Main

Build a Better Body

Learn Self Defense

Meet Women

 

 

Weekly Quiz

"Starrcade: The Memories - Part 1"

December 3, 2007

Welcome to the Armpit wrestling quiz for the week of December 3, 2007.  We took last week off (did anyone notice??) for the Thanksgiving holiday. 

As a kid growing up in the 80s, December always meant Starrcade was coming (it started in November but moved to December in 1988).  It was WCW/NWA’s version of WrestleMania, except it happened first.  While the Starrcade tradition turned into a pathetic joke at the end, the 80s and early 90s versions were quite memorable. 

So let’s begin part 1 of a 3-part quiz on “Starrcade: The Memories.” 

Last week’s answers:

-At Survivor Series ’01, Team WWF was headed by the Rock.  When the Rock returned to the WWF in 2001, after a several month absence, the segment in which he announced he chose the WWF over WCW/ECW was the last huge rating (7.1) Raw would ever do.  It hasn’t come close since.

-At SS ’02, Shawn Michaels won the WWE title in an Elimination Chamber match.

-Shane McMahon wrestled Kane at SS ’03.

-At Team Orton vs. Team HHH at SS ’04, the only guy on the teams not with WWE today (aside from Benoit) is Maven.

-After Team Raw vs. Team SmackDown at SS ’05, the Undertaker returned.

-At SS ’06, Ron Simmons replaced Roddy Piper.

Here are this week's questions.  Remember, the new rules are that you no longer need to submit your questions, and no winners will be declared.  We're just doing this for fun and to honor the forgotten world of wrestling history.

1.      Starrcade ’83 was a big success at the gate and also on closed circuit.  Ric Flair defeated Harley Race in the main event to win his 2^nd NWA title.  It won Match of the Year honors, but modern fans would probably be bored by the slow pace if they watched it today.  Who was the special guest referee for that match?

2.      Starrcades ’84 and ’85 were marred by Dusty Rhodes hogging the main event, and thus, not allowing a good match.  However, Dusty’s booking was extremely successful during this time (and 1986 as well).  Flair beat Dusty in ’84, when the match was stopped for what reason?

3.      Starrcade ’85 featured what many feel is the best Starrcade match ever: Magnum TA vs. Tully Blanchard.  This match influenced a generation of wrestlers, including Mick Foley, as it was considered hardcore for its time.  The violence was tame by today’s standards, but the psychology, heat, and emotion blow away matches of today.  What kind of match (ie, steel cage, dog collar, etc) was this?

4.      Starrcade ’86 was awesome, capping off a great year for Jim Crockett Promotions.  Flair vs. Nikita Koloff was the main event, but the real draw was the “Night of the Skywalkers” match: Road Warriors vs. Midnight Express on a scaffold.  Jim Cornette took a major fall in that match, landing on his arse.  Who was supposed to catch him?

5.      Starrcade ’87 was the PPV that was a huge nail in the NWA’s coffin, thanks to Vince McMahon’s well documented shenanigans.  It also killed Chicago as a drawing town for ten years.  Which match featured the infamous “Dusty finish?”

6.      Starrcade ’88 is one of my all-time favorite PPVs.  It happened just after the Turner purchase, and it was also the end of the era of Dusty Rhodes as booker (and not soon enough).  The crowd in Norfolk wasn’t just hot, it was a blazing inferno, and it stayed like that for the entire show.  Lex Luger had perhaps his best match ever, hanging in there as Flair dragged a long ****1/2 match out of him.  Another forgotten great match was wrestled by Barry Windham, coming off a year in which he was a solid #2 (behind Flair) best performer in the country.  What recent WWF headliner did Barry wrestle in this match?

Answers will be posted next week.

The Armpit

To receive our weekly quizzes by email, and to play quizzes from the past, please sign up here.