83,464 in attendance at the Silverdome in Pontiac, MI.
Commentary by Jim Ross and Mike Tenay.
The biggest show of the year - it's time for Starrcade! Sting clashes with Dwayne Johnson in the main event, the first true battle between Nitro & Thunder takes place, and two of the men who defined professional wrestling are going to face off for the very first time. It's a night full of can't miss action - it's Starrcade.
But, first. Every year before the pay-per-view, a special pre-show airs on free TV. As part of a special roundtable featuring names such as Paul Heyman, Gene Okerlund, and Bobby Heenan, Charlie Haas made an appearance. Following the recent passing of his brother Russ, he announced that Starrcade was officially dedicated to Russ this year, and he would be changing his ring name to R.C. Haas, so he could carry his brother's legacy with him. In between panel discussion will be a GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team championship defense and the legendary Starrcade Royale. Let's get to it!
P1. GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team: Tiger Clan (Tiger Mask III & IV) defeated Psicosis & Silver King in 6:13 when Tiger III made Psicosis tap out to definitely-not-the Koji Clutch.
P2. Starrcade Royale: Deadman Callous outlasted 49 other men to win the Starrcade Royale after 72:25, having entered at number 40. Also in the final four were Chris Jericho (who entered at number one, lasting the longest), Tajiri (number 36), and the IGF's Yoshihiro Takayama (who entered at number 47).
Other notable entrants into the match were: Abyss (who eliminated the most people), Andrew King (formerly known as Test, making his debut), Jushin Liger (representing New Japan Pro Wrestling), Kenta Kobashi (representing All Japan Pro Wrestling), Ken Shamrock (making his official return), Marc Mero (making a surprise appearance), Masahiro Chono (NJPW), Ricky Fuji (AJPW), Taiyo Kea (AJPW), Yuji Nagata (NJPW), & Yutaka Yoshie (NJPW). Bobby Heenan joined commentary for the match.
With all that said and done, there's no time to waste. Let's get to the pay-per-view!
1. Steve Corino defeated Lance Storm in a street fight in 17:45 with the Old School Expulsion. Despite the match seeming to lack psychology in places, it was an instant classic and a fantastic opener.
2. WCW Cruiserweight Championship: Juventud Guerrera defeated Shane Helms, Octagon, Super Delfin, Ultimo Dragon, Milano Collection AT, and Super Crazy in 8:34 to become the cruiserweight champion. Milano was the final elimination, and he fell to a 450 Splash.
3. An interview with Dusty Rhodes turned to disaster when the Dudley Boyz attacked, laying Dusty out. It's unclear if he'll be able to make it to the six-man tag team match tonight.
4. Mask vs. Mask: Las Parkas (La Parka & La Parka II) defeated The Light (Big T & Glenn Gilbertti) in 10:04 with a Diving Wheelbarrow Bulldog. As a result, Big T and Glenn Gilbertti will have to start wearing masks.
5. WCW Brass Knuckles Championship: Tommy Dreamer & The Rhodes defeated Bam Bam Bigelow & The Dudleyz in 7:54. Dusty was nowhere to be seen for most of the match, but when it came down to Dreamer vs. Bigelow & Bubba he came down to even the odds, helping Dreamer win the Brass Knuckles title.
6. Backstage, Chris Benoit doesn't know what to do for his partner tonight. When Bret Hart tells Christian Cage to step up and team with him, Benoit gives it a hard no. Benoit says Cage is just going to get hurt and cost them everything again, and that he'd rather just do it alone. Bret tells Benoit to get his head out of his ass - him and Christian are teaming tonight and that's final.
7. Raven defeated Vampiro in 15:30 after forcing him to submit. The match was bloody and uncomfortably violent, going into full deathmatch territory. Vampiro quit after Raven put him in a headlock and pulled a fucking ritual dagger on him, literally almost murdering him on PPV if he didn't quit. It was a fantastic match, but a lot of people weren't happy about the violence - which is good, because that's exactly what I wanted. Raven's evil again, and more dangerous than ever.
9. Ric Flair is backstage with Tully Blanchard, who is hyping him up for his match against Hulk Hogan. Ric puts the match over as the biggest match in the history of pro-wrestling, and says that the legacy of the Four Horsemen overshadows anything and everything Hulk Hogan has ever done.
10. Ric Flair defeated Hulk Hogan in a once-in-a-lifetime match in 15:59. Flair was able to win with the figure-four leglock following interference from Arn Anderson, who hadn't been seen on WCW TV since his retirement in 1998. One spinebuster and one figure-four later, Flair came out on top.
12. Adam Castle defeated Bret Hart with an Impaler after 25:40.
13. WCW World Tag Team Championships: Chris Benoit & Christian Cage defeated Men of War (Sean O'Haire & Mark Jindrak) in 10:24, after Cage hit Mark Jindrak with an Unprettier.
14. WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Curt Hennig defeated Steve Austin, Steve Corino, and Mark Henry in 16:40 to win his first world heavyweight championship. Hennig got the victory when Austin stunned Henry and Hennig threw Austin out, allowing him to hit the Hennig-Plex for the win.
15. Nitro (Jeff Hardy, Randy Savage, & Goldberg) defeated Thunder (Rob Van Dam, Keiji Mutoh, & Scott Steiner) in 12:56 after Goldberg pinned Scott Steiner with the Jackhammer. This may have been the match of the night, possibly only second to the main event.
16. Mark Henry is backstage, frustrated after his title loss. When the camera finds him, he's packing his bags. Henry says that maybe it's time for him to move on, too, and leaves the arena.
17. WCW International Heavyweight Championship: Sting defeated Dwayne Johnson in 24:08 in the night's main event, making Dwayne submit to the Scorpion Deathlock. The match was absolutely fantastic, and was said to be unbelievable by reviewers. The show ends with Sting posing with the championship as pyro goes off and confetti falls.
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