Figures Friday: The Starrcade '83 Main Event!

Magnum T.A. and the Myth of Starrcade '86

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

The story has been told so many times over the last three decades that it's accepted by many today as fact. "Magnum T.A. was going to win the NWA title at Starrcade '86." 

Yes, Magnum was a sure bet to eventually wear the ten pounds of gold, but it wasn't going to happen at Starrcade '86.  That's nothing but romanticized wishful thinking by fans over the years out of love and respect for a guy whose career was cut short by the tragic automobile accident of October 1986, just over six weeks away from Starrcade.

A sure bet to be champion? Magnum T.A. leaves the ring with the Ten Pounds of Gold
after a confrontation with champion Ric Flair on the nationally televised
"World Championship Wrestling" program in June of 1985.

There is no doubt Magnum T.A. would have been a top choice for the NWA title, especially once it basically became a Jim Crockett Promotions company-title by 1986, and especially with Dusty Rhodes in charge. Magnum was Dusty's guy, and he had proven himself to be a big box office draw for the company.

Magnum T.A. was perfect in the role of challenger. He was brilliant in it, in fact, and had already proven to be so three times over in his relatively short main event career.

Let's take a look at each of those three cases, all which drew very well at the gate:

1. MAGNUM T.A. VS. WAHOO McDANIEL - After arriving in Jim Crockett Promotions in late 1984, Magnum chased Wahoo McDaniel for the U.S. title for roughly three months and beat him cleanly in front of a crazy Charlotte crowd in March of 1985. The message was clear - Magnum had defeated a bona fide wrestling legend in McDaniel, and it immediately propelled him into the upper tier of babyfaces in the promotion, second only to Rhodes.
2. MAGNUM T.A. vs. TULLY BLANCHARD - Then in the summer and fall 1985, Magnum chased Tully Blanchard for the same title. These two guys were opposite sides of the same coin. This feud was a bit different than the shorter program with Wahoo. It was a long hard five month chase that culminated in one of the most memorable, brutal Starrcade matches of them all - the 1985 "I Quit" match in Greensboro.
3. MAGNUM T.A. vs. NIKITA KOLOFF - Finally, after having the U.S. title stripped from him by an overly-legislative NWA president Bob Geigle, Magnum would chase the title again in a legendary best-of-seven series with the "Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff in 1986. This was made to order during the era of the cold war: the Great American Hero vs. the hated Communist Russian. Magnum found himself down 0-3 in the series before heroically battling back to tie the series 3-3 in what was the best match of the series in Asheville, NC. But then the unthinkable happened. Koloff won the title in match #7 in Charlotte, once again setting up Magnum as the classic babyface challenger chasing the title. Except this time it wasn't a regional battle against venerable aging legend in Wahoo McDaniel. It wasn't a national battle on the Superstation against the man on the other side of the mirror in Tully Blanchard. No, this battle now seemed world wide in scope - - the U.S.A. vs. Russia. And there can be little doubt that this program, which started way back at the beginning of 1986 would culminate in Magnum's greatest triumph ever up to that point, at Starrcade '86. It was one of the greatest wrestling stories ever told, except sadly we never got to see the finish.

The story with Nikita pretty much shatters any Magnum-wins-the-NWA-title-at-Starrcade-'86 theories, because Magnum was always going to regain the U.S. title from Nikita at Starrcade. Dusty had spent the entire year of 1986 setting that up. And consider these facts: Magnum's accident was on 10/12/86 which was only six weeks before Starrcade. There was NOTHING at that moment in time that even hinted at a Flair-Magnum match-up at Starrcade '86. In fact, all of Magnum's interviews that were taped in some cases mere hours before the accident were focused on a program with Jimmy Garvin. It was a program to run a few short weeks to keep Magnum out of the ring with Nikita at house shows in the weeks leading up to Starrcade. Magnum was going to face Nikita Koloff at Starrcade to get his U.S. title belt back, a match Dusty had meticulously booked toward since February of that year. Six weeks out from Starrcade, he wasn't going to suddenly put Magnum with Flair and abandon his entire year-long Magnum/Nikita program he had worked so hard to create.

And it doesn't even matter if Dusty or Jim Crockett or Ric Flair or anyone else - - some 30 years later through the fog of time - - ever said that it would have happened at Starrcade '86. I'll never be convinced that it was going to happen. Never. Not ever. To assert otherwise is an insult to the memory of the booking acumen, prowess, and style of Dusty Rhodes, especially during the hottest booking year of his entire career.  Everything about Dusty's booking in Jim Crockett Promotions up until that point during that era was gold. And everything about the Magnum-Nikita story that had been told for the entire year of 1986 pointed to a giant Starrcade finale.

If Magnum were to eventually win the NWA title from Flair after Starrcade '86, my guess for his earliest opportunity would be after a six-month build at the Great American Bash '87 or, much more likely, at Starrcade '87. Nothing can be really known for sure. Keep in mind that during Flair's title era with Jim Crockett Promotions in the the 1980s, guys like Barry Windham and Lex Luger that were also "certain" to win the NWA title from Flair never got the strap in that era, either. And they were both Dusty's boys just like Magnum.

A sure bet to be champion? One can certainly envision Magnum eventually carrying the Ten Pounds of Gold. Just not then. But the photo above lets us actually see what it might have looked like. Magnum knew how to carry a belt.

Still, though, the best story to my way of thinking would have always been Magnum chasing the belt. And Dusty Rhodes was really good at writing those great stories.

* * * * *

Edited and expanded from an original post titled "A Sure Bet to Be Champion?" in 2012 on the Domed-Globe website.

New Tony Schiavone T-shirt Calls Back to a Classic Design from the Past

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway 

Tony Schiavone has a new t-shirt on Pro Wrestling Tees. Well, I think it's new, it may have been around awhile, but I just came across it. But I marked out a little bit for this. It's a take-off on an old historic, but largely forgotten, classic Jim Crockett Promotions t-shirt sold at the Starrcade '84 event.

Whoever created this design nailed the homage to the original. Bravo.

The original design has a bit of a story to it, as it was the first (and only to my knowledge) "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" t-shirt produced by Jim Crockett Promotions.

Let's be honest, merchandising was never Jim Crockett Promotions' strong suit. The list of marketing and merchandising missed-opportunities makes for a pretty long list.

There had been wrestling programs (Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Magazine) and a few posters (Wahoo, Blackjack, Steamboat to name a few) in the 1970s, but those were only sold at the arenas and were never marketed on TV. 

In 1983, Crockett made a short-lived attempt to capitalize on the success of their first huge closed-circuit event Starrcade '83 by offering the Starrcade '83 photo album and a t-shirt through mail order.

In 1984 came the very first t-shirt sold at the arenas that bared the words of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. And it was the last as far as we know. It was a simple design bearing the name of their follow-up closed-circuit extravaganza, Starrcade '84, with the Mid-Atlantic Wrestling moniker stretched below.

The shirt is very rare, there weren't many made. George South has one in his collection, hanging in his museum. You can occasionaly come across one on Ebay, sometimes going for a high asking price, depending on what shape the t-shirt is in.

Following this 1984 shirt, JCP would introduce their first line of slogan/logo t-shirts featuring their top stars in 1985. The logos were also available on hats, jackets, and bandanas. "I Do It With Flair" is the best remembered of that series, and spurred on a similar t-shirt design for Ric Flair's daughter in the WWE in 2015.

In 1986, a second line of designs were released featuring artistic renderings of their top stars, a trend which continued until the sale of JCP to Ted Turner in 1988.

The Schiavone t-shirt is a very cool item indeed, and we hope to see more things like this that call back to the glory years of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling.  

You can get your own Schiavone Starrcade '84 t-shirt at ProWrestlingTees.com.

Late edit: Kudos to the artist who created this shirt, Ryan D (@highonryan), the creative genius who handles merchandise for Conrad Thompson's wildly popular Ad Free Shows (@adfreeshows) podcasts.

Arn Anderson Goes Deep into Starrcade '85 on the latest Arn Show

Arn Anderson and Conrad Thompson's latest episode of the Arn podcast (12/10/19) is a grand-slam home run.

For 108 minutes, Arn dives deep into his memories of his very first Starrcade for Jim Crockett Promotions, the big two-city closed-circuit megashow Starrcade '85.

It was Thanksgiving night and JCP was putting on their biggest show in their history to that point. It sold out two of their biggest arenas simultaneously, the Greensboro Coliseum and the Omni in Atlanta, with each city seeing the matches in the other city via closed circuit mixed in together. The entire event was also broadcast closed circuit to other arenas throughout the southeast and even in the Superdome in New Orleans.

As is usual for Thompson's podcasts where they review big events from the past, the rundown of the card and Arn's thoughts and memories on it is interesting, but the real gold nuggets in this show are found early on before they even get to the show itself.  In providing context to that time in Arn's life, there are several stories that shed a fascinating light into what it must have been like for a young 25 kid with the wrestling world in front of him at the time. The most interesting to me was his story about almost leaving JCP in those early months and returning to the Pensacola territory because of being unhappy with early payoffs. If that had happened, imagine how the wrestling world would have looked different for JCP in the next three years - - it was Arn who named the Four Horsemen later in 1985.

There is also an interesting discussion about the things he learned working and traveling with Ole Anderson in those years, and some interesting light shed on Ole's transition from owning his own territory (albeit a struggling one in the end) to going back to just being one of the boys and working the road. Great stuff if you are a fan of that time period like we are.

The "Starrcade '85" episode from Westwood One is up now on the Arn Show website and is available everywhere and anywhere you get your podcasts. Required listening!

A Thanksgiving Flashback: The Forgotten Prelude to Starrcade '85

by Dick Bourne

Mid-Atlantic Gateway

Edited from a post originally published November 23, 2015

 AUDIO AND VIDEO EMBEDDED IN THIS POST

As the years pass, it's natural for the smaller details to fade from memory on any good story. When folks talk about the build-up to Starrcade '85 all these 35+ years later, the story usually begins with Ric Flair and the Andersons turning on Dusty Rhodes in the cage in the Omni on 9/29/85. That's the angle they think of when they remember all the things that led up to the big world title match at Starrcade.

This story was originally part of a big 30th Anniversary
celebration of Starrcade '85 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

But the story began much earlier. You see, Dusty Rhodes needed to be the number one babyface and he had to have more than just the number one heel do bad things to him to set up his biggest match of the year. He needed someone the fans were beginning to love as much or more than him to turn on him. He needed more than evil deeds; he needed a betrayal.

Ric Flair had somewhat of a dual personality in the spring and summer of 1985 on Atlanta TV. For a majority of the time that Flair had been NWA world champion since September of 1981, he remained the most popular wrestler imaginable in his home territory of the Mid-Atlantic area, while wrestling straight heel as defending NWA world champion in every other territory in the NWA. When Jim Crockett Promotions acquired the wrestling TV time on Superstation WTBS, Flair maintained his heel persona on the national broadcast, while staying the babyface in the Mid-Atlantic area (even though many Mid-Atlantic fans were seeing the Superstation cable broadcasts, too.)

In the early months of Jim Crockett Promotion on the Superstation, Flair feuded with Magnum T.A. But in the home area of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, the company prepared for the first Great American Bash at Memorial Stadium in Charlotte with mega-babyface Flair defending the honor of America and his world title against the rising "Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff.

At this same time, the company was in the early stages of making plans for the biggest show of the year that was more than a half year away - - Starrcade. Booker Dusty Rhodes knew he wanted to end up challenging Flair for the world title, but he didn't want a repeat of the situation he had the previous Thanksgiving at Starrcade '84 where he and Flair met both as babyfaces in the main event of that show.

Dusty needed more than a simple angle where the heel carried out some dastardly deed to set up the match. With Flair still hugely popular in the Mid-Atlantic area, and riding the successful program there with Nikita Koloff, Dusty devised the ingenious plan to add betrayal into the mix heading towards Starrcade '85.

He allowed the Mid-Atlantic Flair/Nikita feud to also play out on Atlanta TV, and planned a series of three main events between the two in Atlanta.

On 8/11/85, Flair defended the NWA title against Nikita at the Omni, with the match ending in a double count-out. A return match was set for 9/1 with the title on the line again but this time in a lumberjack match, with wrestlers surrounding the ring to make sure the combatants stayed in the ring.

The day before that rematch, on the 8/31/85 World Championship Wrestling show, Dusty shot an angle that was every bit as important as the big turn in the cage to come later, because it laid the foundation for the turn in the cage to have maximum impact. yet sadly, that small angle is largely forgotten in this story.

On that Saturday's show, Ivan and Nikita continued to run down Flair and the U.S.A. until Flair had had enough. During Nikita's TV match, with Ivan at the podium doing commentary with Tony Schiavone, Flair interrupted and challenged Ivan Koloff. Nikita saw what was happening, left the ring and jumped Flair from behind and through him in the ring. Nikita had the upper hand until Flair ducked a clothesline and nailed Nikita with a flying forearm. As he applied the figure four, Ivan hit the ring and the two Koloffs started to do a major number on Flair as the TV studio crowd was in an uproar.

Then the nearly unthinkable happened. Dusty Rhodes hit the ring to make the save. Dusty cleared the ring and then helped Ric to his feet. If you watch the angle carefully, you will notice that Flair gently pulled way from Rhodes as he was trying to help him up, and didn't really acknowledge his assistance. As Flair lit into a crazy promo on Nikita, Rhodes left the studio unnoticed.

Dusty Rhodes takes Ric Flair's hand after Flair had been attacked by the Koloffs

On its face, the angle was to add heat for the Flair/Nikita rematch at the Omni the following night. It certainly did that, but it also served the larger purpose as a subtle beginning to what would be the Flair turn on Dusty a month later in the cage.

The following night 9/1 in the Omni, Ivan and Khrusher Khrushchev, who were part of the contingent of lumberjacks at ringside, repeatedly attacked Flair during the match. The match ended again in a no contest, resulting in a third match between the two being set for 9/29, this final confrontation to take place inside a steel cage.

The following Saturday on World Championship Wrestling, Flair warned Dusty in unmistakable terms to stay out of his business, referring to the previous week's events on TV where Rhodes had saved him from the Koloffs' attack - -

"Dusty Rhodes, don't ever make the mistake of sticking your nose in my business. If I'm down and out, I'll get up and take care of myself. ... don't think you can walk into that ring and give me a hand or try to help me out and ease the tension in our relationship."

It didn't seem odd or out of place at all. Flair and Rhodes had feuded for years, and although Flair had become increasingly popular on the Superstation as of late, he still maintained that heel edge, cutting masterful promos where he would crack on both babyfaces and heels all at the same time in the same interview. It was beautiful to behold. Dusty had been warned. It was subtle, and yet direct at the same time.

Apparently, though, not direct enough for Dusty to get the message.

Fast forward to the infamous cage match of 9/29/85. Flair, with a sold out Omni behind him, finally turned back the challenge of the "Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff. But when the cage door was unlocked, Ivan Koloff and Khrusher Khrushchev hit the ring and three began to pummel Flair. The crowd didn't like it, but suddenly their boos turned into a loud roar as the "American Dream" hit the ring, throwing those famous elbows and sending the Russians running. The Omni came unglued.

With the Russians dispatched, Dusty turned to help Ric to his feet just as he did four weeks earlier on the Superstation. Except this time Ric pointed at Rhodes from the mat and shouted angrily, "I told you not to interfere in my business!" As Dusty stood confused at Ric's reaction, he failed to notice Ole and Arn Anderson entering the cage door behind him. The Andersons attacked Rhodes. Ric got to his feet, paused for a moment, and then went over to the cage door, pulled the chain back through, and padlocked it shut.

If you watch this carefully, you will notice fans at ringside within the camera shot screaming at Flair and pointing to the Andersons pounding Rhodes as if to implore the champ to return the favor and help Rhodes out. But instead, Ric went and joined his cousins and the three put an epic beatdown on the Dream.

You know the rest. As the Andersons held Rhodes, Flair leapt from the top turnbuckle onto Dusty's leg, badly injuring the ankle.

Booker Rhodes used the betrayal to turn Flair heel in the Mid-Altlantic area as well, as the Crockett syndicated shows the entire Omni cage angle. Ric was now a full fledged heel everywhere. Dusty was out of action for a little over a month. TV followed his rehab along with his doctor Joseph Estwanik. When he made his return on 11/3 in the Omni in an undercard match against Mike Davis, he proved the ankle was well, and Jim Crockett signed the NWA world title match between Rhodes and Flair for Starrcade '85.

The angle in the cage in Atlanta was hot and resulted in a near riot at the Omni, as fans at one point rushed ringside and braced the cage door to prevent the Andersons and Flair from being able to exit the ring.

But what made that angle work so well and what made that crowd riot was the betrayal - - not the attack. The weeks leading up to that betrayal are what are often overlooked today as we look back on that famous build to Starrcade '85.

Whatever you think of Dusty Rhodes as a storyteller and how this particular story played out in the end, you have to admit he hit this part of the story out of the ballpark.

YouTube video - - WTBS 8/31/85
Thanks to Scott Anderson for sending us the link.

Originally published November 23, 2015, and republished November 23, 2016.

Thanksgiving Flashback: Starrcade '85

Thirty-three years ago today: Starrcade '85!
 

What a great photo taken in Atlanta's Omni at Starrcade '85. It features the Atlanta crowd watching Greensboro's closed circuit broadcast featuring the legendary Johnny Weaver with the old Greensboro Coliseum logo behind him. Great memories. 32 years ago. (More on STARRCADE '85)

We also should point out one of the photographers listed for the photos that would follow in the article from Greensboro was Mid-Atlantic Gateway contributor Eddie Cheslock.

Thanksgiving Flashback: Starrcade '86

THIRTY-TWO YEARS AGO ON THIS DAY - STARRCADE '86
GREENSBORO, ATLANTA, AND KANSAS CITY

 Thirty-two years ago on Thanksgiving day (on that year Thanksgiving was on November 27), Starrcade '86 took place in the dual venues of the Omni in Atlanta and the traditional Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro.  It was the second of two years that JCP split the event between two cities with alternating matches in each locations closed-circuited back to the other. What is often forgotten is that Kansas City, KS was the third city that year to be a part of Starrcade '86, hosting live matches at Memorial Hall and then presenting the entire closed circuit telecast.

Take a look back at Starrcade '86 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archive website. There you will find the program cover, ticket stub, results from Greensboro, Atlanta, and Kansas City, as well as newspaper ads and closed circuit locations.

Thanksgiving Flashback: Starrcade '87

THIRTY-ONE YEARS AGO TODAY!

It was a nights for firsts and lasts.

It was the first Starrcade outside the traditional Mid-Atlantic territory, as Jim Crockett Promotions moved Starrcade to Chicago that year. It was also the company's first ever pay-per-view event.

But it was shut out of the majority of cable systems by the WWE, the effects of which were felt in the company's business in 1988 and helped lead to the sale of the company to Ted Turner in late 1988.

It would prove to be the last Thanksgiving show under the Jim Crockett Promotions banner and the last Starrcade for the family promotion as well.

Relive the memories of the first Starrcade outside of the traditional Mid-Atlantic territory, thirty-one years ago today! Visit our Starrcade '87 page on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway archive site.

Thanksgiving Flashback: Starrcade '83 35th Anniversary

THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO TONIGHT! - STARRCADE 83!

 It is called "the Granddaddy of The All" and is generally recognized as the first "Super Card" that ushered in the modern era of super card pay-per-events.

Before there was Wrestlemania, there was Starrcade.

The first Starrcade was in 1983 and was sub-titled "A Flare for the Gold" and featured the area's favorite son "Nature Boy" Ric Flair regaining the NWA world title from Harley Race. It was Flair's second World championship of what would become 16 World titles over the next two decades.

Take a look back at Starrcade '83 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archive website. There you will find special art graphics, program cover, newspaper and magazine material, ticket stub, results, and much more. 




NWA CHAMPIONS ON THANKSGIVING FOR JCP

What do Swede Hanson, Pat O'Connor, the Missouri Mauler, Johnny Weaver, Jerry Brisco, Dory Funk, Jr., Wahoo McDaniel, Rufus R. Jones, Ricky Steamboat, Paul Jones, Ivan Koloff, Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, and Nikita Koloff have in common? They all failed in their bid to capture the NWA World Heavyweight championship on a Jim Crockett Promotions card on a Thanksgiving night. Only Ric Flair was successful in capturing the "ten pounds of gold" on Thanksgiving, and he did it twice. See the list of all those Thanksgiving title matches on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.

Thanksgiving Flashback: The Forgotten Prelude to Starrcade '85

by Dick Bourne

Mid-Atlantic Gateway

originally published November 23, 2015

 AUDIO AND VIDEO EMBEDDED IN THIS POST

As the years pass, it's natural for the smaller details to fade from memory on any good story. When folks talk about the build-up to Starrcade '85 all these 30+ years later, the story usually begins with Ric Flair and the Andersons turning on Dusty Rhodes in the cage in the Omni on 9/29. That's the angle they think of when they remember all the things that led up to the big world title match at Starrcade.

But the story began much earlier. You see, Dusty Rhodes needed to be the number one babyface and he had to have more than just the number one heel do bad things to him to set up his biggest match of the year. He needed someone the fans were beginning to love as much or more than him to turn on him. He needed more than evil deeds; he needed selfish betrayal.

Ric Flair had somewhat of a dual personality in the spring and summer of 1985 on Atlanta TV. For a majority of the time that Flair had been NWA world champion since September of 1981, he remained the most popular wrestler imaginable in his home territory of the Mid-Atlantic area, while wrestling straight heel as defending NWA world champion in every other territory in the NWA. When Jim Crockett Promotions acquired the wrestling TV time on Superstation WTBS, Flair maintained his heel persona on the national broadcast, while staying the babyface in the Mid-Atlantic area (even though many Mid-Atlantic fans were seeing the Superstation cable broadcasts, too.)

In the early months of Jim Crockett Promotion on the Superstation, Flair feuded with Magnum T.A. But in the home area of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, the company prepared for the first Great American Bash at Memorial Stadium in Charlotte with mega-babyface Flair defending the honor of America and his world title against the rising "Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff.

At this same time, the company was in the early stages of making plans for the biggest show of the year that was more than a half year away - - Starrcade. Booker Dusty Rhodes knew he wanted to end up challenging Flair for the world title, but he didn't want a repeat of the situation he had the previous Thanksgiving at Starrcade '84 where he and Flair met both as babyfaces in the main event of that show.

Dusty needed more than a simple angle where the heel carried out some dastardly deed to set up the match. With Flair still hugely popular in the Mid-Atlantic area, and riding the successful program there with Nikita Koloff, Dusty devised the ingenious plan to add betrayal into the mix heading towards Starrcade '85.

He allowed the Mid-Atlantic Flair/Nikita feud to also play out on Atlanta TV, and planned a series of three main events between the two in Atlanta.

On 8/11/85, Flair defended the NWA title against Nikita at the Omni, with the match ending in a double count-out. A return match was set for 9/1 with the title on the line again but this time in a lumberjack match, with wrestlers surrounding the ring to make sure the combatants stayed in the ring.

The day before that rematch, on the 8/31/85 World Championship Wrestling show, Dusty shot an angle that was every bit as important as the big turn in the cage to come later, because it laid the foundation for the turn in the cage to have maximum impact. yet sadly, that small angle is largely forgotten in this story.

On that Saturday's show, Ivan and Nikita continued to run down Flair and the U.S.A. until Flair had had enough. During Nikita's TV match, with Ivan at the podium doing commentary with Tony Schiavone, Flair interrupted and challenged Ivan Koloff. Nikita saw what was happening, left the ring and jumped Flair from behind and through him in the ring. Nikita had the upper hand until Flair ducked a clothesline and nailed Nikita with a flying forearm. As he applied the figure four, Ivan hit the ring and the two Koloffs started to do a major number on Flair as the TV studio crowd was in an uproar.

Then the nearly unthinkable happened. Dusty Rhodes hit the ring to make the save. Dusty cleared the ring and then helped Ric to his feet. If you watch the angle carefully, you will notice that Flair gently pulled way from Rhodes as he was trying to help him up, and didn't really acknowledge his assistance. As Flair lit into a crazy promo on Nikita, Rhodes left the studio unnoticed.

Dusty Rhodes takes Ric Flair's hand after Flair had been attacked by the Koloffs

On its face, the angle was to add heat for the Flair/Nikita rematch at the Omni the following night. It certainly did that, but it also served the larger purpose as a subtle beginning to what would be the Flair turn on Dusty a month later in the cage.

The following night 9/1 in the Omni, Ivan and Khrusher Khrushchev, who were part of the contingent of lumberjacks at ringside, repeatedly attacked Flair during the match. The match ended again in a no contest, resulting in a third match between the two being set for 9/29, this final confrontation to take place inside a steel cage.

The following Saturday on World Championship Wrestling, Flair warned Dusty in unmistakable terms to stay out of his business, referring to the previous week's events on TV where Rhodes had saved him from the Koloffs' attack - -

"Dusty Rhodes, don't ever make the mistake of sticking your nose in my business. If I'm down and out, I'll get up and take care of myself. ... don't think you can walk into that ring and give me a hand or try to help me out and ease the tension in our relationship."

It didn't seem odd or out of place at all. Flair and Rhodes had feuded for years, and although Flair had become increasingly popular on the Superstation as of late, he still maintained that heel edge, cutting masterful promos where he would crack on both babyfaces and heels all at the same time in the same interview. It was beautiful to behold. Dusty had been warned. It was subtle, and yet direct at the same time.

Apparently, though, not direct enough for Dusty to get the message.

Fast forward to the infamous cage match of 9/29/85. Flair, with a sold out Omni behind him, finally turned back the challenge of the "Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff. But when the cage door was unlocked, Ivan Koloff and Khrusher Khrushchev hit the ring and three began to pummel Flair. The crowd didn't like it, but suddenly their boos turned into a loud roar as the "American Dream" hit the ring, throwing those famous elbows and sending the Russians running. The Omni came unglued.

With the Russians dispatched, Dusty turned to help Ric to his feet just as he did four weeks earlier on the Superstation. Except this time Ric pointed at Rhodes from the mat and shouted angrily, "I told you not to interfere in my business!" As Dusty stood confused at Ric's reaction, he failed to notice Ole and Arn Anderson entering the cage door behind him. The Andersons attacked Rhodes. Ric got to his feet, paused for a moment, and then went over to the cage door, pulled the chain back through, and padlocked it shut.

If you watch this carefully, you will notice fans at ringside within the camera shot screaming at Flair and pointing to the Andersons pounding Rhodes as if to implore the champ to return the favor and help Rhodes out. But instead, Ric went and joined his cousins and the three put an epic beatdown on the Dream.

You know the rest. As the Andersons held Rhodes, Flair leapt from the top turnbuckle onto Dusty's leg, badly injuring the ankle.

Booker Rhodes used the betrayal to turn Flair heel in the Mid-Altlantic area as well, as the Crockett syndicated shows the entire Omni cage angle. Ric was now a full fledged heel everywhere. Dusty was out of action for a little over a month. TV followed his rehab along with his doctor Joseph Estwanik. When he made his return on 11/3 in the Omni in an undercard match against Mike Davis, he proved the ankle was well, and Jim Crockett signed the NWA world title match between Rhodes and Flair for Starrcade '85.

The angle in the cage in Atlanta was hot and resulted in a near riot at the Omni, as fans at one point rushed ringside and braced the cage door to prevent the Andersons and Flair from being able to exit the ring.

But what made that angle work so well and what made that crowd riot was the betrayal - - not the attack. The weeks leading up to that betrayal are what are often overlooked today as we look back on that famous build to Starrcade '85.

Whatever you think of Dusty Rhodes as a storyteller and how this particular story played out in the end, you have to admit he hit this part of the story out of the ballpark.

Added: YouTube video - - WTBS 8/31/85
Thanks to Scott Anderson for sending us the link.

Happy Thanksgiving! Starrcade '84 Thirty-Four Years Ago This Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway! We are thankful for all of you, and thankful for the fact you join us to help keep the memories of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions alive.

- Dick Bourne and David Chappell

STARRCADE '84

Thirty-four years ago today, Thanksgiving night, November 22, 1984 - - Jim Crockett Promotions returned to the Greensboro Coliseum for what would be its second annual Thanksgiving tradition: Starrcade.

Not only was the show a sellout in Greensboro, it was beamed to multiple closed circuit locations across the territory and in a few locations outside of the territory.

Ad for Columbia SC Township Auditorium, Closed Circuit (CCTV) Location for Starrcade '84

See more memorabilia related to Starrcade '84!

including:

Advance Ticket Sales Brochure
Program Cover
Video Promo
Advance Event Newspaper Ad
Newspaper Ad
Newspaper Result
Promotional Starrcade Cash
Ticket Stubs
T-Shirt Logo
Newspaper Article
More video!

Newspaper clipping courtesy of Mark Eastridge.

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Thanksgiving Week 2018

WWE STARRCADE
Last year, the WWE brought Starrcade back to the Greensboro Coliseum for a night of nostalgia which by and large was a huge hits for the fans. Given the event's success and positive response from fans, especially locally, some speculated that the WWE might make it an annual tradition back in Greensboro or in perhaps in Atlanta, and perhaps as WWE Network special.

Well, yes and no. The WWE is bringing back Starrcade again this year as a special presentation on the WWE Network except - - - - - - - - it's in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I can hear Stone Cold Steve Austin now. WHAT???? And the WWE will wonder why there won't be any buzz about this event this year.

Starrcade, if you are going to go to the trouble to bring it back as a nostalgic attraction at all, needs to be in the old traditional Mid-Atlantic/JCP territory. Sure, Starrcade continued as a Ted Turner WCW event for over a decade, and in places like Nashville and Washington D.C. and occasionally even in a traditional Crockett city.

But if you are going to bring back the nostalgic aspect of Starrcade, it needs to be here. In Greensboro. Just like they did last year so wonderfully.

Bruce Mitchell of PWTorch.com wrote about the night Starrcade returned to Greensboro much more eloquently than I could ever hope to do. It was a special article for the Mid-Atlantic Gateway last year. Take a moment to read that again now. A Thanksgiving Surprise: Starrcade Magic Returns to Greensboro by Bruce Mitchell


STARRCADE REFLECTIONS
Over the next few days we'll be taking a look back at some of the Crockett Starrcades on the actual date anniversary of those big shows. Along with your turkey and pumpkin pie, I hope you'll feast on these great memories of Thanksgiving events from years ago:

November 22 - Starrcade '84 The Million Dollar Challenge
November 24 - Starrcade '83 A Flare for the Gold
November 26 - Starrcade '87 Chi-Town heat
November 27 - Starrcade '86 Night of the Skywalkers
November 28 - Starrcade '85 The Gathering

THANKSGIVING WRESTLING REFLECTIONS
And don't forget, wrestling was a Thanksgiving tradition in Greensboro and Norfolk long before Starrcade. Take a look back at 20 years of JCP Thanksgiving events from 1967-1987 on our Thanksgiving Tradition page on the old Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archive website.


Plus check out these old posts on Thanksgiving and Starrcade traditions:


The Forgotten Prelude to Starrcade '85
When most folks think of events leading to the Flair/Rhodes main event at Starrcade '85, they think of Flair and the Andersons turning on Dusty in the cage at the Omni. However, it got it's start much earlier than that. Read about an angle and an important part of that story largely forgotten in the saga of Starrcade '85.

Thanksgiving Retro: Greensboro and Norfolk 1975
A look back at a huge night of action in the Mid-Atlantic territory featuring NWA champion Jack Brisco, U.S. champion Terry Funk, Wahoo McDaniel, Paul Jones, Andre the Giant, Superstar Billy Graham, Gene and Ole Anderson and so many more!

Thanksgiving Wrestling Through The Years for Jim Crockett Promotions
Links to pages featuring info on annual Thanksgiving cards for Jim Crockett Promotions from 1967-1987.

Dr. Joseph Estwanik: A Doctor Remembers
Kyra Quinn looks back at a sometimes forgotten character in the story of Starrcade '85.

A Second Look at WWE Starrcade (2017)
I was skeptical at first. Then I took a second look once it was over, and I saw things in a different light. WWE's Starrcade in Greensboro 2017.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

A Thanksgiving Surprise: Starrcade Magic Returns to Greensboro

by Bruce Mitchell, Senior Columnist for PWTorch.com
Special to the Mid-Atlantic Gateway

When WWE announced that their Thanksgiving weekend house show in Greensboro would be branded WWE Starrcade, I shrugged. There hadn’t been a Thanksgiving Starrcade show in Greensboro in thirty years and between it being WWE and, well, thirty years ago, I figured this wouldn’t be much more than a token gesture.

I wasn’t mad. There are great things in these days too, and you miss out when the past overtakes you.

Thanksgiving Night Mid-Atlantic cards were one of the coolest things ever, where the biggest major league showdown matches between the biggest Mid-Atlantic stars, and where one year, the biggest match in the world, Jack Brisco challenging Dory Funk Jr. for the NWA title, took place.

Ricky Steamboat
and Shinsuke Nakamura
(Photo courtesy of Jonny Fairplay)

For many fans around here the greatest shows they ever saw weren’t Wrestlemanias, but Starrcade/Mid-Atlantic Championship Thanksgiving Night shows at the Greensboro Coliseum. All-time greats, including a significant portion of the WWE Hall of Fame, cemented their legends in this building on these nights.

Then the world changed, as it always does.

The Mid-Atlantic Gateway has a mission statement. WWE has a different one. WWE Starrcade figured to be another WWE house show, except maybe Goldust would wrestle a match, and Ricky Steamboat and The Rock’n’Roll Express would wave to the crowd. WWE has spent decades trying to rewrite history in their favor, so no way this was what it should be.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

White ropes, Starrcade banners, loads of great old video footage, the return of the legendary steel-grey steel cage match, built before our eyes just like Klondike Bill used to do…

The Hardy Boyz talking about what it meant to sit in these seats and dream dreams, Arn Anderson with his first spine-buster since the one he threw at that Wrestlemania, Goldust morphing into the flip-flop-flying Natural Dustin Rhodes…

Dusty! Dusty! Dusty!, The New Day getting The Rock’N’Roll Express to dance, NWA Champion Harley Race and his challenger on a new throwback Starrcade ’83 t-shirt…

(Photo courtesy of Lee Petry)

Modern day innovator Shinsuke Nakamura bowing in respect to all-time innovator Ricky Steamboat…

Oh, and it turned out that early on I wasn’t the only skeptic about all this. Tickets weren’t selling that fast.

Even that worked out, because WWE called in the Great One, the one name synonymous with professional wrestling in the Greensboro Coliseum, and it all turned around.

So, as it turned out, on Saturday night, November 25th, 2017 The Nature Boy Ric Flair drew yet another big house in the old barn on the corner of Lee Street and High Point Road.

There is something indomitable, even now, in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

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More on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway from Bruce Mitchell:
The Lightning and Thunder of the Nature Boys
One Night at the WRAL Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Tapings

Visit the Pro Wrestling Torch website at PWTorch.com.

"Four Horsemen" on Amazon.com                                  Mid-Atlantic Gateway Bookstore

A Second Look at "WWE Starrcade"

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway


When I first heard about the WWE calling their November 25 house show in Greensboro "WWE Starrcade" I was pretty down on the whole concept. (See "No Thanks. That's Not Starrcade" published 10/1/17.)

Now that the show is over, I've taken a second look and will admit that I see it in a little different light.

But just a little.

If I'm true to the normal way I feel about such things, I should celebrate what took place in Greensboro last Saturday night, right? After all, I celebrate the indies when they do something special to recognize wrestling's traditions and legends from the past. (The CWF's "Johnny Weaver Cup Tournament" and George South's sporadic "Anderson Brothers Classic" events are two examples.)

But what kept creeping into my mind was that it was the WWE that helped kill Starrcade. In 1987 they effectively blocked 99% of the cable systems from carrying Jim Crockett Promotions' first pay-per-view event which was one of what would be several fatal blows to Jim Crockett Promotions that forced the sale of the company, and an end to an era to go along with it.

If WWE had put this thing on their network, that at least would have given it more of a big-show feel, something a show with the name Starrcade deserved. In the end, it was just as I originally framed it - - a glorified house show.

Not that there is anything wrong with glorified house shows. It beats the heck out of "same-old" house shows. And there is no more special house to host one of those than the fabled Greensboro Coliseum.

Here are a few of the touches WWE put on this house show to make it a little more special:

1. Ric Flair appeared and introduced his daughter Charlotte (née, Ashley) who was defending her Women's championship that night in a steel cage. Flair was Starrcade, headlining all five Crockett events from 1983-1987. And I guess if you are going to have Starrcade in Greensboro again, you might as well have a Flair in a steel cage.
2. Ricky Steamboat appeared as well, and was was greeted respectfully by Shinsuke Nakamura in the ring. Steamboat was a big part of the first two Crockett Starrcades in 1983 and 1984.
3. The Rock and Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) participated in a skit with the New Day and a four-way tag match. The Rock and Roll Express were a big part of three Crockett Starrcades in 1985, 1986, and 1987.
4. Dustin Rhodes wrestled in his "Natural" persona from the Turner WCW days. Dustin represented his father Dusty Rhodes well in a match against Dash Wilder. The American Dream was a part of all five Crockett Starrcades, headlining two of them, and is credited with coming up with the name of the event.
5. And speaking of Dash Wilder, I couldn't help but think of the Andersons seeing video clips of Wilder wrestling Rhodes on the event. Dash and his partner Scott Dawson make up our favorite WWE tag team, The Revival. Wilder wears those classic horizontal-striped boots (a style I dubbed "Anderson boots" years ago) that were synonymous with the Anderson tag teams (comprised at different times of Gene, Lars, Ole, and Arn Anderson) of the 1960s-1980s. Ole and Arn Anderson were a big part of the Crockett Starrcades, as was Gene Anderson behind the scenes. Wilder is a North Carolina native who grew up during the Crockett Starrcade era.
6. It was fitting that Charles Robinson was the main referee on this show, having been a part of so many WCW Starrcades in the 1990s and being such a huge fan of Jim Crockett Promotions and Mid-Atlantic Wrestling growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. That, and he's the best referee in the business.
7. And finally, maybe the best moment of them all from the whole night - - Arn Anderson executing a picture perfect spine-buster on Dolph Ziggler in the center of that Greensboro ring, and then reminding Dolph he was in Horsemen country. Arn was a big part of the final three Crockett Starrcades from 1985-1987.

Arn Anderson hits Dolph Ziggler w/ a Spinebuster at #WWEStarrcade! pic.twitter.com/MZ6LCEwBMA

— NXTFanNation 🎄⛄️ (@NXTFanNation) November 26, 2017

It isn't clear what percentage of the fans in attendance last Saturday truly understood the history of Starrcade, and the history of the event in that building. Some fans surely did, like Front Row Section D who made their own return to Starrcade, even if from the 5th row in 2017. But I guess in the end what's important is that the name Starrcade continues to be relevant and that those memories are kept alive. After all, that's our sole purpose here at the Gateway.

I guess I should give thanks for WWE Starrcade after all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway! We are thankful for all of you, and thankful for the fact you join us to help keep the memories of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions alive.

- Dick Bourne and David Chappell

Along with your turkey and pumpkin pie, I hope you'll feast on these great memories of Thanksgiving events from years ago:

Starrcade '87 Turns 30!
 Hard to believe it's been 30 years since Starrcade '87. It was a tumultuous time for Jim Crockett Promotions as they entered into what would be their final year of existence before the family business was sold to Ted Turner. Check out some memorabilia from that show, including a look at some rarely talked about results from the Superdome for Bill Watts in advance of the PPV telecast.

Don't miss Tony Schiavone and Conrad Thompson talking Starrcade '87 on "What Happened When" on the MLW Radio Network and wherever you get your podcasts.

Our buddy Jeff Jewett posted some terrific photos on his Twitter account of his wrestling belt and figures collection paying tribute to Starrcade '87 and giving thanks to Tony for covering it on his show. It's like Action Figures Friday came a few days early. Great photos, Jeff!

This Thanksgiving I’m thankful for @tonyschiavone24 & @HeyHeyItsConrad covering #Starrcade87 on @WHWMonday pic.twitter.com/o1YoIIE7wh

— Jeff Jewett (@jeffjewett) November 20, 2017

The Forgotten Prelude to Starrcade '85
When most folks think of events leading to the Flair/Rhodes main event at Starrcade '85, they think of Flair and the Andersons turning on Dusty in the cage at the Omni. However, it got it's start much earlier than that. Read about an angle and an important part of that story largely forgotten in the saga of Starrcade '85.

Thanksgiving Retro: Greensboro and Norfolk 1975
A look back at a huge night of action in the Mid-Atlantic territory featuring NWA champion Jack Brisco, U.S. champion Terry Funk, Wahoo McDaniel, Paul Jones, Andre the Giant, Superstar Billy Graham, Gene and Ole Anderson and so many more!

Thanksgiving Wrestling Through The Years for Jim Crockett Promotions
Links to pages featuring info on annual Thanksgiving cards for Jim Crockett Promotions from 1967-1987.

Magazine Memories: Starrcade '85

What a great photo taken in Atlanta's Omni at Starrcade '85. It features the Atlanta crowd watching Greensboro's closed circuit broadcast featuring the legendary Johnny Weaver with the old Greensboro Coliseum logo behind him. Great memories. 32 years ago. (More on STARRCADE '85)

We also should point out one of the photographers listed for the photos that would follow in the article from Greensboro was Mid-Atlantic Gateway contributor Eddie Cheslock.

No Thanks. That's Not Starrcade.

by Dick Bourne
Mid-Atlantic Gateway

When Bruce Mitchell of PWTorch.com recently tweeted that the WWE should consider bringing Tony Schiavone back to do some old-school retro promos for their upcoming "WWE Starrcade" Thanksgiving weekend show in Greensboro, he received an interesting reply from a twitter follower suggesting it would also be cool if Mean Gene Okerlund could do some backstage interviews, too.

Mitchell replied perfectly: "No thanks. That's not Starrcade."

This Okerlund response to Mitchell's Schiavone tweet was well meaning and well intended. But it registered like an off-key note. What that person didn't realize was Bruce wasn't talking about the 1990s Tony Schaivone/Gene Okerlund battlebowl WCW Starrcades of the 1990s. He was talking about the Tony Schiavone/Bob Caudle JCP Starrcades of the 1980s.

It dawned on me that so many younger fans, especially those that didn't grow up in the Mid-Atlantic area, have no idea of what Starrcade really meant to the fans in this area, no idea what Starrcade was in its purest form.

For guys like Bruce Mitchell, David Chappell, and me - - and for that matter Tony Schiavone, too - - Starrcade in its purist form were the 1983-1987 events that ended when the Crockett family sold the family business to Ted Turner in 1988.  Starrcade continued in name for well over the next decade, but it was just a WCW brand and one of a series of cookie-cutter, look-alike pay-per-views at that point. It never had that same Mid-Atlantic stardust on it that the first several years of events had.

So when Bruce made the suggestion that Tony Schiavone be brought back to do retro-Starrcade promos, he was hinting at those simple, memorable 1980s magic promos for those early events in Greensboro, and later shared with Atlanta. Those same promos that had that rockin' Frank Stallone music behind them, that familiar melody that would become synonymous with Starrcade for the first five years of its existence.

THE STARRCADE THEME
The familiar edited instrumental version of Frank Stallone's "Far From Over"
The theme music for the first 5 Starrcade events (1983 - 1987)

Some want to include Starrcade '88 alongside the Crockett-era Starrcades. Not me. That was a decent enough event, and sure enough it was largely built during the final months of the Crockett regime. But it was also the first Starrcade to be moved off of Thanksgiving (a second slap in the face following 1987's move out of Greensboro), not to mention the first to ditch the Frank Stallone soundtrack which always ticked me off. (I value and treasure the little things.) It was also the first pay-per-view for Ted Turner's new WCW, and was not a JCP production. The ink had barely dried on the Crockett/Turner contracts when Starrcade '88 took place in December of that year.

Starrcade just didn't seem the same after that. And by the time Gene Okerlund was doing backstage interviews at a Starrcade event years later, the memories of the real Starrcades were all but lost to the sands of time.

So count me among those that are less-than-enthusiastic about the return of the Starrcade name in the WWE. I will admit I had a twinge of nostalgia when it was announced. And it taking place in Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum on Thanksgiving weekend was a nice touch. But let's not kid ourselves; it's nothing more than a glorified house show with a legendary name from a bygone era slapped on it, morphed into a B-level special on the WWE Network. Without the Starrcade name tagged to it, it's just another WWE house show that no one would have paid much attention to otherwise, at least not more than usual anyway.

Charlotte Flair is wrestling inside of a steel cage that night. I had a good friend tell me he thought I would be happy to see Starrcade back in Greensboro. After all, one of its top matches features a Flair in a cage in Greensboro on Thanksgiving weekend. That's about as Starrcade as it gets, right?

No thanks. That's not Starrcade.

Now, get off of my lawn.

29 Years Ago Today! Starrcade '87

It would prove to be the last Thanksgiving show under the Jim Crockett Promotions banner and the last Starrcade for the family promotion as well.

Relive the memories of the first Starrcade outside of the traditional Mid-Atlantic territory:

Starrcade '87

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from the Mid-Atlantic Gateway! We are thankful for all of you, and thankful for the fact you join us to help keep the memories of Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions alive.   

 - Dick Bourne and David Chappell

THIRTY-THREE YEARS AGO TONIGHT! - STARRCADE 83!

 It is called "the Granddaddy of The All" and is generally recognized as the first "Super Card" that ushered in the modern era of super cards and pay-per-events.

Before there was Wrestlemania, there was Starrcade.

The first Starrcade was in 1983 and was sub-titled "A Flare for the Gold" and featured the area's favorite son "Nature Boy" Ric Flair regaining the NWA world title from Harley Race. It was Flair's 2nd world championship of what would become 16 world titles over the next two decades.

Take a look back at Starrcade '83 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archive website. There you will find special art graphics, program cover, newspaper and magazine material, ticket stub, results, and much more. 




THIRTY YEARS AGO ON THANKSGIVING NIGHT - STARRCADE '86

 Thirty years ago this week on Thanksgiving day (on that year Thanksgiving was on November 27), Starrcade '86 took place in the dual venues of the Omni in Atlanta and the traditional Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro. This wek is its 30th anniversary. It was the second of two years that JCP split the event between two cities with alternating matches in each locations closed-circuited back to the other. What is often forgotten is that Kansas City, KS was the third city that year to be a part of Starrcade '86, hosting live matches at Memorial Hall and then presenting the entire closed circuit telecast.

Take a look back at Starrcade '86 on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archive website. There you will find the program cover, ticket stub, results from Greensboro, Atlanta, and Kansas City, as well as newspaper ads and closed circuit locations.




NWA CHAMPIONS ON THANKSGIVING FOR JCP

What do Swede Hanson, Pat O'Connor, the Missouri Mauler, Johnny Weaver, Jerry Brisco, Dory Funk, Jr., Wahoo McDaniel, Rufus R. Jones, Ricky Steamboat, Paul Jones, Ivan Koloff, Roddy Piper, Dusty Rhodes, and Nikita Koloff have in common? They all failed in their bid to capture the NWA world heavyweight championship on a Jim Crockett Promotions card on a Thanksgiving night. Only Ric Flair was successful in capturing the "ten pounds of gold" on Thanksgiving, and he did it twice. See the list of all those Thanksgiving title matches on the Mid-Atlantic Gateway.