NWA (WCW) Clash of the Champions V: St. Valentine's Massacre (February 1989)

Original Airdate: February 15, 1989

From Cleveland, Ohio; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Magnum TA.


Opening Match: The Midnight Express v The Russian Assassins: Stan Lane starts with Assassin #1, and gets choked out for being American scum. A 'USA!' chant brings Lane back to his feet, and he jabs Assassin in the throat before passing to Bobby Eaton. Eaton goes for an armbar, but Assassin rakes the eyes, and tags Assassin #2. He runs into a patented Midnight double-team, as Jim Cornette and Paul Jones get into an altercation on the floor. That provides enough of a distraction for the Assassins to pull off a double-team of their own, and they cut the ring in half on Lane. One double-team too many allows Stan to get the tag off to Eaton, and it doesn't take long for a four-way brawl to break out from there. In the chaos the Assassins end up headbutting each other, and a Rocket Launcher finishes #1 at 13:16. Really dull, overlong match. ¼*

Butch Reed v Steven Casey: Reed overpowers him during the first few tie-ups, but Casey manages a dropkick to daze the big man, and an armdrag takes Reed into an armbar. Casey keeps the armbar going for a while, causing the camera crew to cut to various shots of the crowd - one focusing on a couple making out so hard for a good ten seconds that you can practically feel Jim Ross blushing through the screen. Reed reverses the armbar, triggering more crowd shots - this one highlighted by a 'CLEVELAND LOVES NWA!!! and rock 'n' roll' sign. Meanwhile, the armbar exhibition continues, as Casey reverses. Reed bails to the floor before we get any more crowd wackiness, and comes back in challenging Casey to a test-of-strength. As expected, it goes Reed's way and he stomps Steven on the mat before hooking a chinlock. Unfortunately, we don't get to see anyone fucking in the third row - just the pleasure of staring at Casey's porno mustache for two minutes. Reed with a suplex to set up another chinlock, but Casey powers up and starts throwing hiptosses. Pair of dropkicks set up a bodypress, but Reed counters with a press slam, and finishes him with a flying shoulderblock at 17:43. Casey was being billed as 'undefeated' at this point, so it makes sense booking Reed to work to beat him, but dear God these two were not the right guys to work twenty minutes on TV. This was restholdy house show filler stuff. DUD

Lex Luger v The Blackmailer: Blackmailer is Jack Victory (who also played one of the masked Russian Assassins earlier) under a different mask - this the only appearance of the character. Luger easily overpowers him in the early going, as the camera crew cuts to various women in the crowd with innuendo laden signs referring to Luger's total package. Lex hooks him in a headlock, so Blackmailer tries a side suplex, but Luger no-sells and backdrops him. Powerslam sets up a mat-based side-headlock, but Blackmailer fights up to a vertical base - only to get press slammed for his troubles. He manages to sidestep a charging Luger to send Lex flying to the floor, and keeps him there with a series of chokes and kneelifts. Luger flies back in with a sunset flip for two, but Blackmailer stomps him down before he can sway the momentum, and hooks a chinlock. Suplex, but Luger reverses and starts CHOKING UP!! Flex! Choke! Backelbow! Clothesline! Superplex! 12:59! Essentially a squash, this was about a five minute match, stretched to thirteen. ¼*

NWA United States Tag Team Title Match: Mike Rotunda and Steve Williams v The Fantastics: Rotunda starts with Tommy Rogers, but Mike is reluctant to lockup. He manages a fireman's carry after frustrating Rogers with stall tactics, but Tommy fires back with an armdrag. Criss cross ends in a Rogers diving forearm for two, so Rotunda tags Williams to kill Tommy good. A lariat gets him started, but he misses an elbowdrop, and Tommy tags. Bobby Fulton in with a dropkick, but Williams wrestles him down to the mat, and hooks a headlock. Bobby slips free to pass back to Tommy, but he walks right into a backdrop, but manages to fight off a tagging Rotunda and get back to Bobby. Fulton with a ten-punch count, but Williams runs over to break it up, and Bobby gets backdropped to the floor. Williams dumps him onto the guardrail out there, and inside the champs cut the ring in half. Williams hits the Stampede, but Fulton manages to counter a powerslam, and gets the tag off to Tommy. Rogers is a house of arson, but gets caught in a double-team, and Williams pins him at 13:24. A few nice bits, but the Fantastics were having trouble backstage, and didn't look particularly motivated. ¾*

Ricky Steamboat v Bob Bradley: They get into a shoving match to start, but Steamboat's atomic drop takes the pep out of Bradley's step, and a few knife edge chops puts him on the floor. Back in, Bradley tries a few armdrags, but that's practically copyright infringement when it comes to Steamboat, and a pair of Ricky's armdrags put Bob back on the floor. Bradley lures Steamboat out for a slam on the floor, and he hits another on the way back in. Backelbow sets up a clothesline, but a blind charge into the corner misses - Bradley taking an impressive somersault bump off of it. Steamboat with more armdrags to control, but he walks into a chop out of a criss cross. Flying headbutt, but Steamboat's sick of this punk stealing all his shit, and kills him with a flying bodypress at 6:25. Just a squash, ahead of Steamboat's NWA World Title shot against Ric Flair at Chi-Town Rumble the next week. ¼*

Rick Steiner v Rip Morgan: Morgan tries psyching Steiner out with a war dance, but Rick responds by simply biting him, and a big clothesline sends Morgan to the floor to regroup. Back inside, Morgan tries a more direct approach with a series of knees and turnbuckle smashes, but Steiner powerslams him, so Rip goes back to dancing. Still unimpressed, Rick slams him, and finishes Travolta with a belly-to-belly suplex at 4:41. Well paced TV match. ¼*

Main Event: NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Title Match: Genichiro Tenryu and The Road Warriors v Mike Rotunda, Steve Williams, and Kevin Sullivan: This was scheduled as Sting, Junkyard Dog, and Michael Hayes challenging for the titles, but before the match Kevin Sullivan locked them in their dressing rooms, and got his team subbed into the bout. Big brawl to start, as we get backstage footage of WCW Officials trying to unlock Sting and pals. In the ring, the dust settles on Animal and Kevin Sullivan, and Kevin's attempts at matching power with him don't work out too well. Hawk comes in to have his own fun with Sullivan, but Tenryu doesn't have as much luck with Rotunda and Williams. It doesn't matter much though, 'cause someone managed to find a key for the lock backstage, and Sting, Hayes, and the JYD storm the ring - the referee throwing the whole thing out as a double disqualification at 5:47. This was an angle disguised as a match - nothing more. Thankfully short, though. DUD

BUExperience: Pretty boring episode, filled with overlong squash matches, and nothing particularly memorable outside of an awesome Flair/Steamboat confrontation, where Flair comes out for an interview accompanied by, like, ten women and wearing a black fur coat, and Steamboat joins to beat the shit out of him so badly he’s left with nothing but his socks and shorts. DUD