Starrcade is typically WCW's top show of the year, but it is also the show whose format has been tweaked with the most for that company. In 1989, they ran the Iron Team and Iron Man tournaments to middling critical success. So in 1991, they introduce a concept that sees randomly drawn tag team partners vying for success in order to qualify for a two-ring battle royal. The winner will be declared the BattleBowl champion. Will this format be more successful instead of running a WrestleMania-type card? Let's check it out.
Live! from The Scope in Norfolk, VA. Your commentators are Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone. Eric Bischoff, Missy Hyatt and Magnum T.A. conduct the drawings. All the competitors are brought out on stage to a mediocre indoor fireworks show. The first drawing sees Michael Hayes teaming with Tracy Smothers against the team of Marcus Alexander Bagwell and Hayes' Freebird partner Jimmy Garvin.
Match #1: Michael Hayes & Tracy Smothers vs. Jimmy Garvin & Marcus Alexander Bagwell.
A fresh-faced Bagwell is a weird sight after all these years. Bagwell and Smothers start. Smothers jaw-jacks and shoves him, Bagwell shoves back. Bagwell gets a shoulder block off the ropes. Stalling from Smothers, then they lock up and Bagwell armdrags Smothers. More stalling from Smothers as he complains to the ref about tights-pulling. Lock up and Smothers gets an armlock, but he's taken down by Bagwell. Smothers seems more intent on stalling than anything else. Lock up, go behind by Bagwell. Bagwell gets a hiptoss then a dropkick followed by an armdrag and Smothers backs off. Garvin wants the tag and Bagwell obliges. Smothers attacks Garvin from behind, but Garvin gets a hiptoss and a dropkick to put Smothers to the floor. Smothers back in, and after more stalling, Garvin gets an atomic drop that puts Smothers back out to the floor. Back in, tag to Bagwell and he comes off the top to the shoulder of Smothers. Smothers gets a knee to the gut, then a kneelift to put Bagwell down. Tag to Hayes now and he lays in with a chop then a back elbow coming off the ropes. Hayes to an armlock, but Bagwell drags out and gets one of his own. Hayes takes Bagwell down and back to the arm bar. Hayes pounds the arm and tags in Smothers. Bagwell gets a wristlock, takes Smothers down and legdrops the arm. Bagwell cinches in the armlock, but Smothers backs him into the corner and gets a few shoulders to the midsection. Whip is reversed by Bagwell and he gets an armdrag. Lock up, Bagwell slams Smothers and tags in Garvin. Smothers immediately tags in Hayes to give us Freebird vs Freebird. They lock up a couple times and break each time. Lock up, and Hayes gets an armdrag. Lock up again and this time Garvin gets the armdrag. Hayes rolls up Garvin for a quick 2. Garvin takes Hayes down with a sideheadlock, but he breaks and each guy tags out. Smothers gets a kick in on Bagwell and takes him down with a slam. Off the ropes and Smothers misses the elbow. Garvin back in and gets a back bodydrop. Garvin gets a forearm running off the ropes, tags in Bagwell who comes in with a flying crossbody. All four in the ring now and Hayes accidentally hits Garvin. Smothers goes off the top with a splash but hits Bagwell's knees. While the Freebirds argue, Bagwell gets a Fisherman's Suplex. 1...2....3! (12:45) **
WINNERS: Jimmy Garvin & Marcus Alexander Bagwell as they qualify for BattleBowl. Kind of a dull match as not even Freebird vs. Freebird could generate any excitement. They were beyond anything useful at this point anyway. Bagwell looked decent and Smothers did nothing but stall when he was in there.
Back to Bischoff, Missy and Magnum with another drawing. Steve Austin gets picked to team with Rick Rude against Van Hammer and Big Josh.
Match #2: Rick Rude & Steve Austin (w/ Paul E. Dangerously) vs. Big Josh & Van Hammer.
May I say that Austin's tights here are hideous? So we get Dangerous Alliance members as teammates here. Austin and Hammer start. Lock up, Hammer shoves Austin off. Another one and Austin backs Hammer to the corner and breaks clean. Another lock up and Hammer gets a slam. Austin with a kick to the gut and then pounds on the back. Whip off the ropes, Hammer gets in a kick and then reverses a suplex for 2. Austin gets a front facelock but Hammer reverses into a Hammerlock. See what I did there? Austin gets a couple of snapmares then Hammer reverses a whip to the corner, but Austin gets the boot up. Tag to Rude. Rude whips Hammer off the ropes and gets a nice clothesline. Kneelift puts Hammer down, then a whip to the ropes and Rude follows in with a knee to the midsection. Austin tags back in. Gut wrench suplex for Austin and he tags Rude back in. Rude cuts off the tag, but Hammer gets it anyway and now Josh is in. Slam for Josh and then the Log Roll, but Rudes abs are TIGHT and there's no effect. Austin in and Josh gives them the old double noggin knocker. The heels bail to the floor. Rude back in and he gets a hammerlock but Josh elbows out and gets an armdrag. Rude tags in Austin and he also falls to an armdrag. Armbar from Josh. Austin gets in a right, they run the ropes and Josh picks him up and drops him on the top rope throat first. That gets 2 for Josh. Hammer back in and takes Austin down with an armbar. Tag back to Josh and they trade off on the armbar. Austin breaks with some rights and then gets in a kick. Austin runs Josh into the heel corner and Rude gets in a shot to put Josh down. Rude to the top and he gets an axhandle for 2. Tag back in for Austin and he chokes Josh on the ropes, brings in Hammer and the heels get the double team on the ropes with the ref distracted. Rude in now and he gets a rear chinlock. The crowd tries to get Josh back in it, but the heels put Josh down. Austin in and he gets a clothesline. Austin tosses Josh to the floor and Rude takes him to the railing and then shoves him back in. Austin gets the rear chinlock. Hammer tries to get the crowd into it, and Josh elbows out of the chinlock. Austin off the ropes and Josh gets a slam. Austin takes back over as Paul E. gets involved now, but Josh moves out of the way of a move and Austin hits Paul and the crowd wakes up. Hammer tags in and powerslams Austin, then gets a back suplex. Rude breaks up a 2 count. Hammer backs Austin into the heel corner, doesn't see Rude get the tag, and Rude hits the Rude Awakening. 1....2....3! (12:56) **
WINNERS: Rick Rude & Steve Austin, as they qualify for BattleBowl. This match was mostly dull, and the crowd was dead for most of it. The heels did some quality teamwork but the faces, Hammer and Josh, brought nothing to the match and it suffered for it.
We head back to Bischoff, Missy and Magnum with more drawings. It's Dustin Rhodes and his partner Richard Morton. Rhodes is not too ecstatic. They take on Larry Zbyszko & El Gigante. That has Larry complaining as he makes his way out.
Match #3: Richard Morton & Dustin Rhodes vs. Larry Zbyszko (w/ Madusa) & El Gigante.
Larry tries explaining things to Gigante and starts the match. He and Rhodes lock up and Dustin takes it to the corner and breaks. Now we get the typical Larry stalling segment. Lock up, side headlock for Rhodes. Off the ropes, shoulder block takes Larry down. Criss cross and Rhodes gets a knee. Larry tags in Gigante as Morton, who tagged in, tags back out. Gigante slams Morton who tried coming in. Rhodes with a dropkick that has no effect. Rhodes tries a drop toe hold, but Gigante doesn't sell. Gigante gets a slam, then picks Rhodes up into a wristlock. Tag to Larry, who slugs away. Slam from Larry and rakes the eyes with his boot. Cover..1...2..Morton breaks it up. Front facelock on Rhodes, but Rhodes gets an inside cradle for 2. Larry wants Gigante to get the knee up, but Gigante won't listen. In the corner, Rhodes reverses a whip for a corner clothesline. Larry throws him off on a bulldog attempt and tags in Gigante. Larry wants Gigante to take advantage of a downed Rhodes, but Gigante refuses, so Larry slaps him. Gigante gets pissed and throws Larry into the ring and whips him into a double dropkick from Morton/Rhodes. Dustin covers...1....2....3! (5:54) 1/2*
WINNERS: Richard Morton & Dustin Rhodes as they qualify for BattleBowl. This match never really got going. The play between Larry and Gigante was fun, but hardly anything happened in this match. After the match, Gigante shakes Dustin's hand, but Morton blows him off.
Back to the team drawings. This round we get Bill Kazmaier and Jushin Liger teaming, and that is a weird team if there ever was one. They get to take on Mike Graham and a greener-than-turtle-shit Diamond Dallas Page. One thing I need to mention here is that Magnum is lucky for a friend in Dusty. He collects a paycheck here and all he does is pull names out of the drum for Missy. We catch a glimpse of Larry returning to the heel locker room getting into it with Morton. Remember when heels and faces hung out in separate locker rooms?
Match #4: Jushin Liger & Bill Kazmaier vs. Mike Graham & Diamond Dallas Page.
Graham starts with Liger. They lock up and Graham takes him over and then into a wristlock. Liger flips out of it and gets one of his own. Graham with a hip toss to counter. Into the corner, Graham gets a forearm. To the opposite corner, and Liger gets a headscissors which Graham doesn't know how to sell and he goes to the floor. Back in, Liger whips him to the ropes but Graham holds on and Liger splats. Graham covers for 2. Liger tags in Kazmaier. For those that may not remember Kazmaier, he was hired on the merits of his background in powerlifting and Strongest Man competitions. He had stints in Stampede and Ron Fuller's Continental Championship Wrestling in the 80's and was trained by Verne Gagne and Brad Rheingans. Graham gets a side headlock and Kazmaier just lifts him off. Tag to DDP now. DDP gets kick in but can't slam Kazmaier. Shoulderblock off the ropes goes nowhere. Kazmaier gets a big slam. DDP tosses him, but Kazmaier impressively skins the cat back in. Gut wrench power bomb, but Kazmaier misses a move off the second rope. DDP gets in a few stomps and hits the rear chinlock. Page chokes him on the ropes. Page goes up and over with a rope choke. Liger tagged in and Page takes control until Liger hits him with a spinkick off the ropes. Graham in now, but Liger gets an enziguri. Liger with a slingshot splash for 2. Kazmaier in again and Graham tries to take him down with a single-leg, no go there. Kazmaier wrenches the arm, but Graham tags in Page. Kazmaier gets a big clothesline to put him down. Page tries a slam but Kazmaier falls on him for a 2 count. Graham in again, but Kazmaier tags in Liger. Whip off the ropes and Liger gets a surfboard. The crowd wakes up for that a little. Off the ropes and Graham wraps him up in a Boston crab. They try some sloppy chain wrestling to no avail. Side headlock for Liger. Graham bridges out of a pin attempt and gets a backslide for 2. Liger takes him down by the leg and grapevines it. Tag to Kazmaier, but Graham tags out to Page. Kazmaier gets a wristlock, but Page gets him off the ropes into a back elbow. Graham and Liger back in now as this match has absolutely no flow. Liger with the rapid kicks to Graham and Kazmaier back in with a slam. Cover...1...2...kick out! Page tagged in, gets a front facelock and tags Graham right back in. In a weird spot, Kazmaier has Graham in a bearhug, Liger tags in and wants Kazmaier to put Graham down rather than double team him. Lock up and to the corner. Whip is reversed by Graham and a charge misses, sending Graham to the floor. Liger hits him with a suicide dive on the floor. Best spot of the match so far. Graham makes his way back in and Liger brings him the rest of the way with a suplex for 2. Second rope Moonsault from Liger gets 2. Page is in and Kazmaier pressed Liger onto him for the cover...1...2...3! (13:08) **
WINNERS: Jushin Liger & Bill Kazmaier as they qualify for BattleBowl. This match was sloppy, as Graham did not know how to keep up with Liger. Page's greeness was showing here. Kazmaier did his requisite power moves and of course Liger at the end was most impressive. No flow to the match however, making it heatless.
Bischoff, Missy and Magnum with another drawing. The World Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger gets drawn to no fanfare whatsoever, and his partner is Arn Anderson. The heel locker room rallies behind this team selection, in a nice touch. They take on Terrance Taylor and The Z-Man, the only face in the match. On his way to the ring, Taylor makes a gesture like "oh man, not this guy."
Match #5: Arn Anderson & Lex Luger (w/ Harley Race) vs. Terrance Taylor & The Z-Man.
Z-Man and Arn start it off. Arn off the ropes but bails outside right away. Taylor sucker punches him on the floor and tosses him back in. All four in the ring now and Taylor and Z-Man clear the ring. Back in, Luger tagged in. Lock up and a side headlock for Luger on Z-Man. Off the ropes and Luger puts him down with a shoulderblock. Z-Man gets a hiptoss, a dropkick and an armdrag. Tags in Taylor and he gets a wristlock. Luger tries punching out, but Taylor hangs on. Taylor off the ropes and Luger gets an impressive press slam. Taylor with some kicks, snapmare and a necksnap. Swinging neckbreak for Taylor and he gets a 2 count. Armlock for Taylor now. Luger backs him into the ropes and then hits a back elbow on the break. Sunset flip attempt for Taylor, but Luger tags out to Arn. Arn drops some knees on Taylor. In the corner, whip is reversed by Taylor but a charge hits back elbow. Taylor with a backslide for 2. Arn reverses a whip to the corner and Taylor gets a back elbow. Taylor gets a 2 count and tags in Z-Man. Z-Man gets a flying crossbody off the top for 2. Z-Man almost fucks up running the ropes and is tripped up by Race on the outside. DDT from Arn, cover...1...2..Taylor breaks it up. Luger tagged in and he gets a suplex. Cover...1...2...kick out! Luger with a kneelift and takes him to the heel corner and tags in Arn. Off the ropes, Z-man gets a weird face buster on the mat. Arn tags out to Luger who cuts off the tag. Whip off the ropes into a nice powerslam. Cover...1...2...kick out! Arn back in and a whip to the corner meets knee. Z-Man off the top but lands on Arn's fist. Arn goes up and lands on Z-Man's boot. Both crawling for the tag and they each get it. Taylor cleans house on both, rolls up Luger for a 2. Backslide....1...2....kick out! Luger stops that with a thumb to the eye. Taylor gets a gut wrench power bomb and Arn breaks up the count. Taylor with an inside cradle for 2. Arn knees Taylor in the back and Luger gets the piledriver (called the Attitude Adjustment)! 1....2.....3! (10:25) ***1/2
WINNERS: Arn Anderson & Lex Luger as they qualify for BattleBowl. Good tag team match here. Good teamwork from Anderson and Luger, and Z-Man and Taylor as the de facto face team made the comeback in the right spots. A lot of near falls added to the drama. Match of the night so far.
Ross and Schiavone take a look at the qualifiers so far: Garvin, Bagwell, Rude, Austin, Morton, Rhodes, Liger, Kazmaier, Anderson, Luger.
Bischoff, Missy and Magnum with another drawing segment. Ricky Steamboat's name gets pulled along with Todd Champion. They face Cactus Jack and Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker. Unfortunately, Abdullah the Butcher is nearby and doesn't like this at all. He attacks Parker in the middle of the heel locker room. Funny moment as Bobby Eaton grabs a chair in order to defend himself from the crazed Abdullah. Parker gets his head rammed into some lockers and then gets a broom to the back and crawls out of the locker room.
Match #6. Ricky Steamboat & Todd Champion vs. Cactus Jack & Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker.
Cactus waits on his partner, but Abdullah comes out instead. The referees try to put a stop to that and inform Cactus that Abdullah is not his partner. Cactus starts the match alone and faces off with Steamboat. Parker is finally out but Abdullah repeatedly clubs him with his stick on the ramp. Steamboat and Cactus lock up and they trade blows. Cactus gets a headbutt and bites him on the forehead. Forearm, a rake to the back and then a clothesline gives Cactus a 2 count. Steamboat comes back with chops, but Cactus rakes the eyes and tosses him. Steamboat skins the cat back in and backdrops Cactus over the top to the floor. Steamboat hits him with a tope to the floor. Steamboat takes him to the railing and then back into the ring. Whip by Cactus, Steamboat goes under and superkicks him then tags out to Champion. Cactus with a headbutt and a right. Champion gets a slam and a legrop. Rear chinlock by Champion. Parker is slowly crawling on the ramp toward the ring. Cactus elbows out of the chinlock but runs into a bearhug. Rake of the eyes gets him out, then tosses Champion to the floor. Cactus elbow from the middle rope to Champion on the floor! Head to the railing and Cactus tosses Champion back in. Snapmare and rear chinlock for Cactus. Parker has made it to the first ring, but unfortunately, they're wrestling in the second one. Champion gets a powerslam but misses a legdrop. Cactus going to the top but Champion gets a right hand in. They hit heads and Cactus falls to the corner where Parker is just arriving. Cactus tags him in! Steamboat in and gets a powerslam on Parker. To the top and the Dragon hits a sweet flying crossbody. 1....2.....3! (7:48) *1/2
WINNERS: Ricky Steamboat and Todd Champion as they qualify for BattleBowl. The story with Parker crawling his way to the ring for the bulk of the match was good stuff. However, Cactus was shitty in the ring, save for his signature elbow spot. Champion was also a dud in there. Steamboat did what he could, but he couldn't carry all three guys.
Back to the drum!! Sting gets drawn and the crowd is awake after all. His partner is Abdullah the Butcher as Johnny B. Badd gives us his Macauley Culkin impression in response. They take on Brian Pillman and Bobby Eaton.
Match #7: Abdullah the Butcher & Sting vs. Bobby Eaton & Brian Pillman.
Abdullah quickly makes his way to the ring, smiling and waving to Sting. Abdullah, of course, had been hired by Luger to hide inside a giant gift box and attack Sting a few months before this show, so they don't particularly have a good history together. It's all a ruse, of course, as Abdullah attacks Sting with his stick. Pillman runs out for the save and attacks Abdullah with his own stick. Here's Eaton to even things up. Abdullah takes out Pillman on the railing. Eaton gets Sting in the ring and lays in the boots. Everybody makes their way to their corners now, and Sting dives over the top onto Eaton on the ramp. Sting lays in some rights to a downed Eaton and tosses him back in. Eaton rakes the eyes, takes him to his corner, and pushes off his own partner, Pillman. Eaton covers Sting for a 2, then goes to the rear headlock. Eaton punches Sting to the apron then slingshots him back in. I hate that move. Eaton takes Sting over to Sting's own partner, Abdullah, who lays in some choking. Pillman, the opponent, comes in for the save. This is all sorts of wacky. Sting puts Eaton on the floor, but Eaton rakes the eyes. Sting reverses a shot into the post, while Pillman splashes Abdullah in the ring. Eaton wants to tag out, but Pillman won't give him the pleasure. Eaton whips Sting into the ropes and gets the abdominal stretch. Sting reverses into a sloppy tombstone piledriver. With the ref distracted by Pillman and Eaton, Cactus Jack comes in and accidentally hits Abdullah with a stick. Sting comes off the top with a flying crossbody on Eaton. 1....2.....3! (5:55) *1/2
WINNERS: Abdullah the Butcher and Sting, as they qualify for BattleBowl. The angle behind this match really overshadowed it. It wasn't that great to begin with but the dynamic of opposing teammates bailing each other out was distracting. After the match, Abdullah is pissed with Cactus for hitting him and they start to brawl back to the locker room, fighting security guys the whole way.
Back to the drum! Magnum pulls out a card, hands it to Missy (thanks for coming, you two). Rick Steiner's name is drawn. His partner is The Diamond Studd, but Studd has his arm in a sling so The Nightstalker (Bryan Clark) is his replacement. Big Van Vader gets drawn as well as his partner Mr. Hughes....who must not have heard his name because he remains in his chair as if nothing happened.
Match #8: Rick Steiner & The Nightstalker (substituting for The Diamond Studd) vs. Big Van Vader & Mr. Hughes.
Someone woke up Hughes because here he comes. Steiner and Vader start us off. Lock up and a stalemate. Vader lays in the heavy blows and then a short-arm clothesline. Off the ropes, Vader takes Steiner down. Into the corner with some rather stiff forearms. To the opposite corner, and a Steinerline for Rick. Belly-to-belly suplex for Steiner and he clotheslines him to the floor. Vader picks Steiner up and rams him to the post. Vader puts him back in the ring, but decides to try and suplex him back to the floor, but Steiner reverses into his own bad looking suplex. Hughes tags in and slams Steiner and then hits an elbow drop for 2. Whip is reversed by Steiner and he gets a back bodydrop. Hughes knees Steiner in the corner and then chokes him on the ropes. Whip to the corner, a charge misses and Steiner gets a belly-to-back suplex. Off the ropes and they hit heads and both are down. Nightstalker tags himself in and hits a flying clothesline which knocks Hughes into his own corner and the blind tag is made. Steiner hits Hughes with a top rope bulldog and makes the cover, but Hughes isn't legal. Vader takes Nightstalker down and splashes him. Cover..1...2....3! (5:05) *
WINNERS: Big Van Vader and Mr. Hughes. This match was pretty stiff when Vader and Steiner were in there together. Otherwise, this thing never really got going. Bigger things would be in store for Vader in 1992.
There's an ad for SuperBrawl II that states that baseball has the World Series, football has the Super Bowl and professional wrestling has SuperBrawl. This leads one to believe that SuperBrawl was seen as their big show and not Starrcade. Interesting.
Back to the drum! Magnum pulls the card, Missy opens it and Eric says that Scott Steiner has been drawn. His partner is Firebreak Chip of The Patriots. Their opponents are Johnny B. Badd and Arachnaman, who was Brad Armstrong in yet another masked persona. A blue and yellow version of Spiderman, basically. So we get all faces in this match.
Match #9: Scott Steiner & Firebreaker Chip vs. Arachnaman & Johnny B. Badd.
Chip and Badd start us off. Lock up and they run the ropes with Chip getting an armdrag. Badd sneaks in a left then a whip off the ropes for a back elbow. Elbow drop then a cover for 2. In the corner for some punches. A whip to the opposite corner gets a bodypress for Chip and a 2 count. Arachnaman in and Chip gets a wristlock and tags in Scott, which pops the crowd a little. Scott runs the ropes and catches Arachnaman in a powerslam in a leapfrog attempt, then gets a back bodydrop and clotheslines him over the top and to the floor. Arachnman tags Badd back in. Lock up, to the ropes and Badd drops Steiner with a right. Scott whips Badd off the ropes, Badd goes up and over and then hits a left. Scott picks up Badd and rams him into the corner. Pumphandle suplex for Scott, then he tags in Chip. Chip hits the reverse chinlock. Badd counters into a hammerlock, Chip rolls out and they trade armlocks. Badd tags Arachnaman back in, and he cinches in an armbar. Chip rolls out and armdrags Arachnman, then tags in Steiner. Badd in as well and falls to a Steinerline. Double underhook powerbomb for Steiner, then tags Chip back in. Arachnman in and a lock up with Chip. Arachnman takes Chip to the corner with some forearms, but Chip reverses out. A cross-corner whip and charge from Chip misses and Arachnaman rolls him up for 2. Arachnaman goes to the side headlock. This goes on for a minute or so. They get to their feet and Arachnaman hits a dropkick. A second one misses and Chip gets a Boston crab. They trade near falls out of that, then Badd is tagged in. Snapmare into a rear chinlock for Badd. After a minute of that, Badd tags in Arachnaman. Off the ropes, criss cross, Chip blind tags Steiner who clotheslines Arachnaman. Tilt-a-whirl for Steiner! Arachnaman to the top but Steiner catches him in a big overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Cover...1....2....3! (11:16) **
WINNERS: Scott Steiner and Firebreak Chip as they qualify for BattleBowl. This match was technically fine, but as has been the case for most of the show, there was no flow. Scott Steiner at this point looked like a future world champ, Badd was still in the learning process, Chip was...not good and Arachnman didn't get to do too much other than sell.
Back to the drum! We're down to the final four combatants. Ron Simmons gets his name drawn with his partner, Thomas Rich. Simmons gets his ring music where no one else got their music during the show. Their opponents are Steve Armstrong of The Young Pistols and P.N. News. Now News gets his music, unfortunately. Hey, I'm a "Rap is Crap" kinda guy.
Match #10: Thomas Rich & Ron Simmons vs. Steve Armstrong & P.N. News.
Rich wants to shake hands with Ron, but since he's a heel, Ron won't fall for it. Simmons and Armstrong start us out. Armstrong turns his back on Simmons in an attempt at heelism. Simmons whips Armstrong off the ropes, but puts his head down too early. Simmons comes back and tags in Rich, who whips Armstrong off the ropes into a right hand. Armstrong whips Rich to the corner and comes in with some rights. Whip to the other corner is reversed, and Rich gets a back bodydrop but misses an elbow drop. News tags in, but won't take the open shot on Armstrong. Slam to Rich by News. Side headlock by Rich, but News throws him off. Fans chant "We want Ron" and Rich tags him in. Lock up and to the corner for a clean break. The fans appreciate that. Lock up and to the corner again, but News doesn't break clean. Whip to the other corner and News hits an avalanche. A second attempt meets elbow and Simmons gets a face slam. Cover...1...2...kick out! Simmons with a shoulderblock. Cover....1....2...kick out! News gets a clothesline and then a crossbody! 1....2....kick out! Armstrong in, and Simmons and Rich argue over whether to tag or not. Simmons gets an armbar on Armstrong then tags rich in. Rich whips Armstrong to the corner but a charge meets boot. Armstrong chokes Rich out with some wrist tape. Clothesline with the tape missed by the ref. Rich tags in Simmons. Simmons and Rich keep arguing with each other, allowing Armstrong to hit Simmons from behind. Whip off the ropes is reversed and he gets a big clothesline for 2. Rich in again with a back suplex. Fistdrop from the middle rope for Rich. Whip to the corner and Rich hits boot again. News tags in and he hits a flying clothesline. Cover...1...2...kick out! After some double-teaming, Armstrong is in and he whips Rich to the corner but a dive misses and he hits the corner. Rich misses an elbow drop, and News is tagged in. Slam for News, and Armstrong comes in and a splash hits knees. Armstrong with some rights and boots in the corner, now some choking with the boot. Now News doesn't like the cheating, but Armstrong covers Rich for a 2. Rich comes back with a jawbreaker and there is no heat for this segment. Rich continues the comeback and slips through Armstrong's leg to tag Simmons. Simmons powerslams Armstrong and bodyslams News. Simmons hits the Spinebuster on Armstrong. Cover...1....2....3! (12:01) **1/2
WINNERS: Thomas Rich and Ron Simmons. Decent tag match here. The only issue I had was that there was no heat for the match. The fans would cheer whenever Simmons was in there, but they didn't care about Rich at all, which is not good. Armstrong heeled it up pretty good and even P.N. News was slightly impressive.
Ross and Schiavone run down the BattleBowl participants and note that Sting and Luger are in there together and that three members of the Dangerous Alliance are in there as well.
Match #11: BattleBowl - Jimmy Garvin, Marcus Alexander Bagwell, Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Richard Morton, Dustin Rhodes, Jushin Liger, Bill Kazmaier, Arn Anderson, Lex Luger, Ricky Steamboat, Todd Champion, Abdullah the Butcher, Sting, Big Van Vader, Mr. Hughes, Scott Steiner, Firebreaker Chip, Thomas Rich and Ron Simmons.
The rules of the match are that all 20 wrestlers start in ring #1. When you get eliminated from ring #1, you move to ring #2. When you're eliminated from ring #2, you're done. The last man from ring #1 meets the last man from ring #2 in a free-for-all over-the-top final.
For a few minutes, a whole lot of nothing goes on. Thomas Rich is the first man thrown into Ring 2. The crowd wakes up when Sting gets some shots in on Luger. Bagwell is tossed into Ring 2 and he and Rich go at it there. Mr. Hughes tosses Firebreaker Chip into Ring 2. Following him are Jushin Liger and Richard Morton. Liger is dazzling the fans in Ring 2 with his offense on Morton. That is until Liger takes himself and Morton over the top rope and they are done. Mr. Hughes gets tossed into Ring 2 by Ron Simmons. Rich gets eliminated from Ring 2 and is done. Jimmy Garvin and Todd Champion are now in Ring 2, as are Steamboat and Arn Anderson. Garvin gets eliminated from the match. Steve Austin, Abdullah and Kazmaier are all in Ring 2 now. Sting and Rude going at it back and forth in Ring 1 until they spill over into Ring 2. That leaves Luger and Vader left in Ring 1. Firebreaker Chip is eliminated by Arn Anderson. Luger clotheslines Vader into Ring 2, leaving Luger the winner of Ring 1, and he gets to catch a break while waiting for Ring 2 to clear out. Dustin Rhodes eliminates Arn Anderson. Then Hughes, Bagwell and Rhodes go out in quick succession. Vader is eliminated shortly after. The final four in Ring 2 are Steamboat, Rude, Sting and Austin. Rude accidentally eliminates Austin. Steamboat skins the cat on Rude and pulls him out with his legs, but Rude pulls Steamboat out with him. Sting is the winner of Ring 2. Then Rude gets back in the ring and nails Sting with the Rude Awakening.
That leaves Sting and Luger as the final two, with Sting shaken from Rude's attack. Luger puts Sting down with some rights. A clothesline from Luger puts Sting down. Luger with an inverted atomic drop, as Race wants Luger to end it but Luger wants to continue the punishment. To the corner, then Luger runs the eyes on the top rope. Luger punts the ribs. Luger tosses Sting to the ramp and distracts the ref while Race tries to get in some shots. Sting slams Race on the ramp, then Luger pushes Sting off the ramp and into the railing. Sting comes back and takes Luger to the railing a few times. Back in the ring, Sting lays in some kicks then rubs Luger's face in the mat. Sting puts Luger on the top rope and kicks him. Race is in and falls victim to a Sting suplex. Stinger Splash misses and Sting is almost over the top. Luger tries to toss Sting over but he hangs on and comes back with kicks and punches. The crowd is hotter than they have been the whole show. Sting with a bulldog. Sting clotheslines Luger, who has trouble going over, but Sting gives him a final shove over the top for the win! (25:10) ***
WINNER: and first-ever BattleBowl champion, Sting! This really got going at the Ring 2 final four. Before that it was your typical battle royal. Some of the wrestlers seemed confused on the elimination rules. Then once it got down to Sting-Luger it got pretty hot. This of course would lead to the main event of SuperBrawl II.
The introduction of BattleBowl and the Lethal Lottery makes this a memorable Starracade. The majority of the matches were dull and heatless, however. It's definitely a curiosity, if you're inclined to check it out.
NEXT: A little show called ROYAL RUMBLE '92!
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