Starrcade '93: 10th Anniversary was the 11th 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 eve ...

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 ...

. It took place on December 27, 1993, from the

Independence Arena Bojangles Coliseum (originally Charlotte Coliseum and formerly Independence Arena and Cricket Arena) is an 8,600-seat multi-purpose arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which als ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. This was the first Starrcade to feature

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 ...

since the

in 1990. 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 between Vader and Ric Flair for the

WCW World Heavyweight Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...

, booked as a result of the double

stabbing A stabbing is penetration or rough contact with a sharp or pointed object at close range. ''Stab'' connotes purposeful action, as by an assassin or murderer, but it is also possible to accidentally stab oneself or others. Stabbing differs from ...

that occurred between

Arn Anderson Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a m ...

and

Sid Vicious John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...

in October. Flair replaced Vicious in his match against Vader. Their

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 ...

continued after the event with a

Thundercage Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

match at

SuperBrawl IV SuperBrawl IV was the fourth SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of NWA/WCW closed-circuit events and pay-per-view events, event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on February 20, 1994 from t ...

. The event also included

The Nasty Boys The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags. The team were active from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and brawl ...

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

Road Warrior Hawk Michael Hegstrand (January 26, 1957 – October 19, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known as Road Warrior Hawk, one half of the tag team known as The Road Warriors (The Legion of Doom in WWF), with Road Warrior Animal. ...

for the

WCW World Tag Team Championship The WCW World Tag Team Championship (previously NWA (Mid-Atlantic) World Tag Team Championship) was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). ...

Rick Rude Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions, including World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling ...

against The Boss (replacing

Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler. Born in Golborne, Lancashire, Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Bo ...

) for the

WCW International World Heavyweight Championship The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship is a defunct professional wrestling world heavyweight championship that was contested in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1993 and 1994. A popular misconception about the title was ...

, and a

two out of three falls match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

between

Dustin Rhodes Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE f ...

and

Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...

for the

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, along with the WWE ...

. On December 30, 2019, Starrcade 1993 was the topic of the ‘83 Weeks’ podcast hosted by

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...

and

Conrad Thompson Conrad Channing Thompson (born July 27, 1981) is an American mortgage broker, professional wrestling promoter, and podcast host who presents and co-hosts numerous wrestling oriented podcasts, and promotes the Starrcast wrestling convention. Pod ...

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 as ...

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 Vader over the

. After leaving WCW in 1991,

returned in early 1993, winning 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 ...

on July 18 at

Beach Blast Beach Blast was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and held in the summers of 1992 and 1993. The 1992 WCW Beach Blast PPV event was held in June on a Saturday while the 1993 WCW Beach B ...

for the tenth time in a match with

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). ...

. The title became the

in September after WCW left 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 ...

. Flair then lost the title to

Fall Brawl Fall Brawl was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and was held in September from 1993 through 2000. The name was derived from the fall edition of ''Clash of the Champions'', ca ...

. After defeating

Ron Simmons Ronald Nasir Simmons (born May 15, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He performed for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under his real name, and in the World Wres ...

for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on December 30, 1992, Vader held the championship all year up to Starrcade (save for a six-day run by

in March 1993). Vader feuded with

in May over the title. The feud also involved

and Sting, who formed an alliance with Vader and Smith respectively. Vader then had a short feud with Cactus Jack before being chosen to face Vicious at Starrcade. On October 28,

and Vicious had a fight at a hotel that resulted in a double

. The incident led to Vicious being fired, and Flair challenging Vader to a title match at Starrcade, with Flair also putting his career on the line.

Event

The first match was between

Pretty Wonderful Pretty Wonderful was a professional wrestling tag team composed of "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and "Pretty" Paul Roma who competed in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1993 and 1994 History The making of the team In the leading up to ...

(

Paul Orndorff Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (October 29, 1949 – July 12, 2021), nicknamed "Mr. Wonderful", was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Cham ...

and

Paul Roma Paul Centopani (born April 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Paul Roma. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling between 1984 an ...

) (accompanied by The Assassin) and the team of

2 Cold Scorpio Charles Bernard Scaggs (born October 25, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name 2 Cold Scorpio (sometimes spelled Too Cold Scorpio). He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Extrem ...

and

Marcus Bagwell Marcus Alexander Bagwell (born January 10, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1991 to 2001, where he was a fi ...

. The match started with Scorpio and Bagwell having the advantage, and targeting the left arm of Orndorff and Roma. Pretty Wonderful dominated Bagwell after Roma attacked him from behind. After Roma missed 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'' ...

, Scorpio and Orndorff tagged in. Scorpio had the advantage, and performed a headscissors takedown. The Assassin then climbed onto the apron, and placed a disc in his mask. As Scorpio attempted another headscissors takedown, The Assassin performed a

headbutt A headbutt is a targeted strike with the head, typically (when intentional) involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of an opponent, such as ...

to Scorpio, and Orndorff pinned him to win the match. The second match was between

Awesome Kong Kia Stevens (born September 4, 1977) is an American actress and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Awesome Kong. She also worked with Ring ...

(accompanied by

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

) and The Shockmaster. Before the match, Awesome and King Kong attacked The Shockmaster. The match started with King Kong competing instead. The Shockmaster blocked a body avalanche, and performed a

clothesline A clothes line or washing line is any type of rope, cord, or twine that has been stretched between two points (e.g. two sticks), outside or indoors, above the level of the ground. Clothing that has recently been washed is hung along the line t ...

and a

crossbody block 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 ...

. The Shockmaster then pinned King Kong after a scoop slam to win the match. The third match was between

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 ...

and

Lord Steven Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his t ...

(accompanied by Sir William) for the

WCW World Television Championship The WCW World Television Championship was a professional wrestling television championship owned by the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotion. The title was created in 1974 by Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW) as a s ...

. The match started back and forth until Steamboat gained the advantage with an

enzuigiri 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 ...

. Regal fought back after 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 ...

following the distraction by William. Steamboat reversed the

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

into a double underhook suplex, and attacked Regal outside the ring. As Steamboat performed a bridging

German 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 ...

, the time limit expired, and Regal retained the title. The fourth match was between the team of Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce and the team of Cactus Jack and

Maxx Payne Darryl Peterson (born October 3, 1961) is an American musician, actor and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling as Maxx Payne, and in the World Wrestling Federation as Man Mountain Rock. E ...

. The match started back and forth until Jack delivered punches to Slazenger, and Jack and Payne had the advantage. Jack performed a Cactus clothesline to Pierce and an aided suicide senton to Slazenger. Slazenger and Pierce attempted to double-team Payne, but Payne performed a clothesline to both. Jack tagged in, and Pierce accidentally performed a clothesline on Slazenger. Jack then pinned Pierce after a double arm DDT to win the match. The fifth match was a

between

(accompanied by

Col. Robert Parker Bob, Bobby, Robbie, Rob or Robert Fuller may refer to: Academics *Robert W. Fuller (born 1936), American president of Oberlin College *Robert C. Fuller (born 1952), American professor of religious studies Performers *Robert Fuller (actor) (born 1 ...

) and

for the

. They went back and forth for most of the match. After Austin missed an axe handle elbow drop, Rhodes performed a clothesline 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. ...

. Parker climbed onto the apron, and Rhodes sent Austin into him. Austin fell over the top rope outside the ring, and Rhodes lost the first fall via disqualification. Rhodes continued to attack Austin, and performed mounted punches. Austin pulled him down, and pinned Rhodes with a roll-up while pulling his tights to win the match and the title. This match was notable for the lights in the arena going out briefly during the second fall, shortly before the finish. The sixth match was between The Boss and

for the

. The match started with Rude attacking The Boss until The Boss performed a back body drop and a

big boot 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 ...

. The Boss attacked Rude outside, and applied the

bear hug In wrestling, a bear hug, also known as a bodylock, is a grappling clinch hold and stand-up grappling position where the arms are wrapped around the opponent, either around the opponent's chest, midsection, or thighs, sometimes with one or bot ...

. After several punches, The Boss attempted a leapfrog body guillotine. Rude avoided it, and pinned The Boss with a sunset flip to win the match, and retain the title. The seventh match was between

(

Brian Knobbs Brian Yandrisovitz (born May 6, 1964), better known as Brian Knobbs, is an operatic tenor and an American professional wrestler best known as half of the tag team The Nasty Boys with his partner Jerry Sags. Early life Knobbs was born on May 6 ...

and

Jerry Sags Jerome Saganowich (born July 5, 1964) is an American professional wrestler best known by his wrestling name Jerry Sags. He is a member of the tag team The Nasty Boys with partner and long-term friend Brian Knobbs. Early life and education Sags w ...

) (accompanied by

Missy Hyatt Melissa Ann Hiatt (born October 16, 1963), better known by her ring name, Missy Hyatt, is an American retired professional wrestling valet, commentator, and occasional professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with World Champ ...

) and the team of

and

for the

. Sting and Hawk had the early advantage, and targeted the left arm of Knobs. After Hawk missed a turnbuckle thrust in the corner, he fell outside, and was attacked by The Nasty Boys. They had the advantage until Hawk performed a clothesline to both, and tagged in Sting. Sting attacked them both, and attempted a splash to Knobs, but Knobs raised his knees. The Nasty Boys then dominated Sting, and repeatedly applied the abdominal stretch. This continued until Hawk came in, and attacked both with Sting. They performed a

Doomsday Device A doomsday device is a hypothetical construction — usually a weapon or weapons system — which could destroy all life on a planet, particularly Earth, or destroy the planet itself, bringing "doomsday", a term used for the end of planet Earth. ...

on Knobs, and Sting attempted to pin him, but Hyatt interfered. Sting and Hawk won the match by disqualification, and The Nasty Boys retained the title. The

was between Vader (accompanied by

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federatio ...

) and

for the

. Flair would have to retire from

if he lost. The match started with Vader having the advantage with attacks. After Vader performed a

gorilla press slam Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...

, Flair rolled outside the ring, and Vader performed a gorilla press drop onto the guard rail. Vader then missed an attack, and ran into the guard rail. Flair fought back, and sent Vader into the ringpost. Race then attacked Flair, and Vader regained the advantage. Vader dominated Flair, performing 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 feature ...

and a body avalanche. Flair fought back, and sent Vader's left leg into the ringpost. Flair attacked the leg with a chair, and continued to target the leg. After Vader missed a corner slingshot splash, Flair 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 ...

. Vader reached the ropes, and fought back, but missed a

moonsault A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a professional wrestling aerial technique. It was innovated by Mando Guerrero. Much of its popularity in both Japanese and American wrestling is attributed to The Great Muta, despite it being u ...

. Flair attempted to pin Vader while Race climbed the turnbuckle Vader jumped from. Race attempted a

diving headbutt 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 ...

to break up the pin, but Vader powered Flair off of him to kick out just as Race jumped and as a result the champion took the diving headbutt from his manager. After referee Randy Anderson threw Race out of the ring, Flair hit a running forearm smash on Vader then proceeded to chop the champion repeatedly. Flair then attempted another running maneuver only to be met with a bell clap from Vader. Flair then grabbed Vader's left leg, causing him to trip and fall, and pinned him with a roll-up to win the match and the title.

Reception

Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...

of the ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

'' gave the Vader vs. Ric Flair main event a rating of 4-1/2 (out of 5) stars and claimed it was a defining moment in Flair's career and most memorable of his numerous (11 at the time) title wins. The event did a 0.55 pay-per-view buyrate, just above average for WCW's core PPV audience at the time. The show did double the business of the previous month's WCW pay-per-view, Battlebowl, with Starrcade considered a mild success due to being the last of four consecutive monthly pay-per-views, an unusual practice at the time. As highly promoted as Starrcade was, it only drew about 15-20,000 more buys than poorly promoted WCW pay-per-views earlier in the year. The live event gross was $65,000 and the pay-per-view gross for WCW and Turner was $1.35 million. Paid attendance was about 7,000, with 1,000 comps, and a large amount of $8 tickets sold.

Aftermath

Vader continued to feud with

until

, where Flair defeated Vader in a

match to retain the

. Flair then defended and retained the title against

before defeating

Clash of the Champions XXVII ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). T ...

in a

championship unification Championship unification is the act of combining two or more separate professional wrestling championships into a single title. History In professional wrestling, championships may be unified to consolidate the number of championships in a giv ...

match to unify the WCW World Heavyweight Championship and the

. Flair turned heel and began a

with

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

, who debuted with the promotion in June 1994. Their feud was the main focus of the year for the promotion, with their first match occurring at

Bash at the Beach Bash at the Beach was a yearly professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It was the company's PPV for the month of July, held from 1994–2000. As the title implied, the show centered on a b ...

. Hogan won the title, and they continued to wrestle in rematches for the remainder of the year. Hogan remained the champion, and his reign continued for over a year.

Results

References

External links

Starrcade 1993 review at 411mania

Starrcade 1993 review at The Powerdriver Review
{{WCWPPV, Starrcade Events in Charlotte, North Carolina Starrcade 1993 in North Carolina Professional wrestling in Charlotte, North Carolina December 1993 events in the United States 1993 World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view events