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Views from the Hawke’s Nest: Starrcade – The Essential Collection – Disc 1
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Jim Crockett, Jr. and David Crockett spoke about their father. A bunch of wrestlers from Jim Crockett Promotions spoke about the origins of Starrcade and then a little on Jim Crockett Promotions in general. We get footage of Jim Crockett, Jr. and Ric Flair walking in the Greensboro Coliseum. Roddy Piper and Greg Valentine discussed their dog collar match on the first Starrcade. Ric Flair and Harley Race discussed their main event on the first show. It meant a great deal to Flair. Race sounded bitter about losing bookings, but he could be kayfabing everyone. They proceeded to talk about the next few Starrcades. Magnum TA and Tully Blanchard discussed their legendary match. Magnum then discussed how his car injury ended his career right before he was supposed to get a shot being NWA World Champion. Everyone mourns the loss of Magnum TA’s career. Starrcade 1986 went on to gross one million dollars even without Magnum. They talk about the scaffold match between the Road Warriors and The Midnight Express. Jim Cornette talks about the injuries he suffered in that match. The battle between Starrcade 1987 and Survivor Series 1987 was then discussed. Vince McMahon did not pop up to discuss why he did what he did. By the time Starrcade 1988 happened, Crockett was forced to sell the company to Ted Turner. Talk turns to the importance of Ric Flair to Starrcade. Jim Ross put over the idea of The Lethal Lottery but buried the final product. The BATTLEBOWL was discussed. Battlebowl! The NJPW relationship was discussed. Jim Ross puts over the wrestlers but says it had no mass appeal. Dusty Rhodes buries it. The doc transitioned to the Hogan/Biscoff era. Bischoff thought Starrcade happened at the wrong time of the year, and he didn’t think it was as important as others did. Goldberg is next. Arn Anderson puts over Goldberg huge. Ross needlessly plays the Devil’s Advocate in regards to Goldberg losing. Anderson thought Goldberg should have lost sooner. Ross said that Starrcade basically could have been like Wrestlemania, but that they did not do a good job. The doc closed out with everyone sharing their thoughts on Starrcade.
I’m not sure why I ended up recapping the full feature. It just sort of happened by accident. Anyway, this feature was fairly boring and uninteresting. I’m not sure why they’re needed to be a full feature on this topic. You do not need to see this at all.
Gene Okerlund hosts the DVD early on. He explains that the fans helped to vote on the matches.
Match #25
Nashville, Tennessee
December 29, 1996
Hollywood Hogan (w/ Ted DiBiase, Vincent, & Miss Elizabeth) vs. Roddy Piper
Roddy was in control to start the match. Hogan seemed on the verge of cutting Piper off, but Piper quickly fought back by using his belt. Piper got distracted by DiBiase, and Hogan then finally cut him off. Hogan was in control for a while. Piper made a comeback after hitting a vertical suplex. The Giant showed up. He went to give Roddy a chokeslam, while a fan ran into the ring. Roddy escaped the chokeslam and applied a sleeper on Hogan. Hogan actually passed out.
Kevin Nash and Scott Hall tried to attack Roddy after the match, but they failed.
This was a very flat main event. Roddy and Hogan worked relatively hard, but they really did not bring the intensity required to make up for their lack of athletic ability at this stage in their careers. To put it succinctly, the match was very boring.
Match Rating: 1/2*
Watch this match here.
Jim Ross introduces the Iron Man Tournament of Starrcade 1989.
Match #24
Atlanta, Georgia
December 13, 1989
Sting vs. The Great Muta (w/ Gary Hart) [Iron Man Tournament]
Both men are entering the match with zero points.
Muta controlled the match early on. He even applied CATTLE MUTILATION. Sting escaped and then made a comeback. Muta cut him off by driving him into a corner. Sting avoided a moonsault, crotched Muta on a turnbuckle and then hit a superplex: 1…2…3
This was not bad or anything, but there was just nothing about it that I found to be remotely satisfying, entertaining, or interesting. It was “there.”
Match Rating: **
Match #23
Atlanta, Georgia
December 28, 1992
Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas(c) vs. Brian Pillman & Barry Windham [Unified Tag Team Championships]
The match got off to an ominous start: Ventura buried Douglas for considering Rush Limbaugh to be his idol, and Jim Ross then revealed that he was also a fan of Rush. Isn’t Venture supposed to be a heel????
Douglas and Steamboat dominated the match for a while. The heels finally cut off Douglas, and then they worked him over for a while. The heels were using illegal tactics to doubleteam Douglas. Steamboat got fed up and hit Windham with a chair. It looked like Douglas was finally going to be able to tag out, but Pillman cut him off again for more damage. Douglas finally escaped, and Steamboat made a monster hot tag. It looked like they were about to cut off Steamboat, but Steamboat hit a springboard forearm. Steamboat and Pillman went at it. Windham and Steamboat then went at it. Douglas then made the second hot tag for his team. Douglas caught Pillman with the belly-to-belly: 1…2…3!
I enjoyed this a lot, but I think the second heat segment was completely unnecessary and turned a great match into just a good match. The Steamboat/Douglas team is such a great odd couple team. I wish they had a longer run together.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Match #22
Washington, DC
December 27, 1998
Goldberg(c) vs. Kevin Nash [WCW Heavyweight Championship]
I’ve never seen this match before. I’m mentally preparing for one of the stupidest finishes in wrestling history.
Goldberg took Nash down, but Nash reversed it into a cross armbreaker~! Amazing. Goldberg escaped and went for a kneebar! This is a submissions classic! Goldberg hit a sloppy spear that looked more like a shoulder tackle. Nash hit a desperation low blow. Nash then worked over Goldberg. Goldberg randomly just started coming back. Disco Inferno ran in but ate a spear. Bam Bam Bigelow ran in but got sent packing. Scott Hall then used a TAZER on Goldberg. Jackknife Powerbomb: 1…2…3
Despite one of the worst finishes in wrestling history, I did not hate this match! It wasn’t good exactly, but there a few cool moments here and there before the end.
Match Rating: **1/4
Match #21
Norfolk, Virginia
December 29, 1991
Battlebowl Battle Royal
Big Van Vader vs. Marcus Bagwell vs. Jimmy Garvin vs. Dustin Rhodes vs. Bill Kazmaier vs. Jushin Liger vs. Steve Austin vs. Ricky Morton vs. Todd Champion vs. Abdullah the Butcher vs. Firebreaker Chip vs. Tommy Rich vs. Ron Simmons vs. Ricky Steamboat vs. Mr. Hughes vs. Scott Steiner vs. Lex Luger (w/ Harley Race) vs. Rick Rude (w/ Paul E. Dangerously) vs. Arn Anderson vs. Sting
No one seemed to get the concept of how to keep the match moving as the wrestlers kept sending wrestlers out of the ring but not into the second ring. Rich and Bagwell were the first guys to even end up in the second ring. Morton and Liger went at it in the second ring in the first un-ironic highlight of the match. Liger then eliminated Morton and himself. Rich was the third person eliminated. The eliminations finally started to happen more often. Sting and Rude went at in in the first heated sequence of the match. Vader and Luger went at it to determine the winner of the first ring. Luger won that battle and got to rest while everyone else battled it out in the second ring. The eliminations were rapid fire for a bit. It was down to Sting, Steamboat, Rude, and Austin. Rude accidentally eliminated Austin. Steamboat eliminated Rude with a skin-the-cat headscissors. Steamboat went to skin the cat again, but Rude pulled him down to the floor to eliminate him. Rude then attacked Steamboat and Sting in frustration. A rested Luger and an injured Sting will fight to determine the winner of the Battlebowl. Luger dominated Sting, but he seemed almost remorseful? I cannot really tell. Harley Race went to attack Sting, but Sting gave him a scoop slam on the entrance ramp. Luger sent Sting into a guardrail. Sting fought back on the floor. Sting then dominated in the ring. Sting had to fight off Race again but then missed a Stinger Splash. Luger thought he won, but Sting held onto the ropes. Time for Sting to Sting Up and make his big comeback. Sting sent Luger over the top rope and to the floor to win the first ever Battlebowl. A fireworks display went off.
So much of this match was boring. The stuff in the first ring had nothing redeeming about it. There were only a handful of moments in the second ring that I enjoyed. The Sting/Luger segment then ended up being quite underwhelming. I think I like Sting and Luger more than most, but they did not have in-ring chemistry together.
Match Rating: *
Tully Blanchard showed up to put over Starrcade. He introduces the 1993 match between Austin and Dustin Rhodes.
Match #20
Charlotte, North Carolina
December 27, 1993
Dustin Rhodes(c) vs. Steve Austin (w/ Colonel Robert Parker) [2/3 Falls for the United States Championship]
Dustin got the best of Austin several times early on. They started to brawl on the floor, but Dustin won that exchange as well. Austin finally cut him off after a punch to the face. Dustin started to fight back but a Parker distraction allowed Austin to come right back himself. Dustin avoided a diving fist drop and then made a comeback. Dustin sent Austin into Parker and over the top rope for a disqualification. WCW.
Steve Austin is winning one fall to none.
Dustin attacked Austin during the rest period and busted open his forehead. Dustin dominated the second fall as the lights went off in the building. Dustin went for the punches in the corner, but Austin took him down and got a handful of trunks: 1…2…3
Such a bizarre match. On the positive side of things, they showed to me that they had good chemistry in terms of the mechanics of wrestling and the character aspect. The booking of this match was just so bad though. Dustin somehow came across as dominant, dumb, and incompetent all at the same time. Austin came across as lucky, incompetent, and unworthy of anything all at the same time. In other words, both guys left the match looking worse than what they were. On top of that guy, Austin won despite being dominated a majority of the time.
Match Rating: **
Watch some WCW for free!
Hulk Hogan & Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger & Sting
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Goldberg & Ric Flair vs. Hollywood Hogan & Kevin Nash
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Blitzkrieg & Kaz Hayashi vs. Silver King & Psicosis
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero
Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio
