Mid 20th Century
145-489: SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion , WWE . Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind their flagship event, WrestleMania . It is also considered one of the company's five biggest events of the year, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble , Survivor Series , and Money in
290-446: A " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of
435-531: A Ricky Steamboat confrontation and an unscheduled in-ring, and out-of-ring, brawl, resulting in Flair losing all his clothes except his socks and trunks. The ring announcer for the night was former IWA and WWF Play-by-Play announcer Jack Reynolds . Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair had an in-ring contract signing for their match at Chi-Town Rumble. Clash of the Champions VI took place on April 2, 1989, at
580-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
725-532: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
870-519: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
1015-493: A chair while the referee was down. Sting saved Pillman from further attacks by Luger. Ric Flair forced Terry Funk to say "I Quit" on the microphone due to the pain of the Figure Four Leglock . Gary Hart attacked Funk after the match and was quickly joined by The Great Muta . Sting saved Flair from the attack only to be attacked by Lex Luger. This match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer . Clash of
1160-585: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
1305-624: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . Clash of the Champions I Clash of the Champions is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with
1450-657: A draw and Flair retaining the title. Clash of the Champions II took place on June 8, 1988, at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida . There were 2,400 people in attendance and the show drew a 4.8 rating on TBS. Throughout the show, wrestlers were being interviewed as they arrived to the building, most notably, Lex Luger who was attacked by the Four Horsemen and was busted open after being slammed head first into
1595-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
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#17327835309381740-414: A genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has a more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for
1885-633: A handful of matches under this gimmick. Stan Lane pinned Samu after the Road Warriors ran in and attacked the Samoan Swat Team while the referee was knocked out. The Midnight Express beat Bob Orton, Jr. and Butch Reed in the first round while the Samoan Swat Team beat Ranger Ross and Ron Simmons . This match is one of the first the Steiner Brothers had together. Jim Cornette was attacked by Paul E. Dangerously early in
2030-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
2175-515: A mask as The Yellow Dog until October 1991. Masahiro Chono replaced Kensuke Sasaki in the tag team match. During the match, Scott Steiner tore his bicep. After the match, The Hardliners ( Dick Slater and Dick Murdoch ) attacked both teams. The WCW World Tag Team Championship , which The Steiners also held, was not on the line in this event. Steve Austin won the WCW World Television Championship on June 3, but
2320-799: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
2465-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
2610-524: A regular PPV event for WCW. After the match Steve Williams ran to the ring to congratulate Brad Armstrong . Armstrong replaced Tim Horner , who left the company in August. Despite the match not being announced as a no-DQ match, Kevin Sullivan is not disqualified when Al Perez interferes in the match. Dusty Rhodes won the match by pinning Gary Hart and not the legal opponent Kevin Sullivan. The bout
2755-731: A rematch against Doom for the NWA World Tag Team titles at Starrcade and Teddy Long had to be Flair's chauffeur for a day. Had Butch Reed won, Teddy Long would have gotten the Yacht and Limosine and there would have been no rematch at Starrcade. Clash of the Champions XIV took place on January 30, 1991, at the Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville, Georgia . There were 2,200 fans in attendance and
2900-765: A reported attendance of 80,355, which as of April 2023, WWE considers this to be their seventh largest live gate in history. From 2009 to 2014, SummerSlam was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California and from 2015 to 2018 , the event took place at the Barclays Center in the New York City borough of Brooklyn . Beginning with the 2021 event , SummerSlam has been held in National Football League stadiums across
3045-700: A result of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, WWE had to present the majority of its programming for Raw and SmackDown from a behind closed doors set at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida beginning mid-March. The 2020 SummerSlam was scheduled for August 23 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts , but it and the preceding night's NXT TakeOver event had to be relocated due to
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#17327835309383190-453: A result, both companies brought in hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", SummerSlam became one of the promotion's most successful events, eventually considered the second biggest event of the year, behind WrestleMania, and also one of the "Big Four" pay-per-views, along with WrestleMania, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble, the promotion's original four annual events and their four biggest events of
3335-503: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
3480-586: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
3625-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
3770-428: Is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
3915-700: The Kansas Expo Center in Topeka, Kansas . There were 5,500 fans in attendance and the show drew a 3.7 rating on TBS. This event was a set-up for SuperBrawl II and saw the WCW debut of Jesse Ventura . It was originally scheduled as Brian Pillman and The Patriots vs. Diamond Studd and The Young Pistols . Clash of the Champions XIX took place on June 16, 1992, in Charleston, South Carolina , at
4060-706: The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana . There were 5,300 people in attendance and the show drew a 4.3 rating on TBS. This show was used to build the WrestleWar 1989 PPV on May 7. Clash VI was held on the same day as WrestleMania V and on free TV in an attempt to hurt the PPV rating as per the first Clash the previous year. The Samoan Swat Team defeated The Midnight Express when Fatu hit Bobby Eaton with Paul E. Dangerously's phone without
4205-537: The McAlister Field House of The Citadel . The event aired on TBS on June 22, 1992. There were 4,600 fans in attendance and the show drew a 2.8 rating on TBS. The popularity of this event, and the opening of the new 12,000-seat arena twelve miles to the north , led this to be the last Clash on-campus. Further Charleston-based Clashes were held at the new arena. The storyline was that Miguel Pérez Jr. and Ricky Santana were assaulted backstage, although it
4350-399: The McAlister Field House on the campus of The Citadel and the show drew a 4.1 rating on TBS. This was the buildup show for The Great American Bash . Bam Bam Bigelow was disqualified when he refused to break his chokehold on Tommy Rich by the 5-count. The Midnight Express were disqualified after Stan Lane grabbed the referee to break up a pin count. Ric Flair was disqualified when
4495-572: The Monday Night War 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. In 1997 the determination was made to discontinue air Clash of the Champions due to
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4640-490: The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The specials were supercards comprising pay-per-view caliber matches, similar to the World Wrestling Federation 's (WWF, now WWE) Saturday Night's Main Event series. The Clash of the Champions shows were famous for typically not airing commercials during matches even though many of these matches lasted 20 minutes or more. The first Clash of the Champions
4785-480: The National Wrestling Alliance , 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 WWF PPV was cleared 10-1 over Starrcade. Following this incident, McMahon
4930-624: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
5075-606: The Ritz-Epps Fitness Center in Fort Bragg, North Carolina . The show drew a 3.8 rating on TBS. This show was used to build the Great American Bash 1989 PPV on July 23. Jimmy Garvin replaced Terry Gordy who participated in the first round match; it was Garvin's debut as an official Freebird, although he had been an "undercover" Freebird since 1983. The Freebirds beat The Road Warriors in
5220-752: The Scorpion Deathlock and Lex Luger forced Jack Victory to submit with the Torture Rack . The announcers stated during the main event that these were two "standby matches" which would be screened live should the World title match end early. Both matches were later shown on NWA World Championship Wrestling . Matches 4, 5, and 6 are edited out on the WWE Network showing. Clash of the Champions VII took place on June 14, 1989, at
5365-776: The United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including a distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by
5510-570: The World Tag Team Championship , when interference by the champions' manager J. J. Dillon backfired; Dillon held a chair on the apron but Lex Luger whipped Arn Anderson into the chair. In the main event, Sting challenged Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . Flair's manager, J. J. Dillon was suspended in a cage above the ring. As no wrestler scored a decision before
5655-555: The "WWE" abbreviation becoming an orphaned initialism . Also in March 2002, the promotion introduced the brand extension , in which the roster was divided between the Raw and SmackDown brands where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform— ECW became a third brand in 2006. The first brand extension was dissolved in August 2011, but it was reintroduced in July 2016. SummerSlam, along with
5800-532: The "biggest event of 2021". The 2021 event in turn became the highest-grossing SummerSlam event of all time. Beginning with WrestleMania 36 in 2020, WWE began holding WrestleMania as a two-night event. Beginning with the 2025 event , SummerSlam will also expand to two nights, scheduled for the MetLife stadium in East Rutherford on August 2 and 3, 2025; the 2026 edition had originally been announced as
5945-584: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
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6090-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
6235-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
6380-411: The 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance the spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from
6525-520: The 20th anniversary of professional wrestling being shown on TBS as Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in 1972. The show was held at the Center Stage Theater, the same location where most of WCW's regular TBS show WCW Saturday Night were taped at the time. It was also the final wrestling TV appearance for Andre The Giant , who died four months later. Other wrestling legends, including "Bullet" Bob Armstrong and Thunderbolt Patterson , appeared at
6670-653: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
6815-619: The Bank , referred to as the "Big Five". The event has been broadcast on pay-per-view (PPV) since the inaugural 1988 event and via livestreaming since the 2014 event . The inaugural SummerSlam took place on August 29, 1988, at Madison Square Garden in New York City . The 1992 event was the company's first major PPV to take place outside of North America with it being held at the original Wembley Stadium in London, England ; it had
6960-715: The Black Scorpion , tearing away his black mask only to reveal a red mask underneath. The Scorpion quickly escaped when the "real" Black Scorpion appeared on the entrance ramp. Although he was never truly unmasked, the Black Scorpion that Sting wrestled was Al Perez . Clash of the Champions XIII took place on November 20, 1990, at the Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum in Jacksonville, Florida . There were 5,000 fans in attendance and
7105-520: The Champions now belong to WWE, which acquired WCW in 2001. All 35 episodes are available for on-demand viewing on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network elsewhere. Throughout 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 and
7250-729: The Champions I ) took place on March 27, 1988, at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina . There were 6,000 people in attendance and the show drew a 5.6 rating on TBS. This was aired head-to-head with WWF WrestleMania IV . In a "College Rules" match, Mike Rotunda won with a cradle for the one-count pin 1:10 into the second round. In a match for the United States Tag Team Championship , The Fantastics ' Tommy Rogers originally pinned The Midnight Express 's Bobby Eaton to win
7395-611: The Champions V took place on February 15, 1989, at the Cleveland Convention Center in Cleveland, Ohio . There were 5,000 people in attendance and the show drew a 4.6 rating on TBS. This show was warm up show for the Chi-Town Rumble PPV only 5 days later. Steven Casey was billed as "undefeated" coming into this match. The masked Blackmailer was Jack Victory who did double duty on the night (he
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#17327835309387540-628: The Champions X took place on February 6, 1990, at the Memorial Coliseum in Corpus Christi, Texas . There were 3,000 fans in attendance and the show drew a 4.5 rating on TBS. This was the show that set up WrestleWar . Norman the Lunatic pinned Kevin Sullivan behind closed doors in the women's bathroom. The Skyscrapers were disqualified for bringing a chair into the ring. Doom was unmasked as Ron Simmons and Butch Reed . In
7685-649: The Fabulous Freebirds to win the WCW United States Tag Team Championship on August 12, but the match didn't air yet, so the Freebirds were announced as the champions. Furthermore, the titles were not on the line, making it a non-title match. Larry Zbyszko pinned Bill Kazmaier . The titles were vacated on July 18, 1991, when one half of the reigning WCW World Tag Team Champions The Steiner Brothers , Scott Steiner ,
7830-665: The Four Horsemen interfered in the match. Clash of the Champions XII took place on September 5, 1990, at the Asheville Civic Center in Asheville, North Carolina . There were 4,000 fans in attendance and the show drew a 5.0 rating on TBS. The Master Blasters debuted at this event, however, after approximately one week Iron was replaced by Blade . Ric Flair was disqualified due to interference by Stan Hansen . After their match, Sting attempted to unmask
7975-403: The Iron Man / Iron Team tournaments at Starrcade 1989 . The Road Warriors were disqualified when Hawk hit the referee. The Freebirds had actually lost the NWA World Tag Team Championship on November 1, but the match had not aired yet, so the Freebirds were introduced as the NWA World Tag Team champions. Eaton pinned Douglas after Jim Cornette hits Douglas with his tennis racket. Jim Cornette
8120-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
8265-408: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
8410-498: The Road Warriors only moments before making a fast count on Williams pinning Hawk. Long was subsequently fired as a referee and became a manager. NWA World Champion Ricky Steamboat was challenged by former champion Ric Flair in a two out of three falls match . The results of the falls were: The replay would show that Flair's foot was under the bottom rope, allowing him to get one last rematch at WrestleWar 1989. In non-televised dark matches , Sting made Rip Morgan submit to
8555-483: The Steiner Brothers. This was the Steiner Brothers’ first ever shot at a world tag-team title. Dick Slater and The Great Muta were disqualified after Muta uses the Asian mist on Sting and Slater strikes Ric Flair with his cast. Slater was a substitute for an injured Terry Funk . After the match, Funk jumped Flair from behind and tried to suffocate Flair by putting a plastic bag over his head. The following week on Power Hour , Funk refused to apologize. After
8700-427: The ThunderDome. Inside the ThunderDome, drones, lasers, pyro, smoke, and projections were utilized to enhance wrestlers' entrances, and nearly 1,000 LED boards were installed to allow for rows and rows of virtual fans, who could register for a free virtual seat. Arena audio was also mixed with that of the virtual fans. While SummerSlam has been considered WWE's second biggest event of the year for many years, in 2021, it
8845-415: The United States. From its inception up through that 2021 event, SummerSlam was held annually in August. The 2022 event marked the first and thus far only time that the event was not held in August, as it was instead held in July, with SummerSlam returning to August with the 2023 edition . The 2025 event will expand SummerSlam to two nights. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, that year's SummerSlam
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#17327835309388990-401: The WWF's WrestleMania IV around the corner, Crockett decided to give McMahon a taste of his own medicine. He aired his own supercard, Clash of the Champions for free on TBS on March 27, 1988 - the same night as WrestleMania . The first Clash was of PPV caliber and made Sting a star after he wrestled NWA World Champion Ric Flair to a 45-minute draw. WCW would repeat the practice again
9135-402: The actual match to gain the victory and the Tag Team Titles. Clash of the Champions XVII took place on November 19, 1991, at the Savannah Civic Center in Savannah, Georgia . There were 6,922 fans in attendance and the show drew a 4.3 rating on TBS. Prior to this show, Sting had received "Mystery Boxes" which revealed Cactus Jack and Abdullah The Butcher . This Clash was to reveal who
9280-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
9425-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
9570-447: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
9715-412: The broader public. In the United States, wrestling is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as
9860-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
10005-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
10150-403: The champions. The Skyscrapers were disqualified when Doom ran in and attacked the Steiner Brothers. During the match Sid Vicious punctures a lung and is replaced by "Mean" Mark Callous soon after. Woman's bodyguard Nitron makes his debut during the post match brawl between the Steiners, the Skyscrapers, Doom and the Road Warriors. Lex Luger pinned Brian Pillman after hitting him with
10295-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
10440-512: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
10585-468: The competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on the independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in
10730-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
10875-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
11020-521: The entire match. The Russian Assassins attacked Koloff after the match only for the Junkyard Dog to make the save. Dusty Rhodes was disqualified for hitting Road Warrior Animal with a chair. Both Hawk and Sting had already interfered in the match. The Road Warriors chose Genichiro Tenryu to be the 3rd champion on the December 10th edition of NWA World Championship Wrestling . Clash of
11165-590: The event as well. Clash of the Champions XXI took place on November 18, 1992, from Macon, Georgia , at the Macon Coliseum . Brian Pillman pinned Brad Armstrong after attacking him pre-match while feigning injury. Scotty Flamingo knocked out Johnny B. Badd in the second round after hitting him with a glove Page and Vegas filled with water during the rest period. This was 2 Cold Scorpio 's debut in WCW. Simmons' original partner Robbie Walker
11310-603: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
11455-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
11600-473: The first round while the Dynamic Dudes beat Jack Victory and Rip Morgan . Jack Victory once again appears at a Clash of Champions under a mask, having previously appeared as "Russian Assassin #2" and "The Blackmailer" when the bookers needed a generic heel. The Ding Dongs won after a flying kneedrop / flying elbow double team move The Ding Dongs were Jim Evans and Richard Sartain who only wrestled
11745-681: The first-ever two-night SummerSlam before WWE later announced that the 2025 event would be two nights. Additionally, a future two-night SummerSlam will be held at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana as part of a partnership with the Indiana Sports Corp, which will see the 2025 Royal Rumble and a future WrestleMania held at the stadium. From its inception in 1988 up through the 2021 event, SummerSlam had been held annually in August. The 2022 event , however,
11890-452: The following year with a Clash coinciding with the WWF's WrestleMania V . Although the main event of NWA Champion Ricky Steamboat defeating 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 due to the event not being advertised and the practice of conflicting major events would cease until
12035-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
12180-460: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
12325-417: The highest-grossing event outside of WrestleMania. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling
12470-526: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
12615-492: The individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in a professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
12760-480: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
12905-496: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
13050-586: The lineup to capitalize on the success of his previous events. In addition to WrestleMania in March/April, Survivor Series in November, and Royal Rumble in January, McMahon created an event for August, which he named SummerSlam. The inaugural SummerSlam was scheduled to be held on August 29, 1988, at Madison Square Garden in New York City , New York . To keep the WWF from having a pay-per-view market monopoly, Turner began airing monthly WCW pay-per-views. As
13195-582: The main event Arn Anderson pinned The Dragonmaster after a DDT. Sting was originally scheduled to be in the match but was kicked out of the Horsemen earlier in the night and replaced with Ole Anderson . During the match Sting ran to the ring and tried to climb into the cage. During the ensuing brawl Sting blew out his knee. Clash of the Champions XI took place on June 13, 1990, in Charleston, South Carolina . There were 4,100 fans in attendance at
13340-634: The match and helped to the back by the Dynamic Dudes. Terry Funk is disqualified for hitting Ricky Steamboat with the microphone. Funk beat down on Steamboat after the match until Lex Luger made the save. After running Funk off Luger turns on Steamboat and attacks him as well. Clash of the Champions VIII took place on September 12, 1989, at the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, South Carolina . There were 2,600 fans in attendance and
13485-592: The match attacking Koloff. The referee is knocked out near the end of the main event prompting Ric Flair and Barry Windham to interfere, resulting in a double disqualification. Clash of the Champions III took place on September 7, 1988, at the Albany Civic Center in Albany, Georgia . There were 3,700 people in attendance and the show drew a 5.4 rating on TBS. Fall Brawl would later become
13630-419: The match didn't air yet, so Austin was not the champion on this show. In the first fall, Bobby Eaton pinned Ric Flair , In the second fall, Eaton was counted out, In the third fall, Flair pinned Eaton to win the match. Eaton's WCW World Television Championship was not on the line, although he lost the title to Steve Austin on June 3, but the match hadn't aired yet, so he was still recognized as champion. This
13775-600: The match, Slater hit Sting in the leg with a branding iron. Brian Pillman ran out and performed Cardiopulmonary resuscitation on an unconscious Flair. Clash of the Champions IX took place on November 15, 1989, at the Houston Field House in Troy, New York . There were 4,000 fans in attendance and the show drew a 4.9 rating on TBS. This show mainly dealt with fallout from Halloween Havoc PPV and set up
13920-724: The match. After their match Barry Windham berated Dustin Rhodes for not going finishing off an injured Ricky Steamboat during the match. Windham then turned on Rhodes and hit him with his new finisher, the Implant DDT. Windham then went backstage, attacking Steamboat and Shane Douglas with a steel chair while they were being interviewed by Jesse "The Body" Ventura . Clash of the Champions XXII took place on January 13, 1993, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , at The MECCA . This
14065-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
14210-530: The most successful professional wrestling pay-per-view event in history, McMahon created Survivor Series , which aired the same day as Starrcade in November 1987. After defeating Crockett in the ratings war, McMahon created the Royal Rumble , an event airing for free on the USA Network in January 1988, on the same night as the Crockett produced PPV Bunkhouse Stampede . The event set a ratings record for
14355-565: The network with eight million households tuning in to watch the event. In retaliation, Crockett created the Clash of the Champions I event, which aired simultaneously with WrestleMania IV . WrestleMania IV garnered higher ratings, and not long after, Crockett filed for bankruptcy and sold his company to Ted Turner , who rebranded it as World Championship Wrestling (WCW). As the WWF continued to replace its closed circuit programming with pay-per-view programming, McMahon added more pay-per-views to
14500-513: The other original "Big Four" events, were the only PPVs to never be held exclusively for one brand during either brand split periods. In 2014, SummerSlam began to air on WWE's online streaming service, the WWE Network , which launched in February that year, and in 2021, the event became available on Peacock as the American version of the WWE Network merged under Peacock in March that year. As
14645-550: The pandemic. On August 17, WWE announced that SummerSlam would emanate from Orlando's Amway Center and it would be produced by way of a bio-secure bubble dubbed the WWE ThunderDome , which was first utilized for the August 21 episode of SmackDown . This made SummerSlam the first major WWE event to be held outside of the Performance Center since March 2020, as well as their first pay-per-view produced from
14790-717: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
14935-439: The purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise a bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether
15080-468: The referee seeing it. This was the continuation of the Jim Cornette /Paul E. Dangerously feud that started when Dangerously brought the "Original Midnight Express" to WCW. The Varsity Club ( Mike Rotunda and Steve Williams ) defeated The Road Warriors when Williams cradled Hawk for the pinfall. The match was marred by controversial officiating: referee Teddy Long refused to count a pinfall for
15225-611: The show a "thumbs up" vote, with 48 voting "thumbs in between" and 267 voting "thumbs down." Ric Flair and Scott Steiner received the most votes for the event's best match, with 54. El Cubano vs. Ranger Ross received the most votes for the worst match of the night, with 45. Clash of the Champions XV took place on June 12, 1991, at the Civic Auditorium in Knoxville, Tennessee . There were 5,000 fans in attendance and
15370-463: The show drew a 3.9 rating on TBS. Steve Armstrong pinned Jimmy Garvin , Tracy Smothers pinned Badstreet , and Tom Zenk pinned Michael Hayes simultaneously. Terrance Taylor was disqualified when Richard Morton interfered. In the Loser of the fall-leaves-WCW tag team match Pillman was pinned, thus the storyline was that he was forced to leave WCW. Pillman would continue to wrestle in WCW under
15515-851: The show drew a 3.9 rating on TBS. This was the first Clash of Champions event not to be produced by the NWA . Dusty Rhodes returned to WCW following a brief stint in the WWF as the new booker and as color commentator. It was originally set to be held at the CNN Center in Atlanta , but due to security reasons arising from the escalation of the Persian Gulf War , it was moved to the Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville. Doom
15660-704: The show drew a 4.2 rating on TBS. This Clash of the Champions set up for Starrcade '90: Collision Course . The first match was originally scheduled as a 6-man tag team match with Bobby Eaton on the Fabulous Freebirds ' team and El Gigante on the Southern Boys team, but before the match El Gigante was "injured" by the Freebirds, and the match was therefore changed to a regular tag team match. Ric Flair and Butch Reed both won coin tosses to determine who would represent their respective teams, while their respective partners Arn Anderson and Ron Simmons remained at ringside. Since Flair won, Flair and Anderson earned
15805-571: The show drew a 4.7 rating on TBS. This show was used to build the first ever Halloween Havoc PPV on October 28. Tom Zenk made the Cuban Assassin pass out from the Sleeper hold . This was Tom Zenk's WCW Debut match. Scott Steiner was tripped by either Missy Hyatt or Robin Green at ringside. It was later revealed to be Robin Green who would later go on to manage Doom in a feud with
15950-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
16095-588: The start of Thunder . WWE , the owner of the WCW properties since 2001, resurrected the name under the WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view starting in 2016. Following a 25-year hiatus, the variant of the Clash event was resurrected by All Elite Wrestling as the Battle of the Belts in 2022 and airs on TBS' sister channel, TNT on a quarterly basis. Clash of the Champions (known sequentially as Clash of
16240-437: The subsequent company name change to World Championship Wrestling . There were 8,000 people in attendance and the show drew a 4.5 rating on TBS. This show set up Starrcade '88 . It was on this show that TBS/WCW experimented with a top down camera angle, which did not catch on. This is comparable to the "refer-eye" camera from Halloween Havoc '91. This was the finals of the tournament to crown new United States Tag Team champions;
16385-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
16530-400: The time limit expired, the decision was left to the judges appointed for this occasion: wrestling official Gary Juster awarded the match to Sting, while Penthouse model Patty Mullen decided in favour of Flair. Wrestling official Sandy Scott ruled the match a draw. No decision was announced for the remaining two judges, actors Jason Hervey and Ken Osmond , resulting in the match being ruled
16675-499: The titles but the decision was reversed because Rogers' partner, Bobby Fulton , had thrown referee Randy Anderson over the top rope before the pinfall was made. The Road Warriors and Dusty Rhodes defeated The Powers of Pain and Ivan Koloff when The Barbarian accidentally hit his partner, The Warlord , with a diving headbutt. Animal wore a goalie mask during the match to protect his injured face. Lex Luger and Barry Windham defeated Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard for
16820-749: The titles were vacated when the Midnight Express won the NWA World Tag Team titles in September. Ron Simmons and Eddie Gilbert had originally lost to the Sheepherders in the semi-finals but the decision was reversed when the Sheepherders signed with the World Wrestling Federation to become the Bushwhackers. Both losing finalists would later win the title with other partners ( Big Josh and Rick Steiner respectively.) Ivan Koloff pinned Paul Jones after hitting him with Jones’ own illegal object. Koloff had one arm tied behind his back during
16965-519: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
17110-538: The trunk of his limo. This would also be an important factor in the conclusion of Luger's match against Ric Flair at the 1988 Great American Bash PPV . Kevin Sullivan was locked in a cage at ringside during the third match but stole the key from the Garvins’ valet Precious . Steve Williams ran in after the match to save the Garvins from a 3 on 2 beat down. Al Perez was disqualified when Larry Zbyszko interfered in
17255-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
17400-405: The venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as a performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in
17545-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
17690-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
17835-561: The year. From 1993 to 2002, it was considered one of the "Big Five", including King of the Ring , but that PPV event was discontinued after 2002. In August 2021, Money in the Bank became recognized as one of the "Big Five". In May 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) following a lawsuit with the World Wildlife Fund over the "WWF" initialism. In April 2011, the promotion ceased using its full name with
17980-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
18125-414: Was WWE's first PPV and livestreaming event produced from their bio-secure bubble , the WWE ThunderDome . After the promotion resumed live touring with fans in July 2021, that year's SummerSlam was promoted as the "biggest event of 2021" due to WrestleMania 37 having to be held at a reduced venue capacity. The 2021 SummerSlam in turn became the highest-grossing SummerSlam event of all time until that record
18270-626: Was actually sending the boxes to Sting. It turned out to be Lex Luger . A match involving Arachnaman and Richard Morton was scheduled for this show, but ended up not taking place. Thomas Rich 's partner in the York Foundation, Terrence Taylor actually tripped Rich up, allowing Josh to pin Rich. Ricky Steamboat was a surprise replacement partner for Barry Windham Clash of the Champions XVIII took place on January 21, 1992, at
18415-491: Was also Russian Assassin #2) Mike Rotunda replaced Kevin Sullivan in the match, Sullivan and Williams originally won the US titles. The main event match was declared a double disqualification when Sting , Junkyard Dog and Michael Hayes stormed the ring. Sting, JYD and Hayes were originally slated to face the Road Warriors and Tenryu but were locked in by Kevin Sullivan before the match. A Ric Flair scheduled interview resulted in
18560-514: Was broken with the 2023 event, which also became the highest-grossing non-WrestleMania event for WWE. In the late 1980s, the World Wrestling Federation 's (WWF, now WWE) main competition in the professional wrestling industry was from the National Wrestling Alliance 's (NWA) Jim Crockett Promotions . WWF Chairman Vince McMahon countered Jim Crockett 's successful Starrcade pay-per-view (PPV), which began airing in 1983, by creating WrestleMania in 1985. After WrestleMania III in March 1987,
18705-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
18850-585: Was disqualified after hitting Sting with a chair. The referee didn't actually see the chair shot but is informed of it by San Francisco 49er John Ayers who came to ringside. Clash of the Champions IV took place on December 7, 1988, at the UTC Arena in Chattanooga, Tennessee . This was the first Clash of the Champions following the sale of Jim Crockett Promotions to Turner Broadcasting and
18995-485: Was disqualified due to Sting being tossed over the top rope by Butch Reed . Tom Zenk lost the WCW World Television Championship in a match taped on January 7, but the match had not yet aired, so Zenk was billed as champion. The event was poorly received by fans. A fan poll in the February 18, 1991, issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter showed only 79 out of 394 responding fans gave
19140-567: Was held on March 27, 1988, by JCP and was entitled NWA: Clash of the Champions . Subsequent events had different subtitles, for example, Clash of the Champions II: Miami Mayhem , up until Clash of the Champions XVI: Fall Brawl 1991 , which was the last event with a subtitle. JCP was sold to Ted Turner and renamed WCW in 1988, and WCW continued to air the events until 1997. The rights to Clash of
19285-511: Was in a neutral corner at the start of the match before deciding to side with the Midnight Express. "The Super Destroyer" marked Jack Victory 's 4th "Masked Mystery Man" appearance at a Clash ("Russian Assassin #2", "The Blackmailer" and "The Terrorist"). The Steiner Brothers had actually won the NWA World Tag Team Championship on November 1, but the match had not aired yet, so The Steiners were not announced as
19430-404: Was injured. Steiner and Kazmaier defeated The Ringlords and One Man Gang and The Executioner to advance to the finals, while The Enforcers defeated The Young Pistols and The Patriots to advance to the finals. Earlier in the evening, Kazmaier was performing "feats of strength" in the ring when Anderson and Zbyszko attacked and injured his ribs with a weight plate. They exploited this injury during
19575-400: Was injured. This was Paul E. Dangerously 's last appearance on WCW television, moving on to Eastern Championship Wrestling (precursor to Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1993. The ringside judges were Ole Anderson , Larry Zbyszko , and Hiro Matsuda ; Anderson and Matsuda voted for Sting while Zbyszko voted for Rude. Rude's WCW United States Heavyweight Championship was not on the line in
19720-537: Was never shown. The rest of the tournament took place at The Great American Bash 1992 . Clash of the Champions XX was a major professional wrestling supercard produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast live on TBS on September 2, 1992, from the Center Stage Theater in Atlanta . The event was not only the 20th time WCW held a "Clash of the Champions" show but also marked
19865-470: Was originally scheduled as Rhodes and Dick Murdoch vs Al Perez and Ron Garvin . Garvin left the company in August and the bout was changed. Ivan Koloff had manager Paul Jones and The Russian Assassin at ringside. After accidentally costing Koloff the match Paul Jones and the Russian Assassin attacked Koloff soon joined by a second masked Russian Assassin turning Koloff face. Barry Windham
20010-571: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
20155-642: Was promoted as the promotion's biggest event of that year. WrestleMania 37 in April 2021, which was the promotion's first event with live fans since before the pandemic, had to be held at a reduced venue capacity due to the ongoing pandemic. In July 2021, WWE resumed live touring with fans, and in an effort to sell out that year's SummerSlam , which was held at the Allegiant Stadium in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada , WWE promoted SummerSlam as
20300-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
20445-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
20590-616: Was the first SummerSlam to not be held in August, as it was instead held in July. It took place on Saturday, July 30, 2022, at the Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee . The 2023 event was scheduled for Saturday, August 5, 2023, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan , thus returning SummerSlam to the month of August. The 2023 event would break the 2021 event's record to become the highest-grossing SummerSlam of all time, as well as
20735-467: Was the last Clash for announcer Jim Ross who shortly after this event left WCW and joined the WWF . Originally, it was scheduled to be Sting , Dustin Rhodes , Ron Simmons , and Van Hammer against Big Van Vader , Barry Windham , The Barbarian , and Rick Rude ; due to injuries, Hammer and Rude dropped out and Orndorff took Rude's place. Earlier on the show, Vader's team got rid of Barbarian, and Vader injured Simmons. Cactus Jack came in during
20880-684: Was the last Clash of Champions till 1993 for Flair, as he was soon stripped of the WCW World Title by Jim Herd due to a contract dispute. This led to Flair departing for the WWF. Clash of the Champions XVI took place on September 5, 1991, at the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center in Augusta, Georgia . There were 2,800 fans in attendance and the show drew a 3.7 rating on TBS. The Patriots defeated
21025-480: 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 Royal Rumble for free on the USA Network . In 1988, with
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