The 1999 Starrcade was the 17th annual Starrcade

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

(PPV) event produced by

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

(WCW). It took place on December 19, 1999, from the

MCI Center Capital One Arena is an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. Located in the Chinatown section of the larger Penn Quarter neighborhood, the arena sits atop the Gallery Place rapid transit station of the Washington Metro. The arena was opened on D ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

The

main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

was between

Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...

and Goldberg for the

WCW World Heavyweight Championship The WCW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the original world title of ...

. The match was notable for a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

Hart sustained, which ultimately led to his retirement in 2000. After Hart won the title at the Mayhem event, Goldberg challenged Hart to a match for the title. The match ended in a screwjob, with Goldberg losing unfairly. Soon after the event, Hart formed and led a new incarnation of the New World Order group. Other matches included a

ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself become ...

between

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for Chris Benoit double-murd ...

and

Jeff Jarrett Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he both wrestles and serves as Director of Business Development. He is also ...

for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship, a Powerbomb match between

Sid Vicious Simon John Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the second bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. After his death in 1979 at the age of 21, he remai ...

and

Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor, podcaster and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is also known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Ac ...

, and Sting against The Total Package. In 2015, all WCW pay-per-views were made available on the WWE Network.

Storylines

The event featured wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed

villains A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. The main match of Starrcade was between

and Goldberg. At Mayhem, the previous pay-per-view event, Hart won a tournament to become the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Afterwards, Goldberg challenged Hart to a match at Starrcade for the title. They showed respect for each other, and won the

WCW World Tag Team Championship The WCW World Tag Team Championship, originally known as the NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'', was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later the World Wrestling ...

together. They lost the title one week later to The Outsiders. In September,

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Booker, professional wrestling booker, promoter, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Sen ...

was relieved of his position as the president of WCW.

Vince Russo Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling writer, booker and pundit. He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop ...

, who previously worked for the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

, was hired as a writer, and made many changes to the programming. He was portrayed on-screen as "The Powers That Be", a mysterious, unseen power source that controlled the promotion. The programming was changed in style, with more time devoted to non-wrestling segments, and more coherent storylines. Russo has received criticism for some of his contributions, however, and Bischoff has described Russo's storylines as dark and unsophisticated.

Event

The first match was between The Mamalukes ( Big Vito and Johnny the Bull) and the team of Disco Inferno and Lash LeRoux. The match started with Big Vito and Johnny the Bull dominating LeRoux and Inferno by double-teaming. This continued until Big Vito missed a splash. Inferno and LeRoux fought back until Inferno accidentally performed a Last Dance on LeRoux. Big Vito performed a spinning lifting DDT on LeRoux, and pinned him to win the match. The second match was between

Madusa Debrah Ann Miceli (born February 9, 1963), better known as Madusa, is an Americans, American monster truck driver and retired professional wrestler. She is currently signed to National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as a producer. In professional wre ...

and Evan Karagias (accompanied by Spice) for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. The match started back and forth until Karagias performed a hangman and a flying clothesline to the outside. Spice distracted Karagias, and performed a low blow. Madusa then pinned Karagias with a bridging German suplex to win the match and the title. The third match was between Meng and Norman Smiley for the

WCW Hardcore Championship The World Championship Wrestling (WCW) Hardcore Championship was a title in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The title was defended in Hardcore matches, in which there were few rules and restrictions and weapons were allowed. Eventually, the ...

. The match started with Meng dominating Smiley as they fought backstage.

Fit Finlay David John Finlay (, born 31 January 1958) is a Northern Irish former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a trainer and assistant coach at the Performance Center, as well as a producer. He is best known for his tenures with World Cha ...

and Brian Knobs then attacked Meng. Finlay hit Meng with a lead pipe, and Smiley pinned him to win the match, and retain the title. The fourth match was between The Revolution (

Shane Douglas Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, manager, and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship ...

, Dean Malenko,

Perry Saturn Perry Arthur Satullo (born October 25, 1966) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler known by his ring name, Perry Saturn. Since debuting in 1990, Saturn wrestled for Professional wrestling promotion, promotions inclu ...

and Asya) and the team of

Jim Duggan James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best-known for his time in World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he won the first ...

and The Varsity Club. Saturn and Malenko had the advantage over Duggan for most of the match. This continued until the Varsity Club came in, and fought off The Revolution. However, they then turned on Duggan, and beat him down. They performed a low blow to Duggan, and Douglas pinned him to win the match. As a result of losing, Duggan had to renounce his United States

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

. The fifth match was between

Vampiro Ian Richard Hodgkinson (born May 31, 1967), better known by his ring name Vampiro, is a Canadian retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He currently works for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). He also worked for Lucha Underground ...

(accompanied by The Misfits) and Steve Williams. The match started back and forth until Williams sent Vampiro off the top turnbuckle. The Misfits came in, and Williams fought them off. Williams continued to attack Vampiro, and the

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

disqualified him after Williams refused to stop. Vampiro won the match, and earned a match with

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, which started immediately after. Oklahoma had the advantage after Williams' attacks. Vampiro fought back with an ura-nage, and beat him down with The Misfits. Vampiro pinned him after a Nail in the Coffin to win the match. The seventh match featured the Creative Control

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...

and

Curt Hennig Curtis Michael Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003), better known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler. Considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time by peers, critics, and fans, he per ...

against Harlem Heat (

Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 194 ...

and Stevie Ray) and

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

. Stevie Ray chose to not wrestle in the match. The match went back and forth until Booker T was attacked outside the ring. Creative Control and Hennig had the advantage. After Creative Control missed a diving elbow drop, Booker T fought back with a Harlem Sidekick and a spinebuster. Hennig came in, and hit Booker T with

brass knuckles Brass knuckles (also referred to as brass knucks, knuckledusters, iron fist and paperweight, among other names) are a melee weapon used primarily in Hand to hand combat, hand-to-hand combat. They are fitted and designed to be worn around the kn ...

. Creative Control then pinned Booker T to win the match. The eighth match was a Bunkhouse Brawl between

Dustin Rhodes Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes, with a nickname of "The Natural" and is a member of The Sons of ...

and

. The match started backstage, and went back and forth with the use of a wheelbarrow. They fought to the ring, and Rhodes gained the advantage with the use of a cow bell, and threw

powder A powder is a dry solid composed of many very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and ''granular'' are sometimes used to distinguish se ...

at Jarrett. Jarrett fought back with a low blow, and applied the sleeper hold. Rhodes fought out with a belly to back suplex, and they fought up the entrance ramp. Curt Hennig attempted to interfere, but Rhodes beat him down. The distraction allowed Jarrett to perform a guitar shot, and pin Rhodes to win the match. The ninth match was a Crowbar on a Pole match between

Diamond Dallas Page } Dallas Page (born Page Joseph Falkinburg Jr., April 5, 1956), is an American fitness instructor, actor, and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Di ...

and

David Flair David Richard Fliehr (born March 6, 1979), better known by the ring name David Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he held the WCW United States Cha ...

. Before the match, Flair attacked Page from behind with his own crowbar, and Page was knocked down outside the ring. Page returned, and the match started with Flair having the advantage. Flair performed several attacks, and applied the figure four leglock. Flair retrieved the crowbar, and attempted to use it. Page avoided it, and pinned Flair after a Diamond Cutter to win the match. The tenth match was between The Total Package and Sting (accompanied by Elizabeth). Prior to the match, Sting was shown handing Elizabeth a can of what he said was spray, and told her to use it if she had to. The Total Package attacked Sting as he entered the ring, and continued to have the advantage. Elizabeth climbed onto the apron, and this allowed Sting to fight back. After they knocked down each other with a clothesline, Elizabeth came into the ring, and revealed her alliance with The Total Package by attempting to use the spray on Sting. Unfortunately for her, it was actually a can of

silly string Silly String (generically known as aerosol string) is a toy of flexible, sometimes brightly colored, plastic String (structure), string propelled as a stream of liquid from an aerosol can. The solvent in the string quickly evaporates in mid-air, ...

, revealing that Sting anticipated being betrayed by his confidante (a common occurrence in Sting's career). Sting performed a Stinger splash to The Total Package, and attempted to apply the Scorpion Deathlock. Elizabeth hit Sting with a

baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal Club (weapon), club used in the sport of baseball to hit the Baseball (ball), ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more t ...

, and Sting won the match by disqualification. After the match, The Total Package attacked Sting's right arm with a steel chair and the bat. The eleventh match was a Powerbomb match between

and

. Vicious gained the advantage after attacking Nash outside the ring with the use of a steel chair and the guard rail. Vicious continued with a

leg drop A leg drop or legdrop refers to an attack used in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler will jump and land his leg across a fallen opponent's chest, throat, face or head or in some cases, the groin/lower-abdominal area. The mov ...

and a scoop slam. Vicious sent Nash into the referee, knocking him down, and performed a

powerbomb A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted (usually so that they are sitting on the wrestler's shoulders) and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a s ...

on Nash. Jeff Jarrett came down, and hit Vicious with a guitar. Nash attempted a powerbomb, but failed due to the pain in his back. The referee revived, and Nash told him he performed a powerbomb on Vicious. The referee believed Nash, and awarded him the victory. The twelfth match was a

between

and

for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. Benoit was awarded the title earlier at the event due to his scheduled opponent,

Scott Hall Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ...

, suffered an injury and was unable to compete, and issued an open challenge. The match started back and forth. They sent each other into the ladder, and stopped each other from climbing the ladder by tipping it. As Benoit climbed the ladder, Jarrett sent him down with a missile dropkick to the ladder. Benoit then sent the ladder into Jarrett with a

dropkick A dropkick is an Professional wrestling strikes, attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as they ju ...

, and performed a diving headbutt from the top of the ladder. Benoit climbed the ladder, and retrieved the belt to win the match, and retain the title. The

was a No Disqualification match between

and Goldberg for the

. They knocked down several referees throughout the match. The match started with Goldberg having the advantage after a gorilla press powerslam. Goldberg attacked Hart outside the ring using the guard rail. Back in the ring, Goldberg missed a

spear A spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with Fire hardening, fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable materia ...

, and hit the turnbuckle. Hart fought back, and applied the ringpost figure four leglock. Hart then targeted the left leg of Goldberg, and applied the figure four leglock. Hart accidentally knocked down the referee, and Goldberg fought back with a mule kick and a spear. With the referee down,

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the Wo ...

came down to officiate. Hart attacked the leg of Goldberg, and applied the Sharpshooter. Piper ended the match without Goldberg submitting and awarded Hart the victory. Hart retained the title and appeared confused about the situation. The ending resembled the

Montreal Screwjob The Montreal Screwjob (also called the Montreal Incident) was a notorious professional wrestling incident where the outcome of a major match was changed without one of the wrestlers being informed – in order to "screw over" Bret Hart, who was i ...

Aftermath

Due to the controversial ending to the match between

and Goldberg at Starrcade, the

was vacated the following night on ''

WCW Monday Nitro ''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT (American TV ...

''. Hart and Goldberg faced each other later on the show, where Hart regained the title with the help of

and

. Hart, Hall, Nash, and

formed a new incarnation of the New World Order (nWo) group, named nWo 2000. The mule kick Goldberg performed to Hart during their match at Starrcade gave Hart a severe

. Unaware of the severity of the injury, Hart continued to compete in matches in the days following. Hart was diagnosed with

post-concussion syndrome Post-concussion syndrome (PCS), also known as persisting symptoms after concussion, is a set of symptoms that may continue for weeks, months, or years after a concussion. PCS is medically classified as a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). About ...

, and relinquished the title on January 16, 2000. nWo 2000 disbanded soon after, and was the last incarnation of the nWo in WCW. Later that year, Hart retired from

. In April,

returned to WCW in a position that involved the managing and overseeing of the creative process. Bischoff worked with

, and two new groups were created to

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

with each other: the Millionaire's Club, which included older wrestlers, and the New Blood, with younger wrestlers. The value of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship had decreased over the past years, thanks in part to the hotshot

booking Booking may refer to: * Making an appointment for a meeting or gathering, as part of event planning/ scheduling * The intake or admission process into a prison or psychiatric facility. * ''Booking'' (manhwa), a Korean comics anthology magazine ...

of Bischoff and Russo, and Bischoff devised a storyline that began at the Bash at the Beach event to restore its value. At Bash at the Beach, according to Bischoff, Russo acted on his own and ruined Bischoff's plan by cutting a

worked shoot A shoot in professional wrestling is any unplanned, unscripted, or real-life occurrence within a wrestling event. It is a carny term shortened from "straight shooting", which originally referred to a gun in a carnival target shooting game that ...

promo on

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

. Russo contends that Bischoff and Hogan were aware of the plan and agreed to it ahead of time. Bischoff left WCW soon after due to problems he had with Russo.

Reception

In 2020, Eric Bischoff called Starrcade 1999 "the absolute worst pay-per-view from opening bell to closing bell that I’ve ever seen in my life."

Results

References

External links

*
Starrcade 1999 review at 411mania
{{WCWPPV, Starrcade Starrcade 1999 in Washington, D.C. Professional wrestling shows in Washington, D.C. December 1999 in the United States 1999 World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view events