Clash of the Champions VI "Ragin' Cajun" ~ 4/2/1989

The following is a review of Clash of the Champions VI "Ragin' Cajun," which took place at the Superdome in New Orleans, LA, on April 2, 1989. Dave Meltzer's star ratings for each match are listed.

◾"The Samoan Swat Team" (Fatu & Samu) w/Paul E. Dangerously defeated "The Midnight Express" (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) w/Jim Cornette in 20:32 = ***
This was a very good opening bout, though twenty minutes was a bit long. "SST" was just coming together as a team, but were very athletic for their size. "MX" were always high quality hands. The elements of Paulie and "Corny" outside the ring only added to the overall product.
◾The Great Muta w/Gary Hart defeated Steven Casey in 8:11 = ***1/4
Muta was still cutting his teeth in WCW. Later in the year, he and Sting would engage in a tremendous feud that would be integrated into the famed Ric Flair-Terry Funk rivalry. Muta was destined for great things and you could tell that early in '89. Casey was a good hand, if not spectacular. But, Muta could go with anyone.
◾The Junkyard Dog vs. Butch Reed w/Hiro Matsuda in 9:56 = -*
This match was about nine minutes too long. LOL. JYD was awful at this point. Reed was still a quality hand and proved it within the "Doom" combination he formed with Ron Simmons later on. No one was helping the Dog at that point. Horrible. Negative one star is generous.
◾Bob Orton, Jr. w/Gary Hart defeated Dick Murdoch in 9:45 = 1/2*
Honestly, both of these men will go down as hall of fame worthy competitors, but both were past their primes at this point. If the match had occurred five or ten years prior, it would have been a barn-burner.
◾NWA World Tag Team Championship ~ "The Varsity Club" (Mike Rotunda & Steve "Dr. Death" Williams) w/Kevin Sullivan defeated "The Road Warriors" (Road Warrior Animal & Road Warrior Hawk) (c) w/Paul Ellering to capture the titles in 11:40 = ***1/4
I always loved "The Varsity Club" gimmick, although I never really understood Sullivan's involvement with it. It didn't fit him, but every other star who joined the group at various points (Rotunda, Rick Steiner, "Dr. Death," and Dan Spivey) worked. This was the match where Referee Teddy Long screwed Animal & Hawk out of the titles with a fast-count after he got ticked at Hawk for shoving him into the corner. Long then became a manager and his vocal ability and natural charisma came into play. As a fan, I was against the Warriors dropping the straps, but I get the booking now. Great match and really good feud. It also brought "LOD" back into a babyface role, which is where they worked best in WCW.
◾Ranger Ross defeated The Iron Sheik w/Rip Morgan by disqualification in 1:56 = -1/2*
Sheik was WELL past his prime in this one. Ranger Ross was not a solid hand in my book, which only made this worse. Mercifully, it was over fairly quickly.
◾NWA United States Tag Team Championship ~ Eddie Gilbert & Rick Steiner (c) w/Missy Hyatt defeated "The Varsity Club" (Danny Spivey & Kevin Sullivan) in 3:51 = *3/4
This one really was over before it had a good chance to begin. The other (and I would argue weaker) half of "VC" were the challengers here. The champions, Gilbert and Steiner, had worked together for years in the UWF, so they were a pretty solid team. Again, the match never took off and was short due to the time allotted for the main event.
◾NWA World Heavyweight Championship ~ Two-Out-of-Three Falls ~ Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat (c) defeated "Nature Boy" Ric Flair two falls to one in 55:49 = *****
There is no question that this was a match for the ages. The crowd was into it. The commentators--Jim Ross and Terry Funk--were into it. It still stands as my all-time favorite pro wrestling match, even though Flair lost. LOL. There were no flaws. Not only did Flair and Steamboat put on the finest one-on-one bouts the world has ever seen, they were at their absolute best in this 1989 series. This match was 56 minutes of "balls to the wall" action. There were almost no real rest holds. The pacing of the match was perfect. The story told was brilliant, and the controversial ending, which saw Flair's shoulders counted out in the third fall though his foot clearly was underneath the ropes, allowed for the final battle in this storied 1989 trilogy to take place. Phenomenal match that will stand the test of time and eternity.

After the TBS broadcast concluded, there were two other dark matches that were seen live in the arena:

Sting successfully defended the WCW World Television Championship against Rip Morgan

Lex Luger successfully defended the WCW United States Championship against Jack Victory

These matches were aired on the next WCW Saturday Night program.

Meltzer did not rate them, but it wouldn't have mattered. Essentially, they were duds, simply because they followed the Steamboat-Flair instant classic.

All in all, the event delivered in the major matches advertised, but fell short in the undercard. However, 1989 ended up being a watershed year for WCW. For my money, it was the company's finest, even eclipsing the "nWo" prime years of 1996 and '97.