The History of Starrcade

Appropriately enough, the first Starrcade in 17 years will take place in North Carolina, the heartland of WCW wrestling in its heyday. The event started as Jim Crockett Promotion’s annual Thanksgiving show held in the Greensboro Coliseum. WWE looks to be restarting that tradition.

The first Starrcade was broadcast on closed-circuit television in 1983. It was considered one of the first “Pay-Per-Views” in wrestling history. That event featured Harley Race defending his NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Ric Flair inside a steel cage. Starrcade ’17 continues that tradition with TWO steel cage matches, one of which features a Flair! Ric Flair main-evented the first SEVEN events. The Rock n Roll Express and Ricky Steamboat making an appearance is a further nod to WCW’s past and the history behind the event.

Starrcade will take place the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It stands to reason that it will be a WWE Network special, though there has been no official confirmation as of yet.

As a fan of old-school WCW, this is very exciting. Starrcade’s history is packed with signature moments of wrestling history. Starrcade ’97 was the highest-grossing PPV in WCW history and featured the return of Sting after nearly a year spent haunting the rafters. Though the event ended in controversy, it is still one of the most iconic moments in WCW’s history.

Hopefully Starrcade ’17 can deliver. The card features the best SmackDown Live has to offer. I can’t wait to see it.

Are you excited for Starrcade’s return? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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