Nick Piccone
On March 27, 1988, WrestleMania IV was held in Atlantic City featuring a tournament to crown the World Wrestling Federation’s new champion.
Meanwhile in Greensboro, North Carolina, the National Wrestling Alliance ran the very first Clash of the Champions event at the Greensboro Coliseum. It drew 6,000 fans and popped a 5.6 rating on TBS. This would go on to become a staple of the NWA, and then World Championship Wrestling, until it eventually ceased in the summer of 1997.
Vaughn and Nick take a deep dive into the matches, happenings, and ponder if things turned out differently.
The results (courtesy of prowrestlinghistory.com):
NWA TV Champ Mike Rotunda pinned Jimmy Garvin (2nd Rnd – 1:10) in an “amateur” match.
NWA U.S. Tag Champs The Midnight Express (Eaton & Lane) beat The Fantastics (Fulton & Rogers) (10:15) via DQ.
The Road Warriors & Dusty Rhodes beat The Powers of Pain & Ivan Koloff (3:39) in a “barbed wire” match when Animal pinned Warlord.
Lex Luger & Barry Windham beat Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard (9:35) to win the NWA Tag Title when Luger pinned Anderson.
NWA World Champ Ric Flair drew Sting (45:00). Gary Juster, Sandy Scott, and Penthouse Pet Patty Mullins were the judges.
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You can follow Nick Piccone on Twitter (@nickpiccone) and e-mail him at [email protected]. You can read his pro wrestling articles on PhillyVoice here.
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