The beloved tradition of wrestling on Christmas Day had existed prior to WCW’s advent. The promotion took the concept mainstream after it arrived on the wrestling map in 1988. While Starrcade had been the promotion’s premiere holiday event since the NWA days, the advent of Monday Nitro enabled the promotion to showcase matches on December 25.
Stars like Ric Flair, Sting and even Jushin “Thunder” Liger from New Japan put on some great matches for holiday spirit as WCW continued to assert its dominancy over rival WWF (now WWE) well before the term Monday Night Wars came to be. That being said, let’s take a look at some of the best WCW holiday season matches:
Lord Steve Regal vs. Dean Malenko (TV Title Match – December 23, 1996)
WCW in 1996 was stacked with talent from top to bottom. You had excellent workers like Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, William Regal, and Dean Malenko all under the same roof. It’s a shame the brass didn’t push these men – prompting them to leave the promotion for greener pastures.
Speaking of Regal and Malenko, these two men had some excellent bouts over the WCW World Television Title in 1996. One of their outings came two days before Christmas. If you haven’t watched the match, go out of your way to check it out on the WWE Network.
Flyin’ Brian vs. Jushin Liger (WCW House Show – 1991)
North American wrestling fans were introduced to a new wave of international stars during the later eighties and early nineties. These men weren’t unlike fans had seen in the ring before. They had the perfect combination of strength and agility.
One such performer that caught fan attention during this period was the charismatic Jushin “Thunder” Liger. The NJPW sensation battled Flyin Brian (aka Brian Pillman) at a WCW house show in 1991.
Thankfully, we have fan footage of the classic between the two revolutionaries. Both men went back and forth for nearly 15 minutes – putting on a performance for the ages at a time when matches like this were unheard of.
Jushin Liger & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas (WCW & NWA Tag Team Title Match – December 29, 1992)
After putting a series of critically-acclaimed matches against Pillman, Liger returned to the states the following year. The charismatic light heavyweight brought along with him a friend in Kensuke Sasaki.
They challenged then-WCW and NWA World Tag Team Champions Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas for their titles at several house show matches in before and after Starrcade ’92. However, championship (or Christmas) luck wasn’t on their side, as they failed to capture the titles.
Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (Monday Nitro December 25, 1995)
Ric Flair and Randy Savage had many legendary battles across different promotions during the nineties. The Macho Man reignited his feud with the Nature Boy when he jumped ship from WWE to WCW in 1994.
Both men headlined the Christmas Day edition of Monday Nitro the following year. While this match was a far cry from their earlier battles, it still made for a decent main event in front of a lively Georgia crowd.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (December 21, 1998)
Eddie Guerrero versus Rey Mysterio is one of the greatest cruiserweight rivalries of all time. Both men stole the show whatever card they were on during their time together in WCW. One of their great outings came during the holiday season in December 1998.
While their Halloween Havoc ’97 match was much better, this match deserves to be put on this list because of the sheer fact that it got 16 minutes on a night where you had Goldberg versus Scott Hall in the main event.
Also read: Macho Man Randy Savage’s Best Matches In WCW
