WCW Clash of the Champions #19

Joe Malenko & Dean Malenko vs. Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff - 4

After watching this, I wasn't sure where to go. I felt as though Ricky's performance was acceptable and his selling was on good display, but a couple of glaring botches really held this match back. Steamboat went for a head scissor on Dean, but Dean kind of just fell on his ass and Steamboat hit the buckle. It was a nice cover-up. Steamboat later went for a bulldog on Joe, I believe, and Joe dropped waaay to early and it looked, as the Spaniards would say, el terrible. Koloff dominated in the match, throwing Dean and Joe around like Hungarian rag dolls. Again, nothing I would say is worth watching, but not actively bad, either.

Rick Rude & Steve Austin vs. Marcus Alexander Bagwell & Z-Man - 5

Hot as hell start with Z-man and Austin. Rude looked amazing in the match, really showing his dominance in the ring. Z's selling was quite good. Rude hit this release vertical suplex on Z, which Z sold by arching his back like someone on steroids doing yoga. The match started to feel like a squash as it went on, which led to a happy surprise as Bagwell would come back, ultimately to be cut off. As the match went on, the story of the dominating veteran heel team became apparent as Bagwell and Z just couldn't do anything to get the upper hand. Enjoyed that storytelling. Bagwell's hot tag was great - so much energy. Great dominating feel to the match for the heel team, and a great display of showmanship by the face team.

Terry Gordy & Steve Williams vs. The O'Days - 3

Gordy and Doc just kept beating the shit out of the Australian father and son team. Gordy hit this sick, sick Saito suplex on the old man. I think they forgot they were in WCW and not AJPW. I mean, you can hit that shit on Taue but not these guys! What a squash!!! I really don't remember the last time I yelped watching a WCW match. SICK!~ Kind of an embarrassing showing for the Australians.

Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham vs. Bobby Eaton & Arn Anderson - 6

Really looking forward to this. I dig the hell out of all four of these guys. Arn went to the top rope, only to be met by a REALLY BAD LOOKING drop kick by Windham. Like, Lady Gaga meat dress bad. Eaton was... eatin' some nice looking elbows from Rhodes. He kept hitting the ropes and coming back for more only to take a really nice look bump over the ropes. I really enjoyed Rhodes' hot tag and the subsequent offense eating by the heel team, along with the cheap heat from Arn with blatant chokes. Really nice nearfall, too after Arn hit the spinebuster, but was distracted by the brawl on the outside between Eaton and Windham, feeding into a delish finish of Eaton going up for the leg drop, missing, and eating a bulldog by the son of a son of a plumber. Excellent~!

The Silver Kings vs. Freebirds (Hayes & Garvin) - 4

Silver Kings looked crisp as hell. Everything they did was done with confidence and fluidity. You'd expect Kings to be treated in a similar way as the O'Days, but they got quite a bit of offense in and really showed what they could do in the ring. The finish was worked a bit awkwardly, as both men ended up hitting their own guys (Hayes hit Garvin, SK 1 hit SK 2) in two moments of miscommunication. Hayes rolled up SK 1 in a small package for the win. I wish SK would've at least tried to kick out a bit or kick his legs, instead of sitting there taking the pin like a child being sat in the corner for time out.

Brian Pillman & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Chris Benoit & Beef Wellington - 6

Man alive this was a boatload of fun. All four of these guys brought it tonight. This match just had that incredible NJPW junior heavyweight feel to it. Liger looked as good as he always has, working so well with Benoit you'd think they were on the same brain wavelength. Wellington looked good, too, busting out offense on the apron while Benoit was in the ring (including this nice heel kick that Pillman sold great). Pillman was working tight and snug, but was putting over Benoit and Wellington's offense huge by bumping his ass off. This match flowed like the wine at Stephanie McMahon's baby shower. Just a really awesome match.

Hiroshi Hase & Akira Nogami vs. The Headhunters - 3

For what the Headhunters were (not the 500 lb. Headhunter, by the way), they worked well with the Japanese team. Hase and Nogami started the match out strong by beating the shit out of Headhunter 1, who was only able to get hit a couple of clotheslines and a side slam. I felt an emotional disconnect coming from the fans because of the unfamiliarity with the teams, which is a shame because the Japanese team is great. We were basically witness to a burial of the Dominican Republic team of the Headhunters via a double German suplex. Meh.

The Steiners vs. Terry Gordy and Steve Williams - 5

I'm fully prepared for some hard-hitting action, here. This was just pure, uninhibited hatred and power. To say that all four of these guys laid everything in would be an understatement. Gordy and Rick got into this fist fight that looked incredible. There was just so much brutality and brawling happening. Looked so great. There was a great element of power wrestling to this match featuring two of the strongest teams on the card. Williams looked to be pissed tonight and was stiffing the hell out of Scott. I believe there was a huge botch as the end in which Terry went for a chop block on the awaiting Scott Steiner, but instead Williams basically fell over and on top of Scott. That was just not good looking at all. That held it back for me, but all in all it was a good match.