Starrcade

Starrcade was an annual professional wrestling event, originally broadcast via closed circuit and eventually broadcast via pay-per-view, held from 1983 to 2000 by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and later World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as their flagship event of the year, and featured the largest feuds of the promotion. From 1983 to 1987, Starrcade was produced by Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), the dominant promotion of the NWA, on Thanksgiving. In 1987, the rival promotion World Wrestling Federation (WWF), scheduled a pay-per-view of their own, Survivor Series, on Thanksgiving night and gave cable television providers an ultimatum that they could not show both events. Due to this, Starrcade was moved to December from then on. In 1988, JCP was sold to Ted Turner due to financial problems and became WCW though Starrcade was held under the NWA banner until 1990.^[1][2] It is widely regarded as WCW's counterpart to WrestleMania.

From the 1960s to the 1980s, it was tradition for JCP to hold major professional wrestling events on Thanksgiving and Christmas, mostly at Greensboro Coliseum. In 1983, JCP created Starrcade as their supercard to continue the Thanksgiving tradition, and spread it across its territory on closed-circuit television.^[3] It popularized broadcasting on closed-circuit television and was financially successful. From 1987, Starrcade was broadcast on pay-per-view, the first NWA event to do so.^[4]

The rights to the event now belong to WWE (formerly the World Wrestling Federation). In November 2008, WWE 24/7 Classics aired a special as a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the event called The Essential Starrcade. This five-part series counts down the top 25 matches in Starrcade history. In January 2009, WWE Home Video released Starrcade: The Essential Collection as a three disc DVD set.^[5]

Dates and venues

Event	Date	City	Venue	Main event
National Wrestling Alliance
Starrcade '83: A Flair for the Gold	November 24, 1983	Greensboro, North Carolina	Greensboro Coliseum	Harley Race (c) vs. Ric Flair in a Steel Cage match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Starrcade '84: The Million Dollar Challenge	November 22, 1984	Greensboro, North Carolina	Greensboro Coliseum	Ric Flair (c) vs. Dusty Rhodes for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Starrcade '85: The Gathering	November 28, 1985	Greensboro, North Carolina	Greensboro Coliseum
		Atlanta, Georgia	The Omni
Starrcade '86: Night of the Skywalkers	November 27, 1986	Greensboro, North Carolina	Greensboro Coliseum	Ric Flair (c) vs. Nikita Koloff for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
		Atlanta, Georgia	The Omni
Starrcade '87: Chi-Town Heat	November 26, 1987	Chicago, Illinois	UIC Pavilion	Ron Garvin (c) vs. Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA/WCW
Starrcade '88: True Gritt	December 26, 1988	Norfolk, Virginia	Norfolk Scope	Ric Flair (c) vs. Lex Luger for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Starrcade '89: Future Shock	December 13, 1989	Atlanta, Georgia	The Omni	Ric Flair vs. Sting
Starrcade '90: Collision Course	December 16, 1990	St. Louis, Missouri	Kiel Auditorium	Sting (c) vs. The Black Scorpion for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
World Championship Wrestling
Starrcade '91: Battlebowl/The Lethal Lottery	December 29, 1991	Norfolk, Virginia	Norfolk Scope	Battlebowl
Starrcade (1992)	December 28, 1992	Atlanta, Georgia	The Omni	Battlebowl
Starrcade (1993)	December 27, 1993	Charlotte, North Carolina	Independence Arena	Vader (c) vs. Ric Flair for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Starrcade (1994)	December 27, 1994	Nashville, Tennessee	Nashville Municipal Auditorium	Hulk Hogan (c) vs. The Butcher for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Starrcade (1995)	December 27, 1995	Nashville, Tennessee	Nashville Municipal Auditorium	Randy Savage (c) vs. Ric Flair for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Starrcade (1996)	December 29, 1996	Nashville, Tennessee	Nashville Municipal Auditorium	Hollywood Hogan vs. Roddy Piper
Starrcade (1997)	December 28, 1997	Washington, D.C.	MCI Center	Hollywood Hogan (c) vs. Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship with Bret Hart as special enforcer
Starrcade (1998)	December 27, 1998	Washington, D.C.	MCI Center	Goldberg (c) vs. Kevin Nash in a No Disqualification match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Starrcade (1999)	December 19, 1999	Washington, D.C.	MCI Center	Bret Hart (c) vs. Goldberg in a No Disqualification match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Starrcade (2000)	December 17, 2000	Washington, D.C.	MCI Center	Scott Steiner (c) vs. Sid Vicious for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

National Wrestling Alliance

1983

1984

Starrcade (1984)
Tagline(s)	The Million Dollar Challenge
Information
Promotion	National Wrestling Alliance
Date	November 22, 1984
Attendance	16.000
Venue	Greensboro Coliseum
City	Greensboro, North Carolina
Pay-per-view chronology
Starrcade (1983) Starrcade (1984) Starrcade (1985)
Starrcade chronology
Starrcade (1983) Starrcade (1984) Starrcade (1985)

Starrcade (1984): The Million Dollar Challenge took place on November 22, 1984 from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. It aired live on closed-circuit television. However, in 2014 WWE Network listed all closed-circuit Starrcades (1983-1986) alongside the rest of the Starrcades in the pay-per-view section.

• Denny Brown defeated Mike Davis to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (5:38)
• Brian Adidas defeated Mr. Ito (4:00)
• Jesse Barr defeated Mike Graham to retain the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (11:43)
• The Assassin and Buzz Tyler defeated The Zambuie Express (Elijah Akeem and Kareem Muhammed) (with Paul Jones) in a Tag Team Elimination Match (5:26)
• Manny Fernandez defeated Black Bart (with James J. Dillon) to win the Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship (7:35)
• Paul Jones defeated Jimmy Valiant in a Tuxedo Street Fight Loser-Leaves-Town match (4:35)
• Ron Bass (with James J. Dillon) defeated Dick Slater by disqualification to retain the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (9:12)
• Ivan and Nikita Koloff defeated Ole Anderson and Keith Larson (with Don Kernodle) (15:28)
• Tully Blanchard defeated Ricky Steamboat to retain the NWA World Television Championship and win $10,000 (13:17)
• Wahoo McDaniel defeated Billy Graham to retain the NWA United States Championship (4:18)
• Ric Flair defeated Dusty Rhodes to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and win $1 million (12:12)
  • The match was stopped when referee Joe Frazier stopped the match due to a cut on Rhodes' forehead.

1985

1986

Starrcade (1986)
Tagline(s)	The Skywalkers
Information
Promotion	National Wrestling Alliance
Date	November 27, 1986
Attendance	30.000 (combined)
Venue	Greensboro Coliseum The Omni
City	Greensboro, North Carolina Atlanta, Georgia
Pay-per-view chronology
Starrcade (1985) Starrcade (1986) Starrcade (1987)
Starrcade chronology
Starrcade (1985) Starrcade (1986) Starrcade (1987)

Starrcade (1986): The Skywalkers took place on November 27, 1986 from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina and The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired live on closed-circuit television. However, in 2014 WWE Network listed all closed-circuit Starrcades (1983-1986) alongside the rest of the Starrcades in the pay-per-view section.

• Tim Horner and Nelson Royal defeated Don and Rocky Kernodle
• Brad Armstrong fought Jimmy Garvin (with Precious) to a draw
• Hector Guerrero and Baron Von Raschke defeated Shaska Whatley and The Barbarian
• The Russians (Krusher Khruschev and Ivan Koloff) defeated The Kansas Jayhawks (Bobby Jaggers and Dutch Mantel) in a No Disqualification Match to retain the NWA United States Tag Team Championship
• Wahoo McDaniel defeated Rick Rude (with Paul Jones) in an Indian Strap match
• Sam Houston defeated Bill Dundee by DQ to retain the NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship
• Jimmy Valiant (with Big Mama) defeated Paul Jones in a Hair versus Hair match with Manny Fernandez locked in a cage
• Big Bubba Rogers (with Jim Cornette) defeated Ron Garvin in a Street Fight
• Tully Blanchard (with James J. Dillon) defeated Dusty Rhodes in a First Blood match to win the NWA World Television Championship
• The Road Warriors (with Paul Ellering) defeated The Midnight Express (with Jim Cornette and Big Bubba Rogers) in a Skywalkers match
  • The Road Warriors won the match by knocking Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey off of the scaffold.
  • After the match Ellering chased Cornette up the scaffold; this led to Cornette suffering a severe knee injury when he fell from the underside of the scaffold and Rogers, who was supposed to catch him, failed to do so. Cornette did not land properly and had to be carried out of the ring.
  • Hawk wrestled the match with a broken leg from a match during a Japanese tour The Road Warriors did a month earlier.
• The Rock 'n' Roll Express defeated Ole Anderson and Arn Anderson in a Steel Cage match to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship
• NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair and NWA United States Champion Nikita Koloff wrestled to a double disqualification.
  • Note: Magnum T.A. was originally scheduled to face Ric Flair at the event, but was left temporarily paralyzed and had to end his wrestling career as a result of a car accident, and Nikita Koloff, who was engaged in a feud with Ronnie Garvin, turned face as a result and took Magnum T.A.'s place.

1987

1988

1989

1990

World Championship Wrestling

1991

1992

Starrcade (1992)
Information
Promotion	World Championship Wrestling
Date	December 28, 1992
Attendance	8,000
Venue	The Omni
City	Atlanta, Georgia
Pay-per-view chronology
Halloween Havoc (1992) Starrcade (1992) WCW/New Japan Supershow III

Starrcade (1992): BattleBowl/The Lethal Lottery II took place on December 28, 1992 from The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

• Dark match: Brad Armstrong defeated Shanghai Pierce (7:30)
  • Armstrong pinned Pierce after a Russian Legsweep.
• Van Hammer and Danny Spivey defeated Johnny B. Badd and Cactus Jack (6:51)
  • Hammer pinned Jack with a school boy cradle after Badd punched Jack. Hammer and Spivey advanced to Battlebowl.
  • This match was set up at a drawing at the Clash of the Champions on November 18.
• Big Van Vader and Dustin Rhodes defeated Kensuke Sasaki and The Barbarian (6:56)
  • Rhodes pinned Barbarian after Barbarian accidentally clotheslined Sasaki and Rhodes applied a school boy cradle on the unaware Barbarian. Vader and Rhodes advanced to Battlebowl.
• The Great Muta and Barry Windham defeated Brian Pillman and 2 Cold Scorpio (6:59)
  • Muta pinned Scorpio with a Moonsault after a lifting DDT to Scorpio from Windham. Muta and Windham advanced to Battlebowl.
• Steve Williams and Sting defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Erik Watts (9:08)
  • Williams pinned Watts after a flapjack onto the top rope caught Watts in the throat. Williams and Sting advanced to Battlebowl.
  • Since Sting won Battlebowl at last year's Starrcade, he was guaranteed a spot in this year's Lethal Lottery.
• Masahiro Chono defeated The Great Muta to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (12:49)
  • Chono forced Muta to submit with the STF.
• Ron Simmons defeated Steve Williams by disqualification to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (15:12)
  • The match originally ended in a double-countout, but it was changed to a disqualification, due to Williams attacking Simmons.
  • Williams was a last-minute replacement for Rick Rude, who was injured.
• Shane Douglas and Ricky Steamboat defeated Barry Windham and Brian Pillman to retain the NWA and WCW World Tag Team Championships (20:02)
  • Douglas pinned Pillman with the belly to belly suplex.
  • This was the only tag team match on the card that was not part of the Lethal Lottery.
• Sting defeated Big Van Vader to win the King of Cable tournament (16:50)
  • Sting pinned Vader with a scoop powerslam in mid-air after Vader attempted a move off the top rope.
  • The King of Cable tournament was an eight-man tournament conducted to celebrate the twentieth anniversay of wrestling airing on TBS Superstation.
• The Great Muta won Battlebowl II to win the Battlebowl ring (14:01)
  • Muta last eliminated Windham to win.

1993

1994

Starrcade (1994)
Tagline(s)	It's A Triple Threat!
Information
Promotion	World Championship Wrestling
Date	December 27, 1994
Attendance	8,200
Venue	Nashville Municipal Auditorium
City	Nashville, Tennessee
Pay-per-view chronology
Halloween Havoc 1994 Starrcade (1994) SuperBrawl V

Starrcade (1994): Triple Threat took place on December 27, 1994 from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

• Vader defeated Jim Duggan to win the WCW United States Championship (12:06)
  • Vader pinned Duggan after a Face Eraser.
• Alex Wright defeated Jean-Paul Levesque (14:03)
  • Wright pinned Levesque with a roll-up.
• Johnny B. Badd defeated Arn Anderson to retain the WCW World Television Championship (12:11)
  • Badd pinned Anderson.
  • Anderson replaced The Honky Tonk Man, who had just left WCW.
• The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags) defeated Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) by disqualification (17:49)
  • Harlem Heat had won the WCW World Tag Team Championship on December 8, but the match didn't air yet, so they were not announced as the champions.
• Mr. T defeated Kevin Sullivan (3:50)
  • T pinned Sullivan.
• Sting defeated Avalanche by disqualification (15:26)
• Hulk Hogan defeated The Butcher to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (12:07)
  • Hogan pinned Butcher after the Leg drop.

1995

Starrcade (1995)
Tagline(s)	USA's Toughest Meet Japan's Best In This International Wrestling Showdown...
Information
Promotion	World Championship Wrestling
Date	December 27, 1995
Attendance	8,200
Venue	Nashville Municipal Auditorium
City	Nashville, Tennessee
Pay-per-view chronology
World War 3 (1995) Starrcade (1995) SuperBrawl VI

Starrcade (1995): World Cup of Wrestling took place on December 27, 1995 from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

• Dark match: Diamond Dallas Page defeated Dave Sullivan
• Dark match: The American Males (Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Scotty Riggs) defeated The Blue Bloods (Lord Steven Regal and Earl Robert Eaton)
  • Riggs pinned Eaton.
• Jushin Thunder Liger (with Sonny Onoo; NJPW) defeated Chris Benoit (WCW) (10:29)
  • Liger pinned Benoit with a hurricanrana to win for NJPW, 1-0.
• Koji Kanemoto (with Sonny Onoo; NJPW) defeated Alex Wright (WCW) (11:44)
  • Kanemoto pinned Wright with a roll-up to win for NJPW, 2-0.
• Lex Luger (with Jimmy Hart; WCW) defeated Masahiro Chono (with Sonny Onoo; NJPW) (6:41)
  • Luger forced Chono to submit with the Torture Rack to win for WCW, 1-2.
• Johnny B. Badd (with The Diamond Doll; WCW) defeated Masa Saito (with Sonny Onoo; NJPW) by disqualification (5:52)
  • Saito was disqualified after tossing Badd over the top rope, as a result WCW won, 2-2.
• Shinjiro Otani (with Sonny Onoo; NJPW) defeated Eddy Guerrero (WCW) (13:43)
  • Otani pinned Guerrero to win for NJPW, 3-2.
• Randy Savage (WCW) defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan (with Sonny Onoo; NJPW) (6:55)
  • Savage pinned Tenzan after a Flying Elbow to win for WCW, 3-3.
• Sting (WCW) defeated Kensuke Sasaki (with Sonny Onoo; NJPW) (6:52)
  • Sting made Sasaki submit to win the "World Cup of Wrestling" for WCW, 4-3.
• Ric Flair defeated Lex Luger and Sting by count-out in a Triangle match (28:03)
  • Flair became number one contender to the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
• Ric Flair defeated Randy Savage to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (8:41)
  • Flair pinned Savage after Arn Anderson hit him with brass knuckles.
• Dark match: One Man Gang defeated Kensuke Sasaki to win the WCW United States Championship
  • Gang pinned Sasaki after a splash.
  • Sasaki kicked out of the pinfall, but referee Randy Eller still made the three-count and Gang celebrated with the title belt. Moments later however, a false finish was called, and the match was restarted. Sasaki then pinned Gang to retain the title.
  • Although highlights of the bout were later shown on WCW Saturday Night, the restarting of the match and Sasaki's subsequent win were not shown or ever acknowledged by WCW.

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

See also

• Jim Crockett Promotions
• List of WCW pay-per-view events
• National Wrestling Alliance
• World Championship Wrestling

References

National Wrestling Alliance pay-per-view events All Events Capital Combat (1990) Chi-Town Rumble (1989) The Great American Bash (1985–1990) Halloween Havoc (1989–1991) Starrcade (1983–1990) WrestleWar (1989–1990)

World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view events Starrcade Starrcade (Jim Crockett Promotions) 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 Starrcade (World Championship Wrestling) 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 All Events Bash at the Beach (1994–2000) Battlebowl (1993) Beach Blast (1992–1993) Bunkhouse Stampede (1988) Capital Combat (1990) Chi-Town Rumble (1989) Fall Brawl (1993–2000) Greed (2001) Halloween Havoc (1989–2000) Hog Wild (1996) Collision in Korea (1995) Mayhem (1999–2000) Millennium Final (2000) New Blood Rising (2000) Road Wild (1997–1999) Sin (2001) Slamboree (1993–2000) Souled Out (1997–2000) Spring Stampede (1994, 1997–2000) Starrcade (1983–2000) SuperBrawl (1991–2001) The Great American Bash (1985–1992, 1995–2000) Uncensored (1995–2000) WCW/AAA When Worlds Collide (1994) WCW/New Japan Supershow (1991–1993) World War 3 (1995–1998) WrestleWar (1989–1992)