[1997-01-21-WCW-Clash of the Champions XXXIV] Chris Benoit vs Kevin Sullivan (Falls Count Anywhere)

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

"The first kickout we've ever seen from a bathroom!" -- Tony Schiavone

 

Sullivan doesn't even want to waste time in the ring. He wants to go in the crowd right away. Bobby Eaton is working security! Dusty's use of the term "domestic disturbance" cracks me up. Chaotic scene with all the fans getting involved. Benoit takes a frightening bump down the steps of the building. This is a really good time capsule for seeing how excited WCW fans were at this point in time, as much as it is a match worth watching for its own merits and flaws. Woman smacks Sullivan with a chair, leaving Benoit to cover Sullivan for the win.

[ajtroma]

Wasn't there another one of these matches on a Nitro just before this one? I seem to remember there being 3.

[Loss]

Yes, we ended up cutting the Nitro one.

[Childs]

I saw no good reason for them to be running this match seven months after the superior version at the Bash. Totally unmemorable other than Benoit's bump down the stairs.

[soup23]

I fully accept that the Bash is way better but this was loads of fun to and Benoit's bump into the heat unit in the bathroom and down the stairs was sick. You also get the greatness of Eaton separating them. This felt definitive and should have been the end of it.

 

I also am usually immune to this but Woman and Benoit coming out int he beginning really creeped me out.

[goodhelmet]

This is all about the crowd. I try to eliminate as much Benoit as possible from the yearbooks but I thought the crowd made the segment worth viewing. It totally captures the insanity of Monday Night War era crowds. The same can be said for the Chicana-Metal matches that appear later on the set.

[Migs]

I also am usually immune to this but Woman and Benoit coming out int he beginning really creeped me out.

I felt the same way watching a match recently where Benoit nails Stephanie McMahon. Seeing him hit a woman just felt really... dark.

[Zenjo]

Given the location it was surprising how little toilet humour there was. Would've been different on ECW or WWF for sure, but TNT was supposed to be more family friendly.

[Kevin Ridge]

Sullivan wants to start things outside the ring and Benoit is game. I can only imagine if some fan was taking a legit number two and being in the background as they fight in the bathroom. Woman clocks Sullivan with a wooden chair leading to Benoit win. Benoit gets his own shot in after. Them lying around in the bathroom could not have been fun.

[Robert S]

I can only imagine if some fan was taking a legit number two and being in the background as they fight in the bathroom.

I assume that they cleared the bathroom before the match as I would guess that they planned to fight there beforehand (which might not be the case for the Bash one).

[El-P]

 

I can only imagine if some fan was taking a legit number two and being in the background as they fight in the bathroom.

I assume that they cleared the bathroom before the match as I would guess that they planned to fight there beforehand (which might not be the case for the Bash one).

 

 

Hopefully, because it got cringeworthy at times. Especially Randy Anderson one feet in the urinal.

 

Never gets old with me, this feud was gold (of course there's a creepy factor now watching it). Say what you want, but Sullivan is the one who made Benoit seem important in WCW in the first place, and he put him over like no one else. Hell, he even put over Nancy here. The balsa wood chairs were mocked back in the days, but now it doesn't seem like such a bad idea.

[PeteF3]

Good match but felt derivative of the GAB, which had an even hotter crowd. I enjoyed this but I can't believe they dragged this thing all the way out to Bash at the Beach.

[drew wardlaw]

Oh man Beautiful Bobby working security! Totally riding the GAB train but that didn't take too much away from the match. Still a fun match and Benoit going down the stairs was the craziest spot of their whole series I'd say.

[BruiserBrody]

I wish they hadn't done the exact same match the night before on Nitro. The chair shot that finished things was pretty weak too.

 

At least they brought Jackie in to add a new twist to the angle the following Monday.

[KB8]

This was probably a bit too on the nose that they were trying to capture that Great American Bash lightning in the bottle, because they headed for the bathrooms straight away, but at the same time they worked a great little seven minute potatofest. They actually wrestle most of this IN the bathroom this time, rather than doing a brief pit stop there before taking the fight elsewhere ala the GAB. Benoit flies into a radiator and hand dryer, Sullivan gets conked with a bin and chucked into a cubicle, the referee ends up in a urinal. On their way back to the ring Sullivan absolutely heaves Benoit down the stairs and Benoit takes a fucking bonkers bump down about forty stairs. Finish was maybe a wee bit daft but post-match Benoit BLASTS Sullivan with a folding patio chair. I'll be honest, I could watch these two potato each other for days (although yeah, there's a sort of creepiness to the Benoit/Nancy stuff). 
 

[dawho5]

Bobby Eaton working security and the stairs bump were great.  The rest (and the Nitro match the previous night) were clearly trying to recapture the craziness of the 96 version.  I get that the live crowd ate it up at the time, but Sullivan had to know this would come off as a lesser version of that first one.