[1995-08-04-WCW-Clash of the Champions XXXI] Vader vs Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (Handicap)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Last few minutes. I always thought the idea of this match was stupid, because either guy should have been a formidable singles opponent for Vader without a partner. Pretty decent action, but the booking is hard to look past. Vader gets the win after powerbombing Arn. After the match, Flair blames Arn for the loss to start THAT feud. Flair/Arn was hyped as a big deal, but should have been hyped more as earth-shattering considering their history.

[Tim Evans]

Heenan's reaction to the breakup reminds me of Jesse's reaction to the Hollywood Blondes breakup. This match made the horsemen look weak. Hogan can beat Vader by himself but they can't? Weak

[El-P]

Good match, but yeah, it made them look weak. And THAT feud would end up being very disapointing with THAT match.

[PeteF3]

Good action, booking flaws aside, but the post-match angle is weak sauce. They couldn't dream anything else up but to re-do Bash at the Beach practically to the letter?

[BruiserBrody]

I laughed at the promo earlier in the night where Flair all but said AA would do all the work and Flair would swoop in for the glory and AA was ok with all this.

 

Sad we never saw a Vader vs Giant match that the DOD segment teased

[cheapshot]

This should be 8/6 not 8/4.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Vader vs Ric Flair & Arn Anderson - WCW Clash of the Champions August 1995

One of the biggest What Ifs thats never really explored is what if Vader does not get into the fight with Mr. Wonderful and Vader's "babyface" run was allowed to play out. Part of the reason, I dont think it is discussed is because it feels so natural. The Nitro 6 of Hogan, Savage, Sting, Flair, Luger and Luger is just a perfect 6-pack that adding Vader just makes it feel off-kilter. If Vader doesnt go to WWF, with the loss of Nash & Hall and Bret's sabbatical the WWF would feel so thin. It just feels right. I think that's why it is not explored. Just to start on the interesting ramifications on the WWF as well. Vader was naturally positioned as their #1 heel in the Summer. No Vader, means it is most likely that rush back Sid, I would think, who was back by July. There is the outside shot of a stronger Goldust push as well. As for WCW, Vader's "turn" seems off, you already have Hogan, Savage and Sting. He will be battling it out with Sting for the #3 spot, you have Giant and Flair as your heels. It is unclear if they knew Luger was coming in or not at this point. The reason I started to put "babyface" and "turn" in quotes is because the post-match promo. Thats when the light bulb went off. He was in the Luger role. Or to be more accurate, Luger got slotted into Vader's role. This was a tweener where the babyfaces are questioning is he Dungeon 4 Life or is Hulkamania Ride or Die. I think you can basically assume everything Luger does until about Halloween Havoc maybe even later is what Vader wouldve been slotted to do. This of course means we were potentially robbed of Vader vs Savage at Halloween Havoc, which is a massive bummer. Then question becomes what the hell is Luger supposed to do if Vader stays. He probably would have been more involved with Sting & Flair instead of Hogan & Dungeon. My final thought on this is that Vader was 100% ready to be a babyface. The Daytona crowd was pop pop popping for him. They were ready to watch Vader whup some heel ass. My only concern is how many heels were there for him to whip. Obviously, doing the inverse of Starrcade 1993 would be fun. Vader/Giant would be interesting as a big man showdown but after that. Who is left? I guess maybe Luger?!? Anyways, a fun thought experiment. 

The WCW Heels of 1995 EXPLODE~! After being aligned as Triangle of Terror, Hogan put Vader to bed at Bash at the Beach 1995 and WCW looked to turn Vader babyface. Prior to this match, Hulk Hogan visited the Dungeon of Doom, which seemed to be located in Florida and based on what we know about Florida today that checks out.  This is not the very famous "It's Not Hot" vignette, I had not seen this one before. Hogan Cosmo Kramer's his way into Dungeon interrupting Sullivan and Iaukea's nonsense only for Giant to show up and tear off Hogan's cross...because you know he is Andre's son. Giant and the Dungeon (Kamala, Shark & Zodiac) beat him down until Vader saves. Vader & Giant staredown is pretty cool. After this match, Hogan parades out with Savage & Sting to declare war on Dungeon of Doom, but he wants to know where Vader stands. Vader wants to kick some Dungeon ass, but nobody tells him what time it is. LOL Which I think is a very comical way of saying he is an independent man, who dont need know Hulk Hogan telling him what to do. Finger snaps in a Z Formation. 

Onto this match, was I ever going to get there? This match is mostly a backdrop to the Flair/AA feud to set up the Fall Brawl which ultimately sets up the reformation of the Horsemen at Halloween Havoc and the turn on Sting. The story is that Flair is going to let AA take the lead and he is going to pick the Enforcer's scraps. Arn with some nice heavy blows to the gut. Vader throws those swinging bearpaws in typical Vader fashion. Vader is kicking ass, but Arn does get the Spinebuster. Just as promised The Enforcer has gotten the Big Man down and it is time for Flair to finish the job, but Flair is too cocky and plays with his food. Then in the ultimate rite of 80s/90s babyface passage Vader gets to Press Slam Ric Flair, which pops me huge. Flair Flip stiff Vader clothesline. The inverse of Starrcade would have been a lot of fun. Arn continues to save Flair with chop blocks, DDT and multiple saves. Flair does get the Figure-4, but is press slammed off the top. Massive Top Rope Splash from Vader! Vader trucks Flair with a Clothesline and a powerbomb polishes off Anderson. There is quarreling between Flair & Anderson that looks ready to explode. 

Overall, it is more of a character piece, the primary objective is to set up Flair & Double A for Fall Brawl, but also this was Vader's coming out party as a babyface. It was effective on both levels. *** 1/4