Hall’s WCW Starrcade 1994 Review

Starrcade 1994
Date: December 27, 1994
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 8,200
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan

Unfortunately now we move on to the Hulk Hogan era of WCW and things are not exactly going well. Hogan feels like a star and there is some fresh life in the promotion, but that doesn’t exactly mean things are going well. That’s certainly going to be on display in the main event as the Butcher, better known as Brutus Beefcake, is getting the World Title shot in the main event. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is a pretty basic rundown of the card.

Commentary and Gene Okerlund welcome us to the show, with Dave Sullivan as Santa Claus in the crowd. Yeah it’s two days after Christmas but it’s a Tuesday (yeah, the biggest show of the year was on a Tuesday) so who cares?

Aaron Tippin (with an amazing mustache) sings the National Anthem. Why he’s wearing a Tampa Bay Lightning jersey in Tennessee isn’t clear.

We recap Randy Savage threatening to either slap Hulk Hogan in the face or shake his hand. Either way, he’s showing up here tonight. Savage was told he could meet Hogan at Starrcade on December 27 in Nashville so he would show up. Note that they never actually say the name of the venue, which has me picturing Savage wandering the streets of Nashville, looking for Starrcade and Hogan in gas stations and post offices.

We go to the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Awards, with Bill Apter naming Hulk Hogan as the Wrestler Of The Year. Hogan gives a speech, where he reminds everyone that he beat Ric Flair.

After about eleven minutes of recaps and packages, it’s time to get things going.

US Title: Vader vs. Jim Duggan

Vader, with Harley Race, is challenging because Duggan is the US Champion in 1994. The brawl starts in the aisle and Vader is knocked down, leaving Duggan to punch Race out for a bonus. They slug it out on the floor with Duggan knowing how to throw those haymakers. Duggan knocks him down and gets inside, with Vader eventually joining him, allowing Duggan to hammer away again.

A clothesline puts Vader on the floor again, followed by a rather delayed slam back inside. Duggan drops a big elbow for two and some big right hands set up the chinlock. Vader fight sup and slugs him back, with a poke to the eye putting Duggan down for the first time. Vader’s running clothesline to the back of the head puts Duggan on the floor in a heap. Back in and Vader slowly slugs him down, followed by the Vader Bomb but Duggan’s foot is in the rope.

Another Vader Bomb is cut off with some kicks, only for Vader to knock Duggan HARD out to the apron. Race chokes on the ropes but the moonsault misses to give them a double down. A jumping clothesline drops Vader again and Duggan slugs away before Vader goes up. Duggan powerslams him out of the air (that’s a common Vader spot and it always looks good) for two but Vader sends Duggan into Race, who is holding the 2×4 on the apron. With Duggan rocked, Vader wheelbarrow faceplants him for the pin and the title at 12:06.

Rating: B. These guys beat each other up and it made for a heck of a fight. Duggan is not exactly a mat wizard, but he knew exactly what he was doing with something like this. He threw those big punches and staggered Vader, who can work this style in his sleep. I had a great time with this match and dang it was a fun start to the show.

The Three Faces Of Fear (Kevin Sullivan, Butcher and Avalanche (Earthquake)) have a tombstone for Hulkamania. Avalanche is ready to crush Sting and Kevin Sullivan is going to beat up…Mr. T. In 1994. Because Hulk Hogan.

Jean Paul Levesque vs. Alex Wright

Levesque is a French blue blood who you might know better as HHH. Feeling out process to start with Levesque taking him down by the arm. That’s broken up and a headscissors sends Levesque into the corner. Wright grabs his own armbar, followed by a dropkick and another armbar. Levesque’s attempt at a reversal into a headlock is countered into something like an abdominal stretch on the mat.

That’s finally enough for Levesque, who gets up and stomps away in the corner to take over. A spinwheel kick drops Wright and a baseball slide puts him on the floor as this is indeed as boring as it sounds. The chinlock goes on back inside, followed by a running dropkick to give Levesque two more. Wright finally fights up with uppercuts and a jumping elbow before they collide for a quick double down. Back up and Wright rolls him up out of the corner for the pin out of nowhere at 14:03.

Rating: C-. It wasn’t a bad match, but it was long and boring, which is often worse. Wright is someone who felt like he could have been a bit of a something if he was given the chance but this wasn’t the kind of match to showcase him. At the same time you have Levesque, who had potential, but the French snob deal was only going to get him so far. Now an American snob? I could go for hearing more.

Clash Of The Champions is coming in January. Thanks for the warning.

TV Title: Johnny B. Badd vs. Arn Anderson

Anderson, with Meng and Colonel Parker, is challenging in place of Honky Tonk Man, who was fired for refusing to put Badd over. Badd sends him into the corner to start but Anderson goes for the hair, which doesn’t sit well with the champ. An exchange of arm cranking goes to Badd, with Anderson bailing into the corner. Anderson gets annoyed at a shot to the face and gets armdragged down a few times, followed by a dropkick out to the floor to make it even worse.

Back in and Anderson gets in a cheap shot, setting up the abdominal stretch, complete with some grabs of the rope. An elbow to the ribs cuts off a comeback attempt and Anderson grabs the chinlock. That’s reversed into a sleeper from Badd, which is broken up with a jawbreaker. Back up and Anderson tries a rollup with feet on the ropes, only for Badd to grab his own rollup to retain at 12:10.

Rating: C. And somehow, this is miles better than what we would have gotten with Honky Tonk Man. Badd was getting better at this point but there was only so much he could do when Anderson was pretty clearly just going through the motions. It wasn’t a bad match, but it was never beyond second gear at most and that’s not enough.

We see the Nasty Boys being named 1994’s Tag Team Of The Year by PWI.

Harlem Heat vs. Nasty Boys

Sherri is here with Harlem Heat. They slug it out to start with Sags planting Booker for a rather delayed two as the others brawl on the floor. That means it’s time for a breather with Sherri and we settle down for a bit. We settle down to Booker taking over on Sags, who LAUNCHES him on a kickout. Everything breaks down and Knobbs gives Booker a running splash in the corner.

A clothesline on the floor puts Knobbs down but he’s right back to knock Booker down back inside. They be clubberin on Stevie in the corner and a running DDT on the arm gets two. Sags comes in to stay on the arm but gets sent outside, with Stevie kicking him in the face. Back in and Harlem Heat takes over on Sags, including another kick to the head for two. The chinlock goes on for a good while, followed by an ax kick to give Booker two more.

Ray grabs a bearhug for a long time before charging into a boot in the corner. Sags turns him inside out with a clothesline but Ray crashes onto Sags for quite the visual. Back up and Sags fights out of trouble, allowing the tag off to Knobbs to clean house. Sherri tries to spray hairspray at the Nastys but hits Booker instead. The top rope elbow hits Booker so Sherri dives in with a top rope splash (to Booker), which is enough for the DQ at 17:49.

Rating: C-. Another dull match here, which shouldn’t be the biggest surprise. It doesn’t help that the ending didn’t even make a ton of sense, as someone attacking Harlem Heat should mean they win. Either way, as good as Harlem Heat and Sherri were as a team, it really wasn’t working here, as the match was way too long and didn’t exactly work.

Post match Sherri gets a Pit Stop to send her into a panic.

Sting was named the Most Popular Wrestler of the Year for 1994. It’s always weird to see him without face paint.

Sting is ready to be a giant killer when he faces Avalanche.

Kevin Sullivan vs. Mr. T.

T. is here because he’s Hogan’s friend and Sullivan attacked him a few weeks ago. For some reason T. is in a referee shirt and nightcap, the latter of which is thankfully taken off for the match. A fireman’s carry has Sullivan…well in the air, but let’s look at Santa coming down the aisle instead.

Sullivan knocks him outside and hits a chop to the chest before thankfully pulling up the referee shirt. This results in T.’s hands getting stuck in the shirt for a good while, just in case this hadn’t turned into enough of a joke. A cameraman gets knocked down and we cut to a shot of T. laying on him, which is quite the visual. The beating continues as Jimmy Hart comes out to slip the megaphone into Sullivan’s bag. Hart offers a distraction so Santa (Kevin’s brother Evad) can hit Sullivan with the bag to give T. the pin at 3:51.

Rating: F. What else is there to say here? T. wasn’t over, he didn’t do anything other than the fireman’s carry to flash us back to the first Wrestlemania, and the bigger deal here was Sullivan’s brother dressed as Santa Claus interfering. It’s one of the worst celebrity matches of all time and there’s a reason T. was pretty much gone after the match.

Post match Kevin beats up Evad, including a piledriver. This goes on almost as long as the match, with T. being long gone.

Hulk Hogan, with Jimmy Hart, is ready to destroy the Butcher once and for all (it shouldn’t be that hard). He also hopes Randy Savage doesn’t get on the wrong side of things. Hart swears he’ll never turn on Hogan. Well to be fair, he did last a lot longer than you would have thought.

Heenan thinks Hogan is scared of Savage and the Butcher. Of what? 1989 coming to repossess its stars?

Sting vs. Avalanche

Avalanche, with Kevin Sullivan, is billed from Mt. Everest, Washington. Given that I’d assume he means Mount EVEREST and got it confused with EVERETT, Washington (which is a town, not a mountain) or the Mount EVERETT in Massachusetts, I can only assume that we are indeed watching a WCW show. They shove each other around to start and Avalanche gets in a hard shot to take over.

The charge misses in the corner though and Sting kicks away at the leg. Schiavone: “What does Sting have to do to keep Avalanche off his feet?” Heenan: “Offer him cash.” Avalanche wins a test of strength and slowly hammers away until Sting kicks at the leg some more. Sting gets knocked down again and Avalanche chokes on the ropes, which is enough for Sting to strike away.

That sends Avalanche out to the floor for a meeting with Sullivan, who apparently tells him to grab a headlock back inside. The slow beating knocks Sting into the corner but he manages a sleeper. For some reason, Sting tries a slam, which goes as badly as you would expect. The ensuing Earthquake takes WAY too long to set up though and Sting is back with a clothesline.

A top rope forearm and a dropkick stagger Avalanche but the Stinger Splash crushes the referee in the corner. Now the slam works and the Scorpion Deathlock goes on, drawing in Kevin Sullivan for the save. The Earthquake connects but here is Hulk Hogan with a chair for the real save. The second referee throws it out and disqualifies Avalanche at 15:27.

Rating: C. The ending was another lame one, but at least this felt like a match that belonged on a big show. Sting vs. Earthquake is an intriguing match and there’s a reason it was all the way up to the second to last match on the card. I could have gone for a better ending, but somehow this was probably the second best match on the show thus far.

Jimmy Hart won Manager Of The Year, which he says should be split with Hogan.

Heenan feels nauseous after Hart’s speech.

We recap Butcher challenging Hulk Hogan for the World Title. They were best friends but then a masked man kept attacking him. Eventually he was unmasked as Brother Bruti, who is now the Butcher. Then Butcher knocked him out with a sleeper, which was apparently enough to make you want to see the match. It’s a nice enough story on paper, but also a perfect illustration of why the specifics, such as the people involved, matter so much.

WCW World Title: Butcher vs. Hulk Hogan

Hogan, with Jimmy Hart, is defending and the Avalanche and Kevin Sullivan are here with Butcher. Some shoves into the corner have Butcher in trouble, almost like he’s Brutus Beefcake in the main event of a big show against Hulk Hogan. Butcher gets in some shots to the throat but is quickly knocked down. They head outside with Butcher sending him into the barricade and raking the eyes.

Butcher chokes with a cable and rakes the back as Heenan DESPERATELY tries to make it sound like Butcher was mistreated. Hart takes a chair away from Butcher, who is then whipped into various steel objects. Hogan chairs him in the back and then in the head, followed by some choking. Back in and Butcher hits a running knee before choking on the middle rope. A powerslam gets one as Butcher pulls up, only to miss a middle rope ax handle.

Hogan bites him in the head and hammers away in the corner as it’s like he’s trying to find a way to give Butcher openings. Butcher gets in another shot and we hit the nerve hold, leaving Hogan looking moderately annoyed. Hogan fights up and hits a running shoulder but gets hit in the throat to put him back down. The sleeper goes on and Hogan is out, so Beefcake lets him go. Hogan pops up, drops back down to play some possum, and then Hulks Up. Cue the Three Faces Of Fear so Hogan knocks them away, drops the leg and finishes with the legdrop at 12:04.

Rating: D-. And that’s the main event event of the biggest show of the year (or at least what fans saw as such). It was so bad that I was starting to feel bad for Hogan, but then I remembered that he’s the only reason this took place. This felt so far beneath Hogan and it was basically a defense against someone cosplaying as a star. Absolutely terrible and an all time horrible main event.

Post match Hogan grabs a chair to hold all three of them off….and Randy Savage is here. Savage says he’s teaming up with the villains, who seem surprised, and then Savage jumps them and clears the ring with Hogan. We get the Mega Powers handshake and the good guys pose a lot as Heenan freaks out and begs this not to be happening.

Hogan and Savage go into the locker room where various good guys are waiting to celebrate. They’re rather happy with what happened but Hogan is a bit upset at having to beat up one of his friends. Vader and Harley Race storm in, with Vader saying Hogan is scared for the first time and demanding a title shot. The other wrestlers hold them back and Vader charges in, with Hogan looking a bit scared. Commissioner Nick Bockwinkel agrees that Vader is the #1 contender. Either way, yes, they had VADER on the roster and picked the Butcher for the Starrcade main event instead.

Roll credits.

 

Results
Vader b. Jim Duggan – Wheelbarrow faceplant
Alex Wright b. Jean Paul Levesque – Rollup
Johnny B. Badd b. Arn Anderson – Rollup
Nasty Boys b. Harlem Heat when Sherri interfered
Mr. T. b. Kevin Sullivan – Megaphone to the head
Sting b. Avalanche via DQ when Kevin Sullivan interfered
Hulk Hogan b. Butcher – Legdrop

 

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3.0

The final score: review Bad

The 411

Oh yeah this was horrible (save for the good Duggan vs. Vader match, which is basically on another planet from the rest of this show) and a great illustration of what was wrong with Hogan’s WCW. You had a bunch of dull matches where it didn’t feel like most of the people were trying, with all kinds of Hogan’s friends up and down the card (and that’s before Honky Tonk Man got fired), including Mr. T. and Butcher there to bring everything down. Throw in Hogan and company winning a bunch of awards throughout the night and it’s even worse. Terrible show here, with not even Jim Duggan being able to save it.