MAGAZINE COVER OF THE WEEK

WCW MAGAZINE

February 1991

Match of the Day - WCW World Title

STARRCADE 

December 27th 1993 

Charlotte, North Carolina

WCW World Heavyweight Title Match

Ric Flair

vs

Big Van Vader 

(Champion)

R.I.P. Buddy Landell

Sad news today as we have learned of the death of "Nature Boy" Buddy Landell at the age of 53.

No information on cause but he was involved in a traffic accident yesterday June 21st and was found unresponsive in his home today.

He was interviewed earlier this year by Colt Cabana for his podcast, click here for that podcast

Buddy Landell vs Terry Taylor

NWA National Heavyweight Title

Starrcade 1985

PPV Poster of the Week

Starrcade 1987

Chi-Town Heat

Wrestling Magazine Cover of the Day

February 1998

Wrestling PPV Poster of the Night

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.

Clash of the Champions IX - New York Knockout

Clash of the Champions IX took place on November 15, 1989 at the Houston Field House in Troy, New York. There were 4,000 fans in attendance and the show drew a 4.9 rating on TBS. This show mainly dealt with fallout from Halloween Havoc PPV and set up the Iron Man / Iron Team tournaments at Starrcade 1989.^[11]

• The Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes) defeated The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal) by disqualification (5:18)
  • The Road Warriors were disqualified when Hawk hit the referee.
  • The Freebirds had actually lost the NWA World Tag Team titles on November 1, but the match had not aired yet, so the Freebirds were introduced as the NWA World Tag Team champions.
• Doom (Ron Simmons and Butch Reed) (with Woman and Nitron) defeated Eddie Gilbert and Tommy Rich (5:15)
  • Doom #1 pins Rich after a double team Clothesline
• The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) defeated The Dynamic Dudes (Johnny Ace and Shane Douglas) (9:22)
  • Eaton pinned Douglas after Jim Cornette hits Douglas with his tennis racket.
  • Jim Cornette was in a neutral corner at the start of the match before deciding to side with the Midnight Express
• Steve Williams defeated The Super Destroyer (1:41)
  • Williams pinned the Super Destroyer with the Oklahoma Stampede
  • This is Jack Victory's 4th “Masked Mystery Man” appearance at a Clash (“Russian Assassin #2”, “The Blackmailer” and “The Terrorist”)
• The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott Steiner) defeated The Skyscrapers (Dan Spivey and Sid Vicious) by disqualification (6:08)
  • The Steiner Brothers had actually won the NWA World Tag Team titles on November 1, but the match had not aired yet, so The Steiners were not announced as the champions.
  • The Skyscrapers were disqualified when Doom ran in and attacked the Steiner Brothers.
  • During the match Sid Vicious punctures a lung and is replaced by ”Mean” Mark Callous soon after.
  • Woman's bodyguard Nitron makes his debut during the post match brawl between the Steiners, the Skyscrapers, Doom and the Road Warriors.
• Lex Luger defeated Brian Pillman to retain the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (12:38)
  • Luger pinned Pillman after hitting him with a chair while the referee was down.
  • Sting saved Pillman from further attacks by Luger.
• NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair defeated Terry Funk (with Gary Hart) in an "I Quit" match (18:33)
  • Flair forced Funk to say “I Quit” on the microphone due to the pain of the Figure Four Leglock
  • Gary Hart attacked Funk after the match and was quickly joined by The Great Muta.
  • Sting saved Flair from the attack only to be attacked by Lex Luger.
  • This match received a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer.
  • Flair's NWA World Heavyweight Championship was not on the line, making it a non-title match.

Wrestling Magazine Cover of the Day

Sports Review Wrestling 

March 1984

coverage of the first StarrCade held in November 1983

Today in Wrestling History - December 17th

1906 - Frank Gotch defeats Fred Beel in Kansas City, Missouri to win the American Heavyweight Title for the third time. Gotch would go on to defeat George Hackenschmidt two years later to unify the belt with the World Heavyweight Title.

1970 - Kim Il and Pak Song defeat Gorgeous George, Jr. and Rufus R. Jones to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Title.

1979 - The WWF ran at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, with a card airing live on the MSG Network in the New York area, but also in Japan, as this card was almost immediately following the Antonio Inoki-Bob Backlund WWF title controversy in Japan, as well as featuring many Japanese stars. This card also featured the Madison Square Garden debut of Hulk Hogan. The results were:
- Larry Zbyszko pinned Bulldog Brower.
- Riki Choshu and Seiji Sakaguchi defeated Bad News Allen and Jo Jo Andrews, when Sakaguchi made Andrews submit with a Boston crab, to retain the NWA North American Tag Team Title. This match was billed as being for the "Japanese Tag Team Title".
- Mike Graham defeated Johnny Rodz by submission with a figure-four leglock.
- Hulk Hogan defeated Ted DiBiase by knockout with a bearhug.
- Bob Backlund defeated Bobby Duncum in a Texas death match to win the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Title. WWF President Hisashi Shinma had possession of the title beltbefore the match, although the title vacancy was not mentioned to the United States television audience.
- Antonio Inoki pinned Hussein Arab after an enzuigiri to retain the NWF Heavyweight Title. This match was billed as being for the "Japanese Heavyweight Title".
- Harley Race defeated Dusty Rhodes by referee stoppage, due to Rhodes' excessive bleeding, to retain the NWA World Heavyweight Title.
- Pat Patterson pinned Dominic DeNucci, after reversing a monkey flip into a roll-up, to retain the WWF Intercontinental Title.
- Tatsumi Fujinami pinned Johnny Rivera with a back suplex to retain the WWF World Junior Heavyweight Title.
- Ivan Putski and Tito Santana defeated Victor Rivera and Swede Hansen to retain the WWF World Tag Team Title, when Santana pinned Hansen with a top rope crossbody.

1994 - ECW held their "Holiday Hell" show at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here are the results:
- Stevie Richards defeated JT Smith.
- Dean Malenko defeated Ray Odyssey.
- Chris Benoit defeated Hack Myers.
- 911 defeated The Pitbulls in a Handicap match.
- Mikey Whipwreck defeated Don E. Allen.
- Tommy Dreamer & Cactus Jack defeated Tommy Cairo & The Sandman.
- ECW World Champion Shane Douglas defeated Ron Simmons.
- ECW World Tag Team Champions The Public Enemy defeated Sabu & Taz.

1995 - The WWF held the fifth In Your House pay-per-view, subtitled "Season's Beatings" at the Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylania, before 7,289 fans. The results:
- Savio Vega pinned Bob Backlund in a dark match.
- Razor Ramon and Marty Jannetty defeated The 1-2-3 Kid and Sycho Sid when Ramon pinned Sid after a bulldog from the second rope.
- Ahmed Johnson pinned Buddy Landel (subbing for Dean Douglas) after the Pearl River Plunge. Prior to the match, Jerry Lawler presented Jeff Jarrett with a gold record for his country album, "Ain't I Great?". Jarrett was guest commentator for the match. After the match, Jarrett attacked Johnson with the gold record.
- Hunter Hearst Helmsley defeated Henry Godwinn in an Arkansas Hog Pen match. Hillbilly Jim was the guest referee.
- Owen Hart defeated Diesel when Diesel was disqualified for shoving the referee.
- The Undertaker defeated King Mabel in a Casket match.
- Bret Hart pinned The British Bulldog to retain the WWF Title.
In dark matches after the broadcast:
- Goldust pinned Duke Droese.
- WWF Tag Team Champions The Smokin' Gunns (Billy and Bart), Hakushi, and Barry Horowitz defeated The Bodydonnas (Skip and Zip), Yokozuna, and Isaac Yankem, DDS.

1995 - Dr. Wagner, Jr. defeats Atlantis in Mexico City, Mexico to win the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Title for the second time.

2000 - The 18th, and final, Starrcade event was held in Washington, DC at the MCI Center. Three months later, WCW would be purchased by the World Wrestling Federation, and thus ending the eighteen year streak of Starrcade events, going back to the days of Jim Crockett Promotions. 

#	Results	Stipulations	Times
1	3 Count (Shane Helms and Shannon Moore) defeated The Jung Dragons (Yun Yang and Kaz Hayashi) (with Leia Meow), and Jamie Knoble and Evan Karagias[12]	Ladder match	13:49
2	Lance Storm (with Major Gunns and Elix Skipper) defeated The Cat (with Ms. Jones)[12]	Singles match	07:25
3	Terry Funk defeated Crowbar (c) (with Daffney)[12]	Singles match for the WCW Hardcore Championship	10:21
4	KroniK (Brian Adams and Bryan Clark) fought Big Vito and Reno (with Marie) to a no contest[12]	Tag team match	08:18
5	Mike Awesome defeated Bam Bam Bigelow[12]	Ambulance match	07:56
6	General Rection (c) defeated Shane Douglas by disqualification[12]	Singles match for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship	09:46
7	Jeff Jarrett and The Harris Brothers (Ron and Don) defeated The Filthy Animals (Konnan, Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Billy Kidman) (with Tygress)[12]	Bunkhouse Street Fight	12:31
8	The Insiders (Diamond Dallas Page and Kevin Nash) defeated The Perfect Event (Chuck Palumbo and Shawn Stasiak) (c)[12]	Tag team match for the WCW World Tag Team Championship	12:04
9	Goldberg defeated Lex Luger[12]	No Holds Barred Match	07:17
10	Scott Steiner (c) (with Midajah) defeated Sid Vicious[12]	Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship	10:12

Four Horsemen part 7

Four Horsemen part 6

Match of the Day

Today's match is from Starrcade 85 (The Gathering) and one of the biggest matches of that year and any other year was the culmination of the fued between Magnum TA and Tully Blanchard.   The "I Quit" match in a cage became legendary for its violence and controversial finish.

This is what wrestling today is missing, a long, great feud that has a great payoff finish at the biggest PPV of the year.

Today in Wrestling History

1968 - The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser win their fourth AWA World Tag Team Title and third World Wrestling Association Tag Team Title, defeating Mitsu Arakawa and Dr. Moto (Tor Kamata) for both in Chicago, Illinois. This ended Arakawa and Moto's second WWA reign.


1992 - WCW held Starrcade '92 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Omni, using the "BattleBowl/Lethal Lottery" concept again of having "random" tag team matches with the winners moving on to a battle royal. The show also featured several non-Lethal Lottery matches. Here are the results:
- In a dark match, Brad Armstrong defeated Shanghai Pierce.
- In a Lethal Lottery tag team match, Van Hammer & Danny Spivey defeated Johnny B. Badd & Cactus Jack when Hammer rolled up Jack for the pin after Badd hit Cactus while they were arguing.
- In a Lethal Lottery tag team match, Big Van Vader & Dustin Rhodes defeated Kensuke Sasaki & The Barbarian when Rhodes pinned Barbarian after he collided with Sasaki. After the match, Vader attacked Rhodes.
- In a Lethal Lottery tag team match, The Great Muta & Barry Windham defeated Brian Pillman & 2 Cold Scorpio when Muta pinned Scorpio with a moonsault.
- In a Lethal Lottery tag team match, Steve Williams & Sting defeated Jushin Liger & Erik Watts when Williams pinned Watts with a Hot Shot.
- NWA & WCW World Tag Team Champions Shane Douglas & Ricky Steamboat defeated Barry Windham & Brian Pillman when Douglas pinned Windham with a belly-to-belly suplex.
- Sting defeated Big Van Vader to win the King of Cable tournament by powerslamming Vader as he jumped off the top rope.
- WCW World Champion Ron Simmons defeated Steve Williams via DQ. The match ended in a double countout, but the referee disqualified Williams after the bout for continuing to attack Simmons.
- NWA World Champion Masahiro Chono defeated The Great Muta via submission with an STF.

- The Great Muta won the Battlebowl battle royal by eliminating Barry Windham with a dropkick. The match also included Steve Williams, Sting, Big Van Vader, Dustin Rhodes, Van Hammer and Danny Spivey.



1997 - WCW held Starrcade '97 at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., featuring the long awaited showdown between Sting and Hollywood Hulk Hogan after over a year of building to it. Here are the results:
- WCW Cruiserweight Champion Eddie Guerrero defeated Dean Malenko with a frog splash to Malenko's injured knee.
- Scott Hall was having an in-ring interview, with the Giant attacking him. The Giant was supposed to wrestle Kevin Nash on the show, but Nash wasn't there (which was never quite explained).
- Randy Savage (who was subbing for Konnan), Scott Norton & Vincent defeated Ray Traylor and Rick & Scott Steiner when Savage pinned Scott with a top rope elbow.
- Bill Goldberg defeated Steve McMichael with a jackhammer.
- Perry Saturn (subbing for Raven, who came out and said he didn't feel like wrestling) defeated Chris Benoit in a No DQ match after Raven DDT'd Benoit.
- Buff Bagwell defeated Lex Luger after Scott Norton knocked out Luger.
- Diamond Dallas Page defeated Curt Hennig with a Diamond Cutter to win the WCW United States Title.
- Larry Zbyszko defeated Eric Bischoff via DQ to take control of Monday Nitro. Bret Hart was the guest referee.

- Sting defeated Hulk Hogan via submission to win the WCW World Heavyweight Title. Hogan actually won the match via a fast count from referee Nick Patrick after a legdrop (although it didn't look fast at all, it was sold as being fast, which came across very poorly to the audience). Bret Hart came out to restart the match as referee, saying he wasn't going to let anyone get screwed, and Sting won via submission with the Scorpion Deathlock. The match, the pinnacle of the NWO vs. WCW feud, was considered a disappointment, with the screwy ending annoying many fans who had been waiting over a year for Sting to score a clean win over Hogan in his return to action.

Match of the Day (Christmas Eve Edition)

Our Match of the day is from Starrcade 1988.
Held December 26th 1988 at the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk VA.

This was the first Starrcade held under the new WCW banner and with new owner Ted Turner and the first not be on Thanksgiving Day. It was moved to avoid competing with the WWF Survivor Series PPV.

The main event was the NWA World Champion defending his belt against the "Total Package" Lex Luger.
This was a rematch from The Great American Bash in July when the match between this 2 was stopped due to excessive bleeding by Luger.
Until early 1988 Luger had been a member of the feared Four Horseman with Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson, but when he said they were holding him back they turned on him and he left the horseman and challenged Flair for the NWA World Title.

Match of the Day

Today's Match of the Day is from December 19th 1999, WCW Starrcade.

For the WCW World Heavyweight Title

Champion Bret Hart vs Goldberg

(notice the bleak, old style entrance they give Bret and all the buildup is to Goldberg)

and this was the match the effectively ended Bret's career. He suffered a concussion from a Goldberg mule kick but kept going and was diagnosed later with post concussion syndrome.

Starrcade 1986 (Skywalkers)

Today in 1986 the NWA(WCW) held its annual Starrcade PPV. It was held at 2 different cities, Greensboro NC and Atlanta GA.
It was almost a thrown together main event of World Champion Ric Flair defending the NWA World Heavyweight title against the Russian Nightmare Nikita Koloff.
On October 14th of 1986 the #1 contender and soon to be World Champion Magnum T.A. was involved in a one car accident in Charlotte NC that left him severely injured and unable to wrestle in the Starrcade main event. The injuries Magnum suffered were so severe that they would end his wrestling career. NWA promoter Jim Crockett would turn Nikita Koloff from hated Russian into a beloved hero to face Ric Flair in Magnum's place.

The co-main event would be the first ever (for the NWA and PPVs) scaffold match featuring the Road Warriors w/Paul Ellering against The Midnight Express w/Jim Cornette, thus giving the title "Night of the Skywalkers" to the PPV.
Here is the complete card from 1986
Starrcade (1986): Night of the Skywalkers

• Tim Horner and Nelson Royal defeated Don and Rocky Kernodle
• Hector Guerrero and Baron Von Raschke defeated Shaska Whatley and The Barbarian
• Wahoo McDaniel defeated Rick Rude (with Paul Jones) in an Indian Strap match
• Jimmy Valiant (with Big Mama) defeated Paul Jones in a Hair versus Hair match with Manny Fernandez locked in a cage
• Tully Blanchard (with James J. Dillon) defeated Dusty Rhodes in a First Blood match to win the NWA World Television Championship
• The Rock 'n' Roll Express defeated Ole Anderson and Arn Anderson in a Steel Cage match to retain the NWA World Tag Team Championship
• Brad Armstrong fought Jimmy Garvin (with Precious) to a draw
• 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
• Sam Houston defeated Bill Dundee by DQ to retain the NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship
• Big Bubba Rogers (with Jim Cornette) defeated Ron Garvin in a Street Fight

The Road Warriors (with Paul Ellering) defeated The Midnight Express (with Jim Cornette and Big Bubba Rogers) in a Skywalkers match

• • Jim Cornette was injured in the match when he landed wrong after falling from the underside of the scaffold.

• NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair and NWA United States Champion Nikita Koloff wrestled to a double disqualification.