STARRCADE '95 (Dec. 30, 1995)
Eddie Guerrero pinned Dean Malenko with the Frog Splash in 17:38.
Rating: **** 1/2
What better way to start WCW’s final show of 1995 than with two young superstars who made big impacts in WCW as rookies this year.
And they put on an instant classic.
Guerrero and Malenko went back and forth trading innovative moves and holds. In the end, both men were fighting on the top turnbuckle only to have Guerrero fight Malenko off and having him fall to the mat. Guerrero followed up with his frog splash and picked up the win.
The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian) defeated The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags) when Barbarian pinned Sags with the Flying Clothesline in 12:20.
Rating: *
These two teams have been having nothing but fights since they all eliminated each other from World War 3.
In a stiff, physical affair, the recently formed team of Meng and the Barbarian picked up a huge win that definitely made a statement to the WCW tag team division.
Diamond Dallas Page pinned Johnny B. Badd with the Diamond Cutter in 11:34.
Rating: **
(Diamond Dallas Page retained the WCW TELEVISION TITLE.)
Page scored another win over Johnny B. Badd, further strengthening the case he’s trying to make becoming the greatest TV champ ever. Badd had Page on his shoulders aiming to finish him off, but Page slipped off and hit him with the Diamond Cutter.
After the match, Badd was visibly upset and frustrated as he walked to the back.
Table Match:
Sabu defeated Disco Inferno by putting him through a table in 8:07.
Rating: *** 3/4
Sabu made an instant impact in the match, attacking Disco before he was even done with his pre-match dancing.
Disco was able to briefly turn the tide and get in some offense. He even had time to go get a table and bring it into the ring. But the mechanics of where to place the table and trying to set it up seemed to baffle Disco, and at the same time gave Sabu enough time to recover.
Sabu tossed a chair into Disco nearly knocking him out. He then put Disco on the table and an Arabian Facebuster off the top rope to send Disco through it.
Triangle Match:
Lex Luger defeated Davey Boy Smith and Ron Simmons when Luger made R. Simmons submit to the Torture Rack in 13:43.
Rating: ***
Three of WCW’s strongest collided. Any thought of Smith and Simmons turning it into a handicap match against Luger went away quickly as it was clear their partnership had completely dissolved. In fact, once the bell rang, Luger just sat in the corner a minute while Smith and Simmons went after each other.
This became another physical, heavy hitting match. Each man had turns in control of the battle.
Late in the match, with Luger down, Smith tried going to the top rope perhaps for a splash. But Simmons instead came in and knocked Smith off, sending him crashing into the guardrail down below and outside the ring.
Luger, however, recovered and hit Simmons with a series of clotheslines, then put him in the rack and got a submission.
Harlem Heat (Stevie Ray and Booker T) defeated The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) when Booker pinned S. Steiner with the Axe Kick in 14:21.
Rating: *** 1/2
(Harlem Heat won the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES.)
Two of the greatest tag teams in WCW history collided not just for the titles, but trying to prove who was the best. Their previous meeting was marred when Harlem Heat got disqualified for attacking the Steiners with chairs.
It looked like it might be a repeat when Stevie Ray brought in a chair to go after Scott Steiner with, but the referee grabbed it away during his backswing. With Stevie distracted, Scott hit him with a dropkick knocking him out of the ring. But meanwhile, Booker T lowblowed Rick that no one saw since they were busy with the chair.
Booker, who happened to be the legal man, then came over to Scott and hit him with a vicious axe kick that won the match and the titles for Harlem Heat.
Ric Flair made Steve Austin pass out to the Figure-Four Leglock in 21:57.
Rating: *** 1/4
Austin has been waiting for his chance to get his hands on Ric Flair ever since he was kicked out of the Horsemen, and perhaps before. Knowing full well all the Horsemen tricks, he was ready for everything.
Austin not only fought Flair in the ring, he fought Anderson and Bagwell outside of it. After a long, hard-fought match, Austin was in control. He was trying to go for his Stun Gun, only to have Flair deliver a low-blow kick then back drop Austin over the top rope.
While the ref was amonishing Flair, Bagwell smacked Austin in the head with a chair, busting him open. Austin crawled back into the ring, but the damage was done. Flair went to work on Austin’s leg, eventually locking in the Figure Four Leg Lock.
Blood pouring down his face, Austin refused to submit, but the pain took its toll and after a bit, Austin eventually stopped responding. The ref had no choice but to call the match.
Sting pinned Big Van Vader after a flying splash in 13:15.
Rating: *** 3/4
(Sting retained the WCW UNITED STATES TITLE.)
Old rivals faced off again, this time for the US title. As it’s happened in the past, Vader’s strength helped him control big portions of the match, but Sting’s speed and athleticism helped him avoid any potential knockout blows.
Sting gradually gained the edge as Vader apparently wore himself down by keep trying to put Sting away to no avail. In the end, Sting hit a big splash that kept the big man down.
Randy Savage pinned Hulk Hogan with the Flying Elbow drop in 19:37.
Rating: *** 1/4
(Randy Savage retained the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE.)
These two have quite a history together with another chapter being written tonight in the Grand Daddy of them All.
Fueled by the betrayal of someone he thought was his best friend, Hogan came out a house on fire, eager to get revenge on Savage and win his belt back.
Savage, not above to dirty play, slowly turned the match in his favor with several cheap shots. Savage’s ally Big Van Vader came down to back Savage up at ringside, only to have Sting counter but coming down and standing in Hogan’s corner.
While Sting kept Vader in check, there were enough little incidents that helped Savage take firm control. The champ even was able to go up top and hit his patented elbow drop, only to have Hogan kick out at 2.
Hogan began to “Hulk up” and take control. Hogan hit the big boot and was set to deliver his leg drop, but Vader pulled Savage out of the ring as Hogan only crashed to the mat. Sting ran over to fight Vader and the two began brawling.
With the referee’s attention on breaking up Sting and Vader, Savage snuck back into the ring with the title belt and smacked Hogan in the head with it. The ref got back in the ring in time to see Savage go and hit a second elbow drop, this one got the 1-2-3.
Card rating: *** 1/4
