STARRCADE '87 AND A RECAP
Jan 4, 2017 18:25:33 GMT
Post by Kimmel on Jan 4, 2017 18:25:33 GMT
First a brief recap of what is going on with the major stars of the NWA leading into Starrcade '87:
1987 saw the Horsemen dominating at the start of the year, though Ole and Arn Anderson lost the World Tag Team Titles to the Rock N Roll Express to kick the year off, they then made it to the semifinals of the Crockett Cup, Ole was making life miserable for Dusty Rhodes with Ole swearing that one of them would not be in wrestling when 1987 came to a close. Dusty agreed with Ole that things between them had gone on far too long, giving an impassioned promo on WCW where he talked about their storied history and how it just couldn’t continue. Dusty had faced Ric Flair for the World Title at Starrcade ‘86 after having won the Bunkhouse Stampede at Halloween Havoc ‘86 and Ole Anderson cost Dusty the match with a sneak attack. Ole and Dusty faced each other in every kind of imaginable match in the first half of the year and neither really seemed like they cared if they won or lost, they just wanted to cripple the other on.
Arn Anderson went on a roll defeating Ricky Steamboat for the Television Title in February and then proceeded to get into a feud with Barry Windham that saw them trade the title back and forth twice, culminating in Arn ending up with it in June after a 30 minute Iron Man Match in the Charlotte Coliseum that was broadcast on World Wide Wrestling.
Tully Blanchard added more gold to his resume when he defeated Lex Luger to become the United States Heavyweight Champion. Tully mocked Luger as he was the only man to have ever defeated “The Total Package”. Luger chased Tully all over the country in an attempt to win the title back before finally doing so on TBS during the Memorial Day Edition of the Superstars on the Superstation
Ric Flair continued to keep an iron grip on the World Title. Flair defended the title against an array of challengers but no one could seem to pry the title away from “The Man”. Flair even began calling out other “World” Champions on the Superstation, challenging them to show up and face him, no one took him up on his offer but it didn’t stop Flair from continually making the challenge. Heading into the half year mark it looked like Flair and The Horsemen are unstoppable!!!
All that would change in July at The Great American Bash.
Ricky Steamboat became so desperate to get a shot at the World Heavyweight Title he agreed to gather a team and meet the Horsemen in a new and dangerous match, WAR GAMES. Steamboat recruited Dusty Rhodes, Barry Windham and Lex Luger and each wrestler put up something if they lost. Ricky Steamboat would leave the NWA, Dusty Rhodes would retire from professional wrestling, Barry Windham would never be able to challenge any Horsemen for a title ever again, and Lex Luger would have to shave his head. In return, if the Horsemen lost, Ric Flair would grant Ricky Steamboat a World Title match, Ole Anderson would retire from professional wrestling, Arn Anderson would have to defend the World Television Title against Barry Windham in any match Barry chose, and Tully Blanchard could never challenge Lex Luger for th United States Title ever again. With the stipulations agreed to the Horsemen and Steamboat's team went to War in a bloody and intense contest that came to an end when Barry Windham forced Ole Anderson to submit to the Iron Claw. As a result Ole was gone, Arn would have to face Barry Windham in a Steel Cage match, Tully Blanchard could never again challenge Luger for the US Title and Flair had to do the one thing he desperately did not want to, defend the World Title against Ricky Steamboat.
The era of the Horsemen looked to be at an end. They tried several way to stave off extinction, first they brutally attacked Barry Windham before Windham could climb into the cage to challenge Arn for the TV Title, but when the doctors said Barry couldn't compete, the Crocketts stepped in and put Nikita Koloff in his place!!! Arn tried to escape from the "Russian Nightmare" but couldn't and ended up being pinned in the middle of the ring in the Omni and losing the TV Title to Nikita. Flair and JJ stalled as long as they could before the Crocketts forced Flair to defend the title against Steamboat at Halloween Havoc 87, live on Pay Per View. Flair and the Horsemen pulled out all the stops and every trick they could. The referee went down and JJ tried to hit Steamboat with the World Title, but Steamboat knocked him cold, Arn and Tully tried to rush the ring but Dusty and Windham stopped them, then Lex Luger rushed the ring!! He shouted encouragement to Steamboat to get the job done, he rolled JJ out of the ring, picked up the World Title and SMASHED STEAMBOAT WITH IT FROM BEHIND!!!!!!!! He then dragged Flair and place him on top of Steamboat before roughly waking the referee!!! Flair retained the title, the Horsemen were once again whole and Luger had stabbed all his friends in the back. Luger said he did it because as a professional athlete you have to do whatever it takes to reach the top, and he knew with the mind of JJ Dillon behind him and with the things he could learn from the other Horsemen he could indeed become the best wrestler in the world.
Steamboat feeling betrayed demanded and was granted a match for the US Title against Luger at Starrcade, Arn and Tully won a Tag Team Battle Royal in the Omni on Thanksgiving Night to earn a shot at the World Tag Team Titles at Starrcade, so they will face a Rock N Roll Express who are currently enjoying their 5th reign with the titles, and after careful consideration the Crocketts named the man who won War Games for his team, Barry Windham, as the #1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship and signed a match between Flair and Windham for Starrcade.
After losing the United States Title to Lex Luger at Starrcade '86, Nikita Koloff vanished. Six months later, Nikita would make a surprise return at the Great American Bash, Nikita announced that after losing the US Title he decided to tour the United States and he found that the Kremlin had lied to him, and furthermore he had found he loved this country and wanted to stay. Nikita says that the Crocketts sponsored him and he applied to the US Government to defect!!!!! It didn't take long for Nikita's uncle Ivan to reappear as well and try to convince his nephew he was acting foolish, Nikita didn't want to listen but he also refused to wrestle his Uncle, no matter how many time Ivan berated or attacked him. Then one day Ivan was berating a young lady at ringside who turned out to be Nikita's American wife!!! Nikita would not let this happen and finally agreed to fight Ivan in a Russian Chain Match, Nikita won even though Ivan had brought Boris Zhukov with him and Boris interfered throughout the match. Soon after the Crocketts inserted Nikita into Barry Windham's place for a World Television Title match with Arn Anderson and Nikita won the title. Recently Nikita has found himself the target of former 7 time World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race. Race wants to climb the mountain and become the World Heavyweight Champion for an 8th time and he believes the best way to start on that course is to first take the World Television Title from Nikita, and he will try to do so at Starrcade
Jim Cornette's tag team started 1987 off in turmoil as Cornette fired Dennis Condrey from the team and replaced him with Stan Lane. From there things began to fall into place for the MX as they started stacking up wins on the way to challenging their rivals the Rock n Roll Express for the World Tag Team Titles in May. The MX were able to finally win the belts that had long alluded them and spent the Summer of 87 defending them, and retaining them by hook or by crook against many of the top teams of the World. It wasn't until September that the Rock n Roll Express defeated the Midnights in a Ladder Match did their title reign come to an end. But the Midnights didn't take that lying down and soon found themselves holding gold once again when they defeat the New Breed at Halloween Havoc to capture the United States Tag Team Titles. That's when Cornette made a blunder and appeared on TBS and challenged any team, ANY TEAM, in the whole world who thought they could beat the MX to show up and face them at Starrcade. Cornette even left a blank contract with David Crockett for any team that wanted to sign it. The next week the world was shocked when The British Bulldogs walked into the WTBS Studios and signed to face the Midnight Express!!!!!
All the while, Big Bubba Rogers was enjoying a year of being unbeatable. Wrestlers lined up to fight Bubba and put him down, a who's who from Manny Fernandez to Wahoo McDaniel to Ronnie Garvin all stepped up to the plate and were all taken down by the man Cornette began calling The Baddest Man on the Planet. Then right after Thanksgiving the Crockett Family invited the star of the GI Joe Cartoon and former United States Champion and World Tag Team Champion Sgt Slaughter to join them for a Food Drive on TBS. Part of that food drive included several matches being held, one of which was a handicap match between Big Bubba Rogers and the team of George South and Rocky King. Bubba beat the daylights out of both men and continued the assault even after the bell. Slaughter finally had enough, jumped in the ring and got nose to nose with Bubba, shoving him and telling him to fight someone his own size. Cornette removed Bubba from the situation but Slaughter wasn't having it, he apologized to the Crocketts but said he could not stand bullies and that's all Bubba was and if the Crocketts would sign it and if Bubba had the guts then Slaughter wanted Bubba one on one at Starrcade. Cornette wasn't sure but Bubba spoke for himself and promised to destroy Slaughter.
1987 started off with Sting partnered up with Warlord in The Blade Runners, but with the team being lost at sea. At Starrcade 86 The Blade Runners lost a match to the Road Warriors and as a result Paul Ellering got a Chicago Street Fight with the Blade Runners’ manager Paul Jones. Ellering wiped the floor with Jones and gave him a vicious piledriver for good measure. Jones was stretchered out of the building and hasn’t been seen since! Kevin Sullivan would soon swoop in and take Sting and Warlord into his Army of Darkness. It didn’t take long for Sullivan to separate the Blade Runners and instead forge the Powers of Pain with Warlord and The Barbarian. Sullivan then became a cruel taskmaster to Sting, berating everything the young wrestler did and refusing to allow him to break out on his own. Sting finally had enough of Sullivan abuse in September when Sullivan slapped Sting repeatedly during an interview on WCW. Sting let go and attacked Sullivan!!!! The Powers of Pain were quickly on Sting until he was saved by an unlikely ally, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes carrying a steel chair!!!! Rhodes said he and Sullivan had a long and bloody past, and now that Rhodes had rid the NWA of Ole Anderson he figures he might help Sting get rid of Kevin Sullivan next!!!! Sting and Rhodes were signed to face the Powers of Pain at Halloween Havoc, and Sting got the win for his team pinning his old partner Warlord, but he was soon attacked by Sullivan and a Golden Spike!!!! The Powers of Pain and Sullivan looked like they mike carve up Sting and Rhodes when the lights went out, then Black Sabbath pumped through the PA System and The Road Warriors appeared in the NWA for the first time in 6 months!!!!! The Road Warriors rushed the ring and cleared it of the Army of Darkness, coming to the aid of their once rival Sting. The Army didn’t rest and soon Sullivan had summoned Mukhan Singh to even the odds. A match has been signed for Starrcade, a full year after facing them in a match Sting with team with The Road Warriors and “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes to take on The Army of Darkness!!!!!
Jesse Barr arrived in the NWA as the Summer began, calling himself “Hereditaryily Superior” Barr said he would show the world that no one was better than him. Debuting a hold he learned in Japan, an armbar he called “The Breaker Barr”, Jesse enjoyed quite a winning streak. He went as far as to start breaking the arms of his opponents, including that of “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin in September. As the months went on Barr continually demanded respect and complained that no matter how many arms he broke the NWA, the fans and the other wrestlers still refused to respect him. This all came to a head when his interview was interrupted by a returning Jimmy Valiant in November! Valiant danced onto the set of WTBS Studios, happy to be back in the NWA, Barr was irate and said it was his interview time, Valiant responded by giving Barr a kiss!!!! This was more than Barr can take and he demanded a match with Valiant at Starrcade!!! Barr promises to make Valiant pay for trying to make him look like a fool!!!!!!!
THE FOUR HORSEMEN, RICKY STEAMBOAT, DUSTY RHODES, LEX LUGER & BARRY WINDHAM
1987 saw the Horsemen dominating at the start of the year, though Ole and Arn Anderson lost the World Tag Team Titles to the Rock N Roll Express to kick the year off, they then made it to the semifinals of the Crockett Cup, Ole was making life miserable for Dusty Rhodes with Ole swearing that one of them would not be in wrestling when 1987 came to a close. Dusty agreed with Ole that things between them had gone on far too long, giving an impassioned promo on WCW where he talked about their storied history and how it just couldn’t continue. Dusty had faced Ric Flair for the World Title at Starrcade ‘86 after having won the Bunkhouse Stampede at Halloween Havoc ‘86 and Ole Anderson cost Dusty the match with a sneak attack. Ole and Dusty faced each other in every kind of imaginable match in the first half of the year and neither really seemed like they cared if they won or lost, they just wanted to cripple the other on.
Arn Anderson went on a roll defeating Ricky Steamboat for the Television Title in February and then proceeded to get into a feud with Barry Windham that saw them trade the title back and forth twice, culminating in Arn ending up with it in June after a 30 minute Iron Man Match in the Charlotte Coliseum that was broadcast on World Wide Wrestling.
Tully Blanchard added more gold to his resume when he defeated Lex Luger to become the United States Heavyweight Champion. Tully mocked Luger as he was the only man to have ever defeated “The Total Package”. Luger chased Tully all over the country in an attempt to win the title back before finally doing so on TBS during the Memorial Day Edition of the Superstars on the Superstation
Ric Flair continued to keep an iron grip on the World Title. Flair defended the title against an array of challengers but no one could seem to pry the title away from “The Man”. Flair even began calling out other “World” Champions on the Superstation, challenging them to show up and face him, no one took him up on his offer but it didn’t stop Flair from continually making the challenge. Heading into the half year mark it looked like Flair and The Horsemen are unstoppable!!!
All that would change in July at The Great American Bash.
Ricky Steamboat became so desperate to get a shot at the World Heavyweight Title he agreed to gather a team and meet the Horsemen in a new and dangerous match, WAR GAMES. Steamboat recruited Dusty Rhodes, Barry Windham and Lex Luger and each wrestler put up something if they lost. Ricky Steamboat would leave the NWA, Dusty Rhodes would retire from professional wrestling, Barry Windham would never be able to challenge any Horsemen for a title ever again, and Lex Luger would have to shave his head. In return, if the Horsemen lost, Ric Flair would grant Ricky Steamboat a World Title match, Ole Anderson would retire from professional wrestling, Arn Anderson would have to defend the World Television Title against Barry Windham in any match Barry chose, and Tully Blanchard could never challenge Lex Luger for th United States Title ever again. With the stipulations agreed to the Horsemen and Steamboat's team went to War in a bloody and intense contest that came to an end when Barry Windham forced Ole Anderson to submit to the Iron Claw. As a result Ole was gone, Arn would have to face Barry Windham in a Steel Cage match, Tully Blanchard could never again challenge Luger for the US Title and Flair had to do the one thing he desperately did not want to, defend the World Title against Ricky Steamboat.
The era of the Horsemen looked to be at an end. They tried several way to stave off extinction, first they brutally attacked Barry Windham before Windham could climb into the cage to challenge Arn for the TV Title, but when the doctors said Barry couldn't compete, the Crocketts stepped in and put Nikita Koloff in his place!!! Arn tried to escape from the "Russian Nightmare" but couldn't and ended up being pinned in the middle of the ring in the Omni and losing the TV Title to Nikita. Flair and JJ stalled as long as they could before the Crocketts forced Flair to defend the title against Steamboat at Halloween Havoc 87, live on Pay Per View. Flair and the Horsemen pulled out all the stops and every trick they could. The referee went down and JJ tried to hit Steamboat with the World Title, but Steamboat knocked him cold, Arn and Tully tried to rush the ring but Dusty and Windham stopped them, then Lex Luger rushed the ring!! He shouted encouragement to Steamboat to get the job done, he rolled JJ out of the ring, picked up the World Title and SMASHED STEAMBOAT WITH IT FROM BEHIND!!!!!!!! He then dragged Flair and place him on top of Steamboat before roughly waking the referee!!! Flair retained the title, the Horsemen were once again whole and Luger had stabbed all his friends in the back. Luger said he did it because as a professional athlete you have to do whatever it takes to reach the top, and he knew with the mind of JJ Dillon behind him and with the things he could learn from the other Horsemen he could indeed become the best wrestler in the world.
Steamboat feeling betrayed demanded and was granted a match for the US Title against Luger at Starrcade, Arn and Tully won a Tag Team Battle Royal in the Omni on Thanksgiving Night to earn a shot at the World Tag Team Titles at Starrcade, so they will face a Rock N Roll Express who are currently enjoying their 5th reign with the titles, and after careful consideration the Crocketts named the man who won War Games for his team, Barry Windham, as the #1 contender to the World Heavyweight Championship and signed a match between Flair and Windham for Starrcade.
NIKITA KOLOFF
After losing the United States Title to Lex Luger at Starrcade '86, Nikita Koloff vanished. Six months later, Nikita would make a surprise return at the Great American Bash, Nikita announced that after losing the US Title he decided to tour the United States and he found that the Kremlin had lied to him, and furthermore he had found he loved this country and wanted to stay. Nikita says that the Crocketts sponsored him and he applied to the US Government to defect!!!!! It didn't take long for Nikita's uncle Ivan to reappear as well and try to convince his nephew he was acting foolish, Nikita didn't want to listen but he also refused to wrestle his Uncle, no matter how many time Ivan berated or attacked him. Then one day Ivan was berating a young lady at ringside who turned out to be Nikita's American wife!!! Nikita would not let this happen and finally agreed to fight Ivan in a Russian Chain Match, Nikita won even though Ivan had brought Boris Zhukov with him and Boris interfered throughout the match. Soon after the Crocketts inserted Nikita into Barry Windham's place for a World Television Title match with Arn Anderson and Nikita won the title. Recently Nikita has found himself the target of former 7 time World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race. Race wants to climb the mountain and become the World Heavyweight Champion for an 8th time and he believes the best way to start on that course is to first take the World Television Title from Nikita, and he will try to do so at Starrcade
MIDNIGHT EXPRESS & BIG BUBBA ROGERS
Jim Cornette's tag team started 1987 off in turmoil as Cornette fired Dennis Condrey from the team and replaced him with Stan Lane. From there things began to fall into place for the MX as they started stacking up wins on the way to challenging their rivals the Rock n Roll Express for the World Tag Team Titles in May. The MX were able to finally win the belts that had long alluded them and spent the Summer of 87 defending them, and retaining them by hook or by crook against many of the top teams of the World. It wasn't until September that the Rock n Roll Express defeated the Midnights in a Ladder Match did their title reign come to an end. But the Midnights didn't take that lying down and soon found themselves holding gold once again when they defeat the New Breed at Halloween Havoc to capture the United States Tag Team Titles. That's when Cornette made a blunder and appeared on TBS and challenged any team, ANY TEAM, in the whole world who thought they could beat the MX to show up and face them at Starrcade. Cornette even left a blank contract with David Crockett for any team that wanted to sign it. The next week the world was shocked when The British Bulldogs walked into the WTBS Studios and signed to face the Midnight Express!!!!!
All the while, Big Bubba Rogers was enjoying a year of being unbeatable. Wrestlers lined up to fight Bubba and put him down, a who's who from Manny Fernandez to Wahoo McDaniel to Ronnie Garvin all stepped up to the plate and were all taken down by the man Cornette began calling The Baddest Man on the Planet. Then right after Thanksgiving the Crockett Family invited the star of the GI Joe Cartoon and former United States Champion and World Tag Team Champion Sgt Slaughter to join them for a Food Drive on TBS. Part of that food drive included several matches being held, one of which was a handicap match between Big Bubba Rogers and the team of George South and Rocky King. Bubba beat the daylights out of both men and continued the assault even after the bell. Slaughter finally had enough, jumped in the ring and got nose to nose with Bubba, shoving him and telling him to fight someone his own size. Cornette removed Bubba from the situation but Slaughter wasn't having it, he apologized to the Crocketts but said he could not stand bullies and that's all Bubba was and if the Crocketts would sign it and if Bubba had the guts then Slaughter wanted Bubba one on one at Starrcade. Cornette wasn't sure but Bubba spoke for himself and promised to destroy Slaughter.
STING
1987 started off with Sting partnered up with Warlord in The Blade Runners, but with the team being lost at sea. At Starrcade 86 The Blade Runners lost a match to the Road Warriors and as a result Paul Ellering got a Chicago Street Fight with the Blade Runners’ manager Paul Jones. Ellering wiped the floor with Jones and gave him a vicious piledriver for good measure. Jones was stretchered out of the building and hasn’t been seen since! Kevin Sullivan would soon swoop in and take Sting and Warlord into his Army of Darkness. It didn’t take long for Sullivan to separate the Blade Runners and instead forge the Powers of Pain with Warlord and The Barbarian. Sullivan then became a cruel taskmaster to Sting, berating everything the young wrestler did and refusing to allow him to break out on his own. Sting finally had enough of Sullivan abuse in September when Sullivan slapped Sting repeatedly during an interview on WCW. Sting let go and attacked Sullivan!!!! The Powers of Pain were quickly on Sting until he was saved by an unlikely ally, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes carrying a steel chair!!!! Rhodes said he and Sullivan had a long and bloody past, and now that Rhodes had rid the NWA of Ole Anderson he figures he might help Sting get rid of Kevin Sullivan next!!!! Sting and Rhodes were signed to face the Powers of Pain at Halloween Havoc, and Sting got the win for his team pinning his old partner Warlord, but he was soon attacked by Sullivan and a Golden Spike!!!! The Powers of Pain and Sullivan looked like they mike carve up Sting and Rhodes when the lights went out, then Black Sabbath pumped through the PA System and The Road Warriors appeared in the NWA for the first time in 6 months!!!!! The Road Warriors rushed the ring and cleared it of the Army of Darkness, coming to the aid of their once rival Sting. The Army didn’t rest and soon Sullivan had summoned Mukhan Singh to even the odds. A match has been signed for Starrcade, a full year after facing them in a match Sting with team with The Road Warriors and “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes to take on The Army of Darkness!!!!!
JESSE BARR
Jesse Barr arrived in the NWA as the Summer began, calling himself “Hereditaryily Superior” Barr said he would show the world that no one was better than him. Debuting a hold he learned in Japan, an armbar he called “The Breaker Barr”, Jesse enjoyed quite a winning streak. He went as far as to start breaking the arms of his opponents, including that of “Gorgeous” Jimmy Garvin in September. As the months went on Barr continually demanded respect and complained that no matter how many arms he broke the NWA, the fans and the other wrestlers still refused to respect him. This all came to a head when his interview was interrupted by a returning Jimmy Valiant in November! Valiant danced onto the set of WTBS Studios, happy to be back in the NWA, Barr was irate and said it was his interview time, Valiant responded by giving Barr a kiss!!!! This was more than Barr can take and he demanded a match with Valiant at Starrcade!!! Barr promises to make Valiant pay for trying to make him look like a fool!!!!!!!
Working on it now.