WCW Clash of the Champions VII: Guts and Glory

Date: June 14, 1989

Location: Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Announcers: Bob Caudle & Jim Ross  

The Setup

With Ric Flair on the shelf in storyline after Terry Funk attacked him in Nashville, Terry Funk was the de facto top guy in the company since they were building him up for Flair. Here you have Funk headlining the show against the former NWA champion, Ricky Steamboat. 

The Business

They packed the sweltering building with 3,100 Marines. The show posted a 3.8 cable rating on TBS, marking the lowest Clash rating to date. Three tag title tournament matches weren’t a huge draw for summer viewers; obviously, Funk and Steamboat didn’t bring them in, either. The match made sense in that it was two guys at the top of the card, but there was also absolutely zero storyline reason for this match to be taking place. Steamboat couldn’t reasonably be the one to get revenge for Flair since they had just come off their program, and the two had no issues. 

The Results

NWA World Tag Team Title Tournament Semi-Final Match: The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin & Michael Hayes) def. The Dynamic Dudes (Johnny Ace & Shane Douglas) in 7:05 *3/4

Ranger Ross def. The Terrorist in 1:25 NR

The Ding Dongs def. Cougar Jay & George South in 3:36 DUD 

NWA World Tag Team Title Tournament Semi-Final Match: The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) def. The Samoan Swat Team (Fatu & Samu) in 6:22 **1/4

Steve Williams vs. Terry Gordy ended in a Double Count-Out in 6:35 **3/4 

Norman the Lunatic def. Mike Justice in 0:47

The Varsity Club (Kevin Sullivan & Mike Rotunda) def. The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner) in 8:36 ***

NWA World Television Title: Sting (C) def. Bill Irwin in 3:32 *1/2 

NWA World Tag Team Title Tournament Final Match: The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin & Michael Hayes) def. The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) in 9:11 **1/4

Ricky Steamboat def. Terry Funk by Disqualification in 12:52 ***3/4

Notable Happenings

Lex Luger turned heel after the main event and initially made the save for Steamboat. He gave him a nasty-looking clothesline, then continued the beatdown. Everything was well done, and it was a really strong angle. 

Flair was interviewed from his home in a Lakers Starter Jacket, saying he would decide whether or not to continue his career on July 1st. Flair was playing it straight and was really reserved to make it more serious. The problem was that the interview was too long and too bland to sell the Funk match effectively. 

Jimmy Garvin officially stepped in as an active member of the Freebirds alongside Michael Hayes for the tag team tournament.  They won the belts when Gordy powerbombed Bobby Eaton behind the ref’s back. 

Eddie Gilbert went to throw a fireball at the Great Muta, and Gary Hart pushed Cougar Jay in front, so he caught the fireball, and they played it like Jay was badly burned. It looked tremendous. 

Jim Herd’s brainchild, The Ding Dongs, made their televised debut. They wore bells, rang a bell, and had bells falling off their gear—just embarrassingly bad stuff. 

Mike Rotunda suplexed Scott Steiner onto a chair behind the ref’s back to get the Varsity Club win. That set up their PPV match at the Bash. 

The LOD interfered in the opener, costing the Samoans the match. Paul E blasted Cornette with a tennis racket before the tag finals. All of this was to set up War Games at the Bash. Everything came off so well because the crowd was incredible. 

Norman made his TV in-ring debut. He looked strong. 

The Best, The Worst, The Underrated 

Best: The Luger heel turn was fucking phenomenal on all levels. 

Worst: The Ding Dongs, and it wasn’t close. 

Underrated: Eddie throwing the fire at Cougar Jay. It looked incredible, but the Luger turn is so much more remembered from this show. 

Backstage Notes

The live broadcast emanated directly from the Ritz-Epps Fitness Center at Fort Bragg, featuring a heavy patriotic presentation tailored to the military personnel in attendance.  The building had no AC, and people were drenched in sweat all night, yet they remained hot. 

Terry Gordy worked the first round of the tournament with Michael Hayes, but Jimmy Garvin took the spot.

Sting was originally slated to face Funk, but supposedly did not want to do the job in the main event. 

Rating: 7.0/10

This may seem high because it’s not a great wrestling show, but the action is pretty good, there are some really strong angles, and the show is a breeze to get through, outside of the Flair interview. The crowd helped a ton. 

The Video