NWA Starrcade '85: The Gathering (1985)

Starrcade '85

November 28, 1985

Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, North Carolina

The Omni - Atlanta, Georgia

30.000 (combined)

Why are there 2 Rs in Starrcade?

Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes, the rematch. Hopefully this one can deliver.

But if it can't, at least I learned how to make gifs.

This is why you have to know how the layers box works

Brodus Clay debut imminent. 

"It's us! We're on the screen"

"WE ROCK!"

This scene is just gold. I can picture the director calling for glamour shots of the audience. The camera finds a group of gals in elegant gowns. He starts to pan. The director wants him to cut away from the bigger (but very excited) girl. Then the reaction on the last girl. It's some combination of surprise and disgust. Maybe she realized she sat on her friend's pie.

Jeez, why did kids even watch this stuff?

Then they toss it to this guy. Could he look any creepier?

Oh, god.

It's just... how come... why is everybody so old?

Krusher Khruschev defeated Sam Houston: Singles match for the vacant NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship

BOOOOOOO!!!!!

On second thought, I think I'll cheer for the Commie.

That ref must be a friend of Ric Flair because he's stylin' and profilin'.

Manny Fernandez defeated Abdullah the Butcher (with Paul Jones): Mexican Death match

Yoink!

That must have been a hell of a pimple!

I know she's excited!

Yay! Blood! A Thanksgiving tradition!

He's got it! He's got the sombrero!

Ron Bass defeated Black Bart (with James J. Dillon): Texas Bullrope match

Good, I was worried we weren't going to have more blood.

James J. Dillon (with Black Bart) defeated Ron Bass: Texas Bullrope match

Jeez.

Billy Graham defeated The Barbarian (with Paul Jones) by disqualification: Arm wrestling match/Singles match

And then they went on to have a regular match that was no more exciting.

Buddy Landel (with James J. Dillon) defeated Terry Taylor (c): Singles match for the NWA National Heavyweight Championship

I guess this guy is a 2 bit Ric Flair.

Complete with strut.

The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (Ole and Arn Anderson) (c) defeated Wahoo McDaniel and Billy Jack Haynes: Tag team match for the NWA National Tag Team Championship

Magnum T.A. defeated Tully Blanchard (c) (with Baby Doll): "I Quit" steel cage match for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship 

First time I've seen Magnum T.A.. 

"You're monkey ass says I QUIT!"

This was actually a pretty good match. Nice pacing and very believable.

Jimmy Valiant and Miss Atlanta Lively (with Big Mama) defeated The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey) (with Jim Cornette): Atlanta Street Fight 

At first I thought this was a comedy match. Everybody was in outrageous outfits and dancing. 

But then there was a lot of blood.

The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) (with Don Kernodle) defeated Ivan and Nikita Koloff (c) (with Krusher Khruschev): Steel cage match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship

So... these rocker guys are like heart throbs, I guess...

Dusty Rhodes defeated Ric Flair (c): Singles match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship

Get loose, daddy!

So majestic.

Not impressed.

5 hit combo!

This is what you paid to see.

I think the sports type celebration is actually kind of neat.

Decision:

The best Starrcade yet, but still hard to get through. When every match has blood, it becomes less special. Having the event split across 2 venues adds nothing of value. There was a freakin' intermission! You can really tell the difference between this product and what McMahon is doing. But what do I know, the girls at this event were screaming at the top of their lungs.

2 good matches (I quit and main event) means...

2 out of 5 stars

WWE The Wrestling Classic (1985)

The Wrestling Classic

November 7, 1985

Rosemont Horizon - Rosemont, Illinois

14,000 in Attendance

A tournament!!!
This has to be good!
Right?
Wrong!

There really is very little to get excited about with this one. Tons of boring matches with screwy finishes. There was so little to note, that there really isn't a lot to post about.

There's your bracket with all the results and--- who cares?

Is that better or worse than 1080P?

Dat class.

A bracket flanked by a pretty lady in a tablecloth with a pointer!?!?

The WWE sure knows its audience.

Miss Elizabeth drew a name that Macho Man wasn't happy about. 

"Can't do anything right!"

That moment when you forget the name of the football team you're shouting out to.

"And also... congratulations to the... Chicago..."

Here's an idea: Let's give away a Rolls Royce via mail-in entry. Then let's have members of the accounting agency responsible for the contest have a few words in the ring before the main event. Wouldn't it be neat if the winner was from Illinois? He is? That's great! Maybe he is in attendance. Does anyone know if he's here? Anyone? Maybe?

Besides the tournament there was a championship match between the Hulkster and Piper. At one point Piper brought in a chair, but with the ref knocked out, Hulk used it to his advantage. Kind of curious for his character. The match ended with Bob Orton interrupting the match. So many lame finishes.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this show is that it is the first event held at the Rosemont Horizon (now known as the Allstate Arena). This venue would become one of the favorites for wrestlers, as the crowd is always extremely hot and vocal, and I can vouch for that having first-hand experience. They were great even for this show. We will see many more great moments from this building.

Decision:

Really a pretty boring affair. A huge step down from WrestleMania. The matches all seemed to blend together and too many funny finishes ruined the drama. The production was decent, better than the competition, but not by much.

1 out of 5 stars

WWE WrestleMania (1985)

(Originally posted on CooleyChi)

WrestleMania 1
March 31, 1985

Madison Square Garden - New York, New York 

19,121 in Attendance

Prologue
I was only 4 days old. How the hell should I know?

The Matches

• Tito Santino defeats The Executioner via submission: I don't know either of these guys.
• King Kong Bundy (accompanied by Jimmy Hart) defeats Special Delivery Jones via pinfall: Cool promo from Jones. Then Bundy enters. The first time I've ever seen him. Wow! What a look. Super imposing. The match is a squash which officially lasts 9 seconds (but was actually 24). Evidently, a record. Daniel Bryan shouldn't feel so bad.

King Kong Bundy. Awesome.

• Ricky Steamboat defeats Matt Borne via pinfall: First time I've watched Ricky Steamboat. I can see why he is considered a legend. Great look, great athleticism, great ring-work. 

Ricky Steamboat. I think this is who my dad wanted to look like.

• David Sammartino (accompanied by father, Bruno Sammartino) vs Brutus Beefcake (accompanied by Johnny Valiant) results in a double disqualification: Didn't hold my attention, until the managers got involved. Bruno got a major pop (He held the WWF title for 11 years over 2 reigns).
• The Junkyard Dog defeats Intercontinental Champion Greg "The Hammer" Valentine (accompanied by Jimmy Hart) via disqualification: Valentine rolled up Junkyard and got a 3 count with a little help from the ropes. Then Santino came out to explain to the ref that Valentine cheated. The ref restarted the match, but Valentine wouldn't come back to the ring. Junkyard wins by count-out, but doesn't get the title. 

A pre-match Juke.

• Nikolai Volkoff and Iron Sheik (accompanied by Freddie Blassie) defeat The U.S. Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) (accompanied by Lou Albano) for the Tag Team Championship via pinfall: The foreigners won by shenanigans. All the 'Mericans were upset.
• Andre The Giant defeats Big John Studd (accompanied by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan) via body slam: A gimmick match. Big John and Heenan put up $15,000 in cash as a prize for Andre if he could body slam Big John. If he failed to, he would be forced to retire. Slow, dull match. Andre slams Big John out of nowhere. Andre starts to toss the cash to the fans, until Heenan grabs the bag and makes his escape.



What a sweet duffel bag.

• Wendi Richter (accompanied by Cyndi Lauper) defeats Leilani Kai (accompanied by The Fabulous Moolah) for the Women's Championship: Surprisingly, a pretty good match. Wendi had some nice moves that I've never seen from any of the current Divas. Was Moolah ever young?
• WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and Mr. T (accompanied by Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka) defeat Roddy Piper and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff (accompanied by Cowboy Bob Orton (Randy's dad)) via pinfall in a tag-team match with special referee Muhammad Ali: Every match I've see with Hogan is more about theatrics than wrestling, which is okay. The crowd was super hot for this one. Ali played the role of enforcer, while Pat Patterson was the regular ref. A long match. Kind of sloppy, as could be expected when actors are involved. Monsoon and Ventura sell it well.

Celebrities

Billy Martin (Yankees manager/player)

Liberace danced with The Rockettes. People loved it.

Jose Torres (Boxer)

Observations
Jesse "The Body" Ventura and Gorilla Monsoon make an awesome commentating team. Especially Monsoon; he's like a really good baseball announcer. Great voice. Great coverage of the action. Ventura was like Booker T at half speed.
The Garden was a logical choice. Classic venue. Hot crowd.

Grade
I actually enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Really impressed by King Kong Bundy, Ricky Steamboat and Wendi Richter. Junkyard Dog and Special Delivery Jones were too cool. The WWF kept emphasizing that this was the biggest event in wrestling history, and it felt like it.
3 out of 5 stars