WWE Starrcade 2017 Review Pt. 1

“Wait a minute. Am I reading this right? Pro Wrestling talk on Fan Fest?”, you are probably asking yourself right now. The short answer is yes…pro wrestling coverage will be sparingly coming to Fan Fest for the time being. With that being said, and if you want more constant coverage of events(RAW/Smackdown/PPV) let us know!  Pro Wrestling is considered sports “entertainment” and for that fact alone, it’s good enough to be on a entrainment site if you ask me. Now, over the weekend I was fortunate enough to join 15,000 plus people in the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, NC for a special WWE live event named Starrcade.

For anyone who was a teenager or older AND a pro wrestling fan in the late 90’s, that name is sure to bring back some fond memories. Once considered the ‘Grandaddy of Em’ All” of supercard events(Pre-dating even WrestleMania), Starrcade has over a 20 year history including some of the most memorable and historic matches in wrestling history, including such memorable bouts as  Flair vs  Race, Sting vs. Hogan, and Goldberg vs. Nash. Following the then-final 2000 event (and the following purchase of WCW by rival company WWE),  Starrcade all but ceased to exist:The event only to live on in our hearts and minds.  That is, until now. 17 years after Starrcade 2000, WWE decided to bring back the fabled event for a house show at the Greensboro Coliseum, the home of some of Starrcade’s memorable matches (like the previously mentioned Flair/ Race match). The question on most people’s minds since the event have seemingly been on the same question: “Was it worth it?”. and that’s what I’m here to look at in Part 1 of my 2 Part review!

Bobby Roode VS Dolph Ziggler
(Special Ringside Enforcer Arn Anderson)

The event started off in Glorious fashion, as Bobby Roode took on Dolph Ziggler in a Grudge match.  These two guys meshed really well here, and down the home stretch of the match were hitting near fall after near fall, keeping the crowd guessing who would win.  The addition of Hall of Famer Arn Anderson was perfect and Arn got to dust off his fabled Spinebuster for the new generation(Dolph took it like a champ too). One Glorious DDT later and Bobby Roode walks away with the win.
Match Score:8/10

 

Tye Dillinger,Sin Cara,The Ascension and Breezango VS Rusev,The Colons,Mike Kanellis and the Bludgeon Brothers

If this match looks very oddly put together, it is. At first glance it features many acts that don’t even make it onto the weekly TV shows(The Colons/Mike Kanellis).  Some that are used sparingly enough that you do care about their characters and whether they are heel or face(Tye/Sin Cara/Ascension/Rusev-Rusev was way over with this crowd too). Lastly, it features one main anchor tag team on both sides to really help you care for one side or the other: Breezango and the Bludgeon Brothers. This match felt very flat coming off Roode/Ziggler as the only real people to receive a notable moment in this match were the Bludgeon Brothers.  After many failed attempts by WWE to give Harper/Rowan a  decent gimmick, it looks like they finally got it right with the Bludgeon Brothers. By the time you finished reading the paragraph on this match, it was already over.  The Bludgeon Brothers are the last ones standing after beating down their opponents(and some of their teammates too).

Match Score:3/10

Naomi VS Tamina Snuka

This match was a pure clash of  wrestling styles that on paper had potential but in the end fell flat. The crowd was indifferent towards Tamina(as she’s only recently seen any character development), which hurt the match mostly as they didn’t get behind Tamina’s near falls until Lana got involved. Naomi wins with a split legged moonsault.

Match Score:5/10

“The Natural” Dustin Rhodes VS Dash Wilder

The quickest match on the card. Pure Nostalgia is the name of the game with this one as Dustin Rhodes dropped his Goldust Gimmick for one night to return to his old WCW gimmick “The Natural”.  He finishes Dash Wilder with a bulldog very quickly in a unmemorable match. Afterwards however,Dustin’s emotional speech about his late father Dusty and his memories watching him perform at the Greensboro Coliseum growing up was a pure highlight of the night. It makes this one super hard to rate but promo included:

Match Rating:7.5/10

With that, the first half of Starrcade has come to an end as has the first part of this review.  At this point, there isn’t much to write home about. Ziggler/Roode was the only match to get the fans going, and the nostalgia moments with Arn Anderson and Dustin Rhodes were a nice touch, but otherwise it wasn’t anything worthy to add onto Starrcade’s legacy. That may change in Part 2 as the remainder of the event will see all of Smackdown Live’s championships put on the line!