CLASH OF THE CHAMPIONS XIX (January 21, 1992)
Tonight's Clash of the Champions opened up with footage from a few weeks ago from WCW Saturday night. New World champion Barry Windham was defending against Paul Orndorff and about to put him away when former champ Lex Luger and bodyguard Mr. Hughes ran into the ring and took out Windham's knee. The three of them continued to attack Windham until Sting and Ron Simmons arrived to chase them off.
Tonight, we are expecting an update on Windham and his status to defend his title at next month's big Superbrawl pay per view.
The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) defeated Diamond Dallas Page and Diamond Studd when M. Hayes pinned Page with the DDT in
0:12:14.
Rating: ** 3/4
After losing at Starrcade, the Freebirds decided their relationship with manager Diamond Dallas Page had run its course and they informed DDP they were ready to move on. Page didn't take too kindly to that as he and his other wrestler, the Diamond Studd, attacked the Freebirds on a previous edition of Saturday night. That led DDP to get in the ring tonight.
Despite being strictly a manager, DDP showed some prowess in the ring and partnering with the powerful Studd helped his cause.
But it was not enough to take down the finely tuned machine that is the Fabulous Freebirds.
Johnny B. Badd pinned Thomas Zenk with the Tutti Frutti in 0:07:51.
Rating: *** 1/2
Speaking of wrestlers who are thriving since breaking away from managers, Johnny B. Badd has been on a hot streak since separating from Teddy Long and continued his winning streak with a big win over the York Foundation's Thomas Zenk.
Falls-Count-Anywhere Match:
Cactus Jack pinned Van Hammer after a legsweep faceslam in 0:18:25.
Rating: ** 1/2
These two have had quite a few brawls in recent months and a falls count anywhere match may have been the most brutal of all. The action spilled outside the area, across the street to a cattle ranch.
Jack got a bit of help where there waiting was none other than Abdullah the Butcher who smacked Hammer with a shovel to help Jack get the win.
Steve Austin pinned Ricky Steamboat with the Stun Gun in 0:09:20.
Rating: ***
(Steve Austin retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)
[Paul E. Dangerously interfered against Ricky Steamboat.]
The Dangerous Alliance already has quite a bit of gold for becoming a new faction. TV champion Stunning Steve Austin proved to be a great recruit by Paul E. Though a cell phone shot to the back of Steamboat's head led right away to a Stun Gun and a successful title defense.
Interview with WCW VP Cowboy Bill Watts
As head of WCW, Watts came to the ring to address Barry Windham and the world title situation. Watts said that due to his injury, Barry Windham will be unable to defend his title at Superbrawl. That means that he is stripping Windham of the title.
This brought out Lex Luger, with bodyguard Mr. Hughes at his side who claimed that the title should revert back to him since he was the previous champ. Watts informed Luger it wasn't going to work that way.
He announced that at Superbrawl it will be a 4-man tournament to decide the new WCW champion between Luger, Sting, Paul Orndorff and Ron Simmons.
The Destruction Crew (Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom) defeated The York Foundation (Richard Morton and Thomas Rich) when Enos made Morton
submit to the Double Hammerlock Submission in 10:33.
Rating: **
(The Destruction Crew won the WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM TITLES.)
We have new United States tag team champions. This capped a horrible night for the York Foundation as Morton and Rich lost their belts to the Destruction Crew.
Vinnie Vegas pinned Flyin' Brian with the Snake Eyes in 4:43.
Rating: * 3/4
[Diamond Dallas Page interfered against Flyin' Brian.]
A newcomer to WCW making his debut, Vinnie Vegas, all 7 feet of him, was way to much for Flyin Bryan to handle.
Bryan tried a top rope cross body press but was caught by Vegas who turned it into his finisher he calls Snake Eyes.
The Patriots (Firebreaker Chip and Todd Champion) defeated The Young Pistols (Tracey Smothers and Steve Armstrong) when Champion pinned
S. Armstrong with the Patriot Missile in 16:54.
Rating: ***
The Patriots keep trying to make their climb up the tag team ladder scoring a win in a thrilling match against the Young Pistols.
The Enforcers (Arn Anderson and Larry Zbyszko) and Bobby Eaton defeated The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) and Dustin Rhodes when B. Eaton pinned D. Rhodes with the Alabama Jam in 0:17:37.
Rating: **** 1/4
[Paul E. Dangerously interfered against Dustin Rhodes.]
The Dangerous Alliance has already been making a lot of enemies in WCW and tonight they faced a host of them in the ring. But the X factor at ringside is Paul E. Dangerously.
Paul E. tried to cheap shot Rhodes, just like he did earlier in the night to Ricky Steamboat, only Rhodes was able to catch him. All heck broke loose between the 6 men and Dustin pulled him into the ring and hit Paul E with a Bulldog.
However, He was too distracted taking care of Paul E that Bobby Eaton came back in the ring and caught him from behind. It led to an Alabama Jam and a Dangerous Alliance win.
Sting made Mr. Hughes submit to the Scorpion Death Lock in 6:10.
Rating: * ½
Perhaps it was Lex Luger’s idea to send out bodyguard Mr. Hughes to try to soften Sting up, but it didn’t seem to work. Sting dominated the match nearly from the opening bell.
Rick Rude pinned Ron Simmons with the Rude Awakening in 14:15.
Rating: *** 3/4
(Rick Rude retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)
Rick Rude concluded a perfect night for the Dangerous Alliance retaining his US title over Ron Simmons. However, a big assist goes to Lex Luger. As Paul E. was still recovering from his run in with Dustin Rhodes, Medusa was the lone escort for Rick Rude. But as the ref was amonishing both for their dubious tactics, Simmons was on the floor and Lex Luger ran down to attack Simmons, throwing his already injured shoulder into the ring post.
Simmons crawled back in the ring but was an easy target for a Rude Awakening.
