WCW Clash of the Champions XXVIII (August 1994)

Original Airdate: August 24, 1994

From Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan –  with this show having the distinction of being the first Clash I saw live, as nine year old Ben heard Hulk Hogan was wrestling for ‘that other wrestling show’ and decided to see what all the fuss was about.


Opening Match: Pretty Wonderful v The Nasty Boys: Pretty Wonderful are the WCW Tag Champions here, but this is non-title. After some debate, Paul Orndorff starts with Brian Knobs, and immediately gets tossed into the Nasty corner for a double-team. That triggers a four-way brawl to put the tag champs on the floor, but Knobs drags Orndorff back in for a backelbow and a right hand. He fails to cut the ring in half though (Like, at all. He basically just leaves a standing Roma on his own), and both men tag. Paul Roma tries a flying bodypress right away, but Jerry Sags counters with a powerslam, and that triggers another four-way brawl - but the Nasties get outsmarted this time around (I'm shocked too...), and Pretty Wonderful cut the ring in half on Sags. Eventually, Orndorff goes for the kill with a piledriver, but Sags backdrops him, and a tag to Knobs starts a house of fire! Right into a four-way brawl from there, and a flying elbowdrop by Sags finishes Orndorff at 10:00 - though he wasn't the legal man. Nothing notable, but an okay-ish, well paced formula tag match. ¼*

And now, in the big show spanning angle of the night, WCW World Champion Hulk Hogan comes out to give an interview, but is attacked by a masked man with a lead pipe - who bashes Hogan in the knee, and disappears into the night. Hulk gets stretchered off, and his main event title defense against Ric Flair is in jeopardy! Seeing this for the first time at nine years old in 1994, I was hooked. I had seen WCW before in passing (channel flipping onto Saturday Night), but this show was the first time I actively watched WCW. Seeing the attack (with memories of the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding incident still fresh in my young mind), I was intrigued, and not only stuck with the rest of the show, but started watching WCW programming on purpose from then on to find out what happens next.

WCW United States Title Match: Steve Austin v Ricky Steamboat: If Austin gets himself disqualified, Steamboat picks up the title here. Austin complains of hairpulling almost immediately, but that's almost like accusing Gandhi of doing a drive-by. Steamboat with a mat-based side-headlock, but Austin grabs a handful of hair and powers up to a vertical base for a bodypress and a schoolboy for two - as the announcers wait for an update on Hulk Hogan. Steamboat with a pair of dropkicks to rattle Austin, and a powerslam gets two as we cut to footage of Hogan's ambulance on its way to the hospital. A reversal sequence ends with Steamboat hooking an armbar on the mat, and a criss cross ends with them trading sleepers - Austin getting the final word with a stunner (before it meant as much). Chopfest goes Steamboat's way with a hiptoss, and he cracks Austin's arm on the ringpost for good measure. Steamboat with a wicked spot where he sets Austin up for a ropewalk forearm, then simply drops to the floor to snap Steve's arm on the top rope before hitting a flying axehandle, but Austin ends up getting him on the mat, and hitting a kneedrop for two. Austin with a series of closed fists to get the challenger on the ropes, and he hooks a chinlock to get him on the mat. To a vertical base, Steamboat wins another chopfest, but a splash is blocked by Austin's knees - giving the champ a two count. 2^nd rope pointed elbowdrop gets Austin two, and a suplex for two. Another suplex, but Steamboat blocks, and puts Austin on the top for a superplex - which Austin blocks by shoving him off the ropes, and Steamboat lands badly on the mat, legitimately injuring his back. He still manages to go back after Austin with the superplex, but Steve dumps him for a forward falling superplex - only to have a flying axehandle met with a gutpunch! Steamboat with a flying bodypress, but Austin sidesteps, and the Dragon face plants. Austin kills time as Steamboat works through his back issues, and Steamboat is up with a series of clotheslines for two. Spinebuster gets two, and an electric chair for two. Inside cradle for two, rolling cradle for two, and a backslide for two. Sunset flip for two, but Austin finally fires back with a hard clothesline. He tries to capitalize with a quick bodyslam, but Steamboat hooks him up with a cradle on the way down, and we have a new US Champion  at 16:08. Great ending to a hot match - filled with both guys countering counters, fighting over even simple moves, and eye popping spots. As a kid, I didn't know who Steve Austin was, and barely knew who Steamboat was (I recognized him from some old WWF tapes I had rented), so the ongoing saga of Hogan intrigued me and kept me glued to the screen more than the match. Now, I felt it really hurt the match, and found it annoying. Unfortunately for the new champion, the back injury proved worse than it looked, and effectively ended the long and brilliant career of the Dragon not long after. ** ¼

Dusty Rhodes and Dustin Rhodes v Terry Funk and Bunkhouse Buck: Big brawl to start as the Rhodes boys clean house to the crowds delight, until the dust settles on Dustin and Buck to start. Rhodes wrecks him, but ends up in the heel corner, but dodges a double-team, and knocks both guys out to the floor. Back in, Buck gets an atomic drop, and Dustin tags his old man. Elbowsmashes for everyone as Dusty casually abuses Buck and Funk, but Dustin gets overwhelmed in a double-team (that includes Buck whacking him with his boot), and the heels cut the ring in half. Dustin manages to dodge another boot (this time, a flying boot!) to get the tag back to big poppa, and Dusty goes to work, but here's Arn Anderson to take Dustin out on the floor! The distraction allows Funk and Buck to put Dusty on the mat for a good old fashioned arm-breaking, but Dustin is back to blast them both with jumping clotheslines. A four-way brawl breaks out, and Dustin hits a bulldog to finish Buck, but Anderson runs in again, and this time that's enough for a disqualification at 7:19. Afterwards, a young Ben gets his first introduction to the Monster Meng as he no-sells a chair shot from Dusty, and nearly kills him (and anyone who dares try to save him) with a nervehold - which freaked me out as a kid, since chair shots were supposed to be checkmate. Not a great match, but it was fun, didn't overstay its welcome, and the crowd loved it. Plus, the heel beat down on the Rhodes' afterwards was awesome stuff. ¾*

Steven Regal v Antonio Inoki: Regal is the WCW Television Champion at this point, but this is also non-title. Regal jumps him on the way into the ring, but challenging Inoki to a sparring session doesn't go quite as well, as Regal hooks him in a front-facelock. He tries to unload some forearm shots in the corner, but Inoki comes at him, so Steven sweeps the leg - only to get reversed on the mat. Regal with another series of forearms to weaken Inoki for a front-facelock, but Inoki reverses. Regal with a series of kicks to knock Inoki out to the floor, and a crossface on the way back in, but Inoki powers up, so Regal goes for a grapevine to ground him again. Meanwhile, we get a look at Hulk Hogan backstage - he's back from the hospital, and he's ready for Flair! Back in the ring, we've got a slugfest on our hands, and Regal hits a butterfly suplex for two, and then goes back to the front-facelock. European uppercuts, but Inoki grabs him in a sleeper, and chokes Regal out at 8:40. Really weird (especially for 1994 WCW), almost shoot-like match that didn't really build to anything, but was certainly interesting - especially from a non-mark perspective. ¼*

Main Event: WCW World Title Match: Hulk Hogan v Ric Flair: It takes Hogan a while to get down to ringside, but once he makes it into the ring - he. is. pissed. He goes ballistic on Flair with right hands, and Ric's attempts at a series of knife edge chops are no-sold so Hulk can feed him his t-shirt. Literally biting follows, and Flair flips to the floor to allow the Hulkster to pose. To the outside, Flair tries chops again, but Hogan no-sells, and chokes him out with some fans banner. Hulk adds a shot into the rail before rolling Ric in for a clothesline with the banner, but Flair manages to clip the knee, and Hogan goes down. To the top rope, but Hulk meets him there with a slam, and follows with a series of clotheslines. Back to the outside for another shot into the guardrail, and the Hulkster fires off a series of headbutts before whipping Flair into the ringpost. Ric manages to dodge a chair shot before they take it back in, and he hits an impressive hanging vertical suplex, but Hogan no-sells again - popping right up and clotheslining the challenger. Hulk with a series of elbowdrops, and another Flair flip leaves the Nature Boy back on the outside. Hogan follows and for a shot into the rail (with some old granny at ringside hilariously trying to hit him with her cane before security tackles her), and inside, Flair kicks at the knee again. Hogan finally sells something as Flair goes to work on the knee, but Hulk blocks the Figure Four. More knee abuse weakens him enough for Flair to slap it on at center ring, but Hogan starts powering out, so Flair rakes the eyes. More knee shots, but the champ is HULKING UP!! Fists of Fury! Big Boot! Legdrop! - but the knee gives out, and he can't cover. Flair goes back to the Figure Four, but Hulk still can't be bothered to properly sell, and reverses into the ropes. That draws Flair manager Sherri over, and she bashes Hogan with her high heel - Hulk falling to the floor and getting counted out at 14:26. For those keeping track: A hundred kicks at the knee are useless. Chairs, railing, wrestling moves? Useless. The Figure Four is useless. But women's footwear will beat the Hulkster every time. You know, for all the talk of WCW fans not accepting Hulk Hogan, he was over like crazy here (with one cane wielding exception), though his no-selling really hurt the match (and made Flair look weak, regardless of whose hand was raised). That was pretty par for the course with Hogan though, and this match was certainly nothing special - just going through the motions. *

BUExperience:  Not the best (or worst) Clash, but stuff like the Hogan/Masked Man show long drama, or the Stud Stable beat down on the Rhodes Family is the type of wrestling I grew up on, and I’m still a sucker for it. Plus, you’ve got what is essentially Ricky Steamboat’s last real match, which certainly adds to the historical significance. What this show could have used, though, is Sting and Vader – both notably absent form the card. **