Post by Shatter Machine on Apr 10, 2016 9:18:35 GMT -5
1984.11.24
Starrcade '84
Show opens with highlights of Ric Flair pinning Harley Race for the NWA World Title at Starrcade '83
Bob Caudle and Gordon Solie are on commentary.
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Mike Davis (Champion)
Vs
Denny Brown
This is, uh, not what modern fans would expect to see from the Junior Heavyweights. It's fast-paced enough, and Brown takes Davis down with a headscissors and and armdrag. It's very mat-based, with some high spots worked in, but they keep it pretty basic. Davis ducks a charge, and Brown goes tumbling out of the ring and hurts his back. Davis helps him back in, then slams him a couple of times. He gets a couple of 2-counts, but Brown hits a forearm. Davis gets an inside cradle for 2. Davis whips him into the corner, but Brown jumps off with a forearm. Backdrop, and Brown hits a dropkick. They collide mid-ring, and both men are down. Brown gets some forearms in the corner, but Davis hits a back suplex. Brown rolls his shoulder over at 2 and wins the title at 5:38, and it's missed by everyone, including the ring announcer, Caudle, and Solie. * ¾
Tony Schiavone is in the dressing room, and will be talking to NWA World Champion Ric Flair.
Brian Adidas
Vs
Mr. Ito
Adidas was a young babyface out of Texas, who was a good friend of the Von Erich boys. Ito was a generic Japanese goon. Adidas hits a dropkick and grabs a headlock. I'm not sure if this Mr. Ito is Umanosuke Ueda, but it doesn't matter, because he gets in some token shots, and Adidas finishes with an airplane spin in 4:00. DUD. I think that Adidas was brought in for a single shot here, and not as a long term guy, because I can't find any results for him in JCP around this time.
Florida Heavyweight Championship
Jesse Barr (Champion)
Vs
Mike Graham
Graham takes him down and works an Indian Deathlock early. Barr counters into a reverse chinlock, and they go to their feet. Graham takes him down with a wristlock, but Barr reverses it. I remember Barr mostly for being Jimmy Jack Funk in the WWF in the mid-80's, and for having his eye ripped out by Haku in a fight. (Modern fans will remember Graham as a talking head on a bunch of WWE DVD documentaries from the mid-2000's. ) They fight over the wristlock for a while, then Graham goes back to the Indian Deathlock. Barr backs into the corner, but Graham grabs an armbar. He takes Barr down and gets a Figure Four, but Barr bails out. Barr grabs a headlock and takes him over. Graham rolls him over for a 2-count. Barr uses the hair to hold on to the headlock, but Graham does a shinbreaker and grabs a knee bar and works the knee over. He gets the Figure Four, but Barr makes the ropes. Sunset by Graham gets 2. Ref gets bumped, and they trade near-falls on a rolling reverse. Barr takes him down in the corner and uses the ropes for leverage to get the pin at 11:43. * ¼
Highlights of Tully Blanchard, JJ Dillon, Ron Bass, and Black Bart laying out Dick Slater and Rick Steamboat.
Tag Team Elimination Match
The Zambuie Express (Elijah Akeem and Kareem Muhammed, with Paul Jones)
Vs
Buzz Tyler and The Assassin
The Zambuies are also known as Ray Candy and Leroy Brown, and this was their last match as a team, near as I can tell. This is a nothing match, as Tyler and Akeem brawl to the floor and get counted out (I think), then Assassin pins Muhammed in the middle of the ring at 5:26. -*** This was so bad as to almost be offensive, with the Zambuie Express doing nothing of note besides being big and lazy. I've only ever seen Tyler on this show, but he was around forever during the territory days.
NWA Brass Knuckles Championship
Black Bart (Champion, with JJ Dillon)
Vs
Manny Fernandez
They trade punches, and Manny juices about a minute in. He fires back at Bart, knocking him over the top to the floor, reinforcing the no-DQ nature of the match. Bart hits a low blow to take over for a while, and somewhere along the line, he blades as well. Bart calls for JJ to give him his lasso, but Manny gets a rolling reverse for the pin and the title at 7:35. * This was not the out of control brawl that it could have been, given the short time, and the only thing that made it different from other matches was the taped fists and the no-DQ stuff.
Tony Schiavone talks to Rick Steamboat and later to Tully Blanchard and JJ Dillon
Loser Leaves Town Tuxedo Street Fight
Paul Jones (with Kareem Muhammad)
Vs
Jimmy Valiant (with the Assassin)
Assassin looks ridiculous in his tuxedo, as does Valiant. I guess that's the point. Jones stalls and runs, but Valiant just chokes him out with a rope, tying him to the top ripe by the neck with it. He tears the flower out of Jones' lapel and shoves it into his mouth. Valiant strips the tux off of him, but Muhammad distracts Valiant briefly, allowing Jones to get a shot in. JV shakes it off and grabs a sleeper, and Jones has bladed. Jones' arm drops, but Muhammad jumps into the ring. The ref gets bumped, and JJ Dillon hits Valiant with something, and Jones gets the pin at 4:35. It was at least energetic. * ½
Tony talks to NWA World Champion Ric Flair.
Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
Ron Bass (Champion, with JJ Dillon)
Vs
Dick Slater
Slater is one of those guys who has a rep as a legit tough guy. Bass, I really don't have a lot of info on. I know that he was around for a while, but most of my memories of him are from late-80's WWF and getting his head shaved by Brutus Beefcake before quietly disappearing. Slater clobbers Bass and chases Dillon on the floor before the match properly starts. He keeps getting distracted and chasing after Dillon instead of focusing on Bass. This is a bit of a stall-fest until Slater dodges a charge and grabs a headlock. Every time I see Slater it really dawns on me that he trained with the Funks: He throws chops like them, he sells like them, he takes bumps like them. He grabs another headlock, and Bass escapes to the apron. Slater gets caught with a knee coming in, and Bass takes over. Suplex gets 2. Bulldog by Bass, but Slater fires back at him, getting a near-fall. Bass thumbs his eye and dumps him to the floor, where JJ kicks him and tosses him back in. They brawl into the corner, and Slater's temper gets the best of him, as he tosses the ref aside to draw the DQ at 9:12. JJ jumps into the ring, but Slater no-sells his kick. Slater goes nuts after the decision, laying out both Dillon and Bass. **
There's a short intermission, then the national anthem on a trumpet, which is totally disrespected by the idiot fans.
Ole Anderson and Keith Larson (with Don Kernodle)
Vs
Ivan and Nikita Koloff
Kernodle is with Anderson and Larson (who is Kernodle's brother, Rocky) and he's still on crutches from the assault by former partner Ivan Koloff. Nikita was about as green as grass here, but holy SHIT was he a monster. Ole was crazy over as a babyface, as was Larson, who I think was more of a JTTS than anything else. The faces jump the Russians right off the bat, with Ole knocking Nikita to the floor and Larson pummeling Ivan. They work Ivan's arm over, making quick tags. Ole does the hammerlock slam, and the heat for this is just amazing. Ivan does a great job of selling during the shine segment for the faces. It's a really long bit on Ivan, but Larson eats knees on a charge to the corner and Ivan goes up. He slams Ivan off for 2, and they go right back to the arm. Ivan gets a thumb to the eye on Ole, and Nikita comes in. Ole rakes his eyes, but Nikita just tosses him around the ring. Ole fires at him with some good old American Right Hands. Nikita grabs a bear hug, and they work it for a while. Ivan comes off the top with a shot to Ole's back. Eventually Ole claps the ears and gets the break. Ole can't quite make the tag, and Nikita gets the bear hug again. Ole escapes and gets the hot tag, and Keith runs the Russian's heads together. He hits a back elbow on Nikita, but he misses a dropkick. Nikita takes him down and chokes him. Larson rolls Ivan up for 2, and then it all breaks down. Nikita goes to the floor and levels Kernodle. Ole and Nikita brawl on the floor, and the cameras miss the finish, and Ivan pins Keith at 15:28. Kernodle comes and just wears the Russians out with his crutch. ** ½
NWA World Television Championship & $10,000
Tully Blanchard (Champion)
Vs
Rick Steamboat
Both guys had put up $10,000 and the “no-run” rule is in effect, meaning that if Blanchard runs, he loses the title. Also, if he's DQ'd, he loses the title as well. These two had amazing chemistry in the ring. Tully goes after Steamboat's ribs, which were injured, but Steamboat fires right back. Steamboat with an outside-in suplex for 2. He grabs a chinlock, and they roll over to the ropes. Tully tries a knee drop, but Steamboat gets a kneelift in. Steamboat is selling the rib injury, and Tully stalks him, pounding on them. Steamboat gets a shot in with his foot, then some martial arts, and Tully goes down. Steamboat drops knees to the back of the head, and then he grabs another chinlock. Tully goes to the ribs to escape, then hits a back suplex. Another shot to the ribs, and that gets 2. Steamboat floats over and gets a body ride, and Tully gets to the ropes. Tully slaps him, so Steamboat leapfrogs him and hits a powerslam for 2. To the buckle, then a double chop for 2. He works him over in the corner, then a forehead shot gets 2. Tully is busted open, and Steamboat works the cut. Chops in the corner, then a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Steamboat hits Tully's slingshot suplex, but it only gets 2. Dropkick for 2. Tully goes to the apron and when the ref goes to pull Steamboat back, Blanchard hits him with knuckledusters. Blanchard hits a cross body, but that only gets 2. Tully sets him on top, but Steamboat pushes him off and hits a splash for 2. Steamboat goes for a sunset flip, and Tully pulls out the knuckledusters and hits Steamboat right in the face with them and pins him at 13:17 to retain. *** ½
NWA U.S. Championship
Wahoo McDaniel (Champion)
Vs
Superstar Graham
Both guys were definitely on the downside of their careers. Graham had lost a lot of muscle tone, but still had the massive arms. He'd gone to the “kung-fu” gimmick, which was just him waving his arms and pretending to be able to throw martial arts strikes. Wahoo was just getting older. He was doing Tenryu's “Grumpy Old Man” Gimmick years before Tenryu was doing it. Graham backs him into the corner, so Wahoo nails him in the eye. Wahoo just chops the shit out of him, but Graham grabs the full nelson. Wahoo gets the ropes, so Graham starts kneeing him in the kidneys. He hits a double thrust to the throat, then the full nelson again. He gets 2, but Wahoo fires back. Superstar with a back elbow for 2. Wahoo hits a shot, then several chops. He gets a running chop to the throat out of nowhere for the pin at 4:18. ¼ * They must have had to cut that one for time or something. Wahoo would hold the title until he dropped it to Magnum TA the following March.
NWA World Championship
Ric Flair (Champion)
Vs
Dusty Rhodes
There are three judges: Duke Keomuka, Kyle Petty, and special referee Joe Frazier. Frazier is obviously on something here, as he looks totally spaced out. Dusty comes to the ring to Prince’s “Purple Rain,” and Flair comes out to “It’s Hard to Be Humble.” The winner gets a check for $1,000,000. Rhodes gets a figure four early on, and works on Flair’s leg. I find it amusing that at this point, Flair is getting more cheers than Rhodes is. Rhodes goes to a wristlock, then to a high slam. Flair goes to the floor, and Frazier keeps breaking them up. Flair is slammed off the top, and Rhodes goes to a sleeper. Flair manages to dump him to the floor, and runs Rhodes’ head to the post. Rhodes, of course, blades like a champ, with a gusher over his right eye covering him and the floor around him in about .000000002 seconds. Back in, and Frazier checks it, but Flair attacks. Eventually, Frazier steps in, and stops the match due to the cut over Rhodes eye at 12:12. The first time I saw this, about fifteen years ago, my initial reaction was “Holy living fuck, what a stupid finish.” It was a bad ending to a bad match, but all they were doing was setting the stage for Rhodes to chase Flair around for the next two and a half years. * ½
The Bottom Line: Any company would get killed for putting this dog on as a major show today, especially with some of the shitty finishes. There's really only one match on the show that's worth finding, and that's the Steamboat-Blanchard match. I don't have a lot of insider knowledge as to what was going on behind the scenes in JCP, but I know that they were in the midst of a major flux, with Vince McMahon snatching up a lot of the major talent, having already gotten Roddy Piper, Bob Orton, and Greg Valentine. They'd lose Rick Steamboat by spring, but they'd bring in Arn Anderson, Magnum TA, The Midnight Express, the Rock 'n' Roll Express, and a few others to shore things up in 1985. That all being said, this is probably the weakest Starrcade that JCP put on, and definitely the worst one ever. The line-up is just full of filler (Davis, Brown, Barr, Graham), job guys (Larson, Tyler, the Zambuie Express) and guys that were way past their primes (Assassin, Wahoo, Graham, Valiant).This never gets brought up on lists of worst shows, but it really should be. Strong recommendation to avoid.
Starrcade '84
Show opens with highlights of Ric Flair pinning Harley Race for the NWA World Title at Starrcade '83
Bob Caudle and Gordon Solie are on commentary.
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Mike Davis (Champion)
Vs
Denny Brown
This is, uh, not what modern fans would expect to see from the Junior Heavyweights. It's fast-paced enough, and Brown takes Davis down with a headscissors and and armdrag. It's very mat-based, with some high spots worked in, but they keep it pretty basic. Davis ducks a charge, and Brown goes tumbling out of the ring and hurts his back. Davis helps him back in, then slams him a couple of times. He gets a couple of 2-counts, but Brown hits a forearm. Davis gets an inside cradle for 2. Davis whips him into the corner, but Brown jumps off with a forearm. Backdrop, and Brown hits a dropkick. They collide mid-ring, and both men are down. Brown gets some forearms in the corner, but Davis hits a back suplex. Brown rolls his shoulder over at 2 and wins the title at 5:38, and it's missed by everyone, including the ring announcer, Caudle, and Solie. * ¾
Tony Schiavone is in the dressing room, and will be talking to NWA World Champion Ric Flair.
Brian Adidas
Vs
Mr. Ito
Adidas was a young babyface out of Texas, who was a good friend of the Von Erich boys. Ito was a generic Japanese goon. Adidas hits a dropkick and grabs a headlock. I'm not sure if this Mr. Ito is Umanosuke Ueda, but it doesn't matter, because he gets in some token shots, and Adidas finishes with an airplane spin in 4:00. DUD. I think that Adidas was brought in for a single shot here, and not as a long term guy, because I can't find any results for him in JCP around this time.
Florida Heavyweight Championship
Jesse Barr (Champion)
Vs
Mike Graham
Graham takes him down and works an Indian Deathlock early. Barr counters into a reverse chinlock, and they go to their feet. Graham takes him down with a wristlock, but Barr reverses it. I remember Barr mostly for being Jimmy Jack Funk in the WWF in the mid-80's, and for having his eye ripped out by Haku in a fight. (Modern fans will remember Graham as a talking head on a bunch of WWE DVD documentaries from the mid-2000's. ) They fight over the wristlock for a while, then Graham goes back to the Indian Deathlock. Barr backs into the corner, but Graham grabs an armbar. He takes Barr down and gets a Figure Four, but Barr bails out. Barr grabs a headlock and takes him over. Graham rolls him over for a 2-count. Barr uses the hair to hold on to the headlock, but Graham does a shinbreaker and grabs a knee bar and works the knee over. He gets the Figure Four, but Barr makes the ropes. Sunset by Graham gets 2. Ref gets bumped, and they trade near-falls on a rolling reverse. Barr takes him down in the corner and uses the ropes for leverage to get the pin at 11:43. * ¼
Highlights of Tully Blanchard, JJ Dillon, Ron Bass, and Black Bart laying out Dick Slater and Rick Steamboat.
Tag Team Elimination Match
The Zambuie Express (Elijah Akeem and Kareem Muhammed, with Paul Jones)
Vs
Buzz Tyler and The Assassin
The Zambuies are also known as Ray Candy and Leroy Brown, and this was their last match as a team, near as I can tell. This is a nothing match, as Tyler and Akeem brawl to the floor and get counted out (I think), then Assassin pins Muhammed in the middle of the ring at 5:26. -*** This was so bad as to almost be offensive, with the Zambuie Express doing nothing of note besides being big and lazy. I've only ever seen Tyler on this show, but he was around forever during the territory days.
NWA Brass Knuckles Championship
Black Bart (Champion, with JJ Dillon)
Vs
Manny Fernandez
They trade punches, and Manny juices about a minute in. He fires back at Bart, knocking him over the top to the floor, reinforcing the no-DQ nature of the match. Bart hits a low blow to take over for a while, and somewhere along the line, he blades as well. Bart calls for JJ to give him his lasso, but Manny gets a rolling reverse for the pin and the title at 7:35. * This was not the out of control brawl that it could have been, given the short time, and the only thing that made it different from other matches was the taped fists and the no-DQ stuff.
Tony Schiavone talks to Rick Steamboat and later to Tully Blanchard and JJ Dillon
Loser Leaves Town Tuxedo Street Fight
Paul Jones (with Kareem Muhammad)
Vs
Jimmy Valiant (with the Assassin)
Assassin looks ridiculous in his tuxedo, as does Valiant. I guess that's the point. Jones stalls and runs, but Valiant just chokes him out with a rope, tying him to the top ripe by the neck with it. He tears the flower out of Jones' lapel and shoves it into his mouth. Valiant strips the tux off of him, but Muhammad distracts Valiant briefly, allowing Jones to get a shot in. JV shakes it off and grabs a sleeper, and Jones has bladed. Jones' arm drops, but Muhammad jumps into the ring. The ref gets bumped, and JJ Dillon hits Valiant with something, and Jones gets the pin at 4:35. It was at least energetic. * ½
Tony talks to NWA World Champion Ric Flair.
Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship
Ron Bass (Champion, with JJ Dillon)
Vs
Dick Slater
Slater is one of those guys who has a rep as a legit tough guy. Bass, I really don't have a lot of info on. I know that he was around for a while, but most of my memories of him are from late-80's WWF and getting his head shaved by Brutus Beefcake before quietly disappearing. Slater clobbers Bass and chases Dillon on the floor before the match properly starts. He keeps getting distracted and chasing after Dillon instead of focusing on Bass. This is a bit of a stall-fest until Slater dodges a charge and grabs a headlock. Every time I see Slater it really dawns on me that he trained with the Funks: He throws chops like them, he sells like them, he takes bumps like them. He grabs another headlock, and Bass escapes to the apron. Slater gets caught with a knee coming in, and Bass takes over. Suplex gets 2. Bulldog by Bass, but Slater fires back at him, getting a near-fall. Bass thumbs his eye and dumps him to the floor, where JJ kicks him and tosses him back in. They brawl into the corner, and Slater's temper gets the best of him, as he tosses the ref aside to draw the DQ at 9:12. JJ jumps into the ring, but Slater no-sells his kick. Slater goes nuts after the decision, laying out both Dillon and Bass. **
There's a short intermission, then the national anthem on a trumpet, which is totally disrespected by the idiot fans.
Ole Anderson and Keith Larson (with Don Kernodle)
Vs
Ivan and Nikita Koloff
Kernodle is with Anderson and Larson (who is Kernodle's brother, Rocky) and he's still on crutches from the assault by former partner Ivan Koloff. Nikita was about as green as grass here, but holy SHIT was he a monster. Ole was crazy over as a babyface, as was Larson, who I think was more of a JTTS than anything else. The faces jump the Russians right off the bat, with Ole knocking Nikita to the floor and Larson pummeling Ivan. They work Ivan's arm over, making quick tags. Ole does the hammerlock slam, and the heat for this is just amazing. Ivan does a great job of selling during the shine segment for the faces. It's a really long bit on Ivan, but Larson eats knees on a charge to the corner and Ivan goes up. He slams Ivan off for 2, and they go right back to the arm. Ivan gets a thumb to the eye on Ole, and Nikita comes in. Ole rakes his eyes, but Nikita just tosses him around the ring. Ole fires at him with some good old American Right Hands. Nikita grabs a bear hug, and they work it for a while. Ivan comes off the top with a shot to Ole's back. Eventually Ole claps the ears and gets the break. Ole can't quite make the tag, and Nikita gets the bear hug again. Ole escapes and gets the hot tag, and Keith runs the Russian's heads together. He hits a back elbow on Nikita, but he misses a dropkick. Nikita takes him down and chokes him. Larson rolls Ivan up for 2, and then it all breaks down. Nikita goes to the floor and levels Kernodle. Ole and Nikita brawl on the floor, and the cameras miss the finish, and Ivan pins Keith at 15:28. Kernodle comes and just wears the Russians out with his crutch. ** ½
NWA World Television Championship & $10,000
Tully Blanchard (Champion)
Vs
Rick Steamboat
Both guys had put up $10,000 and the “no-run” rule is in effect, meaning that if Blanchard runs, he loses the title. Also, if he's DQ'd, he loses the title as well. These two had amazing chemistry in the ring. Tully goes after Steamboat's ribs, which were injured, but Steamboat fires right back. Steamboat with an outside-in suplex for 2. He grabs a chinlock, and they roll over to the ropes. Tully tries a knee drop, but Steamboat gets a kneelift in. Steamboat is selling the rib injury, and Tully stalks him, pounding on them. Steamboat gets a shot in with his foot, then some martial arts, and Tully goes down. Steamboat drops knees to the back of the head, and then he grabs another chinlock. Tully goes to the ribs to escape, then hits a back suplex. Another shot to the ribs, and that gets 2. Steamboat floats over and gets a body ride, and Tully gets to the ropes. Tully slaps him, so Steamboat leapfrogs him and hits a powerslam for 2. To the buckle, then a double chop for 2. He works him over in the corner, then a forehead shot gets 2. Tully is busted open, and Steamboat works the cut. Chops in the corner, then a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Steamboat hits Tully's slingshot suplex, but it only gets 2. Dropkick for 2. Tully goes to the apron and when the ref goes to pull Steamboat back, Blanchard hits him with knuckledusters. Blanchard hits a cross body, but that only gets 2. Tully sets him on top, but Steamboat pushes him off and hits a splash for 2. Steamboat goes for a sunset flip, and Tully pulls out the knuckledusters and hits Steamboat right in the face with them and pins him at 13:17 to retain. *** ½
NWA U.S. Championship
Wahoo McDaniel (Champion)
Vs
Superstar Graham
Both guys were definitely on the downside of their careers. Graham had lost a lot of muscle tone, but still had the massive arms. He'd gone to the “kung-fu” gimmick, which was just him waving his arms and pretending to be able to throw martial arts strikes. Wahoo was just getting older. He was doing Tenryu's “Grumpy Old Man” Gimmick years before Tenryu was doing it. Graham backs him into the corner, so Wahoo nails him in the eye. Wahoo just chops the shit out of him, but Graham grabs the full nelson. Wahoo gets the ropes, so Graham starts kneeing him in the kidneys. He hits a double thrust to the throat, then the full nelson again. He gets 2, but Wahoo fires back. Superstar with a back elbow for 2. Wahoo hits a shot, then several chops. He gets a running chop to the throat out of nowhere for the pin at 4:18. ¼ * They must have had to cut that one for time or something. Wahoo would hold the title until he dropped it to Magnum TA the following March.
NWA World Championship
Ric Flair (Champion)
Vs
Dusty Rhodes
There are three judges: Duke Keomuka, Kyle Petty, and special referee Joe Frazier. Frazier is obviously on something here, as he looks totally spaced out. Dusty comes to the ring to Prince’s “Purple Rain,” and Flair comes out to “It’s Hard to Be Humble.” The winner gets a check for $1,000,000. Rhodes gets a figure four early on, and works on Flair’s leg. I find it amusing that at this point, Flair is getting more cheers than Rhodes is. Rhodes goes to a wristlock, then to a high slam. Flair goes to the floor, and Frazier keeps breaking them up. Flair is slammed off the top, and Rhodes goes to a sleeper. Flair manages to dump him to the floor, and runs Rhodes’ head to the post. Rhodes, of course, blades like a champ, with a gusher over his right eye covering him and the floor around him in about .000000002 seconds. Back in, and Frazier checks it, but Flair attacks. Eventually, Frazier steps in, and stops the match due to the cut over Rhodes eye at 12:12. The first time I saw this, about fifteen years ago, my initial reaction was “Holy living fuck, what a stupid finish.” It was a bad ending to a bad match, but all they were doing was setting the stage for Rhodes to chase Flair around for the next two and a half years. * ½
The Bottom Line: Any company would get killed for putting this dog on as a major show today, especially with some of the shitty finishes. There's really only one match on the show that's worth finding, and that's the Steamboat-Blanchard match. I don't have a lot of insider knowledge as to what was going on behind the scenes in JCP, but I know that they were in the midst of a major flux, with Vince McMahon snatching up a lot of the major talent, having already gotten Roddy Piper, Bob Orton, and Greg Valentine. They'd lose Rick Steamboat by spring, but they'd bring in Arn Anderson, Magnum TA, The Midnight Express, the Rock 'n' Roll Express, and a few others to shore things up in 1985. That all being said, this is probably the weakest Starrcade that JCP put on, and definitely the worst one ever. The line-up is just full of filler (Davis, Brown, Barr, Graham), job guys (Larson, Tyler, the Zambuie Express) and guys that were way past their primes (Assassin, Wahoo, Graham, Valiant).This never gets brought up on lists of worst shows, but it really should be. Strong recommendation to avoid.
