Clash of Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun! Review

It's almost embarassing for me, as someone whose been a wrestling fan for many-a-year and has seen almost everything once, that despite the number of times i've watched this main event, i've yet to see ANYTHING else from this card. Not one other match. That, my friends, is about to change.

Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun
Superdome, New Orleans, LA
April 2, 1989


Match #1: The Midnight Express v. The Samoan Swat Team

I wasn't overly wild about this, which is a little difficult for me to say, as I love both teams quite a great deal, especially the Paul E. Dangerously version of the Swat team. This is a REALLY flat tag opener considering the participants. In fact, i'd say the match they have at the NEXT Clash show is leaps and bounds ahead of this one in terms of quality.

Here, they just seem to be aiming to establish the Samoans as the latest stooges that Dangerously will use to get Jim Cornette. The ending to this is pretty great and lays the ground work nicely for the rest of the 'feud', but to be honest, this is pretty bleh for the most part. The Midnights do their thing, the Samoans theirs. Hot tag cooled off in a big way with a dirty finish which is a good thing. Just relaly formulaic and no one is particularly eye popping in this other than the sheer amount of time they gave this. *3/4

Match #2: The Great Muta v. Stevin Casey

This feels like it should have been on the last show. It's a pretty straight forward Muta exhibition of his creepiness. The bell doesn't even ring before he spits the good ole green mist in Casey's eyes and pretty much puts a major league beat down on the youngster from there on out. There's a great commentary job on the part of Ross here, putting him over as a unique act unto himself, which is really appropriate, considering just HOW different Muta was from anything else on the card at the time. Other than that though, this is a pretty basic extended squash. *1/4

Match #3: Butch Reed v. The Junkyard Dog

Ah, the midsouth goodness is revived! Unfortunately for us, this ain't Mid South. This is probably what a few thousand fans saw during their touring days together. Not that it's bad on any level, just VERY a-typical JYD-Butch Reed stuff. JYD interacting a lot with the crowd while Butch does his cocky heel stalling for three quarters of the match. Again, nothing dreadful here by any stretch of the imagination but I feel like i've seen them go with this formula six hundred times or so in the past. *3/4

Match #4: Cowboy Bob Orton, Jr. v. Dick Murdoch

Of all the matches I saw on this card, this was the one I was probably looking the most forward to. Now granted I knew it wouldn't be mind blowing or anything like that. Given the place these guys were given on the card, it'd be unrealistic to expect that. Regardless, it's these two in a match so it's got to be fun on some level.

This runs around ten minutes or so, and basically ,we get a fun old school headlock fest. JR keeps repeating constantly that these two are mirror images of each other and on a certain level, he's right, and for the purposes of this match, he's very right. They counter in and out of headlocks early on before going to each other's arms. Then we're back to the headlock struggles again before going for a solid old school finish. Murdoch hoists Orton up to give him a suplex and the dastardly Gary Hart snags his leg long enough to trip him up, then holds it as the official counts to three. The execution is reasonably good here, the selling is fun and the offense though basic, is still fun.

My beef with this match is the crowd they're playing to. That kind of stuff, while good for what it is, just totally lost the crowd. Extended headlock sequences and armbar sequences are good if you're going broadway, but in the middle of a REALLY big crowd in a dome and wrestling the fourth match of the card, it's kind of awkward. Sometimes you just need to be cognisant of the crowd you're working in front of. Despite all that though, this is fun mid card, old-school stuff. *3/4

Match #5: World Tag Team Championship: The Road Warriors v. The Varsity Club

I liked this match a lot. Like probably a lot more than I should have, given the fact that they don't do a whole heck of a lot differently from the last match, but the incredible levels of heel douche bag-ness in this match rule to a point where they can't be ignored.

Teddy Long has been the subject of storylines recently and how appropriate is it that this is his first real piece of character development. These two teams are full of bullies. The Road Warriors don't wear the belts, Paul Ellering, their bitch does. They also wear spikey shoulder pads. Steve Williams looks like everyone's worst nightmare at a truck stop. Mike Rotundo is the all american bully. Kevin Sullivan is looking especially evil tonight, because he's wearing his wrestling tights and a turtleneck sweater. Fuck yeah for turtleneck sweaters. I need me some.

This is just a total slug fest from bell to bell and the kind of smash mouth, kick a puppie stuff you'd expect from these two teams. There's a great close up of Williams brigning the hate with a stomp right on Animal's jaw. Rotundo looks slightly overmatched here as he's the fourth potato in the ring, but there's nothing really wrong with that when you're in a fist fight with Hawk, Animal and Steve Williams.

The slow Teddy Long turn evolves over the course of the match as he botches some calls just enough so you believe that it's all just a mistake on his part. After that, he increasingly becomes distracted more and more with the Road Warriors, who aren't really willing to play by his rules. Eventually Animal vaults him across the ring, and that doesn't sit to well with Long, who not only allows himself (literally) to be distractred and cause interference, but he also fast counts the final fall and costs the Road Warriors the belts. Wicked fun stuff here as we get good character role playing made better by throwing a third story in there to mess the whole world up. I MIGHT be a little high in rating this, but it just really clicked for me. **3/4

Match #6: US Tag Team Championship: The Varsity Club (Sullivan & Dan Spivey) v. Eddie Gilbert & Rick Steiner

This is another one that's fun for what it is. To be honest, it's worked REALLY well, considering the crowd they're playing to and whose involved. The bulk of the match is built around Gilbert and Spivey. Spivey's easily the worst worker in this group so you might as well let him run through his power spots and let the best seller (Gilbert) flop all over the ring for you and make you look like a million bucks. Basically that's all we get here with some brief hot exchanges between Sullivan and Steiner, who still don't like each other very much. Jumble that altogether and you get a fun match.

The ending takes it out of the totally average category though and bumps it up slightly as Missy Hyatt involves herself in the proceedings and we get a nice purse shot to Sullivan's face to send the fans home happy. **

Match #7: The Iron Sheik v. Ranger Ross

Here's a little filler before the main event. Sheik is always fun on some level and totally carries this guy to a fun USA v. The World short shot. Sheikie jumps him at the bell and does a pearl harbor job on him for a while before Ranger Ross makes the comeback. Things look like they're in hand before Rip Morgan, designated anti-american flag bearer, comes in and whacks Ross with a flag to cause the DQ. The heels put a nasty beat down on Ross before JYD comes out and makes the save and everyone cheers. Basic, filler stuff here. *

Match #8: World Heavyweight Championship, 2/3 Falls: Ricky Steamboat v. Ric Flair

I'm not going to go into a lengthy review here because everything about this match has been said a million times over by people who could speak to it far better than I could. This MIGHT be the best match in North American Wrestling history, or at least that there's footage of. In fact, this whole series is beyond great, but I think this is just the one that everyone walks away from going 'wow' once they go back and watch it again.

The energy these guys have is just different and something that's really impossible to create, you just have to be kinda lucky. Rock-Austin had that sort of energy and Misawa and Kawada did, but I can't think of any other tandem that came close. Whether you're a casual fan, a MOVEZ~ guy, or a guy who just genuinely enjoys wrestilng, you'll like this. Heck, if you don't like wrestling I don't get how you'd dislike it.

This goes roughly an hour and there isn't a down spot, or if there is, it doesn't come off FEELING like a downspot. The struggle for every little piece of ground is great, Flair is stoogie when he needs to be, an assassin at other times. Steamboat kind of gets knocked off his feet in the first part of the match, not excpecting Flair to be coming at him so hard. Then Steamboat 'settled down' a little bit, gets an advantage and just begins tearing Flair to pieces in a way Flair has been worked over. The end of the second fall is exceptionally shocking, as Ric Flair rarely, if ever in a major storyline to that point, submitted. It was one thing for Steamboat to come back from losing the second fall, but it's another thing to completely squash and steamroll the guy who is the greatest on the planet at the time. The third party is even steven down the line to a controversial finish that sets up the third match where Flair finally wins his belt back.

The selling is the best i've seen in a wrestling match. The strikes are intense and you can feel the compedetive hate between the two. While the first match is really sort of a big dick jousting contest between the two, this is more of the respectful top this kinda ting. This is as good as it gets. I've given four matches this rating, ever. *****

Overall: This is a must own if for nothing more than the main event, which is probably the best match to ever take place on this side of the pond, if ever. The rest of the show though, is a real mixed bag and even the better stuff won't be for everyone. Even I had a hard time getting through this show which REALLY seemed like traveling through a swamp up to your knees. This is a good show for what it's worth, but it's certainly not going to be an edition of the Clash that's for everyone, save for the final match of course.


Clash of Champions On Going Top 10 (Through Clash VI)
1. Ricky Steamboat v. Ric Flair, World Hvt Title, Clash VI *****
2. The Midnight Express v. Ric Flair & Barry Windham, Clash IV ***3/4
3. Sting v. Ric Flair, World Hvt Title, Clash I ***1/2
4. Midnight Express v.The Fantastics, US Tag Titles, Clash I ***1/4
5. Sting v. Barry Windham, US Title, Clash III ***1/4
6. Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard v. Barry Windham & Lex Luger, World Tag Titles, Clash I ***
7. The Fantastics v. Ron Simmons & Eddie Gilbert, US Tag Titles, Clash IV **3/4
8. Road Warriors v. The Varsity Club, World Tag Titles, Clash VI **3/4
9. The Fantastics v. The Sheepherders **1/2, Clash II
10. Mike Rotundo v. Brad Armstrong, TV Title, Clash III **1/2

Dropping Off The List:
9. Ricky Morton v. Ivan Koloff, Russian Chain Match, Clash III **1/2
10. Dusty Rhodes & Sting v. Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson **1/2, Clash II