When I started booking shows for the month, my wrist pain still hadn't gone. We're sticking with this format for that reason, and we might stick with it for the foreseeable future. Being able to summarize everything in a write-up has made booking move significantly faster. I'll hate missing out on some of the more precise details, but if this continues to work better for my energy level it's what I'm going to keep doing. So without further ado - here's the build to Starrcade 2001!
Power Struggle -
The First Thunder Picks (Rob Van Dam, Scott Steiner, Keiji Mutoh)
vs.
The First Nitro Picks (Jeff Hardy, Randy Savage, Goldberg)
Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan
The battle for power between Ric Flair and Eric Bischoff has been a theme in WCW for the entirety of 2001. A month before the brand split begins, the rivalry comes to an end at Starrcade. The winning team gets their brand priority in draft order. Which brand will win the first battle in the war, and which commissioner will stand tall at the end of the day?
- After winning first pick in WarGames, Flair chose to let Bischoff go first instead. Bischoff had found a paper on Flair's desk and proudly announced that he was stealing Flair's top pick - Scott Steiner. Turns out, Flair planned it to get one over on Bischoff, as it let him make the huge announcement for Goldberg's return!
- The two brands have each been rallying each other in the weeks before the match. Jeff Hardy was injured at the hands of Scorched Earth, so he missed all but the last meeting. Promising that he's 100%, will he come through for the team?
- Scott Steiner and Goldberg have continued their feud in the weeks since Goldberg's return. Goldberg has been getting the best of Steiner, and has said that he had an issue with Steiner calling himself unbeatable. Goldberg played a major part in Steiner's loss to Curt Hennig on week 3's Thunder.
- Bischoff would confront Flair about tricking him, and the two ended up in a fist fight that Flair won handily. Later, Bischoff challenged Flair to a match - him vs. an opponent of Bischoff's choosing with Flair's GM spot on the line.
- After a week of wondering, Flair's opponent was revealed - the debuting Hulk Hogan, accompanied by Sherri Martel for his first ever appearance in WCW! Hogan claims to have been waiting for the chance to ruin Flair for decades.
Scorpion King -
Sting (c) vs. Dwayne Johnson
At WarGames, Dwayne Johnson won the match for his team by forcing Sting to submit to the Scorpion Deathlock. The night after, an unusually angry Sting called Dwayne out for his disrespect. After some back and forth, the match was official - The People's Champ vs. The Icon. The former heir apparent to the nWo, and the man responsible for killing the stable. Years in the making, the two will meet for the first time over the WCW International Heavyweight Championship in Starrcade's main event.
- Sting's callout led to Dwayne coming out and the two going back and forth, before Dwayne accepted the challenge.
- After Dwayne defeated Sting's best friend Barry Windham with the Scorpion Deathlock, he promised to do the same thing to Sting at Starrcade.
- Sting promised Dwayne that he had been waiting years for the chance to put him in his place, there's no way he's making it out of Starrcade with Sting's title.
Mark Henry (c) vs. Steve Austin vs. Steve Corino vs. Curt Hennig
The chase for the World Heavyweight Championship match at Starrcade has been hotly contested. Originally intended to just be Henry vs. Corino after the legal intervention of James Vandenburg, Austin's ruthlessness and Hennig's persistence led to both of their additions into the match. What made for a very stressful situation for Eric Bischoff will also certainly make for an entertaining match.
- On the first Thunder after Fall Brawl, Bischoff came out with Corino to make Corino vs. Henry official. Steve Austin didn't agree with the decision and stunned both of them, threatening to end up in the match one way or another.
- Curt Hennig had spent the past two months racking up TV title defenses in order to be able to cash in Option C. His competition got more and more difficult, and he ended up slowly giving up cheating and tricks for his ability due to getting more crowd reaction.
- Hennig cut a series of promos pointing out that this would be his first world championship in his twenty-plus year career. He promised that he wouldn't come this close after that long and lose his shot.
- After unofficially declaring he'd use Option C on the World Heavyweight title in an interview with Borash, Hennig would have his tenth and final defense in that night's main event. Bischoff didn't want to deal with more stress around the match, so he stacked the deck - making it an anything goes match with no time limit against Scott Steiner. Hennig came close to losing the twenty-minute classic, but a spear from Goldberg helped him get the win.
- Hennig's official Option C cash in was met with a staredown from Steve Austin. Instead of brawling, Austin just laughed and left.
- Mark Henry didn't care how many people he had to face, he was ready to face any challenge.
- At the contract signing for the match, Steve Austin showed up and crashed the whole thing. He attacked everyone and raised hell before signing his own name on a contract, totally and completely legally securing himself a place in the match. Don't question it.
Civil War -
Street Fight -
Steve Corino vs. Lance Storm
After the Team Canada split, it quickly became clear that Corino had no intention of letting Lance Storm get his revenge. He threw Carl Ouellet and C.W. Anderson in Lance's way before finally being able to use the world title match as an excuse to not face him. With everyone else out of the way, it's time for the two long-time allies to clash once and for all. It's a no disqualification Steve Corino match - there will be blood.
- After Lance Storm called out Corino to try and challenge him, Corino used his world title match to dodge him.
- Storm's frustations would continue as Corino would continue to duck him, not even giving him the time of day.
- Lance eventually went to Ric Flair, who was furious at Bischoff after finding out he'd be facing Hogan. The two talked behind closed doors.
- Flair was eager to complicate something Bischoff did, and declared that Corino would have to challenge for the world title after facing Storm in a street fight.
Hart Attack -
Adam Castle vs. Bret Hart
Sean O'Haire & Mark Jindrak (c) vs. Chris Benoit & ???
The trials of the Hart Foundation seem to have reached their climax, as the family's patriarch has finally been goaded out of retirement. At the same time, Chris Benoit & Jim Neidhart's #1 contendership has been much less fortunate than anyone would have hoped. After an injury to Neidhart, Benoit is left without a partner in the tag match against the most dominant team of 2001.
- On the Thunder after Fall Brawl, live from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Bret Hart announced his return to the ring. He said only one man could save the Hart Foundation - him.
- While in Calgary, Adam Castle took a "tour" of the Hart Family mansion. Adam vandalized the famous Dungeon and attacked two of the trainees there - British Bulldog's son and his friend TJ.
- The pre-matches for the tag title shot went horribly. Jindrak would defeat Benoit in a singles match after interference from DiBiase, and an out-of-control O'Haire would purposefully injure Neidhart's knee.
- Ted DiBiase attempted to get O'Haire under control, but O'Haire attacked him instead. DiBiase has not been seen since.
- Neidhart's knee was checked, and he would be fine for Starrcade as long as he took it easy. Later he was talking to Bret, and Castle attacked them. Castle handcuffed Bret to a locker and made him watch while he re-injured the Anvil. Castle would tell Bret that all they had to do was trust him, show some kindness, but they blew it.
- In an interview, Bret & Benoit said they both plan on settling business at Starrcade.
Team Xtreme -
Amy Dumas & Matt Hardy vs. Kanyon & Scott Hall
After the injury of Jeff Hardy, Matt made it very clear that he wanted revenge on Scorched Earth. His aim quickly broadened to include the entire Heenan Family after repeated interferences and beatdowns, and the brave Amy Dumas is stepping into the ring with him since Jeff isn't able to.
- A match between Kanyon & Konnan ended in disqualification after Matt attacked Kanyon. In an interview after the fact, he made his plans for revenge clear.
- When Matt Hardy faced Scott Hall, the tables turned: Scorched Earth attacked and attempted to injure him just like they injured Jeff. He just barely escaped after Amy Dumas ran out and pulled him away.
- Kanyon challenged Matt to a tag match on the go-home show. After Matt accepted, he said his partner would be Dumas.
Evil Incarnate -
I Quit -
Raven vs. Vampiro
Vampiro and Raven have been intertwined since January, at first being wrapped up in the attack on Sting, then feuding with one another after Vampiro dedicated himself to bringing the evil back out of Raven. Months of effort culminated when Raven got himself disqualified by refusing to stop attacking Vampiro during their double referee match. Ever since, Raven has been showing hints of his darker side, and there's no question that this I Quit match will be violent.
- Raven quietly came to the ring and sat down in the middle without saying a word. After a moment, he challenged Vampiro to an I Quit match, telling him only to be careful what he wished for.
- Vampiro wasn't afraid - all of his efforts were coming to fruition. A Vamp promo saw him speaking about Raven's inner sin while stalking him, watching him from above.
- On the go-home, the cameras rushed to the back to find the two brawling back and forth. Security wasn't enough to hold them back from one another, and some of the locker room had to come out and help.
Other Matches:
Masks vs. Masks -
The Light (Big T & Glenn Gilbertti) vs. Las Parkas
Captain Fall -
Tommy Dreamer & The Rhodes vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (c) & The Dudleyz
Cruiserweight Invitational -
Milano Collection AT (c) vs. Shane Helms vs. Octagon vs. Super Delfin vs. Ultimo Dragon vs. Juventud Guerrera vs. Super Crazy
Starrcade Royale
- After being embarrassed in a loss to those "comedy wrestlers", Glenn Gilbertti became obsessed with his old partner La Parka and La Parka II. Big T & Killings tried to break him from it, but Glenn kept the rivalry up until challenging the Parkas to put their masks on the line. The match was made, but there's a special addition to the stipulation - if The Light lose, they have to wear masks until they can defeat Las Parkas.
- Dreamer finally realized he needed to even the odds in his feud against Bam Bam Bigelow, so he put in a few phone calls and made contact with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes. They agreed to back him up, and so far the tables have successfully been turned in Tommy's favor. In the Captain's Fall match, if Tommy or Bam Bam are pinned the match ends, but if the others are pinned they're eliminated and the match continues. Only Dreamer or Bigelow may leave as the Brass Knuckles champ.
- A worldwide Cruiserweight Invitational was announced on the first week's Thunder. Qualifying matches saw Jorge Estrada, Mr. Aguila, Kaz Hayashi, Human Suplex Machine, Chavo Guerrero, and Crash fail to advance to Starrcade.
- The annual Starrcade Royale is bigger than ever this year. The match, which airs on free TV before Starrcade every year, expands to a fifty-person rumble. Rumors indicate that about a fifth of the participants will either be new debuts or workers coming over from Japan.
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