Pro Wrestling
Advertisement
Pro Wrestling

The Clash of the Champions were a series of professional wrestling television specials aired by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The specials were supercards intended to feature pay-per-view caliber matches, similar to World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) Saturday Night's Main Event.

The first Clash of the Champions was held on March 27, 1988 by Jim Crockett Promotions and was entitled NWA: Clash of Champions. Jim Crockett Promotions was sold to Ted Turner and renamed World Championship Wrestling in 1988, and in 1991, World Championship Wrestling withdrew from the NWA, whereupon the Clash of Champions event was renamed Clash of the Champions. WCW continued to air the events until 1997. The rights to Clash of the Champions now belong to WWE.

History[]

Through 1987 and 1988, a bitter event scheduling war broke out between rival wrestling promoters Vince McMahon and Jim Crockett, Jr. On Thanksgiving night 1987, McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF) aired Survivor Series against Starrcade from Crockett's National Wrestling Alliance (NWA): two pay-per-view (PPV) events on the same day. At that time, many cable companies could only offer one live PPV event at a time, and furthermore were presented with an edict from the WWF saying that any cable company that chose to carry Starrcade would be barred from carrying any future WWF events. Hence, the proven WWF PPV was cleared 10-1 over Starrcade.

Following this incident, McMahon was warned by the PPV industry not to schedule PPV events simultaneously with the NWA again. However, he was still not willing to fully cooperate with Crockett, and on January 24, 1988, another scheduling conflict took place between the WWF and NWA. The NWA presented the Bunkhouse Stampede on PPV, while on the same night, the WWF aired the first ever Royal Rumble for free on the USA Network.

In 1988, with the WWF's WrestleMania IV around the corner, Crockett decided to give McMahon a taste of his own medicine. He would develop his own PPV-caliber event and air it for free on TBS. The result was the Clash of the Champions.

On March 27, 1988 – the same night as WrestleMania - the first Clash of the Champions aired. The first show was of PPV caliber and it made Sting a star after he wrestled NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair to a 45-minute draw. WCW would repeat the practice again the following year with a Clash coinciding with the WWF's WrestleMania V. Although the main event of NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ricky Steamboat defeating Ric Flair in a best of three falls match was widely considered the best wrestling match that took place among the two promotions on that day, ratings and attendance for the event fell well below expectations and the practice of conflicting major events would cease until the Monday Night Wars began in 1995.

Clash events continued on a sporadic basis over the next nine years, quickly changing focus to become a free marketing vehicle for NWA/WCW PPV events, similar to the WWF's Saturday Night's Main Event. WCW aired the 35th and last Clash of the Champions on August 21, 1997.

NWA Clash of the Champions dates and venues[]

Event Date City Venue
Clash of the Champions I March 27, 1988 Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro Coliseum
Clash of the Champions II June 8, 1988 Miami, Florida James L. Knight Center
Clash of the Champions III September 7, 1988 Albany, Georgia Albany Civic Center
Clash of the Champions IV December 7, 1988 Chattanooga, Tennessee UTC Arena
Clash of the Champions V February 15, 1989 Cleveland, Ohio CSU Convocation Center
Clash of the Champions VI April 2, 1989 New Orleans, Louisiana Louisiana Superdome
Clash of the Champions VII June 14, 1989 Fort Bragg, North Carolina Ritz-Epps Fitness Center
Clash of the Champions VIII September 12, 1989 Columbia, South Carolina Carolina Coliseum
Clash of the Champions IX November 15, 1989 Troy, New York Houston Field House
Clash of the Champions X February 6, 1990 Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi
Clash of the Champions XI June 13, 1990 Charleston, South Carolina McAlister Field House
Clash of the Champions XII September 5, 1990 Asheville, North Carolina Asheville Civic Center
Clash of the Champions XIII November 20, 1990 Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum

WCW Clash of the Champions dates and venues[]

Event Date City Venue
Clash of the Champions XIV January 30, 1991 Gainesville, Georgia Georgia Mountains Center
Clash of the Champions XV June 14, 1991 Knoxville, Tennessee James White Civic Coliseum
Clash of the Champions XVI September 5, 1991 Augusta, Georgia Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center
Clash of the Champions XVII November 19, 1991 Savannah, Georgia Savannah Civic Center
Clash of the Champions XVIII January 21, 1992 Topeka, Kansas Kansas Expo Center
Clash of the Champions XIX June 22, 1992 Charleston, South Carolina McAlister Field House
Clash of the Champions XX September 2, 1992 Atlanta, Georgia Center Stage Theater
Clash of the Champions XXI November 18, 1992 Macon, Georgia Macon Coliseum
Clash of the Champions XXII January 13, 1993 Milwaukee, Wisconsin The Mecca
Clash of the Champions XXIII June 16, 1993 Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk Scope
Clash of the Champions XXIV August 18, 1993 Daytona Beach, Florida Ocean Center
Clash of the Champions XXV November 10, 1993 St. Petersburg, Florida Bayfront Arena
Clash of the Champions XXVI January 27, 1994 Baton Rouge, Louisiana Riverside Centroplex
Clash of the Champions XXVII June 23, 1994 North Charleston, South Carolina North Charleston Coliseum
Clash of the Champions XXVIII August 24, 1994 Cedar Rapids, Iowa Five Seasons Center
Clash of the Champions XXIX November 16, 1994 Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum
Clash of the Champions XXX January 25, 1995 Las Vegas, Nevada Caesars Palace
Clash of the Champions XXXI August 6, 1995 Daytona Beach, Florida Ocean Center
Clash of the Champions XXXII January 23, 1996 Las Vegas, Nevada Caesars Palace
Clash of the Champions XXXIII August 15, 1996 Denver, Colorado Denver Coliseum
Clash of the Champions XXXIV January 21, 1997 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Wisconsin Center Arena
Clash of the Champions XXXV August 21, 1997 Nashville, Tennessee Nashville Municipal Auditorium

WWE Clash of Champions dates and venues[]

Event Date City Venue
Clash of Champions 2016 September 25, 2016 Indianapolis, Indiana Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Clash of Champions 2017 December 17, 2017 Boston, Massachusetts TD Garden
Clash of Champions 2019 September 15, 2019 Charlotte, North Carolina Spectrum Center
Clash of Champions 2020 September 27, 2020 Orlando, Florida Amway Center

DVD[]

Logos[]

See also[]

Clash of the Champions
National Wrestling Alliance
IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIIIIXXXIXIIXIII
World Championship Wrestling
XIVXVXVIXVIIXVIIIXIXXXXXIXXIIXXIIIXXIVXXVXXVIXXVIIXXVIIIXXIXXXXXXXIXXXIIXXXIIIXXXIVXXXV
Clash of Champions
2016201720192020
World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events

Royal RumbleElimination ChamberFastlaneWrestleManiaBacklashMoney in the BankExtreme RulesSummerSlamHell in a CellCrown JewelSurvivor SeriesTLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs

Former pay-per-view events
The Wrestling Classic (1985)This Tuesday in Texas (1991)King of the Ring (1993-2002)In Your House (1995-1999)No Way Out (1998-2012)Unforgiven (1998-2009)Over The Edge (1998-1999)Fully Loaded (1998-2000)Judgment Day (1998-2009)Armageddon (1999-2008)InVasion (2001)Vengeance (2001-2011)Cyber Sunday (2004-2008)New Year's Revolution (2005-2007)December to Dismember (2006)Breaking Point (2009)Bragging Rights (2009-2010)Fatal 4-Way (2010)Capitol Punishment (2011)Night of Champions (2008-2015)Over The Limit (2010-2012)Bad Blood (1997-2004)Roadblock (2016)Payback (2013-2017)Battleground (2013-2017)Great Balls of Fire (2017)No Mercy (1999–2008, 2016–2017)Evolution (2018)
Former International pay-per-view events
One Night Only (1997)Mayhem in Manchester (1998)Capital Carnage (1998)No Mercy (UK) (1999) • Rebellion (1999-2002)Insurrextion (2000-2003)Global Warning (2002)Super Show-Down (2018-2021)
Advertisement