NWA Clash of the Champions VIII: Fall Brawl

Date: September 12, 1989

Location: Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, South Carolina  

Announcers: Jim Ross and Jim Cornette  

The Setup

The main event of this Clash was built off the closing events of July’s Great American Bash, when Ric Flair and Sting brawled with Terry Funk and the Great Muta to close the show. Lex Luger was also slated ro defend the US title against Tommy Rich, and the Freebirds faced the Steiners in a tag title match, neither of which was a program.

The Business

Jason Campbell has the show with 2,600 in the building at the University of South Carolina campus. The show did a 4.7 TV rating, the highest since the third Clash almost a year ago to the day of this show. This event would have also been the highest Clash rating to this point without a title match of any kind in the main event, so Funk vs. Flair was getting some attention.

The Results

The Road Warriors (Road Warrior Animal & Road Warrior Hawk) def. The Samoan Swat Team (Fatu & Samu) in 6:46 ***

The Z-Man def. The Cuban Assassin in 3:36 *1/4

Sid Vicious def. Ranger Ross in 1:08 NR

NWA World Tag Team Championship: The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin & Michael Hayes) (C) def. The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner) in 10:27 ***1/2

Flyin’ Brian def. Norman The Lunatic in 3:38 **3/4

Steve Williams def. Mike Rotunda in 7:04 **1/4

NWA United States Heavyweight Championship: Lex Luger (C) def. Tommy Rich in 10:36 ****

Ric Flair & Sting def. The J-Tex Corporation (Dick Slater & The Great Muta) by DQ in 19:16 ***1/2

Notable Happenings

Terry Funk was legit injured and had to be pulled from the main event, so they showed a video of him in the hospital with his arm bandaged up so that fans knew it was real. Funk blamed the injury on Ric Flair for storyline purposes, but his body was breaking down badly during this run. To keep the heat on the feud, Funk ran down after the match and tried to suffocate Flair with a plastic bag, drawing the ire of many viewers who called into TBS to complain. Meanwhile, a young John Moxley was captivated.

South Carolina Governor Carroll Campbell officially declared September 12 as “Ric Flair Day” during a pre-taped ceremony. Carroll appeared to be a big wrestling fan, and actually started listing Ric Flair’s Mid-Atlantic titles during his proclamation.

 Tom Zenk made his debut under the “Z-Man” moniker and had the least impressive match on the card with Fidel Sierra.

They did an angle where Missy Hyatt and Woman went shopping with Rick Steiner’s credit card, setting up the former’s heel turn, as she seemed all too happy to spend Rick’s money. They did a finish where Woman tripped Scott Steiner’s leg while he came off the ropes, but the cameras missed the trip, and the Steiners argued about whether it was Missy or Woman. It wasn’t long before Woman turned, and I really liked this angle as a kickstart.

Lex Luger continued his great heel run in 1989, delivering the best match of the show against a very in-shape and motivated Tommy Rich. South Carolina was also a great place to have this match because they loved Tommy in the South.

The Best, The Worst, The Underrated

The Best: Terry Funk, even while far too injured to compete, was fucking phenomenal on this show. The promo from the hospital was the best on the show, and people still remember the angle almost forty years later.

The Worst: Z-Man. Going by that name and not being called Tom Zenk was lame, and the match was the worst on the show. All of this wasn’t the best way to make a big debut.

The Underrated: Pillman vs. Norman. Harckening back to their Stampede days, these two men had a dynamite match. I only wish they got more time, but Pillman worked so incredibly well with the much bigger (former) Makhan Singh.

Backstage Notes

 Jim Cornette began transitioning into a regular television commentary role alongside Jim Ross, and the two were excellent on this show.

Rating: 9.0/10.0

I love this Clash. There was a ton of really good wrestling on this show, and the closing angle was one for the ages. Luger-Rich overdelivered, as did Norman-Pillman, and the crowd was hot for this show throughout.

The Video