The Good, Bad and Ugly: WWE Starrcade 2018 1-Hour Special

Bobby Fernandes tuned in for WWE Starrcade 2018, meaning it’s time for some Good, Bad, and Ugly!

Starrcade, once a historic event for WWE’s Competitors NWA/WCW, now being put back out as a WWE event.  This is a decent House Show style card, showcasing a lot of faces and variety.  We are definitely seeing a lot of the same feuds as of late, and a lot of randomness mixed in.  Note, the results are already known, however I am giving the Sunday Night 1 Hour Special the Good, Bad and Ugly Treatment.  Let us see how it faired.  Was it the Starrcade of old or an Ugly Spectacle?

The Good

Miz TV w/ Shinsuke Nakamura and Rey Mysterio

The Miz has become an important member of the WWE.  He is a must and carries a lot on his shoulders.  I used to hate him and thought he was extremely overrated.  Now it’s the opposite, he needs more, and should be used as a front man, a Champion.  Rey Mysterio got a great ovation as he should.  The neck brace is just stupid.  Honestly it isn’t needed and has no positive effect.  Shinsuke Nakamura w/ his Prince outfit and all, is still over.  It will never change.  He is just too good and makes it look so easy.  The promo was okay, but overall it was unnecessary.  Kind of funny, but overall nothing great.  Nakamura is getting better on the mic, and it was just a set up to a match.  Overall it served its purpose.

United States Championship Match:  Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Rey Mysterio

Nakamura having already beaten down an injured Rey Mysterio during the promo, continued his assault on Mysterio but Rey didn’t go down without a fight.  The action was decent.  Both men are well skilled and make this look easy.  With a 619 coming up, The Miz interfered causing a win for Rey Mysterio by DQ.  Rusev runs in for the save, leading to a tag team match.  On Rusev Day we have a Tag Match

Rey Mysterio and Rusev w/ Lana vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and The Miz

I really like these teams.  They match well and are interesting.  We didn’t see fireworks here.  It was a house show level tag match.  Nothing great, considering who was in it.  It wasn’t Bad though.  With this level of talent, it can’t be bad.  Rusev comes in full of fire, he really has great top level potential.  After many near falls, Rey Mysterio hits a double 619, followed by a Machka Kick to the Miz.  Rusev and Rey Mysterio Win!

Elias Concert w/ Special Guest The Nature Boy Ric Flair

We all love to Walk With Elias, he was on point as always tonight.  He is just pure entertainment.  He has gotten more over as of late, and seems to have a ton of a following.  You add Ric Flair who is pure Gold.  Not only does he have all of the NWA/WCW Cred a Pro Wrestler can have, but now he has returned to the first televised Starrcade in 18 years.  He is a multiple WWE Hall of Famer and has done it all.  He legit put Elias over as an endorsement from The Nature Boy is a gift!  Then out of nowhere the Nia Jax and company showed up and dampened our spirits, which is starting to become her thing.  Elias brought the Thunder and of course Ric Flair brought the Wooo!  Then the stinky cheese filled the arena and our ears as Nia Jax and her girls destroyed our stomachs.  Elias who I assume is a face now tells them to shut their mouth and announces Sasha Banks and Crew to lead to our Eight Women’s Tag Team Match.

The Bad

Sasha Banks, Bayley, Ember Moon, and Dana Brooke vs.  Nia Jax, Tamina, Alicia Fox, and Mickie James

Ember Moon looks good in there, she is really got a shot if used better by the writing team.  Dana Brooke looks to have improved immensely.  Mickie James on the other hand seems to still be underwhelming.  She is really getting slow and not doing well.  Tamina Snuka cannot do anything without it looking awkward.  She can’t strike, sell, do a promo, or even stand there without looking completely lost.  Tonight was no different.  Of course Bayley did well and Nia Jax seems to be handling the pressure well.  Alicia Fox needs to slow way down!  She is all over the place which is a shame.  She is like a chameleon full of 5 Hour Energy!  I’m exhausted.  Sasha Banks came in with the hot tag, and after a great showing of off the top dives from the whole group Sasha Banks Wins with the Bank Statement on Alicia Fox!  This was not Good, in fact this was plain old Bad.

Steel Cage Match:  AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe

As Samoa Joe said, they have done this over and over again.  I mean could they possibly do anything special here?  The pace was slow but Good.  It was physical.  These guys are true professionals.  Honestly, this match served no purpose but wasn’t Bad at first.  They did their job, and had an okay match.  Nothing stood out per usual.  We saw the same stuff we always see.  Which was the trend of the night.  Toward the end it got a little too slow and dare I say boring.  AJ Styles wins by Submission with the Calf Crusher.  This was unbelievably hard to watch at times.  The technique was good but the match was slow and boring.  This show was slow and boring.

The Ugly

This waste of time was only an hour long.  Why not show the whole show?  I have absolutely no idea.  I am pissed that they didn’t show the whole show even though I knew it was only an hour.  It is just absolutely stupid.  We I don’t have any other opinion about this crap except that I didn’t get to see the matches below.  Why?

• Intercontinental Championship:  Seth Rollins (c) vs. Dean Ambrose
• SmackDown Tag Team Championship:  The Bar (c) vs. New Day
• Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair
• Finn Balor vs. Drew McIntyre

Totals

• Good – 4
• Bad – 3
• Ugly – 4

Overall Assessment: Ugly

Overall this was a total waste of time.  I am left not happy at all with this overall Ugly Show.  Why have it at all? This was showing us a crap house show and only showing us a small part of it, skipping some possibly great footage.  From what I did see this was a horrendous show.  However if you are going to do it, do it all the way!  Until next time, have a good night, and for the love of all, keep watching!

What do you think about WWE Starrcade 2018?
Let us know on social media @theCHAIRSHOTcom and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!