JCP/WCW Starrcade (1983) Retrospective
JCP/WCW Starrcade (1983) Retrospective
The Daddy of Them All
By Cameron Copeland
Just under a 16,000 people attended which equated to a nearly $500,000 gate according to research. Gordon Solie and Bob Caudill are on commentary for this show. Quick tangent as the poster board behind them spells the tagline for the event A 'Flare' For The Gold while the actual poster spells it A 'Flair' For Gold. Obviously Flair relates to Ric Flair, legendary wrestler who will main event this event, who is challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Perhaps they wanted to make it less obvious Flair was going to win and that this was his night? This was before most of the public became aware that EVERYTHING was scripted after all. Anyway if you were or were not going to have the pun at least be consistent about it.
The current network version of Starrcade '83 has no opening package or set time aside for the announcers to introduce themselves it just goes right into the first match so I shall too but first I should clarify what I shall be doing during these retrospectives. I was born in 2004 so obviously I wasn't alive to watch this event live which means I have the ability to view these events in retrospect. I will go into detail of each match and the storyline preceding each one so everyone could be on the same page and give each a grade based on heat (how invested the fans in attendance and even at home were in the match) and the wrestling ability. Then I will give a final grade on the event itself which will keep in mind both the previous match grades and the ungraded segments between each match. Now we can actually go into the first match which is...
Opening Match: Masked Assassins 1 & 2 vs. Rufus R. Jones & Bugsy McGraw
The Masked Assassins were a longstanding team in professional wrestling way back to the 1960s with Jody Hamiliton and Tom Renesto although at this event Jody Hamiliton as Masked Assassin #1 was partnered up with Raymond Constatine Fernandez Jr. who will later be better know as Hercules Hernandez. Their opponents however are Jones who is currently the Mid-Atlanic Champion and McGraw who was just a goofy wrestler who wore sneakers (a rarity in this era where most wrestlers wore boots) and danced, although Jones himself would occasionally do a shimmy.
The Assassins get the advantage when Assassin #1 produces a foreign object from the corner and rakes Rufus in the eyes with it allowing his team to gain control of the match. Bugsy gets the hot tag and he is a house of wacky fire. Assassin #1 gets the blind tag in and rolls up an unsuspecting McGraw to win the match. It was a basic tag team match used to get the crowd hyped up as the show began and the quality of the tag team matches would certainly improve as the event went along.
Heat: 27/100 - This match certainly did its job of hyping up the crowd especially the hot tag but it never really kicked into a second gear.
Wrestling Ability: 23/100 - The match was very basic even for the time and if it had gone on longer maybe the wrestlers would have had a chance to show more of themselves.
Final Match Grade: 25/100
Before our next match-up we get our first glimpse of the backstage area where we meet backstage interviewer Tony Schiavone who just turned 26 years old a little less then 20 days before this event. He's of course, with anyone familiar with JCP/WCW history, would later go on to be a big part of the company and we'll see more of him as the night goes on. We then proceed to our next match which is...
Match 2: Johnny Weaver & Scott McGhee vs. Kevin Sullivan & Mark Lewin (accompanied by Gary Hart)
Notably McGhee is the only one wearing knee pads out of all four wrestlers which is smart and everyone should wear them when wrestling. It's also interesting to see a young Kevin Sullivan who is in the midst of "is he or is he not a Satanist?" which because of course SOMEONE would have that gimmick, its pro wrestling the early 1980s.
McGee does an unusual counter out of a wrist lock where he steps up on Lewin's leg to escape it. That move is sort of subtle for how rare it is and nowadays it may even be rarer due to how much high fly spots were accepted and such that if it were tried today the wrestler would more likely do a flip out of it instead of a simple step over. Because McGhee is the younger babyface compared to his partner Weaver McGee takes a lot of the heat and punishment in this match. At one point there is the classic 'the ref misses the hot tag and returns the tagged in babyface to the corner'. The announcers missed that the ref missed the tag and instead came up with the excuse that Weaver had to step over the rope to get in which is of course nonsense.
More weird commentary later in the match as Weaver finally gets the hot tag and hits a Bulldog on Sullivan which Solie calls it another move entirely, the Oklahoma Stampede (go OKC Thunder!), which isn't even the same type of move. Weaver gets his arm worked which leads to this kind of funny spot of both of the heels having him in a wristlock where they walked in circles around him to try and wrench it. Gary Hart gets involved while the ref is distracted and holds down both Weaver and Sullivan to allow Mark Lewin to hit a knee drop from the top rope into his back to win the match.
Heat: 30/100 - The story in the match was certainly better told in this match then the proceeding match.
Wrestling
Ability: 24/100 - The match was as basic as the last match although a bit better as well.
Final Match Grade: 27/100
After the match Lewin and Sullivan beat down McGhee and lacerated his forehead with a foreign object produce by Hart. Angelo Mosca attempts to help the McGhee but was also beat down for his troubles. We then go ringside to see Barbara Clearly, who I don't think we see much of before or after this show, interviewing the audience to get their reactions to the show so far. She interviews one family in the front row who drove 200 miles to see the show in person.
Backstage Schiavone is interviewing a roomful of champions. The United Stats Champion Greg Valentine, the NWA World Tag Team Champs the Brisco Brothers, and NWA World Heavyweight champ Harley Race. Race says he's been getting insight on what his challenger Ric Flair's strengths and weaknesses and he says he knows his shortcomings and he's going to exploit in their cage match later in the night. We then go to our next match which is...
Match 3: Abdullah the Butcher vs. Carlos Colon
This is the continuation of the feud they been having in Puerto Rico. The commentators mention the match had been BANNED of happening in Puerto Rico again because the last time they fought a riot broke out and the match was thrown out, so a typical Puerto Rican main event of this time it sounds like.
The match started with Abdullah dominating Colon with the use of a weapon. Colon fought back with punches and turned Abdullah's weapon against him causing him to bleed. Abdullah knocked down the ref and Carlos applied a figure four leglock (not the last time we'll be seeing that move tonight) on Abdullah. While the referee was still knocked out, Hugo Savinovich entered the ring and hit Colon with another foreign object, allowing Abdullah to pin Colon and win the match.
Heat: 35/100 - The story seemed a lot more personal and you could see the shocked expressions of the crowd at the violence in front of them.
Wrestling
Ability: 23/100 - Despite the match not even being 5 minutes the two wrestlers crammed as many chaotic spots as they could so I will give the match extra points for making it work in the allotted time.
Final Match Grade: 29/100
The backstage interviews continue as Schiavone interviews Angelo Mosca whose left elbow is bandaged up after the attack he suffered earlier. He gets all fired up over what happened to McGhee, "he reminds me of my son", meanwhile McGhee is sitting next to him covered in blood slumped over looking half dead. Has no one bandaged him up? Barbara Clearly interviews some female fans now to talk about their experience so far and who they think is going to win the main event. We then go to our next match which is...
Match 4: Wahoo McDaniel & Mark Youngblood vs. Dick Slater & Bob Orton Jr.
Yup our third (of four) tag team match of the evening. This is our first match with match-up graphics and first one that uses the overhead camera though. Wahoo is a former US champ who really helped put Ric Flair on the map in the 70s during his feud with him along other accolades. Mark Youngblood is the brother of Jay and Chris Youngblood and sons of Ricky Romero so the Youngbloods are out in full force as we'll see Jay later in another tag match funnily enough. Slater will actually be a future US champ and win it one month after this show. His partner Bob Orton Jr. is only 33 at this point and his much more famous son Randy Orton would have already been a multiple time champ by that age. Crazy how wrestling works out sometimes.
Now Orton and Slater are the team that collected the $25K bounty Race put on Flair's head over the summer. They hit him with a double piledriver back in August. Flair would announce his retirement, which obviously didn't stick as he came back for this event and would later retire in the 2020s. So yeah Orton and Slater are known at the time as the guys who tried to put Flair out of wrestling.
Youngblood had the early advantage over Slater until Slater sent him down with a Russian legsweep. Slater and Orton then took control of the match until Slater accidentally hit Orton. Youngblood performed dropkicks to Slater and Orton, but the pair then double-teamed him. They placed Youngblood on the top turnbuckle, and Orton performed a superplex, sending Youngblood back-first onto the canvas. Orton then pinned Youngblood to win the match. After the match, Slater and Orton beat down McDaniel and attacked his left arm with a knee drop from the top turnbuckle.
Heat: 48/100 - Good story that was told in the ring and satisfying finish. Wahoo did come a little early to try and break the pin up but that's more of a nitpick.
Wrestling
Ability: 40/100 - The best match of the night so far and definitely the best tag team match so far.
Final Match Grade: 44/100
Backstage another interview by Schiavone as he interviews Ric Flair, Jay Youngblood, and Ricky Steamboat about their upcoming title matches. All three men are very subdued in this interview taking things seriously especially Ric Flair. Acting all humble and soft-spoken which is the opposite of what "The Nature Boy" normally is known for. Ringside Barbara interviews the "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes but you can't hear a word he says as the microphone keeps dying when put in his face. Solie has to play the role of interpreter and tell the audience what he is saying. They'll later come back to this to try it one more time. We move on to the next match then which is...
Match 5: Title vs. Mask - Charlie Brown "From Out of Town" vs. The Great Kabuki (c) (accompanied by Gary Hart)
In August, Jimmy Valiant was forced to leave JCP after losing a Loser Leaves Town match to Kabuki. Valiant returned under the name Charlie Brown and wore a mask to hide his identity. Kabuki speculated that Brown was Valiant, and was given the opportunity to expose Valiant in their Title vs. Mask match. In the match, Kabuki defended his NWA Television Championship while Charlie defended his mask and secret identity. If Brown was revealed to be Valiant, he would be suspended by the NWA for one year.
Kabuki's NWA Television Championship was defended in the first fifteen minutes, and Brown's mask was defended for the entire match. The match started with Brown having the advantage with the use of the ringpost and a steel chair. Brown applied a chokehold, but Kabuki fought back and applied a clawhold, squeezing Brown's skull. This continued until Kabuki missed a kick in the corner, and Brown pinned him after an elbow drop to win the match and the title.
Heat: 55/100 - The first match of the show to have a real actual story leading to the event, besides Abdullah vs. Carlos. Good heat throughout the match. Although the whole mask thing would prove moot because by January Valiant would vacate the title after dropping the Charlie Brown gimmick and the title would later be won in March by Mark Youngblood.
Wrestling
Ability: 45/100 - The new best match of the night so far and Kabuki and Valiant would really put the chokehold over.
Final Match Grade: 50/100
We go backstage where Schiavone is once again joined by Harley Race who is also with Orton and Slater now, who take great pride in what they did to McDaniel's arm earlier in the night. The we go to the "crow's nest" where the announcers are usually are only this time Barbara is there with Dusty to re-do the promo as I mentioned earlier. We then go to our next match which is...
Match 6: Dog Collar Match - Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine
This match was made to culminate their feud, which stemmed from their match on April 30. During which Valentine used the ring bell to attack Piper's left ear. Piper lost the NWA United States Championship to Valentine and 50 to 75% of his hearing in that ear. This is notably NOT for the belt Greg Valentine holds although I only learned this after the match was over where the announcers clarified that.
The match started with a back and forth, with Valentine targeting Piper's injured left ear. Piper gained the advantage with the use of the chain. Valentine fought back and choked Piper with the chain. Valentine targeted Piper's left ear, causing him to have trouble standing. The match went back and forth until Valentine performed an elbow strike from the turnbuckles and an elbow drop. Valentine climbed the turnbuckles again, but Piper pulled him down. After delivering punches with the chain, Piper pinned Valentine with the chain wrapped around his legs. Both men are bleeding after the match. After the match, Valentine attacked Piper and again choked him with the chain. Piper is able to leave under his own power after the beatdown.
Heat: 90/100 - An amazing story and perhaps the best story of the night, even greater then the main event. The focus on Piper's ears and how Piper sold it and how both men used the chain I just greatly enjoyed it. Only thing that would make it better is if it were for the title. Piper would never regain the title as right after thing WWF would snatch up Piper and the rest is wrestling history.
Wrestling
Ability: 80/100 - The new best match of the night so far and Kabuki and Valiant would really put the chokehold over.
Final Match Grade: 85/100
Schiavone interviews Flair one last time along with Wahoo McDaniel whose all bandaged up, great now has anyone checked on McGhee? At ringside Barbara interviews former NWA World Tag team champ Don Kernodle, who won it with the more known Sgt. Slaughter, who offers ups his predicitions for the remaining two matches. We then go to one of them which is...
Match 7: NWA World Tag Team Match - Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood vs. The Brisco Brothers (c)
This match stemmed from their feud which began earlier in the year. In the storyline, they were originally friends before the Briscos turned heel by turning on Steamboat and Youngblood. The Briscos won the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Steamboat and Youngblood on June 18. Special referee for this match is Angelo Mosca who we've seen a couple of times already.
The match started with a back and forth until Jack performed a double underhook suplex to Steamboat, slamming him onto his back. The Briscos had the advantage until Jerry complained to and shoved Mosca after almost pinning Youngblood. Mosca shoved Jerry down, and Youngblood and Steamboat gained the advantage. They performed an aided splash, where Steamboat dropped Youngblood onto the fallen Jerry, and Youngblood pinned him to win the match and the title for the fifth time. After the match, what a shocker, the heel Briscos attacked the babyfaces Youngblood, Steamboat and Mosca until they fought back.
Heat: 64/100 - The best story and heat of the four tag team wrestling matches tonight. The heels attacking the babyfaces after the match were getting a little old at this point. Steaamboat & Youngblood would vacate the titles a month later after Steamboat "retired" from wrestling which didn't last long.
Wrestling
Ability: 60/100 - The match itself started a little slow for my taste but once the match was going it was truly a blast as it went on.
Final Match Grade: 62/100
Now is the part of the show where everyone is trying to kill time while the steel cage is set up. Tony interviews Charlie Brown, Roddy Piper, and the new tag champs backstage. The announcers try to kill a lot of time in the crow's nest. I'm kinda shocked we don't at least get a shot of the crew building up the cage and instead we just get a long shot of the announcers killing time. We get another Barbara interview with Dusty and the National Anthem is performed by James "tiny" Weeks. It's time for the main event which of course is...
Main Event: NWA Heavyweight Steel Cage Match - Ric Flair vs. Harley Race (c)
In 1981, Flair won the title from Dusty Rhodes on September 17 in Kansas City, Kansas, where Rhodes and Flair were not major names. Flair felt that the match was poorly orchestrated due to the location, and because Rhodes was unhappy about losing the title. Initially, Flair was not well accepted as the champion by the promoters and fans in certain territories. On June 10, 1983, Race won the title from Flair, and began his seventh reign as the champion. The NWA wanted Race to win the title to set Flair up as long term champ at Starcade '83. Harley was reluctant, but agreed.
Their feud began, with Flair portrayed as the face and Race as the heel, who was afraid to lose the title and employed unethical tactics to remain the champion. The storyline involved Race offering a $25,000 bounty to have Flair put out of wrestling, to avoid losing the title. On August 31, Orton and Slater did just that. Flair was portrayed as suffering from a serious neck injury, and they collected the bounty from Race. Flair announced his retirement from professional wrestling, but returned on September 21 by attacking Orton and Slater with a baseball bat. The promoters planned for their feud to culminate at Starrcade after a long pursuit. It later transpired the WWF's Vince McMahon offered to pay Race $250,000 to walk out on the NWA and join the WWF, Race kindly rejected the offer.
Ric Flair is the only one with a showy entrance as music plays and a disco ball is overhead showing that he is well and truly "The Nature Boy" by this point.
Former NWA World Champion Gene Kinsiki as the special referee (another former NWA World Champion, Pat O'Connor, was originally set to be the special referee, but it was discovered that O'Connor (along with Race, Bob Geigel, and Verne Gagne) owned the Central Stats Territory so the change was made (kayfabe) to avoid a conflict of interest). The match began with Flair having the advantage with a headlock. Race fought back by targeting Flair's head and neck. Race, using a maneuver, dropped Flair head first into the canvas and then sent his head into the cage which caused him to bleed. Flair fought back after sending Race into the corner of the ring. Flair performed a piledriver and sent Race's head into the cage. After slamming Race down with a belly to back suplex, Flair applied a figure four leglock. Race broke the hold by rolling into the ropes and fought back with a headbutt from the top turnbuckle. As Race applied a headlock, Flair sent Race's head into Kiniski's head. Flair then performed a body press from the top turnbuckle and pinned Race to win the match and the title.
Heat: 72/100 - Second greatest story of the night and it should have been better but Kiniski's subpar referee work just kept pulling me out of the match and so I have to reluctantly dink it a few points for that.
Wrestling
Ability: 68/100 - The competitors themselves were great, they are two legends of the business after all, but the special guest referee just didn't see to know this was a No DQ match and kept trying to make the two follow the rules. The two did their best with Kiniski in the way but as before I will have to subtract a few points for his involvement.
Final Match Grade: 70/100
The locker room clears out to celebrate with Ric Flair including his wife at the time before everyone goes back to the locker room. The last 20 minutes of the event on the network is post-show analysis and other chilling time. Backstage Ric Flair has this very emotional promo who is joined by Steamboat and Dusty. Race says this night was "arranged" for Flair and that he wants another shot which he technically would get. In New Zealand where he would win it back from Flair only to lose it three days later and the NWA to not recognize his three day reign, this is why some people say Ric Flair had 22 world title reigns across JCP/WCW and WWF despite most saying he only had 16. We have one last interview with Ric Flair before the show ends.
For a final grade for the show I will have to go with a letter grade system this time and give it a C+. For pros we have the latter four matches and the historic importance of the entire show while for cons we have such repetitive post-match beat downs and too much ref stuff in the main event. It didn't really do much for me personally however there is no understating Starrcade '83 and Starrcade as a whole and its importance to professional wrestling. Thank you for reading my article on my blog.
If you wish to support me directly you can go support me at: https://ko-fi.com/cameroncopeland
Comments
Post a Comment