Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW Starrcade ’93: 10th Anniversary

-Written: 11.22.95
-Source: Peacock
-Run Time: 2:49:06

-We have reached the final show of my run through 1993. I will have my typical column where I rank every PPV match from the year next. Then we see how much of 1994 I can do before Peacock dumps the library. For WCW this is their biggest show of the year and has a big time World Title Match that never happens, but we can thank Sid and his scissors for why it happened. Away we go!

-Announce Team: Tony Schiavone and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
-Dec. 27, 1993
-Independence Arena, Charlotte, NC
-Attendance: 8200
-PPV Buys: 115000

-Best number they have done on PPV since Halloween Havoc 92. Still not close to that show’s number, but way higher than the disaster that was BattleBowl.

-Really good opening video package as it shows photos of Flair as a child and then early in the sport before it’s broken up by ominous music and Vader footage.

-Tony and Jesse welcome us to the show and take us to earlier in the day when Vader arrived at the arena with Harley Race. We see Vader going through a work out in the ring. Good stuff!

-Ric Flair still hasn’t arrived and they throw to Mean Gene Okerlund, who is at Flair’s home. This is like Rocky leaving his house and family to travel to Russia to face Drago. There’s David Flair and a very young Reid Flair. No Megan, but there’s Ashley (Charlotte). Ric kisses his wife goodbye as one of the kids say, “shut the door, it’s freezing.” Funny! Gene rides in the limo with Flair and Flair says he knew who Vader was before he signed the contract. He is going to prove to himself he is the man he thinks he has been his entire career. This is all good stuff and gives a big time feel to the match.

2 Cold Scorpio (w/ Teddy Long) vs. Marcus Alexander Bagwell vs. Pretty Wonderful (Paul Roma and Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff) (w/ The Assassin)

-Teddy Long was voted as Manager of the Year by WCW fans via a hotline. Harley Race was kind of robbed considering his man was WCW Champion basically the entire year. Pretty Wonderful spring to the ring and all four men start trading blows. Bagwell and Scorpio clear the ring with a double dropkick and then Bagwell flips Scorpio into a moonsault. Things slow as Pretty Wonderful take their time getting into the ring. We start proper with Bagwell and Roma. Tony mentions Roma is a former Horsemen and yeah, that did not last long at all. Scorpio in and he goes to work on the arm. Back to Bagwell who runs Roma into the buckle. Teddy yells for him to stay on the arm. That’s why he’s manager of the year. Roma gets a slam and makes the tag to Wonderful. He rushes in and gets caught with an arm-drag. Scorpio in and he works over the arm as the crowd starts a Paula chant. Wonderful lands a European Uppercut and stomps away. Scorpio avoids a suplex and gets a hip-toss followed by a flying head scissors. He maintains the head scissors on the mat and controls the arm at the same time. Bagwell in with a splash for a two count. Roma in and Bagwell immediately catches him with an arm-drag. Atomic Drop and Roma does his best Rude impression, but he wishes. Scorpio and we get a double leap frog followed by a Bagwell hip-toss which lets Scorpio hit a leg drop for two. Hammerlock as this has been a weird match with Bagwell and Scorpio dominating. Bagwell in and he gets caught in the eyes and Pretty Wonderful finally take control. A very weird slam by Wonderful as I have no clue what they were trying there. Bagwell with a sleeper, but Roma comes off the top to break as Scorpio has the ref. Roma in with no tag and he hits a backbreaker and then another one. A third one followed by an elbow with a cocky cover for two. Wonderful back in and he hits a nice belly-to-back suplex for two as Scorpio makes the save. Roma in with a powerslam, but misses a splash off the top rope. Wonderful in and he misses an elbow. Hot tag to Scorpio and he runs wilds. Flying shoulder to Wonderful and a dropkick to Roma, which sends him to the floor. Scorpio heads up and after kicking Roma away he lands a right hand. Spinning kick by Scorpio as Bagwell and Wonderful fight on the floor. The Assassin tries to get involved so Scorpio punches him. Assassin loads up the masks and delivers a head-butt as Scorpio tries for another head scissors. Wonderful fall on top for the pin at 11:45.

Winners: Pretty Wonderful via pin at 11:45
-Just a solidly okay tag match with a few rough patches. The crowd was into it and Bagwell/Scorpio proved to be a fun team during their run. **1/4

-More with Flair and Gene in the limo and it seems they are being given a police escort. Flair is looking to win his 11th World Title. He doesn’t even want to think about this being his last match. I think he has a bit more time. Gene is great here as he sells the gravity of the situation.

Awesome Kong (w/ King Kong) vs. The Shockmaster

-The Kongs attack before the bell and hit a double splash in the corner. This was just announced as Awesome Kong, but it’s King Kong in the ring or as Jesse notes, he is wearing the wrong tights. No bell as Tony has no idea what’s happening. Shockmaster gets a splash and the win at 1:07.

Winner: The Shockmaster via pin at 1:07
-No good, but short. DUD

-Flair’s limo arrives with the police escort and WCW security ushers him into the building. He gives Gene a handshake and tells him God Bless as he walks into the arena.

WCW World Television Title: Lord Steven Regal (c) (w/ Sir William) vs. Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat

-Steamboat takes the belt and walks around with it as he continues to be kind of dick during this run. Regal is in the ropes and Steamboat shoots in to grab a leg as he blatantly disregards the rules. The man was in the ropes! Lockup and they battle for leverage and Regal gets to the ropes again. Once again Steamboat refuses to break and Patrick has to wedge between them to get Steamboat back. Steamboat keeps slapping his forearm as he is either selling really well (no shock) or he has a stinger or something happened. Regal goes after the arm and forces Steamboat to the mat. Dragon counters, so Regal rolls and uses his legs to counter. Steamboat counters that and flips Regal over on the mat. They each block a hip-toss and Steamboat gets a roll-up for two and then the hip-toss. Sir William calls someone a four eyed brat and tells them to shut up. Cool! Steamboat with a sunset flip, but it only gets one. Regal hooks a standing leg lock as Jesse notes with the short time limit this is a smart strategy. Steamboat eats some elbows, so he kicks Regal in the face to break the hold. Enziguiri followed by a Slam from Dragon as he heads up top next. He comes off with a chop to the head and gets a two count. Dragon goes to an armbar which Tony questions due to the time limit. Regal escapes, but gets run over with a shoulder and back to the armbar. Regal kips up and puts Dragon on his shoulders as we are told there is 5 minutes to go. This is an accelerated timer I guess as I have that this match just passed 8 minutes. Steamboat goes to a hammerlock as we are down to four minutes and yet, Steamboat is staying with the ground game. He continues to work the arm and gets a head scissors. Regal bridges out and gets top control, but Dragon controls the arm. Regal gets to his feet and throws forearms to break the hold. We are down to three minutes which should be five, but whatever. Dragon starts firing off chops and chases Regal to the floor as he knows he has to get going. Sir William gets Dragon to chase which is brilliant as it eats up some time and then Regal catches him with a dropkick on the floor. Two minutes to go and Regal hooks a reverse chinlock as he is trying to ride this one out. Regal lands an elbow, but gets caught with a series of arm-drags. Dragon with a cover, but Regal bridges out and goes for a butterfly suplex. Dragon counter and hits his own as we have 60 seconds left. The suplex gets two and Regal bails to the floor. Steamboat runs Regal and William into each other and then throws William into the railing. Regal gets dropped throat first on the top rope and the crowd explodes as Steamboat comes off the top, but the body press misses. That will do it as the time limit expires at 13:05.

Time Limit Draw at 13:05
-Regal’s deal was he knew people had 15 minutes to beat them and he was fine with taking a draw to keep his title. These two had some good matches but I wasn’t a fan of this one. It was okay, but that’s about all. **

Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce vs. Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne

-It’s The Godwins vs. Man Mountain Rock and Mankind! Jesse nearly breaks Tony as he talks about Hooters. I think I have been to two in my life: Ocean City, MD and Atlanta. Payne start and gets a shoulder black and slam on Pierce. Tex in so Payne tags out to Cactus. Tex is all about the character as he yells Texas over and over again. Jack runs him into the buckle repeatedly, but has to offer a break. Tex goes to the eyes but gets caught with a knee trying a charge in the corner. Back to Payne and he drops an elbow to the arm. Back to Cactus and he hits a single arm DDT that dropped Tex right on the top of his head as he dropped a bit too soon. Ouch! Double clothesline and Tex gets pulled to the floor by Pierce. Jack drags him back in for Payne, who misses a splash in the corner. Tex with a modified bulldog and tag back to Pierce. Payne with a sunset flip for two and a belly-to-back suplex. Tag to Jack and he bites a man wearing a mask. Catcus clothesline sends Pierce to the floor and then Tex gets dumped as well which should be a DQ. Payne backdrops Cactus over the top onto Tex, though it sounds better here than what really happened. Back in the ring Pain Killer on Pierce, but Tex makes the save. Double clothesline is missed and Payne takes out both with a clothesline. Jack back in and all four men brawl. Payne gets pushed to the floor and Tex follows as Cactus ducks a clothesline. Double Arm DDT finishes for Cactus at 7:49.

Winners: Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne via pin at 7:49
-Another okay tag match. This one a little messier, but kind of charming in a way as they were bigger dudes just hitting each other. **

-Gene interviews Kyle Petty, who I believe ended up being the driver for the nWo racing team. The crowd is happy to see him as NASCAR runs deep in Carolina.

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship: 2 Out of 3 Falls: “The Natural” Dustin Rhodes (c) vs. “Stunning” Steve Austin (w/ Colonel Parker)

-Jesse: “I know one thing they can’t call that Hooter girl a natural.” Tony nearly cracks and Jesse knows so he keeps going back to it. Dustin controls early with a head scissors. Austin gets to the ropes to force a break. Austin gets a shoulder tackle, but Dustin cracks him with an elbow for a one count. Austin bails to the floor to regroup as he knows he has a 10 count. Some fan yells “jackass” at Austin or perhaps Parker. Jesse questions why Parker never has his cigar lit and it turns into him talking about Rush Limbaugh and giving cigarettes to children who will be paying for healthcare. Okay then! Dustin gets a backslide for two and Austin bails to the floor again as he is getting frustrated. Austin gets a double leg and pulls Dustin to the apron where he lands an elbow to the throat. They trade blows out there and Austin gets sent into the railing and he makes sure to go flying over and about four rows deep. Nice bump! Austin wants to shake hands and Dustin punches him in the face. Jerk! He takes Austin down with a side headlock. Austin backs him into the corner and a right hand may have knocked Dustin’s head back into a camera. Austin slams Dustin face first into the mat and gets a two count. Colonel lays the bad mouth on Dustin and takes a shot at Dusty for good measure. They would all be paid off months down the line. Dustin throws some right hands, but Austin hits an elbow to knock him down. Tony notes that many people think these two will dominate WCW in the next decade. Guess we will have to wait and see how that works. Dustin with a dropkick for two as Parker pulls him by the leg. Dustin goes after Parker and Austin attacks from behind. He connects with a belly-to-back suplex and gets two off a cocky cover. They collide in the middle of the ring and both are down. They beat the count and start slugging it out again. Austin misses a clothesline which lets Dustin go for a slam, but Austin shifts his weight and falls back for a two count. Austin off the middle ropes, but misses a knee drop. Dustin is bleeding from the nose and he starts firing off right hands and elbows to get the crowd going. He hits the lariat and then a powerslam for a two count. Parker is on the apron so Dustin throws Austin at home and he goes over the top at 13:30 to give Austin the first fall. We are supposed to have a 30 second rest period, but Dustin beats on Austin because he’s a poor sport.

Fall Two: Austin up 1-0: Patrick forces Dustin back in the ring so we can get an announcement and then the rest period. Austin is bleeding as I guess it’s from hitting heads with Parker. Speaking of Parker, he’s been taken to the back. The lights starts to go out in the building so we get a spotlight to help us see what’s happening. It’s Beware of Dog two and a half years early or Mania XXIV. Jesse makes the joke we all wanted to hear as he says it has turned into a dark match. He also references the lights going out in Georgia. Austin is pouring blood and I think that look may help him out in the future. Dustin gets a clothesline in the corner as the lights come back on. Dustin pounds away in the corner with right hands, but Austin drops him down and gets a roll-up with the tights for the win at 16:19.

Winner and New WCW United States Heavyweight Champion: Steve Austin via 2 falls to 0 at 16:19
-Not often you see a Best of 3 not make it to the third fall. This was kind of boring at times and that second fall seemed rushed. I wonder if they wanted Austin out of there due to the blood and cut this one short. Austin winning is the right call as before the Sid stabbing incident they had him facing Flair here, so they were getting ready to push him up the card. The lights going out and firing up the crowd while Austin bleed all over the place was the best part of the match. **1/2

WCW International World Heavyweight Championship: “Ravishing” Rick Rude (c) vs. The Boss

-This was supposed to be Bulldog vs. Rude, but Bulldog had legal trouble from a bar incident and The Boss (who just returned to WCW) gets the spot instead. Lot of card subject to change with this show. They quickly set this up by having The Boss beat Rude on Saturday Night in his first show back with the company. They scream at each other to start and Rude backs up to the corner. Oh yeah, The Boss is of course The Big Boss Man and he didn’t keep the name long as I assume WWF lawyers came calling. I mean, he is wearing a black uniform instead of a blue one. The Boss goes Jamar Chase and spits on Rude or if you want to go way back he pulled a Romanowski. Rude keeps cowering in the corner because this is a PPV match for the Big Gold Belt post Flair leaving for the WWF so it has to suck. Rude finally starts firing off forearms as Jesse notes he was playing possum. Rude runs Boss’ face along the top rope and slugs him down again. Reverse of a whip and Boss gets a backdrop and Rude got some amazing height on that one. Impressive! Backbreaker that seemed to catch Rude on the hip more than the back. Boss with a hard whip to the corner as Tony notes they will be naming a commissioner in WCW soon. I believe that ended up being Nick Bockwinkel and he lasted until Hogan came into the company. Should have dropped the AWA Title to him I guess. To the floor where The Boss gets a slam. He bounces Rude around in the ropes and then hooks a bear hug and we get a “Rude”chant for a group of fans in the crowd. Rude bites the noses to break, but walks into a right hand. Rude gets a knee up in the corner and heads up top, but Boss catches him with a punch on the way down. Boss misses his leg drop on the ropes and Rude uses the ropes to sling in for a sunset flip and the pin at 9:06.

Winner and Still WCW International World Heavyweight Champion via pin at 9:06
-The Boss dominated this one from start to finish before one mistake led to the loss. I know they were in a tough spot with Bulldog not being able to go, but still. The crowd was at least into it because The Boss had that new car smell on him in the promotion. *1/2

WCW World Tag Team Titles: The Nasty Boys (c) (w/ Missy Hyatt) vs. Sting and Road Warrior Hawk

-Missy has a whip and is rocking a pink see through number so we can see her bra and panties. It appears to be a thong for anyone wondering, but I guess later pics on the internet took all the mystery away. Sting has a black and white paint and tights look happening. That will never work for him. Lots of stalling as the crowd is all over the Nasty Boys and they have to respond. Sting starts with Knobbs, who continues to stall. Yeah, they are going lock because it takes nearly 3 minutes before we get a lock-up and nothing comes from it, so more stalling. Another go and Sting gets an arm-drag. Knobbs buries a knee to the gut and fires off right hands. He runs Sting into the top buckle but misses a clothesline. Sting hits a leaping clothesline and drops an elbow. Sags in and he gets dropped. Knobbs staggers into a right hand from Hawk and another clothesline from Sting. The Nasty Boys bail to the floor so Hawk press slams Sting onto the pile. Cool! Sags in and he talks shit to Hawk on the apron, so Hawk slaps him in the face. The crowd is the hottest it’s been all night and they aren’t even doing anything at this point. I guess that’s why Sting and Hawk were always over. Jesse mentions the LA Rams, so let me say, BANG BANG NINER GANG! Also, I am getting so old that them being the LA Rams has come all the way back around to being correct again after a run in Missouri. Hawk pounds Sags and he bails to the floor where Missy complains about cheating. Back in and Hawk just repeatedly punches Sags in the face. Leaping shoulder block and he drops a right hand. Sags to the floor again as the Nasty Boys are getting destroyed here. Hawk chases back into the ring and hits an enziguiri for two. Sting in and we get a double back elbow. Sting powers Sags up with a suplex, but gets caught with a thumb to the eye. Knobbs rushes in and gets caught with a hip-toss. Hawk and Sting continue with quick tags as we near 10 minutes and it has been all Hawk and Sting. Hawk misses a charge in the corner and goes shoulder first into the post and then to the floor. Sags off the apron with a double ax and then a nasty chair shot. That was one of those plastic chairs you see in schools that don’t fold and he took all of that on the side of the head. Missy gets in a rather loud slap. Knobbs off the apron with another double ax. Hawk taking a beating means we got some time because there is no way Sting doesn’t get to take a beating as well. Knobbs works the arm as he yells for Hawk to give up. Loud “LOD” chant from the crowd. Sags in and he hooks an armbar as The Nasty Boys are wrestling tonight. I prefer them using weapons and going 10 minutes, but here we are. Good looking right hands from Knobbs and he gets a slam for two. That was a rather weak slam and even Jesse calls him out for it. I assume the guys in the front row are appreciative of what Missy is wearing as they have the best look. She talks trash to Hawk while Knobbs keeps control of the armbar. Hawk gets to his feet and kind of hits a clothesline, but not really. Tag to Sting, but the ref misses it. Hawk ducks (heh) a double clothesline and wipes out both Nasty Boys. Tag to Sting and he runs wild with clotheslines and slams as we are told 15 minutes. Well, 15:30 actually! Sting with a clothesline that sends Knobbs to the ramp and The Nasty Boys are taking a walk on this match. Sting and Haw chase them down and fire them back in the ring. Sting heads up top, Knobbs gets the knees up to block a splash. Knobbs off the middle ropes with a Senton Back Splash and I think Sting tried to roll out of the way and it just made it worse for both of them. Ouch! Sting gets pitched to the floor over the top and that also seemed like a mistake as the ref just ignores it. Missy uses her whip, but that fires Sting up as I guess he is into that sort of thing. On cue Jesse: “I know a few guys that would say do it again Missy.” Back in the rings Knobbs gets a suplex for two. Sags in with an abdominal stretch and we get some added leverage from Knobbs. Tony mentions The Charlotte Hornets and that’s another one where I have been around long enough to see them leave, come back with a different name, and finally return. Can I get a Winnipeg Jets reference next? Sting blocks a charge and gets a sunset flip for two, but Sags gets the tag and drops an elbow to cut off a tag to Hawk. Tony is all over it as he mentions Sting had his ribs broke by Vader. Must be some slow healing ribs that DDP came down with years later. Reverse chinlock from Knobbs. Sting nearly gets to his feet, so Knobbs goes to the eyes. Snap suplex by Knobbs gets two and back to the reverse chinlock. Hawk rushes in and kicks Knobbs in the head to break. Sags in and he covers for two. Sags right back out as something seems wrong with him. He was down talking to Missy at one point. Back to the abdominal stretch as we are filling time now. Sags in and even Tony notes he is hurting. He hits one move and tags back out. Knobbs has to carry this one I think. Slam from Knobbs and he comes off the middle ropes with a rough looking splash. This match has gone longer than needed and they are struggling to the finish. Knobbs tries a second splash and Sting gets up a boot this time. Sags decks Hawk to prevent a tag. Splash to Sting in the corner followed by a slam. Hawk rushes in and decks Sags and Knobbs and now the hot tag. The crowd loses it as Hawk hits a clothesline and slams for two as Sags makes the save. Everyone in the ring! Sting with a Stinger Splash and he goes for The Scorpion put Missy gets involved. Sting gives her a kiss and then Knobbs accidentally runs into her. Sting gets a roll-up for two. Doomsday Device hits much to the crowd’s delight but Missy hits the ring again and it’s a DQ at 29:11.

Winners: Sting and Hawk via DQ at 29:11
-Even Jesse calls out that finish as Missy bumping into Sting shouldn’t be a DQ. Long match for that finish. The crowd was fired up for the entire match which was impressive. It was a good match. Long, but good until the cop-out ending. Not sure why they kept giving The Nasty Boys 30 minutes on PPV though. ***

WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Vader (c) (w/ Harley Race) vs. Ric Flair

-Vader has been Champion since Jan and yet, this is his first PPV defense since May. There is a solid story underneath this one as well as Race is looking for revenge on Flair for what happened at the first Starrcade. The Charlotte crowd is just a little bit behind Flair in this one. As a reminder if Flair loses, his will retire. For some reason this match only has a 45 minute time limit. Shouldn’t that be an hour? Unless they were giving them until the end of the PPV. I was kind of hoping Jesse would freak out about Vader coming out first as Champion as he did when Savage came out first at Mania V. Flair looks emotional as he is introduced by Buffer. This has crazy, big match feel and it feels right having Jesse on the call of a big time match. Jesse notes the plane crash Flair was in may be easy compared to facing Vader. Great line! Thunderous “Flair” chant. Yo, I am fired up for this one. Lockup and Vader shoves Flair on his ass. Race: “You wanted him Flair. There he is.” Cold! Vader shoves Flair again, so Flair runs around the ring forcing Vader to chase. He realizes what Flair is trying to do and calmly gets back in the ring. Vader stats boxing the ears and grabs Flair’s arm. Flair is close which is bad news for him. Clothesline from Vader and he hooks the arm again. Vader: “You ain’t man enough!” Flair fires off two chops and nothing! Flair to the floor to think about what he needs to do. I assume it wasn’t get trapped in the corner and get punched down because that’s what happens. Gorilla Press Slam and Flair rolls to the floor. Vader follows and presses Flair in the air and drops him on the railing. Vader makes his first big mistake though as he tries a splash, but catches railing. Flair fires up and runs Vader into the post to pop the crowd. Race decks Flair though to end that rally. Vader brings Flair back into the ring with a suplex and Flair rolls to the apron again. Right hand from Vader and another suplex though he just released Flair on that one. To the corner and again, that’s a bad time for Flair as Vader goes back to the boxing. Whip to the corner and this time Vader doesn’t charge. He just gets close and hits a clothesline. Whip to the other corner and Flair flips over the top and off the ramp to the floor. He staggers back into the ring and Vader greets him with a right hand and then a clothesline. The crowd doesn’t know how to react to this ass whipping. Piston like right hands from Vader. Flair throws some chops as he needs to do something and again, it has no effect. Powerslam from Vader gets two. Vader off the middle rope with a clothesline and it seems it busted Flair’s mouth. Flair seems legit pissed as he nearly gets caught cursing at Vader. To the middle ropes again, but a splash misses. Flair off the top with a right hand. He goes again and this one basically misses and thankfully Vader doesn’t sell it. Flair hits a third one and that drops Vader. Flair drops a knee, but Vader lands one shot to shut that rally down. Vader carries Flair on his shoulders as he notes it’s over. He sets Flair up top and hits a superplex. No crazy screaming from Flair about his back as he is just flat out on the mat. Vader drops an elbow to the abdomen and there’s the screaming out of God. Flair avoids a splash and tries to charge at Vader, which is never a good strategy. Vader drops him! Flair gets pitched between the ropes and Race stomps Flair in the face as payback for 83. Tony notes when Harley lost that night he never became Champion again. He went on to become a King though. Flair tries to fight back and avoids a splash in the corner. The chops have something behind them this time, but Vader still reverses a whip and this time hits the splash. “Oh God,” again from Flair. Vader just unloads with right hands in the corner and tells the ref to end this. Flair won’t quit though. Instead he goes to the eyes and fires away with rights and lefts. The crowd goes crazy as Vader drops to a knee and then falls to his ass. Flair grabs the leg and wraps it around the ring post as we hit the 15 minute mark. He uses the plastic chair to crack Vader in the knee while the ref was with Harley. Right hands and chops as this is the moment where someone on Flair’s side would be screaming “he’s cut.” Flair peppers him with right hands as a little kid talks crap to Vader and asks him what’s wrong. Chair shot to the head as this is the Flair we need. DIRTIEST PLAYER IN THE GAME! Back in the ring as Jesse notes Flair had to go for broke and risk the DQ. He bites Vader because why not and then collapses in the corner. This is fantastic! He goes back to the knee and gives us a Wooo as he is feeling it right now. Flair struts and starts firing away with right hands. Vader kicks Flair away to prevent the figure-four. Vader up and he steps on Flair to set-up a Vader Bomb, but Flair moves. He goes back to the leg and this time he gets the figure-four. Race is on the apron and is screaming at Vader to stay in this. Vader gets to the ropes and Race makes sure the ref can see it. Flair gets dumb again though and charges at Vader which results in a boot to he face. Do not charge at this man! Vader uses his weight and drops another elbow. He goes ground and pound with short elbows to Flair’s face. This is just beautiful! Vader all the way up and the moonsault misses. Flair covers, but Vader kicks out and Race comes off with a headbutt and hits Vader by mistake. The ref pushes Harley to the ramp and this crowd is going crazy. Flair again charges Vader and gets dropped, but his knee buckles. Flair pounces on the knee, and gets a trip into a cover for the pin at 21:09. The crowd just goes crazy as pyro goes off and Flair has the Championship strapped around his waist.

Winner and New WCW World Heavyweight Champion: Ric Flair via pin at 21:09
-Just an amazing match! I loved the story as Flair was getting destroyed but hung in their long enough to where Vader got caught and Flair got his confidence. The Race interference worked and he timed that mistaken headbutt perfectly. This was a war that Flair survived and he pounced on Vader’s knee buckling. It took all year, but this is the WCW/WWF Match of the Year. *****

-Eric Bischoff is backstage in Vader’s locker room and in a nice touch they have plastic over everything just in case he won and there was champagne. Instead, Vader is breaking things and tossing chairs.

-Flair comes back out for a curtain call with the fans.

-We go back to Flair’s locker room and his family is there and so is Gene. Flair is in tears as he talks about the moment and he puts over Vader for being a great champion. Flair gives Reid a kiss in a touching and now sad, moment. Sting congratulates Flair, because he never learns, and he is emotional as he talks about how amazing Flair is. Ricky Steamboat in next and he shakes Flair’s hand as he congratulates him on being an 11 Time World Champion. Flair gets the last word as he says he has been a very, very fortunate man. Well, I guess Gene gets the last word as he wraps up the show.

-Thanks for reading!

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

This show was struggling until the Tag Title Match and then the fantastic Main Event saved things. Nothing was out right horrible, but just a lot of BLAH. Flair/Vader is excellent though and a must watch as it was Flair getting his groove back in WCW.