WWE Vintage Collection Recap – 12/27/09

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First off, apologies for the lack of recaps lately. Basically a dead laptop issue. But I’m back online and back into these recaps.

For the next few weeks we’re taking a look back at matches from Starrcade. The event existed from 1983 till 2000.

Our first match is for the NWA Tag Team championship. And it’s Jack & Jerry Brisco vs. Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood on November 24th, 1983. We start off with Steamboat and Jerry in the ring and Steamboat is pushed back into the corner where Jerry works on him with holds and taunting. Steamboat steps out of the corner, and the two men lock up. Steamboat is pushed into the opposite corner and takes a punch before being slingshotted into the other corner, and Steamboat is able to reverse things and send Jerry’s head into the turnbuckle before he unleashes some offense before putting in a headlock and making a tag. Youngblood comes in with a hip toss to a side headlock before going into the corner of the ring again. Things slow down, and when they get going again, Youngblood locks in an arm bar that Jerry tries to reverse by throwing him up and over. The two men end up on the ground and go back and forth with pin attempts before Youngblood makes the tag to Steamboat. Who goes up high and comes into the match crashing down on Jerry’s arm. Steamboat twists and tags in Youngblood who also goes up high and comes back down on Jerry’s arm. Jerry tries to make a tag in his corner, but Youngblood pushes Jack down and Jerry is sent back across the ring headfirst into the turnbuckle. Steamboat is tagged in, and he runs into Jerry’s boot, which gives him the chance to tag in Jack. They double team to get in some blows, and Jack throws Steamboat up and neck first down onto the ropes. We go to a break here.

Coming back in, Steamboat’s arm is locked in a hold and in getting out of it, Steamboat lifts Jerry up and sends him crashing back down to the mat. Jerry makes the first tag, and Steamboat is also able to make a tag. Youngblood starts off strong sending him into the turnbuckle, and uses a chop. Jack is able to reverse things and send Youngblood up in a vertical suplex. Jerry is tagged back in, and they double team with running shoulders. Jerry goes for the cover, but Youngblood is able to get his foot up onto the ring ropes. Jerry goes for another vertical suplex to only a two count. Jerry goes for a standing guillotine into a rollup for a two count again. Jerry complains to the ref and pushes him, receiving a push down which leaves Youngblood able to tag in Steamboat who comes flying in with a series of punches to another tag. A double team clothesline, another tag and another double team leaves Jerry down on the mat. A third tag, a scoopslam and Youngblood presses Steamboat up and drops him down onto Jerry for a three count and the win. Jack throws Steamboat out of the ring, and the Briscos send the ref into the corner and lock in a figure four leglock on Youngblood as the other Brisco climbs up high to splash down. But the ref intervenes and basically catches Brisco. Steamboat and Youngblood come back and unload until both Brisco’s are out of the ring and they celebrate with the title belts.

Our next match is a unification match with the NWA television champion, Nikita Koloff facing the UWF television champion, Terry Taylor. On Nov 26, 1987. Taylor starts off strong with a series of punches, but Koloff comes straight back with a choke hold that sends Taylor down to the mat. It’s broken by the ref and Koloff tries to get in another one but Taylor ducks and Koloff ends up holding his head on the apron. Taylor knocks him outside the ring and uses the railings as a weapon, delivers a chop, and uses the ring posts as a weapon also. Taylor gets back into the ring and pulls Koloff back in too. Taylor uses the ring ropes to wrench down on Koloff’s arm, and then distracts the ref so that Eddie Gilbert can also intervene and give another wrench to Koloff’s arm.

A snapmare knocks him down, and a dropped knee keeps him there. Taylor drops another knee to a two count. Koloff tries to come back, and the two men end up in the corner. Taylor runs the ropes and tries to leapfrog over Koloff and pull him down backwards. Koloff counters, and ends up punching Taylor in the face before he’s able to block Taylor’s attempts at a suplex by delivering a suplex of his own. Taylor keeps fighting with punches, and Koloff finally comes back with a series of punches delivered from standing on the second rope. Taylor is able to push Koloff back into an inverted atomic drop to a two count because Taylor’s foot was on the ropes. He goes for the ref, and Koloff is able to get in a rollup to a two count.

Koloff is able to start fighting back here, and Taylor drops to the outside and runs around the ring. Using the point where Koloff was trying to get back into the ring to deliver a knee. We don’t see it, but on the apron, Gilbert gets involved again using a chair to the knee of Koloff. Taylor is able to lock in a figure four leglock, and while the ref has his back to him, Taylor keeps grabbing the ropes for leverage with Gilbert assisting on the outside. Finally the ref sees this and breaks the hold. Gilbert tries again to intervene, but Taylor accidentally knocks him off the apron, and Koloff hits a russian sickle to a three count and the win.

The next match comes from December 26th, 1988. And it’s for the US Title between Barry Windham and Bam Bam Bigelow. We come in and the two men are circling the ring. When they lock up, Windham scratches the face of Bigelow. Bigelow shoots Windham across the ring and up into a press. Windham drops to the outside to talk to his adviser, and slowly comes back in. When they lock up, Bigelow comes out on top and delivers a series of punches which leave Windham to drop face first onto the mat. Bigelow then delivers a standing drop kick that sends Windham flying out of the ring to the ground. We go to an ad break here.

Coming back in, Windham and Bigelow are both on the outside, and Windham is first back into the ring, Bigelow delivers a punch and knocks Windham down before coming down with a splash from the outside. Bigelow sends him up high with a military press, and then goes to climb the ropes. Bigelow tries to hit a frog splash from the top rope, but misses. Windham is on his feet first and he starts to punch Bigelow. Windham is then able to get in a lariat, and then a suplex. Windham goes up to the second rope and punches Bigelow from there. Windham then delivers a kick that sends Bigelow to the outside where he is rammed into the ring post. Back inside the ring, Windham locks in a claw hold on Bigelow’s face. Bigelow eventually makes it to the ropes and the hold is broken. Windham is able to pick up Bigelow and deliver a scoopslam, but when he goes up high, he misses the target and Bigelow is able to start fighting back. A series of right hands are delivered before the force from Windham running the ropes sends both men to the outside. Windham manages to send Bigelow into the ring post, and then he is counted out. The winner in this one, Barry Windham.

The main event for this episode comes from the 1987 Starrcade and is between Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard and the Road Warriors. We come in with Hawk in the ring with Anderson, they lock up and Anderson goes straight into a side headlock that Hawk is eventually able to battle out of and sends Anderson down to the mat. Anderson rolls out of the ring and takes his time getting back in. There is a standoff between the two teams extra members outside the ring, and when we go back to the action, Blanchard is tagged in. Hawk is able to fake out Blanchard and eventually hit a clothesline to knock him down and he rolls out of the ring. Only to be thrown back in literally seconds later by Animal. Blanchard rolls straight back out again, and Hawk chases him down the ramp and brings him back to the ring. Inside the ring, Hawk hits a flying dropkick to a two count, and Animal is tagged in. Blanchard goes up high, comes flying down in what looks like a cross body, but Animal catches him and reverses the action to slam Blanchard down onto the mat. Blanchard makes the tag here and Anderson just stands on the apron before eventually climbing into the ring. We go to an ad break here.

Coming back in, Anderson has a headlock in on Animal, and when he breaks it, Anderson rolls to the outside and Animal follows him around. Back in the ring, Anderson tries to set up for a piledriver, but Animal is able to reverse the action, and manages to get Anderson up in a press. Hawk is tagged in, and Blanchard is also tagged in. Hawk goes to press Blanchard but Anderson knocks him down with a kick to the back of his knee. Blanchard starts to work on Hawk’s knee. He tags in Anderson who uses the ring post to keep working on Hawk’s knee. The action stays on the outside and Blanchard picks up a chair and smashes it down on Hawk’s knee. When they roll back into the ring, Anderson hits a DDT and tags in Blanchard. Blanchard tries to set in a figure four, but Hawk is able to fight out of it. Hawk keeps trying to fight back, bouncing around on one leg. Anderson is tagged in and keeps Hawk from making his own tag before tagging Blanchard back in. The figure four is locked in.

The tag is made to Anderson who tries over and over to pin Hawk’s shoulders down for the three count, but to no avail. Anderson goes to lift his body to slam it back down, but Hawk lifts his knees and crotches Anderson. Hawk is able to tag in Animal who hits a dropkick before going to run the ropes. Blanchard is able to trip Animal, giving Anderson a small advantage. Hawk chases Blanchard around the ring, and as they both run in, Blanchard sends the ref flying out onto the floor. Anderson is sent out to the floor also, and the Road Warriors double team to hit a double clothesline. Anderson ends up stuck in a Doomsday Device and the pin is made and the three count is made by a different referee. There is an issue in the ring with referees as we’re informed that a rule was broken when Anderson was thrown over the top rope, therefore meaning that the Road Warriors were disqualified. So the belts stayed on Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard.

That’s all she wrote for this week, and we’ll be back next week with more from Vintage Collection.