It was surprising when WWE announced that they were going to be bringing back Starrcade for the first time in 17 years. The event had been the NWA and WCW’s version of WrestleMania and was that territory/promotion’s biggest show of the year for decades, and given WWE’s longstanding tradition of trying to keep WCW traditions shelved, it immediately raised eyebrows.
On Saturday, November 25, WWE will present Starrcade, live from Greensboro, NC, deep in the heart of Flair country and, by extension, NWA/WCW/Jim Crockett territory. The event, despite overwhelming demand from fans, is as of right now (and it appears this is going to stick) strictly a Live Event. That means no live broadcast on WWE Network. Likely, that means no airing on WWE Network, period. It’s going to be a treat for old-school fans, and the company appears to be pulling out all the old-school stops to go along with it.
Starrcade will bow just one week after the return of the War Games match, albeit a version of War Games that is rubbing a lot of wrestling purists the wrong way. Still, this is a lot of WCW-related homages in a very short period of time, and that pleases the cockles of the hearts of many here at With Spandex. (As you can well imagine.)
The latest news about Starrcade is that it will feature an appearance by the man himself, the Nature Boy Ric Flair.
BREAKING: @WWE Hall of Famer @RicFlairNatrBoy will be part of the #WWEStarrcade live event in Greensboro on November 25, and tickets are still available! https://t.co/S260L23d3F
— WWE (@WWE) November 16, 2017
If that isn’t enough of a throwback for you, one of the matches on the card will be one of WWE’s resident old-school PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE practitioners, Dash Wilder of the Revival, taking on Dustin Rhodes. Not Goldust. Dustin “The Natural” by god Rhodes. Frig. Yes. PLUS, The Hardy Boyz will appear in their home state of North Carolina, as will certified WCW/NWA legends Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and the Rock ‘N’ Roll Express. That’s a whole lot of Crockett goin’ on.
Here’s the current card for that show, which is headlined by a pair of steel cage matches, as all good Starrcades should be.
WWE Championship Steel Cage Match: AJ Styles (c) vs. Jinder Mahal
Smackdown Women’s Championship Steel Cage Match: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Natalya
Smackdown Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way Match: The Usos (c) vs. The New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
United States Championship Match: Baron Corbin (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Grudge Match: Bobby Roode vs. Dolph Ziggler
Dash Wilder vs. Dustin Rhodes
That’s going to be one hell of a special night. Hopefully everyone will get to watch it in its entirety someday.
