From the WWE Rumor Mill: Starrcade unlikely to air on the WWE Network

What's the story?

Wrestlingnewsworld.com is speculating that the upcoming WWE Starrcade event will not air on the WWE Network. The show, which takes its name from WCW's biggest annual show, is likely to be little more than a stacked SmackDown Live house show.

In case you didn't know...

The proud tradition of Starrcade stretches all the way back to 1983 when a bloody Ric Flair beat Harley Race inside a steel cage for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Starrcade went on to become the premier big show of WCW's calendar, playing host to some of the biggest moments in that promotion's history.

It was at Starrcade that Goldberg suffered the first loss of his career, where Sting finally overcame the nWo and where Norman Smiley defeated Meng for the WCW Hardcore Championship. The final Starrcade was held in 2000, with Scott Steiner defending the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Sid Vicious in the main event.

WCW died in 2001, and 16 years later WWE has decided to resurrect the long-dead event. On November 25, 2017, WWE will bring the concept back as a SmackDown Live-branded live event.

The heart of the matter

The general assumption was that WWE Starrcade would also broadcast on the WWE Network. The rumoured card for the show is stacked, with a number of championships on the line, and the prestige that comes with the name made this something of a no-brainer.

Tickets for the show have already gone on sale, and it seems as though WWE is selling tickets on both sides of the hard cam, leading many to claim that this cancels out the prospect of WWE filming the show for broadcast on the network.

The show is rumoured to be headlined by a WWE Championship match between Jinder Mahal and Shinsuke Nakamura, the two doing battle for the title inside a steel cage.

What's next?

Tickets for WWE Starrcade are still available, and if recent live event numbers are anything to go by then the show is unlikely to sell out. The show is scheduled to take place on November 25, from Starrcade's spiritual home of Greensboro, North Carolina.

Author's take

Starrcade being relegated to little more than a simple live show should come as no surprise in truth. WWE has long shown little regard for the history of WCW, so why would it change for its former competition's showcase event? In many ways, it would be more surprising if WWE decided to make a big song and dance about it.

The name is likely being used in the hope of driving up ticket sales.