Starrcade '84: The Million Dollar Challenge
| Starrcade (1984) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuring Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Jimmy Valiant, Wahoo McDaniel, and Ricky Steamboat | |||
| Promotion | National Wrestling Alliance Jim Crockett Promotions | ||
| Date | November 22, 1984 | ||
| City | Greensboro, North Carolina | ||
| Venue | Greensboro Coliseum Complex | ||
| Attendance | 16,000 | ||
| Tagline(s) | The Million Dollar Challenge | ||
| Event chronology | |||
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| Starrcade chronology | |||
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Starrcade (1984): The Million Dollar Challenge was a major professional wrestling closed-circuit television event that was produced by Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner. It took place on November 22, 1984 at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina. The main event of the show was billed as "the Million Dollar Challenge" as the storyline was that the winner of the match would not only win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship but also win a $1,000,000 purse, part of the illusion that professional wrestling was a legitimate sporting competition. The main event saw champion "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair defend the championship against long time rival "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, with boxer Joe Frazier acting as the special guest referee for the match. The show also saw the championship matches for the NWA United States Championship, NWA World Television Championship, NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship, NWA Brass Knuckles Championship and NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship.
In 2014, the WWE Network included the previous Starrcades (1983–1986), which had been transmitted via closed-circuit television, alongside the rest of the Starrcades in the pay-per-view section.
Production
Background
From the 1960s to the 1980s, it was tradition for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) member Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) to hold major professional wrestling events at Thanksgiving and Christmas, often at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina in the center of JCP's Virginia, North and South Carolina territory. In 1983, JCP created Starrcade as their supercard to continue the Thanksgiving tradition, bringing in wrestlers from other NWA affiliates and broadcasting the show its territory on closed-circuit television.[1] Starrcade soon became the flagship event of the year for JCP (later World Championship Wrestling, WCW), their Super Bowl event featuring their most important storyline feuds and championship matches. The 1984 event was the second show to use the Starrcade name.
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Bob Caudle |
| Gordon Solie | |
| Interviewer | Tony Schiavone |
| Referee | Earl Hebner |
| Sonny Fargo | |
| Tommy Young | |
| Joe Frazier (Rhodes vs Flair Match) | |
| Ring announcer | Tom Miller |
Storylines
The Starrcade show featured a number of professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing, scripted feuds, plots, and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either heels (those that portray the "bad guys") or faces (the "good guy" characters) as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.
Results
Notes
- ^ The referee stopped the match due to a cut on Rhodes's forehead.
References
- ^ "Flair defeats Race for wrestling title". Greensboro Daily News. 1983-11-25. p. D3. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham (2013). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 3:Jim Crockett and the NWA World Title 1983-1989. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 149480347X.
- ^ "Starrcade 1984". Pro Wrestling History. November 22, 1984. Retrieved August 29, 2015.