National Wrestling Alliance’s (NWA) Starrcade 1985 was one of those events that took place in two locations. This was on the same night, in two separate arenas, nowhere near each other. This is also the first live wrestling event to be broadcast from two separate locations. Do not worry, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) would copy it for Wrestlemania 2 the following year. Not to be outdone though, the WWF would hold their event in THREE locations at once. I am going to cover the North Carolina location of Starrcade 1985 in this article.
Starrcade 1985 was broadcast differently
Before Pay Per View was a big deal fans of sporting events had to make use of closed-circuit television (CCT). This required approved locations fans would pay to access to view the event, in this case Starrcade 1985. Some of the most popular locations were movie theaters – could you imagine watching Wrestlemania at a movie theater today? You can do it, and many do, but it is not a normal event most theaters partake in anymore.
This made events like Starrcade 1985 more special as you had to leave your home to view it. You were around others that were fans of the product. Maybe even trash talking fans of athletes you disliked and vice versa.
Only half the show
Considering I am covering only the North Carolina location here, you should know there is another set of matches. Those matches took place on the same night in the Omni Colliseum in Atlanta, Georgia. The matches in this article were occurring in the Greensboro Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Nearly 30,000 fans packed both arenas for Starrcade 1985. CCT numbers are unavailable as of this writing.
The Starrcade 1985 North Carolina card
Opening match featured Krusher Kruschev versus Sam Houston. This was for the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship.Next saw Ron Bass taking on Black Bart in a Texas Bullrope match.
The third match also featured Ron Bass taking on J. J. Dillon in the second Texas Bullrope match of the night.
Fourth on the card was Buddy Landel taking on Terry Taylor (who would later become “The Red Rooster” in the WWF). This was for the NWA National Heavyweight Championship.
The lead into the main event featured Magnum T.A. taking on Tully Blanchard. This was an “I Quit” Steel Cage match for the NWA United States Championship.
The main event was a steel cage tag team match for the NWA Tag Team Championships. Fans saw The Rock ‘n Roll Express, Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson, taking on Ivan Koloff and Nikita Koloff.
A build up for the ages
I will not ruin the match outcomes here. Both halves of the show featured stacked cards. Combined it was probably an amazing experience to be had via closed-circuit television.
The following January would see the formation of the Four Horsemen. Arn Anderson and Ole Anderson would join with Tully Blanchard and Ric Flair to form the iconic team. J. J. Dillon would act as their manager.
What NWA event is your favorite? Are you a fan of the Billy Corgan era? Let me know in the comments.
This article was originally published on the Gravis Ludus Wrestling website.