WCW Clash of the Champions XXV (November 1993)

Original Airdate: November 10, 1993

From St. Petersburg, Florida; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura.


Opening WCW International World Title Match: Rick Rude v Hawk: Big staredown sees Rude get intimidated into the corner, but the first few lockups go to a stalemate. Hawk manages to win the third with a toss into the corner, but Rude bitches about hair pulling before Hawk can follow-up. Test-of-strength goes Rude's way with a cheap shot, and he quickly capitalizes by going after the neck. Turnbuckle smashes follow, but Hawk no-sells the champ, and returns the favor. Hawk with a backdrop (with surprisingly little hang time from Rude), and a bodyslam sets up a suplex for two. Rude fires back with a backbreaker, but a flying splash hits Hawk's boot, and a clothesline sends Rude tumbling over the top. Hawk follows, but they aren't mindful of the count, and it's a double countout at 5:38. Ugh. The booking made this feel like the first five minutes of a twenty minute match, but as a five minute match, it went absolutely nowhere, and had a bad ending to boot. DUD

The Shockmaster v The Equalizer: Wow, they actually booked this. And not even as a joke. Equalizer jumps Shockmaster at the bell, and hammers him with his kicky-punchy stuff, and actually manages a side suplex for two. Power-showdown goes Shockmaster's way with a big boot, and a bearhug slam finishes things at 2:29. Just horrible. Slow, kicky-punchy, and heatless. If went another five minutes, it would have surely fallen into negative stars. DUD

WCW Television Title Match: Steven Regal v Johnny B. Badd: Regal tries to slap Badd around to start, but Badd fires back and hits a sunset flip for two. Regal backs off to break the momentum, but gets caught in a mat-based side-headlock when they lockup again. Regal with a series of European uppercuts to slow Badd down, and a short-clothesline leaves Badd reeling. Butterfly suplex gets two, but Badd unloads a massive right hand to KO Regal, so manager Sir William helps Regal get his feet on the ropes to break the count. That's enough to distract Badd, and Steven schoolboys him to retain the title at 6:35. It's not that they weren't trying, they just didn't click well, at all. DUD

Steve Austin v Brian Pillman: Pillman jumps Austin on the way in, but gets caught up chasing Steve's new manager (Colonel Rob Parker) and clotheslined as he rounds a corner on the floor. Pillman manages to reverse Austin into the rail before taking it inside for a backdrop, and he unloads on his former partner with knife edge chops in the corner. Headscissors takedown has Austin begging off, but Brian spits in his face, and kicks him out of the ring onto the elevated ramp way. He follows to backdrop him out there, but a flying splash runs into Austin's boot, and Steve tosses him off the ramp and into the guardrail. Pillman manages a slingshot bodypress on the way back in for two, but he can't properly capitalize before Austin stunguns him for two. Rope-assisted half-crab grounds Flyin' Brian, but he won't submit, and starts firing off chops and backelbows as he gets back to his feet. Springboard 2^nd rope backelbow leaves both Blonds looking up at the lights, and Austin's attempt at going to the top rope ends with him getting crotched. Pillman with a superplex to follow-up, but Austin dumps him and leaps - only for Brian to block him with a dropkick on the way down, getting two. Austin tries a piledriver, but Pillman counters with a rana for two. Slingshot shoulderblock countered with a powerslam by Austin for two, but he misses a dive into the ropes, and Pillman DDT's him for two. Crucifix is countered with a fallaway slam by Austin, but he misses a flying splash, and Pillman cradles him for two. Austin tries a stungun, but Pillman sees it coming and holds the ropes to get to the apron for a slingshot shoulderblock, but Colonel Parker trips him up, and Austin gets the pin at 9:11. I would have loved to see this get a bit more time, but it was a hell of a match for the ten minutes it went on, loaded with dramatic near falls and 'former partners who know each others counters to counters’ - which I'm a huge sucker for. *** ¼   

WCW United States Title Match: Dustin Rhodes v Paul Orndorff: Dustin has papa Dusty Rhodes with him at ringside for support, and interestingly, twenty years later, not much has changed. Orndorff tries a cheap shot out of the initial lockup, but Dustin gets him on the mat in a side-headlock. Orndorff counters into an armbar as Dusty rallies the crowd, and Dustin reverses. Dustin shifts into a leglock as Orndorff tries to escape, and then into a chinlock as the challenger powers up to a vertical base. Orndorff counters back into an armbar, but Rhodes whips him into the ropes, so Orndorff nails him with a knee and a side suplex. Pointed elbowdrop sets up a chinlock, but Dustin powers into a backslide for two. Clothesline gets two, but Orndorff catches him coming into the corner and goes back to the chinlock. To a vertical base, Dustin tries the bulldog, but Orndorff blocks and calls for the Piledriver, but Dustin backdrops him. Orndorff keeps after him with a flying kneedrop, but Dustin rolls out of the way, and cradles him for the pin at 12:15. The crowd was hot for this going in, but they proceeded to put on a resthold exhibition, and put everyone to sleep. They could have cut five minutes off of this without losing anything (which could have been used by Austin/Pillman), making it especially frustrating. I hope this was as boring to read as it was to watch, because if I'm suffering, you can fucking bet you are, too. DUD

WCW World Tag Team Title Match: The Nasty Boys v Sting and Davey Boy Smith: Nasty manager Missy Hyatt looks like Miley Cyrus - only twenty years earlier, and twenty times sluttier. Her pussy starts a riot, as the boys brawl at the bell, and Rick Rude sneaks out to drop Davey Boy with a Rude Awakening on the ramp way. That allows the Nasties to gang up on Sting, but he dodges a double-clothesline, and goes to work on Brian Knobs as Davey sits on the apron in pain. The distraction of Davey Boy allows Knobs to tag Jerry Sags before Sting can finish him, but Sting is too caught up checking on Davey every two seconds to properly wrestle him either. He still has no problem manhandling the Nasties, but eventually falls prey to a double-team (much like Missy Hyatt...) and pounded (again, just like Missy Hyatt). The Nasties cut the ring in half as Davey Boy makes it to his feet in the corner, and Sting manages to counter a chinlock from Knobs to get the tag. Davey is a doghouse of fire, but the Nasties manage to overwhelm him during the four-way brawl, and a flying elbowdrop from Sags allows Knobs the pin to retain the titles at 8:41. I liked the angle with Rude, I liked the in-match storyline of Sting easily handling the Nasties but getting overwhelmed/distracted by Davey, but unfortunately I didn't like the match - which was lots of kicky-punchy stuff. ¼*

Main Event: WCW World Title Match: Vader v Ric Flair: Big brawl to start that ends in Flair getting Vader manages Harley Race in the Figure Four at center ring, and Vader breaking it up with a splash. The champ unloads on Flair with a barrage of forearms in the corner to set up a short-clothesline, and a press slam follows. Vaderbomb hits, but another attempt at destroying Flair in the corner is countered with a series of chops. Flair tries a shoulderblock, but Vader counters by being fat, and Flair bounces off of him to put the champ back in control. He makes good on his body shot threat, and Flair Flips to the floor for Harley Race to pound him. Vader tries a dive from the apron after Flair, but Ric dodges, and Vader crashes into the guardrail. Flair follows up with a flying axehandle, and brings the beast back inside with more chops. Lots more. Vader uses his boot to block a blind charge, but a 2^nd rope elbowdrop misses, and Flair hops to hooking on the Figure Four - only for Race to rake the eyes to break. That allows Vader to suplex his challenger, and a splash gets two. 2^nd rope bodypress is countered with a sorta-powerslam (it was more of a hiptoss), and Flair hits a pair of flying axehandles. Cross corner whip ends in Vader accidentally clotheslining the official, and he blocks another flying axehandle with a visually impressive super-duperplex. That sets up the flying moonsault, but Flair moves, and hooks the leg for the pin at 9:00. Flair takes the title, but it turns out the referee was actually trying to disqualify Vader for accidentally nailing him, and the title does not change hands. Bullshit ending aside (though, really, it makes booking sense as there was no point in putting either guy over clean here), this was a well paced and hard hitting chapter in the Flair/Vader series. ** ½

BUExperience:  The Battle of the Hollywood Blonds is certainly worth a look, and the main event is a nice little preview for what was to come at Starrcade. And if the rest of the card wasn’t so mind numbingly bad, this would be an easy recommendation. As is, not so much, as there’s very little historical relevance, and a total of about eighteen minutes of actual good wrestling. *