Clash of the Champions The Clash of the Champions were a series of professional wrestling television specials aired by World Championship Wrestling . 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 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 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 .