WCW Clash of the Champions XXVII (June 1994)

Original Airdate: June 23, 1994

From Charleston, South Carolina; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Jesse Ventura.


Opening WCW World Tag Team Title Match: Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan v The Nasty Boys: Cactus starts with Jerry Sags, and they waste no time getting into a (Jack won) slugfest. That triggers a four-way brawl early on, and the champs dominate to send the Nasties heading for the hills. Or, well, the outside of the ring in this case. The dust settles on Sullivan and Brian Knobs, and Kevin takes him to the mat right away for more punching. Knobs tags Sags to double-team Sullivan, but Kevin knocks their heads together, and then launches Cactus off the top rope at them - knocking both Nasties down like bowling pins. Knobs gets into another slugfest with Jack, but misses a charge into the corner, and Cactus clotheslines him for two before Knobs passes back to Sags. Jerry manages to take control with a couple of knees to the head, but Knobs gets a face full of foot on a backdrop attempt, and Jack makes the tag back to Sullivan. The Nasties try to double-team him again, but a four-way brawl breaks out, and Cactus takes a nasty fall off the 2^nd rope into the guardrail. The Nasties try to finish him, but Knobs runs into the Double-Arm DDT in the chaos, and Jack pins him at 10:36. Not a classic, but certainly a solid opener - well paced, and did a good job of engaging the crowd (as an opener should). *

The Guardian Angel v Tex Slazenger: The first few lockups end in a stalemate, but Slazenger manages to get Angel on the ropes off of the third. Angel no-sells his punches and elbowsmashes though, and finishes him with the Bossman Slam in a brisk 1:45. Just a squash, though energetic enough. Still, DUD

WCW Television Title Match: Larry Zbyszko v Steven Regal: Regal stalls so long he makes Michael Hayes look brisk by comparison, but it works in frustrating Larry, and allowing Regal to unload on him with a series of European uppercuts. He makes the mistake of slapping Larry around, and Zbyszko goes ballistic on him with right hands before launching him clear over the top rope and out onto the elevated ramp way. Larry drags him back inside, but Regal sweeps him off of his feet - only to have a butterfly suplex countered with a backdrop for two. Zbyszko with a vertical suplex for two, and a piledriver for two (as well as a hell of a crowd pop). Swinging neckbreaker gets two, and now Regal is pissed - challenging the champion to put up his dukes. Larry's game, but now Regal chickens out, so Zbyszko railroads him onto the ropes and gives it to him anyway! Regal tries a chinlock and another uppercut for two, but Larry locks him in a bodyscissors to slow the challenger down. Regal with a headbutt to break the vise, but Larry regroups with a bearhug into a Boston crab - only to have Regal manager Sir William bop him with the umbrella, and Steven to use the ropes for leverage (and the title) at 10:00. A bit too much stalling for my tastes, but both guys worked the crowd masterfully, and put on a good show once it got going. * ½

WCW United States Title Match: Steve Austin v Johnny B. Badd: Austin takes control at the bell with a series of right hands, but Badd blocks a charge into the corner, and chops at the champion. Austin blocks Badd's own blind charge with a backelbow, but an attempt to toss Badd to the outside ends in both men brawling on the floor. Back in, Badd works a wristlock, and hits a pair of dropkicks as Austin tries to break. Badd with a flying clothesline for two, and a droptoe-hold ends in Johnny hooking a front-facelock. Austin fights up to a vertical base, but Badd is quick to shift into another wristlock, though a criss cross ends in him missing a charge - Austin quickly capitalizing with a series of kneedrops. Kneelift is countered with a cradle by Badd for two, but Austin slams his face into the mat (No! He's so pretty he coulda been born a girl!) before he can capitalize. Badd gets a well executed desperation dropkick coming out of the ropes, and an inverted atomic drop turns the tide. Badd with a headscissors takedown, and he follows up with the Golden Gloves routine into a DDT. Badd with a backdrop and a bodyslam to set up a move off the top rope, but Austin crotches him on the top turnbuckle - only to have a superplex blocked with a forward suplex. Badd with a flying sunset flip, but Austin sidesteps, and hooks the leg for two. Into the corner, Badd manages to get Austin in a ten-punch count, so Steve busts out a pair of brass knux, and nails Johnny for the pin at 10:20. BUT WAIT! There's more! Another referee runs down to protest, and Badd schoolboys Austin in the confusion for the title - though they eventually decide Badd only wins by disqualification, and so Austin retains. I didn't care for the ending, but it was well worked, well paced, and well booked otherwise. * ¾

Main Event: Unification Match: WCW World Title v WCW International World Title: Ric Flair v Sting: After nearly a year, WCW finally figured out that they could start using the 'Big Gold Belt' as their world title again (since they owned it, and all), thus this unification match. Sting overpowers Flair out of the initial lockup, so Ric tries an overhead wristlock, but Sting kips up, and forces the Nature Boy into the corner. They fight over a hammerlock next, and Flair gets frustrated - shoving Sting. That ends badly for Flair, and he bails out onto the ramp way to regroup. Inside, a criss cross ends in a pair of Sting press slams, and Flair bails to the outside before flopping on the floor. Back inside, Sting tries a wristlock, but Ric rakes the eyes, and unloads chops in the corner. Sting no-sells and hiptosses Flair, then fires off a series of clotheslines to send Flair tumbling over the top rope. He stalls out there to try and break the momentum, and comes in begging off as the referees count nears ten - nailing Sting with a cheap shot. More chops are no-sold to set up another hiptoss, but Flair dodges a dropkick, and goes for the Figure Four - only for Sting to cradle him for two. Stinger Splash misses, however, and Flair distracts the referee so he can launch Sting over the top to the floor. Flair follows with a series of chops against the rail, and Sting ain't no-selling now! Inside, Flair hits a pair of shindrops for two, and a side suplex sets up the Figure Four - but again Sting blocks. Flair unloads a backelbow before locking a sleeper, but Sting rams his head into the turnbuckle to break. Sting with a shoulderblock and a poorly executed slingshot to capitalize, and a suplex gets two. Flair begs off, but Sting responds by sending him flipping into the corner, and unloading a ten-punch count. Sting with a super-duperplex, but a flying splash misses, and Flair capitalizes with a hanging vertical suplex - which Sting promptly no-sells. Sting with a hiptoss into a dropkick, and a press slam sets up another series of clotheslines to put Flair on the floor. Plancha, but Flair shoves Sensational Sherri (at ringside supposedly scouting Sting) into his flight path, and he clobbers her. Naturally, babyface Sting stops to check on her, but that allows Flair to clobber him. Inside, Sting still hooks a backslide for two, but he gets distracted by Sherri again, and this time Flair hooks the tights into a schoolboy - unifying the titles at 17:15. Afterwards, Flair and Sherri go after Sting, but Hulk Hogan (who challenged the winner of this to a title match at Bash at the Beach earlier on the show) makes the save. Not a great match, but it certainly served it's purpose of getting one unified belt onto Flair ahead of the anticipated showdown with Hogan at Bash at the Beach the next month, and it wasn't a BAD match, or anything. What this really suffered from is being booked as an epic, but failing to properly deliver - especially the heavy stalling in the early going. **

BUExperience:  The last major show before the official beginning of Hogan-era WCW, a lot of this played as Slamboree the Sequel – with three of the five matches re-matches from that show. And while nothing was great, nothing was actively bad either, and Hulk Hogan’s effective WCW debut (this was his first in-arena appearance for the promotion) certainly adds some historical significance, as does the last stand of the flawed ‘International World Title.’ **