Conrad Thompson bringing Starrcast to All In
“I’d say I have four home run ideas,” said Thompson. “If I’m able to execute even half of those, this Starrcast will be a huge success.”
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Conrad Thompson highlighting the history of Texas wrestling at Starrcast
Starrcast is returning in 2025.
And for the first time since its inception in 2018, it will be directly connected with All In.
“We’re going to bring back a lot of legends and create an environment where the legends share a space with the stars of today,” said Conrad Thompson, who created Starrcast. “We’re going to do events with AEW talent, but this is all about painting outside the numbers.”
Thompson’s innovative event has completely reshaped wrestling conventions. He has had memorable moments at Starrcast with CM Punk in 2019 (which was before Punk signed with AEW) and Jim Crocket that same year, reintroducing the famed promoter after years away from the business. Over the years, there was also a viewing of the highly anticipated Bret Hart-Tom McGee match, the bout that caused Vince McMahon to predict greatness for McGee (when it was Hart who made him shine), as well as Ric Flair’s last match, where “The Nature Boy” capped off his legendary career by getting into the ring one last time two summers ago.
And now Thompson is partnering with AEW to run the event in conjunction with All In in 2025, a larger-than-life event scheduled for July 12 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
“Originally, Starrcast was created to support All In,” said Thompson. “We wanted to make All In more than a show in 2018, we wanted to make it a destination. With AEW now attempting to make All In its biggest event ever in America, it makes sense to bring Starrcast back and turn All In into a destination event for the better part of a week.”
Starrcast’s return was made official last week in Arlington at AEW’s on-sale event for All In. While the official dates, meet-and-greets, and celebrations have yet to be released, Thompson and his team have some ideas to make it particularly special for Texas.
“I’d say I have four home run ideas,” said Thompson. “If I’m able to execute even half of those, this Starrcast will be a huge success.”
Thompson hinted that one of the more prominent events could be centered around a wrestling legend with a long history in Texas–but he was careful not to reveal too much.
“We’re looking for big moments to appeal to the mainstream,” said Thompson. “That’s what has made Starrcast so memorable. We’ve just had a lot of fun throughout the years. I’ll never forget watching Pat Patterson singing karaoke with fans at Starrcast. We didn’t know this at the time, but he wasn’t going to be with us much longer.
“I’ll never take any of this for granted. We’re sharing these moments with fans. It’s more than pictures, autographs, and panels. You’re walking away with a memory and a story. It’s such a cool thing to look back on.”
In addition to Starrrcast, Thompson has built an empire of podcasts. The most successful is Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, but with Prichard tending to family matters, John “JBL” Layfield has been adding a new presence to the show.
“Each and every Monday, we’ve been having a blast with John Layfield, who’s sitting in Bruce Prichard’s seat,” said Thompson. “We have pleasantly surprised a lot of folks who felt like they knew the JBL character they saw on TV. But the real John Layfield, he’s surprising a lot of people. Maybe he’s not as big a heel as he was on television.”
As for Thompson’s next Starrcast announcement, he says it is coming soon.
“Stay tuned for big news in January regarding Starrcast,” said Thompson. “We’re having a blast putting this all together, and we can’t wait to share more.”
This past week…
… The first Raw on Netflix is starting extremely strong, with Roman Reigns against Solo Sikoa in a Tribal Combat match for the Ula Fala–and CM Punk finally squaring off against Seth Rollins.
… WWE is playing up the Cody Rhodes injury, which stems from the Kevin Owens’ attack on Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Their rematch would make the most sense when SNME returns next month on January 25.
… Congrats to the War Raiders, who won the tag titles from Judgment Day on Raw. Those belts haven’t been defended nearly enough, so hopefully that will change with the new champs.
… This past Sunday’s New Japan event in Long Beach set up Mercedes Mone against Mina Shirakawa at Wrestle Dynasty on January 5. That should be an excellent match, and it makes sense that both, especially Mone, are on the card.
… The Young Bucks also returned on Sunday in Long Beach, fighting on behalf of Jack Perry. Beside the Bucks, Perry is a much stronger character.
… Toni Storm is back, but she’s in her original persona. It was surprising that the return didn’t happen on Dynamite (instead, it occurred on Collision), but it will be worth watching to see how she transforms back to “Timeless” Toni.
… Chris Jericho made a surprise appearance at GCW’s show last weekend, giving extra edge to his upcoming Ring of Honor title bout against Matt Cardona this Friday in New York at Final Battle.
… Hulk Hogan wasn’t part of Saturday Night’s Main Event. Instead, he walked Colby Covington to the cage for his fight at UFC Tampa while “Real American” played. The night didn’t end well for Covington, who suffered a TKO loss against Joaquin Buckley after the doctor stopped the fight due to a cut on Covington’s eyelid.
After a year of feuding, CM Punk and Seth Rollins finally set to wrestle
CM Punk and Seth Rollins have feuded for over a year. Their match is finally set, taking place on the Netflix debut of Raw on January 6.
On paper, this Raw has no equivalent. It’s going to feature a pay-per-view level card, with Roman Reigns against Solo Sikoa in a Tribal Combat match for the Ula Fala (and a heavily rumored return of The Rock) also announced. But while that feud is starting to finish (Reigns will have to move on to Cody Rhodes or The Rock for WrestleMania 41), the physicality in the Punk-Rollins story has only just begun.
Punk is at his best in detailed, nuanced stories, so I’ll be surprised if this doesn’t run all the way to WrestleMania. It is incredible to think that a match of this caliber and history won’t receive top billing on Raw (I’ll be shocked if Reigns isn’t in the main event), but it makes sense considering this is the opening note to a longer verse. Rollins-Punk is currently atop the favorites to headline the first night of WrestleMania 41. If executed correctly, the match on Raw should help accomplish that feat.
A lot of time exists between January 6 and WrestleMania in mid-April, which also allows time for Rollins (or Punk) to win the World Heavyweight Championship. Given the amount of time people have already waited, putting Punk-Rollins on the Netflix Raw debut is an extraordinary way to build a new layer to their feud.
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