Starrcade 1991 Starrcade Battlebowl ' 91 : The Lethal Lottery was the ninth annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay - per - view event . It was the fourth Starrcade event produced by World Championship Wrestling , and it took place on December 29 , 1991 from the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk , Virginia . The event solely featured the Battlebowl battle royal and its qualifying matches . Forty wrestlers were chosen at random to form ten pairs of tag teams . Each pair competed in a match , and the winning team advanced to Battlebowl . This was the first Starrcade event to not feature Ric Flair . Sting won Battlebowl , and his victory led to a feud with Lex Luger over the WCW World Heavyweight Championship . Background . Before Starrcade , Sting was in a feud with both Rick Rude and Lex Luger . On July 14 , Lex Luger won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship , and vacated the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship because of this . Sting won a tournament to become the new WCW United States Heavyweight Champion on August 25 , and this put Sting in contention for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship . Luger saw Sting as a threat , and had Abdullah The Butcher and Cactus Jack attempt to injure Sting . On October 27 , Rude made his debut , and he made Sting his first target . Finally , at Clash of the Champions XVII , Luger ambushed Sting , and injured his knee . This allowed Rude to win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship from Sting later that night . Event . The first match was between the team of Michael Hayes and Tracy Smothers and the team of Marcus Bagwell and Jimmy Garvin . The match started back and forth until Smothers missed an elbow drop on Bagwell . Garvin tagged in , and performed a back body drop . Bagwell tagged in , and performed a diving crossbody . Hayes came in , and attacked Garvin and Bagwell . Hayes and Garvin argued as Smothers performed a scoop slam , and attempted a splash . Bagwell raised his knees , and pinned Smothers after a fisherman suplex to win the match . The second match was between the team of Steve Austin and Rick Rude and the team of Van Hammer and Big Josh . Late in the match , Hammer and Josh had the advantage with Hammer performed a flying shoulder block to Austin . Rude tagged in , undetected by Hammer . After Hammer performed a back body drop to Austin , Rude performed a Rude Awakening to Hammer , and pinned him to win the match . The third match was between the team of Larry Zbyszko and El Gigante and the team of Dustin Rhodes and Richard Morton . Late in the match , Rhodes had the advantage over Zbyszko with a corner clothesline and a hip toss . Rhodes attempted a bulldog , but Zbyszko pushed him off . Gigante tagged in , and Zbyszko gave him orders . This caused Gigante to throw Zbyszko in , and he sent Zbyszko into a double dropkick by Rhodes and Morton . Rhodes then pinned Hayes to win the match . The fourth match was between the team of Diamond Dallas Page and Mike Graham and the team of Bill Kazmaier and Jushin Liger . Kazmaier had the advantage over Page with a gutwrench powerbomb . Page fought back after Kazmaier missed a diving headbutt , and applied the camel clutch . Liger tagged in , and performed a spinning heel kick to Page . Liger and Kazmaier had the advantage . After Liger performed a moonsault to Graham , Page and Kazmaier came in . Graham and Page were sent into each other , and Liger pinned Page after an aided crossbody to win the match . The fifth match was between the team of Lex Luger and Arn Anderson ( accompanied by Harley Race ) and the team of Terrance Taylor and The Z - Man . Taylor and The Z - Man had the early advantage until Race tripped The Z - Man , and Anderson performed a DDT . Luger and Anderson had the advantage over The Z - Man until Taylor tagged in , and attacked Luger and Anderson . Taylor had the advantage , and performed a gutwrench powerbomb to Luger . As Taylor ran into the ropes , Anderson attacked him with his knee , and Luger pinned him after an Attitude Adjustment to win the match . The sixth match was between the team of Ricky Steamboat and Todd Champion and the team of Cactus Jack and Buddy Lee Parker . After Parker was selected , he was attacked by Abdullah the Butcher in the locker room . The match started without Parker . After Steamboat and Jack went back and forth , Steamboat performed a suicide dive . Steamboat and Champion had the advantage until Jack fought back after an eye rake and an elbow drop from the apron . Parker crawled to the ring as Champion fought back with a scoop powerslam . Parker and Steamboat tagged in , and Steamboat performed a scoop powerslam . Steamboat then pinned Parker after a diving crossbody to win the match . The seventh match was between the team of Sting and Abdullah the Butcher and the team of Brian Pillman and Bobby Eaton . Before the match , Abdullah attacked Sting with a stick on the entrance ramp . Pillman attacked Abdullah as Eaton attacked Sting . The match started with Sting gaining the advantage with a flying clothesline to Eaton . Abdullah attacked Sting with a pencil until Pillman dropkick ed Abdullah . Sting attacked Eaton outside as Pillman performed a front powerslam and a splash to Abdullah . Sting and Eaton fought in the ring until Abdullah and Cactus Jack came in . Jack accidentally hit Abdullah with the stick , and Sting pinned Eaton after a diving crossbody to win the match . After the match , Abdullah fought with Jack . The eighth match was between the team of Rick Steiner and The Nightstalker ( replacing the injured Diamond Studd ) and the team of Big Van Vader and Mr . Hughes . The match started back and forth between Vader and Steiner . Hughes tagged in , and attacked Steiner until Steiner performed a German suplex . After a shoulder block from Steiner , The Nightstalker tagged himself in . The Nightstalker performed a flying clothesline , and Vader tagged in , undetected by Steiner and The Nightstalker . Steiner performed a diving bulldog to Hughes as Vader performed a clothesline to The Nightstalker . Vader then pinned The Nightstalker after a big splash to win the match . The ninth match was between the team of Scott Steiner and Firebreaker Chip and the team of Johnny B . Badd and Arachnaman . Steiner and Chip had the advantage with Steiner performing a sitout double underhook powerbomb to Badd . Steiner performed a tilt - a - whirl slam to Arachnaman , and Chip performed mounted punches to Badd . Arachnaman jumped off the top turnbuckle onto Steiner , but Steiner caught him , and pinned him after a belly to belly suplex to win the match . The tenth match was between the team of Steve Armstrong and PN News and the team of Ron Simmons and Thomas Rich . The match began with News performing a body avalanche to Simmons . Simmons fought back with a bulldog , and Simmons and Rich had the advantage . Simmons performed a scoop powerslam to Armstrong and a front powerslam to News . Simmons then pinned Armstrong after a spinebuster to win the match . The main event was the Battlebowl battle royal . All twenty wrestlers started in the first ring . Elimination from the first ring occurs when a wrestler is thrown over the top rope and into the second ring . Elimination from the second ring occurs when a wrestler is thrown over the top rope to the floor . This continues until one wrestler remained in the first ring , and one in the second ring . Elimination then occurs when a wrestler is thrown over the top rope to the floor . The remaining wrestler will be the winner . The wrestlers fought in the first ring , on the entrance ramp and at ringside . The final four remaining in the first ring were Sting , Rick Rude , Lex Luger and Big Van Vader . Sting and Rude exchanged punches until they eliminated each other from the first ring . Vader dominated Luger with a big splash and a body avalanche . Luger fought back , and eliminated Vader with a clothesline to become the last wrestler remaining in the first ring . The wrestlers remaining in the second ring continued to fight . The final four remaining in the second ring were Sting , Rude , Ricky Steamboat and Steve Austin . Sting attacked Rude as Steamboat attacked Austin . Sting sent Rude into Austin , and performed a Stinger splash to Austin . Rude accidentally eliminated Austin with a clothesline , and Steamboat eliminated Rude with a headscissors takedown . Rude then pulled Steamboat down , and Sting became the last wrestler remaining in the second ring . Rude returned and performed a Rude Awakening on Sting . Luger had the advantage over Sting with a clothesline and an inverted atomic drop . After Luger sent Sting into the guard rail , Sting fought back , sent Luger into the guard rail , and kicked him repeatedly in the midsection . Sting attempted a Stinger splash , but Luger avoided it . Sting continued to attack Luger , and performed a leg drop bulldog . Sting then eliminated Luger with a clothesline to win Battlebowl . Aftermath . As a result of winning Battlebowl , Sting was awarded a match against Lex Luger for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at SuperBrawl II . Sting won the match and the title . Afterwards , Luger left World Championship Wrestling to join the World Bodybuilding Federation as a co - host of " WBF BodyStars " , a weekly television program . Sting continued his feud with Rick Rude as well as the other members of the Dangerous Alliance . The feud ended when Sting and his allies defeated the Dangerous Alliance in a WarGames match at WrestleWar . Sting then feuded with Big Van Vader over the title , and the feud continued for over a year . Other on - screen talent . Commentator Referee Ring announcer