This Day in Wrestling History is an important one for a couple of reasons. While it makes Ric Flair’s second championship win in the NWA, it’s also important to note that the ’83 Starrcade was the first official pay-per-view.
It was Dusty Rhodes’ idea and served as inspiration for Vince McMahon’s WrestleMania two years later. It not only changed the wrestling landscape but paved the way for promotions to build for special events.
Making history
For Ric Flair, November 24, 1983 was another milestone on his path to becoming one of the greatest champions in history.
There was a possibility for some tension, but Harley Race came through as he did throughout his career. Special thanks to @awrestlinghistorian for the excerpt.
“Everyone backstage was nervous until Harley came in around five o’clock. I knew that he would. Yes, he didn’t want to lose the NWA title, and he realized that this was probably the last time he would have it. But he was such a man, and he didn’t have it inside him to stand up the NWA. I know that Jimmy Crockett offered him an extra $25,000 to show up and do the honors for me so he took it. Good for him. He ended up with an extra twenty-five grand, and he was still Harley Race.
“The theme of Starrcade ’83 was A Flair for the Gold. It was so different than the first time I had won the championship. Now it was my night. The fans were into everything I did. We fought in a cage, with former NWA Champion Gene Kiniski as the referee. Harley wanted a bit of an out when he lost so we had Kiniski fall on all fours in the ring. At that moment, I came off the ropes with a flying body press and hit Harley and he tumbled over Kiniski’s body. Gene crawled around and counted one…two…three!
“Several of the other good guys — Ricky Steamboat, Angelo Mosca, Jay Youngblood, Rufus R. Jones, and Johnny Weaver — ran into the cage and picked me up on their shoulders. The moment was planned, but I think a lot of these guys were genuinely happy for me. So were the fans. They stood up on their chairs and chanted, ‘Two! Two! Two!’ in tribute to my second reign.
“I have to admit, I was touched. Beth was brought into the ring, and she gave me a hug. There were tears mixing with the blood on my face when I told the fans, “This is the greatest night of my life. And thank you, thank you very much. This was real to me.” – Ric Flair, To Be The Man book.
Starrcade set the bar high for any following pay-per-views and it’s a classic that’s always worth watching. There are times where it’s more fun to watch history unfold and this day in wrestling history has so many of those moments.
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