By Jon
DATE: June 13, 1990
VENUE: McAlister Field House (Charleston, SC)
COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross & Bob Caudle
The 11th edition of Clash of the Champions features the World Title on the line as Ric Flair defends against…The Junkyard Dog?!? That’s a match I’d never thought I’d see. Also on the show Doom defends the World Tag Team Titles against The Steiner Brothers in a Capital Combat rematch, Lex Luger collides with Sid Vicious, and…Paul Orndorff battles Arn Anderson? Are we sure this is a real show?
CHAMPIONS
- NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair
- NWA UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: “The Total Package” Lex Luger
- NWA WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION: “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson
- NWA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: Doom (Ron Simmons & “Hacksaw” Butch Reed)
- NWA UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: The Midnight Express (“Beautiful” Bobby Eaton & “Sweet” Stan Lane)
LINEUP
- The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (***)
- Tommy Rich vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (*3/4)
- Tom Zenk & Mike Rotunda vs. The Samoan SWAT Team (**1/4)
- Brian PIllman vs. Mean Mark (***)
- The Midnight Express [c] vs. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express for the NWA UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (***)
- Doug Furnas vs. Barry Windham (**3/4)
- Lex Luger vs. Sid Vicious (NR)
- Doom [c] vs. The Steiner Brothers for the NWA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (***)
- Paul Orndorff vs. Arn Anderson (***)
- Ric Flair [c] vs. The Junkyard Dog for the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (**)
*****
-VIDEO: WCW returns to South Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Hugo for Coastal Crush! Tonight’s show is sponsored by RoboCop 2 which opens this Friday. Don’t forget to get your tickets.
–Tony Schiavone welcomes the home audience from the interview stage and runs down the big matches.
-Cut to Ross and Caudle at ringside for introductions and more show hype. Not only is the show on TBS but you can also hear play by play on the WCW Hotline (if you’re a f*cking BILLIONAIRE).
THE WILD-EYED SOUTHERN BOYS (TRACY SMOTHERS & STEVE ARMSTRONG) VS. THE FABULOUS FREEBIRDS (MICHAEL “P.S.” HAYES & JIMMY “JAM” GARVIN)
The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys are decked out in Confederate uniforms covered in Confederate flags. AND THEY’RE THE GOOD GUYS. Did you know WCW was a southern company?
Freebirds attack early, Southern Boys clear the ring with stereo shoulder tackles. Smothers reverses a corner whip, Garvin catches him charging with a knee and quickly covers for a one-count. Garvin slams and covers again, Smothers out at one. Hayes tags in, Freebirds double-team with rights. Smothers escapes, Armstrong connects with a flying crossbody from the top and they clear the ring again, crowd going NUTS. Hayes calls for Armstrong then riles the crowd up by his mere existence. Shout-out to legendary reporter Mike Mooneyham by Good Ol’ JR. Armstrong tags in, Hayes grabs a side headlock. Armstrong blocks an O’Connor Roll and connects with a clothesline, Garvin shoves him off the top when he tries to take flight. Hayes follows up with a left-arm clothesline, Garvin tags in and drops Armstrong throat-first across the top rope. Backbreaker, lateral press, Armstrong’s shoulder up at two. Hayes tags in, side headlock takeover into an armbar. Armstrong escapes, Hayes clubs him down to counter a backdrop followed by an elbowdrop for the 1…2…Armstrong escapes via knee to the head. Hayes slams Armstrong, struts, and heads to the top but gets slammed off. Garvin tags in but SO DOES TRACY SMOTHERS. Slingshot dropkick, backdrop to Garvin, flying elbows and noggin knocker to the ‘Birds. Armstrong sends Hayes to the floor, ref gets tied up and Hayes stops a roll-up with a clothesline. Garvin connects with a knee to the head and covers, Armstrong breaks it with a flying headbutt and puts Smothers on top for the 1…2…3!
THE WILD-EYED SOUTHERN BOYS DEFEATED THE FABULOUS FREEBIRDS VIA PINFALL (7:26)
- Energetic opener as The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys pick up the win and rise the ranks. Smothers & Armstrong are SO GOOD together, completely different from every other team in WCW at the time, and it’s a joy to watch them work. Cool ending as well as the Freebirds try to steal it but the Southern Boys steal it right back. One bone I’d like to pick: Ross said on commentary that Hayes at the time was in his late-20s, and I call BULLSH*T. Absolutely no way that I’m older now than Michael Hayes was in 1990. I refuse. (***)
“WILDFIRE” TOMMY RICH VS. “THE BEAST FROM THE EAST” BAM BAM BIGELOW [W/ SIR OLIVER HUMPERDINK]
Bigelow backs Rich into the corner, ref pries them off one another for a reset. Second lockup, Bigelow throws Rich into the corner but misses a splash. Rich stings Bigelow with a series of rights which only slightly daze the big man. Bigelow backs Rich into the corner, Rich escapes again and connects with more rights. Rich grabs a wristlock, wringing and twisting the arm. Bigelow misses a clothesline, Rich connects with a headbutt for the first time ever and reapplies a wristlock. Taking a page out of the Bammer’s playbook, respect. Bigelow whips him off, connects with a headbutt to send Wildfire to the mat. Rich tossed in the corner, Bammer misses a splash, and Rich rolls up with a schoolboy for a one-count. Rich with count-along rights, Bigelow counters eventually with an inverted atomic drop and follows up with a military press slam. Bigelow chokes Rich, bringing him to the mat, but refuses to let go and the ref calls for the bell.
TOMMY RICH DEFEATED BAM BAM BIGELOW VIA DQ (3:46)
- A spirited contest until that flaccid finish. I get what they were trying to do, Bammer letting his frustration cost him the match, but it felt out of nowhere and dumb. (*3/4)
Bigelow continues choking the life out of Rich, this time across the top rope. Humperdink pulls Bigelow off for a moment, Bigelow goes back and tosses Rich out to the ramp. Ref raises Rich’s arm in victory and helps him to the back, Bigelow losing his damn mind in the ring and threatening to kill everybody. Whoa there, bud.
-VIDEO: A look at Big Van Vader, who will be making his WCW debut next month at The Great American Bash. HELL YEAH.
–Gary Michael Cappeta welcomes El Gigante, the largest athlete in the world, to the ring. He’s dressed like the world’s biggest sci-fi spaceman. Cappeta announces that Gigante will team with Paul Orndorff and The Junkyard against The Horsemen at The Great American Bash. Cappeta conducts the interview in Spanish and translates for the big man, saying Gigante is overwhelmed with the reception he’s received in the states and he’s got the Bash on his mind.
- South Carolina was surprisingly respectful of a Spanish-only interview. Good job, guys.
“THE Z-MAN” TOM ZENK & “CAPTAIN” MIKE ROTUNDA VS. THE SAMOAN SWAT TEAM (FATU & THE SAMOAN SAVAGE)
Rotunda came up short against the SST last month at Capital Combat, but has traded out Tommy Rich for the Z-Man which I consider an upgrade. Zenk also had a bad go of it at the PPV, losing the U.S. Tag Team Titles to The Midnight Express alongside Brian Pillman.
Fatu counters an Irish whip and catches Rotunda with a hip toss, Rotunda sends him packing to the ramp with a dropkick. Savage tries to illegally enter the ring, but the ref is onto it and sends him back to the apron. Zenk tags in, Savage tags for real and gets slammed to the mat. Zenk connects with a dropkick of his own and now it’s Savage scrambling to the ramp to regroup. Rotunda ducks a clothesline and catches Savage with a crossbody, Zenk rushes in too early and distracts the ref so Fatu can break the cover. SST work Rotunda over, including a pinpoint superkick from Fatu and a…goddammit…NERVE HOLD. Rotunda tries to hip toss, Fatu blocks and connects with a clothesline. Rotunda sent to the floor, ref tied up so Savage can slam him on the protective mats. Savage goads Zenk into the ring, Rotunda counters a double-team attempt with a double clothesline. Zenk gets the tag, dropkicks and superkicks to the SST. Double noggin knocker doesn’t work though, SST drop him with a double headbutt. Samoan Drop by Fatu that Zenk takes most of on his arm, jeez. Savage hits a Vader Bomb, SST celebrate as Rotunda pulls Zenk out and takes his place, surprising Fatu with an inside cradle for the 1…2…3!
TOM ZENK & MIKE ROTUNDA DEFEATED THE SAMOAN SWAT TEAM VIA PINFALL (5:24)
- Both teams with partners that look nothing alike trying to pull off twin magic. What the actual f*ck. I think it’s pretty funny but it didn’t make a whole lick of sense especially at the end because Rotunda and Zenk weren’t even wearing matching gear. Fatu screaming in surprise was pretty good though, I’ll give him that. LEAGUES better than the SST match at Capital Combat mostly because it didn’t go damn-near 20 minutes. (**1/4)
“FLYIN” BRIAN PILLMAN VS. “MEAN” MARK [W/ PAUL E. DANGEROUSLY]
Mark attacks Pillman before the bell, Pillman uses his speed to bounce back and send him into the corner with a dropkick. Buckle shots, Mark shrugs him off and kicks Pillman off the apron and into the guardrail with a big boot. Mark rolls Pillman in, Pillman flips out of a sidewalk slam and goes for a crucifix but Mark counters by ramming him into the corner. Scoop slam, hard elbowdrop for the 1…2…Pillman kicks out. Ross mentions Mark will be challenging Lex Luger for the US Title next month at The Great American Bash. Heck yeah. Mark goes into weardown mode with a chinlock, Pillman escapes and…runs right into a clothesline. Womp womp. Mark covers, Pillman kicks out since he didn’t hook the leg. Pillman fights back chops, Mark stops that jazz with a sidewalk slam, another cover but Pillman bridges out. Corner whip, Pillman dodges the elbow and goes chopping. Mark rakes the eyes, powerslam off the Irish whip. Pillman dodges a legdrop and staggers Mark with a dropkick. Chops and rights, Mark sends him over the top but Pillman skins the cat and connects with a MISSILE DROPKICK. Dangerously climbs the apron, Pillman dropkicks him off as well! Mark catches Pillman mid-flight and drops him across the top rope for the 1…2…3.
MEAN MARK DEFEATED BRIAN PILLMAN VIA PINFALL (5:28)
- Entertaining match, Pillman knows how to do the “size vs. speed” thing so well. I loved him trying to chop Mark down to size. Mark, however, has a title shot coming up next month so he needed the win for momentum purposes. Looked great in victory though, even won clean. No complaints. (***)
-Schiavone is standing by with Sting. Sting is here because Flair is here and if any of the Horsemen stick their neck out he must bust it off. HELL YEAH, MURDER SOMEBODY.
THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (“BEAUTIFUL” BOBBY EATON & “SWEET” STAN LANE) [C] [W/ JIM CORNETTE] VS. THE ROCK ‘N’ ROLL EXPRESS (RICKY MORTON & ROBERT GIBSON) FOR THE NWA UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
The Midnight Express won the titles last month at Capital Combat while RNR defeated The Fabulous Freebirds on the same show, so we got a couple of winners heading into this one. The history between RNR and the Express is long and storied and isn’t even the first time they’ve done battle this year on a major WCW show. Not complaining though, gimme more.
Gibson grabs a hammerlock, Eaton forces a rope break. Lots of NEON from these two teams, I’m going to have to turn the color down on my TV. Gibson connects with an armdrag, Eaton argues with the ref and lets the “ROCK & ROLL” chant get to him. Eaton backs Gibson in the corner, Gibson escapes with another armdrag. Eaton takes Gibson down with a shoulderblock, Gibson responds with another hip toss followed by a headscissors that takes him to the mat. Lane tags in, Gibson quickly escapes the corner to prevent a double-team. Lane catches Gibson with a series of martial arts kicks, Gibson connects with an enzuigiri. Morton tags in and holds Lane for a chop from Gibson. A little parting gift if you will. Morton blocks a hip toss and counters with one of his own, sending Lane halfway across the ring. Good air. Lane backs Morton into the corner and connects with a straight right hand. Morton dodges a corner splash and follows up with a backdrop, both men resetting after. Lane rakes the eyes, Eaton runs in and falls victim to an armdrag/armbar combo. Eaton escapes, Morton connects with a headscissors that sends him into the Midnight’s corner for a mini-strategy meeting. Eaton backs Morton into the corner, Morton escapes and takes Lane to the mat with an armdrag. Gibson tags in and counters a slam with an atomic drop that sends him into Eaton, their heads knocking together. Lane with a drop toehold, Gibson grabs a front chancery and Morton tags in for a roll-up for the 1…2…Lane kicks out.
Eaton tags in and counters an armdrag attempt with a poke to the eye. Eaton seats Morton on the top buckle and stings him with a right hook. Morton escapes a superplex attempt and rolls him up for the 1…2…Lane sends Morton into the buckle and superkicks Gibson. Lane clear Morton from the ring, Midnights with a double backdrop on Gibson. RNR with a double O’Connor on both Midnights but they both kick out and move away to reset. Morton charges at Lane, who holds him as Eaton comes off the top, grabbing the hair and sending the back of his head bouncing off the canvas. That was way f*cking cooler than I described it. The Midnight Express quick tag and double-team Morton to wear him down, Eaton covers for the 1…2…not yet. Morton fights them off, Gibson gets the tag, right hand kneelift to Lane. Clothesline and cover, Eaton breaks the count and Morton sends himself and Eaton out to the floor with a crossbody. Gibson grabs a toehold, Morton launches Eaton off the apron and onto the guardrail. Lane sends Gibson into Morton. Cornette distracts the ref, Eaton attacks Gibson from behind with a top rope double ax for the 1…2…Gibson gets his shoulder up. Double dropkick from RNR, Eaton is covered but Lane grabs Patrick’s arm before he makes the three (he actually did make the three but shhh) and gets the Midnights DQed! Oh.
THE ROCK ‘N’ ROLL EXPRESS DEFEATED THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS [C] VIA DQ; THE MIDNIGHT EXPRESS RETAIN THE NWA UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (12:08 or so)
- Smooth as butter, two great tag teams with a lot of history throwing down as they do. Stupid DQ finish though, the second one of the night. Lame but the action before rocked as expected. (***)
“THE WORLD’S STRONGEST MAN” DOUG FURNAS VS. BARRY WINDHAM
Furnas immediately makes his presence known with a shoulder tackle. Windham bounces back with a hip toss, Furnas reverses an Irish whip and rolls Windham up with a sunset flip for the 1…2…Windham kicks out, Furnas sends him packing with another shoulder tackle. Furnas flips over Windham in the corner, slipping a little but making it work anyway, and follows up with a delayed military press slam. Windham begs off in the corner, Furnas with some count-along rights. Furnas dodges an inverted atomic drop and connects with a clothesline for the 1…2…Windham kicks out and rolls to the floor to regroup. Windham catches a charging Furnas with a knee and damn near takes his head off with a lariat that Furnas sells BEAUTIFULLY. Windham muscles Furnas over with a suplex and covers for the 1…2…Furnas throws him off. Windham goes for a slam, Furnas counters with an inside cradle for the 1…2…Windham kicks out and connects with a right across the bridge of the nose. Windham goes for a backdrop, Furnas counters with both a neckbreaker and a faceslam at the same time which defies the laws of physics. Powerslam for the 1…2…Windham kicks out. Furnas beefs a dropkick but Windham still sells it and falls to the floor. Furnas tries to suplex Windham back in, Windham escapes and connects with a bridging German, feet on the ropes, for the 1…2…3.
BARRY WINDHAM DEFEATED DOUG FURNAS VIA PINFALL (5:38)
- Furnas is noticeably green but I’ll be damned if he didn’t make up for it in enthusiasm, dude came off like a ball of fire with high impact moves and some great selling. Windham having to cheat to win only makes Furnas look that much better. Some jank but overall a super fun match. This show is pretty great, I just wish it wasn’t 500 matches long. (**3/4)
“THE TOTAL PACKAGE” LEX LUGER VS. SID VICIOUS [W/ OLE ANDERSON]
Anderson sneak attacks Luger, Luger fights him off but Vicious attacks from behind. Vicious gets distracted by Anderson, Luger nails him with a clothesline and covers for the 1…2…3! WAIT F*CK YOU WHAT
LEX LUGER DEFEATED SID VICIOUS VIA PINFALL (0:26)
- I changed my mind f*ck this show. (NR)
Luger quickly bails to the back. He didn’t even take his hair out of his ponytail for this! Boo-urns. Sounds like they’re going to put the blame on Ole Anderson for that one, that’s not going to go over well within The Horsemen.
-Ross and Caudle hype next month’s Great American Bash and the city of Baltimore.
DOOM (RON SIMMONS & “HACKSAW” BUTCH REED) [C] [W/ THEODORE R. LONG] VS. THE STEINER BROTHERS (RICK & SCOTT STEINER) FOR THE NWA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Doom defeated The Steiner Brothers for the belts back at Capital Combat, seen by some as a major upset given how dominant Rick & Scott had been as champions. This is their rematch for the gold and the third match between the teams on major WCW events in 1990.
Scott gets the crowd going with REVERSE SLAMS to both Simmons and Reed to clear the ring. Holy sh*t, that motherf*cker just moonsault slammed some folks. That might be the coolest thing I have seen in quite some time. Simmons backs Scott in the corner and connects with a headbutt, Scott reverses a corner whip and Steinerlines him in the back of the head. Reed tags in, Scott catches him with a surprise backslide for a two-count. Scoop slam and Reed quickly tags out. Scott asks if the people want to see Rick and they bark in approval. Rick tags in and reverses a belly-to-belly suplex with one of his own, Reed quickly tags back in. Rick blocks a hip toss, Steinerline and scoop slam, Reed bails to the corner. Rick slingshots him out, ref makes him give Reed a breather.
Rick rolls Reed up with an O’Connor for the 1…2…Reed kicks out. Rick fights out of the Doom corner, Reed bails to the floor to avoid a Steinerline. Rick follows him out, Reed ducks a right and Simmons drops Rick. Scoop slam on the protective mats, ref too distracted with Scott to do anything. Swinging neckbreaker from Reed, lateral press for the 1…2…Rick kicks out. Snapmare into a series of rights to the side of the face. “PEANUT HEAD” chants bother Long but not Simmons, who turns Rick inside out with a clothesline for the 1…2…Rick kicks out. Simmons tries again for the 1…2…Rick gets the shoulder up again. Simmons goes for a backdrop, Rick counters with a kick. Reed tags in, double ax to Rick to prevent a tag. Toss over the top rope while the ref is distracted, Simmons sends him shoulder-first into the post. Reed with a butterfly suplex and a middle rope elbowdrop for the 1…2…Rick kicks out. Chinlock time. Corner whip, Reed goes knee-first into the buckles and Rick follows up with a double axhandle from the middle buckle. Simmons tags in as does SCOTT STEINER. Dropkick to Simmons, dropkick to Reed, powerslam to Simmons. All four men brawl in the ring, Long throws Reed a foreign object. Scott hits a superplex on Simmons, Reed hits Scott with a foreign object and Simmons covers for the 1…2…3!
DOOM [C] DEFEATED THE STEINER BROTHERS VIA PINFALL TO RETAIN THE NWA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (11:17)
- Scott Steiner’s goddamn flip slams still got me all sorts of discombobulated. How have I never seen that before? I enjoyed this match a lot, didn’t feel slow at any point even with Doom in control for the bulk of it. Doom getting their second and emphatic win over The Steiners allows them to finally move on from this year-long feud onto other challengers. (***)
-Schiavone is standing by with The Junkyard Dog. JYD vows to beat Ric Flair like he owns him (YEESH) and tonight is his night. Schiavone reminds him that he’ll likely need to deal with The Horsemen, but JYD says he’s got some Dudes with Attitudes watching his back. Shawn Michaels & Diesel are in 1990 WCW?!? Well I guess Diesel actually is…
“MR. WONDERFUL” PAUL ORNDORFF VS. “THE ENFORCER” ARN ANDERSON
Anderson is the World Television Champion and is competing on television but the title is not on the line. Fair enough. Babyface Paul Orndorff is never not weird. One of the most natural heels in wrestling history. Orndorff doesn’t seem to get it though and poses with the belt when the ref tries to put the title away. Foreshadowing for 1993.
Orndorff grabs a side headlock, wrenching it in when Anderson tries to whip him off. Anderson finally escapes and tries a monkey flip but Orndorff catches the legs and rakes the eyes with the bottom of his boots. Both men trade hammerlocks, Anderson pushes Orndorff into the ropes to force a break. Anderson tries a hip toss, Orndorff counters into a backslide for a two-count. Shoving match, Orndorff blocks a right and connects with a series of his own. Anderson is chased back into the ring, Orndorff grabs a sleeperhold. Anderson whips him off and applies one of his own, Orndorff sends him face-first into the buckles for a two-count. Orndorff catches a kick, heel trip and FIGURE FOUR as a slap in the face to the leader of The Horsemen and Arn’s best friend. Anderson almost passes out but makes it to the ropes, Orndorff grabs the left leg and wraps it around the ring post, continuing to weaken the ligaments. Anderson whips Orndorff into the ropes, SPINEBUSTER turns the tide in Double A’s favor.
Anderson goes to work on Orndorff’s lower back. Orndorff tries a sunset flip, Anderson almost tumbles but counters with a right hand. Crowd is randomly cheering and going nuts, don’t think it’s related to the match. Somebody in the crowd must’ve done something stupid. Anderson rakes the eyes across the top rope and locks in an abdominal stretch, using the rope for leverage until the ref catches him to force a hold break. Anderson with a snapmare followed by a knee across the sternum for the 1…2…Orndorff kicks out, Anderson cinches in a chinlock. Orndorff almost breaks out, Anderson lays in some shots to stop the momentum. Orndorff dodges Anderson into the corner and connects with an atomic drop; Anderson ricochets off the buckles and knocks heads with his opponent, dazing both. Orndorff lays in a series of jabs in the corner, followed by count-along rights. Orndorff blocks an inverted atomic drop, Anderson connects with some lefts but gets dropped with a forearm. Orndorff covers, Anderson out at two. Orndorff with a corner whip and clothesline, Anderson counters a Vader Bomb with a pair of knees. Anderson rolls Orndorff up with an inside cradle for the 1…2…Orndorff shifts his weight and reverses for the 1…2…3!
PAUL ORNDORFF DEFEATED ARN ANDERSON VIA PINFALL (11:40)
- Good match that flew by; Orndorff and Anderson is a match I don’t remember seeing a lot of over the years so it almost feels like a treat that it happened. But as I stated before Orndorff as a babyface is way too forced-feeling; same thing in the WWF too but at least that led to a big money feud. Here he’s just…a babyface hanging out with Sting. (***)
-Schiavone is standing by with “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, Ole Anderson, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious, and Arn Anderson. Ole says the Horsemen will not allow anyone to dethrone Flair. Flair calls the Horsemen the best thing going today but conveniently leaves out Sid’s 20 second loss earlier in the show. Hide the negatives, respect.
“THE NATURE BOY” RIC FLAIR [C] [W/ OLE ANDERSON] VS. THE JUNKYARD DOG FOR THE NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Flair slaps JYD, JYD pops him with a right hand and knocks the champ flat on his ass. They lock up, JYD easily shoves him to the mat. Another lockup, same result. JYD grabs a side headlock and drops Flair with a shoulder tackle when he’s whipped off. Flair drops down, JYD does as well for a headbutt then sends the champ out to the ramp, Flair Flop for good measure. Flair with repeated chops, JYD absorbs them and connects with some count-along rights and a corner whip followed by a clothesline. Flair drops a knee across JYD’s head but he quickly pops back up for…uh slightly racist reasons. Ross and Caudle working overtime to call JYD fat without actually saying the F word. JYD connects with a backdrop, Flair begs off again and bails to the apron. Thumb to the eye, Flair drops JYD throat-first across the top rope. Flair steals Caudle’s chair and hits JYD with it while Ole distracts the ref. JYD no-sells it and backs Flair in the corner for more count-along rights. Corner whip, Flair upside down over the buckles and to the top, JYD catches him with a right hand on the way down. Ross calls it a “soup bone” of a right hand which is also feels slightly racist. Ole climbs the apron, JYD knocks him off and Flair clips the knee. Flair back to the top, JYD slams him off to the surprise of no one. Headbutt to the champ, ground & pound rights. Ole Anderson runs in and kicks JYD, ref calls for the bell.
THE JUNKYARD DOG DEFEATED RIC FLAIR [C] VIA DQ; RIC FLAIR RETAINS THE NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (6:08)
- Before I get into it, let me just say this: a Ric Flair/Junkyard Dog headlining ANY show, let alone a Clash, is completely insane to me and I’m glad that it happened. Okay now that I’ve said that…this was not very good. Flair did what he could but JYD was FAR past his prime at this point and stuck to the real basics while The Nature Boy worked his magic to get something watchable out of him. I’m sure there’s a Flair/JYD match from the Mid-South days that was way better. They were smart to keep it short; a THIRD DQ is a bit much for this event though. (**)
The Horsemen commence with a beatdown on JYD until Sting, Lex Luger, and Paul Orndorff make the save. These dudes have some attitude(s) on ‘em. Flair bails, letting his Horsemen take the beating for him like the smart leader he is.
-Back from commercial where Ross is in the ring with Rocky King (WHO?). King is PUMPED UP about the Dudes with Attitudes. Sting, wearing a Lex Luger shirt like the bff he is, begs Ric Flair for a World Title match, ideally at the Great American Bash. The Horsemen rush the ring again, right past El Gigante who is also here now apparently. Dudes with Attitudes hold the Horsemen off, leaving Sting and Ric Flair to brawl as the credits roll.
*****
FINAL THOUGHTS: Coastal Crush is yet another WCW event from 1990 that is a lot better than I was expecting going in; 1990 WCW continues to impress. The card was bloated to be sure but there was nary a bad match on the show, despite what the star ratings say. I will dock it for a lackluster main event and having THREE matches end in DQs, but overall I am satisfied with what I watched.
