Dark Pegasus Video Review: Clash of the Champions XXI

Clash of the Champions XXI by J.D. Dunn Twitter.com/jddunn411 Brightkite.com/jddunn411 Facebook.com/jddunn411 Examiner.com November 18, 1992 Live from Macon, Ga. Your hosts are Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura. We open with footage of the most disturbing weigh-in in history as Paul E. Dangerously strips to his skivvies. Gina Carano he ain’t. In a cruel twist of irony, Brian Pillman announces he is injured and can’t compete against Brad Armstrong, who he early accused of ducking him. He apologizes to Brad for doubting him. Of course, it’s all a ruse, and as soon as Brad is distracted, Pillman smashes his knee with the crutch. Pillman gloats that he can’t be disqualified because the match hasn’t started. Brad still wants to go, so… Opening Match: Brian Pillman vs. Brad Armstrong. Armstrong balls up his fists and hobbles into the ring. Pillman begs off but clips his knee at the first possibility and gets the win at 0:27. 1/4* Recap of Paul E. firing Madusa and slapping her, drawing her wrath. Hilarious moment as Paul E. suckerpunches jobber Mike Thor during one segment, and when he turns his back to gloat Steve Austin knocks the guy out for real, so Paul E. thinks he did it himself. For those who doubt Paul Heyman’s ability to tell a story, watch this segment! His misogynistic rant pisses off even his own guys who abandon him as talks trash to Madusa. By the time he threatens to sick the Dangerous Alliance on her, they’re all gone. Bounty Match: Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton (w/Michael Hayes) vs. Erik Watts & Kensuke Sasaki. Paul E. Dangerously put a $10,000 bounty on Watts’s head. Watts wasn’t any kind of good at this point. He progressed to nearly serviceable before the pressure of the spotlight and drug abuse did him in. Hayes was gradually taking over managerial duties from Dangerously. Sasaki tags in and holds his own before Hayes clocks him from behind. Sasaki powerslams Eaton to get out of trouble. The match totally breaks down as Watts cleans house and Sasaki holds Arn in the corner with the pummelry. Watts hits a Fireman’s Carry Slam for two (hmm) and finishes Eaton with a STF (double hmmm). Watts not only survives but wins at 6:08. Yes, John Cena adopted Erik Watts’ moveset. Arn and Bobby did their best to cover for a very green Watts, but he was just too awkward in the ring. ** Vinnie Vegas talks about everyone putting odds on Scotty Flamingo. Good Lord. What in the hell was Kevin Nash on for this promo? I think he said something about a monkey-driven rocket car blasting across the Alkali Flats. Some guy in a goofy gray wig with his back to us is supposed to be “Don King.” Why on earth would I change the channel?! Boxing Match: Scotty Flamingo (w/The Vegas Connection) vs. Johnny B. Badd (w/Teddy Long). First Round: Long and Badd are reunited and it feels so good. Badd destroys Scotty, but Scotty bails and comes back with a clothesline when the ref’s back is turned. Badd weathers a storm and roars back, but Flamingo is saved by the bell. Second Round: Diamond Dallas Page soaks Flamingo’s glove full of water during the rest period. Badd charges and peppers him with jabs, but he decides to go after Page on the apron. Suddenly, Flamingo explodes with the loaded glove and gets the KO. Yeah, best not to take this too seriously. 1/4* Recap of Battlebowl, in case people have forgotten the rules. Handicap Tag Match: Ron Simmons & A Mystery Partner vs. Cactus Jack, Tony Atlas & The Barbarian. This is one of the best debuts since Jushin Lyger. Simmons was supposed to team up with his then-protégé, but that guy disappeared (was fired/quit). Instead, they brought in a high-flying youngster by the name of 2 Cold Scorpio. Scorpio makes a big impression on the crowd, wiping out the heels with a tope. The fans just eat this guy up from the start as he does things that nobody was doing at the time. The heels get their shots in, but Atlas and Barbarian can barely move at this point, and Cactus was injured. Simmons starts tossing people around, and Scorpio pins Atlas after a 450-splash at 11:55. Huge pop for the 450-splash. Unfortunately, they just didn’t know what to do with Scorpio so they put him in a tag team with Marcus Bagwell before releasing him. ** Silly video shows Tom Zenk and Johnny Gunn trying on suits. I’m pretty sure this was ripped off directly from the Fantastics intro video back in the mid-1980s. For some reason, these guys didn’t get over. Battle of the Sexes: Paul E. Dangerously (w/Michael Hayes) vs. Madusa. This is supposed to be 5:00, but Dangerously smashes the phone over Madusa’s head as she storms the ring. Paul E. wants to kiss her, just to rub it in, but when he pulls on her hair it turns out to be a wig. Oh, it’s just Mike Thor again. Madusa attacks from behind and kicks Paul E.’s ass all around the ring. He tries to run, but she chases him down and drags him back in. Hayes trips her on the way back in, though. Funny spot as Dangerously hits a double ax-handle, but she no-sells it and clotheslines him. Instead of pinning him, though, she rips Paul E.’s clothes off and goes after Hayes. That gives Dangerously the chance to run away. Time expires at 5:00. Horrible match, obviously, but funny stuff. Dangerously has no shame, which is a good thing. * King of Cable Semi-Finals: Sting vs. Rick Rude. Your judges are Larry Zbyszko, Ole Anderson and Hiro Matsuda. Big Van Vader and Dustin Rhodes are fighting in the other semifinal, but it’s on one of the regular shows. Rude pounds away, but Sting press slams him and hits a press gutbuster. But how will Rude be able to swivel the hips now!?! Rude works Sting’s lower back, as per usual. Sting fights back and drops Rude’s gut on the ropes. Great psychology here from both guys. Sting misses a charge and sends himself into the railing. Back in, Rude works him over but can’t do the swivel. Sting has a few flurries, but it’s mostly Rude in control. He tosses Sting’s back into the buckle and grabs him in a bearhug. Sting makes the sudden comeback with 90-seconds left. He hits a crossbody for two, but Rude cuts him off with a punch to the gut. Sting fights out of the Rude Awakening and hits the Stinger splash, but he goes for the Scorpion Deathlock instead of the pin. Time expires at 20:00. Hiro Matsuda votes Sting. Larry Zbyszko votes (rightly) for Rude. Ole votes for Sting, sending him to the finals. They should change his name to Rick Screwed because he just got boned by the judges. The work was fine, but they were clearly holding out for the time limit over the last five minutes. Plus, the match was so one-sided that it just didn’t make sense for Rude to lose. *** WCW/NWA Tag Team Titles: Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham vs. Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas. Both teams are babyfaces here, so we get a lot of technical wrestling. Jesse predicts, rightly, that it won’t last long, and it doesn’t as Ricky and Barry toss each other to the floor and have to be separated. Back in, they chop it out with Ricky winning. The challengers work Barry’s arm for a while before Shane misses a wild crossbody and hangs himself on the top rope. Now Shane plays face-in-peril. The champs are puzzlingly off the same page as Dustin tags Barry right back in after Barry tags out for a breather. Steamboat gets the hot tag and cleans house on Dustin. He goes for a leapfrog, though, and gets headbutted in the groin inadvertently. Windham screams for Dustin to pin Ricky, but Rhodes is too concerned for Steamboat’s health. Windham tags himself in and drops an elbow for two. Rhodes and Windham start arguing now. Dustin tags himself in, and the champs come to blows! Steamboat sneaks over and tags Shane who promptly hits Barry with the belly-to-belly for the win at 15:52. Fantastic storytelling throughout and, of course, great work from everyone involved. **** After the match, Windham calls Dustin back into the ring for an explanation. Dissatisfied, Windham kicks Rhodes in the gut and DDTs him. I guess that’s the end of the team. In the back, Ricky says they wanted to win under different circumstances, but they’ll take it. He puts over Dustin Rhodes’ sportsmanship before Windham jumps him with a chair! Windham lays out the new champs before being restrained.

The 411: Exactly how a show should be booked – with goofy crap on the undercard and the serious stuff on top. Everything here either set up something down the road, paid off an angle, or was just a great match on its own merits. Recommended.
Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]