The 1996 Starrcade was the 14th annual Starrcade

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 or ...

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 g ...

(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 ev ...

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 Nati ...

(WCW). It took place on December 29, 1996, from the

Nashville Municipal Auditorium The Nashville Municipal Auditorium is an indoor sports and concert venue in Nashville, Tennessee. It opened October 7, 1962 with both an arena and exhibition hall. The former exhibition hall has been permanent home to the Musicians Hall of Fa ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. The event featured the New World Order (nWo)

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 ...

, which formed in July. 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 Hollywood Hogan and

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his ...

. Piper debuted in WCW a few months prior to oppose the nWo, and challenge Hogan to determine who the bigger icon was. Other matches featured

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 h ...

and The Giant,

Diamond Dallas Page Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), better known by his ring name Diamond Dallas Page (often stylized as DDP), is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. In the course of his wrestling career Page has wre ...

and

Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was a prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero ...

for the vacant WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, The Outsiders and the

Faces of Fear The Faces of Fear was a professional wrestling tag team of The Barbarian and Meng in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that existed between 1996 and 1999. The two were first paired together in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as part of Th ...

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) ...

, and

Ultimo Dragon Ultimo may refer to: * Ultimo, New South Wales * Ulten, comune in Italy, Italian name ''Ultimo'' * Ultimo (Marvel Comics), comic books character * Ultimo (brand), Scottish designer lingerie brand * ''Karakuridôji Ultimo'', a Japanese manga * ...

and Dean Malenko to unify the J-Crown Championship and the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. In 2015, All WCW pay-per-views were made available on the WWE Network.

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 ...

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

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 par ...

heading into Starrcade was between

and Hollywood Hogan. At Bash at the Beach, Hogan,

Scott Hall Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and under the ring name the Diamond Studd and with the ...

and

Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he performed under his ...

formed the New World Order (nWo), a group of rebels who terrorized, and aimed to take over

. Since then, the group increased in members and power, winning 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 ...

and the

. Piper returned to WCW at

Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October. It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view ...

, and confronted Hogan. Piper claimed to be as big an icon as Hogan and wanted Hogan to admit it. After Hogan did, he insulted Piper when Piper was on his way out of the ring, implying Piper was going to use the women's bathroom. The show went off the air while they were arguing in the ring. In the following weeks, Eric Bischoff claimed that he attempted to get in touch with Piper regarding a match, but said that Piper was not interested since he had said his piece. Finally, Piper showed up on Nitro and accused WCW Executive Vice President Eric Bischoff of secretly working for the nWo. This was revealed to be true as the nWo came out, attacked Piper, and declared their alliance with Bischoff. The match between Piper and Hogan was made for Starrcade.

Event

The first match was between Ultimate Dragon and Dean Malenko to unify the J-Crown Championship and the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. The match started back and forth, with both exchanging holds. Ultimo Dragon gained the advantage with the single leg Boston crab and the STF. Malenko fought back with

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 ...

es, and applied the ankle lock. He then targeted the left leg of Ultimo Dragon. They then went back and forth until Ultimo Dragon 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 ...

, and Malenko applied the Texas cloverleaf. After Malenko performed a brainbuster, they exchanged holds, and Ultimo Dragon pinned Malenko with a bridging tiger suplex to win the match, and unify the two titles. The second match was between

Akira Hokuto is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known as . Career Born Hisako Uno, Hokuto became a professional wrestler in the wake of the enormous popularity of tag team the Crush Gals (Chigusa Nagayo and Lioness Asuka), and was responsi ...

(accompanied by Sonny Onoo and

Kensuke Sasaki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and founder of the now-defunct wrestling promotion Diamond Ring. Sasaki is the first of four men ever to hold all three of '' puroresus major heavyweight titles (the IWGP Heav ...

) and

Madusa Debrah Ann Miceli (born February 9, 1964), better known as Madusa, is an Italian-born American monster truck driver and former professional wrestler. She is currently working for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a producer. In 2015, she has ...

for the WCW Women's Championship. The match started back and forth. Hokuto applied the double choke, and performed a Northern Lights suplex. Madusa performed a

tornado DDT In professional wrestling a DDT is any move in which the wrestler has the opponent in a Grappling hold, front facelock/inverted headlock and falls down or backwards to drive the opponent's head into the mat. The classic DDT is performed by putti ...

and a

powerbomb A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted (usually so that they are sitting on the wrestler's shoulders) and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a sta ...

. After Hokuto performed a superplex, Madusa sent her outside with 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 conne ...

. Onoo came in, and hit Madusa with a pole. Hokuto pinned Madusa after a missile dropkick and a Northern Lights Bomb to win the match and the title. The third match was between

Jushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

and Rey Mysterio Jr. Liger had the early advantage with a delayed vertical suplex and a powerbomb. Mysterio performed a headscissors takedown, but Liger performed a suplex off the apron. They then went back and forth. Mysterio performed a

springboard 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 ...

and a springboard legdrop. Liger fought back with 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 prefe ...

. Liger pinned Mysterio after a Liger Bomb to win the match. The fourth match was a

No Disqualification 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

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestlin ...

and

Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he also serves as Director of Business Development. Beginning his career in his father ...

. The match started back and forth until Benoit performed a belly to back suplex, and applied the sleeper hold. Jarrett fought back with a belly to back suplex, and a belly to belly suplex.

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 ...

came down as Jarrett performed a back body drop. Jarrett and Benoit exchanged attacks as Kevin Sullivan came down. Sullivan hit Benoit with a wooden chair as Anderson performed a DDT to Jarrett. Jarrett then pinned Benoit to win the match. The fifth match was between The Outsiders (

and

) and

The Faces of Fear The Faces of Fear was a professional wrestling tag team of The Barbarian and Meng in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) that existed between 1996 and 1999. The two were first paired together in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as part of T ...

(

Meng Meng may refer to: * Meng (surname) (孟), a Chinese surname * Master of Engineering (MEng or M.Eng.), an academic or professional master's degree in the field of engineering * , "M with hook", letter used in the International Phonetic Alphabet * ...

and The Barbarian) for the

. Nick Patrick, the referee, was biased towards The Outsiders. The match started back and forth until the Faces of Fear double-teamed Nash. Nash fought back after The Barbarian missed 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 prefe ...

. The Outsiders dominated The Barbarian until the Faces of Fear double-teamed Hall. After performing 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 Barbarian applied the nerve hold on Hall. Hall fought out with a belly to back suplex, and Nash tagged in. Nash pinned The Barbarian after a big boot and a Jackknife Powerbomb. The sixth match was between

and

in the final match of a tournament for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, which had been vacated after the nWo refused to return the belt after stealing it from then-reigning champion

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 ...

. After starting back and forth, Guerrero gained the advantage with 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 ...

senton, and applied the

armbar 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, ...

. Guerrero performed mounted punches, but Page dropped him on the top turnbuckle. Page had the advantage, and applied the abdominal stretch. They then went back and forth until Hall, Nash and

Syxx Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names 1–2–3 ...

came down. The Outsiders, who had been interfering in Page's matches for several weeks to help him win and join the nWo, interfered against Page this time. Hall performed an Outsider's Edge on Page, and Guerrero pinned him after a frog splash to win the match and the title. After the match, Hall, Nash and Syxx beat down Guerrero and stole the title belt again. The seventh match was between The Giant and

. The match began with Luger delivering punches, and The Giant pushing off Luger. The Giant dominated Luger after performing a clothesline. Luger fought back with kicks after The Giant missed a body avalanche. The Giant continued to attack, but missed a dropkick. Luger performed clotheslines, a hangman's neckbreaker and a scoop slam. Luger then applied the Torture Rack, but Syxx came down, and performed a spin kick to Luger.

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-earth ...

came down, and left a

baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more than in length. Although histor ...

in the ring. Luger performed a low blow to The Giant, and pinned him after several attacks with the bat to win the match. The

was between Hollywood Hogan (accompanied by

Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE working in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship ...

) and

. The match started back and forth. After Piper performed a clothesline and kicks, Hogan left the ring. Piper followed, and sent Hogan's head into the guard rail. Piper then whipped and choked Hogan with a

belt Belt may refer to: Apparel * Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist * Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports * Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practiti ...

. DiBiase distracted Piper, and Hogan fought back, sending Piper's head into the guard rail. Hogan kicked Piper's hip, and applied the abdominal stretch. They exchanged attacks, and The Giant came down. He attempted to perform a chokeslam to Piper. At this point, a fan interrupted the finale by jumping the safety barrier and hitting Ted DiBiase. The Giant was confused by the event and continued to hold Roddy in the chokeslam position. Hogan and referee Randy Anderson ran over and subdued the fan, by kicking him several times in the ring corner until security arrived. After the incident was over, the match continued and Piper reversed the chokeslam hold by

biting Biting is a common zoological behavior involving the active, rapid closing of the jaw around an object. This behavior is found in toothed animals such as mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish, but can also exist in arthropods. Myocytic cont ...

The Giant on the nose. Piper then applied the sleeper hold on Hogan, causing him to pass out, and won the match.

Aftermath

After Starrcade, The Giant was removed from the New World Order (nWo) for failing to help Hogan win his match. The Giant was also unhappy with how he was never given a match for Hollywood Hogan's

despite winning the

World War 3 battle royal In professional wrestling, a battle royal (sometimes battle royale; plural battles royal or battle royals) is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared the winner. Typical battles royal begin w ...

. At

Souled Out Souled Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in January from 1997 through 2000. The 1997 and 1998 WCW Souled Out PPV events were held on Saturdays due to the Super Bowl played ...

, The Giant faced Hogan for the title, but the match ended with nWo members beating down The Giant.

continued his

with Hogan after, and they faced each other at

SuperBrawl VII SuperBrawl VII was the seventh 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 23, 1997 fro ...

for the title.

Randy Savage Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestl ...

interfered, helping Hogan win the match, and their feud ended. Throughout 1997, WCW seemed to revolve around

, whose character was changed to become an avenger, frequently seen observing from the rafters. The storyline was built towards his match with Hogan for the title at the following

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 ...

Reception

WCW earned $113,040 in ticket sales with an attendance of 9,030. The pay-per-view received a buyrate of 0.95, which is the equivalent of approximately 380,000 buys. The event was released on VHS in the United States on April 15, 1997 by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...

. Arnold Furious of 411Mania gave the event a rating of 6.5 verage stating, "This is a great show until the nWo stuff kicks in. While a few months beforehand it was fresh and different now it was getting irritating. While it was nice that they let some of the cruisers go and have fun in the early going (Malenko-Dragon & Liger-Mysterio) you have to think that was because they weren’t deemed important enough for the nWo to care about them. Once the show got into the more important matches the nWo was everywhere and had their fingers in every pie including DDP-Guerrero, which had nothing to do with them at all. A couple of good cruiserweight matches doesn’t make a show great as anyone who watches TNA will testify but it makes the show passable enough to get a mild thumbs up. I’d watch most of the last two matches on fast forward though because they suck."

Results

Women's Championship Tournament

United States Heavyweight Championship Tournament

References

External links

Starrcade 1996 review at 411mania
{{WCWPPV, Starrcade Starrcade 1996 in Tennessee Events in Nashville, Tennessee Professional wrestling in Nashville, Tennessee December 1996 events in the United States 1996 World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view events