"Collision in Korea" Drew 315,000 People Over Two Day Event

Published on October 5th, 2024 5:53 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


In April of 1995, WCW (World Championship Wrestling) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling collaborated on an event titled "Collision in Korea".

The event was notable as it was held in North Korea, the secretive nation that is almost completely removed from the rest of the world.

The event isn't talked about too much - in fact, WWE, which now owns the rights to all WCW intellectual property, doesn't acknowledge the event at all.

There is likely a good reason for this - the WWE likes to tout the fact that Wrestlemania III drew the biggest crowd in the history of professional wrestling, though the "Collision in Korea" event drew far more people.

Over the course of the two-day event, the "Collision in Korea" drew 315,000 people - 150,000 on Day 1 of the event, and an additional 165,000 on Day 2.

The gate was massive as the event grossed the equivalent of $30 million USD for the two-day event. These numbers are highly disputed, however, as apparently tickets were given away and people were ordered to attend.

The event featured a number of big names in wrestling at the time, including the Steiner Brothers, one of the Road Warriors and Scott Norton, just to name a few.

The main event of Day 2 featured Antonio Inoki taking on "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair. At the time, Flair was one of the biggest names in wrestling, and 165,000 North Korean wrestling fans came to see him wrestle.

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The event had some bizarre twists and turns - after all, it was held in North Korea.

This includes Ric Flair saying that "His Excellency, Kim Il-sung, will always be with us." According to reports, Flair was asked to read a statement in which he would have said that North Korea had the capability of dominating the United States, but "The Nature Boy" refused.

The crowd in attendance was also weirdly quiet as most of the people in attendance weren't really sure what they were watching.

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This was likely the last time that a major wrestling event will take place in North Korea, given the current tensions that exist between the country and the United States.

The 1995 event continues to hold several wrestling records, though it is hardly ever mentioned as the WWE likely doesn't want its record-breaking numbers to be made public.