WCW Clash of the Champions XV Thoughts

Recently, I came some VHS tapes while doing a little bit of cleaning. Or more accurately, they came to me. Naturally, I had to find out what was on these video cassettes. A few old football games, free HBO weekend specials and the last episode of Friends were some discoveries, but one tape contained a WCW Clash of the Champions event recorded from TBS! More precisely, it was Clash XV: Knocksville USA from the summer of 1991.

I don’t have any plans to subscribe to the WWE Network (Dear Monday Night Raw, how much is it again?? …I forgot!), so I haven’t watched many older wrestling events in a long while aside from the excellent OSW Review video podcast. So the curiosity of seeing how well a 23 year old broadcast holds up and compares to today’s product (in-ring action, characters, production values, crowd reactions, announcers) was too much – I had to view this ASAP, and in one sitting! This was an easy and fun watch leading me to explicably take some notes.

My WCW Clash of the Champions XV Observations:

-The Clash concept was great as it served as a big event bridge in between pay per views where rivals could meet to finish their business or new shocking revelations could kick off new feuds. It also served as a national launching pad for debuting talent to quickly get over [hopefully]. But hey, doesn’t that sound a bit like WWF Saturday Night’s Main Event? Oh well. Regardless, this show felt just as well put together as a later 90’s WCW monthly B-PPV event (Uncensored, Great American Bash, World War III, etc.)

-The first and most noticeable aspect of the show was the repetitive nature of the commercials. During the two hour event, a Brut cologne ad aired four or five times with a handful of other spots being run at least twice. The TBS ad execs knew their target audience though with advertisers including McDonald’s, Barq’s Root Beer, Sears, Sega, Rogaine, Western Union and several car products.

-Fresh off his legendary run as the Red Rooster in the WWF, Terry Taylor was back in the NWA…err the newly rechristened WCW, as a member of the York Foundation. The group’s boss, Alexandra York, calculated the odds of her client’s winning matches on a massive laptop computer (which I’m guessing would more than not come into play as a foreign object). Meanwhile in the company at the same time, good ol’ Paul E. was running around with his brick mobile phone. So some actual great future insight into the evolution technology there creative team! Anyway, Taylor put on a good 50-50 match with Dustin Rhodes. So hey, nice history lesson as Ms. York would go on to marry (and divorce) the future Goldust. Take note here: this early match got a lot of time…but ended with a dud DQ finish.

-Lots of wrestlers were called by a nickname and first name only. Dangerous Dan [Spivey], Beautiful Bobby [Eaton], Flyin Brian [Pillman] and Big Josh chief were amongst them. Still, better than Big E. Meanwhile the Young Pistols tag team was merely Steve and Tracy: no nicknames and no last names. Jim Ross did off-hand call them Armstrong and Smothers from time-to-time, but a rookie or drop-in wrestling fan would have no idea which was which.

-There was no time to follow up or reflect on any action that just happened after any match. While WWE has become so good at now beating instant replays and recaps into our skulls, WCW was just 'let's hurry and move on to next segment'.
 

This hastened pace led to numerous anti-climactic finishes that immediately fizzled. The Pillman/Gigante vs. Arn/Windham ‘Loser Leaves Town’ match had zero drama or emotion attached. Especially with the babyface losing, there was …nothing. No Brian Pillman looking distraught or sadly walking off in the sunset for the last time. Literally weeks earlier at Wrestlemania XII, Randy Savage’s loss to Ultimate Warrior in a Retirement Match turned into one of the most emotional moments in wrestling history.
 

Back at the Clash, the Luger vs. Great Muta #1 Contender’s match had no exciting build or climax, either. Just a 1...2…3. And not in a shocking, pop the crowd fashion. Pin me, pay me?

-Bischoff must have been already lurking somewhere, as Heyman wasted valuable in-ring action time interviewing Eric’s boy Jason Hervey from the Wonder Years. This was merely a plot device to keep Paul E’s feud with Missy Hyatt going. Ugh, a dangerously bad segment. Celebrities and wrestling’s dubious history is either 100% hit or 100% miss. Only when celebs play the background (i.e.- guest timekeepers or ring announcers at Wrestlemania), does an appearance come off a neutral.

While on topic, shout out to the greatest celebrity moments in wrestling: Ray Combs at Survivor Series 1993 during the Family Feud match, Mike Tyson at Wrestlemania XIV’s HBK vs. Austin and - oh yes- Art Donovan at King of the Ring 1994.

-The entire second half of the show felt way too rushed. With all the stars packed into the show late, they all had to cut right to the chase. Steve Austin’s promo package was twice as long as his 20-second squash. Did the early matches and segments (like the horribly cringworthy PN News and Johnny B. Badd music challenge) all go over their allotted time? Maybe those Michigan bullies the Steiners went long as their tag team match and post-match shenanigans seemed out of place amongst the other rush jobs after them on the card. But dang, as stiff as they were, Rick and Scott could work and looked awesome.

-Scott Hall (as The Diamond Studd) and Kevin Nash (as Oz w/ Kevin Sullivan as a masked gnome as his…I don’t know, handler?) both squashed men with the surname Rich on the show. That’s a fun fact, isn’t it?

The Studd already possessed all the mannerisms and machismo that would make Razor Ramon famous - toothpick included. Along way from the white meat, Magnum P.I. babyface I last saw tagging with Curt Hennig in the AWA in 1986.

-All crescent kicks, pump kicks, enzuigiries and spin wheel kicks delivered by Pillman, Muta and Maso Chono were all “Karate Kicks” according to Jim Ross. Imagine him calling Mysterio Jr, vs. Psichosis in ECW, circa 1995. Would everything be a “Moonsault”? So thank you, Joey Styles, for doing your homework and overly pronouncing all your words in correctly calling most innovative “whatta-maneuvers”.

-John Cena took his babyface inspiration and victory comeback routine from Sting's match vs La Femme Nikita Koloff. Surfer Stinger even had his contest-winning #1 fan in the front row! Furthermore, the kid got an interview, which is more than we could say for the soon to be leaving (SPOILER) World Champion, Ric Flair.

-Speaking of Flair, did his 2-of-3 Falls World Title main event match vs. Bobby Eaton feel like Brock Lesnar vs. Bob Holly from WWE Royal Rumble 2004? As in, there is no chance the TV Champion (soon to lose his belt) could ever beat Flair. The crowd really got into the Alabama Earl but probably the same way as they loved Santino in WWE Title matches.

-Finally, the quote of the night: "Good officiating by Nick Patrick" -Jim Ross
No sentence resembling that was ever uttered again.