The Name on the Marquee: The Best of Starrcade (1988)

Posted by Adam Nedeff on 01.03.2009

Before DVD releases, we had four-hour, two cassette collections...and we LIKED it that way!

-With the release date inching closer and closer, I thought it might be fun to take a look back at the original “Best of Starrcade” collection, released in 1988 by Jim Crockett Promotions and looking back on the years 1983-87. It was a two-VHS set running a then-whopping four hours total. Let’s see what we were getting nostalgic about back when we only had five shows to get nostalgic over.

-The opening theme used on the tape is, itself, too awesome for words, and I remember actually being a little pissed when a used-car dealership in West Virginia began featuring it in radio commercials during my college years.

-Your host is Magnum TA.

DOG COLLAR MATCH: ROWDY RODDY PIPER vs. GREG “The Hammer” VALENTINE
-These two had a hot feud going in 1983, stemming from Valentine winning the United States Title from Piper in a match where Valentine viciously attacked Piper’s ear and the referee stopped the match and gave Valentine the belt to end the carnage. It led to this match, and in Piper’s DVD release, he talks of making a pact with Valentine that they would watch out for each other’s noses & teeth, but beyond those two limitations, go crazy. Oh, also, due to the fact that Piper wanted a gimmick match, Valentine, in story, refused to put the belt on the line. Here we go!

-Bob Caudle & Gordon Solie do such a fantastic job of driving the point home about how dangerous the chain is, with Caudle in particular making it a point to speak in uncomfortable, squeamish tones instead of “Good god, the potential destruction!” hype. Both men are attached at the neck by a chain, for those unfamiliar with this particular gimmick match. Tug of war with the chain to start, with both men trying to gather slack. Piper gets more slack and uses it to whip Valentine’s arm. Valentine tries to the same but misses, and we go back to the tug of war. Fistfight starts, but then they go back to the tug of war. Piper gathers slack and whips Valentine’s leg, then starts hammering the Hammer with the chain wrapped around his fist. Valentine hits the mat, and Piper gets the chain between Greg’s legs and yanks him backward. Valentine begins throwing elbows and then gathers the chain to attack Piper’s ear. He snapmares Piper and wraps the chain around his eyes. With Piper still tied up, he drops a few elbows, then makes the mistake of bringing Piper back to his feet. Piper immediately knocks him over and ties the chain around Valentine’s mouth & nose, getting in a punch while he’s at it. Piper wraps the chain around the ring post, which traps Valentine in the corner, and Piper cleverly takes advantage with punching and biting. Piper drags Valentine back to the center of the ring for more punishment, but Valentine chokes Piper down to the mat. Piper goes outside for a breather, and when Valentine follows him, Piper is ready with the chain, and Valentine bleeds first. Piper throws a chair at Valentine and takes another shot with the chain. He brings Valentine up to the apron and punches away, but when the referee tries to separate them, Valentine attacks. He pounds Piper’s ear and rams him into the post. Back on the floor, Valentine continues targeting the ear (and in a life-imitates-art footnote, Piper legitimately lost most of his hearing in one ear as a direct result of this match).

-Greg takes a rest in the ring while a dazed Piper wanders around on the floor. Piper tries to re-enter until Valentine kicks him in the ear. Valentine lets him back in the ring and continues punishing the ear, and Piper, nice & bloody, is no longer able to stand up because the ear attack is screwing up his equilibrium. Piper throws a desperate punch, but Valentine fights back and wraps part of the chain around the ear. He goes for a suplex, but Piper blocks it with a chain-assisted punch. Valentine gets an elbow for two. More elbows get a two-count. Valentine goes for a move off the ropes, but Piper simply yanks the chain to snap his neck and bring him down. Piper goes insane and whips Valentine over and over again until Greg drops. And then after Greg drops…well, Piper keeps whipping him anyway. Chain-assisted fistdrop by Piper, but then he’s the one who errs by bringing the opponent back to his feet and Greg fights back. Piper is able to keep the advantage when it turns into a fistfight, but Greg chokes him with the chain and takes him down with a shoulderblock. Kneedrop by Valentine gets two. Suplex duel is won by Piper. Valentine makes it to his feet and gets a few forearms in, followed by a sleeperhold. Piper just plain refuses to die though because, in a good bit of psychology noted by Gordon, the presence of a giant dog collar around the neck totally negates the effectiveness of the hold. Valentine drops the forearm from the second rope. He tries again, but Piper yanks him off and just pounds away at him with the chain. He ties the chain around Valentine’s legs and rolls him up for the pin. Valentine attacks during the post-match victory celebration and chokes the life out of Piper to set up the house show rematches. 1 for 1. The sole complaint I have is they cut it off before the awesome shot seen on Piper’s DVD of Hot Rod triumphantly swinging the chain over his head and screaming as the crowd stands up and cheers. It’s a great-looking dramatic moment and I hope they leave it intact on the upcoming release.

NWA TAG TEAM TITLE: JACK & JERRY BRISCO (champions) vs. RICK STEAMBOAT & JAY YOUNGBLOOD
-Your guest referee is Angelo “King Kong” Mosca. Steamboat & Jack start. Steamboat backs Jack into the corner and breaks cleanly, and Jack hilariously gloats to the fans as though that’s an accomplishment on his part. Lock-up goes to some bouncing off the ropes, but Brisco is too smart for it to go anywhere. Jack gets an arm-wringer and Jerry tags in to capitalize. Drop toehold is enough to make Jerry tag Jack right back in. Jack ties up Steamboat with a hammerlock, but Steamboat literally flips out and armdrags Jack. Jerry tags back in and backs Steamboat in the corner, then throws a few forearms until Mosca shoves him out of the corner. Jerry learns nothing from this and goes right back until Mosca breaks it up. Steamboat gets backed into the corner and Irish whipped. Jerry tries to do it again, but Steamboat reverses and chops him. Youngblood tags in and snapmares him into a side headlock on the mat. He backs Jerry into the corner and Jerry ponders his next move for a moment. He walks into an arm wringer. Jerry tries to bodyslam out but Youngblood hangs on and Steamboat comes off the top rope for some double-teaming. Steamboat & Youngblood continue working the arm. Youngblood gets a two-count and then chops Jack off the apron to stop a tag. Jerry comes back when Steamboat tags in and Jack enters for some double-teaming. Steamboat is dropped throat-first over the top rope. Snapmare and a kneedrop by Jack followed by a headlock, but Steamboat fights out with elbows. Backdrop by Jack followed by a double-underhook suplex from Jerry for two. Hiptoss by Jerry followed by a keylock on the arm. Steamboat counters by doing an arm-curl with Jerry and drops him on his back. Double tags bring in a hot Youngblood and Jack Brisco. Chops by Youngblood, but Brisco reverses a suplex and attacks the ribs. Double-tackle by the Briscos isn’t enough to put Jay away. Jerry suplexes him for two. Abdominal stretch into a pin gets a two-count and Jerry Brisco shoves Mosca to complain about the count. Mosca shoves him on his back and that’s enough of a distraction for the heels for Steamboat to tag in. Quality double-teaming by the faces culminates with Steamboat press slamming Youngblood on top of Jerry for the three-count and the titles. Post-match, the Briscos clear the ring and attack Angelo Mosca. 2 for 2. Solid scientific match, although probably the least historical significance of any match on the set.

WORLD TITLE, STEEL CAGE MATCH: HARLEY RACE (Champion) vs. RIC FLAIR
-The “real life” story to this match is that Flair’s first title reign was basically a dud and he was getting second chance to prove himself as a credible draw. The angle is that Flair was being a huge thorn in Race’s side, so Race offered $25,000 to anybody who could put Flair out of wrestling. Flair's own allies, Dick Slater & Bob Orton took the cash and destroyed Flair’s neck, and he subsequently announced his retirement…only to surprise Slater & Orton with a baseball bat at a TV taping shortly thereafter and announcing he wanted Race’s head and his title. The match is set, and your guest referee is Gene Kiniski.

-Flair offers a “Woooooo!” at the bell and backs Race into the wall with the lock-up. Takedown is quickly reversed by Race and they stalemate. Race backs Flair into the corner and gets an early punch, but Flair chops back and locks on a side headlock. Race tries to bearhug his way out, but settles for backing Flair in the ropes. Shoving match erupts between Race & Kiniski. Lock-up and Flair gets a knee and a few punches. Snapmare and a modified headlock by Flair, but Race breaks free and gets a high knee off the ropes. Falling headbutt misses and Flair chops Race down for two. Snapmare and a side headlock by Flair keep Race on his back for a while as Flair refuses to let up. Flair switches to a front facelock. Race fights out of that, but Flair keeps him tied up and gets the front facelock again. Race makes it to his feet and suplexes Flair for two. Elbow misses, but Race shifts his weight during a bodyslam attempt and manages to get a two-count. Race drops a few hard knees across the neck, but Kiniski pulls Race away when he turns it into a choke. Race rams Flair into the turnbuckle and drops Flair with a shot to the back of the head. Kneedrop across the neck again but Kiniski throws Race off and then gives Flair a rest count. Race gets a piledriver and an elbow for two. Race screams “The neck!” and drops the elbow across Flair’s neck. Nice touch.

-Neckbreaker gets a two-count. Race continues dropping the knee across the neck, and Kiniski offers Flair another rest. Race rams Flair into the cage. A slam gets a two-count (“This close,” says Kiniski) and Flair starts to throw punches. Race headbutts Flair back down. Falling headbutt connects and Flair goes face-first into the cage. Flair throws a desperate punch, but Race rams him one more time and Flair is busted open. Race sends him into the turnbuckle, but Kiniski pulls Race away and Flair uses the opportunity to get a cheap shot. Flair throws punches as Gordon whips out “crimson mask” for the occasion. Race fights back and drops Flair, then sends him into the turnbuckle. Flair reverses an Irish whip is reversed by Flair, and he gives us another “Wooooooo!” right before sending Race into the cage.

-Kneedrop by Flair as Race is busted open. Piledriver by Flair gets a two-count. Flair snaps Harley’s neck and gets a double-underhook suplex for two. Flair rams Race into the cage. Shoving match erupts between Flair & Kiniski and this time, Race takes advantage, as a nice mirror of earlier in the match. Race cheese-grates Flair in the cage then rams him into the opposite wall. Flair begins throwing punches, but Harley manages to drop him. Flair no-sells it and comes right back, chopping Harley down for a two-count. Elbowdrop and a series of punches from Flair, and he’s so proud of himself that he stops everything to strut. Back suplex by Flair leads to the figure four. Flair hasn’t worked the leg at all, so it doesn’t have tremendous effect and Race manages to reverse it. Both men tumble into the ropes and Flair makes it to his feet and gets a pair of headbutts. Suplex attempt by Race, but his leg buckles and Flair falls on top for two. Race gets another headbutt and goes to the second rope for a diving headbutt, but he hurts himself as much as he hurts Flair. Race gets a two-count once the cobwebs are cleared. Suplex gets a two-count and Race begins attacking the open wound. Race drives Flair into the cage again and Kiniski ties up Race’s arms while Race keeps up the onslaught with his legs. Kiniski gets fed up and pulls Race by his hair across the ring. Flair blocks and reverses a suplex, but misses an elbow. Race goes for a side headlock but gets rammed into Kiniski who falls to the mat. Flair begins chopping and punching away. He goes to the top rope and your blown finish sees Flair hit him with a flying bodypress, and Race falls backwards, “tripping” over Kiniski and getting rolled up for the three-count. Flair wins his second title, and despite Kiniski’s best efforts, the fans pay attention to the Nature Boy instead. Flair gets a standing ovation as the faces enter the ring to congratulate him. Great moment to finish a great match. 3 for 3, but be warned, those who haven’t seen it…for maximum enjoyment, try to pretend the referee isn’t there. Flair cuts an emotional promo in the cage, post-match, which makes everything that just happened in the first national supercard seem even more special. Bonus points to Gordon Solie & Bob Caudle doing a fantastic, realistic bit of storytelling from bell-to-bell of assessing both men’s performances to drive home why the match turned out the way it did. They repeatedly praised Flair for his heart and intensity, while chastising Race for wrestling a cocky style and not going in for the kill on several occasions when he had an opening.

$10,000 PLUS THE NWA TELEVISION TITLE: TULLY BLANCHARD (Champion) vs. RICKY STEAMBOAT
-There’s actually a bit of a story to this one, as Tully Blanchard had won the title early in 1984 and just wouldn’t let go of it. This drew a bit of backlash from the small “in-the-know” crowd at the time who saw Tully as the son of a promoter and one of “Dusty’s boys,” and Steamboat ultimately got fed up with all the bullshit and departed shortly after this show.

-Tully throws a lot of chops for an early advantage, but Steamboat is game and captures the advantage with some shots between the eyes. Snapmare and a kneedrop lead to an attempted breather by Tully, but Steamboat suplexes him back in for a two-count. Steamboat gets a float-over headlock. Blanchard tries to roll out, but Steamboat just keeps hanging on until Tully makes the ropes. Steamboat gets a high kneelift, but the effects of a previous rib injury cause Steamboat to hesitate a bit, and Blanchard recovers and gets a series of cheap shots to the ribs. Backbreaker by Tully and he keeps attacking the ribs. Steamboat fights back and drops Tully. Even a chop hurts Steamboat’s ribs, but they get the job done and Tully hits the mat. Steamboat drops a series of knees for a two-count. Steamboat tries a headlock, but Tully makes the ropes and gets a few knees into the ribs. Very nice-looking back suplex by Tully and a shot to the kidneys gets two. Steamboat slips out of an attempted headlock and cinches one of his own on Tully until they get to the ropes. Tully backs off and they circle the ring a few times for an awkward break in the action. Steamboat finally gets a hard powerslam off the ropes for two. He drives Tully into the turnbuckle and a double chop drops Tully for two. Steamboat just won’t let up and gets a shot to the neck for two. Steamboat spits right in Tully’s face and throws chops. Neckbreaker gets a two-count. Steamboat does a springboard suplex on Tully for some taste-your-own-medicine goodness and a two-count. Dropkick gets another two-count. Steamboat chops Tully down and Tully is bleeding for some reason. The NWA: Where You Don’t Really Need a Reason. Blanchard retreats to the apron and Steamboat suplexes him back in, and Tully punches him with something on the way down and Steamboat is easy prey. Flying bodypress gets a two-count. Tully tries a superplex, but Steamboat shoves him off and connects with a splash for two. Steamboat tries for a sunset flip, but Tully produces the hidden weapon one more time and KOs Steamboat for a three-count, a $10,000 bonus, and the NWA TV Title. 4 for 4. Good match, and it wasn’t just a one-sided matter of Steamboat carrying his opponent. Tully did a good job proving himself worthy here.

$1,000,000 PLUS NWA WORLD TITLE: RIC FLAIR (Champion) vs. DUSTY RHODES
-Your guest referee is Smokin’ Joe Frazier, making him a celebrity participant in both the second Starrcade and the second Wrestlemania. Bell rings and Dusty backs Flair into the corner on the lock-up. Dusty gets a shoulderblock on Flair and an elbow early on and locks in a side headlock. Flair backs Dusty into the ropes for a clean break. Kick to the gut leads to a series of chops, but Dusty’s Flip Flop & Fly drops Flair. Back to the side headlock. Flair pushes him away, but Dusty comes right back with a shoulderblock and an elbow. More chops from Naitch and he starts closing the fists for added punishment. Kneedrop gets a very fast two-count from Frazier. Kick to the ribs and a punch by Flair. Dusty goes into the turnbuckle. Snapmare by Flair, but a kneedrop misses and Dusty immediately capitalizes with a figure four to try and finish it early. Flair fights it and makes the ropes. Flair goes to the corner for a breather, but gets London Bridged back into the middle of the ring and Dusty goes back to punishing the leg. Flair counters with an armbar and a series of punches to break things up. Side headlock by Dusty and Flair counters with a wristlock, but Dusty counters the counter and Flair falls to the mat. Flair manages to back Dusty into the corner and gets a few shoulders into the midsection, but Dusty fights back and takes over with a press slam. Hard chop leads to a Flair Flop. Flair throws a chop of his own, but Dusty fights back with an Irish whip that sends Flair over the top rope and onto the concrete.

-Dusty suplexes Flair back in and gets a very slow two-count from Frazier (Hmm…). Chops are traded by the two combatants. Shoulderblock by Dusty, elbow by Flair. Flair goes to the top rope and that goes about how you’d expect. Follow-up elbow drop misses and Flair locks in a sleeper. Dusty runs to the ropes to propel Flair onto the floor. Flair grabs Dusty by the ankle onto the floor and fists are exchanged. Flair rams Dusty into the ringpost to draw blood. Dusty makes it back into the ring and Frazier stops everything to check the eye. Dusty insists he’s good to go and Flair pounces with a knee and a snapmare. Series of punches to work over the cut, but Dusty no-sells it and lights into Flair. Flair gets right back to his feet and attacks the eye with punches again, and Frazier again stops everything to check the cut. Dusty throws elbows until Frazier breaks everything up and calls for the bell. The match is stopped for blood, and Flair takes home the belt and $1,000,000. 4 for 5. An awful ending for the only supercard of the year, this was supposed to set up a Rhodes-Frazier celebrity feud that went absolutely nowhere. As it was, the booking and the actual match felt more like a TV match to set things up than it did the actual closed-circuit spectacular.

-Magnum TA says he’s not very proud of the things he did in the next match. Well…you should be, actually.

STEEL CAGE “I QUIT” MATCH FOR THE UNITED STATES TITLE: TULLY BLANCHARD (champion, with Baby Doll) vs. MAGNUM T.A.
-You may have heard of this one. Lock-up and Magnum floors Tully with one punch. Tully sweeps the leg, Magnum fights back, and they roll around against the wall of the cage battling for the advantage. Tully wins that one and a fistfight erupts. Forearm by Magnum sends Tully through the ropes and against the wall. Tully fights back and comes off the top rope to ground Magnum. Elbow by Tully and he sends Magnum flying into the cage. Chinlock by Tully. Magnum breaks it and catches Tully off the ropes with a press slam, dropping him throat-first over the top rope. Another slugfest dazes Tully, but he grabs the tights and throws Magnum into the cage. He grabs the microphone and begins screaming for Magnum to “Say it!” Magnum refuses, naturally, and we get one of those spots that only I notice that amuses me, as Earl Hebner takes a time-out from officiating to tap the microphone and blow into it to make sure it’s working properly. Magnum gets Tully into a hammerlock and sends him into the cage. He starts working the arm as the commentators virtually stop talking altogether and just let the pictures tell the story. Tully, now with blood all over his upper left arm, fights back with kicks. He grabs the microphone, tells Magnum to quit, and hits him with the microphone when Magnum refuses.

TULLY: Say it!
MAGNUM: No!
TULLY: Say it!!
MAGNUM: No!!!
(Thump)
TULLY: Say it! Say it!
MAGNUM: No!
TULLY: Come on!
MAGNUM: No!

Tully tries to punch him out and goes for the irrelevant pin. He grabs Magnum by the legs, stands him up, and falls backwards to send him into the cage. Tully goes back to the microphone.

TULLY: Say it!
MAGNUM: Uggghhh…
TULLY: Say it!
MAGNUM: No…
(Thump)

-Elbow connects but another one misses and Tully is kissing the mat. Magnum grabs the microphone.

MAGNUM: Come on!
TULLY: Noooooooooooooooooooo!
MAGNUM: Say it!
TULLY: Aaaaaaaarrrrggghhhh!

Another punch, but Tully still won’t give. Both men are busted open and yanking on each other’s faces to coax a submission. Magnum goes for the microphone, but Tully kicks it out of his hand. Magnum punches Tully in the corner, but Tully comes back with an inverted atomic drop to ground Magnum.

TULLY: Say iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttt!
MAGNUM: Nooooooooooooooo!

Tully gets frustrated and takes out Earl Hebner, and JJ Dillon runs to ringside (off-camera) to launch a wooden chair into the ring. Tully shatters the leg to make a sharp wooden stake and tries to shove it into Magnum’s forehead wound, and Magnum fights back and gets his hand on the stake and shoves it into Tully’s forehead.

MAGNUM: Say it! Say it!
TULLY: Yeeeeesssss! Yesssss!!! Yessss! Oh…Ohhhh…

Magnum captures the title on his way to a fairly obvious bid for the World Title the following year. 5 for 6. Hard to believe that only a year later, it was already over for Magnum.

STEEL CAGE, WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE: IVAN & NIKITA KOLOFF (champions, with Khruscher Khruschev) vs. ROCK & ROLL EXPRESS (with Don Kernodle)
-Nikita shoves Morton onto his back immediately. Hard shoulderblock grounds him again. Another offensive move misses and Morton dropkicks him into the corner. Nikita kicks him in the stomach over and over again, and Uncle Ivan tags in and falls victim to a bodypress in short order for two. Ivan fights back and tries to send Morton into the cage, but Morton resists and makes the tag. Double dropkick by the Express and a slam & kneedrop by Gibson get two. Morton tags in and goes for a quick pin for two. Gibson re-enters and schoolboys Ivan for two. Morton tags in and it’s more double-teaming on the Russian. Gibson tags back in and comes off the turnbuckle with an elbow for two. Side headlock but Ivan goes to the eyes to break it. Ivan misses a clothesline and gets shoved into the cage. Morton tags in and hits a double-axehandle off the top rope. Another one for good measure gets two. Gibson decides that it looks fun and does one himself for two. Nikita re-enters but falls into a drop toehold. That just pisses him off and he bearhugs Gibson and falls backwards to send him into the cage. He fires him HARD into one of the walls. He does it again and tags in the now-bloody Ivan. Khruschev, at ringside, begins screaming for Ivan to ram Gibson into the cage. Ivan agrees that this is a good idea and does so for a two count, and now Gibson is bleeding. Nikita tags in and bites the forehead, and somehow I’m now bleeding while typing this.

-Ivan tags back in with his own top rope attack for a two-count. Elbow sends Gibson against the wall, but he moves out of the way of a kneelift and Ivan blows out his leg. Snapmare by Ivan and a legdrop gets two. Nikita tags in and snapmares Gibson into a headlock as a confused Ricky Morton looks on and wonders “Isn’t that usually me?” Ivan tags in with a headbutt and goes for a pin, but a foot on the rope stops it. Nikita re-enters and sends Gibson into the cage, then chokes the life out of him as Khruschev waves his chain at ringside. Don Kernodle, the wrestler with the least wrestlery name I’ve ever heard in my life, starts a “USA!” chant to rally the troops. It works as Gibson fights back with a dropkick. Earl Hebner gets wiped out and Nikita attacks from behind, then drapes Ivan on top for two. Robert tags when nobody is looking and Ricky Morton rolls up Ivan out of nowhere to win the titles. The Russians destroy everybody post-match and Ricky is a gory mess, but he’s the champ now, so he’ll get over it, I’m sure. Kernodle, despite not even being in the match, is now bleeding. Great stuff. 6 for 7.

SCAFFOLD MATCH: ROAD WARRIORS (with Paul Ellering) vs. MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (with Jim Cornette & Big Bubba Rogers)
-MX takes their sweet time going to the top of the scaffold. Dennis makes it to the top and crawls through Animal’s legs to escape the onslaught but meets Hawk. Animal & Bobby very gingerly hit each other. Hawk gently stomps Dennis while holding onto a wobbly barricade. Each of the Road Warriors takes a faceful of evil powder, and Jim makes his way over to the table and says “You can’t hit what you can’t see, Tony!” in the goofiest fake voice possible. Hawk teases falling off, but Dennis actually pulls him back onto the scaffold for no sufficiently-explored reason to continue the gentle assault. Bobby “No Fear” Eaton winds up hanging upside-down from the scaffold for the moment before reaching over and balancing himself underneath the bridge where all the action is taking place. Both members of MX are bleeding now, somehow, and Dennis has had enough and starts climbing down the scaffold. Hawk won’t let him and starts kicking and stomping away from up above. Hawk climbs down to tend to Dennis, who fights back with punches. It’s just a fistfight between all four men for a while, and the battle goes to the underside of the scaffold, with all four men moving back & forth like they’re on monkey bars. Dennis gets kicked off, Bobby gets kicked off, and the Roadies are your winners. Post-match, Jim Cornette takes a fall off the scaffold himself, supposedly to be rescued by the waiting Big Bubba, but Bubba completely misses him and Jim’s knee is injured to this day. You can hear him saying “My knee! My right knee! Carry me!” to Bubba, but Bubba doesn’t get that poor Jim is serious, and he ends up having to tough it out and walk backstage. 6 for 8. One of my great fears is that somebody with power in WWE will become overwhelmed by nostalgia and we’ll have to sit through something like this again someday.

STEEL CAGE MATCH FOR THE TAG TEAM TITLE: ROCK & ROLL EXPRESS vs. OLE & ARN ANDERSON
-Ole & Robert Gibson start. Gibson throws punches for the early advantage and nearly gets caught in the heel corner. Gibson is ready for him, but when Morton comes in to even the sides, the Andersons do some quick double-teaming. Arn tags in and gets pinballed by the Express and Ole tags right back in. Kick to the stomach and eye-gouging by Ole, but Gibson fights back and tags in Morton. Morton drops Ole and Ole tags out. Arn gets a knee to the gut but can’t capitalize. Hammerlock is reversed by Morton and he knocks over Arn with a quick right. Gibson tags in and misses a blind charge that affects his knee. Arn sees it and rams his leg into the cage a few times for good measure. Ole tags in and works the leg over. Arn tags in and goes for a stepover toehold but gets sent into the cage. Ole stags in and stomps the leg. Gibson throws a few desperate punches, but Ole ties up the leg to keep working it over. Arn tags in and works the knee over, but Gibson frees himself with an enziguiri. Double tags bring in Ricky & Arn, but Ole gets right back into the action and fires Morton into the cage twice. Ole snapmares Morton for a two-count. Arn tags in and cheese-grates Morton. Gibson gets fired up and of course the referee goes to stop him from interfering, and of course the Andersons take advantage with double-teaming. A good formula is a good formula. Ole tags in and works the arm to broaden his horizons a bit. Irish whip by Arn and he follows with an armbar. Bodyslam by Arn with the arm in hammerlock position. Arn comes off the top rope but gets a punch to the gut for his trouble, and Ole comes right in and rams Ricky into the cage to keep the advantage. In the confusion, the referee forgets that Ole never actually tagged in and he’s now the legal man, just to drive the crowd that much crazier. Ole keeps punishing Morton. Arn tags in and takes a high knee to the jaw. Both men are down and the girls in the crowd come to life as usual. Ole makes the pin first and cuts off the attempted tag. Wristlock by Ole followed by punches; Ricky fights back with his own punches but gets caught in Horsemen Country and Arn attacks from the apron. In the ring legally, Arn gets a beautiful spinebuster for two. Ole comes off the top rope with a knee to the arm, followed by an armbar. Morton fights back and they collide on a double-shoulderblock. Morton keeps fighting back and wins a fistfight with Arn long enough to….well, to almost make the tag and get cut off by Ole. Morton keeps throwing punches with the good arm. Inside cradle gets two and then Arn makes the save. All four men wind up in the ring and Gibson pounds Arn down to the mat. Ole lifts Morton for a bodyslam and Gibson dropkicks his partner on top of Ole for the pin and the titles. Great surprise ending to top off a match filled with psychology and some good old-fashioned mat action. 7 for 9.

STEEL CAGE MATCH FOR THE UNITED STATES TITLE: LEX LUGER (Champion, with JJ Dillon) vs. DUSTY RHODES
-If Dusty loses, he has to leave for 90 days. Johnny Weaver is your official key-holder for this match, and since cage matches usually don’t have an “official key-holder,” I’m thinking this is going to come up during the bout. Also, I just want to say, it doesn’t help make the cage look secure from chicanery when the referee passes the belt to the ring attendant through a gaping space between the cage and the mat.

-Lock-up goes nowhere, and then Luger throws a flurry of punches. Dusty breaks loose with an elbow and then, horror of horrors, he does a muscleman pose. Dusty with Flip Flop & Fly, followed by an atomic drop. Dusty tries the Weaverlock (a sleeperhold) for an early finish, but Luger makes it to the rope. Shoulderblock by Luger, but when he goes for another one, Dusty catches him in the Weaverlock again. Luger again makes it to the ropes. Snapmare by Luger, but he misses an elbow and Dusty locks in an armbar. Elbow by Dusty while keeping the armbar locked in. He switches to a wristlock and then a hammerlock, which is all clever psychology when your opponent’s selling point is being freakishly strong. Luger fights free but misses a charge and Dusty goes right back to the arm. Hammerlock by Dusty, and he stomps the elbow. Luger fights back and rams Dusty into the unforgiving steel. Dusty is busted open. Luger sends him into the cage again for two. Snapmare and an elbow get another two-count. Luger starts to attack the back and takes a breather to pose. Dusty comes back with a dropkick off the ropes, but he’s out of it and can’t follow up. Backbreaker by Luger to set up the torture rack, but in a hilarious moment, Dusty proves to be too much for Luger and Luger gives up and drops Dusty. Tony attributes it to Dusty using his “presence” (ahem) and shifting his weight with the assistance of his presence. Oh, if only Tony had been quick enough to think of “Dusty injured Lex’s arm to the point that he can’t lock in that torture rack!”

-Armbar by Luger, and he uses the ropes for some leverage. Dusty fights his way to his feet but gets yanked down by the hair. Luger backs Dusty into the corner and punches away, but Dusty hulks up. And it’s the NWA version of Hulking up, meaning he gives Luger the double-bird and yells “Fuck off!” Laugh all you want, it’s more realistic than pointing and saying “You! No more!” in mid-fight. Dusty clamps on the Weaverlock one more time and Luger can’t make it to the ropes, thanks to Dusty’s “leverage.” JJ coldcocks Johnny Weaver while Luger coldcocks the referee. JJ then launches a chair into the ring, which, honestly, he could have done without assaulting the official key-holder. Luger goes for the chair, but Rhodes acts quickly and DDTs Luger on top of the chair for the pin and the title. 8 for 10. Better than I really expected. Oh, and fun fact, Dusty was supposed to lose here and become “The Midnight Rider,” but he decided he’d rather win the title, and we had to wait a few more months for the Rider.

STEEL CAGE MATCH FOR THE WORLD TITLE: RON GARVIN (Champion) vs. RIC FLAIR (with JJ Dillon)
-Garvin was pushed to main event superstar and #1 contender out of nowhere in 1987 for the simple reason that Flair wanted to lose his title and win it back at Starrcade. He takes a lot of crap for that, but he ended up having some amazing chemistry with Flair, and I actually look back at this period and think they didn’t do enough with these two. Yes, it would have helped to delay the title win somewhat, even if Flair didn’t like the timing, but they could have had a memorable feud. Anyway…the main event…

-Flair is a heel, but the Chicago crowd loves him. Garvin backs him into a corner and breaks clean. Flair replies with a “Woooooo!” and the crowd loves him for it. Chops are exchanged, which was pretty much the hallmark of this feud, as these guys threw the hardest, tightest chops in the business, and pitting them against each other led to some of the loudest matches in history. “Garvin sucks!” chant erupts as Garvin latches onto Flair with a side headlock. Shoulderblock by Garvin and a few more chops take us to a Flair Flop. Elbow by Garvin, followed by an Irish whip into a backdrop and Flair begs for his life. Arm wringer and a headbutt by Garvin. 10 punches in the corner and another backdrop by Garvin, and this takes us to my brother’s least favorite maneuver in the world, the Garvin Stomp.

-Garvin slaps the shit out of Flair, and that takes us to another chopfest. Flair catches Garvin with a lowblow and a few folks in the crowd “Wooooo” for it. Inverted atomic drop by the Nature Boy and he throws chops. Snapmare and a kneedrop get a two-count. Flair works the leg and that leads, naturally, to a figure four. Garvin fights it and fights it, but Flair (and his friends, the ropes) show no mercy. Garvin reverses the hold, but Flair makes it to the ropes quickly to break things up. Flair goes right back to the offensive with stomps and kicks, but Garvin blocks an attempted ram into the cage and reverses another try to send Flair face-first into the cage. Another ram by Garvin and some cheese-grating is enough to lacerate the challenger. Garvin bites Flair to work the cut. A series of chops by Garvin and he slams Flair off the top rope to set up a figure four of his own. Flair writhes and wriggles his way to the topes to break the hold. Garvin goes to the top rope and nails Flair with a flying bodypress for two. Sunset flip gets two. Garvin keeps throwing chops and Flair tries to climb over the cage for a breather, but Garvin rams him face-first into the cage and Flair crotches himself in the ropes on the way down. Sunset flip by Garvin is blocked by Flair using the ropes, but Tommy Young catches Flair and kicks his arms away, and Flair barely kicks out at two. Garvin scores a knock-out punch, but Flair kicks out. Garvin goes off the ropes and charges toward Flair, but Flair catches him and falls backwards, sending Garvin face-first into the cage. Flair rolls him up immediately to win his fifth title. GREAT match. 9 for 11.

WORLD TITLE: RIC FLAIR (champion) vs. DUSTY RHODES
-This one is just totally shoehorned into the end of the tape, with no introduction from Magnum, so it appears that they reached the end and realized they had another 30 minutes of tape to gobble up and Dusty said, “Why not me?”

-Dusty had been chasing the title for over a year at this point, the crowd loved him and hated Flair, oh, and by the way, Flair broke Dusty’s ankle and got away with it a while back. So the outcome here seems cut and dry.

-Flair gets a side headlock right off but Dusty reverses a hammerlock and takes Flair to the mat. Flair writhes for a moment but goes for Dusty’s ankle and Dusty backs off immediately. Flair starts throwing chops and backs Dusty into the corner. Snapmare and a kneedrop by Flair, and he’s so pleased that he offers a “Woooo!” to himself. Arm-wringer and a kick to the ankle and Dusty retreats to the floor to walk off the pain.

-Dusty catches Flair with elbows on his way back into the ring, then stomps on his ankle for some poetic justice. He works the leg and Flair fights back with a headlock. Both men break their holds, but Dusty holds onto the leg and drops an elbow on it. Flair gouges the eye and slips away. Flair goes for a suplex, but the pain in his leg gets to him and Dusty reverses. He drops the elbow on the leg again. Chinlock by Flair, but Dusty fights out and gets a shoulderblock. Sleeperhold by Flair is countered with a little help from the turnbuckle, and Dusty goes outside to work Flair’s leg some more using the post. Chops are exchanged and Flair briefly recaptures the advantage, but a journey to the top rope goes as well as you’d expect and Dusty goes for the figure four. Flair kicks him away to re-injure the ankle, but now Dusty blocks a figure four. Flair tries again and gets blocked again. Flair takes Dusty into the corner but Dusty fights back with a headbutt and whips Flair across, over, and out of the ring. Dusty follows him out and rams him into the post and guard rail.

-Dusty keeps hammering Flair back in the ring, but Flair fights back and sends him over the top rope while Tommy Young tends to something in his eye. Really? That’s the best distraction they could think of? Dusty comes back and hammers away at Flair. He batters the Nature Boy in the corner. Flair tries begging off, but Dusty launches him out of the ring. Flair goes to the top and gets caught again. Going back to what worked in the past, Flair kicks the ankle. Figure four is FINALLY locked in and Dusty fights it and fights it until finally reversing it, but Flair makes the ropes and the hold is broken. Flair goes back on the offensive with chops & punches, but Dusty starts to Bulk up and hammers away at Flair for a two count. Flair is thrown forward and falls into Tommy Young, who falls to the floor as Rhodes and Flair keep going. Rhodes locks in the figure four, but here come the Andersons to help out the cousin. Dusty takes care of Arn but gets wiped out by Ole. Another referee arrives just in time for Dusty to roll up Flair and win the NWA Title…

-UntilthefollowingweekwhenTommyYoungreversedthedecisionandrenderedthematchcompletelymeaningless, AND THAT’S STARRCADE, EVERYBODY! 10 for 12. Good match but insulting aftermath.

Normally, I'd encourage you to go to Game Show Utopia at this point, but frankly, your online priority at the moment should be either finding this on Ebay or ordering the new DVD set.

The 411: Some matches are good. Some matches aren't good but at least have historical significance. And most matches are good AND have historical significance. There's not a single frame of wasted tape here, there's not a single match where you ask yourself why it's there. It's great for wrestling fans, and it's great for wrestling history fans. Very highly recommended.

Final Score:  9.3   [  Amazing ]