WCW Starrcade 1983 Review

Starting today until I am done. I will be reviewing every single PPV and supercard that I have in my collection starting from 1983 forward. I will also be updating HULU Raw reviews, Smack down reviews and more. I will be watching WrestleMania as well. Strap in, for the second coming of this blog.

Starrcade 1983
November 24, 1983
Greensboro, North Carolina
A Flair For The Gold

The first ever PPV from WCW right? I don’t know. I got this tape a long time ago, back before any DVD had it. It’s an interesting difference to see things on tapes, but that’s what happens. Starrcade has always been an interesting PPV source for me. My favorite of course is 1998, but I’m in the extreme minority on that one. This showcase I saw again with new eyes and wow, there are some highlights and some low moments as well.

The Assassins defeated Rufus R. Jones and Bugsy McGraw

Heavy hitting match, nice frenetic pace. Very entertaining back and forth. The Assassins took a lot of bumps to make this match go forward. Some minor botches, but great overall back and forth action. The crowd was really into the highs and lows of this match up. The Masked Assassins won out of nowhere. This wasn't an emphatic win like you would expect from a well-oiled tag team. It seemed rushed towards the finish, but that's old school for you. The Assassins win in non-dramatic fashion. Not a bad match, not a great one. I liked the pacing here, it was classic tag team action.

Kevin Sullivan and Mark Lewin defeated Scott McGhee and Johnny Weaver

Wow, a YOUNG Kevin Sullivan. That's right, the task master was featured in this match. Other than that, this was a mediocre offering. It was short at least. This was definitely not a great match at all.

Abdullah the Butcher defeated Carlos Colon

This was just a brawl. Nothing technical here. Abdullah pulled out a foreign object, Carlos stole it, the ref took a bump, and that was that. A short brawl that ended in an interference and that was that. The announcers kept saying that this was banned in Puerto Rico. Nothing too fun here. It was rushed.

Bob Orton Jr. and Dick Slater defeated Mark Youngblood and Wahoo McDaniel

This was an interesting brawl of sorts. It lasted a good 14 minutes, and it was cool to see the Chief in there mixing it up. Bob Orton flopped like no other, and Dick Slater had some hard hitting moments. This was not a great match, but the crowd was into it, so it made it a bit better.

Charlie Brown defeated Great Kabuki (NWA Television Championship Match)

This was a slow prodding match up. However, Charlie Brown’s entertainment was great. Kabuki was ok, but he was slowed down by the pacing of Brown at times. This 10 minute match really highlighted what the TV title was about, if you recall that championship.

Roddy Piper defeated Greg Valentine (Dog Collar Match)

This is a frenzied and definitive brawl. Piper injured his ear in this one. The chains they used back then were not gimmicks. They were tight chains and they looked heavy. Whether the guys were blading or not, Piper bled hard in the ear. I don’t think that was by accident. The ear looked immensely messed up. This was a great brawl, and as hardcore as you’re going to get in 1983.

Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood defeated The Brisco Brothers (NWA Tag Team Championship)

Angelo Mosca as ref was really cool in this one. The young guys really took on the Briscos. I will say this much about the Brisco Brothers, they can bump like crazy. They were flying around getting trashed by Steamboat and Youngblood. This was a nice classic tag title match with the faces going over after some nice tandem moves.

Ric Flair defeated Harley Race (NWA Heavyweight Championship)

Gene Kiniski was the guest referee on this one. The match was a slow moving one, but that was standards for Flair back then. Race was a beast back then, and he really manhandles Flair on several occasions. Kiniski took a mean ref bump at one point. Race loses, Flair gets praised, everyone goes home happy. This is a classic old school match, but at 23 minutes, it’s a bit boring.

Overall, Starrcade 1983 is a good PPV for those that love classic wrestling. It really is something to behold. It’s even more interesting to read the WIKI page here. I liked it enough. There were some nice touches here and there, but overall, this isn’t my favorite Starrcade.

There are several ways that you can enjoy Starrcade 1983. You can CLICK HERE and find some tapes and DVDs on it. Or you can get the WWE network and watch it. It's up to you.