December 1995 WCW Recap: World Cup of Wrestling

Starrcade 1995 closes out the year with WCW facing New Japan and another new World Champion is crowned. Full recap, thoughts, and match recommendations inside!

WCW and NJPW faced off in a Best of Seven Series at Starrcade

Get caught up on the 1995 WCW Journey.

Recap

The month of December began with an announcement of the World Cup of Wrestling at Starrcade, pitting WCW versus New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The New Japan talent continued to be featured mainly on secondary shows in the buildup to the event. The World Cup was a seven-match series at Starrcade. Jushin Liger put NJPW up 1-0, defeating Chris Benoit after Kevin Sullivan came out yelling about The Horsemen. Koji Kanemoto doubled up NJPW’s lead to 2-0, beating Alex Wright. Lex Luger got WCW on the board with a win over Masahiro Chono, and then Johnny B. Badd scored a DQ win over Masa Saito to make it 2-2. Shinjiro Otani outwrestled Eddie Guerrero to give NJPW a 3-2 edge. However, Randy Savage got in the zone and tied things up 3-3, beating Hiroyoshi Tenzan. The final came down to Sting and Kensuke Sasaki, with Sting getting the win and WCW prevailing.

December 1995 WCW

Outside of the World Cup of Wrestling, the month revolved around WCW World Champion Randy Savage, with Sting, Lex Luger, and Ric Flair in contention. A Triangle Match was set for Starrcade, with the winner getting an immediate shot at Savage. Following their action to end November, Hulk Hogan and The Giant were placed on probation. On the December 4 Nitro, Lex challenged Savage for the World Title. Flair KO’d Savage, and Hogan went after Flair for a DQ. Hogan wound up hitting Sting by mistake, but they managed to deescalate the situation. Hogan and Sting teamed up against Arn and Flair. The match was in Horsemen country, resulting in a lot of boos for Hogan and a rare amount for Sting as well. Lex Luger snuck out and racked Hogan, leaving Sting all on his own. Lex then helped Sting against The Horsemen. Sting and Savage got into it as well. Tensions were high, with everyone chasing Savage’s World Title.

Savage defended the title against The Giant on the final Nitro before Starrcade. Hogan went after Giant with a chair again and was upset about everyone else getting title shots but him. He and Savage agreed to face off after Starrcade. At Starrcade, Ric Flair managed to defeat Lex Luger and Sting when both were out of the ring, and Luger prevented Sting from breaking the count. Lex claimed his knee was hurt and just wanted Sting’s help. Flair moved right into a World Title match against Randy Savage. Flair bled a lot in this match. The Horsemen got involved, with Arn knocking out Savage, and Ric Flair was once again the World Champion. After beginning the year retired, Flair was back on top to close out the year.

Other developments included Jumpin’ Joey Maggs scoring a big upset win over Diamond Dallas Page after Max Muscle messed up. Maggs was now being managed by Teddy Long. DDP blamed the loss on Max and turned on him. Dean Malenko continued to pile up wins. Col. Parker proposed to Sister Sherri. Harlem Heat continued picking up wins as World Tag Team Champions. Johnny B. Badd remained World TV Champion. Kensuke Sasaki was still US Champion. Man of Question was now going by Hugh Morrus and was in the Dungeon of Doom. The Blue Bloods added Jeeves as a manager. Kevin Sullivan confronted The Four Horsemen about having a “loose cannon” on their ship. Arn Anderson warned Sullivan that if he comes looking for Pillman, he might find him.

Thoughts

While I like the concept of the World Cup of Wrestling, I didn’t really think much of the build. The New Japan involvement was mainly limited to the secondary shows, and making it Japan versus America was an unfortunate choice. More and more, it feels like the crowds just want to cheer for good wrestling. The interplay between Savage, Sting, Flair, and Luger was serviceable but a bit messy overall. It helped cover up for Savage and get the belt onto Flair, a move that definitely seemed out of left field with how the year had been going.

The influx of talent marked a shift in the secondary shows in terms of competitive matches. Even a lot of the shorter matches, which were typically formulaic squash matches, are more competitive now.

Eddie Guerrero might be a very generic babyface, but there’s a charm to him, and he’s catching on with the fans. The little feud with The Horsemen has been good for him.

The Horsemen have lost a lot of matches since being put back together, but they’ve helped keep the overall quality of the TV high. Whenever they can get slotted in the mix as the heels opposite Hogan, Sting, Savage, etc., it’s welcomed.

Lex Luger may have turned heel, but the Torture Rack has not. WCW fans LOVE the rack.

Recommendations

Full credit to everyone out there who makes all of this accessible.

• American Males v Shinjiro Otani & Koji Kanemoto (Dec. 2 Worldwide)

• VK Wallstreet v Jim Duggan + post-match (Dec. 2 Saturday Night)

• Gene interviews Ric Flair & Charles Barkley (Dec. 4 Nitro #14)

• World TV Title Johnny B. Badd v Disco Inferno (Dec. 9 Saturday Night)

• Eddie Guerrero v Big Bubba (Dec. 9 Saturday Night)

• Eddie Guerrero vs. Mr. JL (Dec. 11 Nitro #15 )

• Horsemen interview (Dec. 11 Nitro #15)

• Hulk Hogan & Sting vs. Arn Anderson & Ric Flair + post-match (Dec. 11 Nitro #15) (1,2)

• Mr. JL v Koji Kanemoto (Dec. 16 Worldwide)

• Randy Savage interview (Dec. 16 Worldwide)

• Super Assassins v State Patrol (Dec. 16 Worldwide)

• Ric Flair promo on Starrcade (Dec. 16 Saturday Night)

• Eddie Guerrero v Jerry Lynn (Dec. 16 Saturday Night)

• Lex Luger squash + promo (Dec. 16 Saturday Night)

• Eddie Guerrero vs. Ric Flair (Dec. 18 Nitro #16)

• Kevin Sullivan confronts Arn Anderson over that loose cannon Brian Pillman (Dec. 18 Nitro #16)

• World Heavyweight Title Randy Savage (c) vs. The Giant + post-match with Hogan (Dec. 18 Nitro #16)

• Heenan gets a Christmas gift for Tony (Dec. 23 Worldwide)

• American Males v Men At Work (Dec. 23 Saturday Night)

• World Heavyweight Title Randy Savage (c) vs. Ric Flair (Dec. 25 Nitro #17) (1, 2)

• Jushin Liger vs. Chris Benoit (Dec. 27 Starrcade)

• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Koji Kanemoto (c) vs. Alex Wright (Dec. 27 Starrcade)

• Eddie Guerrero vs. Shinjiro Otani (Dec. 27 Starrcade)

• Bobby Heenan drops his papers (Dec. 27 Starrcade)

• Sting vs. Kensuke Sasaki (Dec. 27 Starrcade)

Wrestler of the Month: Eddie Guerrero
Match of the Month: Eddie Guerrero vs. Shinjiro Otani (Dec. 27 Starrcade)
Promo of the Month: Ric Flair promo on Starrcade