| Collision in Korea | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Poster featuringAntonio Inoki andRic Flair | |||
| Promotion(s) | New Japan Pro-Wrestling World Championship Wrestling | ||
| Date | April 28–29, 1995 (aired August 4, 1995) | ||
| City | Pyongyang, North Korea | ||
| Venue | Rungrado 1st of May Stadium | ||
| Attendance | Total: 315,000 Day One: 150,000[1] Day Two: 165,000[1] | ||
| Tagline | Two Legends, One Country | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| New Japan Pro-Wrestling events chronology | |||
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| Peace Festival chronology | |||
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Collision in Korea, officially known as thePyongyang International Sports and Culture Festival for Peace (平和のための平壌国際体育・文化祝典,Heiwa no tame no Pyon'yan kokusai taiiku bunka shukuten),[2][3][4] was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event jointly produced byNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) andWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event featured 15 matches[5] over two evenings on April 28 and 29, 1995, atMay Day Stadium inPyongyang,North Korea. It aired in North America on August 4, 1995, when WCW broadcast a selection of eight matches from the show on pay-per-view.[6] It was the first event hosted by an American professional wrestling promotion in the country.[7]
The second day of the event holds the record for thelargest ever attendance for a wrestling event, with a claimed audience of 190,000. The first day holds the record for the second-largest ever attendance, with a claimed audience of 165,000.[8][9] Day one of the event generated a live gate of $7,500,000 (equivalent to $15,477,000 in 2024) and day two of the event generated $8,500,000 (equivalent to $17,540,000 in 2024), which were two of the biggest live gates ever in wrestling.[10]
RetiredboxerMuhammad Ali was the event's guest of honor.[11] NJPW's Hidekazu Tanaka was the ring announcer for the show, while Masao Tayama andTiger Hattori refereed the matches. Commentary for the WCW pay-per-view presentation of the event was provided byEric Bischoff,Mike Tenay, andKazuo Ishikawa.
As of 2023, the event is one of the few WCW PPVs not available for streaming on theWWE Network. Collision in Korea is one of the topics covered in the third season ofVice TV'sDark Side of the Ring in May 2021.[12]
The idea for a professional wrestling event in North Korea came fromAntonio Inoki, a Japanese politician, professional wrestler, and head of theprofessional wrestling promotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).[7] At the time, Inoki was struggling with his political career and envisioned the event as an opportunity to improve the diplomatic relations between Japan and North Korea.[7] Inoki had a positive relationship with thegovernment of North Korea, and as a wrestler, he had trained underRikidōzan, aKorean-Japanese wrestler whom the North Korean government had used extensively in propaganda following his death in 1963.[7] Additionally,Kim Jong Il had recently becomeSupreme Leader of North Korea following the death of his fatherKim Il Sung in 1994 and was allowing some foreign tourists to attend the event, withThe New York Times stating that it may have been in an attempt to showcase his leadership of the country.[7]
While planning the event, Inoki wanted to get American wrestlers to participate, and he reached out toEric Bischoff, president ofWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), an American promotion with which NJPW had a working relationship.[7] Bischoff was enthusiastic about the event and was even able to convince retiredboxerMuhammad Ali to attend the event.[7] At the time, WCW was competing ina ratings war against theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) promotion, and Bischoff believed that a largescale international event could bolster WCW's popularity worldwide.[7] As part of the working arrangement, Inoki would compete in the main event against a famous American wrestler from WCW.[7] Bischoff initially approached WCW wrestlerHulk Hogan, but he declined to participate.[7] In an interview withSports Illustrated, Bischoff stated, "I might as well have asked him to row a boat to Pluto. It was not gonna [sic] happen".[7] As a result, Bischoff askedRic Flair, who agreed.[7] In addition to Flair, other WCW wrestlers who participated in the event included2 Cold Scorpio,Chris Benoit (under hisgimmick as Wild Pegasus),Road Warrior Hawk,Scott Norton, andthe Steiner Brothers.[7] Reporter Mike Chinoy also came to cover the event forCNN.[7] WCW consultantSonny Onoo contacted the Japanese embassy to inform them of their plans, with the embassy stating that they could not guarantee their safety, and the wrestlers traveled to North Korea from Japan on a militarytransport plane.[7] Upon landing, the people had their passports confiscated and were split into two groups with handlers assigned to each.[7] They were then given a tour of North Korea and laid flowers at the foot ofa statue of Kim Il-sung.[7]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentators | Eric Bischoff |
| Mike Tenay | |
| Kazuo Ishikawa | |
| Ring announcer | Hidekazu Tanaka |
| Referees | Masao Tayama |
| Tiger Hattori |
The opening bout was aSingles Match in whichYuji Nagata defeatedTokimitsu Ishizawa[5] by forcing him to submit using theNagata Lock III (acrossface/scissored armbar combination).[6]
The second bout was aTag Team Match in whichAkira Hokuto &Bull Nakano defeatedManami Toyota &Mariko Yoshida when Nakano pinned Yoshida[5] following adiving leg drop.[6]
The third bout was a singles match in whichHiroshi Hase defeatedWild Pegasus by pinfall.[5]
The fourth bout was a tag team match in which Ookami Gundan (Masahiro Chono &Hiro Saito) defeatedEl Samurai &Tadao Yasuda when Chono pinned El Samurai[5] following adiving shoulder block.[6]
The fifth bout was a singles match in whichFlying Scorpio defeatedShinjiro Otani when the referee stopped the match due to Otani bleeding excessively[5] from abroken nose.[13]
The sixth bout was a singles match in whichKensuke Sasaki defeatedMasa Saito by pinfall.[5]
The main event was a singles match betweenScott Norton andShinya Hashimoto that ended in a time limit draw.[5]
The opening bout was asingles match in whichHiro Saito defeatedYuji Nagata by pinfall.[5]
The second bout was a singles match in whichAkira Hokuto defeatedBull Nakano for the CMLL World Women's Championship. The match ended with a pinfall.[5]
The third bout was a singles match in whichBlack Cat defeatedEl Samurai by pinfall.[5]
The fourth bout was a singles match in whichWild Pegasus defeatedFlying Scorpio by pinfall[5] following aswandive headbutt.[6]
The fifth bout was a tag team match in whichMasahiro Chono &Scott Norton defeatedAkira Nogami &Takayuki Iizuka by pinfall.[5]
The sixth bout was a singles match in whichHawk Warrior defeatedTadao Yasuda by pinfall[5] following adiving clothesline.[6]
The seventh bout was a tag team match in whichThe Steiner Brothers defeatedHiroshi Hase &Kensuke Sasaki[5] whenScott Steiner pinned Hase following aSteiner Screw Driver.[6]
The main event was a singles match in whichAntonio Inoki defeatedRic Flair by pinfall[5] following anenzuigiri.[13]
| No. | Results[14] | Stipulations | Times[14] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuji Nagata defeatedTokimitsu Ishizawa by submission | Singles match | 4:28 | ||
| 2 | Akira Hokuto &Bull Nakano defeatedManami Toyota &Mariko Yoshida by pinfall | Tag team match | 8:34 | ||
| 3 | Hiroshi Hase defeatedWild Pegasus by pinfall | Singles match | 10:10 | ||
| 4 | Ookami Gundan (Hiro Saito &Masahiro Chono) defeatedEl Samurai &Tadao Yasuda by pinfall | Tag team match | 8:06 | ||
| 5 | Flying Scorpio defeatedShinjiro Otani by Referee's Decision | Singles match | 2:37 | ||
| 6 | Kensuke Sasaki defeatedMasa Saito by pinfall | Singles match | 8:34 | ||
| 7 | Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs.Scott Norton ended in a time limit draw | Singles match for theIWGP Heavyweight Championship | 20:00 | ||
| |||||
| No. | Results[15] | Stipulations | Times[15] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hiro Saito defeatedYuji Nagata by pinfall | Singles match | 5:29 | ||
| 2 | Akira Hokuto (c) defeatedBull Nakano by pinfall | Singles match for theCMLL World Women's Championship | 8:04 | ||
| 3 | Black Cat defeatedEl Samurai by pinfall | Singles match | 4:58 | ||
| 4 | Wild Pegasus defeatedFlying Scorpio by pinfall | Singles match | 6:02 | ||
| 5 | Masahiro Chono &Scott Norton defeatedAkira Nogami &Takayuki Iizuka by pinfall | Tag team match | 8:40 | ||
| 6 | Hawk Warrior defeatedTadao Yasuda by pinfall | Singles match | 2:21 | ||
| 7 | The Steiner Brothers (Scott Steiner &Rick Steiner) defeatedHiroshi Hase &Kensuke Sasaki by pinfall | Tag team match | 11:51 | ||
| 8 | Antonio Inoki defeatedRic Flair by pinfall | Singles match | 14:52 | ||
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Following the event, North Korean officials requested that Flair read a statement that the nation had the capability to dominate the United States, though Flair declined and instead made a statement wherein he expressed praise for the "beautiful and peaceful country" of North Korea and said, "His Excellency, Kim Il-sung, will always be with us".[7] In late 1995, an image taken during the event showing a bloody Flair being beaten by Inoki was featured on propaganda leaflets that were dropped by the North Korean government overSeoul.[7]
In the United States, the show garnered little news attention, and when the event was released as apay-per-view later that year, it only received approximately 30,000 buys, a small amount compared to the company's other pay-per-views.[7] Following the purchase of WCW and its assets by WWE in 2001, the company has rarely acknowledged the event and has not released the event on itsWWE Network, despite having released almost all other WCW taped events.[7] According to Bischoff and sports journalist Dave Meltzer, this may be because WWE claims the attendance of 93,173 people for theirWrestleMania III in 1987 as one of the largest ever for a professional wrestling event, and acknowledging that a competitor of theirs broke that record would hurt their image.[7]
The all-time pro wrestling attendance record would be for shows on April 28 and April 29, 1995 at May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea. The announced crowds for those shows were 165,000 and 190,000, although the real numbers were about 150,000 and 165,000. The first show was headlined by Scott Norton vs. Shinya Hashimoto and the second by Antonio Inoki vs. Ric Flair. While there were tickets sold, most of the people attending got in free and were pretty much ordered to attend, so it's not a fair comparison.
