Starrcade '89: Future Shock: WCW Turned Its Biggest Night Into a Tournament and Sting Won the Future

The opening tournament match establishes the format without overwhelming the audience. Scott Steiner takes most of the punishment, Doom use Nitron effectively around ringside and Rick's hot tag gives the match the burst of energy it needs. The physical style suits both teams even when the control work becomes repetitive.

The countout finish is clearly designed around the point system. All four men brawl on the floor, Rick returns before ten and the Steiners receive fifteen points without Doom taking a pin. It is a functional tournament opener rather than a major tag-team showcase, but the result teaches the audience immediately that different kinds of victories will matter later.

Sting starts aggressively and spends much of the first half making Luger chase the match. Crossbodies, dropkicks and quick punches keep the pace high, while Luger's power offense gives the bout an obvious contrast once he finally takes control. The two feel like major stars even when some transitions are awkward.

The ending is appropriately heelish but not especially smooth. Luger catches Sting in an awkward tumble near the ropes and uses the ropes for leverage to secure the pin. The twenty points matter, and Sting is protected by the cheating, but the finish keeps the match from reaching the level their rivalry would later achieve.

Doom and the Road Warriors begin with the obvious power exchanges, and the crowd responds whenever Hawk and Animal refuse to be bullied. Doom's control section is basic but credible, with Simmons and Reed using heavy strikes and shortcuts to keep Hawk isolated. The match never becomes bad; it simply settles into familiar heavyweight tag work.

Animal's hot tag improves the final minutes. The ring fills, Hawk comes off the top with a clothesline to break up a piledriver attempt and Animal gets the pin. The finish is cleaner than the opening tag match and eliminates Doom from realistic contention, but the bout remains more useful to the standings than memorable on its own.

The first minute promises something excellent. Muta attacks with speed, hits the handspring elbow and forces Flair to respond with chops, a knee breaker and the Figure Four. The contrast between Muta's movement and Flair's targeting could easily support a major singles match.

Instead, outside activity with Gary Hart, Buzz Sawyer, Dragonmaster and the Andersons creates a distraction, Muta misses the moonsault and Flair catches him with an inside cradle in under two minutes. The clean pin gives Flair twenty points and ends Muta's protected run in startling fashion. Historically important, competitively frustrating and far too short to satisfy.

This is the tag tournament's most appealing matchup because the power feels legitimate on both sides. Hawk and Animal throw Scott around with presses, clotheslines and suplexes, while the Steiners answer with belly-to-belly throws and increasingly desperate saves. The compact runtime prevents the hoss-fight concept from becoming repetitive.

The finish is unusual but effective. Animal and Hawk hit a modified Doomsday-style combination, but Scott manages to keep one shoulder up while Animal's shoulders remain down during the suplex position. The Steiners score the pin and gain twenty points. The crowd is oddly subdued, yet the match gives the younger team a meaningful victory over an established powerhouse.

Sting and Muta are naturally compatible, even on a night when the crowd is quieter than it was for their summer matches. Muta works the eyes and controls the pace with holds, while Sting answers with power, a press slam and quick bursts of offense. Both wrestlers know the loser is effectively finished in the standings, which gives the match useful urgency.

Muta misses the moonsault but lands on his feet, catches Sting with a spinning kick and climbs again. Sting leaps up with a dropkick and follows with a superplex for the clean pin. It is not their definitive match, but the finish is strong and Sting's first twenty points set up the tournament's final act.

The heel-versus-heel dynamic leaves the crowd without anyone obvious to support, and the match suffers from that silence. Doom work another long control section while Fatu and Samoan Savage trade heavy strikes and headbutts without building much momentum. The physicality is credible, but the matchup feels like tournament obligation rather than attraction.

The finish is another protected piece of point management. Fatu and Reed collide heads, Oliver Humperdink pushes Fatu onto Reed and the Samoans steal the pin. Doom finish the tournament at zero points, while the replacement team suddenly enters the standings with twenty. The result matters more than the wrestling, which never escapes the flat atmosphere.

Flair and Luger use the tournament format better than anyone else on the card. Flair controls much of the early match with chops, arm work and repeated attempts to keep Luger from unleashing his power, while Luger gradually turns the final third into a race. The crowd becomes fully invested once the time limit is close enough to matter.

The last five minutes are excellent. Luger catches Flair coming off the top, Flair survives near falls and the champion finally hooks the Figure Four with seconds remaining. Luger hangs on until the time expires, giving both men five points. The draw protects both stars without feeling like an escape because the entire match has been built toward the clock.

The early comedy with Rick Steiner barking and antagonizing the Samoans gives the crowd something to enjoy, but the match becomes much slower once Scott is isolated. Fatu and Samoan Savage use headbutts, chokes and basic control while the Steiners wait for the late surge the standings require.

Scott eventually hits the Frankensteiner and Rick receives the hot tag, but the finish undercuts the momentum. Scott throws a Samoan over the top rope and the team is disqualified, giving the Samoans ten points while leaving the Steiners at thirty-five. The scenario matters, yet the DQ feels engineered for the scoreboard rather than earned by the wrestling.

Luger sells the damage from Flair's Figure Four and gives Muta an obvious target from the opening minutes. Muta attacks the knee relentlessly with kicks, a half crab and the Muta Lock, while Luger tries to survive long enough to secure the points he needs. The strategy is logical even when the pace becomes methodical.

Luger eventually fights back, but the injured leg prevents the Torture Rack. Muta chooses to spit green mist into Luger's face and deliberately takes the disqualification, giving Luger ten points. The finish preserves Muta from a third pin while confirming his winless night. It is sound tournament storytelling, though the crowd never fully embraces the heel-versus-heel dynamic.

The final tag-tournament match should feel like a climax because the Road Warriors need a pin or submission to win the standings. Instead, the teams rush through a short bout with several awkward collisions and little sense that either side has already wrestled multiple times. The crowd recognizes the stakes but the action never matches them.

Animal and Fatu appear to get crossed up on a headbutt sequence, and the bout never fully recovers. Hawk eventually comes off the top with the flying clothesline for the pin and the Road Warriors finish with forty points. The correct team wins, but the tournament championship arrives through one of the weakest matches on the card.

The final singles match succeeds because every result matters. Luger is already sitting on thirty-five points, so Sting needs a pin or submission and Flair needs a decisive win of his own. Their friendly opening gradually becomes sharper as Flair realizes Sting is a genuine threat, allowing the match to foreshadow the rivalry that will define 1990.

Flair attacks the leg, Sting survives the Figure Four attempts and the clock becomes more urgent with every exchange. With seconds remaining, Flair goes back to the injured knee and takes too long setting up another Figure Four. Sting counters into a small package and gets the pin.

The victory gives Sting forty points and the tournament. Arn and Ole Anderson join Flair in congratulating him, creating the temporary Horsemen alliance that will soon implode over Sting's world-title opportunity. The match is excellent on its own and even better as a bridge into WCW's next major story.