83 Weeks - Clash of the Champions 33 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Today we’re going to be covering the time frame from after Hog Wild 96 to Clash of the Champions 33!

Before we get started we did review Hog Wild 96 in the archives so be sure to check it out to get updated as we continue through the 25th anniversary of the nWo’s formation.

For those of you that want to get right into it Hog Wild 96 featured Harlem Heat retaining the WCW World Tag Team Titles over the Steiners, Ric Flair retained the WCW United States title over Eddie Guerrero, The Outsiders defeated Lex Luger & Sting and Hulk Hogan defeated the Giant to win the WCW World Title and spray painted nWo on the Big Gold Belt. Coming off that show Eric did you feel you were right where you wanted to be creatively?

The nWo beating up The Booty Man...was there a plan to go from there with Ed Leslie and the nWo?

You have Hog Wild on Saturday, August 10th, Monday Nitro on Monday August 12th, you tape WCW Saturday Night on Tuesday August 13th, then it’s right back for Clash of the Champions on Friday August 15th. Is this one of the tougher stretches of live events you can remember since you took over?

Hog Wild is in Sturgis, South Dakota. Nitro in Casper, Wyoming. Colorado Springs and Denver are the next two tapings so travel wise it isn’t bad but WCW was known for easy schedules so this is quite the departure. Anybody complain to you about it?

How tough is creative here with all these shows back to back to back? Is Kevin Sullivan working overtime here do you think?

You have one show to build to the Clash and it’s Nitro also coming off a pay-per-view with a World Title change. Is this the best setup for the Clash to be successful?

The Nitro in Casper, a small market place, draws 4,220 paid and 6,408 total for $51,930 which is a big house for that market don’t you think?

On Nitro Ron Reis is repacked as Big Ron Studd...and promptly loses to Chris Benoit in 3:22 to a superplex and Benoit tells him to go back to wrestling school. So he’s over and done with already right Eric?

The nWo cut a promo saying the fourth and fifth members of the nWo would be revealed shortly. It’s rumored at the time that Ted DiBiase, Sean Waltman and Jeff Jarrett were all on their way in and we know they’ll all be debuting over the next couple of weeks. Was the plan for two of these men to be #4 & #5?

Flair and Savage work against each other and Hogan helps Flair win by hitting Savage with a chair and Hogan talks about how he wanted Flair at 100% at the Clash. Do you think this was good creative?

The main event features Sting & Lex Luger in a re-match from Hog Wild against the Outsiders and Nick Patrick here helps Hall & Nash. Who’s idea was a heel ref? Do you think the nWo needed this at this point?

Nitro does a 3.3 rating and a 6 share versus Raw doing a 2.0 rating a 3.1 share. But during the show to promote the Clash only the following is announced: Hogan vs. Flair, Benoit vs. Giant, and Konnan and DDP would appear. Is it just tough to promote too much during a show like this?

There’s a note from the August 19th Observer I have to ask you about: “Add Lanny Poffo to the list who are under contract, although there are no plans of using him. Must be nice to be a nephew or brother to a top wrestler in WCW.”

Why bring in Lanny Poffo and not use him? Was it just as a favor to Randy as Dave speculates here?

We’re here at the show now Eric...and the readers of the Wrestling Observer didn’t favor it heavily. Only 5.2% gave it a thumbs up, 19.1% gave it a thumbs in the middle and 75.7% gave it a thumbs down.

From Meltzer: WCW ran its third live show in the space of five days with a Clash of the Champions special from the Denver Coliseum on 8/15. Due to the rushed nature of trying to cram eight matches into a two-hour format, it came off more like Thursday Nitro then a special major show with only one strong match. The show drew a full house of 8,304 fans, with 5,931 paying $70,111.”

You watched the show back again for the first time in a long time Eric...do you agree with that assessment? Too much for just two hours?

1. Rey Misterio Jr. pinned Dean Malenko to retain the cruiserweight title in 12:07. This wasn't as good as some of their previous matches but easily the class match of the show. Misterio Jr. did all kinds of flying spots early including a baseball slide into a spinning head scissors on the floor and a quebrada inside the ring. Malenko did a gut wrench into a hot shot like move and a brainbuster. After a commercial break they came back and the two did an incredible series of reversals. Misterio Jr. did a running flip plancha over the top and a moonsault block off the guard rail which was a little sloppy. He got near falls with a springboard dropkick and a springboard huracanrana. When Misterio Jr. went to the top, Malenko climbed up and gave him a stomach block or gut buster while standing on the middle rope and got the pin, but Misterio Jr.'s leg was under the ropes. Referee Randy Anderson re-started the match and Misterio Jr. hit a rana immediately for the pin. ***¾

These two just work so well together and it’s still a great match that holds up today. What say you Eric?

This is obviously the beginning of the launch of the Cruiserweight division into the stratosphere. We’ve talked before about injecting new undercard talent and these two really are cornerstones of the division wouldn’t you agree?

Eric...IS GLACIER EVER COMING?

2. V.K. Wallstreet pinned Jim Duggan in 3:48 when Duggan went to tape his fist and got the ref all wrapped up with the tape and Wallstreet schoolboyed him using the trunks for the pin. DUD

Was there a real reason to put this match on Eric? Did Vince ever ask you why you had Mike Rotunda be named VK Wallstreet or do you think it never even landed on his radar?

The Nasty Boys cut a promo...I think. Something about title shots and being passed over. How much fun were Sags & Knobbs to be around?

3. Konnan pinned Ultimo Dragon in 2:57 when Dragon did a german suplex, went for a second but Konnan reversed it and got the pin using the tights. This booking was from the planet Mars. Konnan is turning heel, but goes against a guy who could easily be the face except he's got Sonny Onno in the corner and Onno even does a spot interfering to insure Konnan as the face. A waste of Dragon's talents to do such a short match. *¼

This does seem backwards knowing what we know now but man only 3 minutes for these two seems criminal.

Also...is this an agent failure here? The same finish twice in a row?

“Ice Train did an interview on Compuserve and Scott Norton jumped him. It was so campy it was funny, although nobody could take it seriously because it looked so ridiculously staged.”

This is hilarious to watch Eric. Compuserve! The early internet! You were the trendsetter!

In the most WCW thing ever…”They played music for Randy Savage, who never came out. Actually he wasn't even there, then announced that he was injured on Nitro the previous Monday by Hulk Hogan. It's weird because they had never promo'd the match to begin with, so nobody would have been mad about Savage no-showing live except by playing his music and him not being there, then they were mad. They announced his opponent, Meng, the winner via forfeit. In another match originally on the scheduled but never promo'd, Chris Jericho didn't debut on this show against Hugh Morrus. For whatever reason (like already having too many matches for two hours to begin with), the match was canceled, however nobody ever got around to telling Jericho, who didn't know what to do when a plane ticket for the show never arrived. Jericho is scheduled to debut for WCW this week now.”

This all seems convoluted but I get the storyline advancement on Savage but there had to have been a better way right?

Talk to me about the Jericho thing. Is that just one arm of WCW not knowing what the other is doing or is Dave being a fiction writer again?

Eric during the Meng/Dungeon of Doom promo where they discuss Hogan because what else is there to discuss...BRAUN THE LEPRECHAUN RUNS AROUND THE RING! ERIC...WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?

Braun of course is DeWayne Bruce...Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker. What are we doing here Eric?

4. Madusa pinned Bull Nakano in 2:42. Sunny Onno accidentally kicked Nakano and Madusa won with a schoolboy. A waste of talent since it was so short. 1/2*

It’s a theme and it’s probably why the reaction was so visceral to the show but these short matches with good talent. It took a while to figure out a good balance for these shows did it not?

Also...3rd roll-up finish in a row!

5. Eddie Guerrero pinned Diamond Dallas Page in 4:20 with a frog splash coming out of nowhere to win the Battle Bowl ring. This was a good match, but too short. After the match, Page hit two diamond cutters (that move gets a big pop) on Guerrero before Chavo Guerrero Jr. showed up. Page still shoved him away and gave Eddie another diamond cutter off the middle rope. It wasn't made clear if Guerrero got the ring or if Page took it, it was still a confusing issue. **

The pops for the Diamond Cutters are big and this is a big win for Eddie at this point in his career. Is this when you started to think you had something with Page?

6. The Giant pinned Chris Benoit in :23. Woman pulled Benoit's vest over his shoulders so he was helpless, and Giant dropkicked him and gave him probably the best choke slam in the history of the world for the pin. What a waste of talent. I guess that's the theme for this show. DUD

Eric...23 seconds and yes it’s spectacular to see the Giant hit a dropkick but man. This does seem like a waste of talent does it not?

7. A triangle match for the WCW tag titles with Harlem Heat, Steiners and Sting & Lex Luger ended with a no contest in 13:22 when Kevin Nash and Scott Hall attacked Sting & Luger outside the ring. Scott had just given Booker T the Frankensteiner and had him pinned for what would have been a title change when heel ref Nick Patrick saw the interference and called it a DQ. They tried to play up that since Hall & Nash had attacked Sting & Luger outside the ring, that he should have counted the fall and played it up as part of his turn. Of course logically, he should have thrown it out for outside interference even if the interference wasn't in the ring. Nick Patrick did a post-match interview explaining what a great referee he was, and the scary part was this was a better interview than either Hogan or Flair did on the show. *3/4

A lot of air time and push for Nick Patrick. You got 6 of your biggest stars and coming out of this the focus is on Patrick. Why was this such a heavy part of creative?

How much does Nick Patrick sound like Kenny Powers?

Did any of the guys have any issue with this?

Triangle matches are tough enough to put together we’ve heard many wrestlers say. But when you add in the story of a heel ref does that make it tougher for the talent?

8. Ric Flair beat Hulk Hogan via DQ in 8:23 so Hogan retained the WCW or NWO title. Bobby Heenan made the lame comment of the show saying "Did you think you'd ever see people cheering Ric Flair and booing Hulk Hogan?" No, never, except just about every time they've been in against each other in the last eight months. The funny part was, the crowd was actually cheering Hogan more than Flair because NWO has become the cool thing because of how lame WCW has portrayed its side as being. There were lots of pro-Hogan and pro-NWO banners and even a "Hogan for President" sign. This looked like an old-timers match. It was said because Flair was working hard and still couldn't carry Hogan to a decent match. Finish saw Hogan use the superman comeback and get cheered for it, but missed the legdrop and Flair used the figure four. At this point, Hogan threw down the ref and Hall and Nash interfered for the DQ. Steve McMichael, Arn Anderson, Sting and Luger all made an immediate save. 1/2*

Hogan comes out with the Big Gold Belt spray painted and still has the Giant name on it. Who’s idea was that little detail?

Hogan’s not really working any differently in his matches but it just comes across differently now that he’s a heel. WAS HE A HEEL THIS WHOLE TIME ERIC?

Was it obvious to keep the babyface pops to a minimum on Hogan that he had to get rid of the Hulk Up? He’s fresh and on top again so of course the fans are going to go nuts and the nWo is hotter than hell. Is this something you tell Hulk or does he figure it out on his own?

This finish would be something used for the next two years...the run-in nWo - WCW brawl - on a pretty consistent basis. At the time it was engaging. Do you think over time it ran it’s course?

What say you Eric...thumbs up, thumbs down, thumbs in the middle?

“The show drew a 3.5 rating and 6.2 share in 2.2 million homes. It's not a bad number, although well down from the 4.5 that the January Clash did and that's with Hogan vs. Flair, which is the best mainstream match to deliver television ratings with the possible exception of Hogan vs. Savage. The basic feeling is that since it came a few days after a PPV, it wasn't hyped anywhere near the level of previous Clash shows and to most it was just a second edition of Nitro for the week and 3.5 is a great Nitro rating. The first hour didn't do well, averaging a 2.5 rating while the second hour averaged a 4.2, which is strong. You can compare that jump to the relatively minor jumps in ratings between the first and second hours of Nitro, although the second hour of Nitro does have the head-up competition. But again it says something because the largest audience is there for Hogan vs. Flair, no matter how bad the match is, as that match did a 4.7 rating and 7.3 share. That's a far cry from their 6.7 rating and record audience two years ago at the Clash but it's still more than all the great young wrestlers can pull.”

Is this considered a success in your mind Eric?