Aspersions were cast on the inclusion of The Butcher (Ed Leslie) in the main event, which was seen as a political maneuver on the part of Hulk Hogan (Leslie's real-life best friend). The match was received negatively by industry journalists, with Wade Keller calling it "one of the low points of WCW".
WCW closed in 2001, and all rights to their television and pay-per-view shows – including the Starrcade series – were bought by WWE. In 2015, all WCW pay-per-views were made available on the WWE Network.
The Honky Tonk Man was originally advertised for the show, scheduled to challenge Johnny B. Badd for the WCW World Television Championship but was fired by WCW's Eric Bischoff only days prior to the show for refusing to put over Johnny B. Badd. Instead WCW chose Arn Anderson to replace the Honky Tonk Man, wrestling and losing to Johnny. At the time of the show Harlem Heat had won the WCW World Tag Team Championship prior to the show, but the match had not been broadcast on television yet so Harlem Heat were not presented as the champions. This would be the last appearance in WCW of Jean-Paul Levesque, he would move to the WWF in 1995 and become Hunter Hearst Helmsley, a snobby aristocrat character.
Reception
The involvement of The Butcher (Ed Leslie) in the main event of WCW's flagship pay-per-view garnered particular criticism. Stuart Carapola of PWInsider wrote that "Starrcade 1994 saw [Hulk] Hogan defend the WCW World Title against his best friend [Leslie], who leapfrogged over everyone else in WCW despite being badly out of shape and greatly diminished from the wrestler he was."[1]Wade Keller reported that Leslie's main event positioning was viewed as the result of Hogan making "a political move to help a buddy, not doing what was best for business".[2] Keller called the match "awful", "one of the low points of WCW", and a "sharp turn away" from the "good pay-per-view main events" that the company was then known for presenting, while noting that Leslie "wasn't over".[2]
Dave Meltzer awarded the Hogan vs. Butcher match ¾ of a star out of a possible five: no match on the card received a rating higher than 2¼ stars.[3] In reviewing the event, Scott Keith of 411Mania wrote: "Welcome to rock bottom, as Hogan's egomania results in the main event of the biggest WCW show of the year involving [Ed Leslie]." He cautioned viewers to watch at their "own risk", while offering the "strongest recommendation to avoid."[4]
^Keith, Scott (August 6, 2002). "Starrcade 94". 411Mania. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
^Cawthon, Graham (2014). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 4: World Championship Wrestling 1989-1994. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN978-1499656343.
^"Starrcade 1994". Pro Wrestling History. December 27, 1994. Retrieved August 29, 2015.