Third time’s the charm for Fleer as they finally hit the right mix for their third WWF offering since April. WWF Championship Clash delivers a good mix of classy base cards and abundant event used inserts. But how pointless is the Females inserts?
The 80-card base set is divided into two equal sections. Numbers one through 40 provide an action shot on the front and stats and a short blurb on the back. Some of the photos are intense, such as 24. Chris Benoit. Others lack focus and picture quality. Several feature both wrestlers looking down at the mat, shadows covering half their face. The card backs are clean, giving height, weight, birthplace and finishing move.
Numbers 41 through 80 make up the “Profiles of a Champion” subset. The card fronts rank among the best wrestling card fronts I have seen. The waist-up portraits capture the featured wrester’s attitude, with simple fonts and stylish graphics acting as a tasteful compliment. The profiles on the back are more hype than information.
The driving gimmick behind Championship Clash are event used or autographed cards one in every eight packs. This box did not disappoint. First off was a Divas Private Collection Molly Holly halter top. The heart-shaped paisley patch has three colors, which is the norm for this pattern.
Second up was a Piece of the Champion Matt Hardy T-shirt. This one is a beauty with purple edges and a curved black and bright green stripe going through the middle. With my luck I figured I’d pull an Essa Rios or Scotty 2 Hotty so this was a pleasant surprise.
My final event used came from the Main Event Memorabilia set, a Wrestlemania X-7 ring mat used in the hardcore title match between the Big Show, Kane and Raven, all of whom I loath. The card doesn’t make a whole lot of since considering the large majority of action came from backstage. Still, for a wrestling fan having a piece of Wrestlemania is satisfying.
The nine-card Females insert set is by far the biggest disappointment of WWF Championship Clash. The card design is bland, less exciting than the base set. While I won’t spell out the driving force behind this set, I’ll give you a little hint: they’re brought to you by the letters T and A. To add to the disappointment I pulled two Jacquelines although I’m still missing four to the set.
Other than the one collation blunder, the rest of the box ran accordingly. I got one complete base set and a total of 28 doubles, the minimum. Inserts ran accordingly. I didn’t get a Divas Private Signing or a replica belt, but I didn’t expect to with their tough odds.
Despite a couple of small blunders, this is my favorite wrestling set to date. The three event-used or autographs per box make this a tremendous value as boxes are comparable to Wrestlemania and Raw is War, Fleer’s other two WWF sets, both of which you’re lucky to pull any such cards.
2001 Fleer WWF Championship Clash Box Breakdown:
Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 6
Total cards: 117
Cards in set: 80
Singles: 80
Doubles: 27
Triples+: 0
Inserts: 9
- Females (1:4): 6 (1. Ivory, 3. Lita, 4. Molly Holly, 5. Debra, 8. Jacqueline (2))
- Piece of the Champion (1:24): 1 (PC-MH. Matt Hardy)
- Main Event Memorabilia (1:24): 1 (B-K-R. Big Show/Kane/ Raven–Wrestlemania X-7 Ring Mat)
- Divas Private Collection (1:30): 1 (DPC-MH. Molly Holly Halter Top)
- Divas Private Signing (1:120): 0
- Full-size Championship Belt Redemption (50 total): 0
