Clash of the Champions VIII

Legacy Review

Clash of the Champions VIII: Fall Brawl '89

September 12, 1989 from the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, SC

Commentary: Jim Ross and (face) Jim Cornette

WCW is riding high after the massively successful Great American Bash and heading into yet another new PPV on the calendar in '89, Halloween Havoc. The show opens with a recap of Sting saving Flair form the Funk/Muta attack post-main event at GAB. JR says "rumors are swirling" about problems in the J-Tex Corporation and kicks it to Gordon Solie, who's with Gary Hart. Hart denies any issues everything's just fine nothing to see here move along.

The Road Warriors (w/Paul Ellering) def The Samoan SWAT Team (w/Paul E Dangerously) in 6:46- Other than the normal mats around the ring no one's bothered to cover the basketball court on the floor. That's going to be a hell of a cleanup job for the arena crew after the show. Animal pounds away on Fatu to start. Fatu counters with a superkick as Animal comes off the ropes. Animal bounces right back with a powerslam and clears the ring out. Off a Hawk whip Samu grabs the top rope to stop and bails to the floor. Animal comes around and hits him from behind. Hawk fistdrop for 2. Animal kills Fatu with a shoulderblock. Fatu dodges a charge and Hawk posts his shoulder and falls down to the floor. Samu crotches Hawk on the guardrail. Fatu powerslam and bear hug. Hawk pounds his way across to his corner but the ref's distracted and doesn't see the tag. Chop exchange. The SST hit a Decapitation Device variation. Fatu comes off the top but Hawk gets a boot up. Tags on both sides. Animal hits a flying tackle. Donnybrook! The SST set up a phone shot on Animal. Hawk breaks it up and the phone flies to the floor. Off camera Ellering takes Paul E out. The Roadies hit the Doomsday Device and good night. After the match Ellering smashes Paul E's phone, and the SST seem none to happy with their manager as they leave without him. Good sprint. **3/4

 

"The Z Man" Tom Zenk def The Cuban Assassin in 3:36- This is Zenk's WCW debut, where he's poised for a push after working primarily as a tag wrestler and low midcarder in both the WWF and AWA. Basic start. Dropkicks send the Assassin outside. Assassin gets a cheap shot over the ref. Zenk leapfrogs, hits another dropkick and deep armdrag. Arm work follows, which in a 3 minute introductory match for a high flying wrestler doesn't seem like the best move. Zenk sunset flip for 2. Assassin misses a falling headbutt off the second rope. Zenk ducks a clothesline and hooks in a sleeper. Assassin goes out and it's over. Not a scintillating debut. Reminds me a lot of the Pillman/Bill Irwin match at GAB, just shorter. *

The governor of South Carolina declares it Ric Flair Day. Those opposed to Flair working as the current head booker immediately moan about him getting another title.

 

Sid Vicious (w/Teddy Long and Dan Spivey) def Ranger Ross in 1:08- Spivey sporting the Zumbas. Vicious ambushes Ross before the bell, throws him out and drops him on the rail. Ross hits what I think was the combat kick while Vicious was on the apron bragging (it's hard to tell because there's nothing special about it), but Vicious, being Vicious, barely sells it anyway. Vicious counters a backdrop into a DDT, then hits the helicopter slam and power bomb to finish it. We're not on Fort Bragg anymore, son. Squashy McSquashiness. 1/2*

Video package of Missy Hyatt and Robin Greene on a shopping spree with Greene testing the limits of Rick Steiner's Amex card. ("There's no spending limit!" Exactly.) Some real Rifftrax level acting in this one, somewhere between Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny and Birdemic. The whole point was to show Greene (Woman) as a gold digging hussy, foreshadowing her coming heel turn on the Steiners.

 

NWA World Tag Team Championship: The Fabulous Freebirds (c) def The Steiner Brothers (w/Missy Hyatt & Robin Greene) in 10:27- Hayes and Scott start. Hayes struts and stalls as usual. Scott hits armdrags and a roll up. As he's charging into the corner Hayes pops him with the straight left. Hayes with a crossbody off the top, but Scott rolls through it and gets a two count. Steinerlines on both heels. Scott schools Garvin a bit. Garvin bounces face first out of the corner and Scott nails him with a German suplex! I mean planted him. Rick tags in. Steinerline! Steinerline! The heels go out to regroup. Hayes gets back in and keeps backing off from Rick. Rick catches a leapfrog and powerslams Hayes....then grabs Garvin as he's coming off the top rope and powerslams him! Belly to belly on Hayes, with such force the camera feed cuts out for a second. Yeah, Brock Lesnar never did that. Hayes dodges a charge and Rick crashes in the corner. DDT! Scott saves the pin. Rick 360 sells a Hayes clothesline for 2. Garvin gets a 2 count off kicks. Rick snap mares out of a chinlock but Garvin cuts the comeback off. He cinches up for another DDT. Rick blocks it and hits a slingshot suplex. Hot tag! Frankensteiner on Hayes! Frankensteiner on Garvin! Powerslam! Garvin breaks the pin up. Scott hits the ropes but gets tripped by someone off camera. Hayes grabs him, hits the DDT, and gets the pin. Multiple camera angles are conveniently inconclusive as to who did the tripping. Scott blames Greene. Rick refuses to believe that magnificent perfect Woman could do anything wrong and blames Hyatt instead. To be continued. The match was fantastic. These teams gelled perfectly, wily veteran heels vs powerful young faces. It continues to amaze me how instantly ready for prime time the Steiners were, and they'd only get better. ***1/2

 

"Flyin'" Brian Pillman def Norman the Lunatic (w/Teddy Long) in 3:38- Pillman's got the giant cheer squad again. Norman ambushes before the bell. Pillman hits a dropkick. He suplexes Norman! Springboard clothesline! Norman goes outside. Pillman with a crossbody off the top to the floor! Back in he grabs the giant key from Long. Norman squashes him in the corner. Pillman with a Bret bump. A Norman splash off the second rope gets a 2 count. They go outside again and Norman squashes Pillman against the ring post. He goes for it again, but Pillman dodges and Norman is posted. Missile dropkick. Pillman slams Norman! And backdrops him! He goes for a springboard crossbody, but Norman catches and powerslams him. Pillman *just* kicks out. Pillman wraps Norman up in a crucifix, and gets the pin! Afterward Long reads Norman the riot act for losing. Amazing what happens when you get a couple of old Stampede guys together. Pillman looked amazing. This did more good for him than that plodding GAB match with Irwin ever could. **1/4

Solie is with Gary Hart again. Hart says people have no idea what they're talking about, of COURSE Terry Funk is in the building and and I'm not gushing sweat, you are.

 

"Dr. Death" Steve Williams def Mike Rotunda in 7:04- The Varsity Club explodes....again. This was more or less the group's last death rattle. Williams tears to the ring Ultimate Warrior style and goes right after Rotunda. Rotunda bails and they chase around the ring. Rotunda catches Williams getting back in. Williams reverses a whip and hits a clothesline and press slam. Football tackle. Rotunda counters a second one with a clothesline. He throws Williams out and does some ground and pound on the floor. Rotunda abdominal stretch. Williams gets a sunset flip for 2. Rotunda hooks a chinlock in and does more rope leverage games. Williams eventually jawbreakers out. Rotunda goes up top and gets slammed off. Williams with mounted punches. He dodges a charge and Rotunda goes to the apron. Williams scoops him up for the stampede. Rotunda grabs the top rope and falls on top of Williams, but Williams rolls through it, ends up on top, and gets the pin. Perfectly acceptable. **1/2

 

NWA United States Heavyweight Championship: "The Total Package" Lex Luger (c) def "Wildfire" Tommy Rich in 10:36- Rich blocks a corner shot and throws Luger around a bit. Luger backs off for time. A huge Luger shoulderblock gets some cheers, a sign of both that Luger's heel run wouldn't last long, and no one gave a shit about Rich. After a speed sequence Rich ducks a clothesline, pops Luger and hits an armdrag. Rich with a crossbody. Luger squirts out. Luger bounces face first off the buckles and Rich does a quick roll up for 2. Luger dodges a dropkick and hits a powerslam for 2. He starts working Rich's back, which is a smart setup for the rack. Rich gets a sunset flip from the apron for 2. Luger does his mandatory missing a dive and falling over the top to the floor spot. Rich tries to suplex him back in, but drops Luger down on his head, then Luger covers for 2. Not sure what the planned:botch ratio on that was but it didn't look good. Luger hits a side suplex and Rich just kicks out. Another powerslam from Luger and he calls for the torture rack. Rich slips out of it and tries for a roll up but Luger grabs the top rope. Luger sets up and hits a superplex! Again Rich just kicks out. Luger goes up top and Rich dodges the splash. Wildfire is wildfired up and hits a series of back elbows. Fist drop off the top for 2. Thesz press, Rich's finisher! Luger gets a foot on the rope. They go outside and Rich punches the post. Rich hooks in a sleeper while Luger's still on the apron. Luger drops him down over the top rope, covers and gets the pin. Another good match from Luger's best year. ***

Solie is with Hart yet again. Hart has a doctor's note and has also provided a pretaped interview from Terry Funk. On the tape Funk is in the hospital with a cast on his arm from Flair attacking it with the branding iron the previous week. Funk claims he came *this* close to losing the arm and promises to be in the building at the Clash. Cut to Flair and Sting with Solie. They don't care who they end up facing.

 

NWA World Heavyweight Champion "Nature Boy" Ric Flair and Sting def NWA World Television Champion The Great Muta and Dick Slater (w/Gary Hart) by DQ in 19:16- Slater also has a cast on from a Flair attack with the branding iron, but his is a few weeks older than Funk's so he got the call tonight. Sting and Muta start. The crowd is pumped up something serious. Fast back and forth. Slater runs in and gets clotheslined. The heels regroup. Sting with an armdrag. Slater takes a wild swing at Sting and almost falls in the ring. Taking the Terry Funk impression to the max. Sting with a backdrop. Flair breaks out the chops. Slater chops Flair. Flair turns it around and shows him how it's supposed to be done. Flair Flip! He runs over and chops Muta off the apron, then climbs the top rope and successfully gets off with an elbow to Slater's head! A Muta karate kick sends Flair outside. Muta plancha! Sting plancha on Muta! Donnybrook on the floor! The faces win the exchange and stand tall in the ring while the heels regroup again. Flair and Sting work Slater's hurt arm. Sting with a suplex for 2. Slater pushes him back and he has to fight out of the heel corner. Press slam on Muta. Flair gets a back suplex and kneedrop. Muta with an eye rake. Handspring elbow! Flair Flop! Slater counters a Flair backdrop with a swinging neckbreaker. Muta throws Flair out and Slater immediately hits him with an elbow off the apron. Muta locks on the Nerve Pinch of Japanese Precision +2. Flair inverted atomic drops out and tags. Slater weathers the Sting storm and gets him in the heel corner again. All four guys go at it again. While Flair and Slater fight outside Sting hits the Stinger Splash on Muta. He locks the Scorpion Death Lock in, but Hart comes in and nails him with a roll of coins. Muta covers but just gets 2. He barely gets Sting up for a power bomb that gets 2. Slater slams Sting on the floor and locks on a sleeper in the ring. Sting immediately jawbreakers out. Sting backdrops out of a piledriver attempt and tags. It's all chaos again. Muta sprays Sting with the yellow mist, conveniently mentioned by JR and JC as "the most dangerous of the mists". Flair goes for the figure four on Muta but Slater hits him with his cast. Flair's bleeding. Somewhere in all this mess Tommy Young got knocked out of the ring as well. Terry Funk comes to the ring! He takes a plastic bag and ties it over Flair's head trying to suffocate him! This guy is nuts I tell you, NUTS. Flair falls out of the ring with the bag still tied over his head. The heels take the branding iron and nail Sting in the leg with it, so hard the iron bent. There was no bell, but somewhere in there Young called for a DQ. The heels leave the ring, their damage done. Absolutely fantastic. The match had intensity, physicality and drama, and even the clusterfrell booking makes sense to make the heels look badass and give the faces that much higher a mountain to climb. ****1/2

Back from commercial, Flair's laying on the floor with the bag finally off but with officials huddled around him and barely moving. Apparently Brian Pillman gave him mouth to mouth resuscitation during the break. File that whole package under something you'll never, ever see in wrestling again.

OVERALL SHOW THOUGHTS: Just another great show in the incredible year of wrestling that was 1989.

OVERALL SHOW GRADE: A