WCW Clash of the Champions XXX (Version II)

Original Airdate: January 25, 1995

From Las Vegas, Nevada; Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan

Opening WCW Television Title Match: Arn Anderson v Johnny B. Badd: Badd knocks the champion around a bit to start, but runs into a snapmare, and Arn adds a kneedrop. He goes up top, but Johnny dropkicks him down to the floor, then dives with a plancha on both Anderson and Colonel Robert Parker! Johnny with a flying axehandle for two on the way back in, and he grounds the champion in an armbar. Arn escapes, so Badd uses an overhead armdrag and a leg-feed enzuigiri to get two. Anderson tries his own enzuigiri, but that ends badly, and Johnny hooks an Oklahoma roll for two. He gets dropped into the turnbuckle while trying to charge Arn in the corner, however, and Anderson dumps him to the outside for Parker to abuse. Hey, Badd started it. Back in, Anderson works a chinlock, but Badd escapes, so Arn uses a knee for two. Badd slugs back, but hits elbow on a corner charge, and Arn drops another elbow for good measure. Figure four, but Badd sends him into the corner to block, and he starts to mount a comeback. The big left hook connects, but ends up knocking Anderson to the outside, and Parker is forced to dump ice water on him to help recovery. Why? You'd retain on a countout. Badd, dumbass that he is, goes after Parker instead of finishing a still dizzy Anderson off, and he runs into a DDT in the process at 7:38. That was on him. The match wasn't great, or anything, but much better than the shitty one they had at Starrcade. ** (Original rating: ½*)

Backstage, Butcher and Kevin Sullivan are ready to give and/or receive massages

Alex Wright (and his stupid dance) are now featured in a new music video. And it's perhaps the most cheesy 90s music video ever

Alex Wright v Bobby Eaton: Poor Bobby. He's spent the bulk of his career fighting rock and roll, and now he has to deal with techno too. Feeling out process to start, with Wright dominating. Eaton eventually decks him to turn things around, but Alex quickly catches him with a beautifully executed headscissors takedown, and he keeps Bobby grounded with an armbar. Wright with a European uppercut for two, but he misses a bodypress, and ends up landing in the ropes. I should note that the crowd is completely disengaged with this match, and you can see people heading to and from their seats throughout. Mostly 'from.' Bobby works a chinlock, but runs into a snap suplex, and Alex follows up with a backdrop. Jumping backelbow connects, and Wright leaps with a missile dropkick for two, so Bobby goes to the eyes to try to cut him off. Unfortunately, Alex keeps coming with a twisting flying bodypress for two, so Eaton uses a swinging neckbreaker. That puts Wright down long enough for Bobby to come off the top with the Alabama Jam, but it only gets two, and Alex hits another twisting flying bodypress for the pin at 7:30. Wright had some great execution, but this character was death, especially with males. ¾* (Original rating: ½*)

Gene Okerlund brings WCW United States Champion Vader out to discuss his role in the latest Boyz II Men video

Ric Flair comes out to sit at ringside, giving WCWs camera crew a chance to prove how inept they are

WCW World Tag Team Title Match: Harlem Heat v Stars & Stripes: Booker T starts with Marcus Alexander Bagwell, and he tries to slap the challenger around, but gets pounded down in the corner for it. Booker tries the Harlem Sidekick, but Bagwell ducks, and a dropkick sends Booker to the outside. In comes Stevie Ray, so Patriot cuts him off with a dropkick, and Bagwell backdrops Booker. Stars and Stripes with a tandem hiptoss on Booker for two, but Patriot gets caught in the wrong corner, and double teamed. He manages to out move Stevie during a criss cross, however, and Patriot hits a jumping shoulderblock before passing to Bagwell for a flying axehandle. Marcus tries working the arm, but gets slammed, and Booker tags in for a bicycle kick. I figure that'll be the start of the heat segment, but Marcus manages a sunset flip in the corner for two, then passes to Patriot. He holds an armbar, and an awkward criss cross ends in Patriot hitting a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Back to Bagwell for a monkeyflip, but Stevie helps Booker block, and he tags in to put the boots to Bagwell himself. The Heat cut the ring in half on Marcus, and though the referee misses the tag to Patriot, that doesn't stop him from coming in anyway - Roseanne Barr the door! Booker ends up getting whipped into Sister Sherri to allow Bagwell a rollup, but Stevie blasts him with a bicycle kick to break, and Booker is able to reverse the rollup to retain at 9:22. I wouldn't go as far as to call it 'good,' but not bad at all. ** (Original rating: ½*)

Backstage, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage clarify that they won't be going down tonight

SuperBrawl V Control Center! Vader may or may not wear a shirt! Matches may or may not happen! Tune in!

Sting v Avalanche: Guardian Angel acts as the special guest referee for this one. Sting charges in at him, but gets clobbered. Probably his own fault for thinking that throwing his jacket would actually do any damage to Avalanche. Avalanche misses a charge to allow Sting a pair of dropkicks, and Avalanche takes a bump to the outside. Sting follows, but Angel cuts him off before he can attack, and Sting's just, like, "yeah, okay," and backs off. Intense! Back in, Avalanche wants a test-of-strength, so Sting starts kicking him in the stomach, but an attempt at a slam gets him crushed. Avalanche with an elbowdrop and a legdrop, and a scoop powerslam gets two. John Tenta was a solid worker (not spectacular, but solid) when he was properly motivated, but man, this WCW run thus far has been brutal. Sting comes back with a headbutt to the groin, and a series of four Stinger Splashes connect, allowing him a bodyslam. Scorpion Deathlock, and Avalanche submits, but Angel doesn't want to call it, so another referee has to run in to ring the bell himself at 5:19. Okay then. That leads to a fight between Sting and Angel, with Angel beating him down to turn heel. He and Avalanche go to work, but Alex Wright and Stars & Stripes run out to make the save before it can go too far. Afterwards, Gene Okerlund catches up with Angel in the aisle, and he decides to start stripping. Well, it is Vegas. Apparently, he wants to be known as Big Bubba again, to which Gene hilariously notes that he's got an 'identity crisis.' To say the least! How many gimmicks did he and Ed Leslie cycle through during their WCW runs, anyway? Too bad Vince Russo wasn't booking yet, or we could have had an epic 'gimmick on a pole' match at some point. But, anyway, I digress. The match sucked, but at least it was relatively quick compared to the fifteen minutes of suck at Starrcade. It was mostly background for the heel turn, anyway. ¼* (Original rating: DUD)

Main Event: Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage v Butcher and Kevin Sullivan: Even after all these years, seeing Hogan and Savage teaming in WCW feels weird to me. Like, once they went heel it was a whole different story, but seeing them do the yellow and red thing with their the-same-but-slightly-different gear still irks me. The heels don't even get entrances, in case there was any doubt whatsoever as to who is going over here. Another thing that still feels weird to me: babyface Hogan with the WCW title belt. It looks so... off... on him. Schiavone notes that Hogan and Savage are "probably the greatest tag team in the history of our sport," despite the fact that they've never won a title together, and that this is probably the first time they've even teamed since 1989. Hulk starts with Butcher, and absolutely gobbles him up. Over to Macho for a flying axehandle, so Sullivan comes in without a tag, but Randy shrugs them both off. Back to Hogan for a 2^nd rope flying axehandle on Butcher, and a big boot gets two. I've always hated how Tony would call it the 'big foot.' I guess it's not technically wrong, bit it bugs me. Butcher gets a Sleeper on, and Hulk actually passes out, but the dummy fails to let the referee check the arm three times before releasing, and then both he and Sullivan decide they've won. You know, with no call, no bell, no announcement - they just decided. Meanwhile Hulk is still out though, so Savage thinks fast, and comes off the top with the Flying Elbowdrop - correctly assuming that it'll trigger a Hulk Up! Some people find that spot offensive, but I actually thought it was great, and a nice nod to their history. If anything, I find the fact that Butcher was able to get world champion Hogan passed out with literally his first offensive move of the whole match, and then both he and fellow veteran Sullivan were both stupid enough to assume they'd been declared the winners despite not even a shred of evidence to back their theory up, significantly more insulting to my intelligence than the so-called 'reviving elbow' spot. Anyway, the babyfaces clean house with stereo atomic drops, and Hogan brings Butcher back in for the axe bomber. Tandem big boot hits, but Savage ends up in the wrong corner, and Butcher backdrops him over the top following a double team. The heels beat on Randy on the outside, giving me a chance to note how surprisingly shitty this Caesars Palace sports pavilion looks. They should have run the outdoor one, like the WWF did in 1993. They cut the ring in half on Savage, and Butcher gets the Sleeper on, but Randy manages a stunner to escape, and Hulk gets the hot tag. Big boot and a bodyslam on Butcher set up a Flying Elbowdrop from Savage, and the Legdrop finishes at 12:10. The reviving elbow should have been saved for the finish. And then afterwards, Vader runs in, taking out Savage right away so he can be alone with Hogan. They do a big stare down, and Vader no-sells a bunch of Hogan's punches, then drops him with the powerbomb! Well, that's a good way to build their pay per view match. Simple, effective... wait... did Hulk just no-sell the... yeah, Hulk just no-sold the powerbomb. People hated that at the time, and man, you can't blame 'em. Hulk had become so obsessed with never, ever looking weak by this point in his career that he couldn't even bother to do the thing he was once so good at to build a money match. It's almost like he forgot why his angles with King Kong Bundy, or Earthquake, or any other big monster heel from his glory years worked. This did include a funny bit where Vader (who was in street clothes) split the seat of his pants while getting chased off by Hogan, though. So there's that. ½* (Original rating: ¼*)

BUExperience: A couple of watchable TV matches on the undercard, but certainly nothing to go out of your way to see here. The production felt notably drab, too. Skip it.