NWA Clash of the Champions XI 6/13/1990

Written By: Matt Peddycord

NWA Clash of the Champions XI: Coastal Crush
June 13, 1990
Charleston, SC
McAlister Fieldhouse

The current NWA Champs were as follows:
World Champion: Ric Flair (5/7/1989)
U.S. Champion: Lex Luger (5/22/1989)
World Tag Team Champions: Doom (5/19/1990)
U.S. Tag Team Champions: Midnight Express (5/19/1990)
World Television Champion: Arn Anderson (1/2/1990)

Probably not a good idea to open a show with a montage that reminds people of hurricane Hugo that hit Charleston a year earlier that killed 82 people and left over 50,000 homeless. Yeah, not a good idea at all. The name “Coastal Crush” is going a little bit far too if you ask me.

Your hosts are Jim Ross & Bob Caudle.

The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys vs. The Freebirds

JR calls this the national television debut of the Southern Boys together. The ‘Birds attack before the bell, but the Southern Boys outsmart them with a do-see-do to send Garvin and Hayes out to ringside. Garvin and Smothers start the match. Smothers runs into a boot in the corner and a double-team clubbering from the ‘Birds sets them up for a Steve Armstrong crossbody. Now Hayes works the crowd and wants Armstrong in the ring. Hayes slips out of a slam, but can’t roll Armstrong up off the ropes and takes a clothesline instead. Armstrong heads up top, but Garvin shoves him down and gets a tag. He hits a walking backbreaker for two. Hayes tags in for an armbar. Armstrong backs Hayes into the ropes and goes low (!) but then telegraphs a backdrop and pays for it. Running elbow drop gets 1-2-NO! Hayes slams Armstrong down and heads up top, but Steve is there to slam him down. HOT TAG TO SMOTHERS! He goes JUMPING BACK ELBOW CRAZY on the ‘Birds. Smothers gives them a double-noggin knocker and rolls up Garvin while ref Nick Patrick is trying to get Armstrong out of the ring. Hayes breaks up the pin and goes to the floor with Armstrong. Garvin hits his Running Knee off the ropes. He covers, but Armstrong comes off the top with a flying headbutt. He puts Smothers on top of Garvin for 1-2-3! (7:29) A big upset win for the Southern Boys and a good start for them. **½

Tommy Rich vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (w/Sir Oliver Humperdink)

Looks like Bigelow had to go with the cheap sleeveless shirt in 1990. Caudle is putting his money on Rich to win this match. JR calls that a BOLD prediction, and I agree if you just look at who would win in a fight. Poor Bob is getting pretty senile in his older days. Rich starts off strong and REALLY cranks on a wristlock. He avoids a charge and rolls up Bigelow, but only gets two. However, Bigelow comes back with a press slam and chokes Rich to the mat. He doesn’t break on the four count, so the ref DQ’s Bigelow. (3:46) Caudle’s prediction was correct! This was so meaningless, I don’t even care. ¼*

They show a preview video of Big Van Vader who will debut at the Bash. It’s just his entrance, which is ominous and scary enough.

Ring announcer Gary Michael Capetta Interview with newcomer El Gigante: He’ll be competing in the six-man tag against the Horsemen on July 7! Can’t wait! He’s glad to be here, blahblahblahblahblah. Next match. I wonder if Capetta sounds like he’s announcing someone’s entrance when he speaks in everyday situations. Kind of like the Michael Buffer Mad TV skit.

Tom Zenk & Captain Mike Rotunda vs. The Samoan Swat Team

Why Ole thought Captain Mike of the Varsity Club could transfer as Captain Mike of his own ship makes me wonder about that guy. Rotunda and Fatu do some back-and-forth stuff. Savage gets tagged and corners Zenk, but Z-Man slams and dropkicks Savage out for a breather. Back in, Rotunda gets a crossbody for 1-2-NO! The Samoans do a switch, but Rotunda kicks out at two. Fatu applies a nerve hold, which was inevitable. Rotunda elbows out, but Fatu clotheslines him down. Zenk gets drawn in after Rotunda is dumped out to Savage for a slam. Back in again, Savage re-applies the nerve hold. Zenk gets drawn in once again, but the Samoan double-team fails and Rotunda nails them with a double-clothesline. HOT TAG TO ZENK! He goes savate kick crazy and then tries a double noggin knocker. IDIOT! Zenk takes a double-headbutt and a Samoan Drop by Fatu. PUMP SPLASH by Savage! Rotunda does a switch with Zenk while the Samoans pose in the corner. What? They have different colored trunks on. Fatu grabs Rotunda and gets caught in a small package for 1-2-3. (5:25) White trunks, black trunks. Can those colors be any more unlike one another? The match was fun, but the finish was retarded. **¼

Mean Mark gets a video package for some reason. He’s been in the NWA for months now.

Mean Mark Callous (w/Paul E. Dangerously) vs. Brian Pillman

Paul E had not been managing Mean Mark for very long at this point. He provides the distraction for Mark to attack before the bell. Pillman lands on his feet off a crossbody and smashes Mark’s face into the buckle, but that can only work for so long as Callous comes back and boots Pillman off the apron onto the guardrail. Back in, Pillman attempts a crucifix, but Mark stands strong and backs Pillman into the corner. Slam and an elbow drop gets two for Mark. Pillman elbows out of a chinlock, but runs right into a clothesline for another two. Pillman chops back, but Mark grabs him for a side slam for two. Mean Mark misses a charge in the corner, but he gets a powerslam anyway. He misses a legdrop and Pillman makes his comeback. Mean Mark tries to throw Pillman out, but he skins-the-cat and connects with a missile dropkick. They screw up something with Pillman coming out of the corner, but Mean Mark then nails Pillman with a hotshot out of nowhere for the three-count. (5:40) The match was moving right along up until the weird finish. Mean Mark meets the US champ Lex Luger at the Bash on July 7. **½

NWA U.S. Tag Team Champions The Midnight Express (w/Jim Cornette) vs. The Rock ‘n Roll Express

Sure, why not. Gibson and Eaton start the match and do some armlock exchanges. Gibson gives Eaton a headscissors takedown into the headscissors on the mat. Eaton escapes and backs Gibson into the corner for a tag to Lane, but Gibson breaks loose. Lane comes in with the savate kicks, but Gibson returns the favor with an enziguri. Morton tags in and gets a hiptoss, so Lane gets mad and pops him in the corner. Lane then misses a charge and receives a backdrop. He goes low on Morton and tags Eaton, who runs right into an armdrag and an armbar. Eaton sneaks in a back elbow, but then gets nailed with a hurracanrana takeover. Gibson and Lane tag. Lane takes an atomic drop off into his partner Bobby Eaton. Eaton and Morton come back in, as Eaton goes for a superplex. Will he get it? No! Morton flips out and rolls Eaton up, but Lane comes in and throws Morton off into the turnbuckle. Morton gets tossed aside and the Midnights give Gibson a double backdrop. They go for another one on Gibson, but he sunset flips Eaton and Morton rolls Lane up off the rope for a double-pin situation for 1-2-NO! Once order is restored, Morton hiptosses Lane. Morton goes for another hurracanrana, but Lane blocks it and Eaton comes off the turnbuckle onto Morton. They continue the double-teaming with a Curt Hennig neck snap, followed by an elbow drop for 1-2-NO! Eaton misses a corner splash, which sets up the HOT TAG TO GIBSON! He hits a knee lift and a crossbody for 1-2-NO! Eaton saves and Morton clotheslines him out to the floor. Morton falls out with him and throws Eaton from the apron to the guardrail! Morton climbs up onto the apron, but Gibson knocks him off inadvertently. Meanwhile, Eaton is back up and on the apron. Gibson applies the SLEEPER, but Eaton lowers the boom on him to break it up. Lane covers for 1-2-NO! Now all four men are back in the ring. The RnR hit the DOUBLE DROPKICK on Eaton, but Lane stops the count by grabbing the referee and that’s an automatic DQ. (12:08) What a letdown of a finish. It was actually picking up there at the end too. Definitely one of the least exciting matches I’ve seen from this seemingly never ending rivalry. **¾

Barry Windham vs. Doug Furnas

Furnas was doing the “World’s Strongest Man” gimmick back before he went to Japan and got good. As for Windham, he had returned from the WWF for about a month at this point when he interfered in the cage match at Capital Combat. Furnas overpowers Windham, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. Press slam is delivered, followed by a ten-count corner punch. Windham tries to atomic drop Furnas out of the corner, but that doesn’t connect and Furnas puts Windham on the floor with a clothesline. Back in, Furnas runs into a knee and takes a SICK Lariat. Windham hits a suplex and goes for a pin, but Furnas presses him off. Barry delivers an atomic drop, but then telegraphs a backdrop. Furnas hits the BELLY-TO-BELLY SUPLEX and only gets two. He delivers a powerslam and only gets two. Windham takes a dropkick out to the floor, but comes back in and gives Furnas a bridging back suplex. With his feet on the ropes, he gets the 1-2-3. (5:40) Windham picks up the win, Horsemen-style. Good enough match. **¼

NWA U.S. Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger vs. Sid Vicious (w/Ole Anderson)

Uhh, where’s the belt? Lex and Ole get into a brawl before the match begins. Sid claws at Luger’s face and goes over to check on Ole, but then turns around into a clothesline for 1-2-3. (0:26) What, is Teddy Long a white guy now? That was hardly a one-count, much less a three. Anybody know what happened there? CRAP

NWA World Tag Team Champions Doom (w/Theodore R. Long) vs. Rick & Scott Steiner

This is the Steiners big rematch from Capital Combat where they lost the belts. Scott and Simmons get into a standoff to start. That leads to a slugfest and a SWEET fallaway slam on Simmons. Reed runs in for one as well. The crowd goes ballistic. Steinerline to the back of Simmons’ head sends him rolling over to Reed for a tag. Scott gets a backslide for two. Reed has enough and tags in Simmons. The crowd wants Rick, so he gets a tag and freaks out Simmons when he gets down on all fours. He cheapshots Rick, but gets his belly-to-belly suplex blocked and takes one instead. Reed tags back in, blocks a hiptoss, and receives a Steinerline out to the floor. Doom has a conference meeting and when Rick gets fired up, Reed takes a walk and baits Steiner out. He swings at Rick, but Rick ducks and Simmons pops up off the floor and drills Rick with a clothesline. Reed gives Rick a slam on the floor, causing the audience to SHRIEK in fear! Back in, Reed delivers a swinging neckbreaker for two. Rick does the 360 degree sell off a clothesline and then catches Simmons ducking low off a whip. Reed tags back in and delivers a double-ax handle, then dumps Rick out over the top rope to the floor. The ref didn’t see it though. Simmons runs Rick shoulder-first into the post while the ref is with Scott. Back in, Reed hits a butterfly suplex and then a flying elbow drop gets 1-2-NO! Reed fires away in the corner, but then misses a charge and runs knee-first into the turnbuckle. Rick gives Reed a flying double-ax handle and then makes the HOT TAG TO SCOTT! He goes dropkick crazy on Doom. Rick comes in and nails Reed and while the ref is with Rick, Long tosses Reed an international object. After Scott gives Simmons a superplex, Reed blasts him in the face. Simmons covers as Rick nails Reed with a Steinerline. We’ve got a double-pin situation and the ref counts three, but only Simmons and Scott were legal – therefore, Doom retains the belts. (11:19) Everything was going great up until the lame finish. The good thing about the Doom/Steiners matches, is they always got better and this was proof of that. ***½

NWA World Television Champion Arn Anderson vs. Paul Orndorff – non-title match

Paul says, “SHUT UP OR PUT UP, Arn Anderson.” Yeah, you tell him Paul. You’ve got love how Arn was TV champ longer than anybody, but hardly EVER defended it on the big shows. Pretty standard start with headlocks and armbars. Arn tries to leave, but runs right into a sleeper. Arn counters into one of his own, but gets rammed into the top turnbuckle for the break. Orndorff goes after the knee and applies the Figure-Four. Arn makes the ropes and then gets his knee wrapped around the post, but comes back with the Spinebuster. My favorite! He’s too fatigued to cover, so he hits a backbreaker to follow up. Orndorff tries a desperation sunset flip and nearly pulls Arn’s tights off, so Arn punches him away to break it up. Arn chokes Paul up in the ropes and applies the abdominal stretch. Of course he grabs the ropes- why do I even need to tell you that? The ref Mike Atkins catches him in the act, so Arn breaks and hits a knee drop for two. Finally, Orndorff elbows out of a chinlock and atomic drops Arn into the corner, but he bounces back and they bump heads. They trade blows and Orndorff levels Arn with a forearm. Knee-lift connects and sets up the vertical elbows for two. Orndorff hits a clothesline and tries a pump splash, but he hits knees. Arn wants a small package, but Orndorff reverses it for 1-2-3. (11:39) Decent enough, but Orndorff just isn’t that interesting working as a face. **

Interview with the Four Horsemen: The usual stuff. “Whether you like it or not – learn to love it, because it’s the best thing going today!” You know the drill.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair (w/Ole Anderson) vs. Junkyard Dog

JYD sells nothing related to the skull. Flair sells everything JYD does, which is narrowed down to punches and headbutts. Flair even brings a chair into the ring and hits JYD in the head with it, but he doesn’t sell it at all. Real weak shot though. JYD headbutts Flair down and mounts him for some punching, but then Ole runs in the ring and starts beating on JYD. (6:37) Utter garbage for a Flair main event. No wonder Flair was ready to leave the NWA. The rest of the Horsemen storm the ring to attack the JYD, but Sting, Luger and Orndorff run down for the save. Sting wants to sign a title match with Flair for July 7 right now, but the Horsemen attack instead and we get a mini match with Sting and Flair as we go off the air. Wow, those two minutes were more entertaining than the whole main event! ½*

Final Thoughts: Pretty much a one match show with Doom and the Steiners. There’s some good here, but nothing great. Another downer of a Clash since Ole took over. This show suffers from the same problem that Clash VII (Steamboat/Funk) had where there was too many matches with too much crap to bring it down. The only difference is, that show had an awesome main event. This one, however, does not at all. Thumbs down for Clash of the Champions XI.