[8.0] "Pretty solid go home show for Starrcade as the final matches are added to the card and it looks pretty stacked. Theres some good wrestling here with yet another great Eddie vs Benoit match with an amazing finish where Eddie turns in midair to get the frog splash. Mysterio vs JL had a lot of good stuff packed into a 6 minute match and Regal's run with the TV title gave us another unexpected gem against Dean Malenko where it ended in a time limit draw right when it looked like Malenko pulled off an upset. Unfortunately it also had a really bad Rick Stiener vs Jeff Jarrett match where Jarrett won by pinning nWo Sting? What? There's still some good nWo stuff as usual with a good surprise appearance from Roddy Piper where he brawls with almost all of them as the show ends."

[6.0] "Despite the show being live the night before Christmas eve, they really put zero effort into doing anything christmassy. Couldn't even be bothered to put a christmas tree in the entryway. Otherwise a decent and unremarkable show, but really should have been more considering it was both the Christmas episode and the Starrcade go home show."

[6.0] "Decent Nitro. I am still confused by the main event where Jeff Jarrett pinned nWo Sting to beat...Rick Steiner. Wow, that part was awful. The last call for Starrcade. Benoit and Guerrero pt on a great match, but the mystery surrounding Sting is still going strong, as Rey Mysterio weighs in on the matter, stating WCW attacked Sting last week and he reacted like any normal person would. Schiavone was started to come off as painfully stupid during those clips, which I agreed with Rey. The show closes with Eric Bischoff mocking Roddy Piper with Hogan, causing Piper to come out and get restrained by security."

[7.0] "actually one of the best nitro releases in a long time. There were good segments with the NWO, an appearance by Piper, and some good matches. Especially the first fight is good and the fight with Mysterio and Regal deserve attention."

[3.0] "An okay 1st half followed by a really poor 2nd half, with quite a few moronic/wasteful matches and angles). Eddie vs Benoit was quite a good opener, featuring great intensity, convincing technique, impressive athleticism, and of course strong chemistry. Not even the few stupid interruptions from Sullivan and DDP could overshadow their hard work. ***1/4 Arn's promo during Mean Gene's interview was typically gritty and convincing as usual, but Benoit's responding promo lost direction and lacked any real interest. Flair's insane charisma got them back on track, though. Hogan's promo that followed was mildly entertaining for being so arrogant and loud-mouthed (as usual). Tombstone vs Luger was a very mindless 'unathletic big-man' match, but Luger's goofy charisma remained somewhat of a charm. Inoffensive but still a waste of time. TS;NR (too short; no rating). Luger standing up to the nWo in the post-match was neat, hopefully hinting at him being one of the faces of the WCW resistance. Mysterio vs JL was okay for its time. There were naturally great stunts from Mysterio, with JL doing well to keep up with him while also playing the powerful heel in response. Good pace and good action the whole way. **3/4. Mysterio's babyface promo defending Sting from accusations of being nWo was a bit awkward and repetitive but still endearing, especially since Mysterio was the one Sting (supposedly only accidentally) attacked previously. Glacier vs Buddy was a typically cheesy 'kung fu' exhibition for Glacier, with him showing off a million 'cool moves' that had 0 build-up or proper timing. Still crazy how long he was built up for, only to do essentially nothing. TS;NR. Public Enemy vs The French Canadians was pretty low-effort and unengaging, and even the few high spots felt dull. Ended with a lame DQ finish, too. Again: wasted TV time. TS;NR. Konnan vs Bubba was pretty poor. It was a very basic but fine enough brawl, but then they decided to dedicate more time to the stupid 'corrupt nWo ref Patrick' story, with Hart getting ejected and Konnan losing by DQ. Very lame. *1/2. Regal vs Malenko was technically sound but dreadfully dry, since they put 0 effort into making any of their exchanges or spots mean anything, and quite a few of their more rapid exchanges were overly choreographed, too. Crowd didn't care 1 ounce, and I couldn't blame them. Not awful but definitely quite a time-waste. **. Rick Steiner vs Jarrett was legitimately one of the stupidest matches I've ever seen. Rick and Jarrett sloppily faced off for a bit, then nWo Sting ran out and got laid out, then Jarrett pinned *nWo Sting* and won the match... ? ? ? ? ? ? That was impressively idiotic. TS;NR. Hogan and Bischoff's segment parodying Piper desperately lacked energy and creativity. It was totally heatless -- just plain boring. Piper's eventual run-in led to very generic beatdown and brawl angle with the nWo and security to close the show, which was absolutely nothing new or intriguing story-wise."

[8.0] "The final push to Starrcade features a lot of great action. Eddie Guerrero put on a banger to start the show. I forgot ECW's 911 was in WCW as Tombstone, he gets beaten by Lex easy. Rey Mysterio vs Mr. JL was funny but not the best it could have been. Glacier is just awesome to see. The second hour is more story driven but I'm having fun. Regal and Malenko put on a grapplefest that I was so happy to see."

[9.0] "Man, love Nitro in this era. Not only is the build for Starrcade hot as hell, but you've got a fantastic Benoit/Eddie match, a great sprint between Mysterio and Jerry Lynn, and a pretty good Regal/Malenko match. Great time for wrestling."

[6.0] "The closing angle with Eric Bischoff and Hollywood Hogan is great, also a great cliffhanger with Roddy Piper. There are some good matches, Guerrero vs Benoit is really good, Regal vs Malenko is enjoyable and Rey Mysterio vs Mr. JL is short but good. The show is slow sometimes and maybe boring, but it's an acceptable episode."