JCP was finally starting to figure out production in 1986 so this Starrcade lacks the low-rent charm of some parts of the ’83 and ’84 versions, though you still get some nice 80s nostalgia with the audio not being ready when the Russians started a promo, or like when you can’t see the crowd because it’s darkened but by proxy you also can’t see guys on the outside of the ring – classic stuff.
Watching the build to this show was just tremendous. The Nikita face push was obviously a bit quick, but the angle for it was HOT. Valiant vs. Paul Jones Army with all of Valiant’s friends turning on him, Dusty vs. the Horsemen, the Bubba Rogers push, Rock & Roll’s vs. the Horsemen – all top shelf stuff. See some reflections on WCW in 1986 here.
Earl Hebner’s a referee on this show. As with Starrcade ’85, matches alternate from the Greensboro Coliseum and The Omni.
1. Tim Horner & Nelson Royal vs. Don Kernodle & Rocky Kernodle
Tim Horner & Nelson Royal vs. Don and Rocky Kernodle is an ultra basic opener highlighted by Horner and Rocky seemingly trying to out-bump each other for a second. Nothing special but an inoffensive way to tell the fans that the real stars are about to show up. *3/4
2. Brad Armstrong vs. “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin w/ Precious
Jimmy Garvin/Brad Armstrong was good… felt like a real struggle the entire time. Lots of solid rope-running and arm dragging sequences, along with Garvin cheating his ass off. They were just working the crowd with holds here, man. It had a built-in problem with them having to kill time for a 15-minute draw, but given the tall task, they did well. **3/4
3. Baron von Raschke & Hector Guerrero vs. Shaska Whatley & The Barbarian
Baron von Raschke & Hector Guerrero vs. Shaska Whatley & The Barbarian was real solid. During 1986, Shaska turned to the dark side with Paul Jones’ Army while Baron left the Army. Hector was the highlight here… flying around, bumping big, selling his beating. Barbarian and Shaska are fine old school midcard heels… Barbarian takes a great dive over the top rope at one point, and Shaska’s sell of Baron getting the hot tag is so wild and awesome. Nothing fancy, but got the job done. **3/4
4. No DQ Match – NWA U.S. Tag Team Title: Ivan Koloff & Krusher Khruschev [c] vs. The Kansas Jayhawks
I really liked the Russians (Ivan & Krusher) vs. The Kansas Jayhawks, for the NWA U.S. Tag Team Title. They kept this thing moving – lots of switching of control and everything felt logical. The Russians beatdown of Dutch was effective stuff, highlighted by Krusher just straight pulling Dutch’s hair to take control. Krusher’s bump to the outside on the Dutch comeback is hilarious and the crowd is hyped up for all the right stuff. They packed a ton of stuff in 7 minutes, no wasted movements here – they don’t make ’em like they used to. ***
5. Indian Strap Match: Chief Wahoo McDaniel vs. “Ravishing” Rick Rude w/ Paul Jones
Wahoo McDaniel vs. Rick Rude in an Indian Strap Match is fine as a crowd-pleaser but Wahoo can barely move and Rude, though he has his moments, is very much just stopping by the territory before heading to the WWF. Paul Jones’ PPV jackets are all-time great wrestling stuff though. The Network theme for Wahoo is hilarious WWE 2k CAW rock stuff … they use it for Tully too, just bizzare. This is just your classic basic strap match, for better or worse – the crowd was into all the strap teases but it wasn’t very exciting. **1/4
6. NWA Central States Heavyweight Title: Sam Houston [c] vs. “Superstar” Bill Dundee
Sam Houston vs. Bill Dundee for the Central States Title is alright. Houston is so good – everything he does is all smooth and fired up and whatnot. Dundee’s a good foil for this, and suitably sleazy. Stupid finish though, with Dundee awkwardly using Sam’s boot to get DQ’d. **1/2
7. Hair vs. Hair Match: “The Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant w/ Big Mama vs. Paul Jones (“Ragin’ Bull” Manny Fernandez locked in a cage)
Freakin’ loved Boogie Woogie Jimmy Valiant vs. Paul Jones, Hair vs. Hair. Manny Fernandez is locked in a cage hanging from the ceiling, which I always thought would be super scary. Everything’s super basic and it’s under 5 minutes but it works, as Jones bumps huge for Valiant’s shtick and the pop for the finish is ASTOUNDING. ***
There’s a Bunkhouse Stampede hype video here with local guy Nelson Royal talking through the stipulation and it’s kind of insane but also straightforward and awesome.
8. Louisville Street Fight: Ron Garvin vs. Big Bubba Rogers w/ Jim Cornette
Ron Garvin vs. Big Bubba Rogers in a Louisville Street Fight rocked. It was exactly what it needed to be – a war of monsters, Bubba’s mass vs. Garvin’s punches. They work everything around this, with Garvin fighting from behind, and the crowd buys all of it. Just felt like a god damn fight. Lots of Garvin being counted down only to get up before 10. Garvin at one point ties Bubba up with a damn rope. Bubba’s big bumps are tremendous – he doesn’t go down often, but when he does it’s HUGE. Every big guy should watch this match. At one point Garvin hits a piledriver and the struggle to get Bubba up for it is sooooo amazing. Then they both go down for 10, and you think it’s just a draw, but then Earl says it’s first man to his feet which adds to the drama. Just tremendous stuff. ***3/4
9.First Blood Match – NWA World TV Title: Dusty Rhodes [c] vs. Tully Blanchard w/ JJ Dillon
Dusty vs. Tully in a First Blood Match sure was over with the crowd but kind of sucked, especially considering the build and potential. Dusty drawing Tully’s name into his hair is great, classic stuff. JJ Dillon takes a Bionic Elbow before the match and blades for it, so he’s just dripping blood the entire match. And Dusty’s pissed-off sell after the match is great. But just not much happens, and when they pull another screwy finish it’s just lame. **1/2
10.Skywalkers Match: The Road Warriors w/ Precious Paul Ellering vs. The Midnight Express w/ Jim Cornette and Big Bubba Rogers
The Skywalkers match… stay for the spectacle, leave for almost everything else. The Scaffold match has really always been problematic. It’s four guys who have been in a heated feud beating each other up while at the same time clearly cooperating to not allow each other to fall right away. At least Condrey’s sleazebag American flag cut-off t-shirt and booty shorts look is one for the history books, and the post-match Cornette bump off the scaffold is an all-time great wrestling moment. **
During this show, they hype the Bunkhouse Stampede in December, the Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament in April, and the Great American Bash in the summer. They had their audience and they got what they could out of it.
They do a full scrolling credits before the top two matches. My word.
11. Steel Cage Match – NWA World Tag Team Title: The Rock & Roll Express [c] vs. Ole Anderson & Arn Anderson
The Rock & Roll Express vs. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew in a steel cage for the NWA Tag Team Titles is an amazing match. Ole and Arn are so fucking real. Lots of battles for control early, with the Andersons pounding away and Rock n’ Rolls being all quick and fired up. Arn bashing Robert’s knee into the cage was cool, and Robert makes for a nice brief face-in-peril. Then they get a hold of Ricky – rubbing his face in the cage, classic Anderson arm work, Ricky bleeding and selling big time. So many beautiful subtle things here like Arn grabbing Ricky’s tights and tagging Ole to prevent Ricky’s getting the tag. AMAZING spinebuster by Arn towards the finish. This is a loooooong heat segment by the Andersons and it’s great, both for them being dickheads and Ricky doing an all-time great face-in-peril sell. Ricky’s comeback with Arn’s wild punching trying to prevent it is beautiful. There’s a cut-off after that that is fucking incredible in how deflating it is. There isn’t even a hot tag here, which is a bit disappointing given the build but also works for this gritty god damned fight. Awesome, awesome stuff. ****1/2
Ric Flair vs. Magnum T.A. would’ve been so fucking good. Before the main event, they have a video package of Magnum running shirtless on the beach, an eagle flying, and still shots of Magnum’s mom looking sad until he embraces her and holds her hand on the beach. The song is “A Box That’s Always Empty” by Matt Santry (I had to Shazam it) but that came out in 2010 so overall it’s a strange dub choice and a weird song to get rights to to do so. Either way this video package is insane.
12. NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair [c] vs. Nikita Koloff
Ric Flair vs. Nikita Koloff for the NWA World Heavyweight Title is a strong match with another stupid finish. Nikita was new as a face, but is a strong guy with good intensity and that kind of thing works very well with a Ric Flair match. Nikita bleeds and Flair punches away at it like a dick. Then they have a stupid double DQ finish and it makes me sad. It’s a fun match but another one that makes you just think what could’ve been. ***1/4
Starrcade ’86 is a great spectacle with some fun matches, including a couple really good ones, and is a solid blowoff to a strong year for JCP. It’s hurt by way too many stupid finishes; otherwise it’s a perfectly pleasant big time wrestling show. 7/10
