WWE Judgment Day (2002)

Judgment Day - May 2002

Nashville, Tennessee

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Hulk Hogan is the reigning and undisputed World Champion coming into this show. The WWE Tag Team Championships are held by Billy and Chuck, the Womens' Champion is Trish Stratus, the Intercontinental Champion is Eddie Guerrero, the Hardcore Champion is Steven "Stevie" Richards, the European Champion is William Regal, and the Cruiserweight Champion is The Hurricane, though, those last three titles would not be defended on this night.

COMMENTATORS: Jerry "The King" Lawler and Jim Ross

Judgement Day starts off with Eddie Guerrero defending his Intercontinental Championship against Rob Van Dam. From the outset these two cut a breathtaking pace with Guerrero showcasing outrageous energy in his selling, crowd-bating antics, and cut-offs. Van Dam sticks to his usual hits, but, at this point, he was so immensely over and had such good chemistry with Guerrero that the crowd eats it up. Credit should also go to these two throwing in enough near falls and reversals to leave you wondering who will be getting the victory. More than anything, what sets this match in the above average category is the spacing and execution - while it isn't flawless, there's no moment where either man is out of position, something that deserves a ton of credit when you consider how much these two ely on elaborately sequenced high spots and only nail them on their best nights. (3/5)

Backstage, Reverend D-Von Dudley and his deacon, Batista, pray with Stacy Keibler and Vince McMahon as she prepares for her match against WWE Womens' Champion, Trish Stratus. This one starts and ends with shenanigans as it is essentially a storyline-furthering angle more than an actual wrestling match. Between the bells, Stratus and Keibler showcase at least a little bit of athleticism, but nothing that would touch what we've seen the women do in 2015. The post-match runs a bit long for me and, as I'm not a particularly huge fan of the Dudleys, I'm not anticipating much enjoyment in seeing them wrestle at a future PPV. (1/5)

Next we have Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman taking on The Hardys. This is a continuation of a months-long feud between the two sides, Lesnar having bested both Jeff and Matt independently but not as a team. Heyman's involvement adds a new wrinkle to the match, but this one lacks "meat." Compared to what Lesnar had already shown in other matches, this is strictly "the basics" from a guy that was fresh enough to make every new move in his arsenal seem like a game-changer (no tornado powerbomb spot, for example). Predictable finish. Maybe the most bland Lesnar match I've reviewed. (2/5)

This was followed by Steve Austin vs. Ric Flair and the Big Show. I wrote a few weeks ago about the chemistry between Austin and Big Show and this would be more evidence of it. Austin was still incredibly over, but one can tell that that he was essentially going through the motions, wrestling in the midcard despite being, arguably, a more over babyface than Triple H or Edge or really anyone aside from Hulk Hogan (who was at his nostalgia run peak at this time). Austin dominates the early going before the numbers game catches up to him, but he knows his character so well that he stubbornly refuses to do anything but go after Flair's knee (even when it costs him multiple time). A really fun match that features all sorts of solid schtick Austin could utilize today if he had any interest in competing again. Further proof that Austin could engage an audience doing little more than flipping the bird, tossing chairs around, and stomping mudholes. (3/5)

Dave Meltzer gave the next match a glowing 4-star review, but I was slightly less impressed by Kurt Angle and Edge's Hair-vs-Hair match. There are plenty of positives - the crowd is hot for it, the wrestling is solid, and there are enough near falls in the final minutes to add some suspense to the match - but I generally reserve my 4-star ratings for matches worthy of a rewatch or a recommendation and I'm not sure this one meets that level of "awesomeness." Knowing the finish taints things a little bit, but guessing from the crowd's signs, I don't think anyone in attendance was shocked by the outcome either. I'll also readily admit that I'm a far bigger fan of Edge as a heel than I am of him as a babyface. (3.5/5)

The Cell was lowered for our next bout, easily my Match of the Night, Chris Jericho vs. Triple H. From the first few minutes of this one, Jericho and Triple H bring the fight to eachother with intense back-and-forth action anda bounty of cage and weapon spots. Jericho's shoulder is lacerated early and, not to be outdone, Triple H gets busted open. I'm, admittedly, not a huge fan of The Game, especially when he's in babyface mode, but I must begrudgingly give him credit for what he does here - pinballing around a touch too much, but making Jericho look like a ruthless equal in the process. If their WrestleMania feud and bout a few months prior had neutered the Ayatollah, this match effectively illustrates his toughness and proper placement among the top workers in the company. As the match goes into its second half, what is essentially just a no-nonsense, ultra-violent but somewhat "standard" Hell in a Cell match is taken up a notch with a very clever (and perfectly executed) ref bump, followed by a cage escape and even more brutality. When the fight gets taken to the top of the cage, the commentators do a wise job of highlighting the potentially career-ending danger of the situation while Jericho and Triple H throw in several gasp-inducing spots, including a huge backbody drop. When fans talk about how modern WWE limitations have made delivering a good Hell in a Cell match nearly impossible, this is the type of "good old days" Cell action they are referring to in comparison. Like the previous match, the finish is ultimately one that just about anyone could've predicted...but the way they get there is no less remarkable. (4.5/5)

The next match was the requisitie "heat killer" and saw Chuck and Billy defend their WWE Tag Team Championships against Rikishi and a partner selected by Smackdown Owner Vince McMahon....noneother than Chuck and Billy's manager/stylist, Rico. There's not much to say about this one aside from the fact that Rikishi seemed to either be working injured or just in a bit of a funk, looking noticeably winded and sluggish for certain sequences. Kudos to the WWE for a surprising finish, but, like the ending of the Womens' Championship match, I'm still not excited about seeing where this is leading. (1.5/5)

Main evennt time - Hulk Hogan defending the WWE World Championship against The Undertaker. The crowd is amped for this and Hogan actually moves pretty decently, or, as I'll explain, seems to be moving better than usual. How so? Unlike his matches against Triple H and The Rock, who had to slow down their pace to wrestle at Hogan's speed, The Undertaker's methodical, brawl-heavy style is a much better fit to Hogan. The fact is, neither man was going to leave the ground much and, as a heel, Taker relied on his least flashy offense. By not outshining the Hulkster, Taker makes this match a simple battle between two tough brawlers, deliberately staying away from anything that would remotely resemble a real wrestling match. I'd have to rewatch, but I'm not even sure we get a headlock. The finishing minutes are shockingly strong and suspenseful, ruined by a wholly unnecessary "crutch" of having Vince McMahon get involved. By the time the Chairman makes an appearance, the audience is willing to buy either man as the victor, especially when one considers that the Hulkster had basically "lucked into" his last title reign anyway. Instead of solidifying the next champion, we get a screwy finish where a definitive finish would've actually made both guys stronger. Hulk Hogan didn't need protecting in 2002 and the fans would've likely reacted even stronger had Taker won clean. A great example of how overbooking can really hurt what was a more than passable main event. (3/5)

With a watchability rating of 2.69-out-of-5, Judgment Day 02' has some serious lows (the Women's Championship and Tag Team Championship matches probably add up to less 10 minutes and I'd still shave time off both), but it also has some legitimate highs. The Hell in a Cell match is the best Triple H match I've reviewed since what? 2014's six-man tags between The Shield and Evolution? The Hogan/Taker match is considerably better than it reasonably should be considering Hogan's age and how unremarkable Taker's Biker persona was compared to his more beloved, iconic, and interesting Deadman gimmick. Edge/Angle, Guerrero/RVD, and Austin's match are all better than average, evidence that one could argue WWE's 2002 roster was the most stacked group of workers ever under contract at one time. If the Lesnar & Heyman vs. Hardys match had been given the time it needed and, I'm guessing, a green light from the agents/producers to actually deliver a match with more high spots (as both the Hardys and Lesnar were certainly capable of), this show could've served as one of the best "time capsule events" of its era. Sadly, it doesn't. 

FINAL RATING - Watch It...With Remote in Hand

WWE Survivor Series 2015

WWE Survivor Series 2015 - November 2015

Atlanta, Georgia

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is vacant (due to injury to Seth Rollins), the Intercontinental Champion is Kevin Owens, the United States Champion is Alberto Del Rio, and the WWE Tag Team Championships are held by the team of New Day. The Women's Champion is Charlotte.

COMMENTATORS: Michael Cole, JBL, and Jerry Lawler

The show kicks off with our nation's anthem, sung by Lillian Garcia. The Atlanta crowd was respectful, no doubt a bit nervous considering that tonight's show landed on a list of potential ISIS targets leaked by global hacker outfit Anonymous. 

This is followed by a video package about the Undertaker, whose appearance on tonight's show marks his 25th year with the WWE, and tonight's other momentous draw, the finals of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament. 

Roman Reigns vs. Alberto Del Rio kicks off the official show (there was a traditional Survivors match on the pre-show I didn't bother watching), the crowd not necessarily firmly in Reigns' corner, but certainly not as negative as his detractors will likely argue. A somewhat muted "Let's Go Roman/Roman Sucks" chant breaks out, but its considerably less spirited than the one's Cena gets. The story of this match was Del Rio targeting Reigns' shoulder and Michael Cole selling it big time on commentary. Unfortunately, this element was to be ignored for the most part later in the night. El Patron worked extra hard to give the match its pace and movement, taking some big slams from Reigns and even slipping himself onto the arena floor through the ropes at one point, a spot that simply can't feel good no matter how many times you practice it. While the match had a solid pace, like most WWE bouts, the closing minutes were where these two brought the goods, delivering some nice near falls and one excellently-executed armbar spot leading to the finish. While some in the crowd obviously didn't get what they wanted, it was a fine match to kick off the show. (3/5)

After a backstage segment, we get our second tournament semi-final as Dean Ambrose took on Kevin Owens. The crowd was a bit more alive for this, actually cheering both guys. Unlike the more methodically-paced Reigns/Del Rio opener, these two wasted little time in getting right into the action, Ambrose in particular showing loads of energy. When Owens got the upperhand, though, he slowed things down, trying his best to wear down the Lunatic Fringe with taunts and headlocks. From here, this became a back-and-forth battle that ran through some of both men's signature moves, including Owens striking nothing but the mat with his moonsault and Ambrose connecting with a big rebound clothesline. With an actual storyline behind them, these two could deliver an absolutely awesome match. While this wasn't it, I wouldn't mind watching them try to top what they did here because, if this is the "baseline," their best effort is going to be a Match of the Year candidate. (3/5)

Pretty sick Tables, Ladders, and Chairs commercial. Almost worth a bonus point even.

A traditional Survivor Series match was next, but I'm fairly sure the only thing anyone is going to remember from this one is Xavier Woods' absolutely STUNNING hairdo, a Jeffersonian pompadour. The teams were The Lucha Dragons, the Usos, and Ryback taking on New Day, Sheamus, and Wade Barrett. Woods started things off for his team, his hair serving as a huge, fluffy target for Jimmy Uso. A few minutes later there was a well-timed and even better-executed 4-man plancha, punctuated by a respectable crossbody splash off the top rope from Ryback. Moments later, after stomping one of the Usos into completely submission, Xavier busted out the trombone and led his team in some rhythmic gloating, keeping the audience fully engaged in a match that was of no real consequence. Somewhat surprisingly, King Barrett was the first competitor eliminated, giving the babyfaces a 5-4 advantage. Jimmy Uso was out next, succumbing to a pretty cool double-team maneuever from Woods and Kingston, before Sin Cara ended up eating a spear to the arena floor from Big E and Brogue Kick from the Celtic Warrior. Big E was eliminated next, which drew jeers from the Atlanta crowd. Unwilling to continue without their powerhouse anchor, Woods and Kofi helped their New Day partner out of the arena, leaving Sheamus behind to take on the remaining Uso, Ryback, and Kalisto. While the work from here on was strong and suspenseful, with Sheamus helping to make both Jay Uso and Kalisto look strong, the crowd's disappointment in losing New Day was noticeable, with audible exclamations of "Boring" only drowned out by the occasional "Feed Me More" chant. What started as a very strong Survivors match, ended with a bit of a thud. (2/5)

Rolaids Advanced commercial for some reason.

Yet another Undertaker video, this time one hocking Deadman schwag. 

Time for Paige challenging Charlotte for her WWE Divas Championship. While not as good as the Charlotte/Nikki matches, those benefitted from a very clear face/heel split, with Charlotte fighting from underneath in both. This one was more even and less clear-cut in terms of who the audience was behind, despite the WWE's hail mary approach to drawing heat based on the death of Reid Flair. While Paige tried her best to draw the ire of the crowd, Charlotte wrestled a more aggressive style here and the crowd didn't seem to know how to react to a dominate babyface diva, something I'm not necessarily sure we've seen since the days of who? Chyna? From Beth Pheonix to Kharma to even (and most recently) Nikki Bella, divas with the size and style of Charlotte have typically played the villain, while divas the size of Paige or AJ or, before them, Molly Holly and Lita have typically been in plucky underdog roles. Anyway...the back-and-forth featured some good wrestling, but the audience didn't seem to care too much, barely popping for Charlotte's spears in or outside the ring. Even more noticeable, though, was the lackluster crowd response to the finish, which was about as definitive an ending as I've seen in a WWE ring in quite some time. Far from bad, but certainly no better than average, here's hoping that Creative is going back to the drawing board and, based on what we saw here, ending this rivalry to provide us something fresher. (2.5/5)

Tyler Breeze vs. Dolph Ziggler was next, a battle between two guys with more in common than not. What  I didn't like about this match is that, despite years more of experience and even a noticeable size advantage, Ziggler was on the receiving end of a ton of punishment. I understand making Breeze look good, but this one should've been all about the Showoff's dominance and Breeze's crafty, sneaky, treacherous attempts to survive (with help from Summer Rae). Instead, this was "just another Ziggler match," relatively even, entertaining in the moment but full of Ziggler selling/overselling and likely to be forgotten minutes after the bell rang. All in all, this was the type of match that could main event an episode of Superstars (or maybe SmackDown), but served as filler in this context. (2.5/5)

And another promo...

The Wyatt Family arrived next for their showdown with Kane and The Undertaker, otherwise known as the Brothers of Destruction. As expected, the Deadman got a special entrance featuring flaming Taker logos and a casket that flashed images of the iconic character in his various transformations. Pretty nifty stuff. The match kicked off with Rowan hopping into the ring and eating a double chokeslam from the Brothers, which caused Bray to pace around the ring, selecting himself and Luke Harper as the official match participants. If one expected to see Kane doing the heavy lifting, like I did, they'd be pleasantly surprised (as I was) by how involved Taker was from the very early going, connecting with an Old School and guillotine leg drop on Luke Harper to the delight of the crowd. Tagged back out, Kane then took the role of face-in-peril. While this sort of match layout is nothing new or special, it was the right one for this bout, an opportunity for The Undertaker to play hero one more time in front of a crowd that was firmly in his corner. In one of the cooler spots of the match, Braun Strowman got chokeslammed through a table (leading to a massive "Yes" chant), though I thought Luke Harper's tilt-a-whirl clothesline on Kane a few moments later was almost equally vicious. A definitive finish, an impressive feat of strength by the Phenom, capped off what was easily the match of the night, in no small part due to the fact that it was a simple story, told right, in front of a crowd who it mattered to.  (3.5/5)

Main event time - Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Solid, but not outstanding match - this one had a few great moments, a few hiccups, and a crowd that was a bit muted. If there was fear that Ambrose's fans would drown out any support for Reigns, that prophecy did not come to fruition to these ears. Of course, Ambrose is not as over as he was last summer or even last year at this time. Both guys worked hard, but this one just didn't exude the "epic" feel that it could have. An extra 2-3 minutes would have helped. While not as fun as the tag match that came before it, this was easily my favorite of the night's tournament matches.  (3.5/5)

…but the show was not over! Triple H showed up to ruin Roman Reigns' massive and confetti-filled victory party, offering his hand in friendship to the new World Champion. After spearing the Game, Sheamus arrived, cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase, and celebrated as the new WWE World Champion. Lest someone believe this moment was designed to shift the focus to the Celtic Warrior, Survivor Series closed out with a dramatic shot of Reigns, with tears in his eyes, exiting the arena in defeat. Well-executed closing to the show, though, far, far, far away from original. (BONUS .5!)


With an watchability score of 2.93-out-of-5, Survivor Series 2015 was a decent show with some bright moments but nothing close to essential viewing. The main events (and post match) delivered the goods, albeit in rather predictable fashion. The tag match was an Undertaker birthday party, a chance to see the Deadman have a good time playing the hits alongside his storyline brother, Kane - it had none of the suspense or brutality of Taker's matches with Lesnar, but it still had enough "big match feel" to get the crowd hotter than they were for any other match on the card. Unfortunately, the tournament matches were good - but not great. By not having either Reigns or Ambrose go through three opponents in one night (a not-entirely-unrealistic idea when you consider they could have squashed some midcarders in 4-minute bouts on the pre-show), the final, while very good, was never going to reach the emotional heights that made Bret Hart winning the 94' King of the Ring tournament or Macho Man capturing the WWE World Championship at WrestleMania IV such iconic moments for WWE fans. The post-match added some spice to the main event scene, but its the same flavor as we've seen with nearly every other cash-in the WWE has produced, including the ending of the superior SummerSlam 2014 show.

FINAL RATING - Watch It…With Remote in Hand

WCW Starrcade 96'

Starrcade 96' - December 1996

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

After some words from our commentary team, Starrcade 96' kicks off with a "Cruiserweight Unification Match" featuring J-Crown's Cruiserweight Champion, Ultimo Dragon, defending his 8 titles against WCW Cruiserweight Champion, Dean Malenko. "Iron" Mike Tenay joins the announcers for this, a match that begins with some solid, straight-up wrestling, both guys sticking to the mat and trading submissions and reversals left and right. The agility on display is astounding, but the crowd is largely indifferent until Dragon and, his invaluable manager (in this match at least), Sonny Onoo, start to really heel things up and get the fans behind Malenko. When the action spills to the outside, the intensity of the action picks up and we start getting some actual near falls and high spots after the lengthy "human chess game" these two had started the match with, but just as quickly they return to mat work and a considerable amount of time is spent on a visually-unexciting ankle lock. A huge Orton-like powerslam wakes the crowd up out of their slumber and a spike piledriver is equally well-received, but this match features too many lulls to be considered a masterpiece, even if its peak moments are spectacular. The finish is a bit too contrived for me to reward it points, but if you don't mind overtly-choreographed sequences, you'll be impressed by it. (3/5)

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