5 Forgotten Gems From Classic WCW
3. Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham (c) Vs. Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas – Clash Of The Champions XXI (NWA/WCW Tag Titles)
With the unified NWA/WCW World Tag Team Titles at stake, the match-up of Windham/Rhodes against Steamboat/Douglas unusually pitted the two babyface teams against each other in this contest, splitting the crowd from the outset.
However, the non-stop action and frequent tags kept the crowd hooked, with each man displaying great cardiovascular conditioning throughout.
What’s more, Dustin Rhodes had previously been tagging with Steamboat a year prior, event winning the Tag Titles together in late '91; leading to friction between Windham and Rhodes after Rhodes refused to capitalise on an inadvertent groin shot to Steamboat.
The background of the Rhodes/Steamboat affiliation was the story of the match and played a key part in the overall narrative. The match would get increasingly heated as the bout wore on, before culminating in a great finish and an even better post-match angle.
Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura on hand at the commentary table adds another level of brilliance to this bout; providing the perfect soundtrack to some great old-school tag-team wrestling.