-Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you are enjoying your day with loved ones and good food.
-Get out of my car!
-Today we take a look at Starrcade ‘84: The Million Dollar Challenge from the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions.
-Starrcade ‘84 was shown via closed circuit on November 22, 1984 from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. There were 16,000 in attendance.
-We open with footage from Starrcade ‘83 of Ric Flair winning the NWA title. We then go to a live shot of Bob Caudle and Gordon Solie who welcome us to Starrcade ‘84. They will be our announcers for the evening. They talk a little about the main event. They go to Tom Miller who welcomes us to Starrcade ‘84. The crowd is ready for the action and the excitement is electric.
-NWA World's Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match. Mike Davis VS. Denny Brown: Davis is extremely over with the crowd. They must know something I don’t. They lock up and Davis with a side headlock. Brown pushes off and Davis comes back with the shoulder block. Brown with a hip toss. Brown with a headscissors takeover. Then another one. Brown with an arm drag. Brown with an arm bar. Davis fights back to his feet. Davis goes for a scoop slam, but Brown slides behind him. Brown tries a rollup, but Davis holds onto the ropes. Brown with another arm drag. He goes back to the arm bar. Brown then with a takedown. Then another takedown when Davis tries to get back up. Davis finally does get back to his feet. He Irish whips Brown. Brown comes back with a shoulder block. Brown goes for another shoulder block. Davis drops down and Brown very awkwardly spills to the outside. Davis goes out and checks on Brown and holds the ropes open for him to climb through. They lock up and Davis with a scoop slam. Then another scoop slam to Brown. Davis follows that up with a backbreaker. Davis gets a couple of two counts, but Brown gets his shoulders up. Brown reverses an Irish whip. Brown follows it up with a flying forearm. Brown favoring his lower back. He comes over and Davis surprises him with an inside cradle for a two count. Davis with a right hand to Brown. Davis with a corner whip. Brown comes back with a reverse flying forearm off the second rope. Both down and Brown the first to get back to his feet. Brown with an Irish whip and a backdrop on Davis. Brown with a dropkick. He gets a two count on Davis. Brown with a right hand and an Irish whip to Davis. Brown with a drop down and they collide in the middle of the ring and both men down. A double count going. Both get back up and Brown with a forearm shot. Brown with a series of European uppercuts to Davis. Davis' reversal of a Brown corner whip runs Brown straight back into the turnbuckle and Davis hits a belly to back suplex and gets the pin. Brown lifted his shoulder up at the last moment and there is some confusion as Tom Miller and the announcers both think that Davis has won, but referee Earl Hebner gives the belt to Brown. The announcers are confused and watch the replay. New World Jr. Heavyweight Champion!
-They throw it to Tony Schiavone in the dressing room. Tony talks about being in the dressing room and what happened last year as Ric Flair is pacing behind him. Tony says that tonight, he will be talking to all the wrestlers, then he talks about the main event for one million dollars and the NWA title.
-Mr. Ito VS. Brian Adias: Adias is mistakenly referred to as Brian “Adidas” here. Adias gets a fantastic reception when he comes out. The bell rings and they lock up. Up against the ropes and break clean. Lock up again and Adias with a side headlock. Transitions to a hammerlock. Ito reverses the hammerlock. Adias reverses it back. Ito with a drop toe hold. They lock up again. Ito with a side headlock. Adias pushes off. Adias drops down and leapfrogs Ito. Adias catches Ito with a dropkick. Adias with a side headlock takeover. Ito reverses positions for a two count. Adias keeps the side headlock on. Adias cranks it on Ito. Ito gets back to his feet and hits Adias with elbows to try and get out of the headlock. He breaks it into a top wristlock. Ito gets Adias down and into an arm bar. Adias back up and Ito pulls his hair to get him back down. He does it again. Ito back to the wristlock. They trade arm wringers. Adias drives a knee down on Ito’s arm. He drops another knee and then does a leg drop on the left arm. Adias then goes back to the arm bar. Ito back to his feet and gets Adias with a scoop slam, but Adias holds on to the arm bar throughout. Ito with a series of punches to the stomach of Adias. Then a shot to Adias’ jaw. Then a chop to Adias’ throat. Adias fighting back. Adias with an Irish whip. He gets Ito up in an airplane spin. He spins him down and gets the pin.
-NWA Florida Championship Match. Jesse Barr VS. Mike Graham: Bell rings and they lock up and get into the ropes. Break clean and lock up again. Graham with an arm drag. Barr counters with a leg scissors. Graham back up and hits a drop toe hold. Graham with a single leg lock. Barr reaches back and gets Graham with a chin lock. Graham is fighting to get out. Graham with another arm drag to get out of the hold and gets a two count. Barr counters with an arm bar. Graham fights back to his feet again and Barr grabs the hair to get Graham back on the mat. Graham gets back up and Barr with a wristlock. Graham with a back elbow to break the hold and comes back with a shoulder block. Graham with an arm drag and gets a two count and Barr counters with the wristlock. They get to the ropes. Barr with a knee to the stomach of Graham. Barr twisting Graham into the ropes and takes the four count. He does it several times. Graham reverses a corner whip and gets a drop toe hold. He turns it into sort of an inverted Indian Deathlock. Graham goes for a figure four, but Barr rolls out of the way. Barr stalling for a bit and not locking up. They do finally lock up and Barr goes to the ropes and uses them for leverage to drive Graham back to his knees. Graham fighting back to his feet again. Barr with a boot to the midsection. Graham comes back with a shoulder to the stomach of Barr. Graham with a fireman’s carry takeover into an arm bar. Barr drives Graham back to the ropes. Barr with an Irish whip. Graham ducks a double ax handle attempt and Barr leapfrogs Graham. Graham stops and hits a shot to Barr. Graham gets the figure four on. Barr gets to the ropes and pulls himself out of the ring to regroup. Back in the ring, they lock up again. Barr with a side headlock. It takes him a few tries, but Barr with a headlock takeover to Graham. Graham rolls it into a pinning predicament for a one count before Barr shifts back and says that Graham pulled his trunks. Graham trying to fight back to his feet. Graham tries to push off, but Barr keeps the hold on. The crowd says he grabbed a handful of hair, but Barr denies it. It happens again. Graham lifts up and hits Barr with a knee breaker to get out of the hold. Graham working on the left leg of Barr. Barr reaches up to try to grab Graham by the hair to get out of the hold, but Graham keeps chopping him back down. Graham drives his knee several times into the leg. Graham gets the figure four on. Barr fights it and gets to the ropes again. Barr with an Irish whip. Graham comes back to the side headlock. Barr pushes off and runs Graham into the referee. Graham gets Barr rolled up into a small package, but there isn’t a referee to count. Barr with a side headlock. Graham pushes off. Barr comes back with a shoulder block. They run the ropes and Graham grabs Barr and rolls him up for a two count until Barr reverses it and gets a two count. Graham ducks a clothesline attempt. Graham with an atomic drop. Barr runs into the corner turnbuckle. He gets Graham down and pins him using the ropes.
-Flashback to Rick Steamboat and Dick Slater facing the Long Riders and Slater being tied up and Steamboat being attacked by Tully Blanchard and the Long Riders.
-Tag Team Elimination Match. The Zambuie Express Elijah Akeem and Kareem Muhammed with Paul Jones VS. The Assassin #1 and Buzz Tyler: Assassin tries to get a weasel chant going against Jones. All four in and fighting to begin. Tyler and Muhammed start. They lock up and get to the ropes. Muhammed with a big right hand and an Irish whip. Tyler ducks a clothesline attempt and hits a right hand to knock Muhammed out of the ring. Assassin and Akeem both tagged in. They lock up. Akeem drives Assassin to the ropes and hits some right forearms on Assassin. Assassin reverses a corner whip and hits a right hand to knock Akeem down. Akeem in the wrong corner as the faces take turns hitting him as he bounces back and forth between them. He gets knocked down and rolls out to regroup. Tyler and Muhammed both tagged back in. They lock up and Muhammed with a side headlock and punching Tyler. Muhammed Irish whips Tyler into a back elbow by Akeem in the heels corner. Akeem tagged in and hits a shoulder block to Tyler. Akeem with a headbutt and Tyler trying to come back with some shots. He fights out of the corner and knocks Akeem down and gets a two count. All four men in now. Akeem and Tyler go to the outside. Muhammed with an Irish whip to Assassin and they collide in the ring and Muhammed falls down. Jones gets up on the ropes and referee Earl Hebner comes over to tell him to get down. Tyler pushes Assassin onto Muhammed and Assassin gets the pin. The Assassin then goes after Paul Jones. Akeem and Tyler had been counted out. It’s very confusing, but the faces win.
-Bob and Gordon talk about some of the things we’ve seen so far tonight.
-Tony Schiavone talks to Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes is sitting down dressed very casually in a t-shirt, jeans, glasses, and a truckers cap with a satin Dusty jacket draped over him. Tony asks him if this is the biggest match of his life. Rhodes says Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair’s names have been etched in stone throughout the world. He says there is no more talking. The time for talk and show business is over. He says a short time from now, $1,000,000 and the world title are coming to him. He tells Joe Frazier not to stick his nose in Dusty Rhodes’ business.
-NWA Brass Knuckles Championship match. Black Bart with JJ Dillon VS. Manny Fernandez: They lock up and trade shots. Fernandez with a big right hand. Fernandez with a series of left jabs to Bart. Then a hard right hand and a chop and Bart is knocked down. They lock up again and Bart with a knee to the stomach. They trade jabs and chops. Fernandez knocks Bart down again. They lock up again and Bart with a side headlock. He hits Fernandez with a couple of right hands. Fernandez with a back kick and a back elbow. Fernandez misses a right hand when Bart ducks. Bart with an Irish whip and a right hand. Bart keeps knocking Fernandez down, but Fernandez keeps getting back to his feet. He hits him with three hard right hands and Fernandez is bleeding from the forehead. Bart with an elbow to the head. He knocks Fernandez down again. He knocks him back down as soon as Fernandez gets back up. Fernandez comes back with a chop. Fernandez with an Irish whip and a big chop coming off of the ropes. He hits several shots to Bart to knock him over the ropes to the outside. Fernandez hits Bart with a shot to the floor from the apron. Dillon comes over to give Bart some encouragement and get him back in the ring. He gets back in the ring and Fernandez is ready for him and hits him with a right hand. Both men are bleeding. Fernandez with an Irish whip and another right hand to knock Bart down. Fernandez with a snap mare. Fernandez with a floatover right hand to Bart on the mat. He gets a two count. Fernandez with another right hand from the second rope to knock Bart down again. He gets another two count. Bart with a low blow to knock Fernandez to his knees. Bart with two right hands. He knocks Fernandez down as soon as he can get back up. Bart drops an elbow on Fernandez. He gets a two count. Bart guillotines Fernandez on the top rope. Bart shoves the referee away and Dillon throws him his rope, but Fernandez rolls him up and gets the three count. JJ is irate at referee Sonny Fargo.
-Intermission.
-Highlights from Starrcade ‘83.
-Tony Schiavone talks to Ricky Steamboat. Steamboat says everyone has talked about this evening all year long. He talks about his past year and his difficulties with Tully Blanchard. He is also subtly talking about his differences with head booker Dusty Rhodes.
-Bob and Gordon talk about the Ricky Steamboat/Tully Blanchard match.
-Tony Schiavone talks to Tully Blanchard and JJ Dillon. JJ says the last match his man got a raw decision and it’s just one of the things around here that he is objecting to. He says it looks like somebody has taken the opportunity to slander himself, The Long Riders, and Tully Blanchard. He said there is a lot of difference between pride in being from Texas and some conspiracy to do away with Ricky Steamboat. Blanchard says he is a superior wrestler to Steamboat. Steamboat has had to make excuses over the last three or four months. He has taken Steamboat to the time limit several times over the last months and now Steamboat wants to cry. He has Blanchard backed over the corner. If he gets disqualified, he loses the title. If he runs or stalls, Steamboat wins the title. Blanchard says it doesn’t matter. Steamboat is going down and then after that, it’s Dusty Rhodes or Ric Flair and the World’s Championship. He is on a path to destiny.
-Bob and Gordon talk more about the Steamboat/Blanchard confrontation. They then preview some other matches coming up.
-Tuxedo Street Fight Loser Leaves Town. Paul Jones with Elijah Akeem VS. Jimmy Valiant with Assassin #1: Valiant kisses Tom Miller as soon as he gets in the ring. The referee is trying to get the Assassin and Akeem out of the ring. Jones is running trying to get away from Valiant. Valiant wrapping a rope around Jones’ throat. He ties him to the top rope. Valiant takes off his own jacket and attacks Jones. He hits several right hands to Jones. He takes the flower out of Jones’ lapel and stuffs it in his mouth. He starts ripping off the coat of Jones. He goes after Jones' vest and coat. He rips the pants off of Jones. He still has what looks like his shirt and a little of his vest, his underwear, and his socks and shoes on. Valiant rips the shirt off. Jones gets free and attacks Valiant from behind. Jones drops knees and fists on Valiant. Valiant starts coming back. He hits Jones with a double ax handle. Valiant with an Irish whip and a sleeper on Jones. Jones is busted open at the forehead. Akeem gets up on the apron. Valiant comes over to hit Akeem and the referee gets taken out in the melee. The Assassin and Valiant go after Akeem. JJ Dillon comes out, hits Valiant in the head and knocks him out and puts Jones on him. Jones then gets the pin.
-Bob and Gordon talk about the last match while watching a replay.
-Tony Schiavone interviews Ric Flair. They talk about the upcoming match with Dusty Rhodes. Flair says the greatest honor of any wrestler in the world today is to be the world champion. The only honor greater than that is to win the world championship and hang onto it for a period of time. Whether fans like or dislike him they know he is the best wrestler today. One million dollars. The biggest purse ever put up in a wrestling match. He’s going in that ring gunning. Flair tells Rhodes he better be half the man that he told people he is, because he’s jumping on the number one stud.
-Mid-Atlantic Championship Match. Ron Bass with JJ Dillon VS. Dick Slater: Slater comes over and shoves Bass as he is trying to take off his chaps. They lock up and go to the ropes. They trade shots. Slater with an Irish whip and a back elbow. Slater then goes out after JJ. JJ runs in across the ring to get away and gets admonished by referee Sonny Fargo. They lock up again. Bass with an Irish whip and goes for a chop, but Slater ducks and rolls out of the ring. Slater goes after JJ again. Bass jumps Slater as soon as he gets back in the ring. Slater rolls to the outside to regroup. Slater finally gets back in the ring. Bass in the middle of the ring saying come on, wrestle me. He charges Slater in the corner and Slater moves. Slater with a chop to the throat and a hip lock takeover. Bass shifts to try to get a pin. He doesn’t and Slater goes back to the takeover. Bass fighting to get up. Bass pushes off. He hits Slater with a back elbow. Bass misses an elbow drop. Slater with a headbutt and another headlock takeover. Bass shifts and gets a two count. Slater with an atomic drop. Slater starts to go after JJ, who hightails it away. Slater gets on all fours and headbutts Bass as he tries to come through the ropes. Slater then snap mares Bass back in from the apron. Fargo catches Slater’s foot as he was going to bring it down on Bass. Bass hits Slater with a high knee. Bass runs Slater into the corner. He runs his head in several times. Slater falls to the ground. Bass has Slater caught up in the ropes and has him swinging up and down and hitting him as he comes up. Fargo pulls Bass away allowing JJ to attack Slater. Bass with a suplex. He gets a two count. Bass gets a bulldog. Slater comes back with a series of left and right hands. He gets a one count. Slater with a snap mare. He twists his boot into Bass’ face. Bass throws Slater to the outside. JJ attacks Slater on the outside. He then throws Slater back inside. Bass with a right hand to Slater’s neck. Bass with a fist to Slater’s jaw in the corner. He hits Slater with an uppercut. Slater tries to get away but Bass is following him. Bass with a corner whip. Slater grabs Bass in a bear hug on the charge in and turns him into the corner and hits him with several right hands. He shoves the referee out of the way. Slater with a belly to back suplex. He covers Bass and JJ comes in and hits Slater in the head. Slater scoop slams JJ. He knocks JJ out of the ring. Scoop slam to Bass. He drops a leg on Bass. He tries to cover again, but no referee is there to count. The referee disqualifies Slater for shoving him down. Slater goes after JJ and Bass.
-The US flag is shown as a USA chant goes out. The National Anthem is played on a horn.
-Ole Anderson and Keith Larson VS. Ivan and Nikita Koloff: Don Kernodle is in the corner of Anderson and Larson in a neck brace and crutches. The faces attack the heels right away. Larson knocks Ivan down with an elbow. Anderson kicks Nikita out of the ring. Larson with an Irish whip and a backdrop to Ivan. Larson with some forearms to knock Ivan back down. He gets a two count and attacks Ivan’s head with punches. Larson with big right hands to Ivan. Larson with another Irish whip and a dropkick. Ivan being nailed back and forth with right hands. Ivan ran into Anderson’s boot. Anderson tagged in. Anderson with a wrist lock to Ivan. Larson tagged back in and hits Ivan with a second rope elbow smash while Anderson holds him. Larson with a wrist lock and Anderson tagged back in. Anderson with an arm lock on Ivan and gets him down. Anderson tags Larson back in and holds Ivan for Larson to drop some knees on. Larson goes back to the arm bar as Ivan struggles to get back to his feet. Larson with some forearms to Ivan. Anderson tagged back in. He gets a hammerlock on Ivan. He scoop slams Ivan. Anderson stomps on Ivan several times. He delivers several forearms to Ivan. Larson tagged back in. Faces have done a good job in this match cutting the ring in half. Larson with a wrist lock. Larson with a snap mare. He drops a knee and an elbow on Ivan. Anderson tagged back in. Anderson puts on an arm bar. Anderson drags Ivan to the corner and tags Larson back in. Larson with a wrist lock. Ivan with an Irish whip. Larson comes back with a hip toss. He gets a two count. Anderson tagged back in. He Irish whips Ivan and he and Larson deliver a double back elbow. Anderson drops another elbow on Ivan for a two count. Ivan gets to the ropes to break Anderson’s hold on him. Anderson runs him shoulder first into the opposite corner. Larson tagged in. He has Ivan in a wrist lock. Ivan falls to his knees and is begging off. Ivan sinking to the mat. Larson drops some knees on Ivan. Ivan runs Larson into a corner. Larson reverses a corner whip. Ivan gets his knee up on the charge. Ivan goes up top, but gets caught and thrown off by Larson. He gets a two count. Larson gets a wrist lock and tags Anderson in. Anderson continues with the wrist lock. Larson tagged back in as the faces continue to keep Ivan in their corner. Larson has the arm lock on Ivan. Ivan is fighting the move. Anderson tagged in. He takes Ivan to a corner and ties him up in the ropes for a four count. Anderson with shots to Ivan’s lower back. Ivan rakes Anderson’s eyes. He runs Anderson into the turnbuckle and tags Nikita in. He and Anderson tangle up in the ropes. Anderson with a chop. Nikita runs his shoulder repeatedly into Anderson’s midsection. Nikita with a corner whip and drives his shoulder into the midsection again. Anderson starts to fight back with right and left hands. Nikita with an Irish whip and he gets Anderson up in a bear hug. Anderson trying to break the hold. The crowd is really getting into the match. Anderson hits Nikita with some right hands trying to break the hold. Ivan gets on the top rope. Larson tries to come in to stop him, but gets cut off by referee Tommy Young. This allows Ivan to come off and hit Anderson with a double ax handle. Anderson with a double clap to Nikita to break the hold. Ivan tagged in and gets an Irish whip and a back elbow to Anderson. Ivan with a scoop slam. He gets a two count. Nikita tagged in. Anderson fighting Nikita off on his knees trying to make a tag. Nikita goes back to the bear hug. A loud USA chant goes out. Anderson with big right hands to Nikita’s face to try to get out of the hold. Anderson finally breaks the hold. Larson tagged in and attacks Nikita. Ivan comes in and Larson runs his and Nikita’s heads together. Larson with an Irish whip and a back elbow to Nikita. Larson with another Irish whip, but Nikita holds on to the ropes. Nikita with an Irish whip and a modified choke slam on Larson. Ivan tagged back in. He guillotines Larson on the top rope. Ivan tries it again and Larson rolls him up in a small package. Nikita breaks up the pin attempt. All four men in now. Nikita dumped to the outside. Larson hits some big right hands to Ivan as Nikita comes around and attacks Don Kernodle. Anderson attacks Nikita. Ivan covers Larson for the pin as Anderson and Nikita battle on the outside. Nikita picks Larson up and puts him in a backbreaker as Ivan goes to come off the top rope with the chain as Kernodle comes and attacks both Russians with his crutch. The Russians retreat. Kernodle checks on Larson.
-Gordon and Bob review the last match. They then talk about the next match coming up.
-NWA Television Championship Match. Tully Blanchard VS. Ricky Steamboat: $20,000 winner takes all match. Disqualification has been waived and the no run rule is in effect. Steamboat gets a good reaction coming out. Blanchard takes his time getting in the ring. JJ Dillon is not out with Blanchard. They lock up and get to the ropes. Blanchard with a big right hand. Blanchard attacking the rib area of Steamboat. He hits an elbow on Steamboat. Back and forth. Steamboat knocks Blanchard down. He tries to go out of the ring, but Steamboat catches him in a snap mare. Steamboat with a chop to the throat of Blanchard. Blanchard out on the apron and Steamboat suplexes him back inside. Steamboat then drops another chop on Blanchard’s throat. He gets a two count. Steamboat then covers Blanchard’s back and has some kind of hold on him. It is a modified rear chin lock. Blanchard with a side headlock takeover, but Steamboat holds on and doesn’t break the hold. Blanchard gets to the ropes. They battle for position. Steamboat with a high knee lift to Blanchard. They circle each other and Steamboat is holding his ribs. Blanchard with right hands to the rib cage. Blanchard with a backbreaker. Blanchard then kicks the ribs. Blanchard with an Irish whip and a back elbow. Blanchard drops a knee on Steamboat’s back. Then a series of knees to the back while Steamboat is on the ropes. Blanchard with a knee to Steamboat and then drives him back first into the turnbuckle. Steamboat lifts up and kicks Blanchard from the corner. Steamboat with a headbutt. Steamboat with an elbow and a karate shot to knock Blanchard down. Two more chops and Blanchard falls back down. Steamboat drops a knee on Blanchard. Then another one. He gets a two count. Steamboat with a headlock. Blanchard gets into the ropes and Steamboat tries to hold on. Blanchard plants a knee into his ribcage and the hold is broken. Blanchard with a belly to back suplex. Blanchard with a running fist drop to Steamboat’s back. He gets a one count. Steamboat reverses back into a chin lock. Blanchard too close to the ropes. They circle each other for a minute. Blanchard spits on Steamboat. Steamboat with an Irish whip and he leapfrogs Blanchard a couple of times and then powerslams him. He gets a two count. Steamboat runs Blanchard into a turnbuckle. A double chop knocks Blanchard down. He gets a two count. He hits a right hand to Blanchard. Steamboat with Blanchard pinned in the corner and hitting shots to Blanchard. He gets a four count from the referee and Blanchard falls down on the mat. Steamboat drops a knee. He picks Blanchard up by the hair and Blanchard is swinging wildly. Steamboat with a chop to Blanchard’s head to knock him down again. He gets another two count. Blanchard swings wildly at Steamboat. Blanchard busted open. Steamboat spits in his face. Steamboat with chops to Blanchard. Another series of chops to Blanchard in the corner. Steamboat with a swinging neck breaker. Blanchard kicks out at two. Steamboat with a slingshot suplex on Blanchard. That gets another two count. Steamboat with a standing dropkick for another two count. Another chop knocks Blanchard down again. Blanchard goes out to the apron and Steamboat hits him with another right hand. Blanchard has something in his hand and goes to hit Steamboat with it. Steamboat ducks and belly to back suplexes Blanchard back inside. While Blanchard is being suplexed, he hits Steamboat with the object and a double count is going. Blanchard with a jumping crossbody to get a two count. Blanchard hits Steamboat with a right hand and Steamboat swings wildly as he falls to the mat. Blanchard drops a knee on Steamboat and then puts him on the top turnbuckle. Blanchard goes to superplex Steamboat, but Steamboat pushes Blanchard off. Steamboat hits a big splash. He gets a close two count. Blanchard reverses an Irish whip. Steamboat comes back with a sunset flip. Blanchard takes something out of his tights and hits Steamboat with it. Blanchard then pins Steamboat. Blanchard raises the TV Championship high.
-Bob and Gordon review the end of the match.
-United States Championship Match. Wahoo McDaniel VS. Billy Graham: This is karate era Graham. The bell rings as referee Tommy Young is checking both participants. They finally lock up and McDaniel breaks the hold. They lock up again. and McDaniel with a wrist lock. Graham with a hair pull to knock McDaniel down. They lock up again and McDaniel pushes Graham away. Another lock up and Graham pushes McDaniel away. Another lock up and they go to the corner. McDaniel with an eye rake. Then the hardest chop in the business. McDaniel with a series of forearms and chops. McDaniel with some right hands to Graham. A couple of chops and a corner whip by McDaniel. Then he follows it up with some forearms. Graham reverses a corner whip. He gets a full nelson on McDaniel. McDaniel gets to the ropes. Graham breaks the hold on the three count. Graham gets McDaniel down and goes for the full nelson again. McDaniel starting to fade. Graham covers him and gets a two count. Graham with an Irish whip and a back elbow. He then drops an elbow on McDaniel. He gets another two count. McDaniel with a left hand to the gut of Graham. McDaniel with some shots. Graham gets a side headlock on. McDaniel pushes off. Graham comes back with a shoulder block. McDaniel with a chop to knock Graham down. He then pins Graham. This was a clunky match. Graham claims that his tights were pulled, but the replay shows both of McDaniel’s hands on Graham’s chest during the pin.
-They show the ending to Starrcade ‘83 again. They love showing this clip.
-Bob and Gordone talk about the main event.
-Tony Schiavone interviews Duke Keomuka, Kyle Petty, and Smokin Joe Frazier. If the match goes 60 minutes, the three will get together to decide the winner. Keomuka says they are two great wrestlers and whoever wins it, wins it. Frazier says they know it’s a championship fight. Frazier is punchy. He says he will call it fairly. Petty says like in NASCAR, you’ve got to be aggressive. He says they will have to see who’s the most aggressive. It will be a tough decision, but he thinks the judges will make the right one.
-Bob and Gordon talk about the judges having to decide the match should it go the full hour.
-Main Event for $1,000,000 and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Ric Flair VS. Dusty Rhodes: Smokin Joe Frazier is the referee. Rhodes comes out in a purplish robe with a hood to a great ovation. He is tremendously over with the crowd. Flair is mobbed coming to the ring. It takes several cops and referees to actually get him there. He is wearing a pink robe. Tom Miller makes the introductions. The crowd boos Keomuka, but gives Petty a great ovation when he is introduced. Frazier gets a good ovation when introduced. The crowd is mixed on Rhodes when he is introduced. Flair gets mostly cheers with a smattering of boos as he is introduced. They meet with Frazier in the center of the ring. He goes over the rules. The Bell rings. They circle each other. They lock up. They go to the corner. Break clean. They lock up again. Rhodes with a side headlock. Flair pushes off. Rhodes with a shoulder block. Rhodes with an elbow. Rhodes goes back to a headlock. Flair driven down to one knee. Flair gets back to the ropes. They break. They lock up again. Flair drives a knee into Rhodes’ stomach. Flair with a chop. Flair now chopping Rhodes in the corner. Rhodes coming back with jabs in the corner and Flair backpedaling. Rhodes goes back to the headlock as Gordon is channeling his inner Jim Ross and talking about Rhodes’ athletic career IYDAH. Flair pushes off. Rhodes comes back with a shoulder block. Flair leap frogs a charge. Rhodes comes back with another elbow. Flair chops Rhodes in the corner. He then starts working on Rhodes with some jabs in the corner. Flair with a snap mare. Flair drops the knees on Rhodes’ head. He gets a two count and Frazier has a fast count. I think it caught both Flair and Rhodes off guard because Rhodes kicked out quickly. Flair with a knee to Rhodes. Flair runs Rhodes head first into one of the turnbuckles. Flair with a snap mare. Flair goes to drop a knee on Rhodes, who moves out of the way. Rhodes gets Flair in the figure four. Flair fighting to get out of the move. Frazier almost counts Flair down twice. Flair tries to reach the ropes, but he is too far away. He pulls himself some to get to the ropes. Rhodes breaks the hold. Rhodes drops an elbow to the knee to soften it up. He puts a leg lock on Flair, who grabs Rhodes in a headlock. Flair turns Rhodes over and starts punching him in the face. Both get back to their feet. Flair comes over to Rhodes visibly limping. They lock up again. Rhodes with a side headlock on. He then switches that to a wrist lock trying to drive Flair down to the mat again. Flair back up and drives Rhodes to the corner. Flair drives his shoulder into Rhodes’ midsection. Rhodes reverses and starts chopping Flair in the corner. Rhodes with another elbow to knock Flair down. Flair with a knee to the stomach and a charge off the ropes to Rhodes, who catches Flair in a scoop slam. Rhodes catches Flair in a chop and Flair does his falling face first spot IYDAH. Another elbow by Rhodes. Flair responds with a chop in the corner. They go back and forth on each other in the corner. Rhodes with a corner whip and Flair goes up and over the corner and out to the floor. Frazier moves Rhodes back to the corner so that he can start to count Flair out. Flair up on the apron and Rhodes grabs him, but Frazier keeps getting in the way. Despite this. Rhodes suplexes Flair in. He gets Flair down. He gets a two count and Frazier’s count is much slower this time. Both men to their feet. They trade chops. Rhodes with a headlock. Flair pushes off. Rhodes comes back with a shoulder block. Rhodes with a charge off the ropes. Flair with a back elbow. Flair whoos and struts. Flair goes up top, but gets caught and slammed off. Rhodes goes to drop an elbow, but misses. Flair goes for a right hand to Rhodes, who blocks it and hits Flair with a right of his own. Flair reverses an Irish whip and gets Rhodes in a sleeper. Rhodes drops down near the ropes and Flair goes tumbling to the outside. Flair pulls Rhodes out of the ring and starts chopping him. Back and forth on the floor. Flair runs Rhodes into the corner post. Flair gets back in the ring and Frazier tries to keep him back so that he can count Rhodes. Rhodes up against the barricade and he is busted open around his eye and blood is everywhere. Rhodes gets back in the ring and Frazier keeps Flair back so that he can check the eye. Flair jumps on Rhodes and snap mares him. He then starts punching Rhodes in the bad eye while Rhodes is down. Rhodes fires back with shots and elbows to Flair, knocking him down. Flair drives Rhodes to the corner and drives his shoulder into Rhodes’ midsection. Frazier pulls Flair off and checks Rhodes’ eye again. Frazier refers with Keomuka as Flair and Rhodes go at it again. Frazier then separates the two again. He checks Rhodes’ eye again and then signals for the bell. He stops the match due to the cut to the eye. Rhodes starts to go after Frazier but is restrained by other wrestlers. Flair is presented with the million dollar check by Jim Crockett on the outside of the ring. Flair kisses the check. Manny Fernandez is in the ring helping Rhodes to treat his eye. He has a towel wrapped around the eye. Rhodes finally makes his way out of the ring.
-Gordon and Bob review the match and watch some of the replay of the end of the match.
-Tony Schiavone interviews Ric Flair. Flair shows off his check. He says it may be unfortunate the way that it happened, but he said that when he got in the ring he was going 120%. He says Rhodes was doing the same and whether Joe Frazier should have stopped the match or not is not his business. All he had to do was make sure that he walked out with the check and the title which he did. He’s thankful to be the world’s champion. He’ll be back here next year.
-Bob and Gordon talk about the great job the crew have done and then talk about how disappointed Dusty Rhodes must be. A fan wanders behind them and sees himself on TV and just stands there. They switch shots to the arena emptying out.
-Tony Schiavone talks to Dusty Rhodes in the dressing room. Rhodes is with Manny Fernandez. Rhodes says he has never had a match stopped by any means before yelling this is wrestling, Joe Frazier! This isn’t boxing, these are men. We are talking a million dollars. This is what we have to offer and stitches in his head don’t mean a thing to him. He tells Frazier that some time, some place he is going to get him. He tells Flair that if he calls this a victory, he needs to go home and kiss his mama. This ain’t no victory, this ain’t over. He tells Flair to spend his money well, don’t throw it away. He says the American Dream lives and continues to live. He then tells Tony Schiavone to get out.
-Bob and Gordon talk about Dusty Rhodes being very disappointed. They sign off and throw it to a highlight package of the evening.
-Tony Schiavone then interviews Joe Frazier. Frazier rambles through an interview saying people are looking at the money, but it was a serious cut. They were hitting each other from the beginning and he was trying to warn them and get between them. It was over the eye and a bad cut and he talked it over before he got in the ring that if one of them got injured, he needed to stop the match because he was closest to the cut.
-Tony then signs off from Greensboro.
-Final Thoughts: An okay show. Not as good as Starrcade ‘83. The main event was disappointing.