WCW Clash of the Champions XXXV (August 1997)

Original Airdate: August 21, 1997

From Nashville, Tennessee; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes, and Bobby Heenan.


Opening WCW United States Title Match: Jeff Jarrett v Steve McMichael: Jarrett stalls on the floor, and then stalls some more once he climbs in. He manages to slam Mongo out of a criss cross, but he takes too long to follow-up, and McMichael knocks him into the corner. Jarrett manages to clip the knee with a 3-Point stance, but gets nailed with a clothesline coming out of the ropes, and bails to the floor to stall some more. McMichael follows and ends up getting tossed into the steps, and Jeff rolls him back in for some abuse. Snap suplex sets up a sleeper, but McMichael powers into a reversal. That brings Eddie Guerrero out, but he accidentally whacks Jarrett with the title belt while going for Mongo, and McMichael wins the title at 8:00. The crowd popped big for that ending, but McMichael as champion is considered one of the low points for the title, without a doubt. DUD

No Disqualification Match: Raven v Stevie Richards: Raven takes it right to him with punches and turnbuckle smashes, and then dumps Stevie to the floor for a plancha. Back in, Raven with a snapmare, but a haymaker is ducked into a backslide by Richards for two. Raven responds with a hard right hand, and he dumps Stevie to the outside again - this time driving him off the apron with a kneelift into the guardrail. Raven follows with a pair of Cactus elbowdrops from the apron, and tosses a chair into the ring. He drags Stevie in for a droptoe-hold onto the seat, and follows with a bulldog onto the seat. Richards reverses a cross corner whip into the chair, but he's too battered to capitalize, and they get into a slugfest. Richards manages a diving forearm and a sidewalk slam for two, but a superkick misses, and Raven DDT's him at 5:04. This was just a half-assed attempt at doing ECW-style on WCW TV - like most attempts they made at it. DUD

WCW Television Title Match: Ultimo Dragon v Alex Wright: Wright hits a hiptoss early on, and a snapmare follows - Wright just toying with the Dragon, and not following up. Collar-and-elbow tie-up allows Wright a standing side-headlock, but Dragon counters into a wristlock. That triggers a flippy-floppy reversal sequence, which Wright wins with a closed fist. Back to the headlock, but Dragon whips him into the ropes, and they do a power-stalemate - a weird spot for these two. Another criss cross ends in Dragon stomping him as he tries a monkeyflip, and taking him into the corner with chops. Dragon with a headstand dropkick and lightning kicks set up a chinlock, but Wright hits a stunner to break. Dragon tries a rana, but gets powerbombed for two, and Alex hits a sidewalk slam for two. European uppercuts set up another sidewalk slam for two, and a gutwrench suplex gets two. Bodyslam sets up a skykissing flying kneedrop, and he follows with a rope-assisted sleeper, but Dragon brings it up to a vertical base, and reverses the hold. Dragon with a side suplex, but a chopfest goes Wright's way, and he hits his own side suplex. To the top, but Dragon knocks him to the floor with a springboard dropkick - only to have his follow-up plancha sidestepped, and the champ crashes to the floor. He still manages a springboard moonsault out there, and a forward falling superplex on the way back in, for two. Wright blocks a handspring elbow for two, so Dragon tries a Dragon suplex - only for Wright to counter with a modified victory roll for two. Both guys up, and a reversal sequence ends in Wright hitting a German suplex for the title at 11:23. This started off slowly, but built into a decent back-and-forth match, with a great ending sequence, to boot. Hard work from both men. * ½

WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Chris Jericho v Eddie Guerrero: Both men take their time sizing each other up, and the initial lockup ends in Guerrero taking the champ down with a snapmare. Jericho fires back with a series of hiptosses and a dropkick, but Guerrero bitches to the referee about hair pulling to stall. Criss cross goes Chris' way with a press slam, and he follows with a flapjack - Eddie bailing to the floor. Guerrero stalls out there, and manages a sneak attack with a series of chops, and a jumping backelbow. Guerrero with a slingshot somersault senton, and an uppercut weakens Jericho for a trip to the top turnbuckle - Eddie bringing him down with a rana for two. Springboard rana is blocked by Jericho with a powerbomb, but a big swing leaves both men wobbling. Jericho manages to shoot first with a spinheel kick, but he trips while springboarding, and ends up face planting on the floor. He still manages a suplex off of the apron, but Guerrero brings him back in with a super-duperplex for two. German suplex is countered into a powerbomb by Jericho, but Eddie counters into a droptoe-hold, only for Chris to counter into a German suplex for two - ending a great sequence. Guerrero with a springboard sunset flip for two, but a reversal sequence ends with Jericho on top in a cradle, and he retains at 6:42. Fun and fast paced, but both guys looked off of their marks (particularly Jericho), and it came though in the performance. * ¾

Eight-Man Tag Team Match: Psychosis, Silver King, Villano IV, and Villano V v Juventud Guerrera, Super Calo, Hector Garza, and Lizmark Jr: Villano IV starts with Super Calo, and they get right into the flippy-floppy reversals out of a wristlock. Tags to King and Garza, and Garza controls with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker before Cactus Clotheslining King to the floor. Tags to Psychosis and Juvi, and Psychosis blasts him with a superkick. Backelbow puts Juvi on the floor, and Garza runs back in along with Lizmark to backdrop King and Villano V to the floor. That triggers a dog pile as everyone dives out, and inside Psychosis blasts Calo with a gorgeous flying legdrop to win it at 4:53. The usual Lucha mess - eye-popping spots with zero flow or psychology. The most annoying part was they every time someone would start to take control, they would both just quickly tag, to give everyone a chance to get in before it was time to go home. Certainly not boring, but not good either. ¾*

Ric Flair and Curt Hennig v Konnan and Syxx: Hennig starts with Konnan, and a gets caught in a headlock, but manage to take Konnan down with a droptoe-hold. That triggers a wristlock reversal sequence that ends in a stalemate, and Konnan passes to Syxx. He gets into another wristlock reversal that ends in a tag to Flair, as the ring fills with smoke - Flair's entrance pyro apparently too much for the buildings ventilation system to handle. Ric with chops, but Syxx catches him with a backdrop coming out of the corner - only to take a snapmare and a shindrop for two from Flair. Syxx with an eye rake to take the pep out of Flair's step, but this time Ric catches him with a backdrop coming out of the corner. Tag back to Hennig for a kneelift, and Syxx is quick to pass to Konnan. Curt with a wristlock, but a whip into the ropes ends in a double knockout spot, and all four men are in for a brawl - Hennig finishing Konnan with a fisherman's suplex at 5:10. This looked like it could have been a lot of fun with another few minutes, but as-is, it was pretty disjointed and rushed. ¾*

Main Event: WCW World Tag Team Title Match: Scott Hall and Randy Savage v Diamond Dallas Page and Lex Luger: Hall and Kevin Nash are actually the official champions here, but by this point essentially any two nWo members were defending them on a regular basis. Hall starts with Page, but Scott wants Luger, and the faces oblige - giving us this epic rematch from the last Clash. The initial lockup ends in a stalemate, so Luger shoves Hall - only for Scott to tug the tights, and knock him to the floor. Miss Elizabeth shoves her boobs in his face out there, but it's only a distraction to allow Kevin Nash to clobber him with a clothesline, and back inside, the champs cut the ring in half. Savage misses an elbowdrop to allow the tag to Page, and he comes in hot - taking both Savage and Hall out with atomic drops and clotheslines. A double-team allows the champs to takeover again, and this time they properly cut the ring in half. Page manages to catch Hall with a short-clothesline to leave both men looking up at the lights, and Dallas gets the tag to Luger. He's a house of arson, and puts Hall in the Torture Rack, but Savage breaks it up before Page can stop him. Dazed, Page accidentally hits Luger with the Diamond Cutter in the fog of a four-way brawl, and Hall pins him to retain at 9:57. Well paced, but not much else, unfortunately. ¼*

Afterwards, the rest of the nWo come down to celebrate their one year anniversary (though the group didn't form in August), but Hollywood Hogan can't be bothered to show up. No matter, the others have plenty of fun gloating for him - until Sting shows up in the rafters with a vulture on his arm. A creepy voiceover plays as Sting stares down at the nWo, when suddenly the lights die - and come back on with the vulture standing on the top rope. The nWo are disproportionately freaked out, of course, and that's the final image on the final Clash of the Champions: some ten professional wrestlers freaked out by a bird.  

BUExperience: Though it was a horrible show in pretty much every respect, the final episode of the Clash of the Champions actually left off with WCW in a much better place than when the series started, with the promotion doing exactly what the initial Clash of the Champions set out to do: undermine and counterprogram the WWF at every turn, and be first on the tongues of every wrestling fan in the world.

It certainly gets points for being the last Clash ever, but that’ll only take you so far. Avoid this as fervently as the nWo were avoiding that vulture at the end. DUD