Hey kids (and consenting adults) !!! Thanks for clicking that link to check me out. First of all, thanks for the kind (and unkind) words in regards to the last Clash review. As previously stated, the 411 readers are by FAR the coolest peeps on the net. A special thank you goes out to Don Becker of TheSmarks/Wrestleline(RIP) famec. Don was so pleased with his coronation as “King of the 411 Prom” in the last Clash review, that he went out of his way crown me “TheSmarks Homecoming King” in return within one of his RAW reviews. I was in complete shock, as I was really expecting Meltzer to take the crown. It was a bit of a surprise, so I didn’t get the opportunity to prepare a speech but let me just say that Don, I promise to you that I will wear this crown with the same pride and dignity that you wear the 411wrestling Prom crown with. With that said, I BETTER be scoring with TheSmarks head cheerleader tonight.
Clash of the Champions VI – Rajun Cajun!!! – SPECIAL HALLOWEEN EDITION!
-I don’t use the terms “Special,” nor “edition,” loosely, so you can bet your bottom nickel that your sweet asses shall get a truly SPECIAL, Halloween themed, review in every sense of the word. Run-on sentences rule!
-Before we get started, I have a special request for anyone who may be reading this. This week marks the birthday of one of my favorite old-school wrestlers, and also a damn nice guy, Allen Coage (aka “Bad News Brown”). If any of you happened to be a fan of his back in the 80’s, or even if not, it would be nice gesture from the 411 readers if you were to send him a quick birthday email… Wish Bad News a Happy Birthday! It doesn’t have to be anything long or elaborate, just a quick “Happy Birthday” and a short message. Alot of older wrestlers tend to be forgotten when something new and exciting comes along, so I just think it would be nice if we all let Bad News know that we still care.
-All around the country, people are decorating their houses, carving their pumpkins, and gearing up for the commercial powerhouse that is Halloween. This candy-filled holiday doesn’t just apply to your normal street people though. Believe it or not, your favorite internet wrestling personalities are also gearing up for Halloween. In fact, I have received word that a number of these personalities have already picked out their costumes for the 31st.
–Dave Meltzer: My contacts inform me that Dave is having a particularly tough time this year deciding on a costume. His previous years’ costumes have consisted of Mr. Wrestling, Mil Mascaras, and on a particularly noteworthy Halloween, Mr. Wrestling 2. This year he decided to “work outside of the box,” so to speak, choosing a costume that was not related to wrestling in the least bit…
Dave Meltzer’s Halloween
-The 1wrestling team will also be dressing up for Halloween this year as well. Dave Scherer and Bob Ryder already have plans to attend the big MECW costume ball together. Tommy Fierro – Everyone’s favorite whipping boy from everyone’s favorite whipping site (1wrestling). Famous for his “I hate fantasy booking, so I will post daily fantasy booking columns” mentality. Judging from this picture, it looks like he’s a certified “thug,” no doubtedly from the mean streets of the Yacht Club.
1Wrestling’s Halloween
–Bill Apter: Alright, alright, so he’s not an “internet wrestling personality” per se, but Apter is a LEGEND in the field of wrestling publications. Bill has been planning to going trick-or-treating with one of his good friends for the last few months. They have searched long and hard for the perfect costume. Bill decided to go as his favorite mid-90’s WWF Superstar, while his friend chose to dress up as a complete and total dweeb.
Bill Apter’s Halloween
–Widro: What, you didn’t think that the Don Corleone of the 411 family would be dressing up this year ? I’ve been told that most of the costume shops in the Jersey area are pretty stripped down by now, so Widro was unfortunately forced to settle for a rather lackluster costume. In fact, Widro simply put on a long brown wig, and ended up looking a little something like this…
Widro’s Halloween
–Tommy Rich: Whoooooooooooooooa, this one is WAY to easy. I’ll try anyway… Tommy Rich’s Halloween
-A gigantic Halloween thank you to Jason at Wrestling Supercards and Tournaments for invaluable match times and information. I don’t have a picture of Jason to perform corny, third-grade doctoring on, so instead you’ll have to settle for a picture of two EXTREMELY hot, topless
blondes making out. If you find that offensive, feel free to go back to DVDVR where you came from…
-And we are LIVE from the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana for Clash of the Champions VI – Rajun Cajun!!!
-Quick Stats:
Date: April 2nd, 1989
Venue: New Orleans Superdome
Attendance: 5,300
Gate: $15,000
Cable Rating: (4.3)
-We open the show with a little montage showing footage of Steamboat’s Chi-Town NWA title victory over Ric Flair. We get this voiceover to guide us through the clips:
“The site was Chicago, Illinois, and history was made. Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat defeated the greatest NWA Champion of all time, ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair. For the love of his family, ‘The Dragon’ took the gold. Today, in a two out of three falls showdown in the New Orleans Superdome, the championship of the world will once again be on the line. Ric Flair challenges Ricky Steamboat in the Clash of the Champions VI – Rajun Cajun!”
-Jim Ross and Michael “P.S.” Hayes apparently have nothing on the plate tonight and have graciously volunteered to be our hosts for the evening. Thanks guys! They inform us that we’ve got 10 big matches tonight (only 8 end up happening), including 5 big title matches (only 3 of which end up happening.) P.S. wags his tongue and says, “We’re gonna have some ROUGH, TOUGH action tonight,” scaring off any viewers who might be straddling the fence on whether or not to view the show. They discuss the main event, with Ross (the babyface) choosing Steamboat, and Hayes (the HEEL) choosing Flair. Formulatic, but FUN!
-In one of the coolest segments ever seen on a Clash show, we are shown highlights of the previous night’s “Conversion of Legends” dinner. Dory Funk Jr., Harley Race, Buddy Rodgers, Terry Funk, Lou Thesz, Pat O’Conner, Gene Kiniski, legendary NWA promoter Sam Muchnik, and Ricky Steamboat have all been gathered together for the evening to dine and discuss wrestling past. NWA President Jim Herd makes a moving speech, concluding it by saying…
“We appreciate the legacy that you have passed on and we promise to expend all of our energies in protecting the credibility that all of your hard work and sweat has established. We’re not asking you be our shields, we will have to earn our own marks in the same way that you did. We salute you for who you are and what you’ve accomplished. Thank you for joining us tonight.”
Touching, but ultimately bullshit. Not sure what the legends thought, but I don’t consider “expending all of our energies in protecting the credibility that all your hard work and sweat has established” to include such gems as…
-The Black Scorpion and his bush league, birthday party magic show.
-The Yetti
-P.N. News
-UnCensored II
-David Arquette, Jay Leno, Karl Malone, Dennis Rodman, etc..
Guys like Lou Thesz, Harley Race, Johnny Valentine, and many many others worked their ass off day in and day out to establish the credibility and quality of NWA action, and one by one, idiot bookers and clueless figureheads spit all over their legacy, eventually running it straight into the ground. Good work boys!
-Jim Ross reflects on some of these legends, mentioning the fact that Terry Funk was the first ever NWA champion to defend the title at the Superdome. Ross informs us that we will now be taking a look at tonight’s lineup. When I hear “we are now gonna take a look at tonight’s lineup,” I markishly believe that we are going to view a rundown of the nights matches. Silly Mark!!! We are actually going to watch a ten minute montage with clips of all the NWA Superstars doing their vintage moves, while generic 80’s music blares in the background.
-The National Anthem plays as a high tech laser show lights up the Superdome. Every time the lasers flash, we can see how ridiculously small the crowd looks here tonight. 5,000 was a very good number for the NWA at this point, but the building is just MASSIVE for a crowd of 5,000. Don’t know who’s bright idea it was to hold a Clash of the Champions card in an EIGHTY thousand seat arena. That’s like holding your fourth grade birthday party at Yankee Stadium, even though you know that your grandparents are going to be the only ones actually coming. Too bad this wasn’t 1991, the NWA could have moved the show to a barn because of “security reasons stemming from the Gulf War.”
–The Midnight Express (w/ Jim Cornette) vs. The Samoan Swat Team (w/ Paul E. Dangerously). The Midnight’s music blasts through the Superdome, and the crowd ERUPTS. The SST are already in the ring unfortunately, depriving us of hearing their equally awesome, and appropriately themed, music (the theme from Halloween). We get some classic Paul E – Cornette antics before the match even starts. Stan Lane and Samu starts things out, with the crowd already digging into Paul with “Paul E. Sucks!” chants. Samu hits some normal chops, which the announcers shill as being “Samoan Chops” because of the whole race thing. I could see Ross being like “Some nice big BLACK chops by Butch Reed.” Lane hits the ropes and shoulder tackles Samu. Neither man moves and they give each other the old “for now, we’re both equally tough,” look and decide to do it again. This time Lane wins and knocks Samu to the ground. He looks down smugly at him, as if to say, “Now we know, BITCH.” Samu gets back up dejectedly and muscles Lane into the Samoan corner. Samu leans way back to punch lane, but being the boobish heel that he is, he accidentally hits his brother. Fatu is angry and tags himself in. Lane bodyslams Fatu, and tags in Eaton. They do the whole drop-toe hold, elbowdrop combo, followed by a missile dropkick off the top rope by Eaton. Stan Lane is quickly tagged back in and lands some American kicks to the chest of Fatu. Lane slaps on the reverse chinlock. Samu is taking a casual walk around outside the ring, so Cornette just walks on over and PLASTERS him with his tennis racket. Cornette does a jolly little victory dance, which the Rajun’ crowd laps up with a spoon. Paul E. is pissed, but does nothing about it. Eaton tags back in, and the Express hit a double elbow. They switch back and forth frequently, working over the left arm of Fatu. Fatu breaks free with the Samoan headbutt and works Lane into the Samoan corner. Another zany Samoan mishap occurs, as Fatu accidentally clobbers his own teammate yet again. Samu retreats to the outside, where Paul E. hands him his big goofy cordless phone. Samu is a stupid Samoan, so he grabs the phone, holds it upside down, and screams such intelligible comments as “BLAH BLOO GRAAH YELP YELP.” Ahh, the Island of Samoa must be glowing with pride. Jim Ross let’s us know that “this match could be a main event in any arena in the country.” No wonder the NWA was drawing 1,500 on a good night during this time period. Eaton and Samu are in the ring, with Eaton working the headlock. Samu side slams Eaton, but Eaton holds the headlock. Samu powers out, but Eaton destroys him with a flurry of right hands, as the crowd explodes and Ross is all like “SWWWWWWWEEEEEET HOME ALABAMA!!!!!” Eaton goes right back to work with the headlock. Tommy Young is distracted, so the Midnights keep it real with a HEEL SWITCH (!!!) behind the ref’s back. Lane takes his turn on the headlock. Samu wriggles free and levels Lane with some BRUTAL Samoan chops. Of course, these chops are nothing compared to what we’ll see in an hour or two. Samu looks around to the crowd, as if to say “Here it comes! Here it comes!” Samu then pinches Eaton’s shoulder. THE HORROR!!! The crowd tries to help Eaton escape the deadly pinch by chanting “GO BOBBY GO!!” Eaton finally backs Samu into the corner and makes the hot tag to Lane. The Midnights connect with a double battering ram on the SST. The crowd is all jumping up and down and stomping their feet and the arena is literally shaking. The Samoans are so flustered that they start fighting each other. Samoans are only one step above your common petting zoo animals in the intelligence department, so it makes sense for them to moronically fight each other when they get confused, right NWA ? Lane throws Fatu into the ropes, but Paul E. grabs the leg of Fatu so he doesn’t get clotheslined. All of a sudden out of the corner of the screen we see Cornette SOAR over the top of Dangerously and destroy him the racket. Eaton is hit from behind, and Samu goes up top for the flying headbutt. Eaton rolls out of the way, and the heels have now missed their last FIVE flying headbutt attempts over the course of the last three Clashes. Lane is in for the *DNK*!!!!! *DNK*!!! Their noggin’s were KNOCKED!!! Eaton flies in with a headbutt on Samu, followed by a swinging neckbreaker on Fatu. Lane kicks Samu HARD to the back of the head, as Paul E and Cornette lock back up again The crowd is just going INSANE. Rocket Launcher by the Express!!! Eaton covers Samu for the pin, but Tommy Young is distracted by Cornette. Paul E slips the cell phone to Fatu, who cracks it over the top of Eaton’s head. Fatu jumps on top of Bobby for the three count (20:32) and the crowd is PISSED. We fade to black….. Hmmm, not a bad match at all. Definitely not the Midnight’s best outing, but enough to put this match up on the Spooky *** Halloween Shelf.
–The Great Muta (w/ Gary Hart) vs. Steven Casey. Muta’s ring introduction is AWESOME as always, with the flashing lights and creepy Japanese music. “Gary Hart presents, from the Land of the Rising Sun, The Pearl of the Orient, The Greeeeaat Muta.” Jim Ross refers to the Great Muta as “the son of the Great Kabuki.” Again, Japanese wrestling is not my specialty, so I’m in the dark as to whether this is true or not. Keep in mind, the same company also tastelessly referred to Paul White as “The son of Andre the Giant,” AFTER Andre died. How crass can you get. I’ve gotta admit though, it was funny to hear the Giant say, “I’m gonna destroy Hulkamania, cuuzzzzzzz I, am the sonnnn, of a GIANT!” Anyway, Muta goes through his bizarre pre-match ritual, which would be more than enough to keep any kids watching from sleeping for a few nights. Casey says “to hell with his ritual,” and rushes him. Muta blows green mist into the eyes of Casey for being so bold as to disrupt his antics. Muta chops and punches the shit out of Casey. Casey is whipped into the corner, and Muta flies in with a back handspring elbow so picture-perfect that it would probably give Chyna an erection. Muta snapmares Casey and locks on the reverse chinlock. Muta quickly grows tired of the chinlock and shoulderblocks Casey to the ground. You get the impression that Muta is just toying with Casey here. Casey armdrags Muta, but Muta throws him into the corner and does an AWESOME reverse dropkick (i.e. Casey is backed into the corner, and Muta has his back to Casey. Muta jumps up (facing opposite Casey), dropkicks Casey (while Casey is still behind him) and flips out of the corner). Muta throws Casey to the outside. Muta jumps onto the top turnbuckle as the crowd begins to buzz, but Gary Hart quickly throws Casey back in the ring to protect the health of Muta. Muta reverses on the turnbuckle and missile dropkicks Casey. The Great Muta toys around with a wristlock, but Casey reverses it. Muta laughs to himself and DESTROYS Casey. Some innovative leg work by Muta is capped off with a modified spinning toe-hold. Muta turns the modified toe-hold into a modified Indian Deathlock, which he holds while applying a nerve hold to the temple of Steven Casey. This guy is just getting his ass kicked all over the Superdome. Muta again gets restless and locks on a CRAZY modified armbar, looking like he could snap the elbow of Casey at any time. Casey slips out and clothesline Muta. Casey builds some momentum with a hiptoss and and a running elbow. Casey goes in for the kill with a big dropkick, but Muta ducks out of the way. He then sneaks up behind Casey, waits for him to stand up, and spin-kicks him so hard that he flies out of the ring. Muta slingshots himself over the top rope on top of Casey as the crowd pops huge. If it was Japan, the crowd would be all like “OOOOOOOOOOOOOH” and “AHHHHHHHHH.” On the outside, Muta whips Casey into the guard rail, and follows with another back handspring elbow INTO the guardrail. CRAZY. Casey is thrown back in. Muta connects with a backbreaker to set up his finisher. He climbs to the top and hits a GORGEOUS moonsault onto Casey for the three-count (8:11). The crowd is in shock from the moonsault because this move straight-up was NOT seen in the United States until Muta brought it in.Another solid match that was probably pretty awe-inspiring back in 1989. ***
–The Junkyard Dog vs. Butch Reed (w/ Hiro Matsuda). In more of that traditional NWA racial sensitivity, JYD is accompanied to the ring by a band of goofy, overly stereotyped black “Jazz players.” They are slinging around their instruments, doing ridiculous dances, and basically fitting to a T the traditional 1930’s stereotype of the fictitious “coon” character. Jim Ross says, “JYD is surrounded by HIS people tonight.” (i.e. He’s got BLACKS with him). Michael Hayes makes another gem of a comment, saying “I think they opened for us in Nigeria.” Ross and Hayes add that, “It looks like they’ve had too much to drink,” and have hearty laughs as their bellies wobble. Way to reel in those demographics boys! Anyway, both men start right in with the shit talking and shoving, as Ross informs as that “Both come from the streets.” GIVE ME A BREAK!!! JYD gets in the first offense with a big right hand, or “soup bone” if you will. Next, we get lots and lots (and lots and lots) of stalling. Jim Ross covers for the stalling by repeating “Every dog needs his booooooooooooone” over and over. Michael Hayes keeps referring to JYD as “boy.” Reed and JYD do four shouldertackle challenges, with neither man budging an inch. JYD gets frustrated and goes downstairs with four headbutts, sending Reed to the outside to regroup with his manager. About two minutes later, we finally resume the action. Both men exchange some basic offense (see: punch and kick). We cut to a crowd shot of a semi-attractive woman, who just so happens to be African-American. Hayes turns to Ross and sarcastically says, “That’s the girl I was gonna hook you up with later tonight.” Ross acts like he’s disgusted by the proposition. More punches and stomps by Reed on JYD, followed by the old “drape opponents arms over second rope and act like there is some possible way to choke him from that position” move. Long pulls Reed off, because it is blatantly illegal to choke the armpits of your opponent on the second rope. When Long removes Reed, Matsuda snakes in and does a little bit of quasi-choking himself. Reed drops four elbows to the torso of the battered JYD. Reed mounts the second turnbuckle for the old “jump off the top rope like you are going to land on your feet with no possible intention of connecting with any kind of offensive blow, allowing your opponent stick his boot up and kick you in the head” routine. JYD gets the obligatory boot up. Reed overpowers JYD though, and goes back up top for his flying shoulderblock (aka “The Bomb.”) Reed connects, but JYD gets his foot on the rope at 2. Reed stands up and is all like “I won the match! I won the match!” and raises his arms in the air to celebrate his victory. I would LOVE to party with this guy. Matsuda is up on the apron bitching at Teddy Long, so JYD pushes Reed into Matsuda, they butt heads, and JYD scores the pin at waaaaay too long (9:56 to be precise). A bad match that was borderline offensive at times. *
-Special Oldtimer’s match!!!
Bob Orton vs. “Captain Redneck” Dick Murdock. Not quite sure who is the babyface here and who is the heel, due to the complete lack of any form of crowd interest. Both men are in tip-top shape, Murdock in particular, who appears to be wearing a pregnancy preparation vest. Jim Ross refers to both men as “very studly.” Hmmmmmm. Ross talks about both of their amateur backgrounds, pulling a Marcia Brady and referring to their “high skewl” credentials. Both men trade fireman’s carries as the crowd begins filing towards the concession areas, the restrooms, the parking lots, the gas chambers, basically anywhere to get away from this. In a truly humorous exchange…
Ross – “Dick Murdock is actually an ex-marine.”
Hayes – “I was actually gonna join the marines Jim.”
Ross – “What, they didn’t have marines in Canada. Isn’t that where you went ?”
Anyway, back to the ring for a LONG wristlock sequence, I’m talking like 3 or 4 minutes of orgasmic wristlock action here. Orton goes to work on the arm of Murdock with some traditional arm holds. This goes on for MINUTES, with little to no action at all. We cut to a crowd shot of two moderately attractive white blondes. JR makes the idiotic comment, “Well, why don’t you fix me up with one of these girls instead of that…” COME ON!!!!!!! I’m not the most PC guy myself sometimes, but this is just ridiculous. Anyway, Murdock gains the upper hand and goes right to work with MINUTES of his own ridiculously boring arm work. We get a bit of action a few minutes later as both men punch each other a few times here and there, before settling back in for some more armbar excitement. In one of the most contrived spots I’ve ever seen, Murdock dropkicks Orton near the corner, and Orton runs to the OPPOSITE corner and throws himself headfirst in the turnbuckle. The crowd is LAUGHING. Murdock hoists Orton up for the brainbuster, but Gary Hart grabs the leg of Dick Murdock, Orton falls on Murdock, and we’ve got a tainted three count on our hands in favor of Bob Orton.
The hardened old-school fans are undoubtedly saying, “That’s the way they did in the old days, and it was great.” That might be so, but this is 1989. Movies, music, television, sports, etc… have all evolved over the course of the last century. The mark of a true great is his/her ability to adapt to the times. Sure, this match might have gone over well with NWA fans in the late 1960’s, but the fans of 1989 NWA wrestling had far different expectations. It’s like the now infamous Tacoma RAW which basically killed WCW dead in the water. The Tacoma crowd did not pay to see 1999 WCW action, they paid to see 2001 RAW Attitude. The fans at the Superdome came to see Flair, they came to see Muta, they came to see Sting. They did not come to see a twenty minute battle for wristlock supremacy. *
-World Tag Team Title Match
The Road Warriors (w/ Paul Ellering) vs. Mike Rotunda and “Dr. Death” Steve Williams (w/ Kevin Sullivan). What we’ve got here is a rematch from the Chi-Town Rumble PPV matchup which occured several weeks ago. The Warriors receive their customary monster pop for their entrance. Kevin Sullivan is at ringside looking particularly evil tonight in his firetruck-red turtleneck. “Business is about to pick up,” as all four men are in the center of the ring doing a bit of finger-pointing and jive-talking. Hawk and Rotunda starts things off, with the whole tie-up, headlock thing that started every NWA match during this time period. Hawk floors Rotunda with a quick football tackle. Hawk rushes Rotunda in an attempt to follow up his tackle, but ends up on the receiving end of a hiptoss. Rotunda tries to follow up on his hiptoss with an elbowdrop, but Hawk sees it coming and stops, drops, and rolls. Hawk lands a pretty little standing dropkick, and the V-Club decide to retreat to the outside for a quick strategy session with their evil, yet festively dressed, manager. Jim Ross plays up the clash of styles, with the emphasis being on the theme of “amateur wrestling versus street fighting.” Rotunda gets cute and rushes Animal. Animal hoists him high above his head for the press slam. Steve Williams is all like “hey! don’t do that!” Animal presses Williams high above his head as well. That is VERY impressive, as Williams clocks in at over 300 pounds at this point in his career. Steve Williams legitimately tags in, as does Hawk. They immediately start in with the forehead-to-forehead shit talking. I think I could hear Williams accusing Hawk of burning his cupcakes in Animal’s Easy Bake oven as a kid. They eventually decide, “let’s stop talking and let’s start the CLOBBERING.” Hawk and Williams exchange a bevy of right hands. Hawk grabs Williams and drops him atomically. Williams falls forward, springs into the ropes, and comes flying back only to get a WICKED clothesline across the chin, courtesy Hawk. Hawk goes for the cover, but Rotunda runs in and breaks up the count at one. Rotunda eventually makes his way in and connects on an accelerated elbow drop. We cut to a close-up of Paul Ellering as Jim Ross makes another laugh out loud comment: “Does he look like G. Gordon Liddy to ANYONE but me ?” Animal makes his way in, double dropkicks the V-Club, and then floors both of them with a double clothesline. Animal dives at Rotunda, but Rotunda ducks, sending Animal flying over the top rope to the cold, UNFORGIVING crash pads. Never understood how something inanimate could be “unforgiving.” The announcers always play it off as if they are in complete and utter shock that the concrete floor is not issuing a public statement of forgiveness. Steve Williams spinebusts Animal into the ground, and the announcers again let us know that the floors feel NO remorse for their actions. Animal is tossed back inside, and the V-Club continues their dismemberment of his lower back. Williams works the bearhug, eventually turning it into a nasty belly to belly suplex for two. Animal eventually makes his way over to the corner for the hot tag, but Teddy “Peanut Head” Long doesn’t see it. The crowd is all like “GET SOME GLASSES TEDDY!!!! ARE YOU BLIND!!!” and Teddy is all like “GET SOME GLASSES CROWD! ARE YOU BLIND!!.” Mike Rotunda is in, locks on the abdominal stretch near the heel corner, and you know what happens here. Jim Ross informs us that the Road Warriors are “Five time in a row Tag Team of the Year.” I assume he’s referring to the Apter awards, so at least we know its legitimate (wink wink). Steve Williams clips Animal with a low football tackle.Animal is worked into the corner and thrown to the outside while Teddy Long has his back turned. Sullivan sneaks around to where Animal is laying outside and hits him with a chair. Sullivan throws Animal back inside the ring where Steve Williams in anxiously waiting to spinebust Animal.Williams is not disappointed, as he LEVELS Animal with the spinebuster for a two-count. Williams drops to all fours and connects with a brutal four-point stance. Williams hits the opposite corner and motions for a second four-point stance, but this time Animal punches Williams right in the Oklahoma jewels out of desperation. Animal rolls into the corner and makes the hot tag to the fresh Hawk. Rotunda begs off, but Hawk shows no mercy as he unleashes with punches, a huge powerslam, a fist drop, a guerilla press, and a huge shoulderblock. Both Road Warriors beat up on Mike Rotunda as Teddy Long tries to restore some sort of order. Animal grabs Teddy Long and throws him across the ring rather violently. With Long out of the way, Animal hoists Rotunda onto his shoulders and Hawk comes barreling off the top rope with the Doomsday Device. Rotunda chooses the fall-back sell, as opposed to the backflip sell. I personally like the backflip sell of the Doomsday, but a point could be made for the fall-back as well. Kevin Sullivan and Paul Ellering start duking it out on the outside and the crowd roars its approval of everything that’s going on. The roar quickly turns to boos though as Teddy Long refuses to make a count on the Doomsday. He stands in the corner watching as Hawk has Rotunda covered. Williams sneaks up behind Animal, rolls him up, Long makes a quick three-count, and we’ve got NEW Tag Team Champions of the World (11:40). The crowd is PISSED, as are the Warriors. Long sprints from the ring and to the locker room faster than Earl Hebner can say “Bonus.” We fade to black as the crowd is shaking the building with a thundering “BULLSHIT!” chant. Anyway, a pretty formulatic Road Warriors – VClub tag match here. Good, but nothing you won’t see on just about any NWA show during this time period.**1/2
-Jim Ross catches up with the Road Warriors, who are still understandably fuming from their tainted loss at the hands of the Varsity Club. Lots of screaming of yelling, very little of which is actually decipherable. The Warriors claims that Teddy Long was paid off by the Varsity Club, but they failed to mention the fact that Animal nearly killed the referee earlier in the match, which should have at the very LEAST resulted in a DQ. Paul Ellering grabs the mic and threw a few words on his own in the direction of Teddy Long. “You compensated for their weaknesses, now you must face the wrath of the Legion of Doom, the LORDS OF DISCIPLINE.” Sounds kinky in a “run for your lives” kinda way…
-Bonus Match!!! YES!!!!
Ranger Ross vs. The Iron Sheik (w/ pointy boots of Arab descent). For those of you who aren’t familiar with (or have chose to forget) Ranger Ross, Ross was yet another extremely offensive NWA character during this time period. You see, the powers to be decided that the only way to get a black wrestler over as a babyface would be to make him the “whitest” black wrestler around. Ranger Ross was the type of character who would smile and wave at the crowd, shake hands on his way to the ring, wave the American Flag, talk about how much he loved his country, etc. The ring announcer even went out of his way each and every match to announce him as, “A True American!!” Ranger Ross was basically the Sidney Poitier of the NWA during this time period. On the flip side, we’ve got the Iron Sheik. At least his character was funny. The Sheik is led to the ring by Rip Morgan, who is proudly toting the Iranian flag. Sheik is looking to be in just about the worst shape of his career here. Any butcher in America’s eyes would light up if they saw this guy walk into their shop to sell fat by the pound. The Iron Sheik requests that the fans rise and sing along with his rendition of the Iranian National Anthem. It is of course HILARIOUS when he sings it. He’s got a huge smile on his face and the crowd is just ready to jump the railings and gut him. Ranger Ross won’t stand for the Iranians, because he is “A True American!!!” Ross attacks the Sheik from behind, but ends up getting choked by the Sheik’s cape. The Sheik continues assaulting Ranger Ross with suplexes and kicks with his funny boots. The crowd is all like, “USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Ranger Ross is inspired by the patriotic chants and reverse the Sheik’s suplex into one of his own. Ranger Ross is all like “I”m a TRUE American, and I’m coming back!” but ends up getting gouged in the eyes by the deceptive Arab. The Sheik locks on the abdominal stretch, but Ross ducks out and slaps on an abdominal stretch of his own. Sheik is all like “HITCHZ HEIN SCRITZ KRAAAAAAAAAA” and hiptosses Ross. Ross took offense to what the Sheik said and pulls his finisher (the Combat Kick) out of nowhere. In customary Ranger Ross form, the kick misses the head of the Iron Sheik by a good 4 feet. Ross makes the cover for 1, 2, OH NO!! Rip Morgan is in with an Iranian flag in his hand and HEELISH intentions in mind. Ranger Ross is beaten unmercifully by Morgan and the Sheik until the referee stops the match and calls for the DQ (1:56) *. I’ll let you guess what happens next. Your choices are…
A) Ross mounts the superman comeback, fending off both men by himself and establishing a bit of
much needed credibility for his joke of a character.
B) Ross is saved by a fellow babyface who the NWA could not fit into the television block and
utilize for the show.
C) JYD, having just wrestled and really having no reason to involve himself, makes the save and hugs Ross
because they are, of course, both black.
-Bob Caudle is in the back with none other than the man himself, Ric Flair. Flair has a few words to say to Steamboat before the match.
“You know what they say, Six times is a Charm, and today, RIGHT HERE, Nation WIDE, the Superdome, New Orleans, Whooooo!!!, Pretty Women, Long Limousines, Jet Airplanes, it’s gonna happen, Ric Flair is gonna WALK THAT AISLE and recapture the most coveted trophy in sports, the One and ONLY Worlds Heavyweight Championship. STEAMBOAT, you better be at your best my friend, this better be a quality day in your life, because, Pal, Ric Flair is coming for HIS title.”
–Kevin Sullivan and Dan Spivey vs. Rick Steiner and “Hot Stuff” Eddie Gilbert (w/ Missy Hyatt). This match was not very entertaining, so we’re going to try to blow through it as quickly as humanly possible. And we’re off… Spivey and Gilbert start things out. Actually, it’s more like Dan Spivey just rushing Eddie Gilbert and pounding the tar out of him. Spivey nearly chokeslams Gilbert through the ring. He has the pin very easily, but chooses to pull Gilbert up at two to prolong the play session. Gilbert continues to get demolished by the big man. Spivey lands a powerful gut-wrench suplex, followed by a beautiful tilt-a-whirl bodyslam. Sullivan is tagged in and continues the carnage that his teammate began. Sullivan quickly runs over and bitchslaps Rick Steiner right across the face. Steiner tries to rush the ring but is restrained by the referee. This clever, pre-planned tactic by Sulivan gives Spivey the opportunity to hurl Gilbert over the top rope to the floor. The heels double team Gilbert on the outside, as Missy Hyatt (rumored to be the illegitimate mother of 411’s own Chris Hyatte) looks on in agony. Spivey repeatedly rams Gilbert back-first into the ringpost, as Sullivan looks on in excitement. Back inside, Sullivan does the double stomp thing to the stomach of Gilbert. The heels do the old “non-legal man hoists his foot onto the top rope for legal man to bash opponents head into” routine. I always found this move to be somewhat silly. Next time you and your friends are having a “Puro Party”, have one of them put their foot up on the kitchen table for you to ram another friends head into. You tell me how excruciating the pain is. Spivey levels Gilbert with a running clothesline, but again pulls out (LOL! LOL! OMG! ‘PULL OUT’ LOL! LMAO! ROTF!) at 2. Gilbert is hung upside down in the corner for Sullivan. Sullivan loves this position according to JR. Kevin gets a good running start from the opposite corner and barrels into Gilbert with a big knee. Sullivan sets up to do it again, but this time Gilbert gets out of the way. The timing was WAY off on this one so it looks rather silly as well. Gilbert escapes the corner while Sullivan is still 3/4 of the way across the ring, but being the good sport he is, Sullivan still continues to charge toward the now empty corner and throw his own knee into the turnbuckle. Steiner gets the hot tag and clears house. He’s all like “BARK BARK!!!” and the crowd is all like “ARF ARF!!!” and Tommy Young is all like “WOOF WOOF!” and Jim Ross is all like “GRRRRRR.” Anyway, Steiner powerslams Sullivan and sets him up for the *Corner 10 punch.* Steiner settles for 30% of the corner-ten punch, lowering himself to a near Sting level. We’ve got a pier-six on our hands with everybody beating up everybody. Steiner rushes Spivey and clotheslines him over the top rope. During the chaos, Missy Hyatt slips her “Loaded Gucci Purse” to Eddie Gilbert, who clocks Sullivan in the arm with it. Sullivan is out COLD from the trauma to his bicep, and Gilbert easily gets the three count at (3:51). Post match antics include: Sullivan regaining consciousness and brutalizing Gilbert with the help of Dan Spivey. Spivey powerbombing Gilbert and the crowd all being like “DID YOU SEE THAT MOVE!” Gilbert blading to sell the beatdown, and Steiner making the save with one of those one-piece, non-folding, airport-style chairs. **
-2 out of 3 Falls NWA World Heavyweight Title Match: Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat (c) vs. “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. Fasten your seatbelts kids, it’s gonna be a hell of a ride. This match is widely considered to the best pure North American wrestling match to EVER take place. I would be hard pressed to disagree with that assessment, andif I did disagree, it would be in favor of the final match of the epic Flair vs. Steamboat series at The Music City Showdown. And we are OFF…
Flair’s music hits and the crowd explodes. The Man comes down the aisle with his usual entourage of beautiful women as the fireworks explode and his theme music resonates through the Superdome. Jim Ross says, “Sit back ladies and gentlemen, this one is going to be a CLASSIC.” Ric Flair receives a lot of boos, but as always he’s got a very vocal (if not outnumbered) fan-base in attendance tonight. Steamboat’s music hits and the crowd erupts. Ricky Steamboat is dressed in all white, as is his wife and his young son. The “Little Dragon” is wearing a tiny dragon mask over his head and his wife is wearing a beautiful white dress. The crowd is decidedly in Steamboat’s favor tonight. Terry Funk joins Jim Ross for commentary, and the stage is set for a match of historic proportions.
Fall One: The bell is rung and we are underway. Both men hesitantly circle each other to start off, fearing the loss of an early advantage. Flair lets out a “WHOO” and the crowd literally JUMPS to their feet to return the call. Flair and Steamboat tie up, with Steamboat pushing Flair into the corner. Tommy Young asks both men to break cleanly, but Flair gives Steamboat an arrogant little shove and smirks in his direction. Steamboat immediately slaps Flair so incredibly hard across the face that you can literally see the handprint for the next five minutes. “Steamboat will NOT be intimidated by the Nature Boy,” says JR. Both men circle each other again. AWESOME, AWESOME chain wrestling sequence as Flair headlocks Steamboat, rolls around back to apply the hammerlock, gets reversed by Steamboat into a waistlock, reverses Steamboat with a rolling drop-toe hold, rides him, Steamboat floats over the top and rides Flair himself. Flair makes the ropes and the crowd explodes yet again. In every single match throughout this show, you could see the constant influx of people coming to and from the concession areas and rest rooms. NO ONE is moving an inch here for this match. Ric Flair gives Steamboat another smug little shove and Steamboat again slaps the taste right out of Flair’s mouth. Both men stare each other down and eventually lock up, with Steamboat gaining the advantage this time with a side headlock. Flair reverses into an overhand wristlock. Steamboat tries to turn away from the pressure, but Flair will not allow that to happen. Flair kicks out the legs of Steamboat, knocking him to his knees and giving him even more leverage to work the overhand wristlock with. Steamboat powers out of the wristlock and Flair again goes to the ropes. Ric requests a few words with Tommy Young outside the ring and eludes to the fact that Steamboat has been pulling on his hair all night long. Back inside, Flair and Steamboat continue to exchange words. They circle each other VERY hesitantly, both knowing that any small mistake WILL be exploited by their opponent. Jim Ross refers to it as, “both men playing mental games.” Flair rushes Steamboat, locks on the headlock, and muscles Steamboat into the ropes. Steamboat is thrown off the ropes, Flair football tackles him, but ends up on the receiving end of a Steamboat hiptoss. Steamboat quickly grabs Flair and executes a headlock takedown for a two-count. Flair grabs the tights of Steamboat and manages to roll him over three times for quick two-counts. Steamboat regains his vertical base, but Flair breaks the hold with a forearm to the abdomen. Flair sends Steamboat into the ropes and drops the ground. Ricky stops dead in his tracks, drops to the mat, and locks the headlock back on. The crowd is LOVING this match. Steamboat works the headlock into the corner, but Flair again takes a cheapshot at Steamboat instead of breaking cleanly. Flair unleashes on Steamboat with two absolutely BRUTAL chops to the chest. Steamboat retaliates with an INSANE chop of his own… and another… and another… and another… and ANOTHER!!! The crowd is literally rabid at this point, and Steamboat hiptosses Flair to the mat. Flair stands up wearily, and Steamboat jumps onto his shoulders and scores with the headscissors takedown. A dropkick by Steamboat is followed by another headlock variation. Steamboat begins dropping crushing forearms across the neck of Ric Flair and begins to heavily work the front face lock. JR: “Fans might not realize it, but the front face lock is one of the most painful holds in all of wrestling.” Steamboat drops two hard knees to the neck of Ric Flair.The facelock is worked into the corner, where Flair lands an elbow to the midsection of Steamboat. Flair winds up and unleashes with another nasty chop across the chest of Flair (3). Steamboat immediately retaliates with a chop of his own (6), sending Flair crashing to the mat. The Dragon follows Flair into the opposite corner and unleashes three more chops (7-9) that are just plain painful to watch. Both men are selling the chops like they are near death. Flair is backdropped out of the corner and dropkicked for a two-count. Flair begs for mercy, and Steamboat backs off to give Flair a little bit of room to get up. Steamboat turns away for a second and Flair hits Steamboat low to regain the advantage as we reach the 10:00 mark. Flair lands several crushing right hands to the temple of Steamboat, knocking him to the canvas. Flair throws Steamboat into the ropes for a clothesline, but the Dragon slides under Flair and wraps him up for a schoolboy rollup for 2. A Steamboat clothesline is followed by another headlock. Steamboat and Flair work this headlock like they are fighting for their lives. That’s what seperates the boys from the men. Flair and Steamboat take what is usually a lazy rest hold and it manage to transform it into a “highspot.” Steamboat drops more forearms across the neck of Ric Flair and modifies his headlock into a front face lock. The crowd is going CRAZY here, half chanting “Steamboat! Steamboat!” and the other half chanting “We Love Flair! We Love Flair!” Steamboat drops 3 piercing knees to the neck of Ric Flair, then backs off allowing Flair to stand up. As soon as Flair stands up, Steamboat KILLS him with three more chops (10-12). Flair steps out the corner, takes a few steps, and collapses face first onto the mat (aka the “Flair Flop”). Steamboat quickly covers Flair, but Flair gets a shoulder up at two. Both men are beaten and on their knees, still staring each other right in the eyes and running their mouths. A Steamboat headlock is reversed by Flair into an inverted atomic drop. Steamboat is injured, but still manages to floor Flair with chop 13 for a two count. Flair is sent into the ropes and shoulder-tackled down. Steamboat picks him up and does the same thing again. Once more Flair is tossed into the ropes, but this time Steamboat unleashes with a HUGE double-chop (14) for two again. Flair rolls to the outside and collapses. Tommy Young orders Flair back in, and again he begs off. Flair tries to talk some sense into Ricky Steamboat and then slips in a cheap knee to the stomach. Flair goes right to work, MURDERING Steamboat with chops (4-6). Flair gives Steamboat a hard two-hand shove and lays in with three more chops (7-9). Steamboat retaliates with chop 15! Chop 16! 17! 18! Double Chop!!! (19). Even Terry Funk is growing noticeably squeamish by these chops. Flair tries escaping to the outside, but Steamboat grabs him on the apron and suplexes him back in. Steamboat hits the ropes for a big splash, but Flair is a veteran of the game and gets his knees up. The referee starts the 10-count, but both men make it back up by 7. Flair gets chop 10, followed by a snapmare and a double stomp to the stomach of Ricky Steamboat. Flair hooks the arms of Steamboat for a picture-perfect butterfly suplex. Flair gets four two-counts from this move, before locking on a three-quarter nelson. Flair continuously pins Steamboat’s shoulders to the ground from this position, getting EIGHT two-counts out of it. Steamboat kips up and we’ve now got a test of strength on our hands. Steamboat plays the heel in this particular test of strength, kicking Flair in the stomach during the test. Flair is pissed and DESTROYS Steamboat with a knife-edge chop (11). Steamboat sells like his lungs are collapsing, but still returns the favor with three chops of his own (20-22). Steamboat hiptosses Flair and attempts a dropkick, but gets nothing but air. Flair quickly grabs the leg of Steamboat and attempts to lock on the figure-four, but Steamboat grabs Flair’s head and small packages him for 2. Flair rolls over Steamboat for 1, 2, 3!!! (19:33) WOW!And that’s only the FIRST fall.
60 Second Rest Period
Fall Two:Flair is confident and cocky now after his victory in the first fall. He’s got a swagger to his step and struts around the ring, occasionaly stopping to let out a “Whooo!” Both men circle as the crowd battles with altering chants of “Steamboat! Steamboat!” and “Go Ric Go! Go Ric Go!” Both men tie up, Flair gets the headlock, followed by a shouldertackle Flair runs after Steamboat, but Steamboat ducks down and press slams Flair high into the air. Steamboat ascends to the top turnbuckle and comes flying off with a big overhand chop. Flair is reeling and Steamboat locks on the front facelock from a vertical position.Flair frees himself and gets a quick backdrop in on Steamboat. Flair follows up with a knee drop to the torso or Steamboat. JR: “This is the kind of match that made the NWA what it is today.” Another kneedrop attempt by Flair catches nothing but canvas. Steamboat quickly grabs the leg of Ric Flair and drops FIFTEEN elbows to the knee of Ric Flair. The crowd is rabid as Steamboat locks on Flair’s own finisher, the figure-four leglock. Flair’s shoulders are on the mat while in the hold, and every time he lifts them up Steamboat punches him right between the eyes, knocking him back on his shoulders again. Flair eventually makes the ropes, but Steamboat pulls him right back to the middle of the ring and locks on another old-school submission favorite, the Boston Crab. We’re at the 25:00 mark, and Flair is SCREAMING in pain. He manages to again make the ropes, this time preventing further damage by kicking Steamboat right between the legs. Flair regains the offensive with four fist drops to the head of Steamboat. Flair lands some more hard right hands, but Steamboat retaliates with chops 23 and 24. Flair quickly grabs the head of Steamboat for a headlock takeover, but Steamboat floats over the top for a headscissors pin attempt. Flair floats back over Steamboat at 2 for a pin attempt on Steamboat. Steamboat bridges out (!!!) and grabs the arms of Flair. BACKSLIDE BATTLE!!!!!!!! Both men fight for backslide supremacy, with Steamboat eventually winning and getting another near fall. Flair rolls to the outside, with Steamboat following closely behind. Flair pokes Steamboat in the eyes and whips him HARD into the guardrail. Terry Funk and Jim Ross discuss the logistics of the rules, wondering what would happen if the match were to end in a countout. Ross checked the rules and determined that if Steamboat were to get counted out, Flair would be the new champion due to his pinfall victory in the first fall. Steamboat is up on the apron and Flair drops him neck-first across the drop rope. Steamboat sells the throat even BETTER than he did in his classic angle with Randy Savage a year prior to this matchup. Steamboat is suplexed back in for another two-count as we reach the halfway mark (30:00). Flair locks on the abdominal stretch, dropping to the ground and turning it into an Oklahoma cross body layout (says JR). This layout from the breadbasket of American garners ELEVEN two-counts. The crowd is on the edge of their seat for EVERY two-count, believing that the match could end at any second. You just don’t see that anymore. On the last few two-counts, Flair slips his legs onto the middle rope for added leverage, garnering MASSIVE heel heat. The Nature Boy gets frustrated and starts DRILLING Steamboat with stiff right hands to the jaw. Flair attempts a back suplex, but Steamboat flips out and rolls up Flair for another two-count. Steamboat gets the single-leg takedown on Flair, grabs both legs, and Flips over the top of Flair for ANOTHER near-fall. The crowd is just waiting to explode for Steamboat. Flair is sent into the ropes for a backdrop, but sees it coming and nearly PUNTS Steamboat’s head off. Tajiri who ? Flair chops Steamboat so hard across the chest (12) that Steamboat does a backflip sell of the chop. Terry Funk is all like “MY GOD!” Flair quickly covers but only gets a two-count (twice). Flair goes up top for the kill, but Steamboat makes it over the corner to push Flair off, crotching him on the top rope. Flair is in pain and dangling on the top rope, so Steamboat chops the LIFE out of him (25) and superplexes him off the top rope for 1, 2, NO!!!!!!!! Steamboat continues working the back of Flair with elbows and punches as Ross reminds us of the 1975 plane crash that almost ended Flair’s life and should have ended his career. Steamboat pounds Flair’s back with ten more forearms and then locks on his finisher, the DOUBLE CHICKEN WING!!! The crowd is going INSANE as Flair fights with everything he can not to submit. This continues for close to a minute with Flair doing everything in his power to resist the pain, but ultimately Ric ends up shaking his head “YES!! YES!!” much to the delight of the New Orleans crowd. (34:14) DAMN!!
60 Second Rest Period.
Fall Three: It all comes down to this, the decisive third fall. Both men have scored a pinfall, so whoever wins this fall is the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, even if the match ends in a DQ or a countout. As the fall starts, both men are barely able to make it to their feet. Steamboat is the first one to make a move, hitting big overhand punches to the back of Flair and winding him with two chops (26-27). Flair rolls outside and Flair Flops headfirst into the concrete. Steamboat throws Flair back in and Flair begs off. Steamboat starts SCREAMING at Flair to “Get UP!!” Steamboat PLASTERS Flair with another chop in the corner (28). Steamboat continues to work the back of Flair, clubbing it unmercifully and hitting a HIGH backdrop. Flair strikes back with chop 13 on Steamboat, but Steamboat turns right back around and DRILLS Flair with a chop of his own (29). Steamboat attempts a knee drop, but Flair clips the leg of Steamboat and locks on the Figure Four !!! Steamboat makes the ropes quickly and Tommy Young forces Flair to break the hold. Flair is PISSED and shoves Tommy Young, Young doesn’t even hesitate and shoves Flair right back. The New Orleans crowd LOVED that. Flair goes right back to Steamboat, brutalizing his knee with stomps and elbows. Ross reminds us that Flair is indeed the “dirtiest player in the game.” Steamboat is dragged around the ring by his knee. Flair lifts him to his feet and KILLS him with another chop (14). MY GOD!!! Steamboat fights back and hits a huge chop! And another! And another!! And ANOTHER!!! (30-33). Steamboat and Flair just lose it and start exchange punching as the crowd roars its approval. Steamboat whips flair into the corner for the FLAIR FLIP!!! Flair runs to the adjacent corner and bounds to the top rope. Steamboat is there to meet him and DEMOLISHES him with another chop (34), sending Flair falling to the concrete. Steamboat drags Flair back in. The Nature Boy begs off and Steamboat hesitates for a second too long. Flair grabs both of Steamboats legs and goes for the pin with both feet on the ropes. The crowd is SCREAMING at Young and just about everyone believes that the match will end at this time. Steamboat kicks out at 2!!! Flair tries it again! Another two-count!! And another!! Flair rolls off and chops Steamboat three more times (15-17). Flair whips Steamboat into the corner, but Steamboat jumps onto the second turnbuckle and leap frogs Flair, connecting with a double axe-handle to again ground Flair. Steamboat comes towards Flair, but Flair sneaks in the drop toe hold and goes right back to work on the knee of Steamboat. Steamboat kicks Flair in the stomach and whips Flair into the corner. Steamboat charges towards the corner and jumps in for a knee-lift. Flair ducks at the last second and Steamboat’s injured leg goes over the top rope, getting hung up on the corner. Steamboat is hung upside down in the corner with all the weight on his injured knee. He is just WRITHING in pain. Whoever came up with this spot better have gotten a promotion or at least a raise (unless of course it was Robocop). Flair drapes Steamboats leg over the middle rope and drops on it over and over and OVER. Steamboat is in the middle of the ring in agony and Flair comes soaring in with a knee-drop right across the leg of Steamboat. Flair wastes no time and locks on the Figure Four!!! Steamboat is near dead from the pain and Flair continuously slaps Steamboat in the face. Just awesome selling of the move and the leg by Steamboat. Steamboat reverses but Flair quickly makes the ropes. Both men roll to the outside while the figure-four is still locked on!!! Steamboat can’t even stand up anymore, but he will not stay down. Flair is chopped HARD by Steamboat (37-39). Flair is whipped into the corner, Flair Flips, and comes barreling off the top rope with a cross body for the nearest fall I have ever seen. The entire crowd is on their feet screaming for their favorite. Steamboat attempts a body slam, but his leg buckles out from underneath him, giving Flair another two-count. Steamboat fights back and makes his way to the top rope for a cross body of his own. Same result, a “near fall” is every sense of the word. Steamboat comes off the ropes and tries to hit a big elbowdrop, but Flair again rolls out of the way. A few chops later (18-19), Flair is back in control. Flair sends Steamboat into the ropes, but Steamboat again will not give up and hits the swinging neckbreaker on Flair. Steamboat hurdles at Flair with a sunset flip, and we’ve got a sunset flip battle on our hands. Flair is grasping for the ropes, but they are just beyond his reach. Eventually Steamboat takes him over for another two-count. Steamboat sends Flair into the ropes, but Flair reverses and locks on the SLEEPER!!! Flair jumps onto the back up Steamboat and wrenches the hold in. Steamboat is almost out cold, but somehow finds the strength to get his arm up at 2. Flair will not let go of the hold, so Steamboat runs towards the corner and falls at the last second, sending Flair headfirst into the turnbuckle. Flair rolls to the outside and collapses to the ground. JR: “There is NO way either man will give up at this point. You could jump in their with a gun and neither man would submit!” Flair is back in again and clips the legs of Steamboat. He grabs the Dragon’s leg for another takedown, but Ricky musters the strength to land the enzuigiri right to the back of Flair’s head for another two-count as we reach the 50:00 mark. Jim Ross is in awe of the match, but still has the wit to take a shot at the competition by saying, “They have WRESTLED for nearly an hour!!! And I’m not talking about coming out to bad music and walking around the ring POSING for an hour, I’m talking about WRESTLING!” Steamboat goes up top for a splash, but misses. Both men are down but manage to make it at the referee’s six-count. Flair picks Steamboat up repeatedly and drops him right on his injured knee. Steamboat is on the ground in agony, but is still pointing and SCREAMING at Ric Flair. Flair LEVELS Steamboat with two chops (20-21) and then shoves him to the mat. Steamboat is dragging his leg behind him and can’t even put an ounce of pressure on it, but he gets back up and lets Flair know that he is NOT going to back down tonight. Flair chops Steamboat to the ground again (22), but Steamboat again REFUSES to stay down. Steamboat is up on one leg chopping at Flair (40-42). Flair NAILS Steamboat with a right hand!! Steamboat chops him right back! Right hand Flair ! Chop Steamboat! Right hand Flair! Chop Steamboat! Flair is reeling, THREE MORE CHOPS by Steamboat (48) drop Flair like a sack of bricks. Flair begs off and Steamboat has his fourth wind, punching the shit out of the Nature Boy. Steamboat sets up Flair for the *Corner 10 Punch* which he delivers VERY slowly to further sell the grueling punishment that he has endured in this championship match. Steamboat gets four punches in before Flair grabs Steamboat and attempts an inverted atomic drop. Steamboat blocks and clothesline Flair into the GROUND. Steamboat makes the pin attempt and Flair gets his foot on the second rope at the LAST possible second. The arena is just exploding for these last few minutes. Terry Funk is screaming, “This is no longer about the Championship!!! This is about PRIDE!” Flair drops some hard elbows to the temple of Ricky Steamboat and goes to the top rope. Steamboat literally drags himself to the corner and throws Flair off the top turnbuckle. SIX MINUTES LEFT!!! Steamboat hooks on the Double Chicken Wing and the place explodes. Steamboat is fighting with all he’s got, but his knee gives out and Flair falls on top of him. Flair gets his foot on the bottom rope, but the referee counts three anyway, ending what is quite possibly the greatest match ever at (54:29). Terry Funk and Jim Ross debate over who won the match. This debate is settled with Tommy Young raises the arm of Ricky Steamboat and hands him his NWA World Heavyweight Title. The crowd goes bezerk, Flair is PISSED, the announcers are confused, and we cut to a break. I don’t even need to tell you how AMAZING this match was. Over sixty spine tingling chops that honestly should have left both men with broken ribs, coupled with close to FIFTY near falls, make this one of the greatest wrestling exhibitions EVER. By all means hunt this tape down. *****+
*Epilogue*
That really wasn’t Halloween themed at all now was it ? Oh well. All in all, a mighty fine show. You can’t go wrong with a couple of solid (if not ‘been there, done that’) midcard matches to complement one of the greatest matches ever. Flair-Steamboat II alone is worth hunting down this tape for, but if you can get the match as part of a Flair-Steamboat compilation you will probably be in even better shape. Again, some good stuff, but other than the main event I found myself pretty damn bored by this show. Why don’t we cue that STELLAR new feature again boys…
Don’t Pay More than $25 for me.
I would actually pay more than that for this show, but there’s no earthly reason that you shouldn’t be able to find Clash VI for cheaper than $25. It’s more of a “You’re a f*cking idiot if you pay more than ____ for this show” kinda thing.
Anyway, thanks again for joining me for Clash of the Champions VI – Rajun Cajun. I’ll be back next week with a bonus, non-Clash of the Champions video review of a bootlegged tape of the infamous Madison Square Garden incident involving Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Triple H. Be on the look out for it, as it may or may not be highly entertaining. This is the point where I say goodbye and tell you to email me or else I’ll cry :*( I really will cry, don’t test me. Anyway, if you’ve got any feedback, questions, comments, concerns, observations, etc, feel free to drop me an email and I shall reply promptly. Have a fun, safe weekend, and I’ll see you guys around.
