10 Amazing WCW Starrcade Moments WWE Should Take Inspiration From
4. Collared
When older fans speak fondly of southern wrestling's guts and glory before Vince McMahon's 1984 expansion presented a family-friendly version of the product as the norm, it's matches such as Roddy Piper and Greg Valentine's majestic Dog Collar showdown they think of.
A blood feud in every sense of the word, the feud between the future WWE stars reached a final end at Starrcade '84 as the plucky Piper fought without full use of his left ear after a brutal assault from Valentine at the conclusion of their match the prior April.
Shackled to his bitter rival as he was, the 'Hot Scot' took every opportunity to bludgeon 'The Hammer' after Valentine persistently targeted the aural injury. Barely able to stand through exhaustion and lack of balance, Piper was magnificent selling the physical and emotional scars of war, desperately wrapping the chain around Greg's legs to suppress him enough to score the win.
Bitter in defeat, Valentine attacked in the aftermath, but only select house show crowds would see their very last battles. McMahon had kept an eye on Piper's outstanding heel and babyface work throughout his lengthy spell on the NWA territorial circuit, affording him a WWE debut less than two months after the historic and bloody affair.