NWA (WCW) Starrcade 1988 (Version II)

Original Airdate: December 26, 1988

From Norfolk, Virginia; Your Hosts are Jim Ross and Bob Caudle

Opening NWA United States Tag Team Title Match: The Fantastics v Kevin Sullivan and Steve Williams: While the production values here are still light-years behind the WWF (LIGHT-YEARS), the arena is actually nicely lit for once, giving the show a much less dreary feel than usual. Putting that Turner money to good use, I guess. Bobby Fulton starts with Sullivan, and blitzes him in the early going. Tag to Tommy Rogers for a backdrop, as the champs stick and move. Man, Wayne Arnold sure was at a LOT of these shows back in the day. But then, if I had that kind of money when I was sixteen years old, I'd probably go to all the big wrestling shows too. Williams gets the tag, but the Fantastics control him with more sticking and moving - that is, until Bobby runs into a five alarm press-slam, and murdered with a lariat. Steve with a side suplex, but an elbowdrop misses, and Tommy tags with a dropkick - only to run into the wrong corner, and get clobbered with a tandem-clothesline. Nice criss cross ends in Tommy landing on his feet during a backdrop, then dropkicking Sullivan, before fighting off Dr. Death as well. The Fantastics double-up on Williams for a bit, but that just pisses him off, and Steve destroys Tommy with turnbuckle smashes in the corner. Note to self: do not annoy Steve Williams. Steve delivers a hanging vertical suplex for two as the Varsity Club go to work cutting the ring in half on Tommy, but he sticks and moves his way into a tag. Bobby comes in all hot, but gets pounded down by Dr. Death, and hugged like a bear. Eyerake breaks out of that, and both guys tag - Tommy missing a blind charge, but managing to slam Sullivan off the top when Kevin goes to follow-up! Flying splash hits the knees, however, and Williams delivers a short-clothesline. The challengers cut the ring in half on Rogers, and Sullivan delivers a pair of double-stomps (quadruple stomps?) for two. Tommy manages to reverse a vertical suplex to get the tag to Bobby, but the final comeback gets thwarted with a stungun by Dr. Death at 15:50. This was really fun, as they put a nice spin on the traditional heat segment by having the Fantastics constantly make mini-comebacks throughout, while still making the challengers (and Williams in particular) look like total bad asses. There was also very little in the way of resting here, as both teams made very good use of tags. Good start! *** ¼ (Original rating: * ½)

The Midnight Express v The Original Midnight Express: The new Midnight's blitz them to start, as they unload a bunch of fun tandem combos. The dust settles on Stan Lane and Dennis Condrey, and Sweet Stan knocks him to the outside for Jim Cornette to plant a racket shot on him. The crowd is loving this, and Paul E. Dangerously is doing a great job of riling them up on the outside. Back in, Lane continues to dominate Dennis, and we get a bunch of stalling from the Originals. Dust settles on the Express giving Randy Rose another tandem combo, and Bobby Eaton hammers Randy to the floor to allow Cornette to get his licks with the racket in. God, even in the sea of mullets and mustaches that was the 80s, Randy Rose somehow manages to standout as looking even more like a pedophile than everyone else. Stan bodypresses Randy for two, and Rose tags out - Lane responding to Condrey's call for a handshake with a swift savate kick. Ha! Bobby follows up with a flying elbowdrop, and Stan grounds Dennis with a chinlock into a crucifix cradle for two. Lots of quick tags as the Express stick and move on the Originals, but Bobby misses a big charge in the corner, and Condrey stomps a mud hole, then knocks him to the outside for Rose to atomic drop. Back in, the Originals cut the ring in half on Bobby. Though it was the right call from a booking perspective, it's kind of too bad that the Originals were the heels in this feud, because there's nothing more fun than Stan and Bobby cutting a ring in half. I should note what a great job the announcers are doing of getting the psychology of a tag team match over, too. This kind of stuff wouldn't even be touched on by today's commentators, but it's EVERYTHING. The Originals destroy Bobby, but the Rocket Launcher misses, and Stan gets the tag! He's a disco of fire (a DISCO INFERNO!!) to ignite a brawl between the two teams, and Dangerously takes Lane out with the cell phone, but the referee sees it in the ring, and refuses to count. That's some bullshit refereeing - a weapon sitting there doesn't prove anything. Maybe they wanted to make a quick phone call to make sure their family was watching? Nothing illegal about that! That's just being a good husband or father! A DQ there would be a vote for bad parenting and wife beating! But then, I guess he was just suspicious. He didn't actually go as far as to DQ anyone, so WCW wasn't technically endorsing beating your wife and kids. Technically. Whatever, the Express capitalize with the Double Goozle to put the Originals away at 17:26. Took a little while to get off the ground, but good work all around. ** ¾ (Original rating: * ½)

The Russian Assassins v Ivan Koloff and Junkyard Dog: Assassin 1 starts with JYD, as we get a look at some signs in the crowd made on of the crudest of the crude ribbon printers from the 80s. Ah, good times. Dog unloads with headbutts until the Assassin tags out to Assassin 2. 2 tries to outsmart the Dog, but gets clobbered, and Ivan tags in for a tandem-backelbow. Koloff and JYD take Assassin 2 apart at the joints, but Dog misses a falling headbutt, and the Russian's cut the ring in half. Assassin 2 accidentally hits 1 with a flying axehandle, but JYD fails to make a comeback out of it, as apparently we haven't seen enough of this one yet. Dog dodges a double-team in the corner to finally tag, and Koloff is a gulag of fire! The Assassins look to be in trouble, but Paul Jones helps Assassin 1 load up his mask, and he knocks Koloff out with a headbutt at 6:47. At least they weren't stupid enough to try that shit on the JYD! Thankfully on the short side, giving the crowd some satisfaction with the angle, but without having to subject them to too much of the actual match. ¼* (Original rating: ½*)

NWA Television Title Match: Mike Rotunda v Rick Steiner: Hey, a single's match! Kevin Sullivan is locked in a shark cage for this one, which seems like a weird way to celebrate his new US Tag Title, but then, it WAS 1988. Rick is good and mad at the bell, and he beats Mike to the floor. Not gonna win the title that way, genius. Back in, they trade headlocks, with Steiner dominating the champion. Mike manages to win a criss cross with a drop-toehold, but Rick reverses a hammerlock on the mat. Rotunda utilizes a single-leg takedown to counter into a headlock, but Steiner counters with a headscissors - Rotunda ceaselessly complaining to the referee about cheating the entire time. Gotta admire his perseverance there. Mike with a well executed belly-to-belly suplex, but an elbowdrop follow-up misses, and Rick grounds him with a side-headlock - Rotunda countering with a headscissors. Some kid with what are literally the thickest pair of Coke-bottle glasses I have ever seen is shown in the crowd as they continue to trade holds. He's sitting on an adults shoulders to get a better look at the action, but dear lord, they really should have just comped the poor kid front row seats and a telescope, or something. Come on guys, you've got Turner money now! Rotunda stalls on the outside for a bit, but ends up in another headlock upon returning. Mike turns it into a criss cross, and Rick throws shoulderblocks, but ends up going flying out of the ring on a charge, and Rotunda drops him onto the rail out there. In, Rotunda goes to work, and grabs a chinlock. And, if you grew up watching IRS matches, it goes without saying that it goes on for-ever. Rick fights free, but eats a nice clothesline - only for Rotunda to miss a dropkick, as time starts to wind down. Steiner with an inside cradle for two, and a Steinerline leaves Rotunda into he corner for a ten-punch - as Steve Williams joins us at ringside. Rick with a backdrop and a powerslam for two, followed by a belly-to-belly suplex - but time expires at 17:00. Oh, but it was Williams who rang the bell to save Rotunda from getting pinned, and the match is ordered to re-start! You can feel the crowd totally ready for a screw job right there, which isn't surprising given Dusty's booking over the last couple of years. The Varsity Club argue the decision, so Steiner capitalizes by shoving Mike into his buddies, and rolling him up for the title at 17:59. The mat work was all well done (which should be no surprise given their pedigree), but came off as dull, and it took a really long time to get going between all the mat stuff and Rotunda's stalling. This should have been a much hotter blow off, and likely would have been if not for all the focus on mat wrestling. * ¼ (Original rating: * ¼)

NWA United States Title Match: Barry Windham v Bam Bam Bigelow: We're just banging right through this show, with very little in the way of downtime here. With the WWF, you'd get some sort of interview or backstage bit between the matches, but not here - which is both a plus and a minus at the same time. And speaking of the WWF, this is the culmination of Bigelow's 'he came from the WWF!' push, before he disappeared to Japan for a few years. Bam Bam overpowers him in the early going, and hits a stomachbreaker rack drop that sends Barry scurrying to the outside. Windham with a lot of stalling on the outside, and a criss cross on the way back in ends in Bam Bam absolutely BLASTING him with a shoulderblock. Wow, no wonder he got over in Japan. More stalling. You know, if every match wasn't booked to run twenty minutes, maybe there would be a lot less stalling? Just a thought. Bigelow no-sells a bunch of stuff before press-slamming the champion, and a dropkick leads to a hanging vertical suplex for two. Chinlock time, but Barry fights free, and Bam Bam takes a bump to the outside. I'm sure he was missing the WWF's nice, padded ringside area right then. Bigelow manages a headbutt from the apron on the way back in to setup a slingshot splash for two, and a press-slam sets up the flying headbutt - only for Windham to roll out of the way! Barry with a big time lariat and a side suplex, and a dropkick sends Bigelow to the outside. Barry follows this time to post the Beast, and he slaps the Claw on as they re-enter. Thankfully, this doesn't result in a five minute sell job ala Dusty Rhodes at the Bash, as Bigelow makes the ropes. Windham responds by bodyslamming him, but a big flying elbowdrop misses, and the Bammer makes his comeback. Both guys go crashing over the top on a bodypress, and Bigelow eats post - Barry beating the count back in at 16:17. Some decent power moves, but too few and too far between. * (Original rating: ** ¼)

NWA World Tag Team Title Match: The Road Warriors v Dusty Rhodes and Sting: Animal starts with Sting, and a big criss cross ends in Sting knocking him out of the ring with a dropkick. Back in, the challengers double-up on Animal, but he escapes an attempted eye gouge from the Dream. Man, Rachel from Friends would not have been able to handle this angle. Like, at all. Tag to Hawk, but he runs into more double-teaming from the babyfaces, but stomps a mud hole on Sting in the corner. Sadly, JR does not call it as such. But, I'd like to think that he saw it, let it marinate for ten years, and then was ready at the exact opportune moment. So, really, thanks Hawk, I guess. Tag back to Animal for a press-slam on Sting, and he drops him across the top rope, but Sting no-sells, and blitzes him with clotheslines. How's it feel, Animal? To the outside, Sting delivers a fucking CRAZY flying bodypress into the aisle (with no padding (or even carpeting) out there, mind you), and Dusty adds to the fire by posting Animal. He fails to cut the ring in half, however, and Hawk gets the tag. No wonder they didn't want to be Six-Man Champions with this guy any longer. I mean, they handled it badly, no question, but you can't blame them for feeling that way, you know? Dusty takes him down for a figure four, but Animal saves, and the Warriors knock him to the outside - going for the eye, and stomping him down in absolutely hellacious manner. Like, damn. Back in, Hawk delivers a standing dropkick, as the Warriors cut the ring in half on Dusty. Rhodes fights them off for the tag, and Sting is a beach shack of fire! Scorpion Deathlock looks to put Animal away, but Hawk runs in, and we've got a brawl! Sting nails Animal with a flying bodypress, but Paul Ellering breaks up the pin to save his teams title by way of DQ at 11:16. This probably would have resulted in a Rhodes/Sting title run under normal circumstances, but then Dusty was getting shit-canned immediately after the show, so. Kinda sucks for Sting, though. ** (Original rating: *** ¼)

Main Event: NWA World Title Match: Ric Flair v Lex Luger: If Flair gets disqualified, he loses the title. The crowd is really hot for Lex here. You've gotta feel bad for them, the poor idiots. It's like they packed the building with ten thousand people who either A) didn't know about all the screwy finishes in the past or B) were the biggest optimists in the world. Lex dominates him in the early going, winning criss crosses, and press-slamming Ric all over the place. Wristlock by the challenger, so Flair tries some chops, but Luger no-sells, and Ric bails. Can't blame him there. If a big muscled dude just smiles when you're hitting him, and it's the 1980s, you've got to reasonably assume PCP use is in play, and you don't want to fuck around with that shit. Luger catches him with a hammerlock on the mat, and a criss cross ends in Lex hiptossing him, so Flair goes to the eyes. Chops, but Lex no-sells, and chases him to the floor for a hammerlock out there. You know, on second thought, maybe this guy didn't deserve to be world champion. He posts Ric before bringing him back in for an armbar, and he wins another criss cross with a running forearm smash for two. Hanging vertical suplex (in which Flair nearly puts his hands down the front of Luger's tights while trying to balance himself) gets two, but Lex misses an elbowdrop follow-up. Well, he'd just been molested in front of ten thousand people - that'll rattle about anyone. And that proves to be the kryptonite Flair needed all along, as he's finally able to take control - knocking Luger to the floor for a shot into the rail, and some chops. Hey, everyone's got an Achilles heel. For Lex Luger, I guess it's homophobia. You'd think Jim Cornette would have picked up on that, but I guess he was too busy celebrating the Midnight's victory earlier, and missed it. Too bad too, had he fed that information to Yokozuna in 1993, it could have saved us all a lot of trouble. Anyway, Ric snapmares Luger to setup a double-stomp (!), which is a nice changeup from the usual kneedrop that the frequent opponent would likely expect. More chops get no-sold, and Lex grabs a sleeper. Just cup the peen, Ric! He uses a side suplex instead, which must have rattled the peen on impact, because it works. The peen adjusts, however, and Lex counters the Figure Four with a small package for two. Superplex gets two, and Luger slaps on a figure four of his own! Flair gets the ropes, but the Lex Express rolls on as he unloads in the corner - making an unplanned stop in the referee's face. That allows Flair to quickly dump him over the top, but Luger won't be derailed, and comes flying back in with a flying bodypress for two. Backslide gets two, and a ten-punch staggers Ric for a flip off a cross corner whip. Vertical suplex gets the challenger two, so a desperate Flair starts absolutely wailing on him with chops, but Luger no-sells it all, and press-slams him! PENIS! Sorry. Just hoping Ric'll hear it. You know, through space-time. Powerslam has JJ Dillon nervous, and his distraction allows Flair to sweep Luger down, and whack the knee with a chair. Well, desperate times, and all that. The referee's suspicious, but didn't see anything, and can't call what he doesn't see. And thank God, because I didn't want to have to go off on another rant about how disqualifying someone over the presence of a chair alone basically makes you a Nazi because of the sheer level of disrespect it would give to Sir Winston Churchill. Flair zeroes in on the leg, and locks on the Figure Four, but Luger flat refuses to submit! Man, why didn't anyone else ever think of that? JUST SAY NO! Ric tries to convince him with some chops while applying the hold, but dammit, NO MEANS NO, and Luger reverses! I'm so proud of Lex Luger right now. Ric with another snapmare to setup a kneedrop onto the damaged leg, but another trip to the top ends in him getting slammed off again. Maybe stop trying that, you think? Ric keeps after him, but now Luger is in full no-sell mode again, and it's press-slam time - Lex doing a great job of selling the leg as he makes his comeback. Flair tries dumping him to the floor in hopes of settling for a countout win in a pinch, but Luger comes at him with a slingshot sunset flip for two. Ten-punch and a clothesline get two, and another powerslam sets up the Torture Rack. He fights through the leg pain to get it on, but the knee gives out before Flair submits - Ric toppling him, and adding two feet on the ropes to retain at 30:59. After everything... the Bash fuck-finish, doing the chase on the house shows for months... you'd think this would, 100% no questions asked guaranteed result in Luger getting the belt here. But nope. Is it any wonder that they killed so many markets with this type of booking? Don't get me wrong, the actual match was great, but come on, take a page out of the WWF's book, and send the damn fans home happy for once! It's the biggest show of the year, for fucks sake! You can do all the screw jobs and babyface chases you want the whole rest of the year, but at least pay it off when it counts. And yes, I know that that was the original plan, and that all sorts of backstage political shenanigans resulted in it getting changed around, but if the new owners couldn't follow through on, like, the ONE SMART THING Dusty had penciled in for this show, they probably shouldn't have bothered running a wrestling company in the first place, you know? *** ½ (Original rating: **** ½)

BUExperience: For those keeping count, that’s seven matches, and zero blade jobs – something that would have been unheard of on the earlier Starrcade’s. I found my ratings to be very interesting here, in that I downgraded some matches, while upgrading others. I appreciated the undercard a lot more this time around. Overall, the first Starrcade of the new WCW era was a strong (if flawed) effort, with the good outweighing the bad, but not enough so to make this a must-see

***