Nashville, Tennessee
CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, "Hollywood" Hogan is the WCW World Champion, the United States Championship is vacant, Lord Steven Regal is the Television Champion, the Outsiders hold the WCW World Tag Team Champion, and Dean Malenko is the WCW Cruiserweight Champion.
COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes, and Bobby Heenan
CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, "Hollywood" Hogan is the WCW World Champion, the United States Championship is vacant, Lord Steven Regal is the Television Champion, the Outsiders hold the WCW World Tag Team Champion, and Dean Malenko is the WCW Cruiserweight Champion.
COMMENTATORS: Tony Schiavone, Dusty Rhodes, and Bobby Heenan
The next contest is the finals to a tournament for WCW's vacant Womens' Championship, pitting Japan's Akira Hokuto vs. Madusa. Unlike the previous contest, which pitted a Japanese heel against a stoic American iceman, the fans can actually get behind Madusa for this one as she comes out waving the stars and stripes. Hokuuto's real-life husband, Kensuke Sasaki, is in his wife's corner, but she doesn't need it - from the very start, she dominates her opponent with some hairtosses and an impressive number of submissions (including, at one point, biting Madusa's foot). Madusa's comebacks are spirited, but less technically-impressive, not that it matters when the basic story of the match is the exotic, unorthodox foreigner taking on the meat-and-potatoes, fundamentally sound hometown girl. A botched DDT leads to a slight hiccup, but it is impressively breezed through via a sick northern lights suplex out of Hokuto. Equally impressive is Madusa's initial powerbomb (her second attempt is reversed in nasty fashion). The stiffness of the suplexes in this match is absurd and the nearfalls are believable - the fact that either woman is able to continue delivering big spots in the closing minutes is a testament to their toughness (as is the final death blow that Hokuto delivers - a brainbuster that looks like an absolute career-ender). Very strong women's match that doesn't overstay its welcome and would only be better with a crowd that was more engaged. (4/5)
Roddy Piper is in the back and he proceeds to cut a wild promo that may not make total sense (when he references Jurassic Park it is unclear whether he's knocking Hogan's age or talking him up as a wrestling T-Rex), but is captivating nonetheless. Piper's delivery is wonderful and modern viewers will be in for a treat considering that practically no one cuts promos like this anymore - veering in and out of coherence, but remaining remarkably centered on selling the match and its consequences. Bonus point for the Hot Rod!
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Rey Mysterio is next...and I'm sensing a pattern here as this is the third match to feature a WCW talent vs. a talent from Japan. Tenay is back on commentary, where he notes that this is the first time these two have competed on PPV. The action begins with Liger and Mysterio trading some well-paced offense with Mysterio on the receiving end of the bulk of it, including an excellently vicious powerbomb. There's a hiccup when Mysterio goes on offense, but it may be a bit of a blessing in disguise - the pause on the outside allows Liger to switch gears a bit and play heel, dropping Rey onto the floor with a suplex to the arena floor and a nasty powerbomb into the ring apron not dissimilar to what Kevin Owens has been dishing out lately. The commentary in this match is a bit lazy, though Tenay and Schiavone try their best to keep Dusty and The Brain focused. At one point, Dusty and Bobby debate Ligerr's weight and, minutes later, The Dream goes off on a tangent trying to compare Mysterio to hard-working teams in other sports but never completes the thought. Fortunately, an jaw-droppingly good dropkick out of Liger (followed by a release german) will snap any home viewer out of the funk that the extraneous and irrelevant commentary might put them in. In fact, the lethargic crowd is also worth tuning out because the performance Mysterio and Liger put on deserves far better reactions. While not an all-time classic, a hotter crowd and better commentary could've easily lifted this up a half-point. (3.5/5)
Chris Benoit (accompanied by Woman) makes his way to the ring next, set to take on Jeff Jarrett in a No Disqualification match. This match is based on the idea that Flair had endorsed Jarrett, but that the rest of the Horsemen were still somewhat suspect. To start things off, Jarrett tries to prove himself by outwrestling Benoit, but the Wolverine arrogantly outmaneuevers him and ends up hitting him with a series of stiff strikes. Jarrett's willingness to take punishment is remarkable here as some of Benoit's offense is just absolutely vicious and Jarrett spends a majority of the match bumping and selling. There is a bit of a lull in the action when Benoit locks in a sleeper, though the biggest part of the problem is that, despite the fact that Jarrett is in his hometown, he's just not over enough as a babyface to get the crowd behind him. The No DQ stipulation does not play much of a role until the final few minutes, when Woman prevents Jarrett from applying his figure four. Arn Anderson makes an appearance, followed by Hugh Morrus, Konnan, and Kevin Sullivan, and the match concludes with a dramatic, confusing finish that raises more questions than it answers about the future of the Horsemen. Whille I wouldn't call this any kind of masterpeice, the stiffness and drama on display is certainly above average. (3/5)
Unable to get a word out of Anderson, Benoit, or Jarrett, "Mean" Gene settles for comments from Steve "Mongo" McMichael and his wife Debra. The McMichaels get more heel heat than anyone else the whole evening, Debra showing more charisma in this brief interview then I think she did in her entire WWE run.
Next up, a video package about the mysterious Sting. Too short to earn any bonus points, it is still noteworthy when you consider that the "pay off" of this angle wouldn't happen for another 12 months. Can you imagine that sort of longterm booking today?
WCW World Tag Team Champions, The Outsiders, make their way down the aisle, joined by their pesky cornerman, Syxx. Their challengers tonight are the legitimately tough-as-nails Faces of Fear, Barbarian and Meng. The nWo get face pops for their arrival and do little to quell them, mugging for the camera every chance they get. I was pleasantly surprised by how watchable the Nasty Boys/Outsiders/Faces of Fear match from World War III was the previous month and, again, this one works much better than it may appear on paper. While Meng and Barbarian were certainly not a fresh or innovative team, their powerhouse offense is still impressive and Hall sells with enthusiasm. While the nWo come in as babyfaces, Nick Patrick's questionable refereeing draws jeers from the crowd who, as much as they might favor the bad guys, still want to see a fair contest. Nash's Jacknife Powerbomb gets the biggest reaction of the match and wraps things up well before this match overstayed its welcome. (2.5/5)
In the back, Ted DiBiase, Vincent, Miss Elizabeth, and "Hollywood" Hogan cut a promo on Roddy Piper. Its incredible how much more comfortable Hogan seems as a heel here in 96' than he did playing the babyface role he'd been using for over a decade in 95'. While his promo isn't the most coherent peice of talking I've ever heard, it is spirited and, most shockingly of all, somewhat "hip," a descriptor I'm not sure could have ever been used for Hogan prior to this run or even after. Bonus point awarded for this promo and the Piper one earlier. (+1)
Eddie Guerrero takes on his longtime rival Diamond Dallas Page next in a match to decide who will be crowned the new United States Champion - despite the fact that the title was never lost by former champion Ric Flair and The Giant, who had taken possession of it. Ignoring that, though, both Guerrero and Page are highly motivated here, putting together a match that features a respectable amount of big spots and actual technical wrestling. While Page has a noticeable size advantage, he doesn't dominate here - in fact, he comes across as too eager at times, launching himself over and through the ropes a number of times, giving the match a story that sets it apart from what one might expect. When Page does take control, he punctuates his more standard stomps and punches with a decent suplex here and a cheap, rope-assisted abdominal stretch there. A vocal portion of the crowd is firmly behind Page, which hurts things a bit (considering Page works the match as a pure, classic heel) and leads to some of the more explosive sequences still not getting the crowd reactions they deserve. The final minutes of the match, before the New World Order get involved, are fantastic and not dissimilar to the some of the "bomb throwing" closings that the WWE relies on now in their big contests. While I wouldn't call this match a classic, it is no worse than average and, with a crowd willing to actually root for the babyface, might have even come off as better than that. Extra half-point for the post-match action, which gets the loudest response of the night and lends even more credibility to the new United States Champion. (3/5)
The Giant vs. Lex Luger is next. These two had a match a year or so earlier (I think) that I didn't hate too much, so I came into this one expecting something at least average. Luger is incredibly over at this point, his offense eliciting immense cheers from the crowd. While I'd never call Lex an elite ring general, he's smart enough to make himself look great by making sure The Giant looks awesome. Early on, the Giant connects with a kick to Luger's ribs that sends the Total Package all the way to the arena floor, the kind of spot that is just cartoonish enough to be enjoyably believable. The minutes that follow have the same tone, flavored with The Giant's outstandingly heelish taunts. There are a few hiccups when these two start trying to get fancy and use the ropes, but when they stick to the basics, the crowd is amped. The final moments, with its surprise appearances, are great fun and a reminder that, at this point, WCW were hitting high creative peaks that the WWE could not yet match. (4/5)
Main event time and the crowd is absolutely electric for this, which adds a ton to what is, objectively, a 1-dimensional slugfest between Roddy Piper and "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. While the maneuevers employed by both performers are largely unimpressive, the amount of mileage they get from their character work is a testament to their brilliance - the fact is, they get bigger reactions for eye pokes and roundhouses than the undercard guys did with their stunning aerial displays. Hogan, in particular, puts forth his best heel effort yet. While he still seemed to be working on his villainous character back at August's Hog Wild and had nearly perfected it at Halloween Havoc, in this match, Hogan preens and prances so much that it is impossible not to boo the guy - a fact that the commentators bring up when it becomes obvious that despite the sea of black-and-white nWo t-shirts in the stands, it is Piper who has the crowd's full support (the "Roddy!" chants add a ton to the match's heat). There's a surprisingly good sequence involving a Piper side headlock and the myriad of swerves in the final minutes are executed incredibly well, considering they are nearly sidetracked by an angry fan seeking to even the score for Piper's side (a moment that just further shows how visceral the reactions Piper and Hogan were getting). While many of complained about the "bait-and-switch" with the title, I'll give some credit to WCW. Sure, most would've believed going into the match that this one was for the big gold belt...but the commentators navigate around the issue throughout the match and, even at Halloween Havoc and World War 3, Piperr himself always builds up the bout as a personal grudge match, not a title fight. It would be too kind to rate this match as any sort of classic, no matter how hot the crowd is, but to just call it average degrades the fact that I don't believe anyone in attendance that night ot watching at home was disappointed. A main event that was nearly as perfect as one could expect from two guys who were years removed from their in-ring peaks. (3/5)
.....but this one ain't over! No, following the match, we get another dramatic twist to the nWo storyline, this time involving The Giant arguing with the Outsiders and Hogan. As a cliffhanger finale to WCW's 1996, it is an absolutely awesome, intriguing angle that sets up the next night's Nitro in a way that comes off as organic. Excellent work from Hogan and further proof that The Giant might be the night's MVP. (+1)
With a highly respectable watchability score of 3.5-out-of-5, Starrcade 96' is an all-around fun watch without a single bad match. What really helps this show, more than featuring a handful of good-to-great matches, is that even the "so-so" matches have post-match or pre-match bonuses. Look no further than the main event for a clear-cut example of a match that might not feature great wrestling, but makes up for it with "big fight atmosphere" and post-match storyline development that makes you want to see where the story goes from here. While the card lacks a true classic, as an overall watch, there is rarely a dull moment, placing it snugly and barely underneath Curt Hennig Level.
FINAL RATING - Watch It All
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