WCW Clash of the Champions XXIII (Version II)

Original Airdate: June 17, 1993

From Norfolk, Virginia; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura

Opening Match: Ron Simmons v Dick Slater: Slater is a replacement for Paul Orndorff, who is injured, and can't defend the TV Title tonight. He stands in Dick's corner for this, though. The crowd is pumped for Simmons, wow! He slams Slater around with ease, and a jumping shoulderblock gets two, so Dick bails to regroup with Orndorff on the outside. Back in, Ron tries a sunset flip, but Slater blocks, so Simmons goes ballistic on him in the corner. 3-point stance, but Orndorff hooks his ankle from the floor, and Slater is able to turn the tide. Swinging neckbreaker gets two, but Slater thinks it's three, and Ron bodyslams him at 3:58. Junk, but the crowd was way hotter than you'd expect for such a nothing match. DUD (Original rating: DUD)

Beach Blast promo

Eric Bischoff and Larry Zbyszko introduce Michael Buffer, WCWs new ring announcer for top level matches. I know the whole 'let's get ready to rumble' thing is iconic and all, but I honestly never cared for Buffer's WCW work. Perfect for boxing, but it just didn't translate well to wrestling

Marcus Alexander Bagwell v Lord Steven Regal: Some woman in the front row is wearing a shirt that says 'miracle worker' on it, which feels like an intentional inside joke. Feeling out process to start, with Bagwell holding his own. Regal starts throwing forearms on the ropes, however, and that doesn't play out well for Bagwell. Steven clips the leg and starts working the knee, including a pretty unique move where he snapmares Bagwell into the ropes (so the knee hits cables) a few times. Haven't seen a lot of that one, and it's a nice little move to add into the mix, honestly. Marcus escapes an anklelock with a corkscrew kick, but Regal clips the leg again, and starts drilling him with uppercuts. Toehold, but Bagwell escapes, and starts mounting a comeback! Backdrop and a hiptoss get two, so Regal shoots for the leg again, but Bagwell counters with a backslide for two! Clothesline ad a rollup for two, but Regal reverses into a sloppy cradle for the pin at 6:29. They totally blew the finish, but a solid outing otherwise. * ¼ (Original rating: * ¼)

Eric Bischoff brings Maxx Payne out to discuss his upcoming match with Johnny B. Badd, however when Payne asks Badd to come out to get back his Badd Blaster (confetti gun, which Payne had stolen), it ends up being a ploy - Maxx blasting him in the face with it. Pretty nice bump for Badd, off the stage onto the concrete there. Too bad the camera totally missed it. And, unfortunately, that means he can't compete against Maxx tonight. That brings Tom Zenk out to protest, but Maxx puts him down with the Payne Killer

NWA World Title Match: Barry Windham v 2 Cold Scorpio: Seeing redneck white guys in the crowd trying to dance like Scorpio is enough to turn a frown upside-down. Not that I'm feeling sad, fuck you. Windham tries to overpower him early on, so Scorpio smacks him with a dropkick to let him know that he's here to play, and they feel each other out. Barry dominates a criss cross, and goes up with a flying clothesline - the crowd surprisingly behind him here. Bodyslam sets up a kneedrop, and Barry adds a hanging floatover suplex for two. Scorpio tries throwing another dropkick to turn things around, but Barry dodges, and DDTs his challenger for two. Bodyslam, so Scorpio hooks an inside cradle for two, but Windham decks him before he can follow-up on it. Barry with a gutwrench suplex for two, so Scorpio throws the dropkick again - connecting this time, but eating a lariat anyway. Windham drops him throat-first across the top rope, then dumps his ass to the outside, but Scorpio dives at him with a slingshot bodypress for two! Barry cuts him off with a dropkick of his own, however, and then drops him like a Samoan for two. Side suplex is worth two, but a backdrop is countered with a sunset flip for two, so Windham clotheslines him to stop the comeback effort again. Side suplex, but Scorpio is able to reverse, so Windham goes to the eyes. Vertical Superplex looks to finish, but Scorpio counters with a gourdbuster, and a flying splash connects for two! Scorpio is finally able to follow-up with a rana, and a superkick leads to a victory cradle for two. Bodyslam sets up a slingshot somersault splash for two, followed by a flying dropkick for two. Another slingshot, but this time Barry slugs him right out of the air, and the lifting DDT retains at 12:53. Good action, though on the slower side, with quite a bit of lumbering around. *** (Original rating: ** ¼)

Backstage, Sting, Davey Boy Smith, and Dustin Rhodes compare their bedazzled capes ahead of their match

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Big Van Vader, Sid Vicious, and Rick Rude v Sting, Davey Boy Smith, and Dustin Rhodes: Funny sign in the crowd notes that '"Sid" Rules "WCW".' Rude starts with Sting, and the crowd (who have been hot all night) are just losing it for this! Sting grabs a headlock right away, but Rude is able to power to a hammerlock, and he unloads on the Stinger in the corner. Sting responds with a backdrop, but Vader and Sid come in, so Sting press-slams Rick into them! Sting cleans house and hooks Rude in a small package for two, then passes to Rhodes. Dustin hammers Rick down, so Vader comes in with a splash - but Dustin dodges, and Rude eats it! Tags to Vicious and Smith, and Davey Boy pinballs him in the corner, then hits a bodyslam. Sid tries bailing, but Sting crotches him on the middle rope, and Dustin throws a clothesline from the apron to keep him inside. Smith with a jumping shoulderblock, but Rhodes runs into trouble upon tagging. Over to Vader, but Dustin manages to beat him down in the corner, and he delivers a vertical suplex to setup a series of four elbowdrops! Rapid fire, baby! Seated clothesline leads to a flying elbowdrop, but Vader dodges, and he clotheslines the Texan near out of his boots! Vaderbomb hits for two, and Rude tags back in with a gourdbuster for two, as the heels cut the ring in half. WCW sized rings seem too small for six-mans. Dustin counters a vertical suplex with his own gourdbuster, but Sid gets the tag before he can reach his buddies. Vicious proceeds to call a bunch of stuff on camera (though it's as much the directors fault as anyone else’s - change angles, jackass!), and a clothesline is worth two. Tag to Vader to pay Rhodes back with a beating in the corner, but a 2^nd rope flying bodyblock is countered with a powerslam from the youngster! Rude tags in to cut him off with a tombstone, but Rhodes reverses, and we've got a double knockout! Dustin gets the tag, and though the referee misses it, Sting and Davey Boy ignore the warnings and come in anyway - Roseanne Barr the door! Sting misses a dive against the guardrail, allowing Vader to whack Dustin with a briefcase, and Rude pins him at 11:02. Hot action here, with hard work all around, and nary a resthold in sight! *** ¼ (Original rating: ** ¼)

Main Event: NWA & WCW World Tag Team Title Two-Out-Of-Three Falls Match: The Hollywood Blonds v Ric Flair and Arn Anderson: This marks Flair's first TV match since coming back to WCW. Brian Pillman starts with Arn, and Brian is in full taunt mode early on. He uses an eyerake to put Arn in the corner for some chops, but a leapfrog attempt ends in Pillman getting dropped throat-first across the top rope. Tag to Steve Austin, and Austin hilariously taunts Anderson for having a beer belly. Arn takes him down anyway, and passes over to Flair - and the roof nearly blows off the place! He chops Austin in the corner before hitting a backdrop, then pulls Pillman into the ring for his share of chops as well! Despite having a great run, Ric seems so much more at home working here than during his WWF stint. Austin goes to the eyes to shake the Nature Boy off, and Steve bails to the outside to regroup. He takes Flair down on the way back in, but gets trapped in the corner for more chops, and Arn gets the tag. Anderson works a wristlock, and delivers a hammerlock-slam. Over to Flair for a snapmare to setup a kneedrop, then back to Anderson to work the wrist again. A cheap shot from Pillman turns the tide, however, and the Blonds cut the ring in half on Arn. Steve with a vertical suplex, but a straddling ropechoke misses, and Arn plants him with a DDT to allow the tag to Flair! Ric comes in hot with a flying tomahawk chop on Brian, and an inverted atomic drops follows. Elbow sends Austin over the top, and he corners Pillman for a ten-punch in the corner. Steve recovers for the save, but a double-team ends badly, and Flair gets the first fall on Pillman at 9:41. Brian tries to trade chops with Ric as they pick back up, and actually holds his own - able to cross corner whip his challenger over the top, and out to the floor. Steve is ready with a vertical suplex out there, and the Blonds unleash a wicked beating out there - Flair doing a great job of selling it like death. Inside, the Blonds hammer him with chops, and Steve vertical superplexes him for two, as the champs cut the ring in half. A double knockout spot allows the hot tag to Double A, and Austin eats a backdrop. Rotating spinebuster looks to finish, but Brian saves, and Roseanne Barr the door! The Blonds manage to clip Anderson's knee for two, as the referee restores order, and the champs go to work on the Enforcer's leg. I haven't noted it much, but the commentary is just tremendous here. Even as highly regarded as Jesse Ventura is as a commentator, I'd still say he's underrated. Arn manages a leg-feed enzuigiri on Pillman, but Austin cuts off the tag yet again, and they absolutely obliterate the knee in the corner. Pillman tries a 2^nd rope flying splash, but Anderson lifts his boot to block, and that's finally enough for the tag! Flair goes ballistic with the chops, and Steve takes a side suplex to setup the Figure Four - only for Barry Windham to run in for the save, and cause a disqualification at 20:47. The title doesn't change hands since it was DQ, however. Good match, though not at the level you'd expect given the participants, and the amount of time they had to work with. Plus, Anderson as a babyface taking a heat segment just feels... wrong. *** (Original rating: ** ½)

BUExperience: 1993 WCW has a terrible reputation – and much of it for very good reason – but episodes like this show that it wasn’t all bad. Good action throughout, very focused, a hot crowd – this is well worth a look!