Starrcade '94: Triple Threat
| Starrcade '94: Triple Threat | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Promotion | World Championship Wrestling | ||
| Date | December 27, 1994 | ||
| City | Nashville, Tennessee | ||
| Venue | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | ||
| Attendance | 8,200 | ||
| Tagline(s) | It's A Triple Threat! | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Starrcadechronology | |||
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Starrcade '94: Triple Threatwas the 12th annualStarrcadeprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view(PPV)eventproduced byWorld Championship Wrestling(WCW). It took place on December 27, 1994, from theNashville Municipal AuditoriuminNashville, Tennessee.The main event of the show wasWCW World Heavyweight ChampionHulk Hogandefending the title against his former friend-turned-rivalThe Butcher.The show also includedJim Duggandefending theWCW United States ChampionshipagainstVaderandJohnny B. Badddefending theWCW World Television ChampionshipagainstArn Anderson.
Aspersions were cast on the inclusion of The Butcher (Ed Leslie) in the main event, which was seen as a political maneuver on the part of Hulk Hogan (Leslie's real-life best friend). The match was received negatively by industry journalists, withWade Kellercalling it "one of the low points of WCW".
WCW closed in 2001, and all rights to their television and pay-per-view shows – including the Starrcade series – were bought byWWE.In 2015, all WCW pay-per-views were made available on theWWE Network.
Event[edit]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentators | Tony Schiavone |
| Bobby Heenan | |
| Interviewer | Gene Okerlund |
| Ring announcer | Gary Michael Cappetta |
| Referees | Randy Anderson |
| Nick Patrick | |
| Jimmy Jett |
The Honky Tonk Manwas originally advertised for the show, scheduled to challengeJohnny B. Baddfor theWCW World Television Championshipbut was fired by WCW's Eric Bischoff only days prior to the show for refusing to put over Johnny B. Badd. Instead WCW choseArn Andersonto replace the Honky Tonk Man, wrestling and losing to Johnny. At the time of the showHarlem Heathad won theWCW World Tag Team Championshipprior to the show, but the match had not been broadcast on television yet so Harlem Heat were not announced as the champions nor did they wear the championship belts to the ring, maintaining the illusion that they had not yet won the championship. This would be the last appearance in WCW of Jean-Paul Levesque, he would move to the WWF in 1995 and becomeHunter Hearst Helmsley,a snobby aristocrat character.
Reception[edit]
The involvement ofThe Butcher(Ed Leslie) in the main event of WCW's flagship pay-per-view garnered particular criticism. Stuart Carapola ofPWInsiderwrote that "Starrcade 1994 saw [Hulk] Hogan defend the WCW World Title against his best friend [Leslie], who leapfrogged over everyone else in WCW despite being badly out of shape and greatly diminished from the wrestler he was."[1]Wade Kellerreported that Leslie's main event positioning was viewed as the result of Hogan making "a political move to help a buddy, not doing what was best for business".[2]Keller called the match "awful", "one of the low points of WCW", and a "sharp turn away" from the "good pay-per-view main events" that the company was then known for presenting, while noting that Leslie "wasn'tover".[2]
Dave Meltzerawarded the Hogan vs. Butcher match ¾ of a star out of a possible five: no match on the card received a rating higher than 2¼ stars.[3]In reviewing the event, Scott Keith of411Maniawrote: "Welcome to rock bottom, as Hogan's egomania results in the main event of the biggest WCW show of the year involving [Ed Leslie]." He cautioned viewers to watch at their "own risk", while offering the "strongest recommendation to avoid."[4]
Results[edit]
| No. | Results[5][6] | Stipulations | Times | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vader(withHarley Race) defeatedJim Duggan(c) | Singles matchfor theWCW United States Heavyweight Championship | 12:06 | ||
| 2 | Alex WrightdefeatedJean-Paul Levesque | Singles match | 14:03 | ||
| 3 | Johnny B. Badd(c) defeatedArn Anderson | Singles match for theWCW World Television Championship | 12:11 | ||
| 4 | The Nasty Boys(Brian KnobbsandJerry Sags) defeatedHarlem Heat(Booker TandStevie Ray) (withSister Sherri) by disqualification | Tag team match | 17:49 | ||
| 5 | Mr. TdefeatedKevin Sullivan | Singles match | 03:50 | ||
| 6 | StingdefeatedAvalanchebydisqualification | Singles match | 15:26 | ||
| 7 | Hulk Hogan(c) (withJimmy Hart) defeatedThe Butcher | Singles match for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship | 12:07 | ||
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See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Carapola, Stuart (March 5, 2014)."Thirty Years of Hogan, Part 2: The WCW Years".PWInsider.RetrievedNovember 1,2017.
- ^abKeller, Wade(October 29, 2017)."The News: Emma, Young, Summer Rae released by WWE, Lio Rush backlash over his Emma comment, Hogan-Beefcake war on Twitter".Wade Keller Hotline.16 minutes in.– via PWTorch.com(subscription required)
- ^"WCW Starrcade '94".Internet Wrestling Database.RetrievedNovember 1,2017.
- ^Keith, Scott (August 6, 2002)."Starrcade 94".411Mania.RetrievedNovember 1,2017.
- ^Cawthon, Graham (2014).the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 4: World Championship Wrestling 1989-1994.CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.ISBN978-1499656343.
- ^"Starrcade 1994".Pro Wrestling History. December 27, 1994.RetrievedAugust 29,2015.