Clash of the Champions III: Fall Brawl

September 7, 1988

Albany, Georgia

Announcers: Jim Ross & Bob Caudle

The Setup  

Here we have Sting challenging for a title against a Horseman in the main event of the third straight Clash. You can argue this show was probably the weakest top-to-bottom on paper of any of the Clashes, but we have now also established that these are no longer shows with champions in every match, as in the first. 

Ric Flair served as co-host with Tony Schiavone and spoke during the matches, mainly building up his house show rematches with Luger, with John Ayers as referee. More on that later. 

The Business

The show drew 3,700 in Albany, a small crowd and only about 40% of the building’s capacity for boxing or wrestling. 

The TV rating was back up to a 5.4, so Sting wrestling for a singles title drew better than him in a tag at Clash 2, and Windham drew more than Tully & Arn as a team. It’s too bad Windham didn’t stick around after dropping the US title to Lex in early 1989. 

The Results

NWA World Television Title: Mike Rotunda (C) drew Brad Armstrong in 20:02 **1/4

Nikita Koloff & Steve Williams def. The Sheepherders (Butch Miller & Luke Williams) in 17:08 ***1/4

Dusty Rhodes def. Kevin Sullivan in 7:00 *

Russian Chain Match: Ricky Morton def. Ivan Koloff in 9:35 **

NWA United States Heavyweight Title: Sting def. Barry Windham (C) via DQ in 21:14. ***

Notable Happenings

John Ayers was a former NFL player who had previously served as the commissioner of the UWF. They were building him up to be a special ref in some of the towns for Flair vs. Luger, so he was interviewed multiple times on this show in his middle-school-principal suit, while showcasing the charisma of a wet sack. He came out at the end, prevented Windham from winning dirty, and got the DQ win for Sting. Not only was Ayers all wrong for this role, but the finish only really made sense if Ayers corrected something, resulting in Sting winning the title. Being set up as the guy who would disqualify Flair if he cheated wasn’t what people were paying to see in Flair vs. Luger. He was the guy who was supposed to lure you in because he was the reason Lex would finally win the title. Ayers was Dusty’s friend, but shouldn’t have been here. 

Paul Jones turned on Koloff after the chain match loss, being attacked by the Russian Assassin (Jack Victory). This would be the last feud of Jones’ as a manager in JCP/WCW, and really the last one for Ivan as well. Ivan’s babyface turn was fine, but not anything people wanted to see regularly. 

They played it as Rotunda tried like hell to beat Brad Armstrong, but Brad survived. I guess that was news they were trying to create. I’m not sure why they didn’t make it seem like Rothnda barely survived with his title, but maybe Dusty had a bet he could give Brad half a push, and no one would ask for the other half. Who knows. 

Best, Worst, and Most Underrated of the Night

Best: The Sheepherders. I’ve always loved the Sheepherders, but seeing them work two non-bloodbath Clash matches in a row really made me remember why. They worked at such a fast pace for heels and bumped and sold at any time. They really have become a lost treasure permanently overcast by the Bushwhackers. 

Worst: Dusty Rhodes pinned Gary Hart to finish the match with Sullivan. The crowd went wild, but it was a total WTF moment, even watching live as a child. 

Most Underrated: Ricky Morton. Yes, we all know Ricky’s greatness as an all-time performer, but his ability to work from underneath and connect with the crowd on this show made the chain match so much better than it would have been otherwise. There wasn’t much of a program between Morton and Koloff, and they were clearly doing this to lead towards an Ivan Koloff babyface turn that most didn’t care about. Even without blood or any of the bells and whistles of most chain matches, the match was solid, and the crowd was heavily invested.

Backstage Notes

This was Dusty’s last Clash as booker, as he was removed before we got to Clash IV. The finish of his own match was incomprehensible: he pinned Hart, but Al Perez interfered with a dog collar, and no DQ was called for reasons that were never explained. The crowd was hot because it’s Dusty, but it was absolute nonsense. 

After Sting won the main event, he raised the US title. Not quite a Dusty finish, but more bullshit to make you forget there wasn’t much of a finish and the babyface didn’t win. 

As if things weren’t piling up for poor Dusty enough, Tully and Arn were about to split for the WWF, with Dusty’s booking of them and himself being a catalyst. 

Leroy Brown, a former JCP wrestler as Elijah Akeem and under his own name, died of a heart attack at 38 the day before this event. 

Rating: 5.5/10

I thought this was the worst of the first three Clashes, both in the ring and out. The main event dragged a little long, and it didn’t seem like Barry quite mastered working with Sting as Flair would, but it was still a good match. The lame DQ finish and Dusty pinning Gary Hart defintely brought it down a tad. This was by no means a bad show, but it probably felt the least special of the first three events. 

The Video