-Happy Thanksgiving!
-Today we take a look at Starrcade '86 from JCP. I went to see Song of the South Thanksgiving 86 when it was re-released in theaters.
-Starrcade '86: The Night of the Skywalkers took place November 27, 1986 from The Omni in Atlanta, GA and the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC. The crowd from the two arenas was a combined 30,000. The event was shown on closed circuit.
-Longtime JCP announcer Tom Miller welcomes us to Starrcade '86 the Night of the Skywalkers and the National Anthem is played.
-Tony Schiavone and Rick Stewart welcome us to Starrcade and Atlanta before throwing it to Bob Caudle and Johnny Weaver in Greensboro.
-Tim Horner and Nelson Royal vs. Don and Rocky Kernodle: Quick tags by the Kernodle Brothers. Don with a running power slam on Horner for a two count. Royal tagged in. Back and forth. Horner tagged in. Fast paced opening match. Now Horner and Royal with the quick tags. Don trying to come back. Rocky tagged in. Horner also in. Horner and Rocky both go for leapfrogs and collide. Don tagged in. Now Rocky and Horner back in. Horner gets the pin after a reversal and the crowd boos the decision.
-Atlanta: Brad Armstrong vs. Jimmy Garvin with Precious: Crowd boos Garvin and Precious. They go back and forth. Lots of shoving and driving to the ropes. Lots of lock-ups and rest holds. They exchange wrist locks. Armstrong gets Garvin down in a chin lock. Into an arm bar. Precious distracts referee Scrappy McGowan so Garvin can grab Armstrong's hair and get a leg scissors. Armstrong gets out and goes back to a side headlock. Precious goes and distracts McGowan again so Garvin can get the leg scissors again. Armstrong gets out again. Back and forth. Garvin tries to get out of an Armstrong side headlock, but Armstrong won't let go. Garvin pulls the trunks of Armstrong, but gets caught. Garvin with a belly to back suplex to break the side headlock. He gets a two count. Garvin throws Armstrong out of the ring. Garvin keeping Armstrong from getting in while Precious yells at Armstong. Armstrong gets back in. Garvin keeps getting two counts. Both men down after colliding. Both men up and trading two counts. The match ends in a draw. Armstrong attacks Garvin after the match and Garvin bails. Precious gets in Armstrong's face so Garvin can attack Armstrong from behind, but Garvin gets caught and Armstrong nails him with a shot.
-Greensboro: The Barbarian and Shaska Whatley vs. Baron Von Raschke and Hector Guerrero: All four in to start the match. The faces run the heels into each other. Guerrero and Whatley start. All Guerrero to begin with high-flying moves. Barbarian tagged in. Guerrero ducks a big boot, but Barbarian grabs Guerrero and guillotines him. Whatley holds Guerrero so Barbarian can charge him, but Guerrero moves and Barbarian goes flying through the ropes. Guerrero hits a plancha to Barbarian on the outside to the delight of the crowd. Whatley and Barbarian run Guerrero into a ring post. They get Guerrero back in the ring and Whatley tagged in. He punishes Guerrero and Barbarian tagged back in. Barbarian hits a backbreaker. Barbarian with a headbutt to Guerrero off the ropes. Whatley tagged in and a double backdrop to Guerrero. Whatley gets a two count and cuts Guerrero off from tagging. Heels double teaming Guerrero. Barbarian in and Guerrero goes to the wrong corner to tag. Barbarian with a series of backbreakers and Whatley tagged back in. Guerrero gets away and Von Raschke tagged in. He cleans house on the heels. He gets an Irish whip and the claw on Whatley. Barbarian breaks it up and now all four men in the ring. Whatley with a corner whip, but misses the charge. Von Raschke drops an elbow and gets the pin. Heels attack Von Raschke after the match. Barbarian hits a top rope headbutt on Von Rashke. Guerrero runs the heels off.
-Johnny Weaver tries to interview Dusty Rhodes, but Rhodes tells Weaver to leave him alone.
-Atlanta: United States Tag Team Championship Match. No Disqualification. Ivan Koloff and Krusher Kruschev vs. The Kansas Jayhawks Dutch Mantell and Bobby Jaggers: Mantell and Koloff start. Lock up and go to a corner. Mantel with the early advantage. Jaggers tagged in. He gets an Irish whip and a back elbow. Jayhawks are quick tagging trying to keep Koloff down. Kruschev tagged in. He gets Mantell in a corner and punches him. Heels double teaming Mantell. Mantell comes back and gets Kruschev in the Jayhawk's corner. Mantell goads Koloff in and Jayhawks double team Kruschev in the corner while referee Scrappy McGowan was getting Koloff out. Jaggers tagged in and continues the assault. More quick tags, but Kruschev crosses Mantell up and Koloff tagged in. They trade corner whips and go back and forth. Jayhawks with a double Irish whip and back elbow. Russians get Mantell down in their corner. They run him into the announce table. They then atomic drop Mantell onto the barricade. Back in, Koloff continues the assault on Mantell. Kruschev holds Mantell while Koloff hits him with a forearm to the back from the top rope. Russians battering Mantell in their corner. He fights out and tags Jaggers in. Jaggers cleans house on the Russians. He gets a two count on Koloff and now all four men in. Koloff gets Jaggers in a bear hug. Koloff grabs his chain, but Mantell grabs Shoo Baby and whips Koloff to the delight of the crowd. He then whips Kruschev. Kruschev and Mantell fight to the outside while Koloff and Jaggers are inside. McGowan goes out and checks on Mantell. Kruschev grabs the chain and hits Jaggers and Koloff gets the pin.
-Greensboro. Strap Match. Wahoo McDaniel vs. Rick Rude with Paul Jones: They have this cheesy dubbed music for Rude when he comes out. McDaniel gets a huge reaction when he is introduced. Rude starts posing, so McDaniel straps him. He continues after they are strapped together and the match starts. McDaniel chokes Rude with the strap. Rude goes out and McDaniel drags him back in the ring. Rude with a side headlock. Back and forth. Rude starts strapping a fallen McDaniel in the corner. He chokes McDaniel with the strap. He slams McDaniel down and gets two posts. McDaniel stops him and McDaniel hits Rude in the corner. He straps Rude several times. He ties Rude up and gets three posts before Rude breaks it up. Rude hits a top rope fist drop. Back and forth. Rude goes back up top, but McDaniel yanks him off. McDaniel wraps Rude up and gets three posts. Jones climbs up on the apron and McDaniel chops him off. Rude attacks McDaniel from behind, but that pushes McDaniel into the last post and he wins. Jones and Rude attack McDaniel after the match. Baron Von Raschke and Hector Guerrero come out and the heels leave.
-Rick Stewart interviews Ivan Koloff and Krusher Kruschev. They talk about still being champions and about the Bunkhouse Stampedes coming up. Kruschev says if Nikita Koloff wins tonight, Kruschev demands the first title shot.
-Atlanta: Central States Championship Match. Sam Houston vs. Bill Dundee: They just stare at each other as the bell rings. They circle each other. Lock up and drive to a corner. They exchange holds. Dundee with a side headlock takeover. Houston gets to the ropes. Houston with a headscissors. Into a dropkick. Dundee gets Houston down and Houston complains that his hair was pulled. Back and forth. Houston with a side headlock takeover. Houston rolls Dundee up and Dundee grabs the trunks to get out of the move. Dundee slingshots Houston to the outside. Dundee comes out and Houston atomic drops him to the outside. Houston continues the assault back inside. Dundee catches Houston and hits a top rope fist drop on him. He gets a two count. Dundee continues to attack Houston. Back and forth. Houston won't stay down. Dundee with a Boston crab. Houston holds on and gets to the ropes. Houston thrown back outside. Dundee climbs up and walks along the ropes to attack Houston with a double ax handle as soon as he gets in the ring. He gets a two count. Dundee with a front face lock. Houston runs Dundee into a corner to break the hold. Houston drops a knee on Dundee. He misses a second one when Dundee moves. Dundee drops down on Houston's knee. Referee Scrappy McGowan taken out by a stray shot and Dundee hits Houston with Houston's own boot. He covers Houston, but McGowan calls for the bell and disqualifies Dundee.
-Greensboro: Jimmy Valiant with Big Mama vs. Paul Jones: Hair vs Hair. Manny Fernandez will be locked in Betty Lou, the mini cage that will hang above the ring. Fernandez refuses to go into the cage. He argues with the referee, then fights off several wrestlers until Wahoo McDaniel comes down and chops Fernandez into the cage. The crowd pops huge for that. The bell rings and Valiant attacks Jones right away and knocks Jones down several times and Jones begging off. Valiant rakes Jones front and back. He hip tosses Jones. Jones in the corner and the referee gets Valiant off, allowing Jones to grab something from his trunks and hit Valiant with it. He attacks Valiant on the mat and Valiant is bleeding. Jones gets a two count, but Valiant gets his foot on the ropes. Jones hits Valiant with the object again. Back and forth. Valiant gets the sleeper on Jones. Jones fighting it, so Valiant throws him into a corner. Whatever object Jones had goes flying and Valiant goes to pick it up. He hits Jones with it and pins him. The fans go wild. They shave Jones' head. The fans started chanting bald headed geek to Jones. Fernandez gets out of the cage. Fernandez attacks Valiant and is joined by Rick Rude. They DDT Valiant into a chair. They then cover Jones up and leave. McDaniel and Baron Von Raschke check on Valiant. They finally got him up and out of the ring.
-Atlanta: Tony Schiavone talks about the Bunkhouse Stampede and they do a feature on it. We then get an intermission and then Tony talks about the 2nd Annual Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup.
-Ron Garvin vs. Big Bubba with Jim Cornette: A Louisville Street Fight. They have knock off Peter Gunn music for Bubba's entrance. They just stare at each other. The bell rings and Garvin hits a shot to Bubba. He does it again. Bubba won't go down though. Bubba wants a test of strength. Garvin hits Bubba with a series of right hands to knock Bubba down to the mat, so he rolls out to regroup with Cornette. Bubba throws Garvin out of the ring. They said the fight can take place anywhere on the Omni floor, so why is Tommy Young counting? Bubba beats Garvin down with forearms and then throws him back in the ring. Garvin grabs a cup of soda from the announce table and throws it in Bubba's eyes. He then peppers Bubba with his right hands to knock Bubba down. He gets up and Garvin hits him repeatedly to drive Bubba back outside. Cornette hands Bubba something. Garvin with a front face lock to Bubba when he gets back in. Garvin then starts choking Bubba. Back and forth in a corner. Bubba gets the advantage when he hits Garvin with a roll of nickels. Garvin gets up on the 8 count and he is bleeding. Bubba knocks him down again. Garvin again back to his feet on the 8 count. Bubba with a scoop slam and an elbow for a two count. Garvin back to his feet on the 8 count yet again. Garvin pulls some green cord out of his boot and wraps it around Bubba. He tries to tie Bubba to the ropes. Bubba keeps coming after Garvin. He gets Garvin in a bear hug. Garvin headbutts Bubba to break the hold. Bubba goes back to the bear hug and Garvin starts to headbutt him again. Garvin gets out of the bear hug and knocks Bubba to the ringside area. Bubba back in the ring at 7 and Garvin keeps the attack up. They fight out to the floor. Garvin thrown back in. Bubba goes up top, but gets caught and thrown off. Garvin covers, but Bubba kicks out so hard, Garvin goes flying and lands on Tommy Young. Garvin hits a piledriver and covers Bubba, but there is no referee. Cornette hits Garvin with the tennis racket. Young recovers and both men are down for the count of 10. Young says the first man to his feet wins the match. Young pushes Cornette off the apron. Garvin trying to get up, but Cornette clips him with the racket. Bubba up and wins the match. A bullshit chant goes out.
-Greensboro: NWA World's Television Championship First Blood Match. Dusty Rhodes vs. Tully Blanchard with JJ Dillon: Blanchard and Dillon out first. Rhodes comes out with a short haircut with Tully written on the side of his head. He is shown walking from his dressing room to the ring. He has a Magnum TA shirt on. Dillon starts to put wrestling headgear on Blanchard. The fans chant at Blanchard to take it off. He does so and JJ then puts Vaseline on Blanchard's face. Rhodes and the crows protest that as well until it gets wiped off. Dillon gets in Rhodes' face and Rhodes hits him with the elbow and JJ bleeds. Blanchard checks on JJ. The crowd yells out Dusty. Rhodes with some shots to Blanchard, who is selling like crazy here. They go back and forth in a corner. Rhodes cocks his elbow and tells Blanchard to bring it. Blanchard avoiding the elbow. Back and forth with both men avoiding big blows. Blanchard rolls outside to confer with JJ. He gets in and Rhodes headbutts Blanchard. Blanchard begging off. He covers up. Rhodes unloading on Blanchard. He drops an arm on Blanchard. Blanchard bails to the outside again. Back in, Blanchard gets a snap mare and an elbow drop on Rhodes. Back and forth. Rhodes runs Blanchard into a turnbuckle. Referee Earl Hebner goes down. JJ throws Blanchard his shoe, but Rhodes catches Blanchard and suplexes him into Hebner and he goes back down. Rhodes throws the shoe away and works on the forehead and Blanchard is bleeding. But Hebner is still out. JJ works on the head of Blanchard cleaning it and rubbing Vaseline on it. He then hands Blanchard a roll of coins. Blanchard hits Rhodes with the roll of coins. Rhodes down. He comes up bleeding as the ref comes to. Blanchard wins and is the new TV champion. Rhodes screaming at the referee.
-Atlanta: Scaffold Match. The Road Warriors Hawk and Animal with Paul Ellering vs. The Midnight Express Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton with Jim Cornette and Big Bubba: The MX out first and getting booed heavily. Road Warriors and Ellering out to a huge ovation. They immediately start to go up the scaffold. They tell the MX to come up and Cornette looks dejected. They do the introductions and the MX starts to climb. They take their time but eventually get up and the Road Warriors shake the scaffold. Road Warriors attack the MX as soon as the bell rings. It's forearms and holds here. Condrey hits Hawk with some powder. Eaton hits Animal with powder. Condrey trying to kick Hawk off. Hawk holding on. Eaton gets knocked halfway off and is holding on by the ladder. He climbs back to the scaffold. Both MX bleeding. Condrey tries to crawl down, but Hawk grabs him by the hair. Hawk follows and tries to kick Condrey off. They battle on one side. Condrey and Eaton trying to climb away on the rungs, but the Road Warriors kick them off to win the match. Ellering gets the racket and chases Cornette up the scaffold. Animal is up there. Cornette tries to get away and falls and messes his leg up forever, which is a story he has told countless times.
-Great American Bash Tour commercial. They then run the credits before the final two matches.
-Greensboro: Cage Match for the World Tag Team Championship. The Rock 'N Roll Express Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson vs. Ole and Arn Anderson: The Anderson's come out looking all business. Rock N' Roll Express is extremely popular with the fans. Gibson and Ole start. Gibson using quickness to stay away from the Anderson's. All four men in the ring. Anderson's double teaming Gibson while Referee Earl Hebner was getting Morton out. Arn bumping for both members of the Rock N' Roll Express. Ole tagged back in. Back and forth. Morton tagged in. A Rock 'N Roll chant goes out. Arn tagged in. They trade moves. Gibson tagged in. Arn runs Gibson's knee into the cage after avoiding a running knee. Ole tagged in. He continues to punish the knee. Anderson brothers are quick tagging. Gibson trying to tag Morton in, but keeps getting cut off. Ole working on the injured leg of Gibson. Arn tagged in and he keeps Gibson down. Gibson finally tags Morton in and the place comes unglued. Ole runs Morton into the cage. Ole gets a two count. Morton is being punished and he is bleeding. Arn tagged in and the Anderson's are double teaming to perfection. Arn bites Morton in a corner and rubs his face into the cage. Gibson tries to come in, but gets cut off by Hebner. Ole tagged in and the Anderson's have cut the ring in half and keeping Morton in their corner. Ole with a corner whip and an arm bar. He then stomps the arm. Arn tagged in and keeps up the assault. Morton catches Arn with a shot as Arn was coming off the second rope and DDTs Arn. Now all four men in again. Hebner gets Gibson out, allowing the Anderson's to continue double teaming. Morton was sent into the cage again. Ole with a shoulder breaker for a two count. Arn tagged in. He beats on Morton's arm and Morton's face is a bloody mess. Ole tagged in. He goes back to the arm bar as the Rock & Roll chant goes out. Anderson's double teaming Morton again. Morton trying to fight back. Anderson's cut off another tag attempt. Arn back in. Morton starts to come back, but gets cut off by an Arn spinebuster. Gibson breaks up the pin attempt. Arn holds Morton while Ole comes off with a knee to the back of Morton from the top rope. Ole with an arm bar as the Rock & Roll chant goes out again. Morton comes back. A push off after an Ole side headlock and both collide in the ring. Arn tagged in and cuts off a Morton tag attempt. Morton attempting to come back. Back and forth. Ole tagged in and stops Morton from tagging. Morton gets a quick small package and Arn has to break up the pin attempt. All four men in now. Ole picks Morton up, but Gibson dropkicks Morton to cause him to fall on Ole and get the pin. The Anderson's attack the RNR and the referee after the match.
-Atlanta: NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match. Ric Flair vs. Nikita Koloff: They have this whole pyrotechnic display go off for Flair. He has to stand there for it and his song plays through before he heads to the ring. He gets some boos, but also has his share of fans. They show a Magnum TA video. Weird placement for this in this show. Maybe they are tying this to Koloff? Koloff is then shown and a Nikita chant goes out. Koloff is the current US Champion, but his title is not on the line. Referee Tommy Young checks both wrestlers. They are face to face. The bell rings and they circle each other. Koloff just pushes Flair off. He does it again and Flair goes outside to regroup. Back in and Koloff wins a test of strength. Flair comes back with chops to no avail. Flair goes back outside. Back in and Koloff gets a side headlock. There is this annoying fan who keeps saying lets go Ric and she has the worst voice. Flair slammed down. Flair then slammed out of the corner. They lock up again and go to a corner. Flair repeatedly getting slammed off. Flair begging off. All Koloff so far as he gets a bear hug on Flair. Koloff gets Flair down on the mat for some two counts. They get to a corner and Koloff runs his shoulder into Flair several times. He corner whips Flair, but misses a charge when Flair moves. Flair with a suplex and when Koloff comes down, his penis pops out. That's a small bird on full display. Young, being the consummate professional, pulls Koloff's singlet back over. Koloff back to his feet and Flair begging off. Flair goes back outside. He gets back in and Koloff with a side headlock. Flair trying to break the hold and they finally get to the ropes. Flair chopping Koloff. Back and forth and Koloff hits the Russian Hammer. The momentum of a collision sends Koloff outside. Flair slams Koloff's leg against a ring post and then he clips Koloff's leg. He keeps up the attack on Koloff's leg. Flair gets the figure four on and uses the ropes for leverage. Koloff reverses the hold, but they are in the ropes. Flair goes back to attacking the leg and runs Koloff's head along the ropes. Flair then chops Koloff again. Koloff coming back and Flair begs off. Koloff pushes Flair. Back and forth. Flair throws Koloff to the outside. Flair comes out after Koloff and runs him into the scaffold. Back in, Flair with a snap mare and Koloff is bleeding. Flair gets a two count. Another two count and Koloff kicks out. Flair attacks the head with punches. Koloff up and stalking Flair and Flair begging off again. Koloff attacks Flair in the corner and then hip tosses Flair out of the corner. He corner whips Flair, who goes up and over and falls out of the ring and Koloff goes after him. He runs Flair into the scaffold and Flair is bleeding. Flair gets back in the ring and does the Flair flop. Flair with an Irish whip and Koloff comes back with a shoulder block and Flair runs into Young, who spills out to the floor. Flair with a corner whip and Koloff comes back with the Russian Sickle. Scrappy McGowan out to check on Young. Koloff comes over to get Young and Flair hits him with a knee from behind. McGowan counts and Flair gets a two count. Koloff goes for another Russian Sickle. Flair ducks and McGowan gets taken out. Koloff choking Flair. Young gets in to break it up and Koloff tosses him aside. He does it again and the bell rings. They keep fighting. Koloff takes everyone out with the Russian Sickle as they come in. Heels grab Koloff for Flair to hit. Other wrestlers split them up. Young says both men are disqualified. They break free and start fighting again. They finally get separated. Tony and Rick run down what we have seen and sign off from Starrcade with a highlight package.
-Final Thoughts: This was a fantastic show that capped off a fantastic year for JCP. Definite recommend.