Post by JR Judy on Feb 27, 2011 23:55:36 GMT -5
WCW Starrcade 1997
December 27, 1997
Washington DC
December 27, 1997
Washington DC
Backstory:
Since its formation in July 1996, the New World Order (nWo) organization had been a dominant force. Hollywood Hogan, the leader of the nWo, had been the WCW World Heavyweight Champion for most of the preceding year. Most of the WCW programming in 1997 surrounded Sting, who began a change of character into a mysterious avenger. He watched from the rafters of arenas, and did not speak his thoughts. Sting soon showed his opposition to the nWo, and challenged Hogan to a match for the title at Starrcade. The battle between WCW and the nWo would come to a head at the most anticpated, and most successful PPV in WCW history.
The show begins with a very dark and mysterious promo video depicting Sting lurking in the shadows as he prepares for war with "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. One of the best intros in all of PPV history. Dusty Rhodes, Tony Schiavone, and Mike Tenay are on commentary hyping up the match 18 months in the making and do a really good job making this seem like the most epic match ever. They discuss the controversy over who would be the referee for the match after recent controversy. They show some wrestlers in the crowd to watch the show, which further builds the importance of this night. They also discuss that Kevin Nash will not be at Starrcade to face The Giant which adds to the intrigue of this PPV. Mike Tenay said it best, "Controversy seems to be the backdrop of Starrcade 1997."
Match 1: WCW Cruiserweight Championship
Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero (ch.)
WCW could not have picked a BETTER opening contest for Starrcade 1997. Of their impressive roster, Eddie and Dean would have been my top choices to kick the show off in an impressive fashion. A great technical match with a little bit of every style showcased. I could watch this match 1,000 times. They really focused on Eddie working on the legs which was a unique gameplan. Eddie was SO over as a heel with the crowd VERY in to this match. The commentators also helped the match by talking up Eddie's attack on the leg. With the frogsplash on the knee of Dean, Eddie is able to pick up the win and retain the championship. A TREMENDOUS opening bout to pump the crowd even more than they were during the opening pyro.
Result:Eddie Guerrero via. pinfall (14:57)
At the conclusion of the opening bout, we see Scott Hall enter the ring. A good promo with some good crowd heat, describing the situation with Kevin Nash. The Giant comes out and after a war of words, The Giant takes over and attacks Hall. He delivers a Jacknife Powerbomb sending a message to Nash, leading to their eventual match at Souled Out. That promo did its job. It kept the crowd hyped up and continued the Nash/Giant feud.
Match 2: WCW vs. nWo 6-Man Tag Match
Scott Norton, Vincent, & "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Ray Traylor & The Steiner Brothers
Originally Konnan was supposed to be the third for Team nWo, however Konnan was not there, and replaced by Randy Savage. This match really didn't do it for me. I love The Steiners as a team and I love seeing Savage, but I feel that it was just a randomly thrown together match to build WCW vs. nWo and put the Tag Champs on the card. After a back and forth match, Randy Savage delivers the top rope elbow drop to Scott and picks up the win for the nWo.
Result:Team nWo via. pinfall (11:06)
After the match, James J. Dillion comes to the stage and hypes up the double main event for later tonight and clears up the referee situation for the main event. He announces that Nick Patrick was the referee's name drawn from the hat. The commentators continue to speak on the decision with some worries about Patrick after being the nWo referee.
Match 3: Grudge Match
Goldberg vs. Steve "Mongo" McMichael
Goldberg was built has the heel for the match, but I really could never take Mongo seriously. Quickly a table is brought in to the match which is used later in the match. After a typical Mongo match, Goldberg begins to run through his usual offense and then knocks Mongo through the table. There is no disqualification but an "ECW" chant breaks out. Mongo comes back in the ring and attempts the Mongo Spike (Tombstone Piledriver) but he sells his back from the table and can't deliver it. Goldberg hits the Jackhammer and gets the win and continues the streak. The match seemed like it went a lot longer than it actually did. Not a great match.
Result:Goldberg via. pinfall (5:59)
Match 4: Raven's Rules Match
Saturn vs. Chris Benoit
After weeks of Raven ducking Chris Benoit, the crowd expected to finally see Benoit/Raven at the PPV. However, Raven continued to play his cult gimmick and continued to wrestler "where, when, and who he wanted". He decides not to wrestle and replaces himself of Saturn. Say what you want, Benoit is one of the best technical wrestlers ever. Not a terrible match, I thought it was pretty entertaining. The Flock gets involved and attacks Benoit throughout. Kidman even hits a shooting star press off the apron which was impressive. Towards the end Benoit locks on the Crossface on the floor but the entire Flock attacks Benoit, breaking the hold. Saturn attempts a Moonsault but lays out the entire Flock. Back in the ring, Raven attacks Benoit and delivers the Even Flow DDT which Benoit sells SOOOO well. Saturn locks on the Rings of Saturn and gets the win.
Result:Saturn via. submission (10:50)
Match 5: WCW vs. nWo Grudge Match
Lex Luger vs. Buff Bagwell
In 1997, Lex Luger was the in-ring face of WCW since Sting didn't actually compete. By the end of the year, new nWo member Buff Bagwell began to call himself the new Total Package and WCW began to build Bagwell up in this feud with Luger. I always liked Luger, but this match really didn't do it for me. It was a decent match, but dragged out pretty long. The nWo comes out with the referee is down, but Luger attempts to fight off the attack. But with interference from Vincent, Savage, and Norton (with a steel chain), Bagwell is able to pick up the win for the nWo.
Result:Buff Bagwell via. pinfall (16:36)
Match 6: WCW United States Heavyweight Championship
DDP vs. Curt Henning (ch.)
Minus the opening contest, this was my favorite match as far as in ring action. Two of my all time favorite wrestlers. This is one of the matches that really built DDP and got the crowd back in to the event by gaining WCW momentum. Flair was supposed to be the number one contender until Flair was injured. The crowd is SO SO SO behind DDP which proves he truly was the People's Champion of WCW. Henning is such a good heel that it helped DDP and the match a ton. A tremendous back and forth match which kept you on the edge of your seat. The ending of this match was incredible. DDP's counter in to the Diamond Cutter really proved that the Diamond Cutter can come from anywhere. When Page gets the win, the crowd ERUPTS. One of the biggest and most deserved pops of the entire night.
Result:New United States Heavyweight Champion DDP via. pinfall (10:52)
Match 7: Control of WCW Nitro on the Line
Larry Zbyszko vs. Eric Bischoff
Special Referee: Bret Hart
One of the most important matches of the night with WCW attempting to regain Nitro from the nWo. This match not only built that storyline, but if Zbyszko wins, he would also get his chance at revenge against Scott Hall at Souled Out next month. This match was FAR from a technical classic but the crowd was very behind it, unsure of Nitro's future and Bret Hart's allegiance. Larry and Bischoff were both super over as face/heel. Zbyszko proved he can still carry a match and made Bischoff look great. The used of a loaded kick-pad looks to spell the end of Larry and WCW, but Bret Hart refuses to count the pin. He punches Bischoff as the crowd erupts. Hart locks in the Sharpshooter on Hall who attempts to interfere. Larry then chokes out Bischoff with his own belt. Hart calls for the bell and WCW regains Nitro.
Result:Larry Zbyszko via. referee's stoppage (11:12)
Match 8: WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Sting vs. "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan (ch.)
THE most anticipated match in professional wrestling history. I don't care what anyone else says, WCW let this feud grow and produced such a payoff with this main event. Sting's entrance was so incredible, it really built the crowd character. The match wasn't a technical classic, but it saw every major move from each guy the fans wanted to see. Hogan hits the big leg drop, and in what was supposed to be a fast count by Nick Patrick, Sting is counted down. Bret Hart comes out and continues to do his job and say that he will not allow the "screwjob" to take place again in wrestling. After what was an obvious three -count, the crowd seems a little confused, but doesn't seem to care much when Hart grabs Hogan and calls for a restart. After some nWo interference, Sting locks on the Scorpion Death Lock and forces Hogan to submit. As Hogan submits, and the 18 month feud culminates in Sting capturing the title, the crowd ERUPTS once again. The locker room empties to celebrate with Sting.
Result:NEW WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting via. submission (12:54)
Overall Reaction:
This was WCW at its prime. As far as storylines and in-ring competition, this was the top time for WCW. The opening match a classic which got the crowd pumped up. Even with the missing Nash/Giant match, the crowd was in to the card all night. The 6-Man Tag and the Goldberg/Mongo match were kinda dull but besides that I can't complain to much about the card. I even enjoyed the Larry/Bischoff match the way it was told. The crowd reactions made these matches and these results seem more real and important than usual. This is what wrestling is missing. The crowd's emotion and care about the wrestlers and storylines. This night not only culminated one of the best feuds in wrestling (Sting/Hogan), but also helped build DDP as a true star of WCW. Even though the main event had a botched ending, WCW was able to continue it and draw another PPV match between Hogan/Sting at Superbrawl 2 months later.
Match Quality: 7/10 (Matches were told well, even if some weren't tremendous)
Storyline Use: 10/10 (Raven/Benoit and the WCW/nWo, most importantly Sting/Hogan, couldn't have been built better. It also continued to Souled Out with Nash/Giant and Larry/Hall)
Overall Grade: 8.5/10 (I loved and still love this PPV. As a wrestling fan you couldn't ask for anything more. Great matches, great storylines, great crowd, really grabbed your emotions. WCW at its best.)