At the 1994 Slamboree event, Rude had been scheduled to defend against Sting in a return match. However, due to the nature of Rude's win (and in reality because of his injury) WCW Commissioner Nick Bockwinkel declared Rude's win void and returned the title to Sting. However, Sting immediately vacated the title, claiming that the fans had come to the event to see him win the title in the ring and they deserved to see a championship match. Therefore, a match for the then-vacant championship was held later that night, in which Sting defeated Big Van Vader to begin a second title reign. The title last changed hands at the Clash of the Champions XXVII event in 1994. The angle matched Sting against Flair, who was now the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, in a championship unification match as a way of eliminate the WCW International title. Flair would win the match, unifying both championships and ending the existence of the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship.