After the abomination that was its first-ever pay-per-view in Bunkhouse Stampede 1988, the NWA was certainly feeling the heat, but you’ll see from the Clash of the Champions I review that they had quite a response.
Vince McMahon ran the Royal Rumble on free TV and the show quality blew the Bunkhouse Stampede out of the water. So here we are again. The NWA will try a counter of its own and run the inaugural Clash of the Champions on TBS, while McMahon and company roll along with WrestleMania IV.
There was little hope that the NWA could get this right, especially considering that it ran one of the worst shows ever just two months before. However, little did we know how much this show would change the pro wrestling landscape. SUSPENSE!
Let’s look at Blake’s Clash of the Champions I review.
Date: March 27, 1988
Location: Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC
Jimmy Garvin (w/Precious) vs. (c) Mike Rotundo (w/Kevin Sullivan) – Amateur Rules Match for the NWA TV Title
Our TV champion at Bunkhouse Stampede was Nikita Koloff, but he immediately lost the title after that to Rotundo. A very unique start to this show given the amateur rules emphasis. It’s worth noting that Teddy Long is the referee here.
Heated action in round one and Rotundo has all the momentum heading into round two. And business picks up as Sullivan grabs Precious onto the apron and Garvin goes after him. That leads to Rotundo scoring a pin. THEN ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE. Sullivan in the ring for the 2-on-1, then Rick Steiner comes in for the 3-on-1. THEN PRECIOUS NAILS RICK WITH A HACKSAW JIM DUGGAN 2×4. SHE ALSO USES A COAT HANGER TO CHOKE SULLIVAN. What a woman.
That abruptly ends the match at 6:10. It was nothing, but the fans were going ballistic.
• Rating: *1/2
ON THE STAGE: Dr. Death Steve Williams is back from his tour of Japan. He praises Dusty Rhodes. He also wants to be NWA champion and says he’s a bullet and no Superman in the NWA is gonna stop him.
The Fantastics vs. (c) Midnight Express (w/Jim Cornette) – NWA US Tag Team Titles
Chaos. We have pure chaos to start the match. People getting hit with chairs and all sorts of stuff. Pretty awesome. Tables get involved and the Fantastics are about as pissed as it gets. Even Cornette throws chairs at them. Pretty shocking how easy it is to get heat between two teams or wrestlers when you act like you hate each other and don’t cut cute promos to try to make people laugh. I’m looking at you, John Cena and Roman Reigns.
After some work on the good guys in the ring, the Midnights take it to the outside and slam Tommy Rogers on a table. Eaton then hits a bulldog on the table to make matters worse. Midnights bring Rogers back in and he’s on spaghetti legs. Finally he fights back to get the hot tag to Bobby Fulton, but as you would guess, the referee had his back turned and didn’t see it. FULTON DOES NOT GIVE A DAMN AND THROWS PEE WEE ANDERSON’S ASS OVER THE TOP ROPE. We have an all out brouhaha now with even Cornette getting clocked.
Fantastics hit the double team move on Eaton and pin him for the win at 10:15 thanks to a replacement ref. I BET YOU CAN’T GUESS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
Anderson comes in and says Fantastics have been DQ’d, and Midnight Express retain. DUSTY FINISH NO. 3,762 FOR THOSE KEEPING TRACK AT HOME. Cornette hammers both referees with the racket after the match, and then they destroy Fulton with a whip.
This match had an insane amount of heat and action. Phenomenal match, and had it not had the Dusty finish, it would have gotten an even higher rating. But still fantastic.
• Rating: ****
VIDEO: Eddie Haskell and Jim Cornette do a funny comedy bit.
ON THE STAGE: Gary Hart is here with Al Perez. Apparently everything has to do with Dusty Rhodes on this show. Williams talked about him earlier. We had the Dusty finish. Now we have superstar Al Perez saying he wants a shot at him. It’s almost as if Dusty was booking this show.
BACKSTAGE: Time for the announcement of the top 10 seeds for the Jim Crockett Memorial Cup. Here they are:
• 10. Ivan Koloff and Dick Murdoch
• 9. Sting and Ron Garvin
• 8. The Varsity Club
• 7. The Fantastics
• 6. Barry Windham and Lex Luger
• 5. Powers of Pain
• 4. Midnight Express
• 3. Road Warriors
• 2. Nikita Koloff and Dusty Rhodes
• 1. Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard
Dusty Rhodes and the Road Warriors vs. Ivan Koloff and Powers of Pain – Chicago Street Fight Barbed Wire Match
Yes it’s a street fight with the ropes wrapped in barbed wire. And immediately Barbarian and Koloff get their heads raked into the barbed wire. Animal still has the protective mask on his face after getting a weight thrown on it during the build to this match.
So, thus far we have Koloff bleeding profusely and Dusty also bleeding. The match has been nothing but the good guys in control. And seconds after I type that Animal gets the pin on Barbarian at 3:39.
After the match, Animal’s mask gets ripped off and Dusty saves the day to protect his friend’s eyeball. Your typical garbage brawl.
• Rating: *
ON THE STAGE: Nikita Koloff is back and sporting a nice head of hair. He’s also here to sport his poster that says “Get high on sports, not drugs.” That’s catchy. He says he doesn’t need a belt to be a champion. He’s right. The more I re-watch this guy, the more I love him. Well except for that Bobby Eaton match at the Stampede.
Barry Windham and Lex Luger vs. Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard (w/ JJ Dillon) – NWA World Tag Team Titles
Luger out here putting Tully in the Torture Rack just seconds into the match. That pisses Arn off and he and Tully go to work. Luger makes the quickest hot tag in wrestling history and now Windham is on a roll. Windham locks on the sleeper and somehow manages to keep it on as both men go to the floor. Hot start.
Arn picks up some steam, but quick near falls after a DDT and a spinebuster. The crowd is screaming and yelling uncontrollably right now. Windham gets in some good offense on Tully and both men go down eventually. After getting beat down, Windham struggles to find his corner and the crowd is eating this up. Slingshot from Tully but Windham kicks out at two and a half. This a case where the crowd takes a match up a ridiculous amount. Windham finally stumbles over and gets the hot tag to Luger.
And now we have Luger going to work on Arn until Tully cheap shots him on the apron. Arn hits a low blow while referee Tommy Young is tending to Windham and Tully brawling. That brings up Dillon who holds the chair for Arn to throw Luger into. Of course it backfires. Luger sends Arn into the chair and then pins him to win the titles at 9:35.
Holy hell. What an entertaining match and what an enormous amount of energy and heat from the crowd. It’s still shocking that this only went 9 minutes, as there was so much going on that it felt like it went much longer. It was just as good as the Midnight Express/Fantastics match earlier in the night, and slightly better thanks to the finish.
• Rating: ****1/4
OUTSIDE THE RING: There must be a winner in the upcoming match between Sting and Ric Flair, so we have five judges outside the ring, two of which are Jason Hervey from The Wonder Years and Eddie Haskell from Leave It to Beaver. Then there’s a former Penthouse star in Patty Mullen and two guys in suits.
Sting vs. (c) Ric Flair (w/JJ Dillon) – NWA World Heavyweight Title
I said at Starrcade that it was more than obvious that Sting was a total star. Everyone knew that. So, thus began his ascent, with this being the biggest match of his life to this point. It was also a huge match for the NWA considering the competition and how well this entire show had gone.
The stipulation is that Dillon must be suspended above the ring in a cage to prevent any interference. Well at least he’s not on a pole like poor Judy Bagwell. Sting off to a good start and Flair tries to slow him down by regrouping on the outside. GORILLA SLAM from the Stinger sends this crowd into a frenzy. These people are jacked up on Mountain Dew or something. More great back and forth action, and then Jim Ross delivers the line of the night when the camera zooms in on judge Patty Mullen at ringside: “I’m sure she’s used to getting some action, but this is real action!” JIM ROSS OFF THE TOP ROPE ON A PENTHOUSE MODEL.
Flair delivers some massive chops to Sting, which angers this young man enough for him to take over the match again. Flair regains control, and NWA officials must’ve injected this crowd with a foreign substance prior to their entrance. They are reacting to every single move. Then again, that’s easy to do when you’re getting a good product. Match goes to the outside and Sting is getting thrown into the rails. Back inside, Flair is not happy and is taking it to the young chap. Flair decides he wants to go back outside and destroy Sting with a chair. Tommy Young chooses not to let that happen and takes it from him, so Flair just goes back to throwing him into the rails. Young ruining all the fun.
Sting makes his comeback and punches Flair over the top. Unfortunately, Stinger then goes flying into the ringpost and Flair gets away. After a hip toss and clothesline, Sting gets his first close fall of the match. And then he locks on the Scorpion Death Lock but Flair finds the ropes instantly. More back and forth drama and then Sting hits a massive flying body off the top to get the near fall. Sting is now a star and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
And Flair sends Sting back to the outside and Stinger’s knee is in trouble. Like any great wrestler, Flair then turns all his focus to the knee. We’re at the 30-minute mark and this continues to tell a good story. Flair now locks in the Figure Four and Dillon is up there ecstatic in his cage. Young has no idea Flair is using the ropes for leverage but Sting won’t give up. Sting starts stinging up and manages to flip it over. Flair won’t give up and they are both back to their feet.
Flair tries to suplex Sting over the ropes and to the outside, but it gets reversed. A couple of more counters by both men and we’re at 35 minutes. Sting racks the mini Flairs on the post and transitions that right into using Flair’s Figure Four. Sting lets up and then yells at JJ in his cage. Flair is irate now and so he pushes Young, so Young pushes him back and knocks Flair down. Sting then sends Flair over the top of the judges and to the outside.
Only five minutes left in the time limit. Sting hits a big clothesline and Flair gets the foot on the rope at the last second. Flair is busted open now and Sting goes for the splash in the corner but literally flies over post and onto the floor as Flair gets out of the way. Fans are getting anxious as three minutes remaining is announced.
Now we’ve got Flair trying to throw Sting out of the ring as much as possible to make it to the time limit. Sting is back in and both men get two VERY close falls. Flair off the top and his momentum allows Sting to attempt the pin. Another close two count. And here’s Sting going wild with one minute remaining.
Sting hits the splash in the corner and then locks in the Scorpion Death Lock at 30 seconds. The countdown is on, but of course, Flair does not give up as time expires.
It’s now time to go to the judges. Mullen gives the match to Flair and he invites her back to his hotel room (at least that’s what I heard). It winds up being two for Sting, two for Flair, and one with a draw. So much for these judges mattering.
As for the match itself, it’s simply unbelievable. Sting was made to look like a star, and Flair was made to look like an even bigger star than he already was. Unlike the tag matches earlier that managed to pack a story into 10 minutes, this one slowly built and told a story for 45. And did it masterfully. Incredible match from start to finish.
• Rating: ****1/2
Blake’s Clash of the Champions I Awards
- Best Match: Sting vs. Ric Flair
- Show MVP: Ric Flair
- Overall Clash of the Champions I Rating: 9.0/10
- Thoughts: One of the greatest shows in wrestling history. You have three 4-star matches, and everything flowed flawlessly. The two tag matches are two of the best 10-minute tag matches you’ll ever see, and the Flair vs. Sting match would set the course for Sting to become a mega star. And all this came from the same company that put on perhaps one of the worst shows ever just two months prior.
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