Posted July 20, 201411 yr comment_5613479 I just finished watching Starrcade 1983 on the WWE Network, as I had not seen it in its entirety in several years. I have a couple of questions that I hope you fine fellow classic wrestling fans can help me with. 1. Both before and during the main event (on at least 5-7 different occasions in total), Gordon Solie refers to Ric Flair as as a 2 time World Champion. However, at that point I thought he only officially held the belt once, from 1981 until losing it in June 1983 to Race. According to Wikipedia (not the best source, I know), there were several unrecognized title changes in that time period (to Midnight Rider, Jack Veneno, Carlos Colon, and Victor Jovica). My question is, which one of those "phantom" title changes is Solie referencing when calling Flair a 2 time champion? And it could not just be a slip of the tongue, as he did it on numerous occasions, and referred to Flair as a 3 time champ when he won the main event. 2. What is the backstory on Gene Kiniski being the special referee for the main event? Did he have on screen issues with either Race or Flair in the buildup to the match? To me, Kiniski totally ruined what could have been an excellent match with his constant involvement, both verbally and physically. Was his interference part of the booking, or did he simply go into business for himself? Thanks in advance for your help!
July 20, 201411 yr comment_5613480 1. He's referencing the Colon title change. What I always had heard with the Veneno match is that Flair had Veneno beat him on the fly because he was legit scared that the crowd would kill him if he won. So Flair let him pin him, crowd goes home happy and Flair leaves with the belt and no one was the wiser. That might be bullshit, you never know with those stories. I think video does exist of that title change. 2. I'm guessing it was a "this match is so huge we need a former NWA World Champion to referee it". The NWA loved using former champions for things like that.
July 20, 201411 yr comment_5613490 Bruce Mitchell did a review of the entire show a few weeks ago. He said the plan was for the Kiniski involvement to allow Harley to claim interference to save face in his Kansas territory and transition into a feud with Kiniski. Harley was still a face in Kansas. For some reason the feud never occurred.
July 20, 201411 yr comment_5613550 Solie was definitely referencing the Midnight Rider title change Yeah, it had to be the Midnight Rider change because 1) Solie would be more familiar with that one since it happened in Florida, and 2) the match between Flair and Colon to declare the champion of the universe happened about three to four weeks after Starrcade.
July 25, 201411 yr comment_5614635 I just finished watching Starrcade 1983 on the WWE Network, as I had not seen it in its entirety in several years. I have a couple of questions that I hope you fine fellow classic wrestling fans can help me with. 1. Both before and during the main event (on at least 5-7 different occasions in total), Gordon Solie refers to Ric Flair as as a 2 time World Champion. However, at that point I thought he only officially held the belt once, from 1981 until losing it in June 1983 to Race. According to Wikipedia (not the best source, I know), there were several unrecognized title changes in that time period (to Midnight Rider, Jack Veneno, Carlos Colon, and Victor Jovica). My question is, which one of those "phantom" title changes is Solie referencing when calling Flair a 2 time champion? And it could not just be a slip of the tongue, as he did it on numerous occasions, and referred to Flair as a 3 time champ when he won the main event. 2. What is the backstory on Gene Kiniski being the special referee for the main event? Did he have on screen issues with either Race or Flair in the buildup to the match? To me, Kiniski totally ruined what could have been an excellent match with his constant involvement, both verbally and physically. Was his interference part of the booking, or did he simply go into business for himself? Thanks in advance for your help! It is true, Ric Flair stated in his book that the Jack Veneno title swap happend, and that he did it because the security used to watch the arena was going to prevent any riot that would happen, when Veneno lost. Flair dropped the belt, and the NWA decided to sweep it under the rug, not referencing it on tv, and records. This happened periodically, race dropped to Baba in Japan, were NWA never talked about in the states.
July 25, 201411 yr comment_5614688 Maybe not on TV but Baba's NWA title wins were chronicled in the magazines of the time, at least against Race. Unsure of any coverage the Brisco switch might have gotten at the time. Others like Veneno were never acknowledged even in the mags.
July 27, 201411 yr comment_5615122 Gene worked up to 92 I believe. He did a few gimmicks as late as 92'. But he only had a handful of matches up to that point, and would work occasional spot showsin the northwest for Don or his promotion in Vancouver.
August 9, 201411 yr comment_5617955 Race demanded 25000 payment for his appearance, and part of the gate. He was going to go to WWF ma nd take the title.
Create an account or sign in to comment