Starrcade: A Flair For the Gold, held Thanksgiving night in 1983, was the original professional wrestling “supercard.” A sold out Greensboro Coliseum, as well s closed circuit audiences in theaters across the Southern United States, witnessed a great night of action. It was on this night that Harely Race passed the torch as the face of the National Wrestling Alliance to Ric Flair, losing the NWA World Championship to Flair in the main event. This was a turning point in Flair’s career. It was with this particular reign, his second, that Flair was considered a legitimate, long term World Champion. However, there was another match on this night of great action that was arguably as important to the future of pro wrestling: the first ever dog collar match between Greg Valentine and Roddy Piper.
Throughout the late 1970 and early 1980, both Valentine and Piper had sever reigns as United States Champion. With both men having a series of classic feuds for the title over the years with a variety of opponents, it was only natural that eventually the two men would clash with each other over the belt.
Valentine, who at that time was considered arguably the greatest US Champion of all time, had one of his many reigns ended by Roddy Piper. Valentine challenged Piper in a rematch soon after and won the belt in brutal fashion. Hitting Piper in the ear with the ring bell, Piper was cut so badly the referee stopped the match, awarding the win, along with the title, to Greg Valentine. Piper sought revenge and challenged Valentine to a match the world had never seen before, the Dog Collar Match. The match would be unveiled for the first time at Starrcade.
As a new type of match, fans didn’t know what to expect from the two men. The only thing they were assured of was that it would be brutal. On that count, Greg Valentine and Roddy Piper did not disappoint.
As the match began, both men stood in the center of the ring, dog collars strapped around their necks with a long length of chain connecting the two combatants. Each man tried to gain an early advantage, whipping their head from side to side, trying to injure the other’s neck in a test of wills. As the early stages of the match, the two wrestlers slowly made their way towards each other, each man pulling on the chain, shortening the distance between their collars. It was Piper who first used the chain to his advantage, slowly collecting a long length of it in his hand as they neared each other and using it to whip Valentine in the head.
From that point on, the match was non stop brutality. Valentine and Piper took turns pummeling each other with their fists, as well as using the chain as a weapon. They both got creative with the unusual weapon, wrapping it around their opponents, throat, eyes, mouth, nose and anything else they could think of. They pulled their opponent towards them by yanking on the chain. They wrapped the chain around their hand and beat their opponent senseless. Throughout the duration of the match,m the chain was always a main element of the story.
The story telling in this match is what raises it from the level of just a brutal match, to a truly great one. With the vast amounts of blood spilt in this match, it would have been remembered for sheer violence alone. However, not only is this one of the most hard hitting matches of all time, it is also a terrific example of ring psychology and in-ring story telling.
In the events leading up to the feud, Valentine had repeatedly assaulted Roddy Pper’s ear. It was the bell shot to the ear that had won Valentine the US Title in the first place, and this back story would play a huge part in this match. As soon as the opportunity arose, Greg Valentine assaulted Piper’s injured ear, busting him open and drenching one half of his head in blood. Bu it wasn’t just the blood that played a factor in this contest. With his ear injured, Piper’s equilibrium was compromised, and he had trouble standing and keeping his balance in the later stages of the match. Valentine had a game plan and it was an effective one.
Match psychology and the wrestling staple of working on a particular body part and selling that injury are rarely seen in a match of this type. In 1983, there were few wrestlers at the top of their game like Greg Valentine and Roddy Piper. The fans came to see a war, and they certainly got that. Piper flailed the chain like a wild man, punishing Valentine with blow after blow with the weapon. Valentine attacked Piper’s ear with a single mindedness bordering on sinister. Each man played to his strengths, each man was hard hitting as well as creative. Even the finish of the match used the chain to it’s full advantage. Piper, who had been beaten down and nearly defeated several time by this point, yanked on the chain, pulling Valentine off of the top turnbuckle. Valentine hit hard and Piper whipped him with a chain like a wild man. He then wrapped the chain around Valentine’s legs, using the extra leverage to secure the pinfall.
After the match, Valentine attacked Piper with the chain again, setting up a string of rematches. None of the subsequent matches were at the level of this first one, but considering the amount of pure brutality they inflicted on each other at Starrcade, there was no way their bodies could have survived this kind of punishment on a nightly basis.
The Dog Collar match between Piper and Valentine is a rare example of a savage, brutal gimmick match done correctly. Yes, there was a vast amount of blood and hard hitting action in this match, but that is the easy part. All it takes to achieve that is two men willing to put their bodies on the line for the sake of their performance. This dog collar match is so much more than that. Piper and Valentine were violent and brutal, but they were also master story tellers. The crowd erupted for this entire match. The energy and the emotion is plainly evident, even viewing it now, almost 30 years later. Piper’s thirst for revenge still resonates in this match. Valentine’s desperate attempt to injure Piper’s ear and end his challenge still shines through. It is a performance that set the standard for masterfully told stories of brutality, raw emotion and pure hatred. It set the stage for every match of it’s type to come after it, most notably the famous “I Quit” match between Tully Blanchard and Magnum TA two years later.
These two men had a fantastic match on that night. They were as vicious and destructive as two men in a wrestling men had ever been. But they also told a story in that match. A story that has withstood the test of time to this day.
