Let’s face it: Great American Bash 1988 was not great. There were a couple of good tag team matches in the mix, but the screwjob finish for the main event between Ric Flair and Lex Luger was the definition of stupidity. Luckily, the Clash of the Champions III review features a bit more quality, despite another interesting main event finish.
It’s the third-ever Clash of the Champions for Jim Crockett promotions, and it does have some redeeming qualities.
Let’s find out in Blake’s Clash of the Champions III review.
- Date: September 7, 1988
- Location: Albany Civic Center in Albany, GA
ANNOUNCE BOOTH: Tony Schiavone and Flair welcome us. Wooooooooooooooo! We’re already hyping his rematch with Luger. Flair’s rematch, not Tony’s rematch. That wouldn’t put butts in the seats.
Brad Armstrong vs. (c) Mike Rotundo (w/Kevin Sullivan) – NWA TV Title
Good to see Sullivan could make time to attend this match since he was typically spending his time beating up women in Tower of Doom matches. Armstrong nearly gets a pinfall early in the match and the crowd was ready to explode.
Dropkicks and another near fall from Armstrong, which leads to Rotundo retreating. This further proves that Armstrong wasn’t bad at all. His match at Clash of the Champions II against Barry Windham was three stars in my book. And now he keeps the offense going and gets another two count. The crowd is HOT. Armstrong with more offense and counters and Rotundo is worried.
Rotundo finally gets some momentum thanks to Sullivan kicking Armstrong’s ass on the outside. Near fall from the champ but Armstrong kicks out of it.
Now Rotundo going with the cerebral approach to wear down Armstrong. But this man Armstrong will not stay down. Armstrong reminds me of Dolph Ziggler here and I have no idea why. Armstrong gets thrown back to the outside and Sullivan beats him up again. But Armstrong almost gets the three in a hot spot. Now business picks up as Dr. Death Steve Williams is out to even up the score. DAMN THIS CROWD IS ON FIRE. Inside cradle from Armstrong for two and a half! Airplane spin from Rotundo but another two.
Rotundo now trying multiple pins but Armstrong keeps kicking out. After about 10 straight pinfall attempts, we get a TIME LIMIT DRAW at 20:00. JR really plays up the moral victory angle, which was the right thing to do. This made Armstrong look like a future champion. I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish, with the time limit draw being acceptable here because it told the right story. Fantastic match that may be one of the most underrated in history.
• Rating: ****
VIDEO: We get a recap of the segment where Jimmy Garvin got his leg broken by Kevin Sullivan. And of course Sullivan had to throw Precious as hard as humanly possible to the concrete floor. Sullivan also threw some cinder blocks on Garvin’s leg, which caused the break. The real highlight here is Sting’s shorts. Find this segment just to see Sting’s incredible shorts. Totally worth your time.
The Sheepherders vs. Nikita Koloff and Dr. Death Steve Williams
I smell a brawl. Or maybe that’s just Luke and Butch. Williams is shoulder blocking people left and right and the crowd is fucking insane. Now we’ve got Koloff in the match and his hair is looking phenomenal as always.
Good guys continue to control until Williams spears himself into the post. That changes when Koloff gets a hot tag and he goes crazy. But then the double team tactics of the Sheepherders change the game again. A lot of work on Koloff as he desperately tries to make the tag. Doesn’t happen. Koloff gets to the corner to make the tag but Williams is on the outside dealing with the flag guy. Missed opportunity there, Steve.
Luke then misses the flying headbutt and Koloff makes the big tag. That offense doesn’t last long as the underhanded chop from Butch puts it all even. Then Williams gets the tag to Koloff and he hits the massive clothesline for the win at 17:27. Much better than I expected it to be. Good brawl and well-worked match.
• Rating: ***
Dusty Rhodes vs. Kevin Sullivan (w/Gary Hart)
Have a feeling we’re getting another brawl, which would be better than a technical wrestling match from these two. And sure enough, there’s the brawl. We immediately go to the outside and all hell is breaking loose. Even Hart gets chucked by Dusty. Then we get Dusty elbows and Tommy Young is in between these two men trying to break it up. That doesn’t work.
Sullivan takes some shots to Dusty on the outside and then Hart beats the shit out of Dusty with a shoe. JR says Hart is as innocent as Al Capone or Charles Manson. Great line. Hart then hands Sullivan a spike and of course Young doesn’t see it. SPIKE TO THE THROAT. Dusty is out of this thing. We also get an extra close zoom in on Dusty’s forehead and that thing is flat out disgusting.
Dusty gets his comeback and uses shenanigans for a close call. Hart then pulls Dusty outside and here comes one of the greatest superstars of all time in Al Perez to attack Dusty from behind. Apparently I missed the part where this was no DQ.
Now they are both destroying Dusty with a chain, but in a stupid spot, Dusty flies into the chain and I guess it awkwardly pulled Sullivan and Perez into each other. AND THEN DUSTY PINS GARY HART FOR THE WIN AT 6:59. GARY HART WASN’T IN THE FUCKING MATCH. Dusty Rhodes as a performer was good. Dusty Rhodes as a booker was bad. This was yet another reason why JCP was spiraling.
• Rating: DUD
ANNOUNCE BOOTH: John Ayers is your special referee for the upcoming Flair/Luger match. This was a cringeworthy segment.
Ivan Koloff (w/ Paul Jones and Russian Assassin) vs. Ricky Morton – Russian Chain Match
This is your typical four corners match where you have to touch every corner in succession to win. Morton gets tossed to the outside which makes for an interesting situation with Koloff in the ring.
Pretty much what you’d expect this match to be. Lots of use of the chain, and Morton finding ways to pull him off his game. Koloff almost gets all four and Morton pulls him down just in time. Morton eventually starts his sequence and gets three, then Jones helps Koloff with leverage to pull Morton back. But it’s not enough as Jones seemingly lets go and Morton hits the fourth for the win at 9:52.
After the match, the Assassin throws Morton out and destroys him outside. Then Koloff and Jones argue before Koloff hammers Jones. Assassin attacks Koloff from behind and then we get another Assassin in there to team up on Koloff. This face turn for Koloff had zero heat. The fans chant Nikita but of course he doesn’t show up to save this thing. We also go to commercial mid-beatdown. What a mess this was.
• Rating: *1/2
Sting vs. (c) Barry Windham (w/JJ Dillon) – NWA US Heavyweight Title
Quick offense from Sting to get us started. That leads to the predictable Windham retreat just a few minutes in. Sting keeps the momentum going and Windham has no counter. That is, until Sting misses the elbow drop.
Now we have Windham on the attack as he tosses Sting to the outside. Windham brings Sting back inside with a suplex as Windham yells at John Ayers ringside. Sting desperately goes for the small package but only gets a two. Windham then posts himself and Sting finishes that off by sending him to the outside.
Windham back inside and busted wide open. Hopefully the Georgia Athletic Commission doesn’t stop this match. Maybe they aren’t morons like the Maryland one. Sting with the back rake and now he’s kicking Windham’s ass. However, Windham is back, and we’re going back and forth.
Figure Four time as Windham uses the ropes for leverage. He also gets help from Dillon, who has been surprisingly quiet in this match. Tommy Young forces the break and Sting’s knee is in bad shape. We get to THE CLAW, which is locked on Sting’s boob and not his head. That’s a positive. Sting gets out of it and we work our way to the inevitable ref bump.
Stinger Splash and he locks in the Scorpion Death Lock. Dillon gets in with a chair but Sting cleans his clock. Windham grabs the chair and whacks Sting with it. Young is finally back and he counts, but BIG JOHN AYERS is in the ring to stop the count. He explains that Windham used the chair and Young believes him, thus giving us a DQ finish at 21:14. Crowd goes crazy for this and then Ayers picks up Dillon and gives him a stern talking to in the corner.
Just like every big match during this time period for JCP, the finish overshadows the quality of the match. It was very good.
Rating: ***3/4
Blake’s Clash of the Champions III Awards
- Best Match: Brad Armstrong vs. Mike Rotunda
- Clash of the Champions III MVP: Brad Armstrong
- Overall Clash of the Champions III Rating: 7.0/10
- Thoughts: Aside from the Dusty pinning a guy that wasn’t in the match and the Russian Chain aftermath, this was an entertaining show. The Armstrong/Rotundo opener is a hidden gem, and the main event was great until the finish. But all the head-scratching moves would catch up with JCP, and we’ll find out what that meant from the company’s future when we get to the next show.
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