The Great Eight: Top 8 Starrcade Matches

Going back into the 1960s, Jim Crockett Promotions had a long-standing Thanksgiving super card tradition. In 1983, they would make it an even bigger deal with the first Starrcade. Starrcade was the first wrestling supercard to be seen across multiple states using a closed-circuit broadcast, preceding WrestleMania by two years. It would move to PPV in 1987, and due to the WWF making the broadcaster choose between Starrcade and Survivor Series, it would become a December tradition from 1988 to the last Starrcade in 2000.

Starrcade is a weird event; it started as the NWA’s biggest event of the year. But from 1989 onwards, it was home to tournaments as those in charge wanted the biggest event of the year to be in the Spring or Summer.

Those tournaments did lead to some interesting moments. Match-ups that you wouldn’t get to see anywhere else and future stars way before their prime. So, I wanted to introduce a new segment.

Interesting Moments

Ric Flair vs The Great Muta – Starrcade 1989 had both a singles and a tag team round robin tournament. This match isn’t very long, but it’s fun to watch one of the biggest names from Japan take on one of the biggest names in America.

Konnan & Rey Mysterio vs Chris Adams & Norman Smiley – Starrcade 1990 featured the Pat O’Connor Memorial International Tag Team Tournament. And this match was an interesting inclusion. This is Rey Mysterio Sr. (misspelled as Mysteric).

It’s fun to see Norman Smiley get to be a serious wrestler, and not the comedy act he would go on to be. Konnan is coming off a knee injury, but gets to show he actually was a good wrestler.

Fun facts

411mania is actually referenced in several of the Wikipedia articles for each Starrcade. Including Kevin Pantoja’s scathing review of Starrcade 1997. Ric Flair was either defending or challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for the first five Starrcades.

Also, five different Starrcades included a tournament of some sort. 1989 was a round robin, 1990 was the Pat O’Connor Tag Team tournament, 1991 and 1992 were the Lethal Lottery, and 1995 was the World Cup of Wrestling

Disclaimers

Caveat: I am only ranking matches from the NWA/WCW eras of Starrcade.

Disclaimer: This is my list; if you don’t like it or have a different list, awesome! Please share your own list and opinions in the comments section. I welcome open discourse about this wacky art we all love. It is an art form, so it is subjective; we all have our opinions on it, and all of them are valid. So, if you want to share your thoughts and opinions, don’t insult others for their opinion. There is enough negativity in the world right now; let’s not add to it. And with that, on to the list!

Honorable Mentions

Randy Savage vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan – 1995, Shinjiro Otani vs Eddy Guerrero 1995, Ricky Steamboat vs Tully Blanchard – 1984, and The New Midnight Express vs The Original Midnight Express

The Top Eight

8: 3 Count (Shane Helms & Shannon Moore) vs The Jung Dragons (Kay Hayashi & Jimmy Yang) vs Evan Karagias & Jamie Noble Ladder match for the Number One Contender to the WCW Cruiserweight Championship

The last grasp of goodness from Starrcade. In classic late-stage WCW, a ladder match is held between three teams to determine the number one contender for a singles championship.

And just to make it even more unique or convoluted, this is held under traditional triangle tag rules. Only two men are legal, and you can tag in anyone. Or at least at the start, it quickly devolves into more of what you’d expect from this kind of match.

There are some botches early on between Hayashi and Moore, but overall, this is a glimpse of what WCW could have been. You had five of the top prospects (and Evan Karagis) showcasing why they could be the future.

It’s a fun car crash, and it has some unique spots that you won’t see anywhere else. Well worth a watch.

7: Dusty Rhodes vs Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship – 1985

The fact that this match provided us with the Hard Times promo makes it more significant than their 1984 match. I also think the match is better paced and has a hotter crowd. I think people sleep on Rhodes as an in-ring talent. We all know how charismatic he was, but his ring psychology was second to none. He knew how to keep the people in the palm of his hand.

Of course, Flair is much the same, which makes sense, since he spent his early years learning from Rhodes in the AWA. Putting them together was always a bit of magic. As much as the NWA fans hated Flair’s pretty rich boy antics, they loved Dusty’s common man approach even more.

It can be difficult to rate older matches against what wrestling is today. But even in a slower-paced NWA-style match, one thing you can’t deny is the psychology on display. The way both men milk the crowd, with Flair cutting off Dusty’s comebacks even before they get going. So, when Dusty can finally go on the attack, the crowd erupts.

Your mileage may vary on older matches, but if you have Peacock (or can find it elsewhere), this is well worth the watch. The only thing that brings it down is the classic Dusty Finish at the end.

6: Ric Flair vs Harley Race Steel Cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship – 1983

This is another match where modern mileage may vary. Personally, I appreciate the absolute psychology on display here. Race was past his prime here, but the match serves as a great start to Flair’s second run as World Champion. Flair bumps and bleeds for Race in a slow build and brutal match. This was the antithesis of what you’d see coming from the WWF in the 1980s.

It felt like a fight, one waged between two men who would do anything to be champion. Race would work over Flair, softening him up for the piledriver. But it would be Flair who would win, with a crossbody off the top rope. Maybe that’s why he always went to the top rope, even though it never worked out for him again.

As an aside, it’s fun to watch Race and Flair, and try and pick out the things that Triple H would go on to emulate from both men. Again, if you have Peacock and want to watch a masterclass in the slow build, give this a watch.

5: Ric Flair vs Vader Career vs WCW World Heavyweight Championship – 1993

After leaving WCW and a run in the WWF, Ric Flair would return to WCW as a face in February of 1993. Just under a year into his return, Flair was faced with his biggest obstacle ever. Vader had run roughshod over the WCW locker room for the better part of two years. And it didn’t look like he would be slowing down any time soon.

Vader is one of the best big-man wrestlers ever. He knew how to give his opponents just enough to make them look like they had a chance. Before brutally beating them down and dashing the hopes of fans. And of course, we’ve already talked about the psychology of Flair. Yes, his matches could be formulaic, but at the same time, he knew how to hold the fans in his hands.

These would go out and put on what, I think, is Flair’s best Starrcade match. The fans of the NWA and WCW had long loved to hate Flair, and now they could just love him. They hang on every move and near fall. And the pop when Flair pins Vader is unreal. The match also flies by, and is well worth a watch.

4: Rey Mysterio vs Juventud Guerrera vs Billy Kidman Triple Threat for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship – 1998

When talking about the greatest Triple-Threat matches, it’s usually Christopher Daniels vs AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe at Turning Point that gets pointed out as the best. I won’t say this is better than that. But the fact that no one talks about it is criminal. All three men go balls to the wall for the entire match. You don’t really see any of the one wrestler resting, while the other two have a singles match here.

This should be required viewing for any aspiring wrestler. Three men, at the top of their game, putting on one of the best Starrcade matches ever. It’s a shame that Juventud was always his own worst enemy. Because if he had stayed clean and dropped the attitude, he would be more fondly remembered today. When he was on, he was amazing, and I was a huge fan of his as a kid.

I can’t say enough good things about this match. Just go find the whole match and watch it. The list will be here when you are done.

3: Roddy Piper vs Greg Valentine Dog Collar Match – 1983

An absolute war of a match. I’ve always loved Piper, and like Dusty, I think people forget how good he was in the ring. Piper was another one of those guys who understood how to take the fans on a ride. Building the match slowly, building layer upon layer, the violence escalates slowly. The pace allows the fans to build anticipation, so when they start in with the brutality, they are rabid for it.

Piper’s selling of the ear is beautiful, the wobbling to sell his lack of balance just beautiful. Valentine more than holds his own here as well. I don’t often hear people talk about Greg Valentine, but he was no slouch. These two men go out there and give it their all for 16+ minutes, and the fans are into it the entire time.

I think this and the number one match are perfect examples of what hardcore matches could be. If Piper and Valentine started with the chain shot to the ear, then they would have less to build off of. Since that shot came in later, when Piper finally gets back into it, and lays into Valentine, the crowd goes crazy for it. This is a masterwork and well worth the watch.

2: Dean Malenko vs Ultimo Dragon Title Unification J-Crown and WCW Cruiserweight Championship – 1996

The original belt collector, Ultimo Dragon vs the Man of 1,000 Holds, Dean Malenko. The Cruiserweight Championship was less than a year old at this point, and Malenko was on his second run. And of course, Ultimo Dragon was the current J-Crown champion, which combined the IWGP Junior Heavyweight, MPW British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight, NWA World Junior Heavyweight, NWA Welterweight, UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight, WAR International Junior Heavyweight, WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight, and the WWF Light Heavyweight Championships.

Technically speaking, with his win here, Ultimo Dragon held the NWA, WCW, IWGP, and WWF championships at one time. I don’t think any other wrestler has ever done that before or since. Yes, Mone has more championships, but only the AEW ones are at the level of WCW, NJPW, or WWF titles.

Anyway, this is a phenomenal match, and really showcases what the Cruiserweight division was all about. Hard-hitting, technical, and high-flying action are all on display here. And would you really expect less from two of the best at the time?

I will forever champion that if Dean Malenko had come up in ROH, he would be held in even higher regard. The man was ahead of his time and just started 15 years too early. Then again, if he hadn’t, then he wouldn’t have been able to influence so many of those who came after him.

Dragon’s career in the US never really took off. But whenever you watch one of his matches, you can see his influence all over today’s product. He was just as much an innovator as Malenko was.

1: Magnum T.A. vs Tully Blanchard Steel Cage I Quit match for the NWA United States Championship – 1985

We talked about psychology in hardcore style matches with Piper vs Valentine. And this match is much the same and more. T.A. and Blanchard were in a blood feud at this point. Not only was this an I Quit match, but they also had to contain it within a steel cage. The hatred is on display from the beginning. They just start laying shots into each other.

Even with the quicker pace and Blanchard getting busted open in the opening moments, there is still a methodically built pace to the match. It’s violent throughout, but that violence escalates and gets more brutal, more vicious as time goes on. The crowd is also on fire for Magnum; it’s clear why the NWA was banking on him being their Hogan. He was good-looking, he could wrestle, and the crowd loved him.

The problem with most I Quit matches is that the action grinds down when someone has to ask the other if they quit. Magnum and Blanchard don’t let up. Even when asking, they are laying in mic shots and beating each other down. Once that wooden chair gets brought in, the crowd goes absolutely nuts.

And when Magnum drives it into Tully’s head to finally get him to quit? The crowd just absolutely explodes. I would love for Mox to do some sort of review of matches like this and the Piper vs Valentine match. I’d love his take as a death match worker, on the psychology, pacing, and violence.