EVENT REVIEW: WCW Clash of the Champions XIX

 

 

June 16, 1992
McAllister Field House, Charleston, South Carolina

Taped on June 16th before a capacity crowd of 4,600 and airing on TBS a week later, WCW Clash of the Champions 19 revolved almost entirely around a tournament to crown new National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Tournaments.

Over the proceeding few years, the relationship between World Championship Wrestling and the NWA had been tenuous at best, but with old-school stalwart Cowboy Bill Watts now in charge of WCW, the two brands were gung-ho about giving that relationship one last shot.

Of course, it wouldn't last, but until then, shows like tonight would at least provide us with some quality wrestling.

 

Here's what went down on that fateful night in South Carolina.

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The Best in the World Converge on WCW

Our show tonight began with a short promo for the NWA World Tag Team Title tournament that would dominate this show.

 

 

From there, we quickly went to the trio of Tony Schiavone, Missy Hyatt, and Magnum TA.

Between Tony and Magnum putting over the magnitude of tonight’s event, Missy Hyatt informed us that New Japan Pro Wrestling was going to be hosting a tournament to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion.

Missy would be bringing us more details about that later in the show, but first, Schiavone gave us a brief interview with then-WCW boss Cowboy Bill Watts, who put over both the NWA’s rich sense of tradition and the upcoming tournament’s number one seed, The Steiner Brothers.

 

 

Finally, we got comments from our announcers, Jim Ross & Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura, before heading to the ring for our opening contest.

Joe Malenko & Dean Malenko (Europe) vs. Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat & Nikita Koloff

First off, hell yeah! Dean Malenko!

 

 

Here, the future Man of 1,000 Holds and his brother Joe Malenko represented Europe as they went up against Ricky Steamboat and Nikita Koloff in a tremendous opening match.

Steamboat and Koloff dominated most of the contest, but the Malenko brothers certainly looked impressive too.

In fact, if I were booking WCW back then, I’d absolutely sign those boys up and push them into a feud with The Steiner Brothers.

Alas, as impressive as they may have looked, tonight wasn’t to be Joe & Dean’s night.

The two lost the match when Koloff hit Dean with the Sickle for the pinfall.

Your Winners: Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff

After a quick commercial break, it was back to the action.

The Z-Man & Marcus Alexandra Bagwell vs. The Dangerous Alliance (WCW US Champion ‘Ravishing’ Rick Rude & WCW TV Champion ‘Stunning’ Steve Austin w/ Madusa)

Our second match of the night was nowhere near as good as the first, but if you ever wanted to see Steve Austin and Rick Rude just demolishing their opponents, this was the match for you.

 

 

Marcus Alexander Bagwell and The Z-Man stood no chance here. The duo’s offense was brief and ineffective compared to that of a Dangerous Alliance team who controlled 99.95% of the match.

After around seven minutes, this glorified squash match ended with Rude drilling Bagwell with the Rude Awakening for the three count.

I read from multiple sources that the babyface’s burial was all due to Booker Bill Watts having a problem with pretty boy babyfaces.

Whatever the reason was, it sure didn’t look good for Bagwell and Zenk.

Your Winners: The Dangerous Alliance

Backstage, Eric Bischoff recapped the results of the show far before turning his attention to an interview with Terry Gordy and Dr. Death Steve Williams.

Both men seemed to fluster their way through an awkward promo. 

To begin, Gordy ranted that nobody cared about Australians (their upcoming opponents, The O’Days, were from Down Under), insisting that all anybody wanted to see was Gordy & Williams against The Steiners.

 

 

This didn’t make Dr. Death too happy as he next claimed that he was so sick of hearing about Rick & Scott that it gave him a headache.

To wrap things up, Williams called The Steiners a homophobic slur that I won’t repeat here, then said “I know I can’t say that on TV,” but apparently he could as it’s still shown on the Peacock version of this event.

The O’Days (Larry & Jeff O’Day) vs. Terry ‘Bam Bam’ Gordy & Dr. Death Steve Williams

I don’t know much about the father-son duo of Larry & Jeff O’Day, but I do know that they were doomed from the moment they stepped through the curtain.

 

 

Father Larry looked like a college art professor who had never seen the sunlight, and son Jeff couldn’t have looked less like a star if he’d tried.

Unsurprisingly, the Aussies were pulverized by Gordy and Williams in two and a half minutes.

Your Winners: Terry Gordy & Steve Williams

Up next, Jesse Ventura conducted an in-ring interview with a tuxedo-clad WCW Champion, Sting.

Well, I say interview.

 

Ventura basically goaded Sting about Big Van Vader hurting him and coming after the title. In response, Sting likened his story with Vader to that of David vs. Goliath, insisting that since he had the fans on his side, he felt like Goliath and was ready to take on Vader.

This was followed with a quick commercial for Great American Bash ‘92 where the two would meet, and then it was back to the ring.

‘The Natural’ Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham vs. The Dangerous Alliance (Beautiful Bobby & ‘The Enforcer’ Arn Anderson w/ Paul E. Dangerously)

I’m writing this just days after it was announced that Barry Windham had suffered a heart attack and was in ICU.

 

 

I sincerely pray that we’ll all have heard more positive news on Windham’s situation by the time you read this review.

Tonight, he and Dustin Rhodes went at it in a solid match with Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton.

There was nothing fancy or elaborate about this one. It was just good, old pro wrestling the way it’s meant to be done.

After a strong performance, Rhodes moved out of the way of Eaton’s Alabama Jam attempt and took him out with a match-winning bulldog.

Your Winners: Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes

A plug for the WCW poster book led us into a commercial break, after which we went back to Eric Bischoff, Missy Hyatt, and Missy’s gorgeous legs.

 

 

Missy told us that not only would the NWA World Heavyweight Championship tournament be taking place in Japan that August, but also that all four members of The Dangerous Alliance would be competing in that tournament.

She then left as Gordy and Williams returned to talk about a ‘terrible accident’ that had happened backstage involving The Steiner Brothers’ upcoming Puerto Rican opponents.

Fired up and incredibly animated, Bam Bam and Dr. Death told us that the accident was so awful, The Steiners would have to get a bye to the next round as a result of a forfeit and ultimately go on to face The Miracle Violence Connection in their next match.

This being wrestling, neither Eric nor anyone else seemed concerned with checking on the validity of Gordy & William’s claim and simply accepted it as fact.

The Silver Kings (Silver King 1 & Silver King 2) vs. WCW United States Champions The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael ‘P.S’ Hayes & Jimmy ‘Jam’ Garvin)

The Fabulous Freebirds’ US tag team titles were not on the line here as they went up against the Mexican duo of The Silver Kings.

 

 

If you’re wondering, The Silver Kings were Juan Jauregui, who was better known as El Texano and Cesar Gonzalez, who was the guy who you may remember wrestling as Silver King later on in WCW.

The company didn’t care enough about either man to use their names, so they were simply referred to as Silver King 1 & Silver King 2.

That’s a shame, really, because both Jauregui and Gonzalez had some pretty impressive offense to deliver.

The problem was that their way of wrestling was completely at odds with the way Jimmy Garvin & Michael Hayes wrestled, resulting in a clash of styles that made for a really messy match.

After stumbling awkwardly through a six-minute contest, The Silver Kings pounced on The Freebirds outside the ring but couldn’t follow up.

Immediately after, Hayes rolled up one of the kings in the ring and this one was over.

Your Winners: The Fabulous Freebirds

Post-match, Ross & Ventura confirmed that The Steiner Brothers’ opponents really were unable to compete, and thus we’d be seeing The Steiners vs. Gordy and Williams at The Great American Bash.

Elsewhere in the arena, Tony Schiavone and Magnum T.A. also confirmed this. Ole Anderson showed up, too, though all he did was triple-confirm what had happened.

Flyin’ Brian & Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger vs. Chris Benoit & Beef Wellington

Yes, Canadian grappler, Biff Wellington was known as Beef Wellington here, and I personally found that so funny that I had to take a break and compose myself before watching this match.

 

 

Anyway, I’m glad I was able to settle down and eventually pay attention because this tremendous contest turned out to be the best thing on the show so far. 

As some long-time fans may recall, Wellington and Chris Benoit had been tag team partners in Stampede Wrestling, Weirdly, they both later died on the same day, but let's not get bogged down into all that right now because this was a damn fine match.

Benoit and Jushin Liger kicked things off with a fine display of wrestling before Benoit tagged out to his beefy partner for an exchange with Brian Pillman.

From there, things got better and better. All four men bust their asses, whipping the crowd into a frenzy in one hell of an exciting match.

After 11 minutes of action, Liger caught Wellington with a moonsault to put his team through to the next round.

Your Winners: Jushin Liger & Brian Pillman

Up next, this:

The Head Hunters (Head Hunter 1 & Head Hunter 2) vs. Hiroshi Hase & Akira Nogami

The Head Hunters were not the huge guys you probably know from Japan, ECW, and their appearance at the 1996 Royal Rumble, but rather Arn Anderson and Bob “Masked Superstar #2” Cook wearing generic masks.

 

In fact, I'm entirely certain at least one of these masked was used by Rick Rude when he debuted back at Halloween Havoc 91.

 

 

Their match with Hiroshi Hase & Akira NoGami was…well…let’s just say that in all the time I’ve been watching pro wrestling, I’ve never seen a match have less heat.

The two teams wrestled to absolute silence, and even the announcers found other things to talk about, like this gem from Ventura:

Ross had mentioned the phrase ‘agony in defeat,’ to which Ventura replied:

“What are you talking about, agony in defeat? You have your shoes on, you don’t have agony in the feet.”

I spent the rest of the match laughing at that and paying almost no attention to the lifeless excuse for pro wrestling going on in the ring. 

It was a shame, because I like Hase & Nogami, but this match was incredibly boring.

The Japanese team won with synchronized bridging German suplexes shortly after the five minute mark.

Your Winners: Hiroshi Hase & Akira Nogami

After the break, Jesse Ventura interviewed Ron Simmons about Simmons' quest to become the first black world champion.

After vowing to overcome all the odds, Simmons was interrupted by the arrival of Harley Race and his charge, Super Invader.

 

 

In a promo with heavily racist overtones, Race wanted Simmons to be an errand boy and tell Sting that Vader was after him.

Big Ron refused, so Harley told him that when he was a seven-time champion, he had a boy like him carry his bags.

From what I’ve read elsewhere, Race actually used the word “negro” here, but someone at WWE did a nifty job of replacing it with the word “boy.”

Anyway, Simmons destroyed both Race and the useless Super Invader and that was that.

 

 

After that, Bill Watts told Tony Schiavone that we’d be starting round 2 of the tag team tournament right now with Steiners vs. Gordy & Williams

Dr: Death Steve Williams & Terry ‘Bam Bam’ Gordy vs. WCW World Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner)

I was really looking forward to this match, but, to be honest, it was a bit of a letdown.

 

 

Things started with both teams trading amateur wrestling moves and a couple of stiff shots. I can’t say for certain that they were shooting at each other, but it certainly looked that way and made for boring viewing.

Then, Dr. Death turned Rick Steiner inside out with a clothesline, signaling a turning point in the match in which the action picked up and we got the kind of quality match I’d been expecting.

Then, it all kind of ended when Scott Steiner, Steve Williams, and Terry Gordy all collapsed in a heap on top of one another and Williams pinned Steiner.

Your Winners: Steve Williams & Terry Gordy

The duo would go on to The Great American Bash ‘92 to face Steamboat and Koloff. This is one of the rare instances where I’ve reviewed shows out of order, so you can go right ahead and read my Bash ‘92 review here.

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Things may have deteriorated for WCW in the Bill Watts era after this event, but there’s no denying the cowboy’s reign started strong.

The opening match and that excellent Pillman/Liger vs. Benoit/Wellington match more than made up for the lackluster action elsewhere on the show, and while the resulting match was disappointing, the storyline running through the night of Williams & Gordy wanting The Steiner Brothers was well played out.

Not the best Clash of the Champions ever, but certainly a decent show by all accounts.

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Other Clash of the Champions Reviews:

 

• NWA Clash of the Champions 1 
• WCW Clash of the Champions X: Texas Shootout 
• WCW Clash of the Champions XI - Costal Crush 
• WCW Clash of the Champions XII - Fall Brawl '90: Mountain Madness 
• WCW Clash of the Champions XIII - Thanksgiving Thunder
• WCW Clash of the Champions XIV - Dixie Dynamite
• WCW Clash of the Champions XV - Knocksville, USA! 
• WCW Clash of the Champions XVI - Fall Brawl '91
• WCW Clash of the Champions XVII
• WCW Clash of the Champions XVIII

Other 1992 pro wrestling event reviews

1. WWF Royal Rumble 1992
2. WCW Superbrawl II 
3. WWF UK Rampage 1992
   
4. WWF Wrestlemania 8
5. WWF Summerslam 1992
6. WCW Great American Bash 1992
7. WWF Survivor Series '92
8. WWF 1992 - The Year in Review 

Be the first to catch the latest Retro Pro Wrestling reviews by following on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter @RetroPWrestling.

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EVENT REVIEW: WCW Clash of the Champions X - Texas Shoot Out

February 6, 1990

Memorial Coliseum, Corpus Christi, Texas

Long time Retro Pro Wrestling readers will probably be aware that we haven’t exactly gone about writing WCW reviews in any kind of logical fashion.

After throwing in a random 1992 review written years before this blog existed, the regular WCW coverage started with the 1996 PPVs because I had an urge to relive the formation of the New World Order.

It was only after I then worked all the way through to WCW Greed that I then went back and started from the beginning with NWA Starrcade 1983.

The same goes for Clash of the Champions. I reviewed the first Clash of the Champions (featuring a good Sting vs. Ric Flair match) ages ago and haven’t bothered with the series since.

Today that changes.

From now on, we’ll cover the first five years of 1990s WCW in chronological order, following the storylines between Clash shows and PPVs.

At some point when I’m in the mood, we‘ll go back and look at the 1988 - 1989 Clash shows,  but for now, let’s dive into Clash of the Champions 10: Texas Shoot Out

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Welcome to the Shoot Out Saloon 

We started tonight’s event with the kind of opening video that could only have come from the early 90s.

It took the form of a Western-themed video game in which pictures of various wrestlers would pop up in and around buildings with names like ‘The Shoot Out Saloon.’

As soon as the pictures popped up, the wrestlers would promptly get shot in the head and fall down.

It was weird, wonderful, hilarious and terrible all at the same time.

Live in the arena, Jim Ross welcomed us to the Texas Shoot Out before introducing us to his broadcast colleague, the one and only James E. Cornette.

Ross then proceeded to run down tonight’s card, but he was talking so quickly that it was impossible to follow anything that he was saying.

Fortunately, Cornette spoke a little more slowly as he shilled the opportunity to talk to Sting on the WCW hotline later that evening.

What a Rush!

From there, Ross and Cornette sent us down to ringside where a tuxedo-clad Terry Funk told us that he was now called ‘Tuxedo Terry.’

Funk said nothing of note here. His job seemed mainly to shout out various wild-west themed phrases to hype up the crowd. It was entertaining, sure, but probably unnecessary.

I’m also going to assume that Funk was injured or just didn’t want to wrestle here because only WCW would book a Texas-themed show and have proud Texan Terry Funk reduced to a bit-part commentator.

Anyway, once Funk had finished shouting about nothing, he sent it to the back where the much-more subdued Gordon Sollie interviewed The Road Warriors.

The two gave us their typical shouty promo in which they promised to capture the tag team titles.

Although I could be wrong (especially after skipping two years of Clash shows), this was the first event I ever recalling hearing Hawk utter his famous ‘What a rush!’ line. 

The Samoan Savage (w/ Sir Oliver Humperdink) vs. Dr. Death Steve Williams 

The Samoan Savage vs. Dr. Death - doesn’t it just sound like one of those made up matches you’d see featured when a sitcom needs to feature pro wrestling as part of its storyline?

Fortunately, WCW made sure that you didn’t have to watch a sitcom if you wanted a good wrestling-related laugh. They provided their own in the form of a pre-match vignette entitled ‘Dr. Death: Prescription for Punishment’ which may just be the greatest thing you’ve ever seen in your life.

It featured Dr. Death as an actual doctor, or rather a paramedic who burst out of an ambulance wearing his wrestling trunks and some kind of vaguely medical-looking shirt.

After yelling about rescuing somebody, the good doctor stormed off and stormed back carrying some random dude on his shoulders. After throwing the unfortunately unconscious randomer into the back of the ambulance, Williams proceeded to give him the worst CPR you’ve ever seen.

When that unsurprisingly failed to revive the hapless soul, Williams yelled ‘ QUICK! TO THE HOSPITAL!’ and the ambulance drove off with Dr. Death hilariously pressing his face against the glass window.

It was just so bizarre.

Were we to believe that Dr. Death was an actual doctor now? 

If so, why was he doing the job of a paramedic?

More importantly, what medical service in the world would allow their staff to run around in their underpants?

More importantly than even that, why would any patient in the world want to be treated by a man named Dr. Death who -if the title of this thing was to be believed- could only prescribe punishment?

I spent so much time pondering all these questions that I paid hardly any attention to the match which, to be fair, wasn’t all that interesting anyway.

The most interesting thing to happen was that Woman came down to ringside, took a seat, and looked absolutely beautiful.

In the end, Williams beat The Samoan Savage with a backslide.

Thank goodness it wasn’t something more serious so that he didn’t have to try and revive him with more crappy CPR.

Your Winner: Dr. Death

The hilarity continued next with a video promoting Wrestle War ‘90: Wild Thing.

I almost called it a rap video before I realized that would be insulting to the rap genre. What it was, was clips of various wrestlers set to an 8-bit beat while a guy would spit out fierce rhymes like:

‘The Steiners,

They’re brothers,

They wrestle as one...

...but they do not scare

The brothers Ander-son”

I’ve a feeling that when I wrap up this review later in going to recommend watching not for any of the actual matches but simply for all these insane videos.

Sting is Out of the Horsemen

After teaming with Ric Flair in the main event of Halloween Havoc ‘89 and then seemingly earning his respect by beating him in a singles match at Starrcade ‘89, Sting had officially been a member of The Four Horsemen for all of about six weeks.

Tonight, he came to the ring with the Nature Boy and The Brothers Ander-Son. Ostensibly, they were out for an interview with their former rival Terry Funk, but it turned out it was all a rouse so that Ole Anderson could kick Sting out of the group for having the audacity to challenge Flair for the title at Wrestle War. 

To the surprise of nobody, this led to the Horsemen turning heel again by doing a number on Sting.

The Mod Squad (Spike & Basher) vs. Flyin’ Brian Pillman & The Z-Man

Just when you thought you’d heard of all the wrestlers who could have possibly mattered, along come The Mod Squad to prove that there’s always going to be a couple of guys who fly under your radar.

To give them credit, Spike and Basher looked to be a competent tag team who performed well as they took the fight to Flyin’ Brian and The Z-Man, but it was pretty clear from their unremarkable appearance and lack of fanfare that their only job was to get the babyfaces over.

To be fair, they did their job well. 

This was an enjoyable (if forgettable) little tag team match with a predictable win for the good guys.

Your Winners: Flyin’ Brian and The Z-Man

Moving on quickly...

Cactus Jack Manson vs. Mil Mascaras

Our old friend GMC referred to Cactus as Captain Jack Manson, which is probably why Cactus later chased after him and then ended up tripping backwards over a chair in a funny spot.

The actual match was good but, much like the Mod Squad earlier, it was fairly apparent that Manson was there mainly to make  Mil Mascaras look good.

He did that pretty well, counting the Mexican legend’s abundance of headscissor take downs with some wild brawling in a short but entertaining match.

Update: It was only after I finished this review that I was reminded that Foley had spoken about this match in his first book, where he discussed how awful and egotistical Mascaras was, leading to Mick doing his big "flying off the apron" spot to ensure he came away from the match more over than the luchadore legend.

Anyway...

After a few enjoyable minutes, Mascaras kicked his opponent off the apron onto the concrete floor then finished him up with a sweet flying splash for the cover, the count, and the fall.

Your Winner: Mil Mascaras

Returning from a commercial break, Cactus staggered into the crowd and headed towards 'The Tough Guys' - a band who had been playing during the ads. 

For seemingly no reason, the future WWF Champion targetted drummer 'Wilde Wolfe' (JT Southern), who for some reason was wearing the exact outfit that Brutus Beefcake is wearing in his Wikipedia page picture.

The two started brawling until cameras cut to the back, where the ever-gorgeous Missy Hyatt insisted that we tune in to see her co-hosting a show with Jim Ross.

Norman Wants Hot Dogs

Elsewhere, Gordon Sollie had to explain to Norman The Lunatic that the Falls Count Anywhere stipulation added to his match with Kevin Sullivan meant anywhere in the arena, not just in the ring.

Clutching a teddy bear and beaming from ear to ear, the big man got very excited about the prospect of taking Sullivan up to the hot dog stand and grabbing a few hot dogs after pinning his arch-nemesis.

Falls Count Anywhere
Kevin Sullivan vs. Norman The Lunatic

Before Norman made his entrance, we got a vignette of him visiting a petting zoo and talking to a pig as though it were Kevin Sullivan.

Seriously. WTF was I watching here?

Falls counted anywhere in the building, so of course, the two spent 90% of the match brawling in and around the ring before finally making their way backstage for the oh-so-wacky finish.

Sullivan hid in the women's bathroom, which was a big no-no for Norman. The big friendly lunatic at first refused to go in, but when the last remaining lady ran out of there, he stormed in and closed the door behind him.

Cue lots of crashing and banging before Sullivan stepped out of the door and collapsed on the floor, followed by Norman, with Nick Patrick raising his hand in victory.

Although it was a silly finish, most of the actual brawling up to that point was a lot of fun.

Your Winner: Norman the Lunatic 

After the break, we got a live “Funk’s Grill” with The Total Package Lex Luger.

It was very confusing.

Funk had been a babyface back at Starrcade ‘89, had come across as a babyface in the earlier Sting/Horsemen bit, and even started this segment with a babyface-like apology for the heinous beat down of Sting at the hands of Flair and Anderson.

Then, from out of nowhere and for seemingly no reason whatsoever, Funk turned on the crowd and started calling them morons.

After ripping on the WCW roster for not having the guts to help him fight off the Horsemen, Funk turned his attention to a man he claimed would help him, but apparently didn’t.

That man was Lex Luger, who spent the majority of his promo time talking about Sting before finally deciding to list off his “allocades” (he meant accolades, presumedly).

Before Luger could get very far with putting himself over, however, Funk snatched the microphone from him and inexplicably began yelling “BUT I’M A COMMENTATOR! I’M A COMMENTATOR!” as if replying to an unreasonable request from Luger that The Total Package hadn’t actually made.

The US Champion then began to talk about his upcoming title defence, but Funk clearly got word in his ear that the segment had to be wrapped up, and that was pretty much that.

This isn’t the first time I’ve said this in this review, but WTF did I just watch? 

The New Skyscrapers (Dangerous Dan Spivey & Mean Mark Callous w/ Theodore Long) The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal w/ Precious Paul Ellering)

Sid was out injured, so Theodore Long had replaced him with some gangly ginger fella called Mean Mark.

Prior to the bell, we got promos from both teams. Teddy Long put over his men as the most dominant tag team in pro wrestling before we got a video package of Hawk and Animal randomly destroying some cars with sledgehammers and a pneumatic drill to prove how tough they were.

Hawk then promised that he and Animal then promised to topple The Skyscrapers and that's pretty much what they did in this rather non-descript big man match.

After a few minutes of passable action, The Road Warriors hit a Doomsday Device but then the referee seemed to vanish in thin air so The Skyscrapers beat them down for the no-contest.

No Contest

After a quick commercial break, it was onto the next match.

Mask vs. Title Match
NWA World Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner) vs. Doom (Butch Reed & Ron Simmons)

Before the bell, we got more pre-recorded comments from both teams. Butch Reed cut a terrible promo for Doom in which he promised they would drop a bomb on The Steiners while Scott Steiner literally said nothing more than “Doom! Get Ready!”

The actual match was decent enough, with a hot crowd and some good but not great action.

Towards the finish, Rick Steiner ripped Reed’s mask off, put it over his own head and then made the pin.

Your Winners and still tag team champions: The Steiner Brothers 

Afterwards, Ron Simmons made a big deal about finally taking his mask off.

The Horsemen Ride 

Before our main event, we got a backstage interview in which Ric Flair and The Andersons talked to Gordon Sollie.

Naturally, they said nothing about their upcoming match other than Flair off-handedly mentioning that they had one.

Instead, the whole focus was on The Horsemen’s issues with Sting.

It was compelling stuff, sure, but it would have been nice for them to acknowledge their upcoming match.

Cage Match
J-Tex Corporation (Buzz Sawyer, The Dragonmaster, and The Great Muta) vs. The Four Horsemen (NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair, Ole Anderson, and Arn Anderson)

The crowds hated The Horsemen for turning on Sting, which made Buzz Sawyer, The Great Muta, and The Dragonmaster the default babyfaces.

Not that the crowds were actually rooting for them or anything.

They spent the entire match chanting for Sting and when the popular fan favourite did show up, they went crazy.

Before Sting could get his hands on Flair, he was pulled away by a referee, Wahoo McDaniel, Tom Zenk, and Brian Pillman.

He later tried again, this time landing awkwardly as he jumped down from the cage and limping away with an injury that would take him out for months.

The actual match was nothing. It served no purpose other than to build tension between Sting and Flair.

It mattered so little that at one point, Buzz Sawyer hit a flying leap off the top of the cage (a move that wasn’t so commonplace in those days) and the crowd didn’t bat an eyelid.

Then, Ole Anderson pinned Sawyer but the crowds didn’t break from their ‘We Want Sting!’ chant to even acknowledge that the match was over.

Honestly, I think all six men could have sat in the ring on their asses playing cards in the nude and the audience wouldn’t have noticed.

Your Winners: The Four Horsemen 

Afterwards, Flair charged after an injured Sting and the two brawled as the credits rolled.

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If you’re looking for exciting pro wrestling action, don’t come anywhere near this show.

Ok, some of the matches weren’t awful, but there was nothing that you’d class as ‘must see’ and the main event may as well have not happened at all.

If you’re looking for one of the most hilarious, confusing, cheesy, and baffling shows of all time, then Clash of the Champions 10 is for you.

From Dr. Death’s ambulance skit to Terry Funk’s inexplicable heel turn and the all kinds of insanity in between, this was one of those “so bad it’s good” shows that was ridiculously entertaining for all the wrong reasons.

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Other 1990 pro wrestling reviews: 

• WWF Royal Rumble 1990
• WWF Wrestlemania XI
• WWF Summerslam 1990
• WWF Survivor Series 1990

Other Clash of the Champions Reviews:

• NWA Clash of the Champions 1 

Be the first to catch the latest Retro Pro Wrestling reviews by following on Facebook or Twitter @RetroPWrestling. 

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PPV REVIEW: WCW / NWA Chi-Town Rumble 1989

February 20, 1989 

UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois

The 1989 Chi-Town Rumble was the only such NWA event with this name, yet just because it was a one-off doesn't mean it wasn't important.

After all, when people talk about Nature Boy Ric Flair's greatest opponents, Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat's name inevitably comes close to the top -if not right at the very top- of that list.

The reason for that is simple:

The two had some incredible matches together, the first of which took place right here on this very card.

Steamboat had not long since returned to the NWA after a several-year stint in the World Wrestling Federation, and immediately made Flair his target.

Still, we'll get to all that later.  

For now, let's head to Chicago, Illinois for the first, last, and only, NWA Chi-Town Rumble. 

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It’s a Cold and Snowy Night In Chicago

We began tonight’s proceedings with a relatively simple introduction, featuring clips of the NWA’s star performers doing their thing presented in a wonderfully 80s format.

Coming live to an arena that was presented more like the kind of major wrestling shows we’d get in the 90s rather than the dark, dingy and cluttered 80s events, our announcers Jim Ross and Magnum TA then welcomed us to a cold and snowy night in Chicago for the Chi-Town Rumble.

The duo ran down every match on tonight’s card before sending us to a second video package showing us what to expect from the show.

This wasn’t a recap of the main feuds or storylines. It featured nothing that might make you get emotionally invested in what you were about to watch. Rather, it served as a highlight reel, showcasing tonight’s performers slamming and bumping around the ring interspersed with multiple shots of Road Warrior Hawk poking his tongue out.

It was OK for what it was, but let’s be honest, it can’t have accomplished much. Fans had already bought the show. They already had some idea of what to expect.

Anyway, when it was over, Ross and Magnum sent us backstage for our first promo of the evening.

It’s Showtime!

Out in the back, Bob Caudle asked Michael P.S Hayes about his upcoming match against The Russian Assassin.

Hayes had apparently decided that he didn’t want to talk about that. In fact, he didn’t want to talk much at all. He much preferred to yell, REALLY LOUDLY AND EXCITEDLY, about the show’s upcoming title matches, none of which he was involved in.

He then wrapped things up with a very basic ‘oh and of course I’m gonna kick this guy’s butt’ kind of message before shouting some more about it being showtime and making his way to the ring.

Well, alright then.

Michael P.S Hayes vs. The Russian Assassin (w/ Paul Jones)

‘Michael Hayes has red, white, and blue literally running through his veins,” said JR.

I’m not sure, but I think that’s maybe something Hayes might want to see a doctor about.

The match itself was a slow, simple affair which may not be all that appealing when viewed through the filter of modern pro wrestling, but which kept the fans suitably entertained and remains a decent watch if you view in the context of the period.

After trading the advantage several times, The Russian Assassin shot Michael Hayes into the ropes only for the Freebird to plant him with a sweet DDT for the one, the two, and the three.

Your Winner: Michael P.S Hayes

Post match, Hayes did a lap of the ring, hi-fiving fans as Bad Street USA blared through the PA.

He’s a Family Man

One of my favourite moments on the WCW Slam Jam album is the track about what a great guy Ricky Steamboat was because he didn’t cheat on his wife.

Tonight, he played up that Family Man gimmick as he gave an interview to Bob Caudle with his wife and child by his side.

To be fair, the family man thing worked to establish how different he was from the limousine-riding, jet-flying playboy that was his arch-rival Nature Boy Ric Flair, but it did little to help his promo ability.

The dragon stumbled his way through a monotone promo that was so dull I’ve forgotten anything he said even though I only just watched it. What’s more, he was upstaged by his infant son who kept grabbing Caudle’s microphone and bringing it to his face. It was so funny that I don’t know how anyone in the promo kept a straight face.

Sting vs. Hacksaw Butch Reed (w/ Hiro Matsuda)

“Sting started his career as a tag team wrestler,” said Jim Ross. “But it’s fair to say he has far surpassed his partners by now.”

Man, talk about the ultimate burn.

This match won’t be included in any Best of Sting compilations, but it was still good for what it was - a lengthy battle in which Butch Reed was forced to use dastardly heel tactics to compete with the strength, speed, and agility of Sting.

Those heel tactics clearly didn’t endear Reed to referee Teddy Long.

After admonishing Hacksaw several times throughout this reasonably entertaining contest, Long refused to break Sting’s pin attempt when Reed grabbed the ropes.

Instead, he moved Reed’s hand off the rope, counted the fall, and that was that.

Your Winner: Sting

Afterward, the two continued to brawl. This was not over yet.

Paul E. Dangerously is Smart

Backstage, Paul E. Dangerously told Bob Caudle that he’d sent Dennis Condrey on vacation and temporarily replaced him with Jack Victory.

This meant that Jim Cornette’s Midnight Express would be going up against someone they knew nothing about, giving Heyman’s original Midnights a greater chance of victory.

Offering a retort, Jim Cornette and his team insisted that they would still emerge victorious. 

Both managers were, as always, great.

Losing Team Must Leave the NWA
The Original Midnight Express (Randy Rose, Jack Victory, and Paul E. Dangerously) vs. The Midnight Express (Stan Lane, Bobby Eaton, and Jim Cornette)

Cornette and Dangerously may have been great managers but they were not good wrestlers, and I doubt this match would have been any worse without the two of them flailing about the place.

Although Cornette’s Midnights had been part of many really good matches, this sadly wasn’t one of them.

Not out right terrible or anything but just kind of there.

To the shock of no one at all, Cornette, Stan Lane, and Bobby Eaton won, sending the other team packing.

Your Winners: The Midnight Express

Out in the back, Ric Flair styled and profiled his way through a compelling promo about how he was going to beat Ricky Steamboat later. 

Woo.

All the while, Flair’s manager Hiro Matsuda looked on.

National Wrestling Alliance World Television Championship
NWA TV Champion Rick Steiner (w/ Scott Steiner) vs. Mike Rotunda

This was not all that good.

Notable for being the first PPV of appearance of Scott Steiner it was largely a lifeless affair between the former Varsity Club team mates and college athletes.

Things did get interesting towards the end, but it’s hard to say whether that’s a good thing or not.

Rick Steiner was in control until Kevin Sullivan came down and insinuated that it would be awful if anything were to happen to Steiner’s dog.

That confused and distracted the Dog Faced Gremlin, but not enough for Rotunda to get the win. Instead, the match continued with the champion regaining control, putting a sleeper hold on Rotunda and dropping to the mat.

Being the simpleton he was portrayed to be, Steiner lay flat back on the mat while holding Rotunda on top of him. Noticing that the champion’s shoulders were technically on the mat, Teddy Long counted to three and Mike Rotunda regained the title he’d just lost back at Starrcade ‘88.

Your Winner and new TV Champion: Mike Rotunda

Naturally, the beffudled Steiner Brothers protested the decision while Rotunda’s Varsity Club team mates Kevin Sullivan and Steve Williams helped him high tail out of there.

The Road Warriors are On Their Way

Out in the back, World Tag Team Champions The Road Warriors and Paul Ellering told Bob Caudle they they were going to destroy the Varsity Club in a typically SHOUTY BIG MAN promo.

National Wrestling Alliance United States Championship
NWA US Champion Barry Windham (w/ Hiro Matsuda) vs. Lex Luger

This was a much better match, not so much for any of the actual action but because it told a sensible story and had a hot crowd.

At first, this was just a typical battle of the big men before Barry Windham went to punch Lex Luger outside the ring. Luger moved and Windham struck the ring post, doing major damage to the hand he used for his patented claw.

From there, the champion’s every effort was thwarted by his own injury.

The only dumb point was the finish. It was one of those German suplex deals were both men have their shoulders to the mat and one lifts theirs up first. In this case, it was Luger, earning himself a new title shot.

There was nothing especially wrong with that, but it came from out of nowhere and was far too similar to the ending of the last match for this fan’s liking.

Your Winner and New US Champion: Lex Luger

Out in the back, Mike Rotunda gave an intense interview to Bob Caudle.

The WWE Network name for this segment tells us that Rotunda celebrated his victory.

Really, the future tax man just seemed annoyed that Rick Steiner would even dare to exist, let alone hold the TV title for a few months.

Speaking of titles, after a few words from Ross and Magnum TA, it was back to ringside for our next match.

National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Championship
NWA Tag Team Champions The Road Warriors (w/ Paul Ellering) vs. The Varsity Club (Kevin Sullivan & Dr. Death Steve Williams)

If you like your wrestling matches to have non-straight-forward finishes, this was clearly the show for you.

After several minutes of reasonable match that was everything you’d probably expect it to be, Dr Death pinned Animal while Hawk came off the ropes and drilled Sullivan with a flying clothesline and pinned him.

With a member of each team making the cover, the referee counted to three so both teams thought they’d won. Ultimately, the ref gave the match to Hawk and Animal.

It was a dumb way to end the match.

Your Winners and still Tag Team Champions: The Road Warriors

Backstage, a somber and beat-up Lex Luger talked about how badly he and Barry Windham had hurt one another in the last match.

Finally, a video reminded us of the time Ricky Steamboat had returned to the NWA after a spell in the WWF.

Having done so, The Dragon set about upstaging Ric Flair on TV and then stripped him down to his undies and beaten him up a week later.

The two would meet next.

National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair (w/ Hiro Matsuda) vs. Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat.

For what it’s worth, this was Steamboat’s first PPV appearance since Wrestlemania 4 and his first appearance on a major NWA event since we last saw him at Starrcade 1984.

Tonight, he wrestled Ric Flair in a compelling match that was every bit as good as you might have heard.

Though perhaps the weakest of their three performances from 1989, Steamboat/Flair 1 was still a tremendous match from start to finish, telling the story of The Dragon out-wrestling Flair but the defending champion always finding a way to get even.

After lots of exciting back-and-forth action, countless gripping near falls and an unnecessary ref bump, Flair went for his second figure four of the match only for Steamboat to roll him up and win the big gold belt.

Your Winner and new NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Ricky Steamboat

After a brief in-ring celebration, The Dragon made his way backstage where the other babyfaces doused him in champagne while he tried to cut a promo.

It was pretty funny that Steamboat was pretty charismatic when the promo started but then when he got champagne poured on him it was like it stung his eyes. He could barely open them and struggled to speak as he got the point across that he was going to offer Flair a rematch for the gold.

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And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the first and only Chi-Town Rumble, a show that started well, started to get dull, and then picked up with that awesome Steamboat/Flair match.

Honestly, most of the card isn’t worth watching, but put this on and skip ahead to that main event for some truly classic pro wrestling.

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Other 1989 pro wrestling events:

• WWF Royal Rumble 1989
• WWF Wrestlemania V
• WWF Summerslam 1989
• WWF Survivor Series 1989

Be the first to catch the latest Retro Pro Wrestling reviews by following on Facebook or Twitter @RetroPWrestling.

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PPV REVIEW: WCW Great American Bash 1992

July 12, 1992 
Albany Civic Center, Albany, Georgia

Every now and again, I like to step away from reviewing every WWE PPV from Wrestlemania 1 to 30 and look at something a little different.

I've already been covering every WCW PPV from January 1996 onwards, so why not dive back and do a few more?

Today, I thought we'd take a look at WCW Great American Bash 1992, an early instalment of one of the company's best-loved PPVs.

Feel like joining me for this trip down memory lane?

Let's get to it.

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Welcome to the Great American Bash

We began our show tonight with Tony Schiavone running down tonight's card as a graphic showed us all the wrestlers involved.

First, we looked at the finals of the NWA tag team championship tournament with Schiavone telling us that we'd be seeing the likes of Rick Rude & Stunning Steve Austin and Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes.

When it came to Akira Nogami & Hiroshi Hase, however, Schiavone merely described them as "The Team Representing Japan."

Later, as Schiavone and his broadcast colleague, Magnum T.A. began the usual opening spiel, he told us that Nogami wasn't even here because of an eye injury so Shinya Hashimoto would be taking his place.

Schiavone then sent us to Jim Ross and Jesse 'The Body' Ventura, who were our commentary team for the evening.

On a personal note, I'm excited about this. It's been a long time since I watched a show that had Jesse Ventura commentating.

Bill Watts Explains the Rules

After Ross and Ventura killed some more time, we were next sent to Eric Bischoff -at this point still a lowly microphone-man- who was standing by for an interview with WCW boss, Cowboy Bill Watts.

After threatening to put the audience to sleep with a rambling speech about how the rules were different in various sports, Watts told us that the rules were also different in our two title matches tonight:

In the NWA tag team title matches, the wrestlers could do anything they wanted to off the top rope. In the world title match between Sting and Vader, however, it was forbidden to jump off the top rope onto your opponent.

This alone showed how confusing things could get.

The company was essentially running two sets of titles.

One of the teams involved in the NWA tag team title tournament were already the WCW champions, and though we had a WCW Championship match later tonight, we'd also be told about an NWA Championship match that was taking place elsewhere on a later date.

Anyway, with a total of five minutes of talking out of the way, it was finally onto our opening match.

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarter Final - Match 1
Jushin 'Thunder' Liger & Flyin' Brian Pillman vs. Nikita Koloff & Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat

At a time before these things were common, we got a babyface vs. babyface match to kick things off...and boy did they ever kick things off.

Much as you might expect from a match featuring so much talent in one ring, this was a solid opening contest that really got the fans riled up.

Jushin Liger & Brian Pillman took control in the early going, isolating Nikita Koloff and giving his arm a good going over.

Eventually, however, Koloff bounced Pillman into the ropes and shoulder-barged him using the same arm his opponents had just been working on.

Completely no-selling the damage to his arm, Koloff simply walked off into the corner, letting Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat.

Steamboat and his partner then took their turn to dominate the match, and back and forth we went for the better part of 20 minutes.

Though it wasn't an all-time classic, this was certainly every bit as good as you can imagine.

In the end, Steamboat pinned Pillman to send his team through into the semi-finals.
Your Winners: Nikita Koloff & Ricky Steamboat

Post-match, Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura told us that Steamboat & Koloff would go on to face the Miracle Violence Connection of Dr Death Steve Williams & Terry 'Bam Bam' Gordy

Kids, Get Parental Consent

No, this wasn't a shill for the WCW Hotline. Mean Gene Okerlund was still with the WWF at this time and thus wasn't telling you to call 1-900-909-9900 ever half hour.

Instead, the warning to get parental consent came from Rick Steiner, who warned us that The Steiner Brothers' rivalry with Miracle Violence Connection was about to get a whole lot uglier.

With Eric Bischoff conducting the interview, Rick was, of course, joined by his brother Scott.

This being at a time when the future Big Poppa Pump could still cut a semi-coherent promo, the younger Steiner told us that despite losing out in the earlier rounds of the tag team tournament, he and Rick would stare defeat right in the eye and live to fight another day.

Though the IWGP Tag Team Champions weren't exactly Ric Flair on the mic, their rambling, old-school face stuff was effective here.

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarter Final - Match 2
Hiroshi Hase & Shinya Hashimoto vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael P.S. Hayes & Jimmy Jam Garvin)

It was time for Bad Street, U.S.A to meet the land of the orient as Hase and Hashimoto clashed with Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin.

Shorter than the opening match, this one also had a completely different style and a completely different feel to it, but that doesn't mean it was any less enjoyable.

Playing the heels, the Japanese duo dominated often, with every Freebird comeback eliciting a response from the crowd that only got louder and louder.

Alas, it wasn't to be Hayes & Garvin's night.

Hase & Hashimoto scored the win and put an end to what was a genuinely enjoyable match.
Your Winners: Hiroshi Hase & Shinya Hashimoto

Away from the ring, Tony Schiavone stood by with Cowboy Bill Watts and Hiro Matsuda.

Showing all the personality of a piece of spinach, Watts muffled his way through a speech in which he told us that he had taken Ric Flair's nameplate from the Big Gold Belt and given said belt to Matsuda.

Matsuda would then take the title to Japan, where the finals of a tournament to crown the new NWA World Heavyweight Champion would be crowned on an already sold-out NJPW show.

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarter Final - Match 2
Dangerous Alliance (WCW United States Champion Ravishing Rick Rude & WCW Television Champion Stunning Steve Austin w/ Madusa) vs The Natural Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham

"What I'd like to have right now is for all you fat, out of shape, simple-minded sweat-hogs, keep the noise down while I take my robe off and show you what a real sexy man is supposed to look like."

Ravishing Rick Rude, ladies and gentlemen, don't you just miss him?

Here, the US Champion teamed up with Stunning Steve Austin in another compelling contest.

The Dangerous Alliance representatives cut Barry Whindam off from his partner and spent two-thirds of the match seriously laying into him.

It was the kind of really good pro wrestling that absolutely makes you suspend disbelief.

The more the bad guys beat down on Whindam, the more you found yourself on the edge of your seat, desperately hoping he'd finally make the hot tag.

In an age when kayfabe is pretty much dead, it makes a welcome change to go back to 1992 and get completely absorbed in a match.

Much to this fan's delight, Dustin Rhodes finally tagged in and went to work on both opponents.

The whole thing then broke down into a four-way brawl until Rhodes came off the top rope with a lariat to the future Stone Cold, pinning Austin for the three count.
Your Winners: Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham

Out in the back, Eric Bischoff interviewed Big Van Vader and his manager, seven-time world champion, Harley Race.

Race seemed to forget his words in the early part of his short promo. When he remembered them, he basically told us that Vader was the uncrowned champion and would dethrone Sting later on tonight.

For his part, Vader told us that he feared no man and felt no pain.

It's funny that we've always been taught that one of the main jobs of a pro wrestling manager is to act as a mouthpiece for their charges. Here, however, Vader was easily better on the microphone than his own manager.

Halloween Havoc is Coming

Taking a break before the next match, Ross and Ventura reminded us that Halloween Havoc was coming up in a couple of months, and with that, it was back to the ring.

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament Semi-Final - Match 1
Nikita Koloff & Rick 'The Dragon' Steamboat vs. WCW Tag Team Champions Dr Death Steve Williams & Terry 'Bam Bam' Gordy

A notable change of pace came about in our first semi-final match, as all four men spent the majority of this slow, deliberate match down on the canvas.

Though this methodical, submission-based bout would be unlikely to work in today's fast-paced version of pro wrestling, it did prove to be a decent watch here.

Dr Death and Bam Bam Gordy basically dominated the whole thing, stretching Koloff to his limits before Williams flattened Steamboat to put his team in the final.
Your Winners: Steve Williams & Terry Gordy

After some words from Ross and Ventura, it was onto our next match.

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament Semi-Final - Match 2
Hiroshi Hase & Shinya Hashimoto vs. The Natural Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham

So far, every single one of these matches has been pretty long, so it's no wonder that, as we move into our fourth one, things started to feel a little flat.

Windham & Rhodes, as well as their Japanese opponents still worked hard, but this one just didn't seem to hit home as well as those that had gone before it.

After a lengthy, underwhelming contest, Windham struck with a lariat to put his team into the finals.
Your Winners: Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham

Prior to our next match, Tony Schiavone and Magnum T.A. stood by to interview Ron Simmons.

Looking spiffy in a fancy white jacket, Simmons showed a lot of charisma but made little sense.

The essence of his rambling promo was that he'd had a tough journey to get to where he was and was coming for the world title.

World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship
WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting vs. Big Van Vader (w/ Harley Race)

You know, sometimes I watch the late, great Leon White in action and wonder if anybody actually ever told him that pro wrestling is a work.

The man better known as Big Van Vader brutalised his opponent from pillar-to-post. Not that this was a walk in the park for the man from the Rocky Mountains.

For his part, defending champion Sting looked overcome Vader's brute force and unbridled power using quickness, agility, and a good ol' Stinger Splash.

The result was a match that got better the longer it went on.

Sure, it wasn' a five-star classic, but it was a compelling world title match that this fan certainly enjoyed.

In the end, Sting's quickness was no match for Vader's strength. The challenger powerbombed his way to a three-count and became our new champion.
Your Winner and New WCW Champion: Big Van Vader

Post-match, it turned out that Sting was so hurt that a gaggle of referees, Ron Simmons, Ole Anderson and Nikita Koloff had to come and help him to the back.

I like that, it was a great way of putting over the new champion as such a dominant force.

I also like the fact that Nikita Koloff wore flip-flops to the ring.

Vader is The Man

Backstage, Eric Bischoff spoke with the new champion and his manager, Harley Race.

Race told us that Big Van Vader was The Man in Professional Wrestling, whilst Vader ignored Bischoff's question about granting Sting a rematch and ranted excitedly about what a beast he was.

It was entertaining stuff.

NWA World Tag Team Championship Tournament Final
WCW Tag Team Champions Dr Death Steve Williams & Terry 'Bam Bam' Gordy vs. Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham

So, this was it then. Our main event of the evening and the final of the tag team tournament.

Like many of the matches that had taken place earlier in the final, this one saw the combatants spend plenty of time on the mat in a proper old-school grapple.

Though that did lend for a different pace than modern audiences may be used to today, it still created a decent -albeit hardly exhilarating- match.

After dominating the bulk of the contest, Williams & Gordy picked up the win when Dr Death turned Dustin Rhodes inside out with a clothesline.

Speaking of Dr Death, how's this for a bit of foreshadowing?

At one point in the match, JR was telling us about how strong Williams was and how he'd been so powerful in every sport he'd played.

"Just ask Steve McMichael of the Chicago Bears how strong Dr Death is," said Ross, a good few years before our boy Mongo would begin wrestling for WCW himself.
Your Winners and New NWA Tag Team Champions: Steve Williams & Terry Gordy

Post-match, Dr Death rambled some nonsense To Magnum T.A. and Tony Schiavone. Terry Gordy then took to the mic to cut a much more coherent and charismatic promo in which he basically gloated about how good he and Williams were.

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Don't be surprised if you watch Great American Bash 1992 and hate it. Unlike today's trend of having shorter, fast-paced, high impact matches, this one was back-to-back with one long, 20-minute bout after another.

The majority of those bouts were full of grappling, chain wrestling and basically hanging around on the mat.

While there are certainly a lot of people who would find that boring, this fan found it a refreshing change from the modern WWE product.

Don't get me wrong, I won't be in any hurry to watch this show again, and outside of Vader/Sting there was nothing that really stood out as being worth tracking down, but as old-school wrestling shows go, this one wasn't bad.

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Other WCW Great American Bash reviews 

1. WCW Great American Bash 1996
2. WCW Great American Bash 1997
3. WCW Great American Bash 1998

Other 1992 pro wrestling event reviews

1. WWF Royal Rumble 1992
2. WWF Wrestlemania 8
3. WWF Summerslam 1992
4. WWF Suvirvor Series 1992 
5. WWF 1992 - The Year in Review 

Be the first to catch the latest Retro Pro Wrestling reviews by following on Facebook or Twitter @RetroPWrestling.

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