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(More customer reviews)While the WWF had a tradition of having television supercard specials on NBC called "Saturday Night's Main Event", NWA/WCW would also do the same thing on their station of TBS for years called "Clash Of The Champions." Now for those who don't already know the story, WWE would constantly have schedule conflicts for months with the NWA as WWE put their first ever Survivor Series PPV on the same day as the traditional NWA Starrcade show blackballing them off several cable companies along with scheduling the first ever Royal Rumble show on USA network the same day as their Bunkhouse Stampede PPV. The NWA responded by putting on their own special during the WrestleMania IV PPV in the first ever "Clash Of The Champions" event...the event that's more memorable than anything else for a match that saw the birth of a wrestle we now refer to as an ICON. Now I was able to see & tape this entire event when WWE 24/7 (now "Classics On Demand") showed this entire event as a 20th Anniversary special so I don't know what was edited (if anything was edited since it wasn't a 3 hour show) from the VHS tape since Turner Home Entertainment had a habit of editing their tapes down to two hours.
College Rules Match: NWA Television Champion Mike Rotunda vs. Jimmy Garvin - Before he became more famous as a tax collector named I.R.S. & after he was a patriot in the U.S. Express, Capt. Mike Rotunda was a member of the stable "Varsity Club" who were wrestlers that played off their amature wrestling background. This match was make just for that gimmick as this was under amature wrestling rules where there were rounds & a "1 count" pinfall instead. The stipulation here hurt the match more than helped as I just really didn't enjoy the match.
NWA United States Tag Team Champions Midnight Express vs. Fantastics - As I've said before, the Fantastics were the perfect replacements for the Rock N' Roll Express when they left the NWA during this short time as far as inring ability & chemistry with the Midnight Express. Both teams were young & quick and put on a great solid & entertaining match here with the Fantastics coming so close but made one mistake that cost them.
Barbed Wire Match: Dusty Rhodes & Road Warriors vs. Ivan Koloff & Powers Of Pain - This wasn't a "no ropes" barbed wire match that we're used to seeing in this day & age as they had one thin string of barbed wire wrapped up across all three ropes together so it looks very "tame" by today's standards but hardcore for that day & age. This was pretty short & sweet as the Warriors & Dusty (complete with his own Road Warrior facepaint) got dominated & got their revenge for the eye injury Animal suffered which forced him to wear a hockey mask in this match.
(Also available on "The American Dream: The Dusty Rhodes Story")
NWA Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs. Lex Luger & Barry Windham - The team also known as the "Twin Towers" dominated the first half of this match to the point where Luger he got the Torture Rack on Tully in the first minute & Barry had a sleeperhold so tight on Tully that he was able to keep it on when they both rolled out of the ring. The Horsemen later caught up & did what they did best in tag team wrestling by cutting the ring in half & making their quick tags having this match go back & forth between both teams with the crowd hot the entire time. James J. Dillion got involved in the end as this match didn't go long but it was non-stop action from start to finish.
(Also available on "Ric Flair & The Four Horsemen" & "Legends Of Wrestling: Heatseekers")
NWA Champion Ric Flair vs. Sting - This was the match that made Sting a household name overnight. James J. Dillion was suspended over the ring in the cage to prevent interference in what has gone down as a classic encounter that has stood the test of time today. They went to a time limit draw & had a split decision with judges (which defeats the purpose of the judges in the first place but whatever). When Flair said on the Horsemen DVD that "we made a career making guys...", this was the best example possible that fits that statement.
(Also available on "Nature Boy Ric Flair: The Definative Collection")
In the end, this was a classic event that any fan of wrestling (not sports entertainment) during this time will enjoy...however, you can get the 3 top matches on here on DVD while the teams of the Midnight Express & Fantastics had a better quality match that recently became available on DVD as well (WWE's "Allied Powers" set) so if you can find a cheaper copy of this tape then I recommend but otherwise, collect the matches on the other DVD sets.
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