Just over a month ago I decided to start watching the entire PPV/special event history of the NWA and WCW. I’ve obtained copies of most events – there’s only a few that I’m missing. It will probably take me a long time to do it, but I’m excited to finally see all of these cards that I’ve read about for years in the Apter mags, on the ‘net, in books, etc. The NWA has always been associated with boredom in my WWF-centric mind, but now that I appreciate wrestling on a different level I’m ready to give the company a fair chance. The NWA has always been associated with dark arenas and guys with boring names and no images putting the crowd to sleep with side headlocks. I’m guessing this may partly be the case, or it just might be a whole other style of wrestling.
First up – Starrcade ’83. This event is as primitive as it gets, and is one of wrestling’s first supercards, if not the first, to be broadcast via closed-circuit, the predecessor to PPV. The production values are very primitive, as it’s just a ring set up in the dark Greensboro Coliseum. The wrestlers walk through the crowd and actually have to step over the barricade to get into the ringside area. There’s lots of technical goofs, and hilarious moments, like having the credits in the middle of the show and talking about the lighting and audio companies producing the event. The commentators for the event are Gordon Solie and Bob Caudle. It’s obvious from the first 10 seconds that Jim Ross ripped off his entire commentary style from Solie, which I think he’s admitted. Solie is like a much calmer, quieter Ross. The interesting thing is that the broadcasters treat the event as if it’s a true sports event, talking about stats, explaining how moves wear a guy down, etc. It’s really different and pretty cool to hear. The crowd in Greensboro is absolutely rabid and go insane over the simplest of moves. The wrestling style is much more realistic – if a guy takes a punch he hits the mat. Moves are done with purpose and precision, not to get the biggest pop from the crowd. Also interesting is the amount of interviews throughout the show. There are backstage interviews before and after every match, especially building the Flair-Race main event, and they get comments from everyone on the card about the main event, giving it a legit big time feel. I was actually getting excited about the main event since it was made out to be such a huge deal.
1. The Assassins beat Rufus R. Jones & Bugsy McGraw
Much like Wrestlemania 1 this was a weak opener to a major card. The Assassins were fat and slow and the good guys were pretty terrible in the ring. Nothing much happened in this match, and surprisingly the Assassins won. Weird to put heels over in the very first match on the show. Rufus had a lot of charisma, but sucked in the ring. It’s funny that so many of these southern superstars never made it to the WWF. As was the norm for the time a lot of these guys had sizeable guts and wore big trunks, looking more like real tough men than the Randy Orton/Cody Rhodes anorexic male supermodels of today.
2. Kevin Sullivan & Mark Lewin beat Scott McGhee & Johnny Weaver
Once again the heels went over in the second tag match in a row. I’ve heard complaints before that the NWA and WCW sucked at pacing their events and it’s obvious here at Starrcade as we have the second tag match in a row where heels win. It was cool seeing Sullivan in shape and in the beginning of his devil gimmick. Solie is such a big nerd on commentary and makes hilarious comments about Sullivan throughout this match. The heels beat the shit out of the faces at the end of the match and rip Scotty McGhee to shreds, leaving him bleeding all over the ring.
3. Abdullah the Butcher pinned Carlos Colon
This match sucked and was easily the worst on the card. Apparently it was too violent to be held in Puerto Rico so they brought it to Starrcade. It was only four minutes long and featured some of the worst “wrestling” you’ll ever see. I don’t understand the appeal of Abdullah, other than the fact that he’s fucking scary looking. Both guys bladed like 10 seconds into the match.
4. Dick Slater & Bob Orton Jr. beat Mark Youngblood & Wahoo McDaniel
The coolest thing before the match was the hilarious interview with Slater and Orton where they talked about putting Ric Flair in the hospital. Great bad guy promo. Slater and Orton were Harley Race’s goons, while Youngblood and McDaniel were Flair’s buddies, so this match told a simple but great story. Some good wrestling in this too, and I was happy to see the heels pick up another victory.
5. Charlie Brown (Jimmy Valiant) beat the Great Kabuki in a no DQ match to win the TV title
This was pretty dumb. Apparently Valiant lost a loser leaves town match to Kabuki and came back under the shittiest mask you’ll ever see as Charlie Brown. This match was all nonsense and both guys were pretty awful workers. It also went on way too long and was filled with chair shots and stuff, which was kind of cool. Later on the show Ric Flair talked about Jimmy Valiant, totally ruining kayfabe, lol!
I should also note that they were doing interviews with people in the crowd, and it was hilarious to see the hillbillies who came out in force to cheer on Ric Flair who was the biggest good guy in the world at this point.
6. Rowdy Roddy Piper beat Greg Valentine in a dog collar match
This was an undisputed classic – one of the most bloody and gory matches you’ll ever see. Piper and Valentine legit beat the shit out of each other with the chain, and Piper blades above his ear, which looks disgusting. It’s a great, bloody match, which I’ve seen pictures of and heard about for years! Both guys work their asses off, and take an epic beating. This match was more hardcore than most of what came in later years because of how realistic the violence was.
7. Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood beat the Brisco Brothers to win the tag team titles
All four of these guys were great workers, but I was bored by this match for some reason. The crowd was super hot for Steamboat and Youngblood which made things somewhat exciting. The Briscos were masters in the ring, but they also had that 70s style of wrestling which I find so dull. Internet fans would have loved this match.
8. Ric Flair pinned Harley Race in a steel cage to win the NWA title
This was a great main event! The build up was epic and the crowd was on fire. Flair had an elaborate entrance, with music, lights, and very primitive fireworks, yet it still looked cool. Race was the tough old veteran who was there to kick ass and hang on to his belt. The match was great, much better than I expected and both guys were amazing workers. The moves were brutal and the action was exciting. Race looked like a legit badass in the ring and pummeled Flair. The ending was pretty damn sloppy and unconvincing after a great match, but the right guy won. Both guys also bled buckets, and Flair’s face was a mess!
After the match, the card featured 20 minutes of interviews! I’m not kidding. I guess it tied in with the legit sports feel on the show and was kind of like a post-game show. They interviewed Flair for a long time, then got comments from all of the other wrestlers, which was a really cool touch.
Overall this was a good event – very primitive and boring at times, but a good show nonetheless.
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