From The Shelf: WCW Starrcade 1998
Posted by Dylan Diot on 03.02.2013
The day the streak died.
WCW Starrcade 1998
Washington, DC
12/27/98
Key Points:
-Kevin Nash won World War III to earn a shot at Goldberg's WCW Title.
-After months of in and out of the ring issues, Ric Flair finally gets his hands on Eric Bischoff.
-DDP looks for revenge after The Giant cost him the US Title to Bret Hart.
Your hosts are Tony Schavontie, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan.
We learn that Eric Bischoff has forced Ric Flair to ban the Four Horsemen from ringside for their match.
After the match, Eddy rips into Juvi and Rey for not getting the job done. Eddy says he’ll have to get the job done himself and challenges Kidman to a title match. Kidman comes back out and accepts!!!
Norman Smiley vs. Prince Iaukea
Chops by Smiley to start but Iaukea comes back with a dragon screw leg sweep. Dropkick by Iaukea sends Smiley to the floor. He follows out with a summersault senton off the apron and back in, he gets 2. Keylock by Smiley and he turns it into a cross armbreaker. Iaukea escapes and hammers away on Smiley in the corner. Smiley suplexes Iaukea into the ropes as the announcers spend their time talking about the Flair/Bischoff match rather than focus on this match. Headscissors by Smiley but Iaukea escapes and gets a sunset flip for 2. Loud “Boring” chant breaks out. Double stomp by Smiley and he goes to a rear abdominal stretch. Iaukea fights out and he goes for a suplex but Smiley blocks and hits his own. Double underhook suplex by Smiley gets 2 as Iaukea gets his foot on the ropes. Smiley goes for the cross armbreaker but Iaukea blocks. Drop toe hold by Smiley but Iaukea comes back with a northern lights suplex for 2. Bodyscissors by Smiley and he turns it into the same standing surfboard Eddy Guerrero used earlier. Double stomp again by Smiley but Iaukea begins to fight back. Headbutt to the midsection by Iaukea and Smiley bails. Back in, Iaukea goes for a springboard crossbody but Smiley rolls through for 2. Chicken Wing by Smiley and Iaukea taps. Winner- Norman Smiley *1/2 (There was no heat for this. Zero. They did nothing special, they just had a bland, boring match. Can’t believe this was on the biggest show of the year.)
Scott Hall makes his way to the ring. He talks about 1998 not being his best year due to issues both in and out of the ring. Hall says despite what people say, he doesn’t need to prove anything to Kevin Nash or the fans. He needs to prove it to himself. He guarantees that 1999 will be his year.
The Cat w/Sonny Ono vs. Perry Saturn
Before the match, The Cat tells the fans that he’s the best and they’ll see why. He tells Saturn he gets five seconds to leave before he rips him apart. Saturn knocks Cat of the ring after he finishes counting to five. Cat tries a sneak attack but it fails and Saturn hammers away. Cat goes to the floor again to regroup. Back in, Cat rakes the eyes and leg sweeps Saturn. Cat chokes Saturn in the ropes but Saturn comes back with a roll-up for 2. Saturn controls Cat on the mat, so Cat has to bail again. Back in, Cat hits a superkick for 2. Saturn blocks a spinkick and catches Cat with a back suplex. T-Bone suplex by Saturn gets 2. Swinging neckbreaker by Saturn and he goes up. Double axe handle misses and Cat catches him with another superkick for 2. Cat blocks an exploder suplex attempt and hits yet another superkick. Sonny Ono comes in and goes to kick Saturn but Saturn moves and hits Cat. DVD by Saturn gets 3. Winner- Perry Saturn *1/2 (Cat’s heel antics were fun but his offense was horrible, creating awkward moments throughout the match. Props to Saturn for trying to keep this together.)
Ric Flair comes out and says it doesn’t matter who is here tonight, Bischoff will get his ass kicked. Flair explains some of the horrible things he’ll do to Bischoff tonight and says Bischoff will pay the price of wrestling tradition.
Scott Steiner and Buff Bagwell talk trash to Konnan backstage and Lex Lugar has to hold him back.
Brian Adams and Scott Norton w/Vincent vs. Fit Finley and Jerry Flynn
Finley and Adams start. Big boot by Adams to start and he hits a corner clothesline. Clothesline by Finley and he hits an elbow drop. Finley knocks Adams down with an uppercut and he follows up with a seating senton. Finley charges in the corner but misses and Norton tags in. Clotheslines by Norton and he catches Finley with a powerslam. Flynn tags in and Norton catches both with a double clothesline. Norton charges in the corner but misses and Flynn hits a corner spinning heel kick. Adams tags in and Flynn knocks him down with a chop. Vincent hits Flynn from behind allowing Adams to hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for 2. Heel kick by Flynn and Finley tags in. Clothesline by Finley gets 1 and he goes to a chinlock. Adams fights out and hits a piledriver. Tag to Norton and he hits a DDT. Norton twists the neck of Finley and hits a sitting neckbreaker for 2. Corner splash by Norton and Finley bails to the floor. Adams attacks him and rolls Finley back in. Shoulderbreaker by Norton gets 2. Tag to Adams and they hit a double back elbow to Finley. Jawbreaker by Finley and he hits a DDT for 2. Finley leaps off the second rope but eats boot on the way down. Gutbuster by Adams and he goes to jump on the back of Finley but eats knees. Tags to Flynn and Norton. Kicks to the chest by Flynn and he hits a spinning heel kick to the back. Double clothesline to Adams but Norton catches him with a clothesline. Jackknife powerbomb by Norton gets 3. Winners- Bryan Adams and Scott Norton *3/4 (Why was this match booked on Starrcade? Third boring match in a row. It was bland and it served no purpose. The crowd is now 4 of 5 for being dead tonight.)
Eric Bischoff comes out and says the only reason that he’s wrestling with a bad heart tonight is because he is broke. He says Flair paid to be a kiss stealing, wheeling dealing son of a gun. This was hilarious in retrospect.
Eric Bischoff vs. Ric Flair
Flair chases Bischoff around ringside and finally catches him. Flair hammers away and brings him back into the ring. Flair knocks Bischoff down with a chop and follows up with a kneedrop. Flair stomps away on Bischoff in the corner and he works on the knee of Bischoff. The ref tries to pull Flair off, allowing Bischoff to catch Flair with a kick to the side of the head, forcing Flair to bail. Back in, Bischoff hammers at the head of Flair and he catches Flair with another kick to the head. Flair goes low to stop the momentum and he hammers away on Bischoff in the corner. The ref tries to stop him so Flair nails him. Flair kicks the turnbuckle into the groin of Bischoff and Flair hits a back suplex. Suplex by Flair and he locks in the Figure Four. Bischoff is giving up but there is no ref. Curt Henning comes out and hands Bischoff some brass knucks and Bischoff nails Flair with them. Bischoff covers for 3!!! Winner- Eric Bischoff ** (This should have been Flair kicking Bischoff’s ass and getting his revenge for the hell Bischoff put him through. It’s the biggest show of the year, Flair needed to go over. No exceptions. Bad booking took away from what could have been a great moment. Such a shame.)
The Giant vs. Diamond Dallas Page
DDP spits on Giant to start and he hammers away. He goes to work on the arm of Giant and goes for the Diamond Cutter but Giant blocks. Page clothesline to the floor but Giant pulls him out and catches him with a short arm clothesline. Page nails Giant in the head with a trash can but Giant sends Page into the steps to break the momentum. Giant pulls Page into the ringpost a few times and he presses Page back into the ring. Giant goes to work on the leg of Page and Page rakes the eyes to stop him. Corner clothesline by Giant and he hits a headbutt. Bearhug by Giant and he releases after Page won’t quit. Giant blocks the Diamond Cutter again and he hits a powerslam for 2 as he pulls Page off the mat. Bearhug again by Giant but Page bites the face of Giant to break. Page goes for the sunset flip but Giant blocks and hits a SICK backbreaker. Page catches Giant with the Diamond Dream to come back. Bret Hart comes out and goes to hit Page with a chair but misses and hits Giant!!! Page goes low on Hart and covers Giant for 1. Page goes up and hits a clothesline off the top. He hits another one and goes for it one more time but Giant catches him. Page goes low but Giant holds on to the grip. He puts Page on top and goes for a super Chokeslam but PAGE COUNTERS INTO THE DIAMOND CUTTER FOR 3!!!! Winner-Diamond Dallas Page **3/4 (Awesome finish and a good match. Page had to resort to counters and quick wit to stop the powerful Giant which made for a good story. This could have been better if Giant’s heat segment was more exciting and remove the Bret Hart interference. )
The 411: This did not feel like the biggest show of the year for WCW. Too many pointless matches and a mostly dead crowd made for a dull show. There was also the lack of major star power, with no Sting, Lugar, Hogan, or Savage competing. This was a sign of the times for WCW, with horrible booking and too much interference preventing the show from producing memorable moments and satisfying conclusions for the fans. The only things I can recommend are the opening three way and the main event for historical purposes but otherwise you can skip this.
