NWA Clash of the Champions I Review

NWA Clash of the Champions I Review
March 22, 2014 (Edited February 1, 2026)
By Ryan Porzl

Event: Clash of the Champions I
Tagline: None
Date: March 27, 1988
Location: Greensboro, North Carolina
Live or Tape: Live
Arena: Greensboro Coliseum
Attendance: 6,000
Announcers: Tony Schiavone and Jim Ross
Interviewers: Bob Caudle
Other: None
Broadcast: TBS

The history of the Clash of the Champions is very well documented but in case people don't know then here's the background. So after getting his ass kicked the last two big events, Jim Crockett decided to turn the tables around. With Wrestlemania IV coming up, Crockett decided to play the WWF's game by running a show the same day with the Clash of the Champions. Just as the WWF did with the Royal Rumble, Clash would be a free event on TV as it aired on TBS in an attempt to take the WWF's audience. In the end, Clash got a very good rating and it established a new star for the NWA in Sting but it's measure of success is some revisionist history. For one thing, a lot of newsletters and internet fans credit it as a big success because the buyrate for Wrestlemania IV was lower than the 1987 Survivor Series. However, other things were probably the reason for that as Survivor Series was a unique concept and was hyped as the first confrontation between Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan since Wrestlemania III. It should point out that Survivor Series drew a 7.0 while no other Survivor Series came close to that buyrate with 1989 being the second highest at 3.3. While Clash did take wrestling fans away, it probably wasn't the biggest reason.

Meanwhile, attendance was a disaster as they only drew 6,000 fans in the Greensboro Coliseum which was the same building they drew 16,000 fans only 16 months earlier at Starrcade 1986. This time, there wasn't an excuse ready to go as this wasn't held outside the Carolinas and Georgia like Starrcade '87 or held in the WWF's main territory like Bunkhouse Stampede '88. This was right in the heart of Jim Crockett Promotions. Fans were likely disgruntled over being snubbed of the 2 PPVs and/or were staying at home watching Wrestlemania. Finally, the event was unable to stop the bleeding. It was a nice concept but it came six months too late.

Also, Clash of the Champions were like the NWA's version of Saturday Night's Main Event as it was a special that aired a few times a year with PPV quality matches for free on TV.

We start with the opening and then an awesome intro of the title belts getting hit by lightning bolts. The theme song is epic and has that feel that you would expect from a show called “Clash of the Champions”. It also has a Sonic the Hedgehog feel as well.

We start with Tony Schiavone and Bob Caudle on a balcony to open the show. They bring the NWA Board of Directors deciding on the situation involving Dusty Rhodes, Magnum TA, and Jim Crockett the previous day on TV. The situation there was Tully Blanchard confronting and attacking Magnum on TV which prompted Rhodes to come out with a baseball bat. During the melee, Rhodes accidentally hit Crockett with the bat which would result in him later being suspended and stripped of the United States Title.

Jim Ross is at ringside and tells us the World TV Title will start things off.

NWA World Television Championship/College Rules: Mike Rotunda (c) (w/Kevin Sullivan) vs. Jimmy Garvin (w/Precious)- This is under college rules where there are three rounds of five minutes with 30 second rest periods and the match ends with a one count. Rotunda won the TV Title from Nikita Koloff back on January 26th.

Round 1: They circle and tie up to start with Garvin muscling Rotunda to the ropes and breaks it up. Rotunda grabs the leg and sweeps the other to take Garvin down but can't keep him down. Garvin goes for a takedown but Rotunda gets to the ropes. Another tie up with Rotunda getting an armdrag and Rotunda taunts with jumping jacks. They tie up again with Garvin getting an armdrag and follows with a hip toss and bodyslam to a pop. Rotunda bails to regroup. Back in, they tie up with Garvin getting an overhead wristlock but Rotunda pulls him off with the hair. Rotunda hides in the corner and goes between the ropes as Garvin is pissed and referee Teddy Long has to separate them. Rotunda gets a side headlock and some punches. Garvin reverses a whip to the ropes and catches Rotunda with an elbow to a pop. Garvin goes for a pin but Rotunda immediately kicks out before 1. Another tie up with Garvin getting a side headlock before transitioning to a front facelock but Rotunda makes it to the ropes and corner. Garvin shoves Rotunda during an argument. Garvin muscles Rotunda into the corner but Rotunda gets a cheap shot while the referee tries to separate them. Rotunda gets a hot shot on the ropes and some kicks in the corner. Rotunda whips Garvin to the corner and catches him coming out with a clothesline. Garvin blocks pin attempts and survives the round. Rotunda cheap shots Garvin during the rest period.

Round 2: Rotunda charges at Garvin with a kick and whips him to the corner. Rotunda hits a bodyslam and climbs the top turnbuckle but Garvin stops him and throws him off. Garvin whips Rotunda to the ropes and hits a back body drop. Garvin goes for the brainbuster but Sullivan grabs Precious as she tries to prevent him from interfering on the apron. Garvin goes after Sullivan and works him over which allows Rotunda to get a schoolboy for the win at 1:10 of Round 2. After the match, Garvin hits a shitty brainbuster on Rotunda and goes after Sullivan. Rick Steiner comes in but gets hit with a 2x4 from Precious. She then chokes Sullivan with a coat hanger to a big pop until Garvin pulls her out. What the fuck was that? Not to sound misogynist but how the hell does a 100 something pound woman beat up two men even with weapons? This was stupid as it made the Varsity Club look weak and for what? Did Garvin and Precious really need to get the last laugh?

Thoughts: ** Decent opener. Had some good wrestling and psychology. Rotunda was awesome here being the cheating, piece of shit heel with the hair pulling, closed fist behind the ref's back, and cheap shotting Garvin during the rest period all the while riling Garvin up.
Caudle interviews “Dr. Death” Steve Williams. He talks about Rhodes and doesn't blame him for what happened. He says Rhodes and Magnum TA are very good friends of his. He hopes Sting wins tonight but it doesn't matter because he's putting his name on the dotted line. He says he's back and a bullet that Superman couldn't stop. Not a good promo. Williams was a phenomenal wrestler and athlete but awkward at cutting promos.

NWA United States Tag Team Championship: The Midnight Express (c) (w/Jim Cornette) vs. The Fantastics- The Fantastics were Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton and were a very successful tag team in southern promotions like the UWF and World Class. To say the least, these two teams knew each other extremely well as the Bobby Eaton/Dennis Condrey version of the Midnight Express feuded with the Fantastics from 1984-1985 in the two promotions I just mentioned. Though I'm not sure what was the motivation for hiring the Fantastics (besides the fact they were talented), I'm guessing a big reason was for them to replace the departed Rock n' Roll Express. This is a rematch from March 26^th edition of NWA where The Fantastics beat The Midnights in a non title match.

Big brawl all over ringside to start. Rogers and Lane eventually make it back to the ring with Rogers coming off with a diving punch off the top turnbuckle. Eaton grabs a chair but hit's the ring post. Fulton grabs it and hits Eaton with it. Meanwhile, Lane gets a side headlock but Rogers whips him to the ropes with Lane coming off with a shoulderblock. Lane runs the ropes, Rogers drops down, Lane jumps over, and Rogers catches him with a hip toss. Double team whip to Lane and a double back body drop. Lane bails out as the Fantastics fight with Eaton on the apron before punching him off. More brawling on the outside with Lane whipping Rogers into a chair held by Cornette (in front of the referee). Lane hits Fulton with a chair and Cornette throws one on top of him, all in front of the referee. Everyone gets back in and it's Eaton and Rogers as the legal one. Rogers gets a side headlock and punches but Eaton rakes the eyes. Eaton gets a side headlock but Rogers is able to tag Fulton and whip Eaton to the ropes.

Rogers leapfrogs and Eaton stops before running into Fulton but turns around and gets dropkicked by Rogers into Fulton who gets a bodyslam. Lane comes in but gets stopped by Rogers. The Midnights get whipped into corner and front flip into them with Lane being caught in a tree of woe. Fulton gets Eaton in corner and does the mounted corner punches. Lane and Rogers go at it on the outside until Lane throws Rogers back in. Rogers tries to fight but can't. Tag to Lane as Eaton goes for the whip to the ropes with Rogers reversing but the Midnights hit a high n' low. Lane rubs Rogers face on the canvas and slams him face first on the canvas. Lane hits a superkick. Tag to Eaton who works Rogers in the corner. Fulton comes in but that distracts the ref which allows Cornette to pick the table up and Eaton to whip Rogers into it. Tag to Lane who hits a leg drop and an elbow drop. Lane gets a four legged headbutt.

Rogers shoulderblocks Lane in the stomach but Lane makes the tag to Eaton. Eaton whips Rogers to the ropes and hits a powerslam. Eaton climbs the top rope and hits a diving elbow drop. Tag to Lane who hits a gutwrench suplex and spits on Fulton which brings Fulton in to distract the referee allowing the Midnights to illegally double team. Tag to Eaton and the Midnights hit the Demolition Decapitation. Rogers tries to fight out of the corner but Eaton comes back with a knee to the stomach. Eaton hits the mounted punches in the corner. Tag to Lane who whips Rogers to the ropes but lowers his head and Rogers gets the sunset flip to a good pop but Eaton breaks it up while Fulton is arguing with the ref. Lane hits a superkick and throws Rogers between the ropes and to the outside. Eaton bodyslams Rogers on a table while Fulton argues with the ref. Eaton then hits Rogers with a bulldog on the table.
Fulton goes out to check on Rogers. Lane pulls Rogers back in and hits some punches on the stomach. Lane gets a drop toe hold and holds on which allows Eaton to comes off with an elbow drop. Eaton starts choking Rogers until Rogers starts to fight back. Rogers knocks Lane off and tags Fulton despite Eaton trying to stop him to a big pop but it's a false tag as the ref doesn't see it and won't count it. Fulton has enough of the ref's shit and tosses him over the top rope to another big pop. Fulton now kicks the Midnight's asses. Eaton holds Fulton for Cornette but heel miscommunication sees Cornette hit Eaton with the tennis racket. Fulton nails Cornette. The Fantastics hit the rocket launcher on Eaton supposedly getting the win with a second ref Tommy Young counting to a big pop. But it's a bullshit Dusty finish as the first ref Randy Anderson disqualifies the Fantastics due to Fulton throwing him over the top rope at 10:15. After the match, the Midnight's beatdown the Fantastics with Cornette nailing the two refs and they take turns whipping Fulton with Cornette's belt until Rogers chases them off.

Thoughts: * Ok but a terribly overrated match and at times, a booking mess. Not as good as I remember it. The crowd was hot and it started fine with the brawl but after that, it fell apart. First problem was the ref clearly seeing weapons being used after the bell rung so it should've been a DQ. Second, outside the brawl, the whole match is a long heel beatdown with The Fantastics getting almost nothing in. Third, the finish was garbage as we get a shitty Dusty finish and one that doesn't make sense. Why would Tommy Young count for The Fantastics when Fulton clearly threw Randy Anderson out? He should've signaled the disqualification. I will admit, the mark in me loved when Fulton had enough of the ref and tossed him. This could've been more if more even, a babyface “house of fire” moment, and a better finish. The Fantastics would win the titles the following month and the feud continued into the summer.

Caudle mentions the barbwire being put up for the upcoming match. He then shows us a clip from earlier with Ken Osmond.

Ken Osmond interviews Jim Cornette. Osmond was one of the stars of The New Leave It To Beaver which was airing on TBS at time.

Caudle interviews “Playboy” Gary Hart and “the Latin Heartthrob” Al Perez who were both fresh from World Class. Hart want to make a challenge to Dusty Rhodes and tells him to take Perez seriously. He says Rhodes has to put the belt on the line because Perez is a legit challenger. Perez says when you train as long and hard like him and with the prestige of the United States Title, you need a baseball bat to beat him. He says a gale storm can't stop him and he's coming. Hart says they hope a baseball bat doesn't get legalized since that's the only way to beat Perez. Good promo from both but it meant nothing in the long run since Rhodes was stripped of the title a month later. Shame too since it could've been a good feud.

Frances Crockett (sister of Jim Crockett) gives us the top ten teams in the upcoming Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament.
10. Ivan Koloff and Dick Murdoch
9. Sting & Ron Garvin (the team wouldn't compete)
8. The Varsity Club
7. The Fantastics
6. Barry Windham and Lex Luger (the team wouldn't compete)
5. The Powers of Pain
4. The Midnight Express
3. The Road Warriors
2. Nikita Koloff and Dusty Rhodes (the team wouldn't compete)
1. Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard

Chicago Street Fight/Barbed Wire Match: Dusty Rhodes & The Road Warriors (w/Paul Ellering) vs. Ivan Koloff & The Powers of Pain (w/Paul Jones)- The story here is Koloff and The Powers defeated Rhodes and the Warriors on February 12th for the useless six-man tag team title and prior to that, injured Animal during a bench pressing contest. As a result, Animal is wearing a goalie mask. Rhodes is wearing tights and road warrior face paint.

Brawl to start with Hawk hitting a standing dropkick on Warlord while Animal rakes Barbarian with the wire. Rhodes follows with Koloff. Animal goes out with Barbarian and rams him to the ring post. More fighting and craziness in the ring. Fans love it. Hawk gorilla press slams Koloff and follows with a fist drop. More brawling with Koloff raking Rhodes in the wire until Animal makes the save. Koloff rakes Rhodes again as Barbarian tries to headbutt Animal but that doesn't work due to the mask. Animal headbutts Barbarian. Animal then headbutts Warlord and Koloff. Rhodes hits the jabs and a double punch on Warlord and DDTs Barbarian. Rhodes hits a DDT on Koloff as Hawk comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving forearm. Animal bodyslams Barbarian. Rhodes kicks Barbarian out of the ring and helps Hawk double team Koloff. Animal hits a powerslam as Barbarian climbs the top turnbuckle. Animal goes for the pin but gets up as Barbarian comes off, accidentally hitting Warlord with a diving headbutt. Animal goes for the pin and gets the 3 at 3:39 to a big pop. After the match, we get another heel beatdown with Koloff and The Powers taking the mask off and working over Animal's face until Hawk and Rhodes chase them off.

Thoughts: * Alright for what it was. Not bad but didn't go very long and the barbed wire limited things. This could've been a far better match if it was a street fight with more time. I think I would've preferred the brawling, chairs, and table for this match instead of in the United States Tag Title match. The Powers bailed shortly after this to go to the WWF after refusing to do scaffold matches with the Warriors.

We go to Schiavone and Ross who promote the new show NWA Main Event and preview the rest of the show.

Caudle interviews Nikita Koloff who, I believe, is debuting his flat top hair style. He says he's a new Nikita Koloff. He says he been speaking with children and has a poster out that says “get high on sport, not drugs”. He talks about health and life being important to him which I guess is the reason why he stopped doing steroids. He says when someone like Kevin Sullivan, Dick Murdoch, and Mike Rotunda tries to take his health away, he becomes a fighter. He says Sullivan said he doesn't have a belt but says he doesn't need a belt to be a champion. He doesn't care who is the champion, he will be going after anyone will be the world champion. He brings up Blanchard attacking Magnum and that he and Rhodes will be at the Crockett Cup to defend with pride. Solid promo although I sometimes think Nikita's Russian accent sounds like Cookie Monster.

NWA World Tag Team Championship: Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard (c) (w/JJ Dillon) vs. Barry Windham & Lex Luger- The story here is Luger was a member of the Four Horsemen until quitting the group a few months earlier. Windham and Luger are teaming up largely cause they have a common enemy.

Blanchard and Luger start out with a tie up with Luger shoving Blanchard to a nice pop. Luger gets Blanchard in the corner but Anderson comes in for some illegal double teaming. Luger gets whipped in another corner but rebounds with a clothesline to Blanchard but Anderson ducks it. However, the second attempt doesn't miss as Luger connects on Anderson. Crowd loves it. Luger whips Blanchard to the ropes and hits a powerslam. The fans are hot. Luger applies the human torture rack but Dillon distracts the ref which allows Anderson to come in and kick the knee to break it. Tag to Anderson who goes to work on the leg. Tag to Blanchard who drops a knee on the leg. Blanchard puts Luger's leg on the ropes and hits a seated senton on it. Luger tries to fight back but Blanchard trips him and tags Anderson. Anderson comes in and resumes work on the leg. Anderson goes for a spinning toe hold but Luger kicked him off and into Blanchard which knocked Blanchard off the apron to a pop.

Tags to Blanchard and Windham. Windham cleans house and hits a noggin knocker on Anderson and Blanchard as the fans are going nuts. Windham whips Blanchard to the ropes and comes off the other side with a lariat. Windham hits a knee drop. Windham whips Blanchard to the ropes and hits a powerslam for 2. Windham whips Blanchard to the ropes and connects with the sleeper hold. Blanchard tries to roll out but Windham hold and continues to maintain the hold until going back in the ring. Anderson goes out to help Blanchard. On the apron, Blanchard headbutts Windham's stomach and hits a hangman. We get an interesting bit from JR saying we could be seeing the finals of the upcoming Crockett Cup. Uh, close about 75% right. Blanchard climbs the top turnbuckle but Windham grabs him and tosses him off then punches Anderson off the apron. Anderson tries to tag but the referee Tommy Young won't allow it since it was through the ropes.

Windham whips Blanchard to the ropes and catches him with an abdominal stretch. Dillon distracts the ref which allows Anderson to break the hold with a left punch. Illegal switch as Anderson hits the DDT and pins for 2. Anderson whips Windham to the ropes and catches Windham with a spinebuster for 2 to a big pop. Another pin gets 2. Yet another gets 2. Anderson tries to pin Windham's shoulders to the mat and jumps in the air for leverage but Windham gets his knees up and Anderson lands crotch first on the knees. Tag to Blanchard who stops Windham from tagging out. Punches get 2 for Blanchard. Blanchard whips Windham to the ropes, misses the chop, and Windham comes off with a high crossbody for 2. Blanchard whips Windham to the ropes, drops down on the canvas, Windham jumps over, and collides with Blanchard as he comes off the ropes. Blanchard gets a side headlock but Windham reverses with a head scissor.

Blanchard flips forward into a pin for 2 as Windham bridges over and hits a gutwrench suplex. Tag to Anderson who works over Windham with punches in the corner. Anderson gets an arm wringer and jerks the arm. Anderson gets another arm wringer with Windham doing a front flip bump but Windham kicks Anderson off. Anderson takes Windham down to prevent the tag. Snapmare but the knee drop misses. Both punch each other and collapse. Tag to Blanchard who hits the slingshot suplex but it gets 2 to a big pop. Tag to Anderson and Windham collapses as he hot tags Luger to a huge pop. Luger whips Anderson to the ropes and catches him with an elbow. Luger then punches Blanchard to good measure as he comes in. Luger whips Anderson to the ropes and connects with a clothesline. Luger hits Anderson with another clothesline. Luger works over Blanchard and hits a noggin knocker. Luger gets Anderson up but Anderson knees him in the stomach to come back. Anderson whips Luger to the ropes but Luger comes off with a shoulderblock. Luger tries to come off the ropes but Blanchard catches him with a knee to the back. Luger reverses a whip to the corner and catches Anderson coming out with a powerslam. Anderson headbutts the stomach as all four men are in the ring. As referee Tommy Young is distracted, Dillon jumps on the apron with a chair and holds it for Anderson to throw Luger into but Luger reverses and Anderson runs face first into the chair. Luger covers Anderson for the win and the titles at 9:35 to a huge pop.

Thoughts: ***** Awesome match. You had power, speed, technical wrestling and great action along with a cool finish and a very hot crowd. Everything needed to have a great match. It never slowed down or got boring. Sadly, the Horsemen regained the titles three weeks later when Windham turned on Luger and joined the Horsemen thus bringing the Four Horsemen show into overdrive.

I'm sorry but I need to go on a rant. While most praise the 1988 version of the Horsemen, I've come to hate it and think it was one of the stupidest moves the NWA made that year. I hate that Windham was in the Four Horsemen. Not because he wasn't good enough, far from it as I thought he was too good for them. I'm sorry that I won't stop but I really believe Windham should've gotten a run with the World Title during this period and with him in the Horsemen, I feel his growth was stunted. And for what? To continue to shove a stable that was getting stale down people's throats? I love the Four Horsemen but after 2 years, I think the fans were a little weary of all horsemen, all the time. Previous Horsemen made sense because Flair was the World Champion and the others were either never suited to be world champion (Arn, Blanchard, and Ole) or had potential but were too green (Luger). Windham had eight years in the business and was in his prime. He was fresh, he was talented, and he could go. To make matters worse, it made zero sense. Windham chases Flair through most of 1987 in an attempt win the NWA World Title and comes close on several occasions then feuds with the other Horsemen who injure him then he takes the tag titles from them only to join them and become their pal? How can I believe that after everything they went through that Windham would join? I can see the Horsemen wanting to align themselves with a powerful enemy but what's Windham's motive? Why go after Flair and the World Title only to join him as one of his henchmen and accept second place as the United States Champion? Why be Luger's friend and win the titles only to change your mind three weeks later? Hell, why not turn here? I can't imagine it was a good reason and the whole thing was a mess. No wonder Crockett had to sell to Ted Turner by Christmas.

Schiavone and Ross preview the World Title match.

Ring announcer Tom Miller announces the judges for the World Title match. I love how he says there must be a winner. We'll see. Gary Juster, Sandy Scott, Patty Mullen, Jason Hervey, and Ken Osmond are the judges. Juster worked for Jim Crockett Promotions by promoting their shows in Maryland specifically in Baltimore. Juster later worked as an executive in WCW and worked for Ring of Honor with their live events. Scott was a Crockett employee and former wrestler best known for being in the tag team The Flying Scotts with former Jim Crockett Promotions booker George Scott. He later played a big role behind the scenes for Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion. Mullen was the Penthouse Pet of the Year. Hervey was a star on the TV show The Wonder Years at the time and later became a friend and business partner of future WCW boss Eric Bischoff with the two forming Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment. As I mentioned, Osmond was a star on The New Leave It To Beaver as Eddie Haskell which was a role he played on the original Leave It To Beaver. Personally, the more I think about it, the more I can't get into the concept of judging. I get the NWA wanted to come off as a sport but wrestling isn't like boxing, kickboxing, or mixed martial arts. Having judges declare a winner after a time limit sounds weird. It also made no sense in the long run. Also, who picked these judges? I'm guessing Osmond was a favor to TBS as The New Leave It To Beaver was airing there while The Wonder Years and Penthouse were popular but them as judges is odd. It definitely doesn't age well a year later at Wrestlewar 1989 when the Steamboat/Flair match had three former world champions.

NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Ric Flair (c) (w/JJ Dillon) vs. Sting- I think it's safe to say that almost every wrestling fan knows of this match. In case you don't, read on. Dillon is suspended in a shark cage.

Flair woooos to start. Tie up with Sting muscling Flair into the corner and howling while point at Dillon to a good pop. Another tie up with Flair getting the arm wringer and pulling Sting down by the hair but Sting kips back up. Another tie up with Sting locking in a side headlock but Flair reverses with an overhead wristlock. Sting powers out and sends Flair to the canvas before Flair goes to the ropes. Test of strength which Sting wins no problem. Flair gets Sting to the corner and chops him but it doesn't faze Sting who stalks him out of the corner and Flair runs to another. Sting biels Flair out of the corner and hits a dropkick with Flair bailing to recover. Back in, Flair gets a side headlock and transitions into a hammerlock but Sting reverses with his own. Sting applies an armbar and prevents Flair from reaching the ropes for a bit but Flair eventually makes it for the rope break. Flair gets a cheap shot and goes back to the side headlock.

Sting whips him to the ropes but Flair knocks him down with a shoulderblock. Flair comes off the ropes, jumps over Sting, comes off, Sting leapfrogs, Flair comes off, Sting drops down, Flair jumps over, Flair comes off the ropes, Sting presses Flair, and hits a gorilla press slam to a pop. Sting hits a flying head scissor, a hip toss, and a side headlock takedown for 2. Sting howls to a pop. Flair gets up and whips Sting to the ropes but Sting comes off with a shoulderblock. Sting is back on the side headlock. Flair whips Sting to the ropes but Sting comes off with a shoulderblock. Sting comes off the ropes, Flair drops down, Sting jumps over, Sting comes off the ropes, Flair tries to catch Sting with a hip toss but Sting reverses with his own. Back to the side headlock for 2. Flair rolls Sting up for 2 with a handful of tights but Sting rolls back into position. Flair gets back up and whips Sting to the ropes. Sting knocks him down with a shoulderblock.

Sting comes off, Flair drops down, Sting drops down himself and reapplies the side headlock. Flair eventually gets back up and muscles Sting back in the corner. Flair hits a chop but Sting puts Flair in the corner and considers the mounted corner punches but decides not to do it. Flair turns him around and goes for a punch but Sting blocks and hits his own. Sting biels Flair out of the corner but misses the dropkick and Flair does a flair flop anyway. Both get up with Flair throwing Sting through the ropes but Sting immediately gets back in and corners Flair. Sting gets the mounted corner punches and a knee to the stomach. Sting gets another headlock takedown. Flair rolls him up for 2 but Sting rolls back into position. Another roll up gets 1. Flair eventually gets up, muscles Sting to the ropes, and hits him in the stomach. Flair gets Sting in the corner and hits some chops. Sting fights out, whips Flair to the ropes, and hits a gorilla press slam.

Sting whips Flair to the ropes and catches him coming off with a bearhug. He keeps it on for a while and eventually take Flair down with a few 2 counts. Sting eventually let's go and comes off with an elbow drop but misses. Sting shrugs it off. Sting whips Flair to the corner but misses the running elbow and both fall to the canvas with Flair doing a Flair Flop. Flair goes to attack but Sting beats him to the punch and corners him. Sting attempts the mounted corner punches but Flair hits an inverted atomic drop. Flair goes outside and pulls Sting with him. Sting gets whipped to the guardrail. Flair whips Sting again to the guardrail. Flair heads back in and pulls Sting back in as he gets to the apron. Flair sets Sting in the corner and hits two chops. Sting gets whipped to the corner and collapses from the impact. Flair whips Sting to another corner with Sting falling again from the impact. Flair hits a snapmare and two knee drops.

Flair rakes the back and rakes the face on the ropes. Flair works over Sting in the corner and throws him out through the ropes to the floor. Flair follows out and grabs a chair but referee Tommy Young takes it. Sting gets worked over and whipped to the guardrail again. Flair follows by choking Sting on the guardrail and head back in the ring. Sting gets on the apron and Flair pulls him back in. Flair works over Sting in the corner and on the ropes until Sting stops selling and makes the comeback to a big pop. Flair gets punched over and out. Sting heads out. Sting tries for the stinger splash but Flair moves and Sting crashes into the ring post. Back in, Flair applies an arm wringer. Sting attempts the comeback but the ref stops him from using a closed fist which allows Flair to pull him down with the hair but Sting kips up. Sting works over Flair into the corner, goes for the mounted corner punches, and biels him out of the corner.

Running clothesline gets 2. Flair crawls to the apron but Sting suplexes him back in the ring. Scorpion Deathlock is locked but Flair quickly reaches the ropes. Sting stomps away in the corner. Flair eventually gets back up, sends Sting in the corner, and chops but to no effect. Flair begs but gets punched and Flair flops. Sting goes for the pin but Flair gets his foot on the rope for 2. Another biel out of the corner. Sting goes for a jumping clothesline but Flair drops down and Sting goes over and out. Sting goes back on the apron but Flair hits a hangman but Sting recovers and climbs the top turnbuckle. When Flair turns around, Sting comes off with a diving high crossbody for 2. Sting pounds his chest and goes back to the side headlock but Flair escapes with a shinbreaker. Flair goes after the leg with knees and hits a chop. Another shinbreaker follows and Sting rolls out of the ring with Flair taunting him on the second rope.

Back in, Flair continues to attack the leg and hits a belly-to-back suplex in the middle. Figure four is hooked and Flair grabs the ropes for leverage. Sting's shoulders fall for 2. Flair grabs the ropes again with Sting's shoulders falling again for 2. Flair grabs the ropes again. Sting starts to comeback, crawls to the middle, and pounds his chest to a big pop. Sting slowly and surely turns to his stomach to reverse the pressure of the figure four to another big pop and breaks it up. Flair stomps the leg, goes to the apron, and tries to suplex Sting to the floor but Sting blocks and suplexes Flair back in the ring. Sting comes off the ropes with a splash but Flair gets the knees up. Flair whips Sting to the ropes and tries to catch Sting with an abdominal stretch but Sting reverses with his own. Flair hip tosses out with 10 minutes left but misses an elbow drop. Flair recovers first and works over Sting. Flair climbs the top turnbuckle but gets caught and thrown off.

Sting covers for 2. Sting drags Flair to the post and crotches him. Back in, Sting gets the figure four to a big pop. Flair's shoulders drop for 2. Flair crawls to the ropes to break. Sting yells at Dillon if he knows how to party or not. Sting gets the mounted corner punches and a biel out of the corner. Sting works over Flair in the corner. Flair gets pulled out of the corner as Sting sets the leg on the rope and hits a seated senton. Flair pushes referee Tommy Young only to be pushed on his ass. Flair gets whipped to the corner and Flair flips out but falls off the apron and to the floor. Flair gets rammed everywhere including the guardrail, the judges table, and the ring post. Sting makes it back in and Flair gets on the apron. 5 minutes left as Flair gets a slingshot sunset flip back in but Sting punches him off. Sting rakes Flair's face on the ropes and Flair begs in the corner. Sting goes for the mounted corner punches but Flair gets out of the corner with an inverted atomic drop.

Sting no-sells it and hits a clothesline for 2 with Flair getting his foot on the ropes. Sting whips Flair to the corner but misses the stinger splash and falls out of the ring. Sting comes back in with 3 minutes left. The two go back and forth until Flair whips Sting to the ropes but Sting catches him with a shoulderblock. Sting comes off but gets caught in a sleeper hold. Sting escapes by diving into the corner with Flair hitting the turnbuckle and we get another Flair flop. Flair throws Sting out but Sting gets back on the apron, hits a shoulderblock, and comes back in with a slingshot sunset flip. With 2 minutes left, Flair drops to his knees and grabs the ropes for 2. The ref forces Flair to let go which allows Sting to get Flair down for 2. Flair gets whipped to the apron but Flair flips to the apron, runs across, climbs the top, and comes off with a diving high crossbody but Sting rolls over for 2. 1 minute left with Sting no-selling Flair's offense and going back to the mounted corner punches. Stinger splash connects and Flair does another Flair flop with 45 seconds left. Sting locks the scorpion deathlock in to a big pop with 30 seconds left but time expires at 45:00. Ring announcer Tom Miller announces that Patty Mullin scored the match for Flair, Gary Juster scored it for Sting, and Sandy Scott scored the match a draw thus Flair retains on a draw. Uh, what about the other judges?

Thoughts: **1/2 Really decent match with Flair and Sting working very hard to make this good. There was some good action and the story and booking was good as Sting looked like a main event player who not only could hang but potentially could defeat Flair. I did like some of the stuff they did with Sting as Flair would wait for the inexperienced and amped up Sting to make a mistake and capitalize. The finish was perfect as Sting, as mentioned, looked powerful and on the cusp of winning and the draw was the right decision as Sting shouldn't be winning the title at this point but couldn't afford a loss and a DQ or count out would've been lame so the draw lets Sting look great while Flair escapes by the skin of his teeth. The match also served it's purpose because as history has shown, this match is credited with making Sting into a superstar and future world champion. However, as good as the match was, it was hurt by the time. Both men tried but Sting was too inexperienced to do a 45 minute match as he kept repeating moves over and over especially the biel out of the corner and mounted corner punches. Flair can also be on the limited side and repeated stuff from begging to the flair flop. I would've preferred if this went 30 minutes instead of 45. The judges was also a stupid idea since it meant nothing as they were there to give a winner and none was declared. Also, why have five judges when only three of the results were given? You can tell they didn't think this through. Anyway, for those new fans out there, if you haven't figured it out, this match is legendary for launching Sting into the main event and to superstardom which he continued to have for the next 36 years.

Schiavone, Ross, and Caudle talk about the match, recap the show, and sign off.

Final Thoughts
Clash of the Champions was a massive improvement from the Bunkhouse Stampede and has some good stuff as the last two matches are the meat and potatoes of the show though the TV Title match was solid as well. The World Tag Title match was my favorite and one of the best matches of 1988 and the World Title match is recommended as a solid match that served as the launching pad of wrestling's greatest legends. The only weaknesses was the middle portion as the United States Tag Title was overrated while the Chicago Street Fight was too short. The World Tag Title match can be a mixed bag as the match was great but doesn't age the best given The Horsemen got the belts back weeks later and Windham betrayed Luger. Obviously, the show is also good for length as two hours is good for a TV special and this was a big advantage Clash had over Wrestlemania IV which went twice as long and suffered because of it. The show is recommended for historical value and match quality.

So having seen Clash and Wrestlemania IV, I can say third times the charm for the NWA as Clash was the better show. The show didn't go too long, didn't drag, no horrible matches, and good action.

Recommended

Clash of the Champions I Facts-
Clash of the Champions was held the same day as Wrestlemania IV

Ric Flair vs. Sting was the longest match in the history of the Clash of the Champions until Ricky Steamboat vs. Ric Flair at Clash of the Champions VI

The only Clash to be held in the Greensboro Coliseum.

The only Clash to have a barbed wire match.

The only Clash to have a “college rules” match.

The first Clash to go against a Wrestlemania.

The only 1988 Clash to have a NWA World Title match.