Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW Clash of The Champions XIX

-Note: I reviewed this show before Beach Blast 1992 because I didn’t realize it was taped four days before that PPV and then aired two days after Beach Blast. I went through and took out any complaints about not promoting Beach Blast, but if you find any others, that’s why.

-We have a theme to this show as WCW is back in bed with the NWA and this show is the first round of a 16 Team Tournament to crown NWA Tag Team Champions.  Let’s get to it!

-Announce Team: Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura 
-Taped: June 16, 1992 (Aired June 22, 1992)
-McCallister Field House of The Citadel, Charleston, SC 
-Attendance: 4600
-TBS Rating: 2.8

-Tony Schiavone welcomes us to the show and is joined by Magnum TA.  There is a tournament bracket behind them and we learn The Steiners are the #1 seed.  Tony brings in Bill Watts and yeah, he is in charge which is pretty easy to figure out watching this show.  He states the Tournament will be conducted under NWA rules.  My head hurts and I am sure this was confusing to me as an 11 year old as well.  Watts hopes The Steiners, the WCW Tag Champions, can represent WCW and become NWA Champions.  

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament: First Round: #7 Joe Malenko and Boris Malenko (Europe) vs. Ricky Steamboat (USA) and Nikita Koloff (Lithuania)

-The Malenkos are announced as representing Europe, but the graphic shows a Hungarian Flag, so for those wondering which specific European Nation.  Ross says Dragon and Koloff are unseeded, so I guess this is like tennis where not everyone is seeded?  I am a stickler for brackets and seeding, so I am just calling them the #10 seed.  Joe starts with Dragon and we get some mat wrestling.  Joe scurries to the bottom ropes to get a break.  Look ay young Dean in the corner, four years before he would really make a name for himself in WCW.  Test of Strength and Malenko flips Dragon over.  Head scissors from Dragon, but Malenko lands on his feet.  Dragon takes him down with an armdrag and hooks an armbar.  Hip-toss by The Dragon and Joe backs off.  Blind tag to Dean, but Dragon catches him with a hip-toss and then an armdrag.  Dean with a kip up but Dragon lands a kick to knock him down.  Koloff in and kind of wild we to see Koloff vs. Malenko as that is certainly a random pairing you wouldn’t think crossed paths with each other.  Koloff uses his power, so Dean uses his quickness to stick and move, but he throws himself at Koloff and gets caught.  Joe in with a dropkick to help Dean finish the crossbody, but Koloff kicks out easily.  Dean with a dropkick that Koloff doesn’t really sell.  Speaking of not selling, he takes a clothesline and gets to his feet before Dean.  Flex from Koloff to pop the crowd.  Dean misses a clothesline and Koloff poses some more before throwing Dean in the air and letting him fall on his face.  Dragon back in and he takes Dean down with an armbar.  Dean lands an elbow and brings Joe back into the match.  Dragon catches him with a drop toehold and hooks an armbar.  To the corner where Joe fires off European Uppercuts and then hooks a side headlock.  A WCW graphic pops up in the corner to let us know we are watching WCW, though all these matches are NWA.  Malenkos use a double team to get a two count as Jesse notes it could be an upset.  Is it though if The Malenkos are the seeded team?  I mean, I know Vegas odds you will have lower seeded teams as favorites.  I am thinking too much about this.  Dean buries a knee in the ribs and pull back on Dragon’s arm and leg.  Jesse notes the key to break that hold is a thumb to the eye.  Can’t say it wouldn’t be effective.  Joe back in and he gets a short clothesline for a two count.  Slam gets a two count!  Joe sets too early on a backdrop and slips out of Dragon’s hands, but has to sell like he was slammed down.  Steamboat staggers to the wrong corner, but gets turned around and HOT TAG to Koloff.  He runs wild with right hands and hits Dean with a back elbow.  Shoulder tackle!  Joe eats an atomic drop and then The Russian Sickle finishes Dean at 9:51.  Now, Jesse says this is a bit of upset the other way since the 7 seed lost.  

Winners: Nikita Koloff and Ricky Steamboat via pin at 9:51
-This was fine and was an interesting curiosity.  Seeing Dean out there was kind of cool and what they did worked.  Dragon doing most of the work and taking a beating to set up Koloff for the hot tag made all the sense in the world. **1/2

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament: First Round: The Z-Man and Marcus Alexander Bagwell (USA) vs. #6 Rick Rude and “Stunning” Steve Austin (USA) (w/ Madusa)

-Yes, The Dangerous Alliance is still kicking after the bloody awesomeness of War Games.  Jesse feels Austin and Rude were under seeded.  I assume Z-Man and Bagwell are not seeded, but to me they are the 11 seed.  Rude dominates Bagwell early and brings in Austin.  He pounds Bagwell down in the corner, but no mud hold stomping.  Bagwell fights back and makes the tag to Z-Man.  Austin escapes a roll-up by pulling the hair and then complains to the ref.  Austin backs Z-Man into his corner and makes the tag to Rude.  He hits a dropkick and “bumps and grinds,” per JR.  His mind is telling him no, but his body…you know the song.  Austin back in and Z-Man gets a small package for two.  Bagwell back in and Austin goes back to pounding him down. Bagwell snaps off a chop in the corner, but runs into a boot in the opposite corner.  Austin in short, white boots looks so weird!  Rude back in with chops to the throat and Bagwell gets beaten to the mat again.  Rude with a belly to back suplex but he sets too early on a backdrop.  Z-Man back in and he sets too early on a backdrop and Rude clubs him down.  Piledriver gets a two count as Rude went with a weak cover.  Austin back in and he hits a modified Stun Gun for two.  The DA hit a double clothesline behind the ref’s back and that draws an actual response from the crowd for the first time in this match.  Nice to hear from them!  Z-Man lands a superkick (as called by Ross for the first time I can remember) on Austin and makes the tag to Bagwell.  He gets a cross-body for two, but Austin is back with a backbreaker for two.  Rude back in and fires off forearms.  Bagwell gets a sunset flip, but Austin assists him as Madusa has the ref.  Rude Awakening finishes Bagwell at 7:54 while Austin and Z-Man battle on the floor.  

Winners: Rick Rude and Steve Austin via pin at 7:54
-The first match was much better as the crowd was kind of dead for this one.  Bagwell and Z-Man were just outclassed and I never bought they had any chance of winning.  Probably why Austin and Rude dominated this one for the most part.  *1/2

-Eric interviews The Miracle Violence Connection and they just want to skip these early matches and want a match with The Steiners.  Doc and Terry being back in a prominent spot is clear indication Watts is in charge.  Williams yells a lot and drops a gay slur before stopping himself before saying anything else.  Shocked that wasn’t edited from Peacock.  

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament: First Round: Larry O’Day and Jeff O’Day (Australia) vs. #4 The Miracle Violence Connection (Japan)

-No seeding is mentioned, but winners here face the winners of a match that includes the top seeded Steiners, so this would have to be 8 vs. 9 and how are the MVC an 8 seed?  They are basically promising MVC vs. Steiners, so there is no suspense here.  Jesse calls out Ross for his being biased to Doc due to their Oklahoma connection.  Williams stretches one of the O’Days and this won’t be long so JR is running through the football backgrounds quickly.  Jeff in and Doc gobbles him up.  Belly-to-back suplex and Gordy back in with a running clothesline.  Wait, what?  Ross just said The MVC are the four seed.  What kind of Tournament is this?  When does the 1 seed and 4 seed play in the second round?  Again, I am likely putting way too much thought into this.  Oklahoma Stampeded finishes at 2:34. JR had to sell the idea that The Puerto Rican team can beat The Steiner Brothers to prevent the dream tag match.  

Winners: The Miracle Violence Connection via pin at 2:34
-A slaughter like it should have been.  SQUASH

-Jesse is in the ring and brings out WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Sting, and he is rocking a tuxedo tonight.  We see video of Vader destroying Sting weeks ago.  Jesse notes everyone knows Sting was injured by Vader and he is coming for Sting.  Sting gets biblical as he talks David vs. Goliath, but in this telling, he is Goliath.  Well, no wonder he lost the match against Vader.  He mentions King Kong and we know how things ended for him as well.  He might as well have compared himself to The Titanic for good measure.

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament: First Round: Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham (USA) vs. #3 Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton (USA) (w/ Paul E Dangerously)

-There’s a lot of American Teams in this World Tag Title Tournament. So far no mention of seeds for either of these teams. Yes, it’s going to keep bothering me. Horsemen start with Arn and Barry and JR lets us know Anderson and Windham are the 3 seed while Dustin and Barry are not seeded. Thank you! Barry lands a right hand, but gets caught with a boot in the corner. Arn heads up top, but a Windham dropkick knocks him to the floor. Jesse notes there are no mats on the floor in WCW. Had to suck for the boys, but mats are for sissies according to Cowboy Bill. Dustin and Eaton have a go next. Bobby suckers Dustin to leave his feet and catches him with shot to the gut. Rhodes back with a series of elbows and a running boot sends Eaton over the top to the floor. Jesse wants a DQ. I never liked the over the top rule in WCW. I understand the point as it lets the heels cheat behind the ref’s back, but blah. I grew up on 80s WWF so probably why it wasn’t my favorite rule. Arn in and Dustin catches him with an atomic drop and Barry lands a right hand from the apron. Arn scurries to his corner and has a conversation with Paul. He tells Arn they are going to Plan Two. I would have popped if he said Plan B. Plan 2 works as Eaton lands a cheap shot from the apron on Windham. Eaton in and he chokes Barry on the ropes as the crowd lets Paul know he sucks. Arn in and he gets kicked setting too early on a backdrop. Tag to Dustin and clothesline for Arn. Paul is in the apron with the ref as Arn tries a DDT, but Dustin uses the ropes to block. Eaton knocks Dustin down though to keep the advantage. Dustin misses a cross-body and ends up on the floor. Paul makes good use of the block cell phone much to Jesse’s delight. Back in the ring Eaton comes off the top with a knee and it’s legal here as these are NWA rules, so you can come off the top rope. Man, I forgot about that dumb rule set by Watts. Arn back in with a reverse chinlock, but Dustin hits a jawbreaker. Eaton back in and he hits a bulldog as he steals Dustin’s finisher. Cool! He goes for a second one, but Dustin shoves him off and crawls to make the tag. Only thing is Arn had the ref so no tag. Barry fights Eaton on the floor as Arn hits Dustin with a spinebuster. Eaton back in for the cover, but it only gets two. Eaton up top and he misses the Alabama Jam. Dustin hits a bulldog for the pin at 10:24.

Winners: Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham via pin at 10:24
-Fun match, but it didn’t use the standard tag formula. They built to a Barry hot tag that never came and Dustin just recovered and hit his finisher for the win. I mean it was kind of there with the tease of the tag, but I wanted to see the final 2-3 minutes with Barry getting the tag and running wild before the eventual finish. Still a good match as you would expect with these four ***1/4

-Eric and Missy break the news that there will be a NWA World Title Tournament in Japan and all four members of the Dangerous Alliance will be in the event.

-The MVC interrupt and let Eric know about a wreck outside that injured the Puerto Rican team. Gordy goes to the bracket on the big board and now I will rage. We just see one side, but this is what they have:

1 Steiner Brothers
Team Puerto Rico

4 MVC
Team Australia

8 Team Canada
Pillman/Liger

7 The Malenkos
Koloff Steamboat

What kind of a mess is that bracket? Watts is a sports fan and so is Ross. They should know how a bracket works with seeding. If you want the MVC vs. Steiners on this show and in the second round, then at least seed it to make sense. Yes, I am taking way too much time thinking about this, but brackets and tournaments are something I’ve loved since I was a kid watching NCAA Selection Show. Couple that with years of playing in softball leagues with double elimination tournaments and having to argue with drunk dudes that outweigh me by 100 lbs that their bracket is messed up. It’s just one of those things that annoys me. Sorry, rant over, but please don’t show me that awful bracket again. Anyway, Team Puerto Rico forfeits due to injury and The MVC want to get it on with The Steiners. Why wouldn’t they save that match for The Finals if it was what the world was waiting for as Terry kept saying?

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament: First Round: #5 The Silver Kings (Mexico) vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (USA)

-This is on the other side of the bracket we didn’t see, but it seems The Birds are the unseeded team. So, The Silver Kings are either 2 or 5. Hopefully JR tells us. I assume they are the 5 seed with Team Japan being the 2 seed. The Birds are the WCW US Tag Champions, so kind of weird they are unseeded. Fast start which is shocking for a Birds match. Hayes drops a leg on Silver King #1 and brings Garvin into the match. Silver King #2 in and now things slow down a little bit. SK two with a backdrop and lands a right hand to block a sunset flip. Slam by SK2 and he heads up top, but misses a back splash. JR lets us know they are the UWA Tag Team Champions. Suplex from Garvin gets two. Tag to Hayes and The Birds do some clubbering before Hayes struts. SK1 tagged in and he slings in with a senton. Suplex and SK2 back in off the top with an elbow for two. They kind of hit a sort of version of Total Elimination. The crowd is popping for this because they aren’t used to this style. Hayes slows it down again as JR mentions it is called Lucha Libre in Mexico. It will never catch on in the US! Things start to break down a bit as the styles are clashing some after a decent start. Even JR is noting the match looks unorthodox. Hayes lands a left hand as he is tired of the flips. Young FTR probably watched and scream, “yeah.” Both SK do the fake-out to the floor that Rey Mysterio Jr made famous. Cool! SK out with a dive but the Birds catch him. Hayes accidentally decks Garvin, but then one SK accidentally hits a cross-body on the other. Back in the ring Hayes gets a small package for the pin at 6:28.

Winners: The Fabulous Freebirds via pin at 6:28
-Yeah, it was a clash of styles but the crowd was into it and it was relatively short. I’ll take short train wreck with the crowd invested over a boring long match with a dead crowd. **

-Ole Anderson, who is the head of the referees, tells Magnum and Tony that it is official the Steiners have a bye. They are still promoting Steiners vs. MVC for The Great American Bash.

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament: First Round: #8 Chris Benoit and Beef Wellington (Canada) vs. Brian Pillman (USA) and Jushin Thunder Liger (Japan)

-Thank goodness this is NWA Rules as it would suck to have the top rope rule in effect with these guys out there. Interesting that we have 3 future Horsemen on this show with Malenko, Benoit, and Pillman. Not sure anyone would have seen that coming when watching this show. JR mention that all four of these men know each other very well. Benoit and Liger start and it’s like riding a bike for them. Benoit with a suplex, but Liger back with one of his own. Shoulder from Benoit, but some deep armdrags from Liger. Benoit misses a dropkick and so does Liger and this is where the crowd would stand and cheer today, but not back in 1992. Wellington and Pillman in and Beef runs Pillman down with a shoulder. Monkey Flip from Pillman and a dropkick sends Beef to the floor. Dropkick sends Beef off the apron. Pillman looks to fly, but Beef slings shots in with a clothesline. Snap suplex and Beef sends Pillman to the floor. Suplex is blocked and Beef actually takes the suplex bump to the floor. Ouch! Liger back in and he goes crazy with kicks, but Beef grabs a leg and holds Liger down on the mat. Tag to Benoit and he fires off chops and head-butts. High angle clothesline followed by a shoulder. Benoit hits an enziguiri and sends Liger into the corner. Beef back in and he just casually throws Liger over the top to the floor behind the ref’s back. He misses a dive to the floor as they once again mention they have no padding on the floor. Liger with a monkey flip out of the corner and Pillman is back. Benoit in as well and Pillman uses his momentum to send Benoit to the floor. These people like taking bumps to an unprotected floor. They end up fighting up top and Pillman hits a belly to back suplex. Missile dropkick sends Benoit to the floor. Pillman fakes a dive and then hits one off the apron. Sweet! They start lighting each other up with LOUD CHOPS. Awesome! Beef back in, but he misses an elbow. Liger in and Beef misses a charge and hey, bumps to the floor. Liger off the top with a cross-body to the floor. Back in Liger goes for a crucifix, but Beef flattens him with a Samoan Drop. The crowd is rocking with them on this one. Benoit goes for a top rope suplex, but Liger adjusts and gets a cross-body for two as Beef makes the save. Spinning heel kick from Liger sends Benoit to the floor and the crowd goes nuts as Liger hits an Asai Moonsault. Jesse really wants us to be aware that the mats have been removed from the floor. Pillman gets clipped by a boot from Beef from the apron. He comes back in and gets a slam. He heads up but misses a missile dropkick. The race is on and Pillman wins as Liger gets the tag. Suplex from Liger brings Benoit in to save. They all battle and Pillman ends up on the floor with Benoit where they chop the shit out of each other some more. They fight back in the ring and Team Canada gets run into each other. Liger hits Beef with a moonsault for the win at 11:38.

Winners: Brian Pillman and Jushin Thunder Liger via pin at 11:38
-This was awesome and easily the best thing on this show. Just a fantastic match that had the crowd rocking even though they had no clue about Benoit or Wellington. Definitely check this one out as it set a template for what we would be seeing with the Cruiserweights in WCW in 96. ****1/2

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament: First Round: The Head Hunters (Dominican Republic) vs. #2 Akira Nogami and Hiroshi Hase (Japan)

-The Head Hunters are guys in black and white masks. I saw reports one is Bob Cook and the other Arn Anderson (pulling double duty), but Wikipedia says it’s Cook and Joe Cruze. Either way, they are toast and just warm bodies here for Team Japan, and yes, Team Japan is the two seed. Once this match closes the first round, I am going to lay out what this bracket should have looked like with normal seeding. Yes, I am still annoyed! HH2 (per JR) starts with Nogami and HH2 gets a shoulder tackle. These poor guys have to follow that last tag match. Suplex by HH2 followed by a dropkick. What’s funny is this is supposed to be The Main Event as it’s the end of Round One. Unless Steiners/Puerto Rico was the closer. HH1 comes in and hits a Stun Gun! Where’s my SQUASH? Backbreaker gets a two count. HH2 misses a chop and falls backwards before a spinning heel kick can connect. Hase in and this crowd is just dead. Hase was apparently a member of the 88 Japanese Olympic Wrestling Team. Cool! Hase with a slam and Nogami comes off with a splash and then Hase comes off with a double knees, but HH2 moves. That hurt my knees wacthing! Sidewalk Slam for HH2 gets a two count. Double suplex by Team DR and that gets two. Hase hits a sick superkick! Wow! Nogami back in with a dropkick and then everyone in the ring. Double pin by Team Japan off stereo German Suplexes into a bridge at 5:11.

Winners: Hiroshi Hase and Akira Nogami via pin at 5:11
-Worst match of the night as I wanted more of a SQUASH, but it was only five minutes. That superkick was sweet though. 1/2*

-Okay, so with us knowing the Top 8 Seeds, this is how any sane person would set this bracket. Again, I am just going off the seeds they picked.

1. Steiner Brothers vs. Team Puerto Rico
8. Benoit/Wellington vs. Pillman/Liger

4. MVC vs. Team Australia
5. The Silver Kings vs. The Fabulous Freebirds

2. Hase/Nogami vs. The Head Hunters
7. The Malenkos vs. Koloff/Steamboat

3. Anderson/Eaton vs. Dustin/Windham
6. Rude/Austin vs. Z-Man/Bagwell

-That looks so much better and would give us Liger/Pillman vs. Steiners; Freebirds vs MVC (so Gordy vs. Hayes); Team Japan vs. Koloff/Steamboat and then the only match was that bracketed the right way: Dustin/Barry vs. Rude/Austin.

-Okay, I am done complaining. Well, at least until we get to The Great American Bash.

-Jesse is back in the ring and brings out Ron Simmons, who wants to be the first Black World Champion. Harley Race and The Super Invader are out and Harley wants Ron to be an errand boy and run a message back to Sting. He then tells Ron he was World Champion seven times and had a “boy like you carrying my bags.” So, HHH (or Vince) was watching this years later and figured it would be cool to use in a feud with Booker T. Ron beats Race and Invader down to stand tall.

-Tony is in the ring with Bill Watts as to put a bow on the situation with Puerto Rico. The NWA President is apparently going to resign as Bill is sticking up for the fans as they deserve everything they paid for tonight. They don’t know what happened to Team Puerto Rico, but they all assume it was The MVC. The NWA wants to wait until The GAB for the second round to start, but Watts asked The Steiners and MVC if they wanted to “hook it up” tonight and round two will start now.

-Great American Bash commercial!

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament: 2nd Round: #4 The Miracle Violence Connection (Japan) vs. #1 The Steiner Brothers (USA)

-Ross and Jesse piss all over The NWA as they note they don’t care if The NWA President resigns as they want to see this match now. So a weird deal as this was taped before the match they had at Beach Blast that went to a draw, but is airing a few days later. That explains why the MVC want the match so bad as nothing was settled the first time. Gordy and Rick start us out and we get some amateur wrestling. Clean break by Gordy. Another go as you can hear the excitement in Ross’ voice. Rick with a go behind and a cross-face, but Gordy is in the ropes. Gordy gets a single leg and lands a forearm to knock Rick down, but he gets to the ropes for another break. Tag to Scott and he just throws forearms and looks for a suplex, but Gordy blocks. Backdrop from Gordy, but Scott holds on and tries to bridge, but Gordy just drops down on him. Scott ends up getting a single leg though, so Gordy tags out to Doc. Jesse: “The Big 10 vs. The Big 8.” Man, go back to 1992 and try to explain conference realignment today to someone. Cal in the ACC? Oregon and USC in the Big 10? Texas State in the PAC12? What’s a PAC12? Sorry, we are five minutes into this one and they are still feeling each other out. Rick in and gets the first big move as he sends Doc flying with a belly-to-belly suplex. We actually get a few people in the crowd chanting “boring.” I’m not saying they are wrong. Doc with a SLAP to the face of Rick and now, things pick up. Good! Heck of a slap there! Heavy clothesline from Doc that flips Rick inside out. Now the crowd is getting what they want. Yeah, skip the ameteur stuff. Just hit each other with bombs until only one team is standing. Gordy in and he hits a running clothesline. Rick blocks a belly-to-belly and hits one of his own. Tag to Scott and backdrop to Gordy. Clothesline sends him down and then a butterfly powerbomb. Dropkick misses though as Gordy grabs the ropes. Gordy hooks an STF as the crowd is into now. Gordy breaks as Scott nears the bottom rope. Doc back in and Gordy just tosses Scott onto Doc’s knee. Doc drops an elbow on the back and then hits a backbreaker. JR: “#1 seed facing the #4 seed in the second round.” Yeah, that would make sense if this was an 8 team tournament. Sorry, sorry! MVC with a double shoulder tackle and seeing those two charge at you had to be kind of frightening. Scott lands a kick to the face that looked it wanted to be an enziguiri. Hot tag to Rick and he sends Doc to the floor. Gordy and Rick just unload on each other as JR is in his glory letting us know this is a hell of a fight. Rick gets a powerslam on Doc, but apparently the ref never saw the tag, so he won’t count. Doc hits a running shoulder on Scott’s knee on the floor. Gordy and Rick continue to beat on each other as the ref tries to regain order. Gorilla Press into a Powerslam from Doc on Scott and that gets two. Goldberg would take that move and actually made it look better. They all brawl again and as the ref put Rick out, Gordy clips the knee of Scott and that lets Doc get the pin at 15:02.

Winners: The MVC at 15:02 via pin
-So, Bill Watts is in charge you say? Once they started trading bomb at the 7 minute mark this got really good. The ending was kind of weak, but made sense with the knee injury. ***1/4

-Ross and Jesse wrap things up as we see medics checking on Scott. Thanks for reading!

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

My complaining about the bracket aside, this was a fun show. Definitely go watch the Stampede Tag Match as it is a hidden classic and totally rocks. We got two other good matches and anything on the bad end was either a SQUASH, short, or an entertaining train wreck. Good stuff as WCW continues to rebound for a bad 1991.