NWA (JCP) Clash of the Champions II (Version II)

Original Airdate: June 8, 1988

From Miami, Florida; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Bob Caudle

Jim Ross is outside of the arena, where Frances Crockett and Lyle Alzado arrive in a limousine. And they don't even say 'hi,' the pricks. Another limo arrives with Gary Juster and Elliot Murnick, and they don't have anything to say either

Opening NWA United States Title Match: Barry Windham v Brad Armstrong: Barry's a heel now, so the BLACK GLOVE has come into play. He tries grabbing a side-headlock at the bell, but Brad scraps away from him, and manages a bodyslams. Windham bails to the floor, and man, the cutaways to the crowd are almost as entertaining as anything going on in the ring during these old school shows - especially when talking about the NWA fans. Back in, Brad tries taking him down in a side-headlock, but Windham counters with a headscissors. The referee rules it to be a choke and calls for the break, however, and Windham begrudgingly does so. He stalls Armstrong for a bit, as I notice some dude in the front row wearing what appears to be a WrestleMania XII t-shirt. That's both really cool and really depressing. Really cool because, well, let's face it - it confirms that time travel is possible. Depressing because apparently people are using it to go back and watch Brad Armstrong matches. Windham uses the black glove to slug Brad down, and a bodyslam follows, but Brad manages to knock the champion to the outside. Back in, Armstrong grabs another headlock, as we get more amazing cutaways to the audience, and their goofy 1980s crowd signs. Criss cross goes Brad's way with a bodyslam, and he armdrags Barry over for a chinlock. Windham powers up to a vertical base in short order, however, and uses a side suplex to break the hold. Powerslam gets two, and a bodyslam sets up a figure four - complete with JJ Dillon for leverage. Hey, perks of being a Horsemen. They work some cool interactive bits with the referee for the crowd - one dude dressed like a pimp looking like he's ready to straight up stab someone. The referee eventually catches Windham cheating and forces a break, but the damage is done, and Barry easily tosses Armstrong to the floor for some abuse with the guardrail. Back in, Barry bodyslams him to setup a flying elbowdrop, but Armstrong dodges. Brad makes his comeback with a dropkick and a kneelift, followed by a bodyslam to setup a flying bodypress for two. Another one, but Windham rolls through into the Claw Hold to retain at 13:56. Solid match from two excellent talents - both masters of timing and crowd control. ** (Original rating: ¾*)

The Rock 'n' Roll Express are back, and so are their mullets, baby!

Earlier today, Ric Flair, Lex Luger, and Frances Crockett hung out aboard a yacht to sign the contract for an NWA World Title match at The Great American Bash. Boats & Hos, son! And, despite the presence of all four Horsemen, it all goes off without a hitch. Wow!

Jim Ross is still outside of the arena, where the Four Horsemen arrive in a limousine. Arn Anderson appears to have blonde highlights in his hair which is... interesting. Moments later, Lex Luger's limo pulls up, and he barely gets past the car door before the Horsemen jump him, and unleash a brutal five-on-one beating - leaving Luger's all-white outfit stained in blood as a result of the beating. You know, not that it's any excuse for them, but really this one is on whoever had the job of coordinating the limousine schedule. That's just unprofessional. Like, you never see Jennifer Aniston cross paths with Angelina Jolie on the red carpet, do you?

NWA United States Tag Team Title Match: The Fantastics v The Sheepherders: Tommy Rogers starts with Butch Miller, and gets his eyes raked right at the bell. Butch turnbuckle smashes him before quickly passing to Luke Williams, and Luke puts the boots to him. Rogers dodges a backdrop and bodypresses Luke for two, then tags out to Bobby Fulton - Bobby rushing in with a dropkick that sends Williams to the outside. Back in, the challengers double-up on Fulton to take control, as I notice that the WrestleMania XII shirt guy is no longer here. So, yes, he actually time traveled back specifically to watch that two-star opener, and nothing more. And he didn't even bother warning poor Lex Luger of the impending Horsemen assault! People can be depressing sometimes. They spill to the outside for a brawl, but a clothesline from Rip Morgan hits Williams by accident. Inside, Luke suckers Fulton into the corner, but a bodyslam gets countered with a sleeper. Tag to Tommy, and Rogers bodyslams Luke to setup an elbowdrop for two. Schoolboy gets two, so Luke rakes the eyes, and passes to Butch with a fistdrop for two. Criss cross goes Rogers' way with a dropkick, followed by a bodyslam. Luke runs in, but Bobby is right on his tail, and the champions clean house! For someone who's only exposure to the Sheepherders as a team was their WWF run as the goofy walking, crowd licking, ass biting Bushwhackers, it's still really weird to see them work as cheating heels. The dust settles on Rogers and Miller, and the challengers take some cheap shots to put Tommy down. They cut the ring in half, but a miscommunication allows the tag out to Bobby! He's a salon of fire, but some quick double-teaming takes the pep out of his step, and the challengers cut the ring in half on their new victim. Bobby rushes in to prevent another double-team, and the champs work a cool sequence where they take turns splashing both Sheepherders for a series of near falls. The Fantastics are able to take control, and Rogers grounds Miller in a cross-armbreaker. Butch is able to dump him to the outside with some help from Luke, and they wallop Tommy with one of the tag title belts out there to cutoff yet another comeback. Tommy's still fighting, so they beat him with a chair as well, and inside, go to work cutting the ring back in half. Luke with a backdrop and a forearmdrop for two, and Butch absolutely levels him with a short-kneelift for two. Luke with a chinlock, but a chair shot from Butch hits the wrong man, and Bobby gets the tag - quickly rolling Williams up to retain at 19:00. Not a classic, but if, like me, you only knew them in mind numbingly bad negative-star performances as the Bushwhackers, this will blow your mind. ** ½ (Original rating: ** ½)

Steve Williams is at ringside to do guest commentary on the next bout, dressed like a virgin at the prom

Still outside of the arena, Jim Ross replays the Horsemen's attack on Lex Luger, and informs us that Luger has been taken to the hospital. Why is poor Jim still outside? I mean, before he was talking to people as they arrived (or, getting snubbed by them as they arrived), but why is he still out there? And here people say Vince McMahon treats him like shit, but at least he always let him in the damn building!

The Varsity Club v Ron Garvin and Jimmy Garvin: Kevin Sullivan is locked in a shark cage at ringside - a gimmick they seemed to like to do a lot back then. That's twice in two Clashes! The Garvins grab dual sleepers to the bell, but the Club escape, and the dust settles on Rick Steiner and Ron Garvin to start. Ronnie dodges a double team and hammers him, then passes out to Jimmy for a hammerlock. Tag to Mike Rotunda, and he schools Jimmy with a fireman's carry takedown. Jimmy tries a hammerlock, but Mike reverses, so Garvin delivers a fireman's carry of his own, into an armbar. Tag to Ronnie, as Kevin Sullivan attempts to lure Precious (who holds the key to the cage) close enough to grab. Well, that's just rude. Inside, Mike and Ron fight over a wristlock - Rotunda able to control. Partner Jimmy Garvin can't even be bothered to stay on the apron while his brother is in trouble, and the Club cut the ring in half. Ron manages to break away from Steiner long enough to tag, and Jimmy traps Rick in a mat-based front-facelock. With Jimmy busy in the ring, Sullivan has a bit more success in luring Precious over, but he tags out to Ron before that happens. Ron with a series of cradles on Rick, but he can't put him away, and runs into a double-team. Mike tags in with a backdrop and a well executed legdrop, but the action spills to the outside, where all four men brawl. Rotunda holds Ron for Sullivan to hit from inside the cage, and he's finally able to get the key away from Precious to escape - just as Jimmy rolls Steiner up at 13:14. With Sullivan free, he starts choking Precious on the apron, but guest commentator Steve Williams rushes in for the save. This never really got off the ground, as it was more about Sullivan messing with Precious than anything else. They could have gotten this done in half the time without losing anything. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

NWA Main Event promo

Road Warriors/Powers of Pain feud recap, ahead of their Scaffold match set for The Great American Bash Tour - which would never take place, as the Powers balked at the idea of doing Scaffold matches, and quit the promotion over it

And speaking of crazy unsafe gimmick matches, Tony and Bob detail the concept for the Tower of Doom match set for the Bash

Nikita Koloff v Al Perez: Koloff has hair by this point, which looks weird on him. He seriously looks like Drama from Entourage, which is never a good look. Like Steve Austin, some guys are just meant to have shaved heads. Vince McMahon is not one of them, of course. The initial lockup goes to a stalemate, and they get into a shoving match. Perez uses some dark magic to manage an armbar, but Koloff reverses to another stalemate. Cool spot, as Al tries a cross corner whip, but Nikita just stops dead in his tracks halfway - using Perez' momentum to armdrag him over into another armbar. Al manages to dump him to the outside for Gary Hart to abuse, and Perez takes over with an axehandle off the apron. Al bodyslams him on the concrete, but Koloff manages to counter a vertical suplex back in with a bodypress for two. Al cuts him off with a chinlock, but Nikita snapmares him off, so Perez grabs a reverse chinlock instead. This is one hella dull match, yo. Koloff escapes the chinlock with an electric chair, but Al cuts off another comeback. Vertical suplex, but Koloff reverses, and starts unloading with rights as he mounts a comeback. His matches are shit, but boy, the crowd loves this guy. Koloff goes for the kill, but here comes Larry Zbyszko - Koloff winning by disqualification at 11:50. Afterwards, Al, Larry, and Gary beat Koloff down. For those wondering what a Nikita Koloff/Black Scorpion match would have been like, wonder no more! ¼* (Original rating: ½*)

Main Event: NWA World Tag Team Title Match: Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard v Dusty Rhodes and Sting: Sting still hadn't really worked out the kinks in his face paint style just yet at this point. Anderson starts with the Stinger, and works a wristlock, but Sting no-sells everything, so Arn bails. After a powwow with JJ Dillon, Arn heads back in, and a cheap shot puts Sting on the floor. Anderson tries a clothesline into the post, but Sting dodges, and Arn wraps his arm around the steel. Inside, Sting works the arm, but Arn manages to get away from him long enough to tag. Tully tries a hiptoss, but gets reversed, and Sting adds a headscissors takedown before passing out to Rhodes. Dusty unloads on both champions with elbowsmashes, and man, Dusty was really letting himself go during this period. I mean, he was always big, but the gut and moobs are out of control here. Rhodes with a figure four, but Arn takes a cheap shot to break, and tags in to put the boots to Dusty. Dillon gets his licks in as well as the Horsemen start cutting the ring in half on one of their favorite victims. On the outside, Dusty knocks over a table as the champs beat on him - which is notable because, as they head in, you can see Dillon in the background putting the table back in place. I know they're supposed to be heels, but between this and being the only guys to actually acknowledge poor JR outside the building earlier, the Horsemen are really coming off like great guys here. Inside, Dusty fights off Blanchard with a dropkick, and tags. Sting press-slams Blanchard then hits the Stinger Splash, but Anderson breaks up the Scorpion Deathlock, and knocks Sting to the floor for a stungun on the rail! Back in, the Horsemen cut the ring in half on Sting with expert precision, but he manages to fight off Arn, and stungun Tully to tag. Rhodes is a restaurant of fire, but Sting makes the mistake of tossing the referee aside as a brawl breaks out. I guess we can chalk that up to youthful exuberance. But then, Dusty does the same thing, so maybe not. With the referee tossed aside twice and not calling for a bell, the rest of the Horsemen decide to run in, and kick the shit out of Rhodes and Sting, the match ruled a double disqualification at 11:01. Seemed like the challengers should have been DQ'd there. The Horsemen then continue the beating until the end of the show - setting up a bunch of War Games matches for the Bash Tour The shortest (but also the best) match of the night! ** ½ (Original rating: ** ¾)

NWA Main Event promo

BUExperience: There were a couple of stinkers in Koloff/Perez and the Varsity Club/Garvin’s tag match, but the overall quality of the wrestling was strong here, and even the bad matches had interesting angles surrounding them, as they put a lot of focus on building the Great American Bash tour and pay per view. Good, exciting episode