Starrcade 83: A Flair For The Gold
Promotion: NWA
Date: 24/11/83
City: Greensboro, North Carolina
Commentory team: Gordon Solie & Bob Caudle
Ring Announcer: Tom Miller
So, here we go. The first "PPV" on the Network. I say PPV, originally this was on CCTV when it first aired, but thankfully it's in it's rightful place.
Match 1 - Tag Team match
The Masked Assassins (w/Paul Jones) vs Rufus R. Jones & Bugsy McGraw
Masked Assassins are dressed all in black and wearing orange masks. One of them is massive. Like way too big to be an assassin. The fans seem to love Bugsy McGraw and Rufus R. Jones, cheering whenever they pull off a move. Lots of basic moves take place, strikes, hip tosses, arm locks. After a while Rufus starts to take a beating but them starts to 'Hulk Up' to get a tag to Bugsy McGraw. He starts to strike one of the assassins and does an irish whip, but the Assassins make a tag while one bounces off the ropes which Bugsy doesn't know about, so after giving one Assassin a back body drop, the legal Assassin pins Bugsy from behind to get the win.
Winners - Masked Assassins via pinfall (pin from behind)
Not the best opening match and not a lot of good things to write about. I didn't know anything about these teams before watching this and neither did anything to make me remember them*. 2/5
*After reading up about this later on, one of the Masked Assassins was Hercules Hernandez. No wonder I wasn't impressed
The camera cuts to the two commentators who give a bit of information and big up the show, and talk about the main event taking place later on, Ric Flair vs Harley Race. They then move to Tony Schiavone in the locker room, who says that unlike ever before they will be going to locker room after every match of the night to speak with the winners and losers. I guess this was a big thing back then which is kinda taken for granted now. The camera then goes back to the ring for Tom Miller to introduce the next match
Match 2 - Tag Team match, 45 minute time limit
Johnny Weaver & Scott McGhee vs Kevin Sullivan & Mark Lewin (w/Gary Hart)
Sullivan & Lewin start off as heels, and take the upper hand early on. After taking a beating for a while McGhee tags Weaver but the ref disallows it as he didn't see it. McGhee finally makes the tag to Weaver, who performs a bull dog on Sullivan and gets a 2 count pin, he tries it again but it's reversed and the tag to Lewin is made who regains control of the match. Another tag is made to Sullivan and they double team and arm lock (yes, an arm lock) on Weaver while he's on the ground, but McGhee comes into the ring and is held back by the ref. Manager Gary Hart then grabs one of Weaver's arms through the ropes while Sullivan holds the other, and Lewin does an Ax Handle off the top rope onto Weaver's shoulder to pick up the win.
McGhee then comes into the ring and attacks Sullivan, Lewin and Hart, but Hart pulls something out of his jacket which is used by Lewin to make McGhee bleed. Angelo Mosca (never heard of him) comes down to the ring to help out but is also attacked.
Winners - Kevin Sullivan & Mark Lewin via pinfall (Double Ax Handle)
Not a great match but more enjoyable than the first match of the night, and the weapon attack after the match made things a bit more interesting. 2/5
The Camera then goes back to the commentators who talk about the attack after the match, and they then go to Barbara Clarey who is interviewing fans in the crowd. After this it's back to Tony Schiavone in the locker room who is talking to US Champion Greg 'The Hammer' Valentine, Tag Team Champs Jack & Gerry Briscoe, and Heavyweight Champion Harley Race. Race does a short interview saying he knows Flair's weakspots and will be targeting them, before we go back to the ring for the next match.
Match 3: Singles match, 60 mins time limit
Carlos Colon vs Abdullah The Butcher
Well this is quite the size difference. Colon is a regular sized guy while Abdullah is fucking HUGE. Abdullah The Butcher uses his massive size difference to take the upper hand early on and gets a quick 2 count. Bob Caudle mentions that Abdullah as a weapon hidden in his tights, and after a while Colon takes this from The Butcher and turns the tide, cutting him open. Abdullah kicks out of a pin and causes Colon to land on the referee. The Butcher goes for an elbow drop, Colon moves out the way making the ref take the hit. Colon gets Abdullah in a Figure 4 Leg Lock, but someone runs into the ring and hits Colon with a weapon. Abdullah rolls up Colon and the recovered ref makes the 3 count to give Abdullah The Butcher the victory.
Winner - Abdullah The Butcher via pinfall (Outside interference from Hugo Savinovich)
Quite a quick match and nothing special about it either. Colon using the weapon to counter the size difference between him and Abdullah made sense, but the match was over before it could go anywhere. The person who ran in and caused Colon to lose was Hugo Savinovich, again not someone I'm familiar with. 2/5
When the match finishes we go back to Tony Schiavone in the dressing room who is with Angelo Mosca who has an injured arm. He is supposed to referee the tag team match later on. He gives a quick interview talking about the youth in the company. He also says Ric Flair will win later on. Barbara Clarey is interviewing more fans (why, it's terrible). We then go back to the ring.
Match 4 - Tag Team Match, 45 minute time limit
Chief Wahoo McDaniel & Mark Youngblood vs Dick Slater & Bob Orton
Don't think I've seeen any of Bob Orton's matches so this should be good. Chief Wahoo and Mark Youngblood are both going for a native American look, while everyone knows Bob Orton as 'Cowboy Bob'. I see what they did there... Anyway, the match is about to begin, the bell rings, and then the announcer begins to say that there is a special guest....and then his mic cuts out. It starts working again when he's saying "Where is Dusty Rhodes?".
The match starts properly now and McDaniel & Youngblood start off the better of the two teams. Orton and Slater slowly come back into it and start to work on Youngblood for quite some time. After a 2 count following a suplex, Youngblood counters a piledriver and makes a hot tag to McDaniels. he starts clearing up, beating both his opponents and delivering an inverted atomic drop and a body slam on Orton, but he pins Cowboy Bob too close to the ropes. Orton tags out and Slater comes in and evens things out, delivering a belly-to-back suplex and gets 3 2-counts off of it. Orton is tagged in and works on McDaniels some more and gets another 2 count. Slater is tagged in while Orton hold onto McDaniels, Slater goes off the top rope, McDaniel moves and Orton takes the hit. The crowd loves it, Slater is hit with an atomic drop and Youngblood is tagged back in. Orton is tagged back in, and gets hit with a few drop kicks while McDaniel and Slater brawl on the outside. Orton is tripped by Slater following an irish whip, causing Youngblood to miss a drop kick. Slater & Orton get Youngblood up on the top buckle in their corner and Orton hits Youngblood with a superplex to get the win just before McDaniel can make the save.
Winners - Dick Slater & Bob Orton via pinfall (Superplex)
Orton and Slater then double team McDaniel after the match before walking away. This has been a much better match than the ones that have been put on before, and I hope is a sign of things to come. Solid 3/5
Tony Schiavone is now in Ric Flair's lockeroom, who he shares with Ricky Steamboat and Jake Youngblood. Flair says that he's ready and wishes his friends well in their match. Youngblood and Steamboat say they know what to do to win later that night and will get the job done. I didn't know Ricky Steamboat was going to be in this, I love watching that guy. Barbara Clarey has found Dusty Rhodes in the crowd but the audio on the mic isn't working, so Gordon Soley talks over him.
Match 5 - Singles Match, 60 minute time limit with a stipulation:
Charlie Brown vs The Great Kabuki (C) w/Gary Hart
So, yeah, there's a weird stipulation in this one. If Charlie Brown wins inside 15 minutes, he wins the NWA TV Championship off The Great Kabuki. If Kabuki wins inside 15 minutes, he wins.....Charlie Brown's mask. Great.
Charlie Brown is a clear fan favourite and starts off the stronger man, hitting Kabuki outside the ring. He is allowed to hit Kabuki with a chair and doesn't get disqualified! He then gives Kabuki a Phil Babb moment on the ring post, and gives him a kick to the crotch while the ref's back is turned. He puts Kabuki in a sleeper. Kabuki works his way out, so Brown gets him in another sleeper after an irish whip. Kabuki gets out of it and then attacks Brown while Charlie is trying to work up the crowd. He puts Brown into The Claw, Brown fights back with a couple of back drops, but a strong martial arts kick puts Kabuki back on top. He puts The Claw (which looks like a really terrible move, holding someone's head with one hand) back on Brown, but again Brown fights back. Kabuki jumps off the top rope and puts Brown in The Claw for the third time. Kabuki releases the hold after the ref does that holding the arm up til it drops thing that ref's like to do, and climbs back to the top rope and hits Brown in the head. Kabuki tries to take Brown's mask but is stopped by the ref, so he beats on Brown some more. Brown starts to gain momentum/Hulk Up and hits Kabuki with a couple of punches. Kabuki whips Brown into the corner and tries to hit him with some kind of jumping kick move, Brown ducks out of the way and hits Kabuki while he's on the ground with a running elbow drop to get the win.
Winner - Charlie Brown via pinfall (Running Elbow Drop)
This wasn't an exciting match but wasn't terrible either. The Claw move Kabuki uses just seems rediculous to me and not a believable submission move. I also didn't like how a missed jumping kick and elbow drop decided the match. 2/5
Afterwards the commentators aren't sure if the win took place within the time limit so Kabuki might still hold the title. They then interview someone called Dude Walker who thinks Ric Flair will win later on. Soley then bigs up the event saying it is history in the making, and you can tell he believes it. I've liked the commentary so far, two guys who you can tell love what they're doing. I think I read somewhere that JR said that Soley was his biggest influence as a commentator and you can tell, Soley is the guy giving you information about the wrestlers pasts like mentioning which college they went to, ex footballer, Harley Race 7 time world champ etc.
We move back to Schiavine who is back in Harley Race's dressing room interviewing Bob Orton and Dick Slater. They talk about when they took out Flair in the past for $25k, and Race joins in saying he's going to target Flair's neck. I find it hard to take him seriously though as he looks like Bob from That 70's Show.
Barbara Clarey is with Dusty Rhodes again but now backstage. Rhodes says he wants to challenge the winner or Race and Flair for the title so he can become 3-time NWA World Champion.
Match 6 - Collar Match, no DQ and no time limit for the NWA USA Championship
Rowdy Roddy Piper vs Greg Valentine (C)
Piper is the fan favourite going into this one, a collar match where both guys wear a dog collar round their necks, and the collars are attached with a chain. Seeing as this is a no DQ match I expect this to be brutal. I've seen Valentine a few times and remember him as a solid performer.
After a battle of wills each guy leaning back, Piper manages to whip Valentine, before getting his distance. Valentine tries to do the same but Piper dodges out of the way. Piper starts use the chain to his advantage and it takes Valentine a while to get into the match. The commentators make a point that Piper has a weak point with his ear due to a recent injury where he lost his equilibrium and Valentine targets this. Piper fights back and starts being creative with the chain, wrapping it round the ring post so Valentine can't get out of the corner and cuts him open. Valentine works his way back and targets Piper's ear again, hitting it with the chain and shoving Piper into a row of chairs. Valentine stays in control despite Piper occasionaly fighting back and gets a couple of two counts. Piper yanks the chain to get back into it and starts attacking Valentine with the chain, getting full backing from the crowd. Both men are cut and after a Piper suplex the ref starts a double count. They both get up and Valentine puts Piper in a sleeper hold. While in the hold Piper starts wrapping the chain round his fist and hits Valentine to break the hold.After Valentine climbs to the top rope, Piper yanks him down and after a few strikes with chain uses it to hook up Valentine's legs to get the win, Piper is the new Champion!
Winner - Rowdy Roddy Piper (New Champion) via pinfall (Valentine's legs tied by chain)
Valentine attacks Piper again after the match and uses the chain to choke Piper while he is on the apron. Piper takes quite a beat down off Valentine but he doesn't care, he's the new USA Champion. I liked this match and the crowd certainly enjoyed Piper winning. This was a decent scrap and I liked what Piper especially did with the chain, while Valentine certainly played his part, especially with the beat down after the match. Very solid 3/5
Tony Schiavonne interviews Flair and Wahoo McDaniel in the locker room, and Barbara Clarey interviews someone at ringside. These are pretty boring to be honest and don't really add much to the event. We quickly move back to the ring
Match 7 - Tag Team match, no time limit for the NWA World Tag Team Championships, belts can change hands on a DQ
Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood vs Jack & Jerry Brisco (C)
Special Guest Referee: Angelo Mosca
The commentators sound exceited for this one and start to explain that the Briscoes are experienced and experts with certain moves. Steamboat starts in the ring and is easily the most athletic guy we've seen so far. Steamboat escapes a couple of holds and hits Jack Briscoe with one of his deep arm drags. Jerry is tagged in and forces Steamboat into the corner to gain the upper hand. Steamboat gets back into it and makes the tag to Youngblood. He gets Jerry Briscoe into a few holds, and they both make quick tags double teaming Jerry Briscoe focussing on his arm. Jerry tags out and Jack starts to dominate Steamboat. Briscoe hits Steamboat with a very impressive double underhook suplex and goes for the pin, but Steamboat kicks out. Briscoe puts Steamboat in a Key Lock arm hold, pinning him for 2, but Steamboat gets to his feet, lifts Briscoe and slams him on his back. Steamboat and Jerry make desparate tags but the Briscoes regain control. They tag and perform a double shoulder tackle, go for the pin but Youngblood gets his foot on the rope. Jerry Briscoe performs a suplex and gets a couple more 2 counts, gets frustrated and pushes Mosca! Mosca shoves back and Youngblood takes advantage, and tags in Steamboat. Steamboat gets a few strikes to Jerry's head and also hits Jack when he is held back by Mosca. After a few quick tags, Steamboat picks up Youngblood and drops him on Jerry Briscoe, he gets the pin and the crowd explodes!
Winners - Ricky Steamboat & Mark Youngblood (New Champions) via pinfall (Youngblood dropped onto Jerry Briscoe)
The Briscoes attack Angelo Mosca, shove Steamboat out of the ring and double team Youngblood, but Mosca catches one of the Briscoes in mid air and Steamboat & Youngblood fight back sending both Briscoes out of the ring. They celebrate in the ring with the Championship belts and the crowd love it.
This was a good tag team match, and I'm glad Steamboat won. All the performers did their roles pretty well, and there was a few excellently executed moves, expecially Jack Briscoe's double underhook suplex. Steamboat is the master of the arm drag, and even though I'm biased towards him, he's been my favourite performer so far. I enjoyed the match but I can't really give it higher than a 3/5, it didn't quite have that extra something to make it a bit more memorable.
There is now a massive gap while they build up to the main event. The locker room clap Steamboat and Youngblood on being 5 time world champions and Piper gives a good interview saying Valentine forgot to get his other ear! All the focus goes into what is coming up next.
Match 8 - Cage match, 60 minute time limit for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Ric Flair vs Harley Race (C)
Special Referee: Gene Kiniski
Someone sings the US national Anthem and then it's onto the ring entrances. Flair gets the first proper entrance of the night, lights out and entrance music as loud as you can imagine, and the crowd lap it up. Harley Race walked into the ring with no music, just crowd noise. It didn't help. Flair is so far and away the fan favourite in this Harley Race may as well be Roman Reigns.
It's a slow start to the match which goes back and forth. Victory can be gained by pinfall in this match, which is weird to me as I'm used to victories in Cage matches being gained by escaping the cage. Probably because I spent far too much time playing WWF Warzone growing up.
Race starts to get ahead and gets a couple of pinfalls. Flair is excellent at selling the attacks Race lands and you can see why he's regarded as one of the best the business has ever produced. Race uses slow, drawn out, methodical attacks, setting a pace which isn't pretty but is very consice in what he wants to do. Flair kicks out after a run of attacks, including a piledriver and falling front body slam. Race berates the referee which gives Flair the time to strike back, attacking Race's body.
Race starts to throw Flair into the cage, causing him to bleed heavily. Flair is moved into the corner but the ref holds Race back for not allowing Flair to escape. Flair takes advantage and moves race to another corner, but the ref returns the favour and grabs Flair for the same reason. This gives Flair the momentum and he in turn uses the cage and turnbuckles as weapons. Flair hits Race with a piledriver and double underhook suplex bit can't put him away. After throwing Race into the cage again, Flair starts arguing with the ref, giving Race the chance to get back into the match.
Race again starts using the cage as a weapon, Flair's face turning crimson. This seems to give him a second wind and Flair begins to dominate. He gets Race in the Figure 4 Leg Lock, which gets the crowd excited, but it wanes slightly after a while. Race tuns Flair over but they're too close to the ropes and the hold is broken.
Race tries to suplex Flair but his leg gives way and Flair pins him, but Race kicks out on two. He hits Flair with a headbutt from the top rope and gets a 2 count. Gives Flair a suplex, again a 2 count. Punches and knee drops are given, Flair swings and really sells himself being lost and exhausted. Race starts to choke Flair with his boot and the ref drags Race away by the hair. Flair reverses a suplex but then misses a follow up elbow drop. Race gets Flair in a headlock but inadvertedly headbutts the ref. Flair takes advantage and climbs to the top rope and hits a big cross body on Harley Race. The ref slowly recovers and counts, eventually, to 3. Flair wins!
Winner - Ric Flair (New Champion) via pinfall (Flying crossbody)
The ending wasn't quite as explosive as you would have hoped, seeing as the whole crowd seemed to be behind Flair. However he put on a masterclass of showing how to sell moves and telling the story of the match, especially seeing as he was bloodied all over by the end of the match. Harley Race didn't put a foot wrong either, and this was a worthy wrestling match to close such a big event. A very well earned 4/5.
After the match, all of Flair's dressing room run down to the ring to celebrate with him, which then carries on into the dressing room. Dusty Rhodes comes in and congratulates Flair, but leaves saying they are both 2 time champions and says he wants a match in the future.
So, there we have it. The first PPV I can find and it definitely got better as it went on. I was worried after the first few matches that this would be a huge disappointment, but in the end not bad at all. On match averages the PPV scored 21/40 which doesn't sound too good, however I did enjoy the commentary efforts and the crowd did get involved in parts which made up for parts that may have dragged otherwise. If I was to score the PPV out of 10, I'd say the last match scrapes it to a 6/10
