[WCW] The Netcop Retro Rant for Clash 27
Scott Keith
The Netcop Retro Rant for WCW Clash of the Champions XXVII (June 1994)
- Live from Charleston, South Carolina
- Hosted by Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Jesse Ventura.
- Opening match: WCW World tag team title: Cactus Jack & Kevin
Sullivan v. The Nasty Boys. This, like most of the card, is a rematch
from Slamboree. That match was one of my favorite matches, ever. This
is not as good because it's a straight tag team match and 3/4
participants are shitty at straight tag team matches. Two referees here
for no reason in particular. Not too painful to watch, because WCW
allows them one last flirtation with hardcore wrestling before the
arrival of Hulk Hogan puts Cactus Jack on a permanent leash. Sags and
the Sullivan brothers brawl outside the ring and Jack DDTs Knobs for the
pin to retain the titles. Not bad, and an enjoyable opener. **1/2
- Guardian Angel promo.
- Guardian Angel v. Tex Slazenger. The Angel is of course Ray Traylor,
and this is the debut match for the gimmick. Speaking of bad gimmicks,
ol' Tex is currently stinking up the WWF as everyone's favorite hog
farmer, Phineas I. Godwinn. And this match is a squash. Angel gives
Tex three "strikes" (ie. shots) before he flips out and ends it with the
Bossman slam. One of the better gimmicks for Traylor, to be sure, but
doomed to failure for legal reasons.
- Extended footage of Hulk Hogan's limousine pulling into the building
is shown, as Bobby fires off a couple of OJ jokes. Back when they were
still funny.
- WCW World TV title match: Larry Zbyszko v. Steven Regal. Here's the
short version of this feud: Regal was acting like a pompous ass and
generally pissing on Zbyszko's leg (much like Scott Hall today) so one
day while interviewing him, Zbyszko decided to deck him and come out of
retirement. They fought at Slamboree in a non-title match to prove
Larry's worth, and that earned him a title shot, which he also won,
which was aired on Worldwide (I think). This is the rematch. Steven
Regal is my god at this point, and I wish he'd remember how good he was
in 1994 and go back there again. By this time, these two have wrestled
each other twice and have a really awesome groove going together. Both
guys are total professionals and know how to keep a match from getting
boring, and their styles mesh perfectly here. The crowd is very
appreciative throughout, as Regal draws monster heel heat. When was the
last time that happened? End comes as Zbyszko tries a Boston Crab, but
Sir William pulls him over with the umbrella, putting Regal on top, and
Regal then grabs onto the top rope for leverage and gets the pin and
his second TV title. Terrific match. ***1/2
- Mean Gene interviews Dustin Rhodes. Rhodes has been feuding with Col.
Parker's stable for a few months, and now he's asking Arn Anderson to be
his partner against Terry Funk and Bunkhouse Buck, in retaliation for a
beating at Slamboree. Arn accepts on the condition that Dustin realizes
it'll be the old, sneaky, dirty trick playing Arn that shows up.
Dustin, like an IDIOT, agrees and of course when they wrestle at Bash at
the Beach, Arn turns on him and beats the hell out of him. They just
don't write great storylines like that one anymore.
- US title match: Stunning Steve Austin v. Johnny B. Badd. Another
rematch from Slamboree. Austin had fired Parker the week before and was
better for it. It was supposed to be Austin going over Flair for the
World title in the next few months, but Hulk showed up and screwed it
up, and screwed up Austin's career with it. Ironically, it was the
bitterness caused by this that created Stone Cold Steve Austin. A damn
fine match that isn't as good as Slamboree, but it's a lot different and
different is good sometimes. I just watched some Johnny B. Badd stuff
from 1991-ish this afternoon, and the difference between then and
1994-ish is ASTOUNDING. The guy improved 200% in that time span. Goofy
ending to the match: Austin pulls out a gimmick (foreign object,
whatever you want to call it) from his tights and nails Johnny in the
gut, then small packages him for the pin. Austin does a lousy job of
hiding it, however, and a second referee runs down and sees Austin drop
it, then restarts the match. Badd cradles Austin and gets a quick pin
from the second referee, and is declared the new US champion! We go to
break and a decision is promised when he come back.
- We're back, with no mention of the decision. I grumble to myself and
check the PWI Almanac, which says that it was Badd by DQ. Good enough
for me.
- Hulk Hogan comes out to a decent pop. Boos can be heard, however. He
challenges the winner of the Flair-Sting match later in the show. Flair
pops up on the video wall, to a pop at least 3x louder than Hogan got.
Keep in mind that WCW turned Flair heel not two weeks prior to this in
order to prevent exactly that sort of thing from happening. This is why
I hate Hogan so much.
- Main event: "Unification" match: WCW World champion Ric Flair v.
Bogus World champion Sting. Flair gets an amazing pop, half face/half
heel. Sting gets an even louder face pop. Hulk didn't get half of what
either guy got. The subplot here is that Sherri Martell has been
showing up in the front row of WCW shows for weeks now, and no one knows
who she's managing. Once again, before we start, I feel the need to
reiterate that this match unified NOTHING and Sting's "title" was
WORTHLESS. Sherri comes down with her face painted like Sting and sits
in his corner. This is about the closest these two got to having that
big epic showdown that everyone was waiting for but never happened.
The first Clash of Champions was too soon for Sting to win. He was too
injured at Bash 90 and the match was too bogged down with storyline.
This had a great reason for existing (The World title controversy), a
good storyline (They hate each other...what more do you need?) and GREAT
heat. It's not a great match, but it's really, really good. Lots of
stalling from Flair to start, which drags it down but gives Flair
mega-heat. Flair is the king, I swear. It amazes me that WCW could
manage to put Flair over as the biggest babyface champion they'd had in
years, then ask him to turn heel again on two weeks' notice and watch as
he puts every other heel in the federation to shame. The man could do
it all. And WCW pissed it away for Hulk. It gets *really* good 15
minutes in as Flair takes over. Sting makes the comeback and starts
rockin' and rollin' on Flair, showing more moves than in all of his 1998
matches combined. Flair rolls out and Sting tries a plancha, but Flair
pulls Sherri in the way and Sting wipes her out. Sting is in shock over
it, and is distracted enough trying to help her up that Flair can simply
roll him up and pin him to unify the titles. Holding the tights, of
course. ****
After the match, Flair and Sherri hug, since it was all a ruse, of
course, then clobber Sting. Hogan makes the save. Oh, the irony.
- Everyone promptly forgets what a good match we just saw as Hogan poses
and challenges Flair to a match at Bash at the Beach. Sting? Who's
Sting?
The Bottom Line:
He ruined it all.
From 1989 - 1993, WCW was led by a parade of idiots, blunderers,
accountants, lawyers, old men and faded ex-wrestlers, none of whom could
both satisfy the bottom-line craving suits and put on a watchable
product. Bill Watts tried but was fired for daring to have an opinion.
Things were terrible in 1990 under Ole Anderson, but Dusty Rhodes tried
everything new and original he could think of in 1991 to rebuild. It
didn't work, but many of the stars built in that era (Austin & Badd to
name two) would stick around to help later on. In 1992, Bill Watts gave
the federation a complete makeover before Eric Bischoff forced him out
in a power play typical of WCW. In 1993, Ted Turner threw every cent he
could at WCW in a desperate attempt to boost the federation to the WWF's
level and the decision was made to put Sid Vicious on top for the bulk
of 1994.
Then, a few weeks prior to Starrcade 93, Vicious nearly stabbed Arn
Anderson to death with a pair of scissors and was promptly fired. WCW
was left without their biggest draw and, more importantly, a credible
challenger for the monster Vader at Starrcade. So they did what they
always did in their most desperate times of need: They went back to Ric
Flair, hoping for a stopgap until they could start from square one, just
like they always did. But the unthinkable happened: WCW finally got it
right.
We're still not sure how or why it happened, but they put on a hot
Starrcade, followed it up with a good Clash of Champions, then blew
everyone away with Superbrawl IV, Spring Stampede and Slamboree. The
quality was through the roof. Flair was drawing like nuts as a babyface
and Sting was more over than ever before in his feud with Rick Rude.
WCW could do no wrong, and with Steve Austin and Johnny B. Badd in the
wings, being prepped for major star turns, they looked to be ready to
mount a major offensive against the WWF within weeks. They even flirted
with a more mature, "hardcore" style by signing Terry Funk and allowing
Cactus Jack to book his own matches.
Then they signed Hulk Hogan. And it all fell apart. Flair was turned
heel to set up a hastily signed match between the two at Bash at the
Beach. Sting was put on the backburner for more than a year. Cactus
Jack was put on a virtual choke-chain and forced out of the federation
by the fall. All of Hogan's friends came in and took away the spots
earned by WCW's rising talent. Austin was jobbed out and humiliated.
Badd was stuck fighting the Honky Tonk Man in the opening matches.
Vader was relegated to ineffective heel while Brutus Beefcake fought
Hogan in the main event of Starrcade 1994.
For me, it was like watching a relative deteriorate due to disease.
After seeing WCW fuck it up for so long, then get it totally right, I
couldn't help but have a soft spot for them.
But Hulk Hogan ruined it all. I never forgave him for that, and in fact
I stopped watching WCW entirely for 18 months following Bash at the
Beach, as my own personal protest.
This Clash represents the last truly great show WCW put on in 1994, and
is the turning point for them, as they went from penthouse to outhouse
in one month flat. Had they continued with this level of quality, they
wouldn't have needed to wait until 1996 to overtake the WWF because
their product could have stood on it's own, with the talent they already
had.
But Hulk Hogan ruined it all.
As usual.
I highly recommend watching this show, and thinking hard about whether
or not it was worth ever signing him.
Later.
Scott Keith, keeper of the FAQ and RSPW Elite ringleader.
"Screw all of you. I draw the line at talking poo." - Cartman
Official RSPW FAQ URL: http://www.planet.eon.net/~skeith/faq.html
Be sure to visit Scott-Land!(tm) while you're there.
Joshua Holmes
Scott Keith wrote:
>
> The Netcop Retro Rant for WCW Clash of the Champions XXVII (June 1994)
<snip>
Keep 'em coming, Scott. I remember watching this one and highly
enjoying it.
I've always hated Sting, so I laughed out loud as Flair and Sherri
hugged. It was one of the great moments in wrestling for a heel-mark.
<snip>
> Then they signed Hulk Hogan. And it all fell apart. Flair was turned
> heel to set up a hastily signed match between the two at Bash at the
> Beach. Sting was put on the backburner for more than a year. Cactus
> Jack was put on a virtual choke-chain and forced out of the federation
> by the fall. All of Hogan's friends came in and took away the spots
> earned by WCW's rising talent. Austin was jobbed out and humiliated.
> Badd was stuck fighting the Honky Tonk Man in the opening matches.
> Vader was relegated to ineffective heel while Brutus Beefcake fought
> Hogan in the main event of Starrcade 1994.
I got reinterested in WCW back in mid 1993 because of one man: Vader.
He was an absolute monster. It was incredible to watch him go out and
utterly destroy people. For me, I was in complete awe of this guy.
I can freely admit to liking Sid Vicious and was really looking forward
to Vicious/Vader match. However, when they brought The Man back out as
a face, I completely and totally marked out. I went through the roof.
Starrcade 93 was so much better than Starrcade 94 that I even wonder if
the same company was running both shows. Flair made the most INCREDIBLE
face turn I've ever seen.
And then, as I was enjoying Saturday Night one evening, Tony Schiavone
says, "Fans, we've got a very special announcement and signing to show
you." I immediately saw Bobby Heenan age 5 years and look completely
and utterly disappointed. I wondered who it was.
It was him. Hulk Hogan. I couldn't believe they did it. I was a
Hulkamaniac when I first started watching wrestling at the age of 10,
but in a year's time I was absolutely sick to death of his crappy,
formulaic matches. I cheered for him one last time at WM VI, since I
despised the Warrior, then swore I'd never do it again. And there he
was, and I knew immediately what was going to happen.
It happened. The hasty match with Ric Flair where the cheers for Flair
and the boos for Hogan were so deafening that they had to edit them out
of the tape. Hogan didn't sell A GOD DAMN THING from Ric Flair. It was
one of the worst things I had ever seen. I literally screamed at the TV
for Ric Flair to do something, ANYTHING, to hurt him. It was awful.
> I highly recommend watching this show, and thinking hard about whether
> or not it was worth ever signing him.
Thanks for reminding me why I hate Hulk Hogan so much, Scott.
--
Joshua Holmes jdho...@force.stwing.upenn.edu
I hate Hulk Hogan, and so should you.
AGAMAN1
Has it really been that long since Hogan came to WCW? I am so tired of his SOS
every show. His heel turn, like him or hate him, was one of the greatest in
history. Unfortunelately, his ego has overrun everyone else's storylines.
WCW needs to move on and just won't admit their mistakes...too much money
involved, I guess.
On a sidenote, Flair is still the shit...selling Bret cements it. Has Bret
always been this shitty an interview?
If HBK would take some lessons in professionalism from Flair, he would be one
of the greatest of all time.
My Top 3 All-Time:
Ric Flair
Bruno Sammartino
Hulk Hogan (circa 1984-88)
HBK...almost...see above
Carl Spicer
Scott Keith <ske...@mindless.com> > I highly recommend watching this show,
and thinking hard about whether
> or not it was worth ever signing him.
Was it worth signing Hogan? The answer now is real simple-yes. WCW was
doing better in 94-but they weren't drawing like they are now. I was at the
Spectrum last night, and the crowd was as hot as any I remember from the
NWA days of the 80's-and those were great crowds. PPV's drawing good buy
rates, high TV ratings (record cable ratings), sold out show after sold out
show. Not to mention, money coming in that allows them to hire Benoit,
Malenko, Guerrero, Juventud, Rey, Jericho and others.
Was signing Hogan worth it? If that question were asked of me just before
Nitro started up, I'd have to say No. And even before the heel turn at the
Bash, the answer could go either way. But ever since Hogan turned heel,
IMO, there's only one answer. Yes, it was worth it.
And it was worth it for both companies. Competition has helped both
companies, Cable ratings are high, attendance is high. Like it or not, this
is a great time for wrestling. Enjoy it while it lasts-because boom times
never last. A few years from now, and we'll be looking back on this time,
and remembering the sold out crowds and hot shows, and waiting for the next
big thing to bring it all back again.
Carl
TALIS2469
EXACTLY. It's very easy to bash on Hogan and to give props to organizations
like ECW, but let's not forget what Hogan has done for the industry. Remember
that the surge in 80's wrestling coincided with Hulk Hogan and his rise; it
seems that the 90's surge coincides with Hogan and his NWO turn....
Before the flamers start, I agree that Hogan may have an ego the size of
Manhattan, a poor workrate, and has seen better days. But he continues to draw,
and more mainstream audiences equate pro wrestling with Hulk Hogan.....
Scott Keith
Oh my god, tali...@aol.com (TALIS2469) killed Kenny! You bastard!
>EXACTLY. It's very easy to bash on Hogan and to give props to organizations
>like ECW, but let's not forget what Hogan has done for the industry. Remember
>that the surge in 80's wrestling coincided with Hulk Hogan and his rise; it
>seems that the 90's surge coincides with Hogan and his NWO turn....
>
>Before the flamers start, I agree that Hogan may have an ego the size of
>Manhattan, a poor workrate, and has seen better days. But he continues to draw,
>and more mainstream audiences equate pro wrestling with Hulk Hogan.....
>
I don't disagree that Hogan is a draw.
What I'm asking is this: Is Hogan the *reason* WCW is doing so well?
Flair was drawing like a motherfucker in '94 before the heel turn, and
Sting seemed to be developing a subtle new persona for himself that might
have worked better than his 1990 one (I mean, Ole Anderson *was* booking at
the time). And maybe if Austin had been given the chance to develop...
Look at it this way: It took TWO YEARS following the signing of Hogan for
WCW to make any kind of serious dent in the WWF, and even then it wasn't
Hogan, it was the overall nWo concept that started the fire.
And yet history proves that the nWo by itself doesn't draw. Souled Out
bombed. nWo Nitro bombed. Everything Hogan touched from late '94 through
early 96 bombed.
Hogan has a habit of being the right guy in the right place at the right
time, and while he is undeniably a big name in wrestling who draws well,
WCW is shooting themselves in the foot by passing over those who could have
become as big, if not bigger, than Hogan if given a chance to be out of his
shadow.
Carl Spicer
Scott Keith <ske...@mindless.com> wrote in article
<34fd24bd...@news.planet.eon.net>...
> Oh my god, tali...@aol.com (TALIS2469) killed Kenny! You bastard!
> >EXACTLY. It's very easy to bash on Hogan and to give props to
organizations
> >like ECW, but let's not forget what Hogan has done for the industry.
Remember
> >that the surge in 80's wrestling coincided with Hulk Hogan and his rise;
it
> >seems that the 90's surge coincides with Hogan and his NWO turn....
> >
> >Before the flamers start, I agree that Hogan may have an ego the size of
> >Manhattan, a poor workrate, and has seen better days. But he continues
to draw,
> >and more mainstream audiences equate pro wrestling with Hulk Hogan.....
> >
>
> I don't disagree that Hogan is a draw.
>
> What I'm asking is this: Is Hogan the *reason* WCW is doing so well?
> Flair was drawing like a motherfucker in '94 before the heel turn, and
> Sting seemed to be developing a subtle new persona for himself that might
> have worked better than his 1990 one (I mean, Ole Anderson *was* booking
at
> the time). And maybe if Austin had been given the chance to develop...
Perhaps. But while WCW was drawing better, there's still no comparison
between then and now.
>
> Look at it this way: It took TWO YEARS following the signing of Hogan
for
> WCW to make any kind of serious dent in the WWF, and even then it wasn't
> Hogan, it was the overall nWo concept that started the fire.
>
> And yet history proves that the nWo by itself doesn't draw.
The Four Horsemen by themselves wouldn't draw either. But the Horsemen vs.
Rhodes, or Sting, drew pretty well. The problem with the NWO Nitro is it
was basically one long NWO love fest. It's the WCW vs. NWO feud that draws
heat. Hogan couldn't draw if he just stood in the ring and interviewed the
whole show-but Hogan vs. Sting draws as well as any series of matches this
decade.
Now, if the NWO splits up, and Hogan feuds with the Wolfpack, that might
draw.
Carl
Gancarski
Scott Keith wrote:
>What I'm asking is this: Is Hogan the *reason* WCW is doing so well?
>Flair was drawing like a motherfucker in '94 before the heel turn, and
>Sting seemed to be developing a subtle new persona for himself that might
>have worked better than his 1990 one (I mean, Ole Anderson *was* booking at
>the time). And maybe if Austin had been given the chance to develop...
Pre-Hogan WCW fans genuinely wanted Flair to be redeemed by a long run as face
champion. Austin was being set up as a good heel, Steamboat could've been
Kobashi to Flair's Misawa, et al. It would've worked, and at a fraction of the
cost Bischoff spent to bring in Hogan and his friends.
As a side note, I'm genuinely convinced that part of the reason for Flair's
physical atrophying is because he knows that he'll never make it out of the
midcard again. It's hard to get motivated to put people over for no real
storyline payoff for years on end.
Scott Keith
Oh my god, "Carl Spicer" <CASP...@prodigy.net> killed Kenny! You bastard!
>
>> And yet history proves that the nWo by itself doesn't draw.
>
>The Four Horsemen by themselves wouldn't draw either. But the Horsemen vs.
>Rhodes, or Sting, drew pretty well. The problem with the NWO Nitro is it
>was basically one long NWO love fest. It's the WCW vs. NWO feud that draws
>heat. Hogan couldn't draw if he just stood in the ring and interviewed the
>whole show-but Hogan vs. Sting draws as well as any series of matches this
>decade.
>
Right. My point being, it's 50/50. Sting and Flair and Giant and the rest
of the anti-nWo brigade are just as important as Hogan and Nash and Hall in
the WCW v. nWo thing, but Hogan somehow thinks that he's the reason for it.
That's my problem. The other side doesn't get the due it deserves.
>Now, if the NWO splits up, and Hogan feuds with the Wolfpack, that might
>draw.
>
Short term. I don't know how Hogan could possibly go back to babyface,
though...
Carl Spicer
Gancarski <ganc...@aol.com> wrote in article .
>
> As a side note, I'm genuinely convinced that part of the reason for
Flair's
> physical atrophying is because he knows that he'll never make it out of
the
> midcard again. It's hard to get motivated to put people over for no real
> storyline payoff for years on end.
>
And I think part of Flair's "physical atrophying" is the fact that he's 49
years old. Time catches up with everybody. Even the Nature Boy.
Carl
CARL A SPICER
Scott Keith wrote in message <34ff02cb...@news.planet.eon.net>...
>Oh my god, "Carl Spicer" <CASP...@prodigy.net> killed Kenny! You bastard!
That little runt deserved it.
>>
>
>Short term. I don't know how Hogan could possibly go back to babyface,
>though...
I don't think that Hogan would be the face in that feud. Hogan seems to have
really taken to being a heel. For all his admitted ego, he has lost more in
the nearly two years of his recent heel run than he did in all the years he
was a face super hero. I think that Nash, Hall and Syxx would be Austin
style faces-acting a little like heels, but drawing cheers from the fans.
The end result of that feud, IMO, should be to put Hogan over Nash in a
match to determine who would face Hart for the title. If Hogan beats Hart,
he could face Nash, Hall, Sting and Savage, before losing the title back to
Hart.
Carl
Dr. Winston
CARL A SPICER wrote in message
<6drjnv$4hrk$1...@newssvr03-int.news.prodigy.com>...
>Scott Keith wrote in message <34ff02cb...@news.planet.eon.net>...
>>Oh my god, "Carl Spicer" <CASP...@prodigy.net> killed Kenny! You
bastard!
>That little runt deserved it.
<heehaw>
Now THAT's funny!
</heehaw>
>The end result of that feud, IMO, should be to put Hogan over Nash in a
>match to determine who would face Hart for the title. If Hogan beats Hart,
>he could face Nash, Hall, Sting and Savage, before losing the title back to
>Hart.
Damn you, Carl Spicer, Damn you to HELL. I was with you right up until 'if
Hogan Beats Hart.' Then 4 MORE Hogan squashes over guys that have more
talent? Isn't that what we're all wishing would go AWAY? To HELL with
that. Try this, from this Sunday onward-
Hall over Sting, Hogan over Hall, Nash over Hogan, Giant over Nash, Nash
over Giant, Hart over Nash, Hall over Hart, Sting over Hall, Hogan over
Sting, Giant over Hogan, and go from there. That way, we get a little
variety, we get guys making sure that all the 'time-honored traditions' have
been honored, Everyone gets the title for a while, (everyone but Hart gets
it twice, but I'm not booking far enough in advance to put Hart over the
Giant yet, and I didn't want Hogan to get it back from the Giant; Hogan
should give the Giant the Ultimate Compliment and work a book with him that
lets the Giant end Hogan's career - for the very last time. All in favor,
gimme a HELL YEAH!), everyone gets a shot in the spotlight, everyone puts
everyone over, and you know, it'd be great to watch the angles play out to
support it, instead of Hogan going over for the recordbreaking 5 millionth
time for no apparent reason.
I repeat. Damn you, Carl Spicer.
(insert smileys where necessary)
Dr. Winston
"Christ, you know it ain't easy, don't know how hard it can be.
The way things are going, they're gonna crucify me."
RSPW FAQ: http://www.planet.eon.net/~skeith/faq.html
Christopher Wagoner
CARL A SPICER
Dr. Winston wrote in message ...
>CARL A SPICER wrote in message
><6drjnv$4hrk$1...@newssvr03-int.news.prodigy.com>...
>
>>Scott Keith wrote in message <34ff02cb...@news.planet.eon.net>...
>>>Oh my god, "Carl Spicer" <CASP...@prodigy.net> killed Kenny! You
>bastard!
>
>>That little runt deserved it.
>
>
><heehaw>
>Now THAT's funny!
></heehaw>
>
>>The end result of that feud, IMO, should be to put Hogan over Nash in a
>>match to determine who would face Hart for the title. If Hogan beats Hart,
>>he could face Nash, Hall, Sting and Savage, before losing the title back
to
>>Hart.
>
>
>Damn you, Carl Spicer, Damn you to HELL.
I work in social services. I'm already there. :)
I was with you right up until 'if
>Hogan Beats Hart.' Then 4 MORE Hogan squashes over guys that have more
>talent? Isn't that what we're all wishing would go AWAY?
Sure, and if it were up to me, Hogan would never have the title again. But
it isn't up to me, and I don't think Hogan is going to go anywhere. Nash
could beat Hogan and feud with Sting and Hart, that would be cool.
Carl