Starrcade (1984)


Starrcade : The Million Dollar Challenge was a major professional wrestling closed-circuit television event that was produced by Jim Crockett Promotions under the National Wrestling Alliance 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, 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 member Jim Crockett Promotions 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. Starrcade soon became the flagship event of the year for JCP, 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:
CommentatorBob Caudle
CommentatorGordon Solie
InterviewerTony Schiavone
RefereeEarl Hebner
RefereeSonny Fargo
RefereeTommy Young
RefereeJoe Frazier
Ring announcerTom 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 or faces as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Results