| Starrcade | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringGoldberg | |||
| Promotion | World Championship Wrestling[1] | ||
| Brand(s) | WCW nWo | ||
| Date | December 27, 1998[1] | ||
| City | Washington, D.C.[1] | ||
| Venue | MCI Center[1] | ||
| Attendance | 16,066 | ||
| Buy rate | 460,000 | ||
| Tagline | Who's Next? The Challenge Has Been Issued. | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Starrcade chronology | |||
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The 1998Starrcade was the 16th annualStarrcadeprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on December 27, 1998, from theMCI Center inWashington, D.C.
Themain event was ano-disqualification match betweenGoldberg andKevin Nash for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship. Theirfeud began when Nash won abattle royal atWorld War 3, and earned a title match. Other matches includedDiamond Dallas Page againstThe Giant,Eric Bischoff againstRic Flair, andKonnan againstChris Jericho for theWCW World Television Championship.[1] In 2015, all WCW pay-per-views were made available on the WWE Network. The event generated 460,000 ppv buys.[2]
The event featured wrestlers from pre-existing feuds andstorylines. Wrestlers portrayedvillains,heroes, orless distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[3]
The mainfeud heading into Starrcade was betweenGoldberg andKevin Nash over theWCW World Heavyweight Championship. Since his debut, Goldberg started an undefeated streak, and won the title fromHollywood Hogan on the July 6 edition ofNitro.[4] AtWorld War 3, Nash won abattle royal to earn a title match with Goldberg at Starrcade, and their feud began.[5] Heading into Starrcade, Goldberg had an undefeated streak of 173 matches.[1]
The feud betweenRic Flair andEric Bischoff began on September 14, when Flair returned to reform theFour Horsemen. The Four Horsemen feuded with theNew World Order, but it soon reduced to a feud between Flair and Bischoff.[6][7] The feud betweenDiamond Dallas Page andThe Giant began whenBret Hart defeated Page with the help of The Giant to win theWCW United States Heavyweight Championship on the November 30 edition ofNitro.[8]
The first match was atriangle match betweenJuventud Guerrera,Rey Mysterio, Jr., andBilly Kidman for theWCW Cruiserweight Championship. The match went back and forth between all three. It ended when Mysterio sent Guerrera outside the ring with aheadscissors takedown, and Kidman performed ashooting star press to both.Eddy Guerrero came out as Kidman fought Guerrera in the ring. Kidman had Guerrera in aroll-up, and Guerrero reversed it into asunset flip on Kidman. Mysteriodropkicked Guerrera, and Kidman pinned Guerrera with a roll-up to win the match, and retain the title.
After the match, Guerrero lectured Mysterio and Guerrera, and challenged Kidman for the title. Kidman accepted, and the match started with Guerrero having the advantage. Kidman fought back with a headscissors takedown, and they went back and forth. After Kidman countered apowerbomb into asitout facebuster, he attempted aFrankensteiner, but Guerrero held on. After interference from Guerrera and Mysterio, who helped Guerrero and Kidman respectively, Kidman pinned Guerrero after a shooting star press to win the match, and retain the title.
The third match was betweenNorman Smiley andPrince Iaukea. The match started back and forth until Smiley dropped Iaukea across the ropes. Smiley dominated Iaukea with the use of many holds. Iaukea attempted to fight back with aspringboardcrossbody, but Smiley rolled through, and forced Iaukea to submit with theNorman Conquest. Smiley won the match.
The fourth match was betweenErnest Miller (accompanied bySonny Onoo) andPerry Saturn. The match started back and forth. Saturn had the early advantage until Miller performed aneye rake, and choked Saturn. Miller performed asuperkick, but Saturn fought back withsuplexes. After Saturn missed anaxe handle, Miller fought back with kicks, and held Saturn for Onoo to attack him. Onoo accidentally kicked Miller, and Miller kicked Onoo. Saturn then pinned Miller after aDeath Valley driver to win the match.
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentators | Tony Schiavone |
| Bobby Heenan | |
| Mike Tenay | |
| Interviewer | Gene Okerlund[1] |
| Referees | Scott Dickinson |
| Mickie Jay | |
| Charles Robinson | |
| Billy Silverman | |
| Ring announcer | Michael Buffer |
| David Penzer |
The fifth match was between the team ofBrian Adams andScott Norton and the team ofFit Finlay andJerry Flynn. The match went back and forth until Adams performed apiledriver to Finlay. Adams and Norton dominated Finlay with aDDT and ahangman's neckbreaker from Norton. Finlay performed ajawbreaker to Adams, but Adams fought back with agorilla press gutbuster. Flynn tagged in after Finlay blocked aseated senton from Adams. Norton pinned Flynn after aclothesline and a powerbomb to win the match.
The sixth match was betweenChris Jericho andKonnan for theWCW World Television Championship. Jericho gained the advantage after sending Konnan into the ringpost. Konnan fought back with arolling thunderlariat, and they went back and forth. Jericho performed aLionsault, but sent himself into the ringsteps. After Konnan kicked him in the corner, Jericho hit Konnan with the belt. Konnan fought back with a Facejam, and forced Jericho to submit with theTequila Sunrise. Konnan won the match, and retained the title.
The seventh match was betweenEric Bischoff andRic Flair. The match started with Flair dominating Bischoff withknife edge chops,punches, andkicks. Flair performed aknee drop, and targeted Bischoff's right leg. Bischoff fought back briefly with kicks. Flair performed repeatedlow blows and knife edge chops. Flair knocked down thereferee, and performed suplexes before applying thefigure four leglock.Curt Hennig came down and handed Bischoff a weapon. Bischoff punched Flair with it, and pinned him to win the match.
The eighth match was betweenThe Giant andDiamond Dallas Page. The Giant dominated Page after sending him into the ringsteps and ringposts. After delivering several attacks, The Giant applied thebear hug. Page fought out, andbit The Giant's forehead, but The Giant performed achokeslam backbreaker. Page performed atornado DDT, and both were down.Bret Hart came out, and accidentally hit The Giant with asteel chair. Page performedflying clotheslines until The Giant caught him, and attempted achokeslam from the top turnbuckle. Page countered it into aDiamond Cutter, and pinned The Giant to win the match.
Themain event was aNo Disqualification match betweenKevin Nash andGoldberg for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship. Michael Buffer did the introductions for the bout and incorrectly announced Goldberg as having a 174–0 record despite it being 173–0. The match started back and forth. Nash attacked Goldberg in the corner, but Goldberg pushed him down, and applied theankle lock. Goldberg attacked Nash in the corner, but Nash sent him into the turnbuckle. Nash performed acorner foot choke, and attempted abig boot. Goldberg ducked, and performed aspear. As Goldberg was about to perform aJackhammer, Nash performed a low blow. Nash performed asidewalk slam, and attacked Goldberg's back. Goldberg fought back with aswinging neckbreaker and a superkick. After Goldberg performed afront powerslam and aspinning heel kick,Disco Inferno andBam Bam Bigelow came out to attack Goldberg. Goldberg performed a spear to Inferno, and sent Bigelow out of the ring with a clothesline. As Goldberg was about to perform a spear to Nash,Scott Hall shocked Goldberg with astun gun. Nash performed aJackknife Powerbomb to Goldberg, and pinned him to win the match and the title, and thus ending Goldberg's streak 173–1.[1][9]
Goldberg's defeat at Starrcade marked the end of his undefeated streak. On the January 4 episode ofNitro,Kevin Nash was scheduled to face Goldberg in a rematch for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship. Goldberg was arrested, however, when he was falsely accused of stalkingMiss Elizabeth. Instead, Nash facedHollywood Hogan, who had returned after a hiatus, purportedly to announce his retirement in the wake of his run for President of the United States,[10] and offered to face Nash in place of Goldberg. Nash would lie down and allow Hogan to pin him, effectively handing the title to Hogan, in an incident infamously known as the "Fingerpoke of Doom".[11] The match was followed by a reunion of theNew World Order (nWo), revealing that Nash's victories at World War 3 and Starrcade had been part of a conspiracy to get the title back on Hogan.[12][13]
After Starrcade, Goldbergfeuded withScott Hall due to his interference in the match. They faced each other in aladder match involving astun gun atSouled Out. After Goldberg won the match,Bam Bam Bigelow came out and attacked Goldberg, and a feud started between them.[14] It led to their match atSuperBrawl IX, where Goldberg defeated Bigelow to end their feud.[15] The feud betweenRic Flair andEric Bischoff continued, with Hogan eventually becoming a part of the rivalry as well. The entire feud, which led to Flair gaining control of WCW for ninety days following a win the night afterStarrcade, culminated with Flair's defeat of Hogan atUncensored in March to take Hogan's championship and the presidency of WCW from Bischoff permanently.[6] Flair would eventually lose both the World Heavyweight Championship (atSpring Stampede) and the WCW Presidency, the latter thanks to a returning Bischoff who had disappeared from television shortly after the Hogan-Flair match at Uncensored.[6]
The event has received generally negative or mixed reviews from critics.
In 2013, Dylan Diot of 411Mania gave the event a rating of "5.0 [Not So Good]," stating, "This did not feel like the biggest show of the year for WCW. Too many pointless matches and a mostly dead crowd made for a dull show. There was also the lack of major star power, with no Sting, Luger, Hogan, or Savage competing. This was a sign of the times for WCW, with horrible booking and too much interference preventing the show from producing memorable moments and satisfying conclusions for the fans. The only things I can recommend are the opening three way and the main event for historical purposes but otherwise you can skip this."[16]
In 2021, Lance Augustine of TJR Wrestling gave the event a rating of "5 out of 10," stating, "I might be a little generous with that rating, but the opening matches with Kidman were both solid, and Goldberg suffering his first loss is a big deal. The rest of the show was so average with guys that weren’t normally featured in big spots. This was WrestleMania for WCW, and most of the matches fell really flat. I didn’t even think Page and The Giant had an outstanding match but both were capable of doing so. The fans were so dead throughout the whole show and only came up when the main event was going on."[17]
In 2023, Michael Fitzgerald of Scott's Blog of Doom! gave the event a review of "Not a recommended show," stating, "The two Cruiserweight matches and the Main Event were strong ways to bookend the show, and I found most of the actual wrestling in the under card to be decent for the most part, so I think I’d give Starrcade 1998 at worst a thumbs in the middle, and possibly even a mild thumbs up. I wouldn’t really recommend you going out of your way to watch anything on it past the first two matches, but those first two matches are great and definitely worth checking out. I can’t recommend the show as a whole though."[18]
| No. | Results[1] | Stipulations | Times | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Kidman (c) defeatedRey Mysterio Jr. andJuventud Guerrera | Triangle match for theWCW Cruiserweight Championship | 14:56 | ||
| 2 | Billy Kidman (c) defeatedEddie Guerrero | Singles match for theWCW Cruiserweight Championship | 10:48 | ||
| 3 | Norman Smiley defeatedPrince Iaukea | Singles match | 11:31 | ||
| 4 | Perry Saturn defeatedErnest Miller (withSonny Onoo) | Singles match | 7:07 | ||
| 5 | Brian Adams andScott Norton (withVincent) defeatedFit Finlay andJerry Flynn | Tag team match | 8:56 | ||
| 6 | Konnan (c) defeatedChris Jericho (with Ralphus) | Singles match for theWCW World Television Championship | 7:28 | ||
| 7 | Eric Bischoff defeatedRic Flair | Singles match | 7:08 | ||
| 8 | Diamond Dallas Page defeatedThe Giant | Singles match | 12:45 | ||
| 9 | Kevin Nash defeatedGoldberg (c) | No Disqualification match for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship | 11:20 | ||
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