair and Funk waste no time brawling in and out of the ring to start things off. Funk eventually assumes control and goes right after Flair's neck, a not-so-subtle nod to the origin of this rivalry, when Funk unceremoniously congratulated Flair on his win over Ricky Steamboat by piledriving him through a table and nearly retiring him months prior. The match really goes up a notch, though, when Flair gets his comeback, riding Funk into the guardrail in the most brutal spot of the match and then sending him crashing onto a table seconds later before getting some crowd-pleasing revenge on Funk's manager, Gary Hart. Dave Meltzer gave this match the full 5-star score in The Observer years ago and this sort of praise has been echoed ever since, but I wasn't necessarily as impressed. For such a violent rivalry, one kind of expects there to be some blood, maybe some more weapon usage, maybe even some more believable moments when Flair or Funk are almost going to say "I Quit" but somehow to fight through the pain. Though not necessarily a knock against it, this is a straight-forward, Point A-to-Point B match that just happens to feature almost flawless execution and intense, emotional physicality rarely seen before or after. Am I rushing out to tell friends and family about it, though? Not really. A 5-star match, to me, is one that provides moments that amaze me, that show me something I've never seen before in almost 30 years of watching wrestling. (4/5)
Bonus point for the post-match shenanigans, with Funk essentially turning face by showing respect to Flair (and then getting stabbed in the back by Hart) and The Great Muta, Sting, and Lex Luger all racing down the aisle to build to Starrcade 89's Ironman Tournament. I particularly love Luger taking a chair to Flair's Pro Wrestling Illustrated award. (+1)
Clash of the Champions IX may be beloved by older fans, but if you're like me and don't have that built-in nostalgic appreciation for it, you may be puzzled by its acclaim. The main event has been hyped for so many years that, watching it for the first time, it is easy to be underwhelmed (especially if you don't go back and watch the major shows leading up to it). Luger/Pillman is an improvement on their Halloween Havoc match and the Midnight Express/Dudes match is easily the best Dudes bout I've seen yet, but the rest of the show is more miss than hit. With a Kwang score of 2.43-out-of-5, I'm giving this one a....
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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