Starrcade '88: True Gritt was the sixth annual

Starrcade Starrcade was a recurring professional wrestling event, originally broadcast via closed-circuit television and eventually broadcast via pay-per-view. It was originally held from 1983 to 2000, first by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 1 ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

(PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of e ...

produced under the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

(NWA) banner. It was the first Starrcade event produced by

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

(WCW), and it took place on December 26, 1988, from the

Norfolk Scope Norfolk Scope is a multi-function complex in Norfolk, Virginia, comprising an 11,000-person arena, a 2,500-person theater known as Chrysler Hall, a exhibition hall and a 600-car parking garage. The arena was designed by Italian architect/engin ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. Shortly before the event,

Ted Turner Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, cable news ch ...

bought

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

(JCP), and the company became WCW. The

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

was an over 30 minute bout between

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

and

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for ...

for the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

. They were once members of the

Four Horsemen The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand tha ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

, but Luger began to have issues with the other members, and left the group. Luger started a

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

with Flair when

Barry Windham Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler. The son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan, he is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). ...

, a friend of Luger's, turned on him, and joined the Four Horsemen. Other matches included

The Road Warriors The Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom, were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) and Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis).. They performed under the name "The Road Warriors" in th ...

against

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

and

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, Jim Crocket ...

for the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

against

Bam Bam Bigelow Scott Charles Bigelow (September 1, 1961 – January 19, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. Recognizable by his close to 400-pound frame and the distinctive flame tattoo that spanned most ...

for the

NWA United States Heavyweight Championship The NWA United States Heavyweight Championship is a name used for several secondary championships used by various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) members since 1953. At least twelve different versions of the NWA United States Heavyweight Champions ...

, and

Mike Rotunda Lawrence Michael Rotunda (born March 30, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling in the 1980s and 1990s under the ring names Mik ...

against

Rick Steiner Robert Rechsteiner (born March 9, 1961) is an American real estate broker and retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Rick Steiner. Steiner is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he was ...

for the

NWA World Television Championship The NWA World Television Championship is a world television championship owned and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The inaugural champion was Ricky Starks. The current champion is Jord ...

. the main event was a 17-Man $50,000 Bunkhouse Battle Royal won by the

Junkyard Dog Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as the Junkyard Dog (or JYD), a nickname h ...

Storylines

The event featured wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. The main

heading into Starrcade was between

and

over the

. In March 1987, Luger joined the

, which was headed by Flair. Luger remained a member until early 1988, when Luger felt he was held back by the Four Horsemen. Luger left the Four Horsemen, and became friends with

in March. Windham soon turned on Luger, however, and joined the Four Horsemen. Since then, Luger feuded with Flair, and they faced each other in several title matches, including at

The Great American Bash The Great American Bash is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. Created by Dusty Rhodes, the event was established in 1985 and was originally produced by the National Wr ...

, where the match was stopped due to Luger's excessive bleeding. Flair remained the champion, and a rematch was made at Starrcade. In late 1988,

, which originally produced Starrcade, failed to compete with the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

, and was on the verge of bankruptcy.

bought the company in November, and it became

. Previous Starrcade events were held on

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

, but this event was moved to December to avoid direct competition with the WWF's

Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the sec ...

event. The Starrcade events after were also held in December. This event was the last to be held in a traditional format until 1993. The following four Starrcade events featured tournaments and the Battlebowl

battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

Event

The first match was between the team of

The Varsity Club The Varsity Club was a professional wrestling heel stable in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The stable was formed in 1987 and lasted until 1989. The stable was briefly resurrected in 1999–2000. Histor ...

( Kevin Sullivan and Steve Williams) and

The Fantastics The Fantastics were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers that worked together extensively between 1984 and 2007. At times, Bobby Fulton would team up with his brother Jackie Fulton under the same name. Te ...

(

Bobby Fulton James Hines (born October 4, 1960) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobby Fulton. He was one half of the tag team The Fantastics with Tommy Rogers. Professional wrestling career James Hines started wre ...

and Tommy Rogers) for the

NWA United States Tag Team Championship The NWA United States Tag Team Championship is a name used for several secondary tag team championship used by various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) members since 1958. There are eleven different versions of the NWA United States Tag Team Champ ...

. The match began with The Fantastics having the advantage. Sullivan and Williams fought back after Sullivan blocked a

splash Splash or Splash! or The Splash may refer to: Common meanings * Splash (fluid mechanics), sudden disturbances on the surface of water Entertainment * ''Splash'' (film), a 1984 fantasy film starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah ** ''Splash, Too'' ...

from Rogers with his knees. They dominated Rogers until Fulton tagged in, and attacked both. After performing mounted punches to Williams, Fulton applied the sleeper hold. As Fulton ran at Williams, Williams dropped him on the top rope, and pinned him to win the match and the title. The second match was between The Original Midnight Express (

Dennis Condrey Dennis Condrey (born February 1, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the Continental Wrestling Association, Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s. ...

and

Randy Rose Randall Alls (born July 19, 1956) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Randy Rose. Professional wrestling career Randy Rose began his career in 1974 in Tennessee. In 1980, Rose formed a tag team with Denn ...

) (accompanied by Paul E. Dangerously) and The Midnight Express (

Bobby Eaton Bobby Lee Eaton (August 14, 1958 – August 4, 2021) was an American professional wrestler best known as "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton. He was most famous for his work in tag teams, especially as one-half of The Midnight Express. Under the managemen ...

and

Stan Lane Wallace Stanfield "Stan" Lane (born August 5, 1953) is an American retired professional wrestler and color commentator. He is best known for his appearances with the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), Jim Crockett Promotions and World Champi ...

) (accompanied by

Jim Cornette James Mark "Jim" Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, promoter, trainer, and occasional prof ...

). The match started with Eaton and Lane dominating Condrey and Rose, and Cornette interfering using his

tennis racket A racket, or racquet, is a sports implement used for striking a ball or shuttlecock in games such as squash, tennis, racquetball, badminton and padel. In the strictest sense a racket consists of a handled frame with an open hoop across which a ...

. This continued until Eaton missed a corner attack on Rose. Condrey and Rose attacked Eaton, and attempted a

Rocket Launcher A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile. History The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few in ...

. Eaton avoided it, and Lane tagged in. Lane attacked them both, and pinned Rose after a Double Goozle to win the match. After the match, Condrey, Rose and Dangerously attacked Eaton, Lane and Cornette until Eaton fought them off with the racket. The third match was between The Russian Assassins ( #1 and #2) (with Paul Jones) and the team of

Ivan Koloff Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. He was the third wrestler to hold the WWWF Championship. Early life Perras was b ...

and The

(replacing

Nikita Koloff Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson on March 9, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and its successor, World Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1992, where ...

). The Junkyard Dog and Koloff had the early advantage with attacks to both. After a double clothesline to #1, The Junkyard Dog missed a falling headbutt. The Russian Assassins fought back with attacks until #2 missed a Russian Missile to The Junkyard Dog. The Junkyard Dog and Koloff had the advantage until #1 placed a foreign object in his mask. #1 performed a headbutt to Koloff, and pinned him to win the match. The fourth match was between

and

for the

. Kevin Sullivan, who accompanied Rotunda, was locked inside a cage. Rotunda had the advantage after Steiner hit the floor outside the ring, and Rotunda applied the

chinlock Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring. Some wrestlers use ...

. Steiner avoided a

dropkick A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as they jump so that when the feet connec ...

, and fought back with mounted punches. After Steiner performed a

belly to belly suplex A suplex is an offensive move used in sport wrestling as well as amateur wrestling and professional wrestling. It is a throw that involves lifting the opponents and bridging or rolling to slam them on their backs. Professional wrestling featu ...

, Steve Williams rang the bell, confusing Steiner and the referee. Sullivan was released from the cage, and climbed on the apron. Steiner sent Rotunda into Sullivan, and pinned Rotunda to win the match and the title. The fifth match was between

and

for the

. Bigelow had the advantage, and performed a

slingshot A slingshot is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two natural rubber strips or tubes attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the pro ...

splash. Bigelow then missed a splash, and Windham fought back. Windham applied the clawhold, and attempted a

diving elbow drop Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...

. Bigelow avoided it, and fought back until Windham sent them both outside the ring with a crossbody block. Windham avoided an attack, and Bigelow ran into the ringpost. Windham returned to the ring, and Bigelow was counted out. Windham won the match, and retained the title. The sixth match was between

(

Hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

and

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

) (accompanied by

Paul Ellering Paul Ellering (born August 22, 1953) is an American Manager (professional wrestling), professional wrestling manager and former professional wrestler. He is currently signed with WWE to a legends contract. Ellering spent most of his wrestling car ...

) and the team of

and

for the

. The match went back and forth until Hawk repeatedly raked the eyes of Rhodes. Animal applied the neck vice on Rhodes, and Hawk applied the sleeper hold. Rhodes performed a jawbreaker, and Sting and Animal tagged in. Sting performed a Stinger splash, and attempted to apply the Scorpion Deathlock. Hawk attacked Sting, and attempted to double-team Rhodes with Animal. Rhodes fought out, and Sting performed a diving crossbody to Animal. As Sting attempted to pin Animal, Ellering interfered, and the Road Warriors were disqualified. Rhodes and Sting won the match, and the Road Warriors retained the title. The

was between

and

for the

. Luger gained the early advantage, and targeted the left arm of Flair. Luger applied the

hammerlock An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

, and used the guard rail and ringpost. Flair fought back after he avoided an

elbow drop Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...

, and sent Luger's head into the guard rail. Luger applied the sleeper hold, but Flair fought out with a belly to back suplex. Luger fought back with a

superplex A suplex is an offensive move used in sport wrestling as well as amateur wrestling and professional wrestling. It is a throw that involves lifting the opponents and bridging or rolling to slam them on their backs. Professional wrestling featu ...

, and applied the

figure four leglock Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ring. Some wrestlers use ...

. Luger continued to have the advantage until Flair pulled Luger down, and hit his left knee with a steel chair. Flair then targeted Luger's left leg, and applied the figure four leglock. Luger fought back with a gorilla press slam. After performing mounted punches and a

scoop powerslam A Powerslam or simply Slam is a professional wrestling body slam move in which the wrestler performing the slam falls face-down on top of the opponent. The use of the term "powerslam" usually refers to the front powerslam or the scoop powerslam. ...

, Luger applied the Torture Rack. However, his knees buckled, and Flair fell on top of him. Flair then pinned Luger with his feet on the rope to win the match, and retain the title.

Aftermath

After Starrcade, the

between

and

ended. The Four Horsemen faction would officially disband after James J. Dillon left WCW for a front office job in the WWF, and the Horsemen became part of a faction ran by

Hiro Matsuda (July 22, 1937 – November 27, 1999) was a Japanese professional wrestler and trainer best known by his ring name . He trained many professional wrestlers including Hulk Hogan, The Great Muta, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, Scott Hall, Lex Lug ...

called the "Yamasaki Corporation" (storyline was that Dillon had "sold" the contracts of Flair and Barry Windham, the two remaining Horsemen, to Matsuda). Flair and Windham began a feud with "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert which culminated in Gilbert bringing in a mystery partner, Mr. X, to wrestle in a tag team match on ''World Championship Wrestling'', and after Mr. X was revealed to be

Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...

, Steamboat pinned Flair on TBS, which rekindled their feud that ended back in 1984 over the

. They were presented to have opposite characters, and live opposite lifestyles, with Flair being flamboyant, and Steamboat being a family man. Steamboat won the title at

Chi-Town Rumble Chi-Town Rumble was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner. It took place on February 20, 1989 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. ...

, and they continued to wrestle in many rematches. Their feud ended when Flair regained the title at WrestleWar in a match considered by many as the greatest match of all time. Luger fought

at Chi-Town Rumble, and won the

. Windham left WCW and returned to the WWF as "The Widowmaker". After Starrcade, Dusty Rhodes was fired from WCW for blading on an episode of

against Ted Turner's strict no-blading rule on television, joined Steve Keirn and Mike Graham to revive the old Florida territory (called Professional Wrestling Federation) before joining the WWF as the polka-dotted "common man" in mid-1989. Announcer Tony Schiavone would leave WCW in February 1989 and move to the WWF, where he would resume his announcing career on the Wrestling Challenge program as well as calling some PPVs before he returned to WCW in 1990. Paul Jones would leave WCW after Starrcade and retire in 1991.

Results

References

External links

Starrcade 1988 Review at 411maniaStarrcade 1988 Review at The Powerdriver Review
{{WCWPPV, Starrcade Events in Virginia Events in Norfolk, Virginia Starrcade 1988 in Virginia Professional wrestling in Norfolk, Virginia December 1988 events in the United States 1988 World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view events