| Starrcade | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringGoldberg and several other wrestlers | |||
| Promotion | World Championship Wrestling[1] | ||
| Date | December 19, 1999[1] | ||
| City | Washington, D.C.[1] | ||
| Venue | MCI Center[1] | ||
| Attendance | 8,582[2] | ||
| Buy rate | 145,000 | ||
| Tagline | The Battle to End the Millennium. | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Starrcade chronology | |||
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The 1999Starrcade was the 17th annualStarrcadeprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on December 19, 1999, from theMCI Center inWashington, D.C.[3]
Themain event was betweenBret Hart andGoldberg for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship. The match was notable for aconcussion Hart sustained, which ultimately led to his retirement in 2000. After Hart won the title at theMayhem event, Goldberg challenged Hart to a match for the title. The match ended in ascrewjob, with Goldberg losing unfairly. Soon after the event, Hart formed and led a new incarnation of theNew World Order group. Other matches included aladder match betweenChris Benoit andJeff Jarrett for theWCW United States Heavyweight Championship, aPowerbomb match betweenSid Vicious andKevin Nash, andSting againstThe Total Package.[1] In 2015, all WCW pay-per-views were made available on the WWE Network. The ppv generated 145,000 ppv buys.[4]
The event featured wrestlers from pre-existing scripted 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.[5]
The main match of Starrcade was betweenBret Hart andGoldberg. AtMayhem, the previous pay-per-view event, Hart won a tournament to become the newWCW World Heavyweight Champion.[6] Afterwards, Goldberg challenged Hart to a match at Starrcade for the title. They showed respect for each other, and won theWCW World Tag Team Championship together. They lost the title one week later toThe Outsiders.[7]
In September,Eric Bischoff was relieved of his position as the president of WCW.[8]Vince Russo, who previously worked for theWorld Wrestling Federation, was hired as a writer, and made many changes to the programming. He was portrayed on-screen as "The Powers That Be", a mysterious, unseen power source that controlled the promotion. The programming was changed in style, with more time devoted to non-wrestling segments, and more coherentstorylines.[9] Russo has received criticism for some of his contributions, however,[10] and Bischoff has described Russo's storylines as dark and unsophisticated.[11]
The first match was betweenThe Mamalukes (Big Vito andJohnny the Bull) and the team ofDisco Inferno andLash LeRoux. The match started with Big Vito and Johnny the Bull dominating LeRoux and Inferno by double-teaming. This continued until Big Vito missed asplash. Inferno and LeRoux fought back until Inferno accidentally performed aLast Dance on LeRoux. Big Vito performed aspinning lifting DDT on LeRoux, and pinned him to win the match.
The second match was betweenMadusa andEvan Karagias (accompanied by Spice) for theWCW Cruiserweight Championship. The match started back and forth until Karagias performed ahangman and aflying clothesline to the outside. Spice distracted Karagias, and performed alow blow. Madusa then pinned Karagias with a bridgingGerman suplex to win the match and the title.
The third match was betweenMeng andNorman Smiley for theWCW Hardcore Championship. The match started with Meng dominating Smiley as they fought backstage.Fit Finlay andBrian Knobs then attacked Meng. Finlay hit Meng with a lead pipe, and Smiley pinned him to win the match, and retain the title.
The fourth match was betweenThe Revolution (Shane Douglas,Dean Malenko,Perry Saturn andAsya) and the team ofJim Duggan andThe Varsity Club. Saturn and Malenko had the advantage over Duggan for most of the match. This continued until the Varsity Club came in, and fought off The Revolution. However, they then turned on Duggan, and beat him down. They performed a low blow to Duggan, and Douglas pinned him to win the match. As a result of losing, Duggan had to renounce his United Statescitizenship.
The fifth match was betweenVampiro (accompanied byThe Misfits) andSteve Williams. The match started back and forth until Williams sent Vampiro off the top turnbuckle. The Misfits came in, and Williams fought them off. Williams continued to attack Vampiro, and thereferee disqualified him after Williams refused to stop. Vampiro won the match, and earned a match withOklahoma, which started immediately after. Oklahoma had the advantage after Williams' attacks. Vampiro fought back with anura-nage, and beat him down with The Misfits. Vampiro pinned him after aNail in the Coffin to win the match.
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Tony Schiavone[2] |
| Bobby Heenan[2] | |
| Scott Hudson[2] | |
| Interviewer | Gene Okerlund[2] |
| Mike Tenay[2] | |
| Referees | Johnny Boone |
| Mickie Jay | |
| Mark Johnson | |
| Nick Patrick[2] | |
| Charles Robinson[2] | |
| Billy Silverman[2] | |
| Ring announcer | Michael Buffer |
| David Penzer |
The seventh match featured theCreative Controltag team andCurt Hennig againstHarlem Heat (Booker T andStevie Ray) andMidnight. Stevie Ray chose to not wrestle in the match. The match went back and forth until Booker T was attacked outside the ring. Creative Control and Hennig had the advantage. After Creative Control missed adiving elbow drop, Booker T fought back with aHarlem Sidekick and aspinebuster. Hennig came in, and hit Booker T withbrass knuckles. Creative Control then pinned Booker T to win the match.
The eighth match was aBunkhouse Brawl betweenDustin Rhodes andJeff Jarrett. The match started backstage, and went back and forth with the use of a wheelbarrow. They fought to the ring, and Rhodes gained the advantage with the use of acow bell, and threwpowder at Jarrett. Jarrett fought back with a low blow, and applied thesleeper hold. Rhodes fought out with abelly to back suplex, and they fought up the entrance ramp. Curt Hennig attempted to interfere, but Rhodes beat him down. The distraction allowed Jarrett to perform aguitar shot, and pin Rhodes to win the match.
The ninth match was aCrowbar on a Pole match betweenDiamond Dallas Page andDavid Flair. Before the match, Flair attacked Page from behind with his owncrowbar, and Page was knocked down outside the ring. Page returned, and the match started with Flair having the advantage. Flair performed several attacks, and applied thefigure four leglock. Flair retrieved the crowbar, and attempted to use it. Page avoided it, and pinned Flair after aDiamond Cutter to win the match.
The tenth match was betweenThe Total Package andSting (accompanied byElizabeth). Prior to the match, Sting was shown handing Elizabeth a can of what he said was spray, and told her to use it if she had to. The Total Package attacked Sting as he entered the ring, and continued to have the advantage. Elizabeth climbed onto the apron, and this allowed Sting to fight back. After they knocked down each other with aclothesline, Elizabeth came into the ring, and revealed her alliance with The Total Package by attempting to use the spray on Sting. Unfortunately for her, it was actually a can ofsilly string, revealing that Sting anticipated being betrayed by his confidante (a common occurrence in Sting's career). Sting performed aStinger splash to The Total Package, and attempted to apply theScorpion Deathlock. Elizabeth hit Sting with abaseball bat, and Sting won the match by disqualification. After the match, The Total Package attacked Sting's right arm with asteel chair and the bat.
The eleventh match was aPowerbomb match betweenSid Vicious andKevin Nash. Vicious gained the advantage after attacking Nash outside the ring with the use of a steel chair and the guard rail. Vicious continued with aleg drop and ascoop slam. Vicious sent Nash into the referee, knocking him down, and performed apowerbomb on Nash. Jeff Jarrett came down, and hit Vicious with a guitar. Nash attempted a powerbomb, but failed due to the pain in his back. The referee revived, and Nash told him he performed a powerbomb on Vicious. The referee believed Nash, and awarded him the victory.
The twelfth match was aladder match betweenChris Benoit andJeff Jarrett for theWCW United States Heavyweight Championship. Benoit was awarded the title earlier at the event due to his scheduled opponent,Scott Hall, suffered an injury and was unable to compete, and issued an open challenge. The match started back and forth. They sent each other into the ladder, and stopped each other from climbing the ladder by tipping it. As Benoit climbed the ladder, Jarrett sent him down with amissile dropkick to the ladder. Benoit then sent the ladder into Jarrett with adropkick, and performed adiving headbutt from the top of the ladder. Benoit climbed the ladder, and retrieved the belt to win the match, and retain the title.
Themain event was aNo Disqualification match betweenBret Hart andGoldberg for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship. They knocked down several referees throughout the match. The match started with Goldberg having the advantage after agorilla press powerslam. Goldberg attacked Hart outside the ring using the guard rail. Back in the ring, Goldberg missed aspear, and hit the turnbuckle. Hart fought back, and applied theringpost figure four leglock. Hart then targeted the left leg of Goldberg, and applied the figure four leglock. Hart accidentally knocked down the referee, and Goldberg fought back with amule kick and a spear. With the referee down,Roddy Piper came down to officiate. Hart attacked the leg of Goldberg, and applied the Sharpshooter. Piper ended the match without Goldberg submitting and awarded Hart the victory. Hart retained the title and appeared confused about the situation. The ending resembled theMontreal Screwjob.[1][2]
Due to the controversial ending to the match betweenBret Hart andGoldberg at Starrcade, theWCW World Heavyweight Championship was vacated the following night onWCW Monday Nitro. Hart and Goldberg faced each other later on the show, where Hart regained the title with the help ofScott Hall andKevin Nash.[12] Hart, Hall, Nash, andJeff Jarrett formed a new incarnation of theNew World Order (nWo) group, named nWo 2000.[7] Themule kick Goldberg performed to Hart during their match at Starrcade gave Hart a severeconcussion. Unaware of the severity of the injury, Hart continued to compete in matches in the days following. Hart was diagnosed withpost-concussion syndrome, and relinquished the title on January 16, 2000.[13] nWo 2000 disbanded soon after, and was the last incarnation of the nWo in WCW.[14] Later that year, Hart retired fromprofessional wrestling.[15]
In April,Eric Bischoff returned to WCW in a position that involved the managing and overseeing of the creative process. Bischoff worked withVince Russo, and two new groups were created tofeud with each other:the Millionaire's Club, which included older wrestlers, andthe New Blood, with younger wrestlers.[16] The value of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship had decreased over the past years, thanks in part to thehotshotbooking of Bischoff and Russo, and Bischoff devised a storyline that began at theBash at the Beach event to restore its value. At Bash at the Beach, according to Bischoff, Russo acted on his own and ruined Bischoff's plan by cutting aworked shoot promo onHulk Hogan. Russo contends that Bischoff and Hogan were aware of the plan and agreed to it ahead of time.[17] Bischoff left WCW soon after due to problems he had with Russo.[18]
In 2020, Eric Bischoff called Starrcade 1999 "the absolute worst pay-per-view from opening bell to closing bell that I’ve ever seen in my life."[19]