WCW Starrcade 1997

Starrcade 1997 is one of WCW’s most famous, and certainly their most notorious show. It broke all previous pay per view commercial figures for the company (breaking Hulk Hogan’s debut show – Bash at the Beach 1994’s record), and – aside from multiple feuds promised to be paid off on the biggest blowoff show of the year – was the culmination of the Sting v nWo angle that had been the focus of WCW programming throughout 1997.

In addition, Bret Hart – fresh off of his rocky departure from the WWF after the Montreal Screwjob – was set to make an appearance. The signing of Bret Hart – one of the WWF’s biggest international stars of the 90s – was a huge triumph for WCW, and with the WWF reeling, his addition to Starrcade only added to the level of intrigue. It was certainly big bait for me, as Montreal had turned me off of the WWF completely for a while, and I was eager to see what WCW would do with my hero, the Hitman.

The show was poised to become WCW’s knockout blow to the staggering WWF, but is now remembered as one of the turning points in the Monday Night Wars, as WCW mishandled and blew the potential of this show so badly, it began the downward spiral that would not only help the WWF overtake them in ratings and revenue by 1998 – but lead to their eventual demise only three years later.

From Washington, D.C. – Your Hosts are Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Dusty Rhodes.


Opening WCW Cruiserweight Title Match: Eddy Guerrero: v Dean Malenko: Eddy back to the alternate spelling of his name, as WCW couldn't get their shit together and determine how one of their champions spelled his name (or, like, ask him), wavering from show to show. Slugfest to start, won by Malenko, and a well executed dropkick gets two. Hanging vertical suplex, and a powerbomb gets two. Guerrero does the Flair bridge counter, but walks into a powerslam - getting increasingly frustrated. He bails to the floor to regroup, and clips Malenko's knee coming back in. He tries a suplex, but gets dumped into the ropes, and hammered again. Guerrero tries to beg off, literally kissing Malenko's boots, but Dean responds with a dropkick while he's still on his knees. Side suplex gets two, but Guerrero viciously snaps his neck across the ropes off of a suplex attempt. He goes back to work on the knee while on the outside - ramming it with the steps - and inside powerbombs him for two. Rana, but Malenko counters into an Ocean Cyclone suplex for two - in a nice spot. Backbreaker gets two, and they fight to the top rope, where Malenko shoves him off to avoid a rana. Another powerbomb sets up the Texas Cloverleaf, but Guerrero kicks off, and knocks the knee. Flying dropkick at the knee, and the Frog Splash retains at 14:57. Good choice for an opener – fast paced, and well booked – as Malenko was allowed to look strong in defeat. ** ¼

Scott Hall comes out to announce that Kevin Nash can't wrestle The Giant in their scheduled blowoff tonight. He gives a standard Nitro catchphrase laden interview, drawing out The Giant to beat him down in lieu of the promised match. Basically, the situation was that Nash experienced chest pains shortly before the show, and, understandably, had to have it checked out - missing the match. It turned out the chest pains were gas, and many observers concluded that Nash was faking sick in order to avoid putting over The Giant. Normally I wouldn’t be so cynical – especially when it comes to chest pains – but considering Kevin Nash’s track record, and his general willingness to put guys over during his WCW run, I’d have to side with the skeptics in FartGate.

Six-Man Tag Team Match: Ray Traylor and The Steiner Brothers v Randy Savage, Scott Norton, and Vincent: Scott Steiner and Randy Savage start off (best choice out of the six - even if they were both shells of their former selves by late 1997), and they do a few power stalemates until the nWo gets a cheap shot from the apron, and Savage chokes away. Norton tags, and executing a nice Samoan drop, and a backbreaker, so he bails to Rick Steiner. Rick with a belly to belly suplex, and a powerslam gets two. Traylor in, hitting a spinebuster on Vincent, and he drops him with a release side suplex, but misses a splash. Double knockout leads to a six-way brawl, and the faces clean house, but Norton catches Scott Steiner with an electric chair drop during the chaos, and Savage finishes with the Big Elbow at 11:06. Standard stuff here, making good use of tags to keep a quick pace. ½*

Steve McMichael v Bill Goldberg: This was very early into Goldberg's run, as he was still a heel, used his first name, and hadn't yet started the winning streak angle that helped turn him into a megastar. He jumps McMichael in the aisle, carrying him to the ring, but gets jumped on the way in. McMichael with a quick sidewalk slam, but Goldberg catches him with a diving shoulderblock for two. Goldberg ties him up on the mat with a leglock, and after plodding around some, catches him with the spear for two. Dropkick puts McMichael on the outside, and Goldberg knocks him off of the apron through a table (which Goldberg had set up earlier), though Steve more or less no sells it. Inside, McMichael takes control, but walks into the Jackhammer for the pin at 5:59. Basic TV match, though certainly more interesting in retrospect, watching Goldberg hit spots like the spear or Jackhammer – which would later blow the roof off of arenas across the country – and get no reaction for them. DUD.

Raven's Rules Match: Saturn v Chris Benoit: 'Raven's Rules' is a festive name for a No Disqualification match. Benoit was actually scheduled to face Raven here, whom he had been feuding with leading up to the show, but Raven comes out and says he’s subbing his henchman, Flock-member Saturn in. Benoit takes out his frustration by unloading on Saturn with chops, which draws various members of the Flock in to beat him down. That allows Saturn to takeover with a chinlock, and a neckbreaker gets two. Springboard moonsault gets two, and Saturn hooks a reverse chinlock. Well executed suplex gets two, and a Michinoku driver, but Benoit dumps him to the outside, and hooks the Crippler Crossface on the floor. That draws the Flock back over to break it up, but a miscommunication sees Saturn take them all out with a springboard moonsault. Inside, Benoit looks to finish with the flying headbutt, but the Flock runs in again, and this time Raven DDT's him for Saturn to finish at 10:50. Benoit really should have went over here,  as they were already screwing everyone out of the advertised match (not to mention the crowd had already been disappointed earlier with the news that Nash/Giant wouldn’t be happening), so at least let the guy beat the henchman on the way to actually getting Raven the next month. The story here was that Raven was legitimately injured, necessitating the Saturn sub. That's disappointing – if understandable – enough by itself (when you’ve bought a show expecting one match, and get the bait-and switch), but what really made it really shady was that WCW knew Raven couldn’t compete in advance, but didn’t bother to announce the change ahead of the show (you know, before people paid money for it), instead having Raven come out and say he 'didn't feel like competing.' That’s not horrible booking to keep Benoit’s chase of Raven alive – fine for Nitro-level stuff, especially – but comes off poorly, and as extremely unscrupulous when done on the biggest show of the year. Benoit would defeat Raven the next month on pay per view, in another Raven’s Rules Match. Match was really dull, and begs the question: if all it took to put Benoit away was the Flock running in and doing a beat down - why didn't they just do that at the opening bell? It was no DQ – your boss made the rules! ¾*

Lex Luger v Buff Bagwell: Bagwell stalls on the floor, likely fearing that Luger will out pose him if they get too close. Big stalemate over the initial lockup to establish that they're both strong, but Luger gets the first decisive advantage with a press slam, and a clothesline to the outside. Bagwell decides to call in the reserves, signaling for fellow nWo-er Vincent to hit ringside, but Luger's, all, 'seriously, you got Virgil? You know I slammed Yokozuna that time for America, right?', and takes them both out. Bagwell clips the knee to take over, and chokes away. Hand chokes, boot chokes, rope chokes - he's like the Bubba Gump of chokes. No wonder the Undertaker didn't want this guy around, stealing his thunder. Chinlock (advanced choking), but Luger fights out, so Bagwell tries a Sleeper (AP choking), but Luger starts unloading with the clotheslines. Not for America, though. Pair of inverted atomic drops, and the diving forearm hit. Hanging vertical suplex sets up the Torture Rack, but the referee gets bumped, allowing Randy Savage and Scott Norton to run in. Bagwell gets the cheap pin at 16:36. Not a great match, but as far as battles between guys known for flexing goes - I've seen worse. I live in Florida, remember. One could say it was psychologically sound because Bagwell worked the neck to set up the Buff Blockbuster, but no. It was just boring, lazy, wrestling. DUD.

WCW United States Title Match: Curt Hennig v Diamond Dallas Page: Page gets him in a cradle right away to psych him out, and tries to attack the shoulder, so Hennig bails to kill the momentum. Back in, Curt catches him with an eye rake, and unloads, but a headlock gets reversed. They spill to the outside, but Page doesn't want to let him retain by countout - dragging him back in - only to get snapped across the ropes. Hennig works the lower back for a bit, and then goes to a chinlock. They spill to the outside, and Page hits a slingshot bodypress out after him (guess after all of those matches with Marc Mero it was bound to rub off), and crotches Curt on the ring post. Inside, he tries the Diamond Cutter - but Hennig blocks by holding the ropes. Hennig-plex, but Page cradles him for two. He tries it again, but Page counters with a takedown. Odd transition there - that was begging for the Diamond Cutter. They shift around a bit more, and Page catches him with it off of a criss cross for the title at 10:52 - leaving me to believe that the ending was botched, and likely was supposed to finish out of the Plex counter. Match was fairly unnotable, though Hennig's tendency to oversell certainly helped to keep it energetic. This was unquestionably not Curt Hennig in the prime of his career - working a very kicky-punchy match with spotty psychology - but his overselling was still peerless. ½*

Control of Nitro Match: Eric Bischoff v Larry Zbyszko: New WCW star Bret Hart is the special guest referee here - since he has an issue with shoddy officiating after Montreal, and all. The story here is that Bischoff (the man running WCW) had turning heel, joining the nWo, and vowing to destroy WCW in kayfabe - though it kind of became a self fulfilling prophecy. Larry Zbyszko – by this point long retired, and working as a broadcaster on Nitro - got increasingly annoyed with Bischoff's anti-WCW actions, and stood up to him, leading to this match. As an added bonus, if Zbyszko wins, he gets a match with Scott Hall at Souled Out in January - though that doesn't seem like a bonus to anyone. Bischoff - well versed in taekwondo - tries to goad him into a martial arts showdown, but Larry gets sick of the games, and takes him down. Sleeper, but Bret breaks it up for being too close to a choke, so Larry starts working the knee. Bischoff catches him with a kick, however, and starts unloading with loose 'martial arts-like' offense, but Larry GEEZERS UP!! Suplex! Swinging neckbreaker! Tree of Woe! - but Scott Hall stuffs a metal plate into Eric's boot - and he knocks him out with a kick. Bischoff tells him to ring the bell, but he may have well said the n-word to Bad News Brown, because Hart decks him, puts Hall in the Sharpshooter, and declares Zbyszko the winner - by disqualification - at 11:12, giving Larry his dream match with Scott Hall. They actually used to have lotteries for that opportunity during this time period, but Larry Zbyszko earned it, damn it! Match was a farce, as Bischoff couldn't bring his real-life martial arts training into play without stiffing Zbyszko, causing him to work ultra-loose; Larry was retired, and his stuff looked antiquated and inappropriate for a hot blowoff (a leglock, really?); and the ending was an overbooked mess with DQ ending - when Bischoff (a non-wrestler anyway, with no reputation to protect) should have laid down cleanly after getting slaughtered for six minutes. –*

Main Event: WCW World Title Match: Hollywood Hogan v Sting: After over a year of build-up that featured Sting lurking in the shadows and rafters to terrorize the nWo, he finally returns to action to kill the king, and end the evil empire. Big staredown to start, and the emotionless Sting gets off the first shot (a simple punch). Hogan regroups, and unloads on him, but a series of elbowdrops misses, and Sting dropkicks him to the floor - still showing no emotion. Hogan with a side-headlock, but he gets caught with another dropkick (a pair of them this time) to put him back on the outside to stall. Maybe he figured the longer he held out, the closer he got to breaking his own longevity record with the title, or something, I dunno. Inside, Sting gets a headlock of his own, but Hogan suplexes him - only to have it no sold, and watch Sting shoot him an uncharacteristic crotch chop. Wow, a year of zero emotion, and your first try at feelings is a crude gesture? He really did become an emo-kid. Hogan doesn't tolerate that, however (he prefers kids to be road raging maniacs), and takes Sting to the outside for a proper beating. He crotches him on the rail (that'll draw emotion from anyone short of John Wayne Bobbitt), and inside works the nuts with an inverted atomic drop. Big boot hits, and the Legdrop gets the pin at 19:00. However, Bret Hart is still at ringside, and since he's a designated WCW Official for the evening, he stops the timekeeper from ringing the bell, and orders the match restarted, as he deemed the count from evil nWo paid off referee Nick Patrick too fast. Back inside, Sting hits a pair of Stinger Splashes, and the Scorpion Deathlock finishes at 22:54 - ending Hogan's reign of terror with the title that had lasted since the Summer of 1996 (we're ignoring that five day switch with Lex Luger they ran to pop a rating) - with Bret Hart himself calling for the bell. Afterwards the entire babyface locker room hits the ring to celebrate, with Hart watching unengagingly from the side. In typical WCW fashion, Sting was stripped of the title less than two weeks later due to the controversy surrounding the finish, setting up a rematch with Hogan at SuperBrawl VIII. Sometimes that kind of booking is appropriate, but definitely not after one of your biggest stars has just returned to take part in the climax of one of the (if not the) biggest angle in the companies history. The match itself has grown to have a reputation as one of the most disappointing of all time - and for good reason. Not only was it a dull main event (which could be overlooked, in the vein of Hogan/Andre) - but it was marred by bad booking. Evil nWo referee Nick Patrick's 'fast count' wasn't fast at all (Hogan had actually made a side deal with him before the match not to follow the script) strangling Sting in the cradle, and making it seem as if Hogan beat him fair-and-square. Beyond that, Bret Hart's involvement - while clever on paper - came off portraying him as exactly the whiny character he was trying to get away from after his WWF run, and they would have been much better served with a standard match - possibly with Sting fighting off a few nWo run-ins - and winning the title as clean as Howard Hughes' asshole. DUD

BUExperience: As noted, it is perhaps the most notorious show in WCW’s history. It isn’t the direct cause for WCW’s eventual demise, but it can certainly be seen as the push that began the downward spiral. 

Aside from the mess in the World Title match (and general World Title scene), the show is littered with the problems that would eventually cause even the diehard fans to turn away from WCW. Bait-and-switches (Raven/Benoit, Giant/Nash), heels going over in almost every match on the companies biggest blowoff show of the year (as opposed to, say, the WrestleMania VII route of putting over the faces in all the important matches, and the heels where they needed to be built up), missed opportunities, and a drab atmosphere (who ordered a grey ring mat, ring skirts, and black ropes to go with them?). Even as a twelve year old kid, watch this live in 1997, I remember feeling underwhelmed by the whole thing, and ready to get to bed by the time the main event rolled around.  

For historical significance alone, it avoids the lowest rating – but not by much. *