REVIEW: Clash Of The Champions IV: Seasons Beatings – When Champions Clash In A Big Way

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over ten years now and have reviewed over 5,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net, starting today. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be?

Clash of the Champions IV: Seasons Beatings
Date: December 7, 1988
Location: UTC Arena, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Attendance: 8,000
Commentators: Jim Ross, Bob Caudle

The company is in a major state of flux right now but a lot of the big stories are going to be the same. Luger is still chasing Flair’s World Title and will be receiving another shot at Starrcade while Dusty Rhodes is still running the shows behind the scenes. This show is a glorified go home show for Starrcade, much like Clash II was for the Great American Bash. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about the past confrontations that have taken place in this area and how many more will be taking place tonight.

US Tag Team Titles: Eddie Gilbert/Ron Simmons vs. Fantastics

This is a tournament final due to the Midnight Express vacating the US Tag Team Titles when they won the World Tag Team Titles. Gilbert is a veteran from Tennessee and Simmons is a very powerful rookie who was an All-American football player at Florida State. Simmons and Gilbert had actually been eliminated by the Sheepherders but had to be put into the final due to the Sheepherders jumping to the WWF. Fulton and Simmons get things going and Bobby can’t do anything with the far more muscular Simmons. A shoulder block goes the wrong way for Bobby but a dropkick puts Simmons down.

Bobby charges into a backbreaker and the momentum changes in a hurry. The fans like both teams so they’re not sure what to do when either team is in control. Simmons powers Fulton down but Bobby rolls to the corner for the tag off to Tommy. Rogers is smart enough to keep things quick with a dropkick but gets dragged over to the corner for the tag off to Gilbert.

We get our first use of an overhead camera shot which was an experiment they tried here and didn’t bother trying a second time. Gilbert misses an elbow drop and gets armdragged into an armbar as the Fantastics get a brief advantage. A sunset flip gets two on Rogers and it’s back to Fulton who avoids a hiptoss and shakes his hips a bit, annoying the crowd in the process.

Gilbert slows things down with a headscissors and we go back to the overhead camera for a few seconds. Back up and Fulton shoves Eddie as things get a bit more testy. The fans are behind the home state favorite Gilbert. It’s back to Simmons who powers Bobby down with a hammerlock. Fulton sends Simmons outside with a nice leverage move before catching Ron in a small package for two.

Simmons wins a battle over a top wristlock and it’s back to Rogers who is taken down by a running shoulder tackle for two. Back to Gilbert for another armbar but Tommy comes out of it with an armdrag and it’s off to Fulton for an armdrag of his own. Both guys get back to their feet and the tempers are starting to flare. After a long staredown it’s back to Simmons for a front facelock on Fulton.

Ron misses a big tackle in the corner and the Fantastics go to work on the arm. Both guys work on some armbars as Simmons is in trouble for the first time. The match slows down and we cut back to that overhead camera. Rogers keeps the armbar on for several moments as the other guys on the apron nearly get in a fight. Simmons powers up and elbows Rogers in the face, allowing for the tag off to Gilbert.

Eddie trades armdrags with Rogers before it’s quickly back to Fulton vs. Simmons, even though Ron didn’t have a long time to rest. Bobby takes him down with a chinlock before tagging Tommy back in for a clothesline and a two count. Simmons powers him into the corner for some quick splashes but he’s showing some signs of fatigue. It’s back to Gilbert for an atomic drop on Rogers followed by a belly to back suplex. The fans aren’t pleased with the referee’s performance so far.

Simmons comes back in and cranks on an armbar but Rogers sends him into the corner. A hot tag brings in Fulton who comes in off the top but dives into a powerslam for two. Gilbert comes in to cradle Rogers but the kickout sends his bad arm into the post. Tommy knocks him off the apron to send the arm into the barricade and Eddie is in big trouble. Back in and Gilbert fights back with his good arm but he can’t do much. Rogers easily takes him down and drives knees into the bad arm, setting up an armbar.

Fulton hooks a DDT on the arm before pulling back on it with his feet for good measure. Rogers comes back in and pulls on the bad arm before Bobby comes in with another armbar. The quick tags continue as Rogers hooks a short arm scissors but has to fight out of a rollup from Gilbert. We hit the twenty five minute mark, leaving us with five minutes to go. Fulton misses a headbutt but gets in between Gilbert and Simmons to block a tag.

Rogers comes back in for a hammerlock followed by an armbar as we have four minutes left. Gilbert sends him into the buckle but Fulton breaks up the tag attempt. The clock jumps up to just two minutes left as Eddie grabs his Hot Shot finisher out of nowhere to get a breather. He won’t tag though as we go from two minutes down to one in about twenty seconds. Gilbert misses a charge into the post and Fulton grabs a rollup for the pin, the titles, and a lot of booing.

Rating: C. The problem here is the length. This match ran over twenty seven minutes and easily could have shaved almost half out of that for the same result. The arm work in the first half went on far too long and didn’t really accomplish anything. Simmons was a non-factor in the last ten minutes of the match and the ending wasn’t all that exciting. The Fantastics would lose the belts less than three weeks later.

Lex Luger is your guest host for the night like Flair was last time. He congratulates the new champions on their win and says it made him want to be in the ring tonight.

Italian Stallion vs. Steve Williams

Williams has recently turned heel and joined the Varsity Club, right around the same time that Rick Steiner left the team due to the other members not liking him saving Sting from a beatdown. Stallion was one of those guys who was around for a long time but never really accomplished much in the ring. He would become a successful trainer after retiring though. Before the match, Rotunda and Sullivan laugh at the idea of Rick Steiner thinking he can win the TV Title at Starrcade.

Williams, an All-American wrestler in college, easily takes the Stallion down. The Stallion comes right back and leverages Williams to the floor. Steve is a bit surprised and comes back inside to pick Stallion’s leg and take him to the mat with ease. Stallion pops back up and scores with a clothesline so Williams has a breather on the floor. Back in and Williams hits something resembling an Angle Slam but misses a running elbow. Stallion goes after the arm but Williams gets him on his back while still in the hold.

Steve gets to the ropes and sidesteps a cross body, sending Stallion out to the floor. The announcer messes up and says there are five minutes left in the time limit when he means five minutes have expired. Stallion is sent back to the floor and Sullivan gets in a cheap shot because he’s evil like that. Williams rams Stallion spine first into the apron and tries a delayed vertical suplex back in the ring but Stallion escapes and slugs away. Steve shrugs it off and nails Stallion in the face before putting on a chinlock.

Stallion can’t fight up with a top wristlock and Williams cranks on the chinlock again. A clothesline puts Steve down but he’s easily able to avoid an elbow drop and start cranking on the Stallion’s leg. It’s not even a good looking hold as he really just has his hands on Stallion’s foot.

The Italian makes it to the ropes and rolls outside where Sullivan gets in another cheap shot. Stallion comes back in and pounds away in the corner but Steve casually atomic drops him for the break. Off to a front facelock by Williams followed by a hard slam. Stallion avoids a top rope splash and scores with a powerslam but doesn’t cover. Williams comes right back with the Oklahoma Stampede (running powerslam) for the pin.

Rating: D. This match went on WAY too long and it hurt what they were trying to do. With Williams now a heel, he should have looked like a killer out there. Instead he looked like a guy who was bored out of his mind and not interested in winning at all. I can understand that if he’s beating the tar out of the Stallion, but this was over fifteen minutes long with a lot of the match being spent on chinlocks and weak looking holds. The powerslam was good but it doesn’t make up for Williams looking as passive as he could have out there for the other fourteen and a half minutes.

Jason Hervey joins Lex and Tony Schiavone to talk about Steve Williams’ change of attitude. Hervey was on the Wonder Years which was a major hit at the time and the NWA milked every bit of celebrity power they could out of him. They talk about the Wonder Years a bit as well.

Magnum TA announces that the Junkyard Dog is coming to help Ivan Koloff in his war with Paul Jones and his Army. Dog was replacing Nikita Koloff and had no real reason to be helping Koloff so the whole thing never really worked.

Jim Ross recaps the Road Warriors turning heel and attacking Dusty Rhodes, attempting to injure his eye. Tonight is Dusty’s chance for revenge against Animal.

Starrcade ad.

Ivan Koloff vs. Paul Jones

Jones is a manager but also a former United States Champion. Koloff has his arm tied behind his back to make this a little bit more fair. Ivan grabs Jones by the throat and Paul bails to the floor. Back in and Jones sticks and moves which just angers Koloff even more. They circle each other for a few minutes as there has been almost no contact here. Koloff finally gets him into the corner and rams him into all four turnbuckles, sending Jones to his knees to beg for mercy.

More choking ensues with Ivan using his hands and Jones using the rope around Koloff’s shoulder. They head outside with Koloff being sent into the post a few times to give Paul his first real advantage. Ivan comes back with a few right hands and Jones bails to the floor to pull out a foreign object. He knocks Koloff down with a few shots but drops the object, allowing Ivan to take it away and knock Jones out (from his knees) for the pin.

Rating: D-. While the second match was too long, this one was too boring. It’s definitely there for the storytelling more than the wrestling, but that doesn’t make it interesting. The match runs a little over eight minutes and is all choking, punching, and then the good guy cheating to win the match. The whole feud never worked as Jones wasn’t the most interesting of a manager. This would have been better had it been Koloff against one of the Russian Assassins in a regular match.

Speaking of the Assassins, they both run in after the match to beat down Koloff. Junkyard Dog comes in for the save.

Luger doesn’t have much to say about the previous match but thinks Dusty Rhodes isn’t scared of the Road Warriors and their spikes.

Sting comes out to fire up the crowd before the next match.

Dusty Rhodes is running late so we go to Magnum TA with Rick Steiner. Rick is a bit slow mentally and is confused when Magnum asks him about the belly to belly suplex. Steiner talks about his friend Alex, which is a face painted on Rick’s hand. Rick asks Magnum to be quiet for a second before he shouts that he’ll beat Mike Rotunda at Starrcade.

Dusty Rhodes vs. Road Warrior Animal

Dusty and the Road Warriors were the World Six Man Champions but have since split due to the Warriors turning heel, so the winner here gets control of the belts and the right to pick their partner or partners. Rhodes charges to the ring with a painted eye patch covering his injury and wants revenge immediately.

A big elbow and clothesline drop Animal and Dusty wraps the leg around the post over and over. Back in and Dusty shoves the referee so he can put on the terrible figure four but the Warriors’ manager Paul Ellering comes in and rakes the bad eye. Animal goes after the eye as well but Dusty goes after Animal’s eye to counter. Hawk and Sting come in as well but Dusty hits Animal in the knee with a chair for a very fast DQ. This was another angle and a way to solve the Six Man Titles problem. The Road Warriors would pick Genichiro Tenryu as their partner a few days later.

Luger has to take his jacket off because the adrenaline is pumping.

Midnight Express vs. Barry Windham/Ric Flair

Non-title here even though all four are champions. Ric and Bobby get things going and Eaton will have none of this Flair strutting stuff. He decks the world champion with a right hand to the jaw and busts out a strut of his own. Eaton wins a slugout and backdrops him down before sending Flair to the apron for a right hand from Stan Lane (who Flair actually trained). Stan comes in for some kicks to the head but Flair is able to make the tag off to Windham.

Barry slows things down by just hammering Stan in the corner but he misses a top rope elbow drop. Stan dropkicks him out to the floor and it’s almost all Midnights to start. Eaton comes back in with hiptosses and slams all around followed by a double clothesline for a cover on Windham but Flair is legal. Back to Lane but Flair wants to take his time now. Stan takes him down and puts on a figure four, followed by Bobby putting one on Windham. Cornette and Dillon almost get in a fight on the floor as the holds are broken back inside.

More martial arts kicks put Ric down but he comes back with right hands to the now legal Bobby. Eaton easily wins the slugout and we get an inset interview from Paul E. Dangerously (Heyman) who has brought the Original Midnight Express to the NWA to show who the real team is. The camera is on a wide shot here so we couldn’t see how Flair took over. Flair goes up top but gets slammed down as is his custom. Everything breaks down for a few seconds and a double dropkick puts Flair down for two.

Barry finally comes in with a cheap shot to knock Eaton silly and give the Horsemen control. A big right hand puts Bobby on the floor and Windham suplexes him back in for no cover. Back to Flair for a knee drop before he throws Eaton outside as well. Barry comes back in with a running lariat and a two count followed by a gutwrench suplex.

We hit the sleeper but Bobby hits a quick elbow to the ribs to escape. Bobby punches Flair in the face to knock him backwards and it’s hot tag to Lane. Stan cleans house as everything breaks down. The Double Goozle (running clothesline/chop block combo) puts Windham down and Eaton drops a top rope legdrop, but Flair comes in with JJ’s shoe to knock Eaton out for the pin.

Rating: B+. This was 80s tag team wrestling at its finest which is all you could have expected from these four. The Midnights were as good as you could find and they were on a roll with their face turn. Flair and Windham are two guys who could wrestle a good match no matter what they were doing and this was no exception. Great match and worth checking out if you want to see something from this era.

Jim Cornette goes on a rant about how great the Horsemen are but how they didn’t need to cheat to win. The Midnights can stand toe to toe with them and they proved that tonight. That means they can stand up to the Original Midnights at Starrcade, but they’d love another match with the Horsemen anywhere anytime.

The announcers narrate a long recap of most of the show, omitting the Williams vs. Stallion match.

Lex and Tony talk about the main event, which Luger calls proof of what Flair will do to get a win. He guarantees a clear cut winner at Starrcade and says he couldn’t be more ready.

Overall Rating: C. This is a two match show but thankfully one of those matches is really good. The opening match is long but certainly not bad, whereas the second one is long and just boring. Dusty vs. Animal wasn’t a good match but it had a lot of energy and the fans were into it. This show is right in the middle but only the main event is really worth seeing.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books. His latest book is KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews.

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