Starrcade ’87 was the fifth annual Starrcade event promoted by Jim Crockett Promotions, the first aired on pay-per-view and the first held outside of Greensboro at the UIC Pavillion in Chicago.
The build to Starrcade was an Arrested Development-esque web carried by not just JCP’s usual array of stars and feuds (Rock & Roll vs. Midnights, Four Horsemen vs. Dusty and The World), but also stars from the recently acquired Universal Wrestling Federation like Sting and “Dr. Death” Steve Williams.
In an effort to “shake things up”, working man Ron Garvin had won the NWA World Heavyweight Title from Ric Flair two months ago, the first guy to get a real title run besides Flair and Dusty Rhodes since the first Starrcade five years ago. The rematch was set as the Starrcade main event, while apparent star of the future and new Four Horseman Lex Luger was put in a major spot opposite Dusty with both the U.S. Heavyweight Title and Dusty’s career (kind of) on the line. Rounding out the top matches were hometown boys The Road Warriors heading towards certain victory over Arn & Tully for the NWA World Tag Team Titles and a Unification Match with both the NWA and UWF TV Championships on the line.
The competition between the WWF and JCP was picking up steam in 1987, with the WWF hovering around JCP’s homebase throughout the mid-80s but not entering it until ’88. JCP fired a shot by booking a show at WWF hot spot Nassau Coliseum in Long Island the night before Starrcade headlined by the fourth WarGames match, but the WWF had the heaviest artillery in the form of an exciting new pay-per-view event called Survivor Series that they aired at the same time as Starrcade.
Like the Nassau Coliseum show, Starrcade drew OK… but not well. On pay-per-view, it got crushed. Looking back, it’s a quality show that hearkens back to a more simple time in rasslin: seven matches, all of them with purpose and follow-up. Between some crappy finishes and lead babyface Ron Garvin though, it’s all a little questionable when the competition seemed so hot.
Tony Schiavone and the very tanned newcomer Jim Ross introduce us to the show in the most no frills way possible, as Tony throws to JR and JR lets you know real quick that 5 championships are on the line. On come the lights and smoke machines as Badstreet USA blares on the loudspeakers and the team of Michael PS Hayes and Gourgeous Jimmy Garvin strut to the ring, scores of empty red seats on display before the lights go out.
Instead of the usual NWA logo, the ring apron has a logo for short-lived Crockett project The Wrestling Network.
The iconic voice of Tom Miller does ring introductions.
1. Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin & Sting w/ Precious vs. Eddie Gilbert, Larry Zbyszko & Rick Steiner
This is a match that gets in the way of itself, trying to accomplish too much when it could’ve used five less minutes and made more of its’ cast of characters instead of forcing them to kill time. The unique cast mostly carries it, though it doesn’t equal a good match – young Rick Steiner and Sting are rough around the edges, while the other acts aren’t established or over enough even if they all bring their individual charms. Zbyszko bumps like a legend, Hot Stuff Gilbert does his thing, Gorgeous Jimmy struts and sells, and Michael Hayes equals CHARISMA. His hot tag is awesome, but it’s the highlight surrounded by a long section of Jimmy Garvin getting beat up and then very little drama as the countdown to a 15-minute draw goes on. And then they actually hit it. The draw. They start the show with a 15-minute 6-man tag team draw. The good guys get their shots in after, but what a choice. **1/2
2. UWF Heavyweight Title: Dr. Death [c] vs. Barry Windham
As the UWF was integrated into JCP and “Dr. Death” Steve Williams began appearing on TV, it really does seem that the reigning UWF Champion is destined for superstardom. On a show where Ric Flair is wrestling a rotating cast of fired up babyfaces, Dr. Death seems like the badass that might eventually take him out. Here though, he’s doing a slow burn heel turn and paired up with his good friend, UWF Title #1 Contender Barry Windham. The match is strong on paper, two exciting young fellows battling for a championship, but the booking sets them up for failure: they get just seven minutes and work the match ultra-clean early with some good solid wrestling that is exactly what the crowd doesn’t want after sitting through a 15-minute draw.
Williams jumps up for a leapfrog and Windham headbutts his balls by mistake, which comes off like a comedy spot more than any kind of storytelling. Windham gives him time, they go back at it, and Windham ends up on the floor with his trademark epic missed crossbody bump into the ropes. When he goes back in Williams doesn’t give him time, rolling him up for 3. Too quick, too silly. **
3. Skywalkers Match: The Midnight Express w/ Jim Cornette and Big Bubba vs. The Rock & Roll Express
The Midnight Express vs. The Rock & Roll Express is a can’t-miss feud, unless they are having a Scaffold Match. This has the usual stalling, the usual extra careful punching. Stan Lee’s fall is missed by the camera but it looks like a bummer anyways. The only actual worthwhile thing is Bobby Eaton’s eventual fall, not so much the bump but Ricky Morton is hilarious swatting away at him with the tennis racket as is Robert Gibson just kicking at him until he goes down. Third match in a row where the desire to work a gimmick got in the way of what could’ve been some good old-fashioned rasslin. Damnit, guys! 1/2*
Missy Hyatt and Bob Caudle are the backstage interviewers, and Jim Ross is still thinking about that UWF Title match. He points out that Dr. Death took advantage of Barry’s folly, while Barry didn’t take advantage of Dr. Death’s. The intrigue!
4. NWA World TV Title vs. UWF TV Title Unification Match: Nikita Koloff [c] vs. Terry Taylor [c] w/ Eddie Gilbert
Terry Taylor has had like nineteen mediocre runs in wrestling and his run as UWF TV Champion invading JCP with Eddie Gilbert might be near the top. He’s such a good piece of shit during it, even though he was here before he comes off like a guy who doesn’t quite belong and he knows it and is bitter about it. These two get time, longest match of the show at 19 minutes time, and it’s all very passable. Taylor is good at stalling and running around, Nikita is good at looking intense while he stares Taylor down every few minutes, but the armbars in between it all aren’t my favorite armbars I’ve seen and neither guy has ever been a guy where I thought, “You know, I could go for 19 minutes of that guy.” Gilbert interferes but Nikita’s able to fire off the Russian Sickle anyways. **3/4
5. NWA World Tag Team Title: Tully Blanchard & Arn Anderson [c] w/ JJ Dillon vs. The Road Warriors w/ Paul Ellering
This is a great match with a dirt worst finish. It’s main event work from two classic acts in their arguable primes – Road Warriors are coming in over as hell everywhere but especially Chicago, while Arn and Tully had just started teaming regularly a few months ago and were already the best tag team on earth. The Arn and Tully shtick opposite Road Warriors’ ass-kicking IS wrestling, folks! It is all it is! They are aggressive jerks on offense and bumbling fools when not. Arn’s eyes when Hawk grabs his throat at the start of the match is pretty much everything you need to know. Tully gets press slammed from the floor into the ring, bails out scared, and tries to walk to the back just ashamed of himself. They do a lot of that early, all while JJ Dillon yells in frustration.
Eventually Arn and Tully go after Hawk’s leg, kicking off when Tully drops a PPV caliber chairshot on it when the referee is distracted. The leg work is good, the Animal hot tag is great… and then the referee gets bumped and Hawk gets thrown over the top rope, which in JCP usually means a DQ and elicits audible groans from the crowd. The Road Warriors hit the Doomsday Device (complete with a hilariously careful back bump by Arn) and cover for 3 to a monster pop, only for the reveal by another referee that ACTUALLY – Arn and Tully won by DQ and keep the titles. The crowd doesn’t seem so much angry as disappointed. There’s merit in keeping the titles on Tully and Arn to do the Lex Luger break-up angle, but there’s probably a better way to do that than hype up a hometown title win and deny it in a really cowardly way. Shame. ***1/2
6. Steel Cage Match – U.S. Heavyweight Title vs. Dusty Rhodes’ Career: Lex Luger [c] w/ JJ Dillon vs. Dusty Rhodes
Here is a match I respect more than love, a little boring as they sit there in armbars but one I can’t deny got so much out of not much. Dusty Rhodes, early 40s and teasing retirement, meets unproven box of muscles Lex Luger in a Steel Cage for the U.S. Title with the lamest stipulation ever: if Dusty loses, he cannot wrestle anywhere in the world for 90 days… and thus, by proxy, because this is how wrestling works: his career is over.
Dusty puts on an absolute performance… Bionic Elbow right away, a flabby strut in reaction to Lex’s flex, armbars for days, the Weaver Lock sleeper hold he’s been building up for two months, a dropkick, a bladejob, a comeback. Dusty’s comeback is legitimately epic, smacking his arm and screaming at Luger as blood pours down his face. The work isn’t high level but it feels high level and the crowd buys in, sustaining a reaction pretty much the entire time. Luger does what he did pretty much his whole career too, not overtly impressing but also looking like he belongs and adding his own weird charm to a big time match.
Dusty gets the Weaver Lock on again, the referee goes down, JJ Dillon hits Keeper of the Key Johnny Weaver with a chair and just barely throws the chair over the top of the cage, the referee gets up, Dusty drops Lex on the chair with a DDT and wins. There’s a new U.S. Champ and Dusty keeps wrestling. ***3/4
7. Steel Cage Match – NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ron Garvin [c] vs. Ric Flair
A good, reliable main event with some tremendous intensity that despite all of its’ best intentions has a hard time feeling like THE main event. They do pretty much everything right; it’s just a weird play for Starrcade. Flair milks the most out of every exchange: full of confidence while on offense, screaming in misery when not. Garvin kicks ass, Flair works the leg, Garvin throws chops, Flair starts to bleed. All the chops here from both guys are SO hard and SO loud – not sure if they were laying them in extra or the sound for this particular Starrcade was just amazing.
They reference Flair’s win over Harley Race as Garvin hits a crossbody off the top for 2, then they reference Garvin’s win over Flair as a bloodied Flair gets crotched on the ropes and Garvin does a sunset flip off the top rope. This time though, Flair holds on. They get up and hit the ropes, then Flair catches Garvin and slams him in the cage and pins him. Ronnie Garvin ruled and has had some of the best squash matches and biggest reactions I have ever seen or heard in my life, but as temporary World Champ in the main event of Starrcade he was always going to be missing something. The anti-climatic finish didn’t help, but it’s still a very good match. ***1/2
Happy Thoughts: This show has an excellent last three matches that would’ve come off a lot better without such a weak undercard and so many weird finishes. JCP in 1987 had lost a little luster but was still on fire and this is a good big time card damaged by a pencil that kept getting in the way of a good time. 6/10
