In 1987, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) scheduled a pay-per-view (PPV) of their own, Survivor Series, on Thanksgiving night and demanded exclusivity from cable providers on carriage of the event.

Also in 1988, JCP was sold to Turner Broadcasting due to financial problems and became World Championship Wrestling (WCW), though Starrcade was held under the NWA banner until 1990.

In 1983, JCP created Starrcade as their supercard to continue the Thanksgiving tradition, and spread it across its territory on closed-circuit television.

[9][10] An event did not occur in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented WWE from holding shows outside of its normal weekly television programming and PPVs.

The event featured appearances by Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Ricky Steamboat, The Rock 'n' Roll Express, and The Hardy Boyz.