A month after WCW officially came to be, one of the greatest Starrcade matches of all-time took place at The Scope in Norfolk, Virginia, pitting heavyweight powerhouse, Lex Luger, against the Champion of the World, Ric Flair. The history between the two dated back to Lugers membership in the esteemed Four Horsemen stable. When the former (American) football player was unceremoniously ousted from the group, he was set on a collision course with Naitch. For much of 1988, they clashed over the World Heavyweight title, seemingly putting Luger in position to take the torch from Flair at the biggest show of the year. It was only by a fishy ruling from an official that Lex did not win the title at The Great American Bash that summer. Luger dominated that match, leaving the impression that it was only a matter of time before he captured the gold. Starrcade set the stage for their blow off bout. It sure was a classic In reality, Flair provided Luger with the ultimate teacher. They had incredible chemistry and, contrary to what the world most prominently saw from Lex in the mid-to-late 1990s (after an injury stripped him of a lot of his physical gifts), Luger was a quick study. It took very little time for The Total Package to live up to his nickname. Those were the days when Flair best exemplified his reputation for being able to have a 5-star match with a broomstick but he merely had to guide Lex rather than carry him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2hhDS-XNnA Back then, as the match at Starrcade was approaching its climax, it felt like we were witnessing the dawn of a new era in NWA/WCW. If ever Flair was poised to drop the belt to a successor as of 1988, it seemed like Luger would be the perfect fit. Lex was young, talented, charismatic, and a very good wrestler with a great work ethic. Yet, his leg gave out on him as he was going for his homerun shot and Flair fell right on top of him for the pin and the win. The Nature Boy lived to defend the title another day.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
