NWA Starrcade 86': The Skywalkers

WCW/NWA Starrcade 86': Night of the Sky Walkers

Greensboro, NC - November 1986

CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into this show, Ric Flair was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, the United States Champion was Nikita Koloff, the Television Title was held by Dusty Rhodes, and the Junior Heavyweight Championship was Denny Brown. The NWA World Tag Team Champions were the Rock n' Roll Express and the United States Tag Team Champions were Ivan Koloff and Krusher Kruschev. 

After the traditional singing of the National Anthem, Starrcade 86' kicks off with a tag team match - Tim Horner and Nelson Royal vs. Don and Rocky Kernodle. I haven't seen much of any of these guys work and I'm not at all familiar with the storyline going into this match so, as one might expect, this one didn't grab me. There's good energy in the match and the crowd is hot, though, so there's really nothing to complain about in terms of the action. Kind of your standard, average match. (2.5/5)

Brad Armstrong takes on "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin next. Garvin was so much better back then compared to his years in the Freebirds in the early 90s. I love Precious, his valet, too - its amazing that in today's WWE there are so few women playing what is such a "slam dunk" easy, heat-getting role. Armstrong looks a little like Kenny Omega at this point. Lots of great back-and-forth wrestling, but also some uninspired stretches. Once the announcers mention that the match has reached minute 10, it becomes obvious that we're headed to a draw and that they're just dragging this out. Usually matches like this end with a highly suspenseful final 2-3 minutes, but that is not what we get here as the ending is predictable and Garvin inexplicably goes to the top rope for a splash with like 8 seconds remaining. I would've preferred the match end 3-4 minutes earlier, even with a BS cheap ending to give Garvin the win. (2/5)

The Barbarian and Pez "Shaska" Whatley square off against Hector Guerrero and Baron Von Raschke in the next match. The only thing good and worth seeing in this match is Hector Guerrero performing a dive to the outside, something that one didn't see too often in 1986. Von Raschke was passable in bloody brawls just a year or two before this, but he moves like molasses in this match and seems limited to just locking in his claw. At least it doesn't go too long? (1/5)

The Kansas Jayhawks challenge the United States Tag Team Champions, Ivan Koloff and Krusher Kruschev, in a No DQ match for the titles next. The Kansas Jayhawks are Dutch Mantel (who looks a bit like "Dr. Death" Steve Williams here) and Bobby Jaggers, a guy who I had honestly never heard of but seems like an interesting character from his wikipedia page. Anyway, this match didn't grab me at all and despite it being a No DQ match, it wasn't nearly as violent as one might've expected from this era of NWA rasslin'. When the weapons do come out, specifically Krusher Kruschev's chain, it leads right into the finish with the heel Russians getting the victory. At least this match doesn't overstay its welcome? (1.5/5)

Pre-"Ravishing" Rick Rude faces Wahoo McDaniel in an Indian Strap Match next. Rude was 90% of the way there with his gimmick, but its obvious that the extra 10% that Vince McMahon (and Bobby Heenan) provided is what made him a mega-star. As Wahoo was very limited in what he could do aside from chest chops and Rude was, at least in this match, seemingly not super motivated to do the big-time, highly athletic bumping and selling that would later make him one of the most highly-regarded heels of his era, this match is a disappointment. Rude does a little bit of shtick, but its not yet crystallized. Considering how much guys like Steve Austin and Kevin Nash like to talk about Rude taking them under his wing in the early 90s, it would've been fascinating to hear him talk about the business and his own progression in the late 80s on the podcasts of today. Not a career highlight for Rude and I doubt its one for Wahoo either. (1.5/5)

Sam Houston defends his Central States Title against Australian heel "Superstar" Bill Dundee in the match that follows. Sam Houston is a technically proficient wrestler, but I just can't really get into his matches - kinda like Seth Rollins these days. Maybe if I was more familiar with Bill Dundee's character and history, I'd be more impressed with his work in this match but this match just didn't grab me and I didn't see any of the larger-than-life charisma that I thought Dundee was known for. The final few minutes are good, especially the finish, which saw the ref take a bump but not oversell it and actually catch Dundee attempting to use a weapon. Its a refreshing to see a ref not play blind and dead. (2/5)

Jimmy Valiant (with Big Mama) takes on Paul Jones (with Manny Fernandez) next in a Hair vs. Hair Match. This is more of a slow-moving fight than anything else, with Valiant and Jones sticking to just punches and stomps for the most part. Valiant ends up bleeding a gusher a minute in, allowing Jones gets some offense in (thanks to a foreign object). Valiant rallies, applies a scissor, and eventually knocks Jones unconscious. After the bell, Valiant and Mama shave Paul Jones' head and Manny Fernandez is brought down from the shark cage he had been locked inside of. Fernandez and Rude beat down Valiant, spike-DDTing him into a steel chair. Why doesn't anyone use that move nowadays? Rude and Fernandez cover Jones' head and escort him out of the ring as Wahoo McDaniel and Baron Von Raschke show up. The crowd was into it, but the match was nothing special and the post-match ordeal felt too long by at least 2-3 minutes. (1/5)

During the show's intermission, Bob Taylor pitches the 2nd Annual Bunkhouse Stampede show. We then cut to a video of Nelson Royal in front of a fire, telling a story about life in the bunkhouse. As he describes the Bunkhouse Stampede match, we see clips from the first Bunkhouse Stampede match, which was a weapons-loaded, bload-soaked battle royale that was won by Dusty Rhodes. One of the most surreal video promos I've ever seen. Total Nugget of Awesomeness. (+1)

The video vignettes continue as Bob Taylor hypes the 2nd Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup in Baltimore. The previous year's finale is shown in abbreviated form as well as the post-match celebration the Road Warriors had. People complain about all the filler on the WWE's PPVs, but this intermission has felt endless...

Back to the ring we go, though, for "Big" Bubba Rogers vs. Ron Garvin. Rogers is an interesting gimmick/character to me. At 6'8'' and 300+ pounds, Rogers (Ray Traylor) towered over most, but he also wore a suit, which always came off to me as weirdly professional for a badass southern ass kicker. Anyway, its remarkable how young Bubba looks here (he was 23) as I always envisioned him as a seasoned veteran, even just 3-4 years after this show. Its outright shocking and tragic to consider that he was still in his 30s when he had his last major run in the WWE and could've reasonably still been involved in the business, as a trainer, to this day (he passed away at age 41 in 2004). Anyway, Rogers no-sells a bunch of Garvin's offense and eventually sends Garvin out of the ring to recollect his thoughts. Garvin comes back in with a weapon and begins clobbering Rogers with big right hands (his famous "Hands of Stone") as the crowd goes crazy. Rogers goes to the floor this time and Cornette hands him a weapon, which is legal in this St. Louis Streetfight. Rogers retakes control and pulverizes Garvin with a roll of a nickels. The ref tries to count him out, but Garvin gets up at 8. As the Guardian Angel, Traylor would have two exceptional matches against Vader in 94' (95'?) that would allow him to show off his underrated agility, but this match is just a slugfest. Garvin uses a rope to choke and hogtie Bubba, but the big man won't stay down for long. Rogers applies a bearhug, which the crowd eats up, and Garvin is forced to fight his way out by using his bloody forehead. Garvin finally rocks Rogers with a strong enough right hand to send him all the way over the top rope (there's that Ray Traylor agility!), but Rogers makes his way back into the ring. Cornette screams for Bubba to fight back as he is once again sent to the floor. Garvin follows him out and Rogers regains control. Bubba goes to the top rope, but Garvin sends him off with a big press slam! Garvin goes for a pinfall - which I wasn't sure was necessary - and Bubba lifts him off (sending him directly onto referee Tommy Young). Garvin somehow hits Bubba Rogers with a piledriver and then Cornette whacks Garvin with his racket. Both men are out for a full 10 count, but Tommy Young refuses to make it a draw, announcing that the first man onto his feet is going to be named the winner. Cornette comes into the ring and gets sent out by Young to a huge ovation! Garvin is first up, but Rogers prevents Tommy Young from seeing him and Cornette clips Garvin in the back of his knee. Rogers then pulls himself up and is declared the winner as the crowd chants "Bullshit." The audience is just flat out irate about this finish. This was a nice little match with good performances from both men, a nice amount of violence, and a dramatic conclusion that didn't seem overbooked even though it had a bunch of twists to it. Easily the best thing on the show up to this point. (3/5)

Dusty Rhodes defends the Television Title against Tully Blanchard in a First Blood Match in the next contest. Dusty busts JJ Dillon open early with one of his signature elbows, showing just how dangerous this match is for Blanchard. The First Blood concept is ill-fitting for these two as Dusty can't match Tully's technical prowess and both guys are excellent sellers who, when sporting crimson masks, know how to build entire matches around the brutality and emotion of a violent, bloody brawl. Here, though, the minute the ref sees blood, the match will end, which is usually when a Dusty Rhodes match is just starting to get good. The referee goes down and misses Dusty busting Tully open only to wake up and see Rhodes bleeding after Blanchard hits him with a roll of quarters. Not exactly the most clever twist and the 6-or-so minutes of action before it are pretty unremarkable. (2/5)

The Road Warriors take on The Midnight Express in a Scaffold Match next. Like the previous bout, the stipulation does more harm than good as its obvious that nobody is very comfortable on the scaffold and neither team is able to perform any of their signature, better offense (or, in the case of the Midnight Express, take the big, exaggerated bumps that are their bread-and-butter against powerhouses like Hawk and Animal). The teams mostly brawl atop the scaffold and the Midnights do get some color to add even more suspense to the match. At one point, both teams are hanging from it and they engage in a game of chicken, which is pretty crazy. Eaton and Condrey end up dropping down from the scaffold, but this match is really most famous for Cornette dropping down from the scaffold and injuring both of his knees in the post-match insanity. Not really a great match, but certainly interesting and suspenseful and very much over with the live crowd, which is why they would run multiple scaffold matches over the next five years despite them not being all that great. (2.5/5)

A cage match for the NWA World Tag Team Championships is next - the reigning champs, The Rock n' Roll Express, defending the titles against Ole and Arn Anderson. I've seen this match hailed as an all-time classic, but I just don't get why this is worthy of such praise. Its not a bad match, its an above-average match, but I don't see it as the masterpiece that some do. To me, its a drawn-out, well-executed, only slightly modified version of a classic southern tag, with the heels maintaining control for the vast majority of the match and both Ricky and Robert playing the "face-in-peril" at different times (though, there really is no huge hot tag comeback). I think what people tend to like about this match is that it is a meat-and-potatoes offering, the Andersons working Gibson's leg and later Ricky Morton's arm, cutting off tags, and just doing all the little things right. While the cage does come into play a few times, I thought there'd be more emphasis on that element. Also, the finish is a bit underwhelming considering how dominant the Andersons are. Again, a very good classic tag match, but not something I'd consider "must see." (3/5)

After Ric Flair's glorious entrance, but before the match begins, we get a video package that is uncannily strange and funny. It is as Tim & Eric as anything I've ever seen in pro-wrestling and I'm not even sure how or why it exists as the live audience probably had no way of viewing it anyway. I'm guessing that the song that is used on The Network version is not the same one that was used in the original, but that's what makes it even more batshit insane. The video focuses on the back of a middle-aged woman followed by very poorly-shot clips of Magnum TA (I think?) running down the beach and a pelican flying. I'm not sure what this is supposed to make me feel. Is that Magnum's mom that he's running to? Why is the song about falling in love? I get that this was aired to pay tribute to Magnum TA, who was, according to rumor, slated to defeat Flair at this show had he not been involved in a terrible car accident that ended his career about a month earlier. (+1)

Main event time - Nikita Koloff comes out to challenge Flair for the gold and gets a noticeable amount of boos, his sudden face turn obviously not nearly as effective as it might've been had he fully dropped the Pro-USSR gimmick and had more time to win over the NWA fans. Flair unwisely tries to lock-up with Koloff early, who sends him to the mat with his superior strength. Flair then tries some chops in the corner, but those are ineffective too and he has to take a powder. Back to the ring he goes and back down to the mat, but when he springs up, he starts jawing - which is brilliant. Koloff hits Flair with a series of huge bodyslams and gets a big pop when he flexes for the crowd, though there is still a vocal contingent of Nature Boy supporters. Koloff applies a bearhug and Flair's selling is masterful, the agony coming out in moans and groans and distorted facial expressions. Flair finally gets some offense in with a vertical suplex, but Koloff no-sells it and Flair goes back to the arena floor. Soon after, Koloff ends up on the arena floor too but gets busted open on the scaffolding. Flair doesn't get too capitalize too much, though he does get a little bit of offense in and even manages to get Koloff in the figure four for awhile. Koloff gets the visual pin after a ref bump, but then when the replacement ref shows up, Koloff accidentally levels him with a nasty clothesline, the match now completely out of control. A melee ensues as all sorts of extras come rushing to the ring and Tommy Young tells Tony Schiavone that both men have been DQ'd. The pull-apart brawl is fun, but nothing revolutionary. Obviously they wanted to keep Koloff looking strong by not having him take a pinfall or submit, but the crowd is definitely unhappy about a double DQ finish in the main event. I've read some negative reviews of this match that really take Flair to task for essentially just pinballing himself around and not really working to tell a better story than the generic Babyface Monster vs. Cowardly Heel formula. I don't find it too offensive as, while I'm a bigger Koloff fan than most, I also don't think he was as strong or as natural a babyface as guys like Sting and Luger, who would end up wrestling better versions of this match to some degree. This is Flair "wrestling a broom" and, at this time in his career, that was still more entertaining than just about anything else on the card. (3/5)


With a Kwang Score of 2.25-out-of-5, Starrcade 86' is tough to recommend as a whole. The best moments are the little moments of cheese sprinkled throughout - namely the Bunkhouse Stampede promo and the very-poorly-redubbed Magnum TA dedication video. The main event is a good-not-great Flair match, the Big Bubba match is a lot of fun, and the opener is alright but nothing to write home about. The World Tag Team Championship match is a favorite among old school wrestling fans, but I wasn't emotionally invested enough or blown away by it. There also fans that believe the Dusty/Tully match is a gem based on nothing more than JJ Dillon and Tully's over-the-top performances, but I expected better. Had Magnum TA been able to compete, I could see him and Flair having an all-time classic, but without him on the card and with Dusty and Tully keeping things so short, this show just never got more than just okay.

FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver