WCW Clash of the Champions XX (Version II)

Original Airdate: September 2, 1992

From Atlanta, Georgia; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura

Tony Schiavone and Missy Hyatt are out on the red carpet, welcoming various legends and current stars to the show. Of note, Andre the Giant is in attendance, which is kind of weird given his relationship with the WWF

Opening WCW Television Title No Disqualification Match: Steve Austin v Ricky Steamboat: Paul E. Dangerously is locked in a shark cage for this. Weird bit, as they do the full ring introductions and the wrestlers are already standing in the ring, when all of a sudden they bring out someone to sing the National Anthem. They've also got an entire side of the arena filled with legends and various WCW/TBS corporate guys, which must have been both fun and nerve wracking for the performers. Feeling out process to start, with Steamboat controlling. Austin manages a hiptoss and an elbowdrop, but he wastes time gloating, and runs into a big knife edge chop. Dragon takes him back to the mat in a side-headlock, but Steve powers up into an escape, and drops Steamboat right onto his taped ribs with a flapjack out of the corner. Steve with a pair of backbreakers for two, as he goes to work on the bad ribs. Ricky tries a bodyslam, but the ribs stop him, and Steve clotheslines him ahead of applying an abdominal stretch. Steamboat hiptosses free, but Austin rolls through a 2^nd rope flying bodypress for two. He throws a dropkick, but Steamboat dodges, and hits a slingshot for two. Steve tries a leveraged pin for two, and a reversal sequence ends in Steamboat hitting a tombstone for two. Steve rams him into the corner and schoolboys him for two, but a superplex is countered with a gourdbuster, and Ricky tries a 2^nd rope flying tomahawk chop - only to get nailed in the ribs. Both guys try cradles for two, and Steamboat hits a pair of shoulderblocks for two. Steve elbows him out of the ring, so Steamboat thinks fast, and crawls underneath to get to the other side - nailing an unsuspecting Austin with a flying bodypress to win the title at 10:46. The match didn't really take advantage of the stipulations at all, and they barely even acknowledged Paul E's presence (though, I think that was intentional), but the psychology was sound, and the finish was good. ** ¼ (Original rating: * ¼)

We take a look at some of the great tag teams that have appeared over the last twenty years on TBS

Halloween Havoc promo

Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton v Greg Valentine and Dick Slater: Arn and Greg start, and Eaton works in a cheap shot after literally seconds, but Slater responds in kind on Anderson. That triggers a brawl between the two teams, with neither side able to clean house. Dust settles on Eaton and Valentine, and they slug it out until Greg passes to Dick. Slater unloads with jabs in the corner, and a swinging neckbreaker follows. Dick with a Russian legsweep to setup a leveraged pin, but it only gets two, and Arn gets the tag to work a wristlock. Slater escapes via chops and a headbutt, and Valentine tags in with a vertical suplex for two. He fails to cut the ring in half, however, and Eaton takes another cheap shot ahead of tagging in to work a hammerlock. They keep going back and forth until Valentine gets Anderson in the Figure Four, but Eaton saves. Arn hits the rotating spinebuster, but Slater saves, and Roseanne Barr the door! Larry Zbyszko tries to take a cheap shot on Arn, but ends up hitting Greg, and Bobby adds the Alabama Jam for the win at 5:44. This was kind of all over the place. ½* (Original rating: DUD)

Jim Ross (whose forced smiles are borderline disturbing) brings Bruno Sammartino out to take some passive-aggressive shots at the WWF

Teddy Long catches up with some legends out in the lobby, where there seems to be a party going on over the course of the show. Screw the matches, let's just watch that!

Mr. Wrestling II sends in a video talking about how great WCW is. The unintentionally funny theme here is how WCW is the best because they're getting back to 'real' wrestling (as in, Bill Watts' boring mat-based style), and seemingly the only guys excited about it are the retired geezers who worked that style twenty years prior

Ted Turner congratulates WCW for managing to exist for as long as it has

Back in the lobby, Bill Watts announces that the WCW Light Heavyweight Title is vacant due to an injury to champion Brad Armstrong

Jesse Ventura brings Brad Armstrong out to discuss being stripped of the title, but Brian Pillman (his would-be challenger) comes out and slaps him in the face

Video package on various singles stars from the first twenty years on TBS. Surprisingly, guys like Ted DiBiase and Ric Flair make the cut

Halloween Havoc promo

Ron Simmons video package

WCW World Title Match: Ron Simmons v Cactus Jack: Ole Anderson acts as the special guest referee for this one - and he's terrible at it. Refereeing really is an art, and an underappreciated one at that. Feeling out process to start, with Ron dominating, but Cactus able to knock him to the outside. Back in, Jack chokes him down, and a Cactus Clothesline sends them both crashing back out over the top. Jack adds a swinging neckbreaker out there, then back in again for the double-arm DDT, but Ron blocks. Jack responds with a discus clothesline, and a short-clothesline follows for two. Jack works a chinlock, but Ron escapes, so Cactus starts throwing headbutts, but that shit ends badly. Ron with a 2^nd rope flying facebuster for two, and a shoulderblock sets up the 3-point stance for two. Backdrop driver gets two, and Simmons throws a clothesline, but gets dumped back to the outside. Jack follows for a bodyslam on the floor to setup a flying elbowdrop off of the apron, but he runs into a spinebuster on the way back inside. Ron adds a powerslam, and we're done at 8:51. Took a while to get going, but it was decent once it got off the ground. * ¼ (Original rating: ½*)

We take a look back at the night Masahiro Chono defeated Rick Rude to win the vacant NWA World Title in Japan, followed by pre-taped comments from Rude challenging Chono to a rematch

Halloween Havoc promo. Is it me, or is Madusa's hair getting even more teased with each airing?

Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham v Barbarian and Butch Reed: Cactus Jack joins in on commentary for this one. Dustin starts with Barbarian, as the camera crew seems more interested in the ring girl. The babyfaces gang up to clean house early on, and the dust settles on Windham with Barbarian. Barbarian tries a press-slam, but Barry counters with a rollup for two, so Reed tags in. Rhodes hammers him, but misses a charge in the corner, and goes bumping out of the ring. Butch rolls him right back in for some more abuse, with Barbarian coming in without a tag for a cheap shot. The heels cut the ring in half on Rhodes, until a double knockout spot allows the hot tag to Barry. Windham knocks the heels around, and a floatover superplex on Barbarian looks to finish, but Reed is on the top rope, and Windham has to stop his pin attempt to slam him off. That allows Barbarian to hit a big boot, and Barry is winded at 8:15. Competent, but dull. * (Original rating: ¼*)

Main Event: Eight-Man Tag Team Elimination Match: Rick Rude, Big Van Vader, Jake Roberts, and Super Invader v Sting, Nikita Koloff, and The Steiner Brothers: Jake's gut is pretty enormous here, and him not bothering to buy slightly bigger tights to adjust only makes it more noticeable. Not to mention standing side-by-side with Rick Rude. Jake 'the Muffin Top' Roberts over here. Vader starts with Rick Steiner, and they start throwing bombs right away. Vader hits a short-clothesline and an avalanche, but runs into an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, and he bails. That was sick! Tags to Invader and Koloff, but even the two worst guys in the match don't drag things down with a quick criss cross that ends in Nikita hitting a bodypress for two before Invader passes to Rude. Rick gets trapped in a wristlock, and Scott Steiner tags in to ground him while punishing the arm. Rude manages to power up off the mat for a tag back to Invader, and he eats a double-underhook powerbomb, then a belly-to-belly suplex. Rana, but Invader stops short to avoid it, and Rude comes in with a swinging neckbreaker to setup a pointed elbowdrop for two. Jake with a series of jabs and a clothesline, then over to Vader to beat the stuffing out of Scott in the corner. Vader was one bad motherfucker back in the early 90s. Rude tags, but quickly runs into a tilt-a-whirl slam, allowing the tag to Koloff. He whips Roberts around, and a bodyslam hits. Jumping shoulderblock follows, but Nikita gets caught up fighting with Jake's teammates, and Roberts schoolboys him at 7:26. In comes the Stinger to blitz Jake, but Roberts quickly passes to Invader. Sting gladly destroys him instead, and a one-handed bulldog ends his night at 8:03. Well, the two right guys went out first. Back to Vader and Rick when the dust settles, with Steiner hitting a clothesline and a release German suplex. 2^nd rope flying clothesline follows, but Vader catches him in a front-powerslam, then adds a uranage. 2^nd rope flying splash gets two, and the heels cut the ring in half on Rick. Vader tries a 2^nd rope flying bodypress, but Rick catches him in a powerslam for two - Rude saving. Vader tries capitalizing with a suplex, but Rick blocks, and Scott comes off the top illegally with a flying clothesline to get DQ'd at 11:22. Rick keeps after Vader with a clothesline that sends both men tumbling over the top, and Vader tries a powerbomb out there, but Rick counters with a backdrop on the floor - only to get hit with the Rude Awakening for the countout at 12:25. Sting is left alone three-on-one, but he comes in hot on Vader. Tag to Jake, but Sting keeps on him with a facebuster and the Stinger Splash to setup the Scorpion Deathlock - Rude saving with a clothesline! He tags in, but Sting hits him with the one-handed bulldog for two, and adds an inverted atomic drop. Slingshot suplex hits, but Vader comes in with a flying splash on both Sting and Rude to get DQ'd at 14:26. That may have gotten him thrown out of the match, but Sting is still dead, and Jake slyly drags Rude over to the home corner so that he can tag himself in to finish with the DDT at 15:17. Some of the eliminations were silly, and there were some notable botches, but the action was top notch. *** ½ (Original rating: **)

We get an extended promo video for Halloween Havoc (a 'mini-movie,' if you will), that looks like they used the same set as From Dusk till Dawn, or something. Jake, of course, looks right at home in a skeevy bar setting. This one is pretty infamous, with the evil midget and the Spin the Wheel/Make the Deal stuff, and is pretty unintentionally funny stuff, especially if you've never seen it before. But hey, we can make fun all day long (and we will), but Halloween Havoc did a good number with Sting/Jake on top, so who are we to say?

BUExperience: The actual wrestling is less the focus of this episode than the historical aspect, but the nostalgia stuff was all nicely done, and came off well. In addition, the main event is a lot of fun, and the opener sees a title change, so it’s not like the in-ring stuff is a total waste of time, or anything. A fun episode – as I noted in the original review, it’s recommended for wrestling fans, but not necessarily because of the wrestling.