From the Grudge Match: Ted Blanchard Reviews Clash of the Champions XXIV - The One with Shockmaster!

First, the site: wrestlingrecaps.blogspot.com
Now, the Twitter: @grudgematchrcps


Live from Dayton Beach, Fla. Tony Schiavone and Jesse Ventura on commentary.

My coordinates during the live broadcast of this show were were at my friend's house. I remember I had a bad cold, and my high school registration was that morning. Yep.

We start with a pre-tape from an earnest Brian Pillman and Steve Austin, explaining Pillman is injured and they can't compete. Schiavone announces that they are being forced to defend, with Lord Steven Regal replacing Pillman. This title match/change of course had to happen on this show no matter what, as the Horsemen and also the Nasty Boys had been taped with the belts at the Disney MGM tapings.

World tag team championship, Arn Anderson/Paul Roma vs. Austin/Regal- This is a rematch from Beach Blast. I'm not sure how Pillman injured his ankle. Arn and Austin start, with Arn getting clotheslined coming off the ropes as Regal claps. Snapmare and a kneedrop b Austin, but Arn tackles him and ground and pounds. Arn slingshots Austin over the top, and then when he comes back in Arn backdrops him on the other side. It's nice how they transitioned Roma into the feud in Flair's place, though only two of the four guys from the last Clash are in this match. Regal and Roma tag, and the Horsemen doubleteam the Englishman in the corner. Regal gets a shoulderblock but gets slammed and dropkicked by Roma. Austin trips Roma coming off the ropes, then the champions doubleteam him. The Steves could have been a good team. Austin in and suplexes Roma, and chokes him on the rope while Pillman "films" him. Pillman then chokes Roma while Arn tries to come in. Regal in and breaks up a sunset flip, then cannonballs onto Roma. Gutwrench suplex gets two, and Austin tags. Roma fires back but gets kneed in the gut. Austin comes off the second rope for two. Regal whips Roma and hits a charge in the corner. Austin tagged, as Arn chases Sir William outside. The ref misses a Roma pin attempt because. Arn slugs Austin and Roma hotshots him, but Regal rushes in so the ref can miss the tag. Great heelin' there. Roma stays in and gets a sunset flip for two. Enzuiguri on Regal, then Arn gets tagged. He backdrops Austin, but Regal breaks up a DDT attempt. William goes on the apron with the crutch, Austin avoids going into it, but Arn pushes Austin into Dundee and gets the very shocking pin. **3/4. Good tag teaming, and Roma did fine.

Bischoff interviews the new champs. I don't know why they only have the NWA belts here.

Bobby Eaton vs. 2 Cold Scorpio- Young boy and middle aged woman alike can't help but dance to Scorpio's theme.

Scorpio flips out of an armbar but gets eye poked. Eaton forearms out of a backdrop attempt, but gets sunset flipped off the apron. Eaton then forearms him again to take control. Eaton misses a charge, and Scorpio flips onto the top buckles and bodypresses for two. Dropkick and then a hammerlock on Eaton. Scorp stands on Eaton's wrist, then drops on his arm. Scorp misses a standing bodypress, and Eaton attacks. He chokes the Cold Man on the bottom rope, and gets a hammerlock on the mat. Scorp puts Eaton on the top and dropkicks him to the floor! Scorp then hits a crossbody to the floor. Chop and then a corner whip, but Eaton legsweeps him. Eaton goes up for a flying elbow for two. Scorpio hulks up and punches Eaton down, then hits the Diss that Don't Miss. *** Man, I forgot how awesome Scorpio was back then.

Mask vs. Norma Jean, Johnny B. Badd vs. Maxx Payne- Badd has been wearing a mask since Payne shot the confetti gun in Badd's face. I don't want to rewind, but I just saw David Flair in the crowd. Badd looks like a peacock tonight. Payne pulls Badd out of the ring before shooting the confetti, and fires away. Badd hits two clotheslines and misses a crossbody. Payne hits a side suplex, and rips off a mask. There's another underneath, though. Badd hits a flying headscissors, but gets clotheslined. Payne slams him but Badd rolls him up for two. Payne clotheslines him then drops the elbow. Payne goes up to the middle buckle but misses a splash, and Badd pins him. *1/4. This wasn't good. Payne was an amateur wrestler, but I think brawls are his strong suit. Good thing he's going to find a partner soon. Badd then tells Schiavone he'll unmask on Saturday Night, and that it's "time for guitar lessons!"

Oh God, the fuckin' Flair for the Gold segment. I totally forgot that was on this show. Sigh. Well, the guests are Sting and the British Bulldogs, and Vader, Harlem Heat and Sid interrupt, as the two teams will meet in War Games at Fall Brawl. Dustin Rhodes is also on the face team, and their fourth partner is...The Shockmaster (aka Tugboat, Typhoon, Buffoon...). He of course trips coming in, his glittery Stormtrooper helmet falls off, and Ole Anderson does his distorted voice. This has been covered ad nauseum everywhere, so I have nothing to add.

World television title, Ricky Steamboat vs. Paul Orndorff (c)- Jesse Ventura laughs as he says "What an entrance by the Shockmaster!" I honestly wonder how they thought his entrance would've gone over even if he hadn't tripped. The lights randomly dim as they lock up. Steamboat climbs up the ropes and flips the headlock over. Shoulderblock gets two, back to the headlock. Orndorff wins a test of strength, and Steamboat gets a headlock. Orndorff ducks a charging Dragon, and he hits the ramp. Orndorff kicks Steamer in the head on the ramp, and hits an elbow from the middle buckle for two. Orndorff slams him and keeps going for pins. Orndorff hiptoss gets two. Orndorff tosses the Dragon out, and kicks him in the ribs. Orndorff goes headfirst in to the buckle, and the Dragon hits a chop from the top. Back suplex, but Dragon hit his head on the mat. He flips Orndorff out of the ring by his chin, then bodypresses onto him. Orndorff jumps through the ropes onto a prone Steamboat, and Orndorff doesn't realize Steamboat had his foot on the ropes. Orndorff celebrates with the belt, but gets attacked by Steamboat. Wonderful tries to piledrive him on the belt, but gets backdropped. A backslide gets 2.9, and Steamboat hits a corssbody off the top that Orndorff rolls through. Steamboat rolls him up on a bodyslam attempt (think Mania III) for the win. I think this title change may have been predicted by the stars, or more precisely the Disney tapings. Orndorff then piledrives him on the belt on the ramp. ***1/4.

Bischoff talks to Harley Race and the Colossal Kongs. Neither is the woman named Awesome Kong, and the other is named King.

The Kongs vs. Sting/Ric Flair- Flair won the NWA title from Barry Windham at Beach Blast. Sting and Flair have a match for said title on the upcoming WCW Saturday NIght. Michael Buffer's introductions take longer than the actual match. Sting slams them both right away, and they bail out. Race yells "that's impossible!" dramatically. Flair throws one out and jumps off on him as Sting avoids a splash from the other inside. Sting hits a two dropkicks then a clothesline to drop his Kong. Stinger splash, then a top-rope splash for the win. Flair then drops a chop off the top on the other one. * I'm not sure what the point all of this was, other than to promote the Saturday Night match.
Schiavone talks to Flair and Sting. Flair said it didn't look like Sting needed a partner. I'm shocked Flair didn't turn on him anywhere here.

Rick Rude/The Equalizer vs. Dustin Rhodes/mystery partner- The partner comes in in a Camaro, which they give away later in the show. The U.S. title is still held up here, though Rhodes beat Rude on a Saturday Night right after this for it, which is on the WWE United States championship blu ray. First Road Warrior Animal gets out of the car to a pop. Rude says they knew Animal was going to be the partner, but then Hawk appears. I think Animal had a back injury at the time and was "retired." This is all apparently too exciting for my DVD, as playback has just crapped out. I guess I'll come back to this later..."We're back!" Hawk throws Rude into the corner to begin. They do a test of strength, and then Equalizer is in and fucks up a neckbreaker spot. I think Hawk lariated him for real after that. Clothesline of Equalizer's own, and the heels doubleteam. Rude gets a camel clutch, but Hawk stands to get out of it, and Dustin hits the Doomsday Device. He atomic drops Rude and backdrops him. Dustin tries a monkey flip but gets hit, then he spins on a clothesline. Rude then gyrates at Hawk. Equalizer stomps away on Dustin. Back elbow by Eq, and he chokeslams Dustin. Eq clotheslines Rude by mistake, and Hawk shoulderblocks him. He presses Rude on Eq, and Hawk double clotheslines them. Hawk clotheslines both heels out, and suplexes Rude back in. Hawk gets clotheslined out, but he then knocks Dustin on top of Eq for the win. *3/4. Match was short but sweet.

WCW world championship, Vader (c) vs. Bulldog- If Vader gets disqualified, he loses the title. After a break they are brawling on the ramp. Not sure if it started already. Bulldog reverses a suplex on the ramp, and does the "War and Peace" variety. Davey clotheslines him on the ramp, and throws a dropkick. Davey clotheslines him back in, but hits knees when he swandives in. Smith is selling his knee as Vader boxes him in the corner. Vader throws him to the floor, but hits railing on a splash attempt. Davey then suplexes him onto the rail. Bulldog sure pulls his tights up a lot. Fireman's Carry into a Papoose to Go, as I once again get interrupted. Bulldog got two from that. Vader sacks Bulldog and drops an elbow on his thigh. A big clothesline drops Davey, and Vader hits his own Papoose. Vader  hits a splash off the top for two. Vader misses a butt drop from a sunset flip position, but then he flips Davey into the corner. Davey takes Vader down with a crucifix for two. Bulldog dropkicks Vader off the top, but he falls inside. Dog works him over more in the corner, but runs into a  boot. Vader bomb gets two.  Bulldog picks him up but Harley clips him. Vader wins but gets attacked by a returning Cactus Jack as we go off the air.

The NWA title scene was getting good again here, with Sting in the mix and Rick Rude about to challenge for it. Unfortunately, the rug was about to be pulled out (as well as the initials).