The Event Center: Clash of the Champions XXIV Review

Introduction:
Hello everyone and welcome back to the Event Center only on CrazyMax. Last time we were together we went through SummerSlam 1991. This time we are going back to WCW and doing the follow up to Beach Blast 1993. Thats right, we are doing the August 1993 edition of Clash of the Champions. We have a main event of Vader vs. The British Bulldog. However, we also have one of the most infamous debuts in wrestling history and thats the debut of the Shockmaster. Theres a lot going on here so lets not waste any more time and get to it.

Event Information:
Date: August 18th, 1993
Location: Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida
Attendance: 8,903
Main Event: WCW World Heavyweight Title Match: Vader (c) vs. British Bulldog

Show Opening:

They run through the card. We got Sting/Flair vs. The Colossal Kongs. We also have the Hollywood Blondes defending their tag team titles against Paul Roma/Arn Anderson. Lastly, the main event will feature Vader defending his title vs. Davey Boy Smith. They then head ringside where Jesse and Tony are standing by. Tony tells us that Pillman is injured and he won’t be able to compete on tonights show.

Backstage Promo by: Hollywood Blondes

They then cut to a promo by Pillman with Austin talking about how he can’t compete tonight because the WCW doctors didn’t clear him. Pillman says he knows the fans are greatly disappointed that he can’t compete. Pillman says it breaks his heart. Austin says that these champions won’t be clashing but some time down the road they may be able to fit Arn and Roma in. Austin says they would love to compete but tonight just isn’t the night.

Tony and Jesse Ringside:

They go back to Tony and Jesse ringside and Tony tells us that since the injury that WCW made an announcement and that the Hollywood Blondes will have to defense the titles. Tony tells us that Lord Steven Regal will fill in for Pillman and take his spot in the tag team match. Jesse says that we all see the injury so why does he have to wrestle hurt. Tony then sends us up to the ring where we get this thing under way.

Match 1: WCW Tag Team Title Match: Steve Austin/Steve Regal vs. Arn Anderson/Paul Roma

Austin and Arn start this one of with a tie up. Austin gets the early advantage with a big time clothesline on Arn right off the top of the head. They exchange control until Arn ends up catapulting Austin to the apron but Austin quickly gets back on. Austin the charges at Arn and Arn dumps him over the top rope with a back body drop. Jesse is hot that they didn’t call a disqualification for sending him over the top rope.

Arn comes in on fire on Austin and he ends up taking care of both guys. Arn then goes for a DDT on Austin but Regal decks him with a big time right hand. Sir William has the crutch and he is about to hit Austin with it but Austin stops and Arn ends up driving Austin into Sir William. Arn then rolls up Austin and gets the 1-2-3. Your winners and new WCW Tag Team Champions….Arn Anderson & Paul Roma!

Recap:
This match didn’t have nearly the amount of time as the Beach Blast match so it wasn’t nearly as good as that match. Regal just didn’t fit with Austin, even though they worked well together. It just looked off and the match never really clicked if you ask me. The match isn’t bad but it’s nothing special either. I would check it out if you are interested but you really aren’t missing anything.


Post Match Interview: Arn Anderson & Paul Roma

Roma tells us that this is what the Horsemen are all about. Willing to change on a dime and be able to handle any challenge that comes there way. People said that Roma didn’t have what it took to be a Horsemen but Arn believed in him and that is all it took. Roma says this is what it means to be a Horsemen and he is proud to call himself one. Arn says that adversity introduces a man to himself. Arn says they tried to pull the grand swerve on them. Arn says being a Horsemen means thinking on your feet and adapting. Arn says you work together and achieve their goal. Arn says this was there goal and that is becoming the champs. Arn says you can call them whatever you want but tonight you can call them champs.

Match 2: 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Bobby Eaton

They are going back and forth early until Eaton drops Scorpio with a right hand to gain control of the match. Eaton picks up Scorpio and tries to throw him to the outside but Scorpio holds on and hits a shoulder and then jumps over Eaton and rolls him up for a 2 count but Bobby gets up quickly and ends up nailing Scorpio with a nice clothesline. Eaton comes charging into the corner but Scorpio falls on his ass as Eaton runs head first into he corner. Scorpio then pulls himself up to the top rope from the sitting on the mat position and hits Eaton with a beautiful cross body for a 2 count. That was pretty damn awesome and a nice looking set of moves.

Scorpio continues the control with a nice drop kick and then a head lock. Scorpio stands on the wrist of Eaton and ends up jumping off it and hitting a double leg drop on the arm of Eaton. Scorpio goes for a cross body but Eaton moves out of the way as Scorpio crashes to the mat and Eaton takes control. Scorpio gets out of an arm bar with a brutal looking back elbow. Scorpio then picks up Eaton and puts him on the top rope and ends up hitting him with a drop kick while he is sitting on the top rope. It sends Eaton to the outside and Scorpio hits him with a nice cross body.

Scorpio was going for irish whips into the corner until Eaton grabs him and hits him with an arm breaker Eaton then hits a nice swinging neck breaker followed by an elbow off the top rope. We have a nice little match going on here between two really good wrestlers. They exchange blows until Scorpio hits a nice spinning kick. Scorpio then goes to the top rope and hits the 450 splash for the 1-2-3. Your winner by pinfall….2 Cold Scorpio!

Recap:
This match was pretty dang good. It didn’t drag with rest holds and all that but it got to the point. Both guys had some nice aerial moves and they really went at it. It was fast paced and fluid and Scorpio looked great. He did some things that just weren’t being done on American television during this time. It’s refreshing to see somebody doing these things. It’s a shame Scorpio never really amounted to much because he was so damn talented. From what I’ve seen its because he preferred recreational activities instead of his profession.

Match 3: Mask vs. Guitar: Johnny B. Badd vs. Maxx Payne

Badd is in the ring and trying to figure out where he wants to shoot off his Badd Blaster but Payne grabs him from the outside and racks the knee on the apron. Payne keeps control with elbows on the ground and right hands. Badd ducks a clothesline and tries to get Maxx down to the mat but doesn’t succeed as Payne ducks a cross body to keep control. Payne drops Badd with a side suplex and he ends up ripping off the mask of Badd. However, Badd has a second mask on under his original mask. Badd ends up hitting a nice head scissor on Maxx Payne but Payne gets right up and drops Badd with a clothesline to keep control of the match.

Payne slams Badd on the mat with the arm on the back to start working on the arm to get him ready for the Payne Killer. Maxx goes for a big splash off the middle rope but Badd rolls out of the way and goes for the pin right away and he gets the 1-2-3. Your winner by pinfall….Johnny B. Badd!

Recap:
Well, that was kind of shitty. Maxx dominates the match and then does the job after missing one splash off the middle rope? What garbage. This match was way to short for a feud that they were going with between these two. There really isn’t much to see here and it’s worth skipping if you ask me.

Post Match Interview:

Jesse gets up right away and interviews Badd who has Norma Gene (Maxx’s guitar). Badd says what its like to lose something that means a lot to you Maxx. Johnny B. Badd says in 3 days on WCW Saturday Night he is going to show the world what Johnny B. Badd really looks like. Badd then says its a good day to be a Badd man. He then tells us that it’s time for some guitar lessons.

Flair for the Gold: Shockmaster Debuts

Flair says we are live on TBS and we are at the Clash of the Champions. Flair asks the fans if Fifi is all the way live. Flair says that we have two huge guests on his show and it is none other than Sting and the British Bulldog. Flair says we are talking about Fall Brawl 93 and the War Games. Davey is coked out of his mind and just starts yelling that everyone is cooking and that after tonight he will be cooking when he becomes the WCW champion. Sid and Harlem Heat end up interrupting Sting and Bulldog. Flair says that Sting and Bulldog are going to introduce their special tag team partner.

Sid says that it seems to him that if Sting and Bulldog were as smart as they think they are then they wouldn’t have waited this close to War Games to introduce who their partner is. Bulldog then says we are going to tell them who their partner is. Bulldog says he is going to let Sting introduce the partner. Sting says their partner is going to shock the world because their partner is none other than THE SHOCKMASTER!!!! As everyone knows, he comes through the wall and falls on his face and loses his mask. He quickly gets it back on and just stands there doing nothing. What an infamous spot and it is so damn hilarious. Such a great moment.

Sid just starts yelling at the Shockmaster and he says he doesn’t give a damn who he is. Then this stupid ass voice starts talking, which is Ole Anderson, he says that Sid is the man that rules the world but they call him the Shockmaster. He says that Sid has ruled the world long enough but he better get ready. He then says come after him because he is ready. He says with Sting and Bulldog plus Dustin Rhodes they will see them at the Fall Brawl War Games.

Match 4: WCW Television Title Match: Paul Orndorff (c) vs. Ricky Steamboat

We get Michael Buffer introductions for this one. It looks like the lighting is going out in the building a little bit during the introductions but I am not sure what the cause was. Interesting to say the least. Steamboat gets the advantage early with a tight head lock on Orndorff. They then get in a test of strength type move out of a top wrist lock but Steamboat ends up keeping his balance and pushing his way out of it and he ends up getting Orndorff in a side head lock out of the move. Steamboat ends up going for a cross body on Orndorff but he ends up going flying over the top rope and out to the entrance ramp.

Orndorff gets him back in the ring and ends up dropping Steamboat with an elbow to the top of the head for a 2 count. Steamboat does a leap frog on Orndorff but when he turns around Orndorff drops him with a body slam and then tries to pin him 4-5 times but can only get a 2 count. Back to the head lock we go. Orndorff hits a move, goes for multiple pins, and back to the head lock we go. He’s done this 2-3 times in a row now. What shit.

Orndorff slams the head of Steamboat into the mat, 3-4 straight pin falls, and no head lock. I’m shocked. Orndorff ends up throwing Steamboat to the outside but when he tries to get in Orndorff nails him with some boots to the head. Orndorff goes to ram Steamboat head first into the turnbuckle but Steamboat blocks and Orndorff goes head first into the corner. Steamboat goes to the top and drops a chop on Orndorff as the pace starts to pick up here. Steamboat ends up hitting Orndorff with a belly to back suplex for a 2 count.

Steamboat starts laying in the chops and ends up nailing Orndorff with one that sends him up and over to the outside. Steamboat then runs and hits a flying cross body onto Orndorff on the outside. Orndorff dives in from the apron and splashes steamboat and tries to pin him 2-3 times. Orndorff thinks he won but Steamboat rolls him up and damn near pins him. Orndorff then goes for the pile driver but Steamboat blocks it and lands on top of Orndorff. Orndorff bridges out of the pin but Steamboat hits him with a backslide for another near fall. Orndorff has enough and drops Steamboat with a clothesline.

Steamboat hits a charging Orndorff with a big foot as he goes to the outside for a big cross body that Orndorff rolls out of and gets a 2 count. Orndorff goes for a body slam on Steamboat but Steamboat ends up rolling Orndorff up out of the body slam and gets the 1-2-3. Your winner and new WCW Television Champion….Ricky Steamboat!

After the match Orndorff ends up attacking Steamboat from behind with a knee that sends Steamboat out to the entrance ramp. Orndorff then picks up Steamboat and drops him with a piledriver on the entrance ramp and the WCW TV Title.

Recap:
This match was decent but nothing special. I was expecting more from these two but it just never came. Orndorff did the same spots over and over every chance he got. Like I stated he did one move, 3-4 pin attempts, and then a head lock. Just real lazy stuff and it took away from the match. The multiple pin attempt spot was pretty nice the first time he did it but doing it 3-4 times in a match is just over kill. Steamboat was great, per his usual, but this match was disappointed because I was expecting more to be honest.

Backstage Interview: Colossal Kongs & Harley Race

Bischoff says this all started on Saturday Night the week prior and it is going to end tonight. Race says that Flair made the biggest mistake of his career when he suckered punch Race on national television. Race says he had the bait going the way he wanted but he added insult to it. Race says that when these monsters get done with Sting and Flair there will be grease spots in the ring where the existence of Sting and Flair have been. Race says that nobody insults him as he and the Kongs walk off.

Match 5: Ric Flair/Sting vs. Colossal Kongs

They are getting their money worth out of Michael Buffer tonight as he looks to be introducing the last 4 matches here on Clash of Champions. The Kongs go for a double clothesline on Flair but he moves out of the way and Sting ends up hitting one of the Kongs with a big drop kick. Sting ends up hitting the other one with a drop kick. Sting then picks up each one of the Kongs and body slams them one after the other. That was pretty damn impressive.

The Kongs roll to the outside and regroup with Race. Race is pissed off and is yelling that that was impossible. All four men get in the ring as Flair just lays in the chops to one of the Kongs. Flair then takes the Kong and throws him to the outside. Sting is working the other Kong over in the corner. The Kong goes for a big elbow but Sting moves out of the way. Sting hits another 2 drop kicks and a big time clothesline on the Kong in the ring. Sting then whips him into the corner and hits the Stinger Splash. On the outside of the ring Flair and Race are going at it. Sting then hits a big splash off the top rope and get the 1-2-3. Your winners by pinfall….Ric Flair & Sting!

Recap:
There was so much shit going on at once here but the match itself never really became an actual match. Sting and Flair just dominated these guys and sent them on their way. The body slam spot was damn impressive and sweet to see. Sting looked like a million bucks here and was awesome during this time. This match was super short so it had no time to suck but it’s a fun little match thats worth checking out at least once.

Ringside Interview: Ric Flair & Sting

Tony said that this Saturday it will be the two going for the NWA Heavyweight Title. Flair said it looked like Sting didn’t need any help out there tonight and that he was just out there to make sure Harley Race didn’t stick his nose in. Flair says that this Saturday night it is a different story. Flair says that he and Sting will renew it and go at it. Flair says that he may be the Stinger but he is the Nature Boy. Sting says that he is the Nature Boy and he is the Stinger.

Sting says on Saturday Night he is hoping to be a 4x time champion. Sting says win, lose, or draw Nature Boy he has a lot of respect for him. Flair says the feeling is mutual and that there are few men in this sport who’s hand he will shake. Flair also says that there are few men who he will stand side by side with or hold their heart and Sting is one of them. Flair then says they may not be best friends but they know how to do it as we wrap up the interview.

Match 6: Road Warrior Hawk/Dustin Rhodes vs. Rick Rude/Equalizer

Rude does his typical promo at the start of the match. Rude says he wants all the fat, out of shape, Daytona dirtbags to keep their mouths shut as he takes his robe off and shows everyone what a sexy man looks like. The Camaro Z28 comes rolling in as the mystery partner is introduced. Road Warrior Animal gets out of the car and appears to be the mystery partner. Rude says that they knew Animal was going to be their partner and that they prepared for him to be his partner. Animal calls Rude a fool because there is more than one Road Warrior but there are two. Road Warrior Hawk then becomes the partner of Dustin Rhodes.

Hawk and Rick Rude start this one off. They tie up and Hawk just picks up Rude and throws him into the corner. We get a test of strength with a greco roman knuckle lock. Hawk gets Rude down and ends up stomping on his hand and then hits him with a right hand that sends Rude over to the Equalizer to make the tag. Hawk goes to the outside to follow the Equalizer but ends up getting caught when he tries to get back into the ring. Hawk nails the Equalizer with a big clothesline in the corner and he goes for it again but the Equalizer blocks it with a big boot. Equalizer then tags in Rude and he goes right to work on the lower back of Hawk.

Rude gets a chin lock on Hawk but Hawk ends up standing up with Rude on his shoulders. Hawk tags in Rhodes and he comes off the top rope and hits Rude with a clothesline off the shoulders of Hawk. Dustin then starts laying in the right hands as he whips Rude into the ropes and hits him with an atomic drop. Dustin then hits Rude with a big ass back body drop and it looks like Rude’s head smacked the mat. That didn’t look good.

Rhodes goes for a monkey flip but Rude holds on and prevents it from happening. Rude then hits a big ass clothesline that turns Dustin inside out. Rude heads up top and drops a forearm to the head of Rhodes. Rude gets Rhodes into his corner and he tags in the Equalizer, who comes in and just lays in the boots. Equalizer hits a terrible looking back elbow and gets a 2 count. Equalizer then hits a one handed choke slam as he goes over and tags in Rude. Rude tags in the Equalizer and he comes in and hits Rude with a clothesline when Dustin ducked out of the way.

Rhodes finally tags in Hawk and he coms in and takes out both the Equalizer and Rude. This is cluster city as nobody knows what the hell is going on. Hawk hits a double clothesline on Rude and Equalizer and then he drops both of them face first to the mat. Hawk then sends Rude over the top rope with a clothesline and then does the same to the Equalizer. Hawk suplexes Rude back into the ring but the Equalizer hits him from behind. Equalizer picks up Rhodes and is going for a body slam but Hawk jumps off the top rope and drives Rhodes into the Equalizer and the ref counts the 1-2-3. Your winner by pinfall….Dustin Rhodes & Road Warrior Hawk!

Recap:
This match was trash for the most part. Equalizer was terrible and the ending just got confusing as hell. The commentators had no idea what was going on and they took away from the match a little bit. They said the ref wasn’t going to allow the Hawk tag but he didn’t do anything to stop it either. That caused all the confusion for Tony and Jesse and with the commentary not knowing what was going on it messed up the ending. It just wasn’t sold properly. Also, why in the world is the Equalizer in a match with these guys involved? He had no business here and you could tell, the guy just sucked.

Match 7: WCW World Heavyweight Title Match: Vader (c) vs. Davey Boy Smith

We get the Buffer intros again. He lets us know that the disqualification rule has been waived for this match. “Lets get ready to rumble” as we get this main event going. Vader starts out on the ramp so Bulldog goes out after him and tackles him down. Bulldog then gets on top and starts laying in the right hands until Vader reverses it and starts laying in the rights of his own. Vader already has the mask off as he drops the Bulldog with a short arm clothesline. Vader goes for a suplex on the apron but the Bulldog ends up nailing him with a delayed vertical suplex right on the run way. Damn the strength the Bulldog had is just ridiculous.

Bulldog follows up the suplex with a nice clothesline and then a standing drop kick to Vader. Bulldog then clothesline Vader back into the ring. Davey Boy goes for a slingshot splash into the ring but Vader gets the knees up to block it as both guys are laid out in the ring. Vader gets the Bulldog into the corner and he starts laying in the lefts and rights. Vader throws Bulldog to the outside. Bulldog rests on the guard rail so Vader comes charging at him and looks for a splash but Bulldog moves out of the way. Bulldog then picks up Vader and drops him stomach first on the guard rail.

Bulldog picks up Vader and hits him with a samoan drop. Bulldog walked around the ring with Vader on his back like it was nothing. Bulldog gets a 2 before Vader gets the foot on the rope. Vader crushes Bulldog with a big time double forearm swat that just leaves Bulldog laying. Vader then drops a big ass elbow to the inner thigh of the Bulldog. Vader then drops the Bulldog with another clothesline. Vader then picks up the Bulldog and hits him with a samoan drop of his own. Vader then goes outside and to the top rope as he goes for a big splash and he nails the Bulldog with it however Bulldog ends up kicking out at 2.

Bulldog goes for a sunset flip but Vader goes for a drop down but Bulldog gets out of the way and he gets a 2 count. Vader whips the Bulldog into the corner and Bulldog ends up going in upside down. Vader then drops a big splash on the back of the Bulldog. Bulldog ducks a clothesline and hits Vader with a crucifix pin for a 2 count. Vader just destroys the Bulldog in the corner with forearms, lefts, and rights. Vader ends up going to the top rope again but this time the Bulldog drops Vader with a drop kick and he falls back into the ring.

Bulldog goes charging into the corner but Vader gets the boot up and drops the Bulldog. Vader then hits the Vader Splash off the middle rope for a 2 1/2 count. Vader then goes up to the middle rope and he goes for his forearm smack but Bulldog ends up catching Vader with a power slam but he ends up hitting the ref as well and knocks him down. Bulldog then picks up Vader for a big suplex but Race gets in the ring and chop blocks Bulldog as Vader falls on top of him and we get the 1-2-3. Your winner by pinfall and still WCW Heavyweight Champion….Vader!

After the match Bulldog is attacking Race until Vader gets him off of Race. Vader gets on the apron but Cactus Jack comes out of no where and tackles Vader as they start brawling. Both guys quickly separate as the show goes off the air with an ad for Fall Brawl 93.

Recap:
This match wasn’t bad and it was a nice way to end this feud. Bulldog was just ridiculous with the strength and power that he had inside the ring. The suplexes and samoan drops that he did with ease is just remarkable. Vader did his normal and was so damn believable that it’s crazy. The way he throws his punches just made you think that he was a legit bad ass and somebody you didn’t want to mess with. All in all this was a solid way to end the show and this is definitely a match worth checking out at least once.

Show Recap:
This show from top to bottom wasn’t very good. There are some good things, some bad things, and then the memorable things. The opening match was decent but Regal just didn’t work out as Austin’s partner. Something about it just didn’t click with me and it took away from the match some. I can’t really explain why but it just did so its not something I would recommend going out of your way to see.

The next match between 2 Cold and Eaton was damn good because both guys kept moving and never really took a break. There was a lot of high flying moves between the two and it made for a good match. The next match wasn’t to bad either. It was short and sweet and got its point across. Thats what a match is supposed to do. After that we had the Flair for the Gold with the Shockmaster debut. You almost feel sorry for the guy that he has had to live with this screw up for all these years but it’s so damn funny. I picked this show because it was in August, it was just a coincidence that it was the Shockmaster debut.

The 4th match between Steamboat and Orndorff was a disappointment because I felt like both guys could have done so much more. Orndorff just did the same spots over and over and over again while he had control and it got predictable and boring after the first time he did it. Steamboat looked good because he always looked good but this was just one of those matches that could have been better than it was. The Sting/Flair vs. Kongs match was just a squash and a way to promote the match between Sting and Flair on Saturday Night the following weekend. Nothing more nothing less but Sting looked damn good.

The Road Warriors coming back was a pleasant surprise and was pretty cool to see. Other than that, the match was shit. The Equalizer was terrible and had no business being in that match but what can you do. Rhodes and Rude looked really good and Hawk got in his normal offense but thats about it. The finish was messed up somewhere because the commentators had no clue what was going on and it took away from the match it self.

The main event was solid as both guys came to work. Bulldog used his power to throw Vader around a little bit and it was a great sight to see. Vader doing his typical offense but always maintaining that monster billing was very well done. Just a pretty solid main event that got the job done. I like the match quite a bit.

So, there you have it: Clash of the Champions XXIV. Like I stated before there is nothing great but not a lot of terrible things either. There are 2-3 things on this card that you could find entertaining and thats a solid tv special if you ask me. It’s not a banger from top to bottom but you would have fun watching this show because it goes pretty fast. Well that does it for this one. I hope you have enjoyed this episode of the Event Center as we continue with our summer series here. Next up on the list is one that was requested and one that intrigues me so I am looking forward to getting that one started. Until then, I hope you continue to read the content as we continue to churn it out. Thanks again for reading.