Starrcade
WWE Starrcade logo
Created by	Dusty Rhodes,Jim Crockett Jr.
Promotions	NWA (Governing body) (1983–1990) JCP (1983–1987) WCW (1988–2000) WWE (2017–2019)
Brands	Raw (2018–2019) SmackDown (2017–2019)
First event	1983
Last event	2019

Starrcade was a recurringprofessional wrestlingevent, originally broadcast viaclosed-circuit television and eventually broadcast viapay-per-view. It was originally held from 1983 to 2000, first by theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 1983 to 1990, with the 1983–1987 events specifically held byJim Crockett Promotions (JCP) under the NWA, and then held byWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1988 to 2000.

Starrcade was regarded by the NWA and WCW as their flagship event of the year, much in the same vein that its rival, theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF), regardedWrestleMania. As a result, the buildup to each Starrcade featured the largestfeuds of the promotion. In 2001, the WWF acquired WCW, and the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002.

WWE revived the event in 2017 as ahouse show with portions of the events in 2018 and 2019 airing asWWE Network specials. Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, an event was not held in 2020 and no further events were scheduled.

From 1983 to 1987, Starrcade was produced by theNational Wrestling Alliance's (NWA)Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), the dominant promotion of the NWA, and aired onThanksgiving Day. In 1987, theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) scheduled apay-per-view (PPV) of their own,Survivor Series, on Thanksgiving night and demanded exclusivity from cable providers on carriage of the event. In order to prevent such a problem, Starrcade was moved to December the following year and the show was held aroundChristmas Day, mostly in the days following, beginning in 1988. Also in 1988, JCP was sold toTurner Broadcasting due to financial problems and becameWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), though Starrcade was held under the NWA banner until 1990.^[1][2]

From the 1960s to the 1980s, it was tradition for JCP to hold major professional wrestling events on Thanksgiving and Christmas, mostly atGreensboro Coliseum. In 1983, JCP created Starrcade as theirsupercard to continue the Thanksgiving tradition, and spread it across its territory onclosed-circuit television.^[3] It popularized broadcasting on closed-circuit television and was financially successful. From 1987, Starrcade was broadcast on PPV, the first NWA event to do so.^[4]

Starrcade was held for the final time as a WCW event in 2000: the promotion would be acquired by the WWF in 2001, and the brand would become dormant.^[5] In 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (with its "WWE" abbreviation becoming anorphaned initialism in 2011).^[6][7] In 2017, WWE revived Starrcade for aSmackDown-branded non-televisedhouse show on November 25, 2017.^[8] The following year, WWE's Starrcade house shows began to be held asWWE Network specials and featured both theRaw and SmackDown brands.^[9][10] An event did not occur in 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, which prevented WWE from holding shows outside of its normal weekly television programming and PPVs.^[11] WWE resumed live touring in July 2021, but a Starrcade event was not scheduled for that year.^[12]

The 2017Starrcade was the 19th Starrcadeprofessional wrestling event. It was the first Starrcade promoted byWWE and was held exclusively for wrestlers from the promotion'sSmackDownbrand division as a non-televisedhouse show. It took place on November 25, 2017, at theGreensboro Coliseum Complex inGreensboro, North Carolina.^[8][14] It was the first Starrcade event in seventeen years. It was also the first Starrcade event not to be televised in any way and the first to be held in the Greensboro Coliseum since 1985. The event featured appearances byRic Flair,Arn Anderson,Ricky Steamboat,The Rock 'n' Roll Express, andThe Hardy Boyz.

• Starrcade
• Recurring events established in 1983
• Recurring events disestablished in 2000

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• Articles with short description
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