WWE Starrcade live results: Two steel cage matches
Submitted by Donovan Finan
The U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio hosted WWE Starrcade 2018 on Saturday night. A one-hour special of the event will air on the WWE Network at 8 p.m. Eastern time tonight.
– Elias was in the ring performing and then brought Ric Flair out. Flair mostly flirted with women in the front row until Nia Jax, Tamina, Alicia Fox, and Mickie James came out. Jax had a lot of heat. Sasha Banks, Bayley, Ember Moon, and Dana Brooke eventually came out as well.
– Sasha Banks, Bayley, Ember Moon & Dana Brooke defeated Nia Jax, Tamina, Alicia Fox & Mickie James
They had a short house show-style match where Banks submitted Fox with the Banks Statement. Bayley got the best reaction of the babyfaces.
– Drew McIntyre defeated Finn Balor
Pretty good match. McIntyre won with the Claymore Kick in about 10 minutes. Balor got a big reaction and was the most over face on the first half of the show. Dolph Ziggler was ringside and interfered a few times.
– The B-Team defeated The Revival
They had a short match, ending when Curtis Axel pinned Dash Wilder with a sunset flip.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus defeated The New Day to retain their titles
The Bar retained with a Brogue Kick in about eight minutes. This was mostly a comedy match.
– Baron Corbin issued an open challenge since Braun Strowman (his scheduled opponent) couldn’t be there. Bray Wyatt answered to a big reaction, getting tons of “fireflies.”
– Bray Wyatt defeated Baron Corbin
Corbin stalled a lot. They ended up having about a five-minute match that Wyatt won with a roll-up, but Corbin ordered the match to be started again as no DQ and then brought out Ziggler and McIntyre.
– Bray Wyatt defeated Baron Corbin in a no DQ match
Elias and Balor made the save and Wyatt ended up hitting Corbin with Sister Abigail. They forgot it was technically a match and had to roll Corbin back in the ring for the pin.
– Charlotte Flair defeated Asuka
They had a pretty good match. Charlotte won with a small package in about 10 minutes. They did a babyface match and then embraced after.
– Shinsuke Nakamura and Rey Mysterio appeared on Miz TV. Mysterio was wearing a neck brace to sell the attack from Randy Orton on SmackDown. The Miz asked why he was here instead of recovering at home, and Mysterio talked about how important Starrcade is to him because it was the first place he saw his heroes like Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Sting, and Eddie Guerrero. There was a big “Eddie” chant.
Miz and Mysterio ended up getting in each other’s faces and Nakamura attacked Mysterio from behind to start the match.
– Rey Mysterio defeated United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura by DQ
Less than two minutes in, Mysterio took out Miz with a dive after Nakamura moved. Miz broke up a 619 attempt for the DQ. Rusev came out and made the save, with this being turned into a tag team match.
– Rey Mysterio & Rusev defeated United States Champion Shinsuke Nakamura & The Miz
Mysterio and Rusev won in about five minutes after a 619 and a Machka Kick on Miz. There were big “Rusev Day” chants throughout.
– WWE showed highlights of Sting vs. Flair from Starrcade 1989 while the cage was put up.
– AJ Styles defeated Samoa Joe in a steel cage match
Styles won in about 12 minutes with the Calf Crusher. Joe had the rope break, but Styles wouldn’t let the hold go since it was no DQ. Good match, though they didn’t incorporate the cage too much.
– Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defeated Dean Ambrose in a steel cage match to retain his title
Rollins retained after escaping the cage. It was a great match and went about 20 minutes. The crowd was hot for both guys, especially Ambrose since the show was in his hometown.
They used the cage a lot, along with a kendo stick that Rollins brought in. Ambrose seemed to be playing the cowardly heel. He begged off, raked the eyes, and tried to escape as much as possible. Definitely match of the night.