NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title Tournament Final Match (vacant): Sam Houston vs. Krusher Kruschev
This was an interesting match choice to kick off Starrcade, with it being one of the more famous pairings of the era, despite their low card status. Kruschev aka Barry Darsow has always praised Sam Houston for being a wonderful opponent for him, and you can certainly see that chemistry. It's what you want from an opening match, getting the crowd hot and heavy immediately while not doing much past the basics, not affecting later matches down the show. Sam Houston is tall, being the son of Grizzly Smith after all, but the sheer mass of Kruschev is impressive and makes Houston more of an underdog than he usually is. Houston is very over with the Greensboro crowd and is able to get them rocking with punch/kick combos followed by dropkick. Kruschev is able to cut Houston off at several key moments though and is able to recover quickly after getting pinned with his foot on the rope to hit the Russian Sickle for the three count. Solid bout. ***
Mexican Death Match: Abdullah The Butcher (w/Paul Jones) vs. 'Ragin Bull' Manny Fernandez
Puerto Rico has arrived in Atlanta. While Abdullah didn't fare well against Carlos Colon for their 1983 Starrcade match that I saw, this seems to be a much better match for him with Fernandez being over with the American crowds much more. The match is short and compact. Manny Fernandez wastes no time in trying to topple Abdullah with his boots and really hard shots. The match is incredibly bloody as well. From both sides of the ring which made for some great visual wrestlers with blood flying off Abby’s head when Manny hits him with a flying forearm (a flying burrito is what Tony Schiavone calls it). The finish is a bit awkward with Manny initially missing a splash but then quickly reversing the moment, moving out of a way of a corner splash, allowing him to win the match (to take the Sombrero off the pole). Cool match. ***1/4
Bullrope Match: Black Bart (w/JJ Dillon) vs. Ron Bass
The idea of the match is that if Ron Bass beats Black Bart, he'll be able to have 5 minutes with J.J Dillon under the same stipulation. So the result was obvious. The match was fun, through the purpose of seeing two big guys slug it out while blood goes everywhere. Bass mostly dominated the action with Bart getting some moments in to break up the routine of Bass beating on Bart with the cowbell. J.J Dillon did a good job of selling his worry on the outside, although he pantomimed it up a bit for the nose bleeders. The match got a little sluggish and monotonous by the end but Bass hitting a belt shot off the second rope woke the crowd up. Bass got Dillon and kicked his ass, much to the delight of the crowd. Although Black Bart got his revenge by piledriving Bass, allowing J.J Dillon to win their portion of the match. **1/2
The Barbarian (w/Paul Jones) vs. Superstar Billy Graham
This is quite possibly the least exciting match for Billy Graham’s JCP career. This was initially an arm wrestling match which the crowd was very into. Barbarian almost beats Graham, Graham comes back The match is the same story. It's not very interesting but I can't honestly say it's terrible. Graham looks to get the win before Paul Jones interferes for the DQ. **
NWA National Heavyweight Title Match: Terry Taylor (c) vs. Buddy Landel (w/JJ Dillon)
I think my favourite thing about Landel is how accurate his Flair impression is. He was even born in Tennessee, like Flair. His bumping, his selling is all super close to the real thing, especially when Landel cowered in the corner with his fists raised. The match was just solid wrestling fundamentals that slowly progressed into a fairly exciting crescendo. The action constantly shifted back and forth with someone only able to regain control for a short while before it shifted once more. I think the longest someone had control in the bout was Terry Taylor locking Landel with a bridging knuckle lock. Some of the big high spots of the match included Landel running into J.J Dillon after a failed interference and Dillon tripping Taylor on a top rope suplex with Landel landing into the pinning cover, for the three. This was terrific imo. Don't expect amazing moves though, as they opt for a slowish match with the occasional increase in speed. ***1/2
NWA National Tag Team Title Match: The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Arn Anderson & Ole Anderson) (c) vs. Billy Jack Haynes & Wahoo McDaniel
This is quite the match. Basic tag team wrestling done really well, although the finish wasn't too impactful. The Andersons did their famous routine of ripping Wahoo’s favourite arm to pieces with arm bar variations. Wahoo is still able to chop with his right arm though but without his left, it's a challenge for him. Billy Jack Haynes is very protected with his appearances only being limited to the start and bits of the middle. He bested Arn with his strength, being able to lift him in the Gorilla Press Slam and was able to save Wahoo from critical damage at times but ultimately Wahoo was overcome by the incredible teamwork of the Andersons who held his leg down after the trip in the ropes (the second time in a row which shows it was a botch). ***1/4
NWA United States Heavyweight Title I Quit Steel Cage Match: Tully Blanchard (w/Baby Doll) (c) vs. Magnum TA
One of the most visceral, violent matches in wrestling history. It lived up to its reputation in that regard. The pure hate that both wrestlers projected with every step they took was intense. The show is full of bloodletting and this tops it all. I liked how ugly a lot of the action was. Tully would grab Magnum's face and eyes, trying to find him and Magnum would rather throw Tully around than try any wrestling holds. The inish is legendary. Tully broke a chair and tried to stab Magnum in the eye. Magnum would desperately struggle to push Tully off him, reverse it and do the same back, cursing the “Yes” to signify the end. But the match is full of great moments like that. The match didn’t captivate me enough to rate it the true top marks but it's an outstanding match. ****1/2
Street Fight: Jimmy Valiant & Miss Atlanta Lively (w/Big Mama) vs. The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey) (w/Jim Cornette)
Ugh. Imagine wasting these wrestlers in this type of match, Jimmy Valiant aside. The wrestling is pretty serious and there is blood but Ron Garvin v Eaton & Condrey deserves more. Instead we get dresses and tuxedos. Anyway, Ron Garvin knocked out Bobby Eaton with an uppercut for the win. **1/4
NWA World Tag Team Title Steel Cage Match: The Russians (Ivan Koloff & Nikita Koloff) (w/Krusher Kruschev) (c) vs. The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) (w/Don Kernodle)
It was always going to be tough to follow up Tully Blanchard vs Magnum TA with the same stipulation, so they didn't try to. Instead they had a pretty entertaining tag team within the confines of the cage. The action was always fast and heavy, even when the Russians were in control. Robert Gibson was the one who did most of the heavy lifting, opposed to their most popular formula, and the wrestling was still pretty great. I loved his quick movements whenever he felt himself getting closer to the Russians corner. He also was light on the feet for the cage ramming spots, allowing a lighting speed counter which enhanced the spots. The match despite all it had against it, had the crowd super heated and kept me thoroughly engaged in the wrestling. The finish was basic with Morton getting the hot tag and quick win to get the titles. The angle with the Russians attacking the Rock‘n’Roll Express after the match was tremendous. Don Kernodle tries to help but he gets attacked as well. Gibson took some gross whips with the chain across his body and neck/face. ***1/2
NWA World Heavyweight Title Match: Ric Flair (c) vs. Dusty Rhodes
3 Years in the making. Dusty Rhodes showing up to the first Strrcde to challenge the new champion (Ric Flair), the contriersl ‘86 match with the blood stoppage, the formation of the Horsemen, the Hard Times Promo. All that history, all that build. It culminated with this match. With Dusty Rhodes winning the NWA World Heavyweight Title for the 3rd (and last) time. Lol. The match was solid and referenced their feud well with Flair working the previously broken ankle. Flair works super hard, doing his typical routine, bumping big for Dusty’s elbows, reacting to Dusty when his usual offence fails (chops and punches) and switching gears when required. Dusty is great at maximising the crowd heat which made everything he did seem important. Great main event. Everything you'd want in this spot. ***3/4
Overall:
Watching this in 2021, it's very refreshing to watch people focusing on the basics of making punches look good and making it look more dramatic while doing little. There were the bad matches like Graham v Barbarian, which was bearable due to its length and Midnight Express Street Fight was very disappointing, but there were a lot of enjoyable matches up and down the card. The main events were a hit, both cage matches and the Flair/Dusty match. The midcard National title matches (singles and tags) were very good in their own right. I fully recommend watching this show as a palate cleanser to modern wrestling. A break in routine is good for everyone.
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