The Champions Matches’ 7 Best WCW Clash

Sting vs. Ric Aptitude – Conflict 1 (March 1988)

This was on the very first version of the occasion and remains to be arguably essentially the most well-known of all of the Conflict matches. Sting was a newcomer on the time and went toe to toe with Aptitude, already an icon on the ripe outdated age of 39. The 2 had a 45 minute time restrict draw that put Sting on the map as a most important occasion participant transferring ahead. It was additionally a greater match than something WWE offered on WrestleMania IV, an occasion that aired face to face with the Conflict.

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Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Aptitude – Conflict 6 (March 1989)

Simply because the 12 months earlier than, this Conflict as soon as once more went face to face with WrestleMania. On this night time, Ricky Steamboat defended the NWA World Championship towards Ric Aptitude in a finest two out of three falls match within the Louisiana Superdome.

Aptitude and Steamboat had a legendary trilogy of matches in 1989, with the opposite two occuring at WrestleWar and ChiTown Rumble. Nonetheless, many really feel their match at Conflict 6 is the very best of the trilogy. Watch it and see for your self.

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Ricky Steamboat vs. Terry Funk – Conflict 7 (June 1989)

1989 was stuffed with nice matches from three males specifically: Ric Aptitude, Ricky Steamboat, and Terry Funk. Conflict 7 was offered from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, primarily a Tribute to the Troops earlier than they existed. Steamboat and Funk are implausible right here, and whereas this match typically will get misplaced because it occurred between the final match on our record and the subsequent, it is positively price a watch (or rewatch) if you wish to have your thoughts blown. Youthful followers who solely noticed Funk on the tail finish of his profession can be shell-shocked once they see what a distinct degree the Funker was working on on the finish of the 1980s.

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Terry Funk vs. Ric Aptitude – Conflict 9 (November 1989)

Are we noticing a pattern right here? Yep, extra Ric Aptitude, and to be sincere, Aptitude in 1989 is fairly robust to beat. At Conflict 9, he and Terry Funk wrestled an iconic “I Give up Match” that was set-up by a memorable angle on the finish of the Aptitude/Steamboat match at WrestleWar earlier within the 12 months. That night time, Funk was a visitor choose for the match and attacked Aptitude afterward, piledriving him via a desk at ringside (throughout an period the place that form of factor simply did not occur).

Their match at Conflict 9 is amongst each males’s biggest matches ever. Funk was all the time one of many biggest brawlers in wrestling, and that actually stands out right here. Followers took discover – the occasion drew a 4.9 cable tv score on TBS, the very best a Conflict had carried out because the third version.

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Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko vs. Dustin Rhodes & Ricky Steamboat – Conflict 17 (November 1991)

Typically folks neglect what a terrific tag workforce wrestler Dustin Rhodes was. On an version of my Prime Rope Nation podcast final 12 months, we mentioned the place Rhodes ranks within the pantheon of biggest tag workforce specialists. His match alongside Ricky Steamboat right here at Conflict 17 is bound some nice supporting proof. Changing Barry Windham, Steamboat was a thriller accomplice on this night time, and the truth that he was returning to the corporate contemporary off of his second WWE run made this fairly the memorable second.

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Sting vs. Rick Impolite – Conflict 21 (November 1992)

Sting and “Ravishing” Rick Impolite go face to face in a semifinals match within the King of Cable match. For pretty much as good as Impolite was throughout his WWE run within the late 1980s and early 1990s, his subsequent run with WCW could have been even higher. He and Sting had nice chemistry collectively, and that is one in all their finest matches. The 2 had additionally wrestled a 12 months earlier at Conflict 17, however that bout solely went Four minutes and 50 seconds. Try their Conflict 21 match instantly.

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Steve Austin vs. Ricky Steamboat – Conflict 28 (August 1994)

Austin and Steamboat had nice chemistry collectively and a beautiful sequence of matches. Some have mentioned Austin was Steamboat’s finest opponent of the 1990s. Their match at Conflict 28, which was Steamboat’s final televised match of his profession till a quick comeback within the late 2000s, stands the take a look at of time as one in all their finest.

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Closing Notes

There have been clearly some superb matches left off of this, but it surely’s arduous to condense such a listing into simply seven bouts. Maybe a greater title for this might be my private favourite Conflict of the Champions matches reasonably than the “finest.”

Even so, in equity, listed here are a number of the different matches that I thought-about for this record:

• The Midnight Specific vs. The Fantastics – Conflict 1
• The Midnight Specific vs. Ric Aptitude & Barry Windham – Conflict 4
• Ric Aptitude & Sting vs. Dick Slater & Nice Muta – Conflict 8
• Lex Luger vs. Brian Pillman – Conflict 9
• Lex Luger vs. Ric Aptitude – Conflict 12
• Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham vs. Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton – Conflict 19
• Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes vs. Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas – Conflict 21
• Steve Austin & Brian Pillman vs. Ric Aptitude & Arn Anderson – Conflict 23
• Ric Aptitude vs. Sting – Conflict 27
• Ultimo Dragon vs. Dean Malenko – Conflict 34

What did you assume? What are a few of your favourite WCW Conflict of the Champions matches? Let me know by dropping me a line on Twitter @ryandroste.

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