[gigya src=”http://straightshoot.podomatic.com/swf/joeplayer_v20a.swf” object width=”620″ height=”85″ wmode=”transparent” menu=”false” movie=”http://straightshoot.podomatic.com/swf/joeplayer_v20a.swf” flashvars=minicast=false&jsonLocation=http%3A%2F%2Fstraightshoot.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2014-05-14T21_13_26-07_00%3Fcolor%3Df8ae06%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26facebook%3Dtrue%26height%3D85%26minicast%3Dfalse%26objembed%3D1%26width%3D620″ allowFullscreen=”true” allowscriptaccess=”always” flashvars=”minicast=false&jsonLocation=http%3A%2F%2Fstraightshoot.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2014-05-14T21_13_26-07_00%3Fcolor%3Df8ae06%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26facebook%3Dtrue%26height%3D85%26minicast%3Dfalse%26objembed%3D1%26width%3D620″ wmode=”transparent” menu=”false” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” version=”10.0.0″ width=”620″ height=”85″]

It’s time for some Chi-Town Heat, daddy, as the throwback edition of The World’s Smartest Rasslin Talk Show, STRAIGHT SHOOT RETRO, takes on Starrcade 1987, this Wednesday, May 14, 2014 at 9pmET/6pmPT!

If you want to join in the fun, just watch the pay-per-view ahead of time on the WWE Network, then show up ready to watch co-host Jeff Schiller and I opine, query and jape our way through Starrcade 1987. And of course, you know we’ll crown THE GREATEST WRESTLER OF ALL TIME…OF THE WEEK! Start RSVPing and submitting your questions now!

Ways to watch/listen are below. Scroll down for more information on Starrcade 1987.

• Right here, on this very page, live or after-the-fact, through the embedded YouTube video right up above
• Over at the official Google Hangout event page, where you can watch live and even ask questions.
• On my official YouTube channel, where the video will continue to live after the event. Make sure to SUBSCRIBE.
• The morning after, via audio-only podcast versions of the show embedded above or on iTunes, Stitcher and PodOmatic.

STRAIGHT SHOOT is completely free for you to enjoy, but in the words of the illustrious Mr. Austin, they keep sending those gimmicks in the mail called bills! Here are three easy ways to help support The World’s Smartest Rasslin Talk Show…

• Do all your regular Amazon shopping through our Amazon Associate link.
• Sign up for a FREE audiobook and 30-day membership with Audible, where you can listen to more than 150,000 audiobooks.
• Become a Straight Shoot patron at Patreon, where you can pledge as little as $1/episode and even set a monthly cap on your donations.
• If all that sounds like too much work, consider donating via Paypal.

When deciding which pay-per-view to cover after our show on WrestleMania III, we here at STRAIGHT SHOOT RETRO had an important choice to make: Starrcade 1987 or Survivor Series 1987. Why is that, you ask? Because they both took place at the exact same time, on Thanksgiving night, November 26, 1987.

After the colossal success of WrestleMania III, the folks down in the NWA were really starting to get wary, as it looked like Vince McMahon might succeed in his national expansion of WWF – truly, he kind of already had at this point. Still, the NWA wasn’t going to go under without a fight, and as a result, Jim Crockett Promotions (arguably the most powerful group in the waning NWA, and the force behind all previous Starrcades) purchased the Universal Wrestling Federation from promoter Bill Watts, best known for running the Mid-South territory that spawned stars like Junkyard Dog, Ted DiBiase and many more.

But just expanding their roster wasn’t enough for JCP, as they also wanted to make continued efforts at their own national expansion. This meant that not only was Starrcade 1987 the first NWA event to take place above the Mason-Dixon line (in Chicago, Illinois), but it was also the first Starrcade to be offered via pay-per-view. That, however, brought significant problems their way…

Having offered The Wrestling Classic and WrestleMania on pay-per-view, McMahon had already staked his claim to the burgeoning platform, and didn’t take kindly to the NWA trying to cut in. As a result, he scheduled a brand new pay-per-view concept, Survivor Series, set to debut on the very same night as Starrcade 1987.

McMahon then took it a step further, telling cable companies that if they aired Starrcade 1987, he wouldn’t allow them access to WrestleMania IV. As a result, most cable providers acquiesced and agreed to drop Starrcade 1987 from their line-up, leading to what Wrestling Observer estimates to be about 20,000 pay-per-view buys, in conjunction with 8,000 in live attendance, which looks extra dismal when you compare it to WrestleMania III‘s record-breaking crowd.

All of that’s a shame, however, because with the absorption of Watts’ UWF, Starrcade 1987 featured an influx of new talent, including guys that would go on to become household names in WCW as well as WWF. We chose to do it next so we alternate WWF-WCW-WWF, and are pretty excited about it even if it does mean we have to watch another Skywalkers Match.

Check out the full card below…

• Eddie Gilbert, Rick Steiner & Larry Zbyszko with Baby Doll vs. Sting, Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin with Precious
• UWF Heavyweight Champion Steve Williams vs. Barry Windham
• The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) vs. The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane) with Jim Cornette & Big Bubba Rogers in a Skywalkers Match
• NWA World Television Champion Nikita Koloff vs. UWF World Television Champion Terry Taylor in a Unification Match
• NWA World Tag Team Champions Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs. The Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal) with Paul Ellering
• NWA United States Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger vs. Dusty Rhodes in a Steel Cage Match
• NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ron Garvin vs. Ric Flair in a Steel Cage Match