With Ric Flair “retired” at Halloween Havoc, and World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan had moved on to new opponents. Kevin Sullivan took up the fight against Hulkamania, turning longtime Hogan lackey Brutus Beefcake against him. The Butcher couldn’t get the job done at Starrcade and Hogan got some reinforcements when “Macho Man” Randy Savage showed up and shook Hogan’s hand. The Monster Maniacs were born (reborn?) and they took the fight to Sullivan and the Butcher here in the main event.
The Butcher actually managed to put Hogan out with the sleeper hold, but Hogan was never counted out and Butcher apparently forgot how to pin someone. So as Butcher and Sullivan celebrated the moral victory of putting Hogan to sleep, Savage went to the top rope and nailed Hogan with his trademark top rope elbow, which he knows from experience just revives Hogan when he’s nearly out. Hogan took the elbow, got right up and didn’t even question Savage’s attack, just went right back to fighting Butcher and Sullivan.
If that was the end of the match, it would have been almost perfect, but that was barely the midpoint of the 14-minute match! What a waste.
But the real story for Hogan was the looming threat of former World Champion and all-around scary bastard Big Van Vader, who bought a ticket at ringside to psych Hogan out on the way to their showdown at SuperBrawl V in February. Vader attacked Hogan after the match and hit the champ with a power bomb, but finishing moves just revive the Hulkster, and a couple of chairs scared the monster away.
Best Match: WCW TV Championship: Arn Anderson (c) defeated Johnny B. Badd – Opening Clash of the Champions XXX with a TV Championship match featuring Johnny B. Badd follows a couple of different formulas that WCW would really perfect over the years. Badd had really come into his own and he could get the crowd going with his agility in the ring. And with a guy like Anderson, who could have a fun match with a stick of gum, it’s not going to be a disappointment.
Worst Match: Alex Wright defeated “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton – There was just nothing interesting happening here. Wright was just starting his career and Eaton plays much better as a tag team wrestler. The former tag champ can usually bring the goods, and the match wasn’t terrible, but it was dull. The five minute match felt like it went much longer.
Guardian Angel or Devil?: WCW’s franchise player, Sting, was put in the ring with Avalanche, the man formerly known as Earthquake in the WWF, with a special referee for the match. The Guardian Angel, better known as the Big Bossman in WWF, called the match right down the middle. Until the end. After a middling 8 minutes, Sting got Avalanche in the Scorpion Deathlock and the big man clearly gave up, but the Angel didn’t signal for the bell. Referee Nick Patrick ran in and called the match for the Stinger, which didn’t sit well with the former Boss. Sting and the Angel brawled for a bit, before Avalanche got involved, forcing Alex Wright, The Patriot and Marcus Bagwell to run out and help Sting. It was a pretty random turn, but it gave the Guardian Angel a little more direction now that Vader had moved on to Hogan.
*DISCLAIMER* The Top 10 rankings are for discussion purposes only and in no way reflect an official or authoritative list. It is simply my opinion. If you disagree, let me know in the comments.
First, let’s take a look at how the matches from this event rank:
1 – WCW TV Championship: Arn Anderson (c) defeated Johnny B. Badd – Clash of the Champions XXX
2 – Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage defeated the Butcher and Kevin Sullivan – Clash of the Champions XXX
3 – Sting defeated Avalanche by submission – Clash of the Champions XXX
4 – WCW World Tag Team Championship Match: Harlem Heat defeats The Patriot and Marcus Alexander Bagwell – Clash of the Champions XXX
5 – Alex Wright defeated “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton – Clash of the Champions XXX
Most importantly, we now have a full Top 10 for 1995! Let’s take a look at how this show compares with the rest of the year.
1 – WWF Championship Match: Diesel (c) and Bret “Hitman” Hart battle to a draw – Royal Rumble 1995
2 – WCW TV Championship: Arn Anderson (c) defeated Johnny B. Badd – Clash of the Champions XXX
3 – Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage defeated the Butcher and Kevin Sullivan – Clash of the Champions XXX
4 – WWF Tag Team Championship Tournament Final Match: The Kid and Bob “Spark Plug” Holly defeated Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka – Royal Rumble 1995
5 – The Undertaker defeated Irwin R. Schyster – Royal Rumble 1995
6 – Sting defeated Avalanche by submission – Clash of the Champions XXX
7 – WCW World Tag Team Championship Match: Harlem Heat defeats The Patriot and Marcus Alexander Bagwell – Clash of the Champions XXX
8 – Intercontinental Championship Match: Jeff Jarrett defeated Razor Ramon (c) – Royal Rumble 1995
9 – Shawn Michaels wins the 1995 Royal Rumble – Royal Rumble 1995
10 – Alex Wright defeated “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton – Clash of the Champions XXX
That’s all for this time! Next up in the 1995 Top 10 is WCW’s SuperBrawl V in just under a month! Stay tuned!