wrestling / Video Reviews
Clash of the Champions III: Fall Brawl (9.7.1988) Review
Loading...-The show opens with a video package highlighting the last two titles Sting tried to win and failed to obtain at Clash of the Champions. Tonight, he goes for a third title, the U.S. Championship. Will he fall short again?
-Originally aired September 7, 1988.
-Live from a building. (I finally checked after I was done watching the show, it’s Albany, GA, which they never mentioned once in the entire program.)
-Your hosts are Tony Schiavone and Ric Flair, plus Jim Ross & Bob Caudle doing the actual commentary.
TV TITLE: MIKE ROTUNDA (Champion, with Kevin Sullivan) vs. BRAD ARMSTRONG
-Fireman’s carry takedown by Rotunda to start. Rotunda throws uppercuts, but Armstrong reverses a bodypress for a sudden two-count, and Rotunda gets out of the ring and calls a time-out. Back in, Armstrong throws a dropkick for another two and Rotunda’s getting frustrated. Side headlock by Armstrong and a hell of a high bodypress gets two, as Rotunda is just plain having an off-night.
-Ring announcer suddenly gives us the “five minutes” announcement so we can know where this match is going instead of wasting our energy getting emotionally invested in the possibility of an actual finish. Armstrong counters an attempted clothesline by just hooking the arm and yanking Rotunda down to the mat for an armbar, and Rotunda lets out a frustrated scream at how badly he’s doing so far.
-Rotunda finally sends Armstrong into the ropes and connects with a knee to the abs. Stungun follows and Rotunda’s in control now. He sends Armstrong out to the concrete so Sullivan can take his cheap shots like Armstrong is a common TBS jobber. We reach the ten-minute mark and Rotunda suplexes Armstrong back in for a two-count. Rotunda clamps on a snug chinlock and keeps that firmly applied until we get the fifteen-minute announcement.
-Armstrong starts to fight out, so Rotunda just turns it into a backbreaker. Sullivan blocks an attempted comeback by Armstrong, so Steve Williams charges to the ring and this crowd is unglued. If you were watching wrestling for the first time ever, you’d swear Brad Armstrong was the biggest star in the company.
-Rotunda reapplies the chinlock. Armstrong fights out, so Rotunda breaks out the airplane spin for the first time since his heel turn, but he puts too much into it and makes himself dizzy so he can’t capitalize on it. Gutwrench gets another two. Clothesline gets another two. Punch to the face gets another two. Time finally expires and Rotunda is dismayed that he couldn’t put Armstrong away. 1 for 1. The crowd gets some of that point. This match slowed wayyyyyyyyy down in the middle with that armbar and chinlock, but Jim Ross and the fans were going apeshit for it and added so much to this that I can’t dislike it.
-Tony and Ric Flair discuss Lex Luger. Flair rattles off every NWA Champion he’s ever faced and Lex Luger needs to beat a man who’s faced them. Not sure I agree with that logic, because that would make George South the most formidable opponent in the business.
-We recap the final chapter of “1988 Shits on Jimmy Garvin,” as Kevin Sullivan breaks his leg and ends the “Gorgeous” character.
NIKITA KOLOFF & “Dr. Death” STEVE WILLIAMS vs. THE SHEEPHERDERS (with Rip Morgan)
-There’s absolutely no story leading up to this match and it’s another example of how this company just didn’t have its shit together. They announce that Ricky Morton and Nikita Koloff will be a tag team from now on. Then they have Ricky work a tag team match with Steve Williams as his partner. And now Nikita and Williams are teaming up.
-Williams gets caught in the corner but just fights off both of them. He tackles both Sheepherders and clears the ring. Nikita tags in and gets his eyes raked by Butch. Butch dodges a corner charge, but Nikita puts on the breaks and slams the Sheepherders. Luke heads back in and clotheslines Luke out to the floor, then suplexes him back in. Bodypress off the top almost finishes but Butch comes to the rescue. Nikita tags on and goes nuts on the arm. Nikita’s tights are just hanging off him at this point, it’s weird to see.
-Doc looks like he’s going to finish with a tackle, but Luke gets out of the way and Doc hits the ringpost full-force, shoulder first. Sheepherders control, but Butch bungles a double-team and knocks Luke off the apron, and it’s hot tag Nikita. He dominates Butch and looks to finish with the sickle, but Rip Morgan trips him from the floor. Luke heads in and knees Nikita in the ribs until he falls out to the floor. Butch rams him into the barricade and post to work his arm.
-Back in the ring, the Herders sucker Doc in the ring so the referee will be distracted; a double clothesline almost finishes, but the Herders’ strategy backfires as Tommy Young is late to count the pin and it only gets two. Luke goes for the sleeper but Nikita breaks free and goes for the tag. Rip Morgan runs over and jabs Dr. Death in the ribs, and Dr. Death confronts him, so he’s not in the corner when Nikita finally makes it there! Awesome spot.
-Luke goes in for the kill with a diving headbutt but Nikita gets out of the way and makes the tag. He takes on the Sheepherders AND Rip Morgan, but that ends up actually being too much for him and he gets overwhelmed quickly, so he tags Nikita back in and Nikita just takes Butch’s head off with a sickle and pins him right there. 2 for 2. So that turned out to be unexpectedly awesome.
DUSTY RHODES vs. KEVIN SULLIVAN (with Gary Hart)
-The promo for this one that aired on TBS a few days before the show seemed to suggest that this was going to be a tag team match (“Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch are out for revenge!” but Murdoch ain’t here. I’m guessing Al Perez was going to be in the opposite corner.) Also, this is another example of how much damn trouble everybody had adapting to a changing business, because they’ve spent weeks touting Dusty vs. Kevin in a dog collar match, but this isn’t a dog collar match. That’s going to be at a house show. Finally, I get how we got here, I still just think it’s ridiculous that we’ve booked things to the point that a manager has a manager. All that said…
-Sullivan throws chops but takes a big elbow to the noggin and gets tossed to the floor. Dusty goes nuts on him, ramming Sullivan into the commentary table again and again and whipping him into Gary Hart, which is mighty big of Gary Hart because I just read his book and he goes into detail about how he tried to avoid doing manager bumps after the plane crash. Sullivan grabs what appears to be a squeegee, years before that would have been an inside joke, but the referee makes him put it away.
-Dusty heads back in and throws Sullivan back out to the floor. Back in, he elbows Sullivan again and again. Sullivan gives him a shot to the throat and boots him to the floor. Gary Hart gives him some shots with his loafer to remind us that JJ is part of this alliance and presumably gave him that tip. Back in, Sullivan applies a chinlock, jabbing Dusty in the throat with a spike passed to him by Gary Hart. Dusty stops that with a nut shot and starts throwing punches. Gary Hart goes up to the apron as Dusty gets his hand on the spike and coldcocks Sullivan with it. Gary Hart gets involved and breaks the pin, which brings out Al Perez with a chain. They gang up on him while Tommy Young just kinda decides this is cool, I guess. Dusty rams them together as Gary Hart wanders into the ring for no reason and Dusty cradles him, and Tommy Young counts the pin. Jesus. 2 for 3. So yeah, Dusty really needed the keys taken away from him by this point.
-Tony and Ric welcome former San Francisco 49er John Ayers, who has been assigned to officiate the upcoming Flair/Luger rematch. Ayers is nervous, which is reasonable. Flair asks him what qualifies him to be a referee for an NWA Title match and Ayers just clearly does not have a ready answer for that, so Flair jumps in and cuts a rambling promo to fill the time. Oh my god, this laid down and DIED harder than can be described. This was Ken Patera bad.
RUSSIAN CHAIN MATCH: RICKY MORTON vs. IVAN KOLOFF (with Paul Jones & Russian Assassin)
-So to recap, Paul Jones is blaming Ivan Koloff for how his Army has completely fallen apart and a win by Ivan would redeem him in Jones’ eyes. Ring announcer introduces it as a Russian Chainsaw Match, which I think they were saving for the Japan Clash of the Champions.
-Ivan starts the beatdown right away and chokes Ricky out. Morton crotches Ivan with the chain but Ivan keeps hammering and sends Morton to the floor. Back in, Koloff chokes Morton out and touches two turnbuckles before Morton starts targeting the leg. Ricky goes for the turnbuckles, but Ivan kicks him away and heads to the top rope. Ricky Morton jerks Ivan Koloff off…the turnbuckle. But Ivan shakes off the mess that made, for his chances of winning, I mean, and just keeps attacking Ricky Morton, who is hung, with the chain that Ivan has wrapped around his neck. Ricky Morton beats him off with his tightly-clenched fist.
-Koloff whips him with the chain and goes for the turnbuckles, but Morton grabs his ankles and trips him. Koloff goes to the top rope but Morton gives him a shot to the jaw on his way down with the chain, and Koloff’s out. Morton starts going from corner to corner. Koloff revives after three turnbuckles and grabs onto the rope for added leverage to stop Morton from moving forward. Paul Jones tells Koloff to grab his riding crop instead, but when Koloff does that, Jones loses his grip and Morton falls into the fourth turnbuckle for the win. 2 for 4. Both guys seemed kind of held back by the stipulations, as it was generally a punch and kick fest and they both can do more than that.
-Post-match shenanigans, as Paul Jones blames Koloff for the loss, and Ivan has had enough and shoves Jones on his ass, which brings out a second Russian Assassin, and they gang up on Koloff, leaving him a bloody mess and hanging him over the ropes.
-Oh god, they’re giving John Ayers a mulligan. Jim asks him a question and John gives him a long memorized-in-five-minutes answer about how Flair won’t intimidate him.
U.S. TITLE: BARRY WINDHAM (Champion, with JJ Dillon) vs. STING
-Ring announcer introduces Barry as a member of the Four Hosemen, which probably would have been their gimmick if they had all jumped to the WWF together at this point. (“Think of all the kid-sized fire helmets we’ll sell!”)
-Sting armdrags Windham and jaws with him. Dropkicks send Windham out to the floor. Back in, Sting no-sells a back suplex and just dropkicks Windham right back out to the floor. Windham’s next tactic is demanding a test of strength, and he boots Sting in the gut to take control. Sting rallies with an inverted atomic drop and a backdrop and Windham, who’s learned from the best, does a Flair flop onto the mat. Elbow misses and Windham takes over again, bringing Sting out to the floor and going to the eyes. He slams Sting on the concrete and they head back in.
-Powerslam by Windham, but he takes his sweet-ass time and Sting kicks out. Cradle by Sting gets two surprises Windham. He whips Sting in the corner, but misses a corner charge and hangs himself up on the top rope, and Sting, just out of Tommy Young’s view, nudges Windham’s ankle so he goes over the top rope. He rams Windham into the commentary table and Windham is LASCERATED!
-Back in, Sting bites and punches him and a dropkick could finish but they’re too close to the ropes. Sting applies a sleeper but Windham breaks free and begins targeting the leg. Figure four locked on with some extra help from JJ. The great thing is Windham is so damn tall that he can have that move applied in the middle of the ring and still get help from JJ. Until Tommy Young catches him, of course, at which point the break is forced and Sting is still in this.
-Sting throws punches, but Windham applies the clawhold on Sting’s chest, apparently concerned that Sting is about to return the Sankara Stones to the Indian village. Sting staggers backward to fling Windham out to the concrete, then slingshots him back in. Tommy Young successfully manages to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and gets knocked out to the floor.
-Meanwhile, Stinger splash leads to the scorpion deathlock. JJ Dillon heads in with a chair but gets his ass handed to him, but Windham gets his hands on the chair and knocks Sting out and goes for the pin, but John Ayers heads in and tattles on him, so Tommy Young declares Sting the winner by DQ, and John Ayers strangles JJ Dillon to close it out. 3 for 5. Good drama and almost non-stop action from bell to bell. And by the way, Sting is now three for three in walking out of Clash of the Champions without a title belt. How the hell did Lex Luger end up with the “choker” label?
-Ric Flair is kinda pissed and warns Lex Luger that he’ll still be the champ, no matter who the referee is.
-As the credits roll, we see Sting cross “US Title” off a list and then yell to various guys in the locker room, “Western States Heritage Title, how about that one?…Is Larry even still here? Maybe I could just be awarded the belt then, because it’s definitely been thirty days.” Suddenly, Sting gets an idea and runs to Jim Crockett’s office. He says, “Hey, remember how at the end of 1986 the Mid-Atlantic Title was vacated and you said there was an announcement coming about it soon, but then you never made an announcement?”
-Cut to: Sting walks out of Jim Crockett’s office with his head down as the “sad music” from the Charlie Brown specials begins playing.
