Starrcade '89: Future Shock was the seventh annual

Starrcade Starrcade was a recurring professional wrestling event, originally broadcast via closed-circuit television and eventually broadcast via pay-per-view. It was originally held from 1983 to 2000, first by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

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 g ...

(PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of ev ...

produced under the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

(NWA) banner. It was the second Starrcade event produced by

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (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 Natio ...

(WCW), and it took place on December 13, 1989, at

The Omni Omni Coliseum (often called The Omni) was an indoor arena in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Completed in 1972, the arena seated 16,378 for basketball and 15,278 for hockey. It was part of the Omni Complex, now known as the CNN Center. It was ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

. The event solely featured the Iron Man and Iron Team tournaments. The participants were

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-ear ...

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for ...

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

and

The Great Muta is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...

for the Iron Man tournament, and

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

The Steiner Brothers The Steiner Brothers are an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of brothers Robert "Rick Steiner" Rechsteiner and Scott "Scott Steiner" Rechsteiner. The brothers wrestled as amateurs at the University of Michigan. The team ma ...

The Road Warriors The Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom, were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) and Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis).. They performed under the name "The Road Warriors" in t ...

and The New Wild Samoans (replacing

The Skyscrapers The Skyscrapers (or just Skyscrapers) were a professional wrestling tag team in World Championship Wrestling in 1989 and 1990 in three distinct forms with members ”Big” Sid Vicious, ”Dangerous” Dan Spivey, and "Mean" Mark Callous, wit ...

due to

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

' injury) for the Iron Team tournament. This event varied from other Starrcade events by only featuring the tournaments, only showcasing a small amount of wrestlers, and not featuring title defenses. The event led to a

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one pa ...

between Sting and Flair after a brief alliance as members of the

Four Horsemen The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand th ...

stable.

Storylines

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

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character ...

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. In February 1988,

was given a

push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias ...

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 ...

status by placing him in a

with

and

. This continued until October 1988, when Sting began a feud with

. Throughout 1989, Flair had notable feuds with

Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (A ...

and

Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – a ...

over the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is ...

while Sting feuded with

over the

NWA World Television Championship The NWA World Television Championship is a world television championship owned and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The inaugural champion was Ricky Starks. The current champion is Jo ...

. At

The Great American Bash The Great American Bash is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. Created by Dusty Rhodes, the event was established in 1985 and was originally produced by the National W ...

in July, the alliance between Flair and Sting began. After Flair defeated Funk in the

, he was attacked by The Great Muta, and Sting came out to help Flair. Sting and Flair feuded with The Great Muta and Funk afterwards, and the feud continued until Halloween Havoc in October, when they defeated The Great Muta and Funk in a

Thunderdome match Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a five-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link fenci ...

Event

The first match was between

(

Ron Simmons Ronald Nasir Simmons (born May 15, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He performed for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under his real name, and in the World Wres ...

and

Butch Reed Bruce Franklin Reed (July 11, 1954 – February 5, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and football player, better known by the ring name Butch Reed. He played college football at the University of Central Missouri, was a star in M ...

) (accompanied by

Woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regard ...

and Nitron) and

(

Rick Steiner Robert Rechsteiner (born March 9, 1961) is an American real estate broker and retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Rick Steiner. Steiner is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he wa ...

and

Scott Steiner Scott Rechsteiner (born July 29, 1962), better known by the ring name Scott Steiner, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Steiner is perhaps best known for his time in World Championshi ...

). The Steiners had the early advantage over Doom until Scott missed a clothesline, and sent himself outside the ring, where Nitron attacked him. Doom had the advantage until Scott fought back, and performed a belly to belly suplex. Rick and Simmons tagged in, and Rick had the advantage until Nitron pulled Rick outside the ring. Rick performed a clothesline to Nitron, and both teams fought outside. Rick returned to the ring in time for Simmons to be counted out, and the Steiner Brothers won the match. The second match was between

and

. Sting gained the early advantage, and performed a diving crossbody. Sting attempted another diving crossbody, but Luger caught him, and performed an inverted atomic drop. Luger had the advantage, and they fought outside the ring. As both were on the apron, Luger pulled them both over the top rope and into the ring. Luger fell on top of Sting, and pinned him while holding the rope, and having his foot on the rope. The third match was between

(

Hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfa ...

and

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

) and Doom. The Road Warriors had the early advantage until Hawk missed a shoulder block to Reed in the corner. Doom had the advantage over Hawk, with Reed performing a diving elbow drop and a

flying clothesline Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefe ...

. Hawk countered a body slam attempt and tagged in Animal. Animal and Reed went back and forth. Animal hit Reed with a powerslam and Simmons entered the ring to break up the count. A two-on-two brawl ensued and just as Reed was about to perform his piledriver on Animal, Hawk performed a flying clothesline that knocked him on his back. Animal then pinned Reed to win the match. The fourth match was between

and

(accompanied by Ole and

Arn Anderson Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a ...

). The Great Muta was being heralded as unpinned at this point in his WCW career. The match started with The Great Muta having the advantage. After a handspring

back elbow Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...

from The Great Muta, Flair fought back, and applied an atomic drop and the figure four leglock.

Buzz Sawyer Bruce Alan Woyan (June 14, 1959 – February 7, 1992) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Buzz Sawyer. Professional wrestling career Sawyer started wrestling in 1978 (other sources state 1979) in the National Wr ...

and

The Dragonmaster , better known as Mr. Sakurada, The Dragonmaster, and as the Japanese version of , was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was best known for his work in Stampede Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling. Sakur ...

came down to help The Great Muta, but the Andersons fought them off. The distraction allowed The Great Muta to gain the advantage, and he attempted a

moonsault A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a Professional wrestling aerial techniques, professional wrestling aerial technique. It was innovated by Mando Guerrero. Much of its popularity in both Puroresu, Japanese and professional wrestl ...

, but Flair raised his knees. Flair then pinned The Great Muta with an

inside cradle In wrestling, a pin is achieved by holding an opponent's shoulders to the mat for a three count. Pinfall is the term used in professional wrestling which is a way to win the match for that person or team. Background A pinfall is a victory condi ...

to win the match. The fifth match was between the Steiner Brothers and the Road Warriors. The match started back and forth until the Road Warriors had the advantage over Scott. Scott fought back with a super belly to belly suplex, but failed to gain the advantage. Animal and Hawk performed a combination of a bridging belly to back suplex and a clothesline. The suplex resulted in Scott pinning Animal, and the Steiner Brothers won the match. The sixth match was between The Great Muta and Sting. The match started back and forth until The Great Muta performed an eye rake, and applied the bridging grounded double chickenwing. The Great Muta kept the advantage, and attempted a moonsault. Sting avoided it, but The Great Muta landed on his feet, and performed a spin kick. The Great Muta climbed the turnbuckles, but Sting performed a

dropkick A dropkick is an 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 jump so that when the feet connec ...

and a

superplex A suplex is an offensive move used in sport wrestling as well as amateur wrestling and professional wrestling. It is a throw that involves lifting the opponents and bridging or rolling to slam them on their backs. Professional wrestling feature ...

. Sting then pinned The Great Muta to win the match. The seventh match was between The New Wild Samoans (

Samoan Savage Samuel Larry Anoa'i Fatu (born October 11, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names The Tonga Kid and Tama and with World Championship Wr ...

and Fatu) (accompanied by The Big Kahuna) and Doom. The match started back and forth between Reed and Fatu. Savage and Simmons tagged in, and Simmons gained the advantage after avoiding a

diving headbutt Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...

. Doom kept the advantage until Simmons missed a diving shoulder block. Fatu and Reed tagged in, and Fatu performed a flying

headbutt A headbutt is a targeted strike with the head, typically (when intentional) involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of an opponent, such as ...

. After an

Irish whip Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...

from Reed, their heads collided. Reed fell down, and Fatu was dazed. The Big Kahuna pushed Fatu onto Reed, and Fatu pinned him to win the match. The eighth match was between Lex Luger and Ric Flair. The match started back and forth until Flair performed several knife edge chops in the corner. Flair kept the advantage until Luger sent Flair's head into the top turnbuckle. Luger continued to attack Flair until Flair avoided an

elbow drop Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...

, and applied the figure four leglock. The time limit expired while Flair had the hold applied, and the match ended in a draw. The ninth match was between The New Wild Samoans and the Steiner Brothers. The match started back and forth until Savage kicked Scott in the face, and threw him outside the ring, where Fatu attacked him. The New Wild Samoans had the advantage over Scott until Scott fought back with a

Frankensteiner Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...

to Fatu. After Scott avoided a big splash from Savage, Rick and Fatu came in without being tagged, and Rick attacked both. Fatu ran at Scott, and Scott sent him over the top rope. Scott was disqualified for doing so, and The New Wild Samoans won the match. The tenth match was between The Great Muta and Lex Luger. The Great Muta had the early advantage by targeting Luger's injured left leg, applying the

single leg Boston crab The Boston crab is a professional wrestling holds, professional wrestling hold that typically starts with one wrestler lying in a supine position on the mat, with the other wrestler standing and facing them. It is a type of spinal lock where the ...

and the Muta Lock. Luger fought back, and performed a

scoop powerslam A Powerslam or simply Slam is a professional wrestling body slam move in which the wrestler performing the slam falls face-down on top of the opponent. The use of the term "powerslam" usually refers to the front powerslam or the scoop powerslam. ...

, but failed to apply the

Torture Rack The rack is a torture device consisting of a rectangular, usually wooden frame, slightly raised from the ground, with a roller at one or both ends. The victim's ankles are fastened to one roller and the wrists are chained to the other. As the i ...

. The Great Muta then spit green mist in Luger's face, and Luger won the match by disqualification. The eleventh match was between The New Wild Samoans and the Road Warriors. The match started with the Road Warriors having the advantage. Savage performed an inverted atomic drop and a

back body drop Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...

to Hawk, but failed to gain the advantage. Fatu gained the advantage after performing a headbutt to Animal's midsection. Savage tagged in, and applied the chinlock after several attacks. He then missed a corner slingshot splash, and Hawk tagged in. Hawk performed a flying shoulder block, and all four came in and fought. Animal knocked Fatu off the top turnbuckle, and Hawk performed a flying clothesline to Savage. Hawk then pinned Savage to win the match and the Iron Team tournament. The

was between Sting and Ric Flair. The match started back and forth until Flair threw Sting outside the ring. Flair sent Sting into the guard rail, and back in the ring with a delayed vertical suplex. Flair continued with a

knee drop Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional ...

and a

double underhook suplex A suplex is an offensive move used in sport wrestling as well as amateur wrestling and professional wrestling. It is a throw that involves lifting the opponents and bridging or rolling to slam them on their backs. Professional wrestling feature ...

. Sting performed a clothesline out of the corner, and Flair rolled out of the ring. Sting had the advantage with a

suplex A suplex is an offensive move used in sport wrestling as well as amateur wrestling and professional wrestling. It is a throw that involves lifting the opponents and bridging or rolling to slam them on their backs. Professional wrestling featu ...

into the ring and mounted punches. After a

Stinger splash Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional ...

, Sting applied the Scorpion Deathlock, but Flair reached the ropes. Flair performed a shin breaker, and applied the figure four leglock, but Sting reached the ropes. Flair then targeted Sting's left leg. Flair performed a shin breaker and a

seated senton Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...

onto the leg. Flair then attempted the figure four leglock, but Sting countered it into an inside cradle, and pinned Flair to win the match and the Iron Man tournament.

Aftermath

The alliance between

and

led to the reformation of the

stable with Flair, Sting,

Ole Anderson Alan Robert Rogowski (born September 22, 1942), better known by the ring name Ole Anderson (), is an American retired professional wrestler, referee, manager, and promoter. Part of the Anderson family, Anderson was a founding member of the influen ...

and

. However, Sting was awarded a match with Flair for the

WrestleWar WrestleWar was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event series promoted by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It was held in May in 1989 and 1992 and February in 1990 and 1991. The first two events were promoted under the National Wrestlin ...

for winning the Iron Man tournament. Flair feared losing the title, and this led to Sting being kicked out of the Four Horsemen on February 6 at

Clash of the Champions X ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). T ...

when he chose to accept the title match against the wishes of Flair and the Andersons. Later that night, Sting tore his left patella tendon in an attempt to attack Flair, and the injury put Sting out of action for the following five months.

was chosen to replace Sting in the title match at WrestleWar. After Sting returned, he defeated Flair, and won the title at

. The Great Muta, after suffering three losses in the Iron Man Tournament, two by clean pinfall, would lose his WCW World Television Title to

, then leave WCW for Japan after the Clash of Champions X in February, 1990. Doom would be forced to unmask at the same event after losing a match to the Steiner Brothers, then would exact revenge by defeating Rick and Scott Steiner for the

WCW World Tag Team Championship The WCW World Tag Team Championship (previously NWA (Mid-Atlantic) World Tag Team Championship) was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) ...

Capital Combat Capital Combat: Return of RoboCop was a one-time professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) held under the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) name. Capital Combat took place on Saturday, May 19, 199 ...

. Despite winning the Iron Man Tag Team Tournament, the Road Warriors would be forced down the card, then left WCW for the WWF after appearing in the Capital Combat PPV. The New Wild Samoans would also leave WCW in mid-1990 and would eventually turn up in the WWF as The Headshrinkers.

Results

Tournaments

The Iron Man and Iron Team tournaments were

round-robin tournament A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & C. Me ...

s featuring four competing individuals and

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 establish ...

s respectively. The point system: 20 points for a

pinfall In wrestling, a pin is achieved by holding an opponent's shoulders to the mat for a three count. Pinfall is the term used in professional wrestling which is a way to win the match for that person or team. Background A pinfall is a victory condi ...

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

victory, 15 for a

countout Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

victory, 10 for a disqualification victory, 5 for a time-limit draw and 0 for a loss.

Iron Man tournament

Iron Team tournament

References

External links

Starrcade 1989 review at 411maniaStarrcade 1989 review at The Powerdriver Review
{{WCWPPV, Starrcade Events in Atlanta Starrcade 1989 in Georgia (U.S. state) Professional wrestling in Atlanta December 1989 events in the United States 1989 World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view events