NWA (WCW) Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun (April 1989)

Original Airdate: April 2, 1989

With the sixth Clash, WCW once again aimed to counterprogram the WWF’s WrestleMania pay per view, this time offering an anticipated re-match between NWA World Champion Ricky Steamboat, and the man he defeated for the title: Ric Flair – though Clash VI was less successful in taking a chunk out of the WWF’s WrestleMania revenue than the year before.

From New Orleans, Louisiana; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Michael Hayes.


Opening Match: The Midnight Express v The Samoan Swat Team: Stan Lane starts with Samu, and gets quickly overpowered, but manages to dodges a bodypress out of a criss cross, and hit one of his own for two. Tag to Fatu, but he runs into a patented Midnight double-team, and Bobby Eaton blasts him with a missile dropkick. The Express cut the ring in half, but Fatu manages to get the tag off to Samu, and he bashes Lane with a headbutt - only to get caught in a headlock by Eaton. He gives Fatu a backdrop to make things even, and a small package gets two. The Midnight's take turns holding Fatu in a headlock, but Fatu makes a blind tag to Samu, and he blasts Bobby with a clothesline from behind. The Swat Team cut the ring in half on Eaton, but he manages to outmaneuver Samu to get the tag back to Stan, and a four-way brawl doesn't take long to break out from there. The Express control, but make the mistake of targeting the Samoan's heads, and the Swat Team go back to work on Lane. They control with nerveholds and headbutts, but Fatu misses a 2^nd rope splash, and Eaton gets the tag. He's a house of arson, and the Express look to finish Samu with the Rocket Launcher, but Swat manager Paul E. Dangerously gets involved, and one shot with his Zack Morris cell phone later, and Eaton gets pinned at 20:33. This would have been fine at about half the length (especially as an opener), but twenty minutes was just too much - despite the Express' best efforts to keep it lively. ½*

Great Muta v Steven Casey: Muta meditates in the middle of the ring as the bell sounds, and blasts an incoming Casey with a faceful of mist for interrupting him. Muta unloads a series of kicks, and hits a handspring elbow to set up a chinlock. Casey powers out into an armdrag, but Muta beautifully escapes an armbar by powering into the corner for a double mule kick. Missile dropkick follows, but Casey reverses an armbar - only to get swept to the mat, and hooked in a spinning-toehold. Muta shifts into a series of nerveholds, but Casey starts throwing dropkicks - only for Muta to shrug him off, and send him to the floor with a spinkick. He follows with a plancha, and hits a handspring elbow against the guardrail before rolling Steven in for a backbreaker, and finishing him with a flying moonsault at 8:11. Muta looked unbelievably good and crisp here (like chicken), but Steve Casey wasn't the guy to live up to his potential with. Still, a perfectly decent, well worked squash (goes well with chicken). ¾*

Junkyard Dog v Butch Reed: And speaking of fried chicken. Reed tries to get in his face at the bell, but Dog won't take any shit off of him, and blasts him with a series of right hands. Dog keeps it going with a series of headbutts to put Butch on the floor, and hooks an armbar as Reed re-enters. Dog with a hiptoss and a scoop slam, but Reed takes over with closed fists, and gets JYD in a chinlock. Dog fires back with a backdrop, but a headbutt leaves both men looking up at the lights. Reed recovers first with an axehandle, but Dog dodges him, and whips him into manager Hiro Matsuda for the pin at 8:55. Well, I expected nothing, I wound up with nothing. DUD

Bob Orton v Dick Murdoch: Nice, friendly handshake to start, and a few false tie-ups to establish that the geezers we're watching roll around in their underwear probably play shuffleboard together. They trade fireman's carries as the crowd naps, and Murdoch kicks it up a notch with an armbar. Orton reverses to make sure they get a good chance to rest their eyes, but a slugfest goes Murdoch's way, and Bob gets blasted with a dropkick. Unfortunately, Captain Redneck is too winded to follow-up, and Orton manager Gary Hart trips him up for Bob to pin at 9:48. Just two old men rolling around in their underwear for ten minutes, and occasionally holding hands. But, hey, seniors need to stay active too. DUD

NWA World Tag Team Title Match: The Road Warriors v The Varsity Club: Big staredown between the two teams to start, until they settle on Hawk and Mike Rotunda to start. Hawk controls with power offense early, and a standing dropkick sends his challenger to the outside, but partner Steve Williams gets involved before Hawk can properly brutalize Rotunda on the floor. Back in, Hawk passes to Animal to press slam Rotunda - and he adds a visually impressive one on Williams for good measure. Hawk gets in a shoving match with Steve over it, and wins the ensuing slugfest with an atomic drop for two. A cheap shot from Rotunda allows the Varsity Club to turn the tide, but Hawk passes back to Animal before they can properly cut the ring in half. He dominates both challengers, but crashes to the floor after missing a diving shoulderblock, and gets spinebuster slammed out there by Williams to leave him looking up at the lights. The Club drag him back in to cut the ring in half, but can't put his shoulders down, so they dump him back to the floor for pal Kevin Sullivan to wallop with a chair. It's still not enough to get the job done though, and Animal passes back to Hawk for the Doomsday Device on Rotunda - but referee Teddy Long won't count! As Hawk argues with him, Williams sneaks back in, and schoolboys the champ for the titles at 11:37 - Teddy Long giving him a super fast count to trigger his heel turn. Nothing groundbreaking, but energetic power stuff with a memorable ending/angle. *

Iron Sheik v Ranger Ross: Sheik lures Ross into a trap by singing the Iranian National Anthem, and beats the Ranger down with his flagpole. Sheik wastes no time going for the gutwrench suplex, but a vertical version gets reversed for two, and Ross unloads. That gets Sheik pal Rip Morgan (representing the evil tyranny of New Zealand) to run in with his own pole, and Ross wins by disqualification at 1:55. Fine for what it was - I don't even want to imagine these two plodding through twenty minutes. DUD

NWA United States Tag Team Title Match: Rick Steiner and Eddie Gilbert v Kevin Sullivan and Dan Spivey: The challengers attack from behind to knock Steiner to the floor, and a double-team has Gilbert in trouble - Spivey dominating him with slams. Sullivan tags in to take his turn, and hits the Double Stomp after Spivey softens Eddie up with a shot into the ringpost. Gilbert ends up in a tree of woe, but Sullivan misses a blind charge into him, and that's enough to allow him to tag Rick. Steiner's a doghouse of fire, and the resulting four-way brawl ends Eddie blasting Kevin with Missy Hyatt's purse for the pin at 3:52. Short and energetic - nothing more. ¼*

Main Event: NWA World Title 2/3 Falls Match: Ricky Steamboat v Ric Flair: Both guys play mind games ahead of the initial lockup, and when that ends in a stalemate, both get very cautious. Flair tries to take it to the mat with a hammerlock, but quickly comes to regret it when Steamboat counters into a fierce waistlock - leaving the challenger scrambling for the ropes. Steamboat tries a standing side-headlock next, but Flair counters into an overhead wristlock - reversed by Steamboat. Ric bails to the floor to regroup, but the referee isn't buying his complaints of hair pulling, and Ric is forced back between the ropes. A criss cross ends in Steamboat hiptossing him, and he gets his challenger on the mat in another headlock. Flair counters into several unsuccessful pinfall attempts, then gets to the point, and starts firing chops at the Dragon. Steamboat returns fire to the crowds delight, and a headscissors takedown sets Flair up for a dropkick. Ricky re-hooks the mat-based headlock, but is forced to shift into a front-facelock when Flair keeps trying to counter. He drives knees into the neck at every opportunity, but Flair still manages to railroad him into the corner to force a rope break. Steamboat responds with more chops, and a backdrop sets up another dropkick for two. Flair begs off in the corner, but that lulls the champ into a false sense of security, and Ric wastes no time shooting a boot into his gut. Ricky responds with a rollup for two, and takes Flair back to the mat with another headlock - refusing to allow the challenger to turn the tide. A chopfest goes Steamboat's way for two, but Flair counters another side-headlock attempt with an inverted atomic drop. He walks right into another knife-edge as he tries to follow-up, and a Steamboat shoulderblock gets two - leaving Flair scrambling to the floor to break the momentum. Flair takes his time to re-enter, and hits his knees to beg for mercy once the count winds down. Steamboat responds by challenging to a test-of-strength, but Flair fires off a cheap shot before they even get their hands properly locked. Another chopfest goes Steamboat's way, and he hits a hanging vertical suplex - only to hit Flair's knees as he tries a splash. Flair capitalizes with a double stomp, and hits a double-underhook suplex for a series of two counts - wearing the champion down with each kickout. Steamboat tries to comeback with another hiptoss, but Flair dodges a dropkick, and goes for the Figure Four - only to have Steamboat cradle him for two. Thinking fast, Flair shifts the momentum, and cradles Steamboat for the first fall at 19:33. They go to neutral corners, and then break into another criss cross - this one ending when Steamboat cracks his skull with a flying tomahawk chop. Back to the front-facelock, but Flair counters with a side suplex, and hits a shindrop. Second try misses though, and Steamboat starts going ballistic on the challenger’s leg - dropping some twenty consecutive elbows on him before locking a figure four. Flair makes the ropes to break, but the damage is done, and Steamboat has no problem dragging him back towards the center of the ring for a Boston crab. Flair again makes use of the ropes to force a break, but need a cheap shot to give him enough time to recover and get back to his feet. A bridging pinfall reversal sequence ends in Steamboat hooking a backslide for two, and Ric rolls to the floor to get away from the unstoppable Steamboat. Ric uses the opportunity to lure Steamboat after him, and whips the overzealous champion into the guardrail before slamming him on the floor. Flair leaves him out there to take his countout, but Steamboat makes it up onto the apron - Flair meeting him with a necksnap across the top rope. Ric with a hanging vertical suplex for two, and he stands Steamboat up for an abdominal stretch. Not satisfied, Flair turns it into a cradle for another series of near falls, but Steamboat won't quit, so Ric starts blatantly using the ropes for leverage. It's still not enough, so Flair tries another side suplex - only to get cradled for two. Superplex sets up a series of Steamboat chops - aimed right for the challenger’s lower back. Flair weakened, Steamboat slaps on a double-chickenwing, and Ric submits at 34:14 - not necessarily because he would normally, but knowing there's still one fall to go, and the effort needed to counter might be too much for him to capitalize on afterwards. With the score even, Steamboat starts destroying Flair with another series of chops, and the champ hits a backdrop - only to walk into a kneebreaker as he enthusiastically plays to the crowd. Flair immediately capitalizes with the Figure Four, but Steamboat is only an arm length to the bottom rope, and grabs it to break. Flair keeps after him with shots at the knee, but makes the mistake of trying to engage Steamboat in another chopfest - ending with Flair Flipping onto the apron. He lures Steamboat into a rope-assisted cradle, but Ricky is so determined that he powers out of several two counts anyway. Flair goes back to the knee, and this time makes sure Steamboat's at center ring when he reapplies the Figure Four. Unable to make the ropes, Steamboat fights to reverse the hold, and Flair's re-reversal leaves them out of ring space - Flair tumbling to the floor. He doesn't give Steamboat much (fire) breathing room before going after the knee again, and Flair hits a flying bodypress for two. Steamboat tries a slam to come back, but the knee doesn't hold up, and Ric topples him for two. Undeterred, Steamboat keeps chopping at him, and hits his own flying bodypress for two. Swinging neckbreaker gets two, but Flair still has a good bit of momentum from the damage done with the Figure Four, and manages to toss Steamboat to the floor. Ricky sunset flips back in for two, but a criss cross ends in Flair locking a sleeper - forcing Steamboat to carry his full bodyweight in the hold. It doesn't take Ricky long to fade from there, and Flair looks to have it won - only for Steamboat to desperately dive into the turnbuckles to break the hold. Flair tries for the leg again before Steamboat can sway the momentum, but the Dragon fires off an enzuigiri for two - only to miss a flying splash. Ric goes right back to bashing the knee, but Ricky just.won't.die. and starts firing off another series of chops. Now limping, Steamboat goes for a ten-punch count - Flair countering with an inverted atomic drop. Flair with a side suplex, but he takes too long getting to the top rope, and Steamboat slams him off. He follows with another double-chickenwing, but this time falls back in the hold - managing to pin the challenger at 55:32. Flair's foot was under the bottom rope though, and while Steamboat retains here, that was enough reason to grant Ric one more shot at WrestleWar the next month - where he won back the title in another classic match. Even if you only know a little bit about pro-wrestling, you likely already know how legendary the Flair/Steamboat series from 1989 is - and many consider this to be the best of the three bouts. And it is absolutely fantastic. While I like the WrestleWar finale slightly better, this was an hour of unbelievable pace, believable time between falls (one of my frequent gripes when it comes to multi-fall matches), historical significance, pace, and execution. While I believe people tend to overrate this match (and the series in general) it's undeniably a classic, and has no problem holding your attention for an hour - something few could do. Where it falls short is some psychological errors in selling (especially from Flair - who pretty much forgot about Steamboat's terrific knee work only a few minutes after, and never sold it again), as well as being somewhat annoyingly repetitive at times with very little discovered with each repetition (as in, counters to spots they fell for previously). Still, this was better than anything on WrestleMania V – and on free TV, to boot. ****

BUExperience: Yeah, it’s got Flair/Steamboat, but fuck Flair/Steamboat – this was a shitty show. Sure, their classic takes up a third of the card (not insignificant), but the rest is just terrible – with long, boring matches up and down. *