Clash of the Champions I 

Date: 03/27/1988

Location: Greensboro, NC 

Announcers: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone & Bob Caudle 

The Setup

This show was built on spite and retribution, going after the live Wrestlemania IV PPV after Vince sabotaged Starrcade ‘87 and Bunkhouse Stampede by running competing shows on the same night. Here, we have JCP utilizing their cable TV clearance with TBS to not only run a live special, but also air five matches, all of which were title bouts. Sting was starting to gain traction as a babyface, and he was challenging NWA champion Ric Flair in the main event. All of the other matches were between singles wrestlers or teams in programs with each other, so this show was stacked. 

The Business

The show drew 6,000 people, down significantly from the 11,771 in Greensboro the month prior, for a show headlined by Dusty, Luger, and Ole Anderson against Flair, Tully, and Arn. As an interesting aside, people often discuss how moving Starrcade from Greensboro to Chicago in 1987 was perceived as killing the town. However, not only did they have that show in February after Starrcade, but 12,700 for Luger and Ole against Arn & Tully, and Flair defending the NWA title against Michael Hayes on New Year’s Day 1988. If it did play a part, it was not, in fact, until later. The show drew a 5.8 cable rating, the highest rating for any Clash of all time. The Sting vs. Flair main event averaged 7.1 million viewers, the highest point in the show. From a television viewership standpoint, the show was a smashing success. 

The Results

World TV Title/Amateur Rules Match: Mike Rotunda (C) def. Jimmy Garvin in 6:45 **1/4 

US Tag Team Title Match: The Midnight Express (C) def. Fantastics by DQ in 10:15 ****1/4 

Six-Man Tag Team Title/Barbwire Match: Dusty Rhodes & The Road Warriors (C) def. Powers of Pain & Ivan Koloff in 3:39 *1/4

World Tag Team Title Match: Lex Luger & Barry Windham def. Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard (C) in 9:34 ***3/4 

World Title Match: Ric Flair (C) TLD Sting in 45:00 ****

Notable Happenings

Sting went the full forty-five minutes with Flair, as time expired with Flair in the scorpion. The three judges named for such an instance cowardly decided on a draw, defeating the whole purpose of the stip. This was also three matches after a Dusty finish for the US tag team titles.

Luger and Winhdam won the tag titles from the Horsemen after JJ Dillon’s interference backfired. Lex was kicked out of the Horsemen about three months prior (turning babyface), and his team with Windham went back to the old Florida days together.

The Fantastics got the pinfall and US tag team titles from the Midnights, but along came the Dusty finish and a DQ for throwing the ref over the top, stripping them of their moment. The Mdinights beat the hell out of them with a belt after, setting up strap matches on the house show loop. The match itself was a great brawl, so it was uncommon for these two teams to work together.

The angle after the opening match was fucking WILD as the Varsity Club were beating down Garvin, and Precious cleared the ring with a FUCKING 2×4! Husband and wife escaped together, and the crowd lost their shit! The aftermath was so much better than the match. 

They announced the seeding for the Crockett Cup the following month. The eventual winners, Sting & Lex Luger, weren’t even a scheduled team. Luger was originally announced as teaming with Barry Windham until Barry joined the Horsemen. Sting was planned to pair with Jimmy Garvin, but they worked an injury angle with Garvin and Kevin Sullivan at the event.

The Powers of Pain pried the hockey mask off Road Warrior’s injured face after the match in an attempt to injure him, only for the babyfaces to clear the ring. This angle set up a series of scaffold matches between the Roadies and Powers of Pain in the summer, only for the PoP to opt for safer landings and the WWF.

The Best: The Worst, The Underrated

The Best: The star-making effort of Flair with a still green Sting stands the test of time.

The Worst: The barbed wire loosely decorating the ring ropes was extremely disappointing, but Doc’s interview was one of the more memorable horseshit promos ever.

The Underrated: The one-count pinfall stip in the first match sounded bad on paper, but allowed the crowd to go apeshit every time someone hit the mat because it could have ended.

Backstage Notes

This show was largely considered successful in siphoning off part of Mania’s audience, as Manja did less business on PPV than projected.

The WWF snuck commercials through Turner oversight by using dummy company names, telling people to call the WWF hotline for Wrestlemania results.

Dusty Rhodes was about to disappear after accidentally hitting Jim Crockett on the previous might’s show, allowing the return of the Midnight Rider.

Rating: 9.5/10.0

This still might be the greatest Clash of all time. Besides all of the great things already mentioned, there was an all-time horrendous Doctor Death promo on this show that reeked of entertainment. When you have five matches, three of which are in the excellent range, plus a great opening angle, you’re cooking with gas. Watch this now if you haven’t, and watch it again if you already have. 

The Video