Clash of the Champions XXX — Randy Savage Drops an Elbow on Hulk Hogan and Somehow That's the Medical Plan

Arn Anderson and Johnny B. Badd open the thirtieth Clash by having the kind of competent television match the rest of the show will gradually make look heroic. Badd controls early with speed, a plancha and the left hand, while Arn keeps turning small mistakes into positional advantages. Colonel Parker and Meng provide the expected interference without swallowing the match. Badd finally chases Parker around ringside after knocking Arn to the floor, walks back into the ring and gets caught by the DDT. It is not complicated, but it is cleanly constructed and gives Arn exactly the sort of opportunistic title defense his character should have.

Bobby Eaton is the ideal opponent for a nineteen-year-old Alex Wright because every spectacular thing Wright tries has an experienced adult standing underneath it. Wright works the arm, flips out of danger and gradually adds the aerial offense WCW wants viewers to associate with him. Eaton answers with perfect timing, a sharp neckbreaker and the Alabama Jam, which Wright survives to an unexpectedly strong reaction. A springboard crossbody finishes it. The match never pretends Wright is fully formed; instead it shows how much easier a prospect looks when the veteran across from him can make every transition feel natural. Eaton loses and still does most of the teaching.

Harlem Heat are still becoming Harlem Heat, and this title defense catches them somewhere between raw power team and future institution. Booker T already moves with a different snap than everyone else, Stevie Ray provides the heavy control, and Sister Sherri gives the champions a center of gravity. Stars & Stripes get enough early offense to make the crowd believe the titles might swing back, but Bagwell becomes the isolated man and the match settles into a familiar rhythm. Sherri accidentally hits Booker with the shoe, only for Stevie to reverse Bagwell's roll-up and save the belts. Functional, occasionally lively and not yet special.

Sting can make wrestling a refrigerator feel exciting for five minutes, and Avalanche is at least willing to be a refrigerator that moves. The basic story is effective: Sting tries to slam the giant too early, gets crushed, survives the power offense and then strings together enough Stinger Splashes to finally put Avalanche on his back. The real story is the referee. Guardian Angel refuses to recognize the submission, Nick Patrick runs out to call it, and Angel attacks Sting afterward before announcing his return to the Big Bubba Rogers identity. The match is merely a bridge. The character turn is the actual destination.

There are bad wrestling ideas, and then there is Randy Savage deciding the correct medical treatment for an unconscious Hulk Hogan is the flying elbow. The astonishing thing is that the spot makes internal Hogan sense: finishers wake him up. Hogan rises, the match continues and nobody behaves as though one partner just dropped his career-defining move on the other. Savage then spends the heat segment selling for Sullivan and Butcher before Hogan handles the comeback. The legdrop wins it. Vader attacks afterward, powerbombs Hogan and watches him pop right back up. WCW spends one segment making Savage subordinate and Vader's finisher decorative.