Conrad Thompson announced today at the AEW All In Texas media event at Globe Life Field that his popular convention will return in July 2025 as part of All In week in Arlington.
“I’m proud to announce right here today, Tony, that All In is now a week. It is going to be a destination. Starrcast is coming back to All In right here in Arlington,” Thompson said at today’s event.
“It’s all about nostalgia. This is about a celebration, a love letter for wrestling fans. A friend of mine once called it the Woodstock of wrestling. Something for everybody. Multiple generations, the favorite Hall of Famers, the favorite legends, and the stars of the day, and also interactive experiences you can’t do anywhere else.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING SOON! Be the first to know and buy tickets by joining our mailing list! #AEWAllInTexas
The first-ever Starrcast coincided with 2018’s All In, which The Elite promoted in conjunction with Ring of Honor. Six Starrcast events have followed. In 2019, Starrcast II was held in Las Vegas, coinciding with the inaugural AEW pay-per-view, Double or Nothing. Two more events were held that year, with the first in Chicago for All Out and the second in Baltimore as part of the first Full Gear PPV.
Starrcast then returned in 2022 with an event in Nashville as part of SummerSlam weekend and Ric Flair’s Last Match. Starrcast VI was back in the Chicago area in 2023 and then traveled to Australia in April 2024 for Starrcast DownUnder.
Prichard underwent shoulder surgery in December as well. He also had rotator cuff surgery in 2022.
The 60-year-old producer is a longtime ally of Vince McMahon. He returned to work on the WWE creative team in 2019 after being gone since 2008.
Following allegations against McMahon in the lawsuit filed by Janel Grant last week, Ronda Rousey took to social media to state that as long as Prichard remains in WWE, McMahon will still have a hand in running the company.
Rousey wrote:
Bruce Prichard is basically Vinceās avatar, if heās still around Vince still has a hand in the business. Vince was still running things through Bruce when he was ‘gone’ before
Starrcast has filed to trademark the term “SuperClash” for wrestling purposes.
SuperClash was a series of wrestling events promoted by the AWA in 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990. The first AWA SuperClash took place on September 28, 1985, from Chicago’s Comiskey Park. The event featured Ric Flair defending the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Magnum T.A, The Road Warriors vs. The Fabulous Freebirds, and Rick Martel defending the AWA World Championship against Stan Hansen.
Conrad Thompson’s company submitted the filing on September 7. It comes one month after they filed to trademark the term ‘Southwest Championship Wrestling,’ which was the name of a promotion owned by Joe Blanchard out of San Antonio from 1978 to 1985.
The purposes of the SuperClash trademark are listed as “Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer; Providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; Providing online interviews featuring professional wrestling and sports entertainers in the field of professional wrestling and sports entertainment for entertainment purposes.” As well as “Hats; Shirts; Bandanas; Shirts and short-sleeved shirts; Sweatshirts; Hooded sweatshirts.”
Thompson alluded to having a “master plan” that he has yet to unveil during an episode of My World with Jeff Jarrett last month.
“You and I talked about this over a year ago,” Thompson said to Jarrett. “I said, ‘no, I’m not doing wrestling, I’m not promoting wrestling, I’m not negotiating finishes, I don’t want to be involved in the politics.’ I like my lane but this opportunity [Ric Flair’s Last Match] presented itself. The real story that we’re not talking about, we will tell you one day, but this is part of a bigger master plan, and no it does not involve Ric Flair wrestling again but the entrepreneur brain kicked off and I saw an opportunity for Sunday and I said, ‘if I don’t do it, I’ll wonder what if, so let’s do it.’ We rolled the dice, I couldn’t be more tickled with the results.”
Conrad Thompson’s Starrcast LLC has filed to trademark the name, ‘Southwest Championship Wrestling’
SCW was a promotion owned by Joe Blanchard and run out of San Antonio, Texas from 1978 to 1985.
The purposes of the trademark are listed as “Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network” as well as goods and services such as, “Bandanas; Hats; Shirts; Sweatshirts; Hooded sweatshirts.”
The filings were submitted on August 5.
Earlier this week, Thompson teased that Ric Flair’s Last Match was part of a “bigger master plan” while speaking on My World with Jeff Jarrett.
“You and I talked about this over a year ago,” Thompson said to Jarrett. “I said, ‘no, I’m not doing wrestling, I’m not promoting wrestling, I’m not negotiating finishes, I don’t want to be involved in the politics.’ I like my lane but this opportunity presented itself. The real story that we’re not talking about, we will tell you one day, but this is part of a bigger master plan and no it does not involve Ric Flair wrestling again but the entrepreneur brain kicked off and I saw an opportunity for Sunday and I said, ‘if I don’t do it, I’ll wonder what if, so let’s do it.’ We rolled the dice, I couldn’t be more tickled with the results.”
Last week, Booker T revealed on his Hall of Fame radio show that Thompson had approached him about having a match at Starrcast next year.
“I was approached actually to have a final match next year at Starrcast. Harlem Heatās final match, here in Texas. I said, āHell no. We aināt doing none of that.ā I just had a match a couple of weeks ago, my knee was killing me. I can only imagine what itās going to feel like next year. Yāall can forget about seeing me do one last match.”
“The thing is, Iām still working, Iām still having matches. Youāre just never going to see me have a ālast match.ā Youāre never going to see me do much in the ring. Iām never going to build up a match like Iām doing a whole lot. āOne tag in, one tag out. Thatās it, Iām done, whereās my check?ā I learned from one of my teachers back in the day, āHacksawā Butch Reed. I got to tag with him down in the Global Wrestling Federation, and he said āMan, Iām coming in one time. Iām coming out and asking for my check.ā Thatās the way you do it.”
Conrad Thompson has opened up regarding how everything came together for Ric Flair’s Last Match.
Speaking on My World with Jeff Jarrett, Thompson said the event was part of a “bigger master plan.”
“You and I talked about this over a year ago,” Thompson said to Jarrett. “I said, ‘no, I’m not doing wrestling, I’m not promoting wrestling, I’m not negotiating finishes, I don’t want to be involved in the politics.’ I like my lane but this opportunity presented itself. The real story that we’re not talking about, we will tell you one day, but this is part of a bigger master plan and no it does not involve Ric Flair wrestling again but the entrepreneur brain kicked off and I saw an opportunity for Sunday and I said, ‘if I don’t do it, I’ll wonder what if, so let’s do it.’ We rolled the dice, I couldn’t be more tickled with the results.”
Thompson also credited Tony Khan and Vince McMahon for allowing contracted talent to take part in the event.
“I want to give a ton of credit and props and kudos to Tony Khan for allowing really the forbidden door to happen. We’re not supposed to talk about it but we’re going to say it one time, we had an AEW superstar tag teaming with a WWE special Vice President to take on an AEW superstar and Ric Flair. That shouldn’t have happened,” Thompson said on the show.
“There’s a lot of reasons that it shouldn’t have happened but Vince McMahon, back when that was a thing, green-lit it and so did Tony Khan and this could not have happened without both of those folks allowing it.”
Thompson would continue to talk about how it was decided that Flair and Andrade El Idolo would team up against Jarrett and Jay Lethal in the main event.
“There were lots of ideas put together for how could we do Ric Flair’s last match but when we settled on a story, it sort of clicked. ‘Hey, wait a minute, the videos of Jay Lethal training with Ric have gone super viral, millions of views,’ so we already have a built-in story there, we can just build on it. But it doesn’t make sense for Jay to be his partner because they’ve been working against each other. So, in an effort to best take care of my father-in-law and Morgan’s grandpa, let’s make sure the guy he’s wrestling that night is the guy he’s been wrestling four times a week since April.”
Thompson also addressed fans who were concerned about Flair’s health heading into the match.
“I know there was a lot of people who said, ‘oh man, when Ric steps through those ropes he’s going to die.’ Okay smart ass, he wrestled an hour a week four days a week since the first week of April. So, when he stepped through the ropes that Sunday it wasn’t the first time he had done it, it was just the first time you had seen it.”
In terms of Jarrett being Flair’s other opponent, Thompson said Jarrett’s loose association with the Four Horsemen played a role.
“We had been talking about on this podcast, is Jeff a Horsemen? Is he not? For over a year. So, those two things just fell in line, and by the way, over the summer, literally the day our tickets went on sale is when Andrade married Charlotte. So, everybody now knows through TMZ and People Magazine and everywhere else that Andrade is Ric Flair’s son-in-law and everybody also knows that Jay Lethal has been training Ric Flair for his last match. I happen to be in business with and partners with a guy who knows how to be a heel in Nashville better than maybe anybody and so here we are. It worked but it couldn’t have happened without Tony Khan, it couldn’t happen without Vince McMahon.”
Thompson would continue to praise MLW’s Court Bauer, Impact’s Scott D’Amore, and AAA’s Dorian RoldĆ”n for allowing talent contracted to their companies to participate. He also credited the talent on the card with not treating the event as just another payday.
“Not one person involved in this treated it like it was for the payday,” Thompson continued.
“There was not a bunch of big debate about what are we going to do for finishes. There was no politicking.”
Thompson also mentioned that the undercard went 15 minutes short on time. They had hoped to get the main event in the ring by 8:15 p.m and they were able to do so by 8:00 p.m.
“We had an hour for the main event, we hoped for 45 minutes with the post-match at most.”
“Everyone went out of their way to do it because they understood even though this might be one of the biggest crowds I’ve wrestled in front of or a big pay-per-view crowd or whatever, it ain’t about me, it’s about Ric.”
“This was bigger than a one-off, this was bigger than a one-time show. No, we’re not starting a promotion, I’m not saying that, I’m definitely not saying that. I’m just saying everybody minded their Ps and Qs because what are we going to do? Boy, if they don’t do what we need them to we’re going to punish them next week on TV? There is no comeback, this is it, they just did it and it was such a special thing.”
Mick Foley is launching a new podcast with Conrad Thompson next week.
It was announced via Sports Illustrated today that “Foley is Pod” will launch with its first episode premiering on Friday, June 3. The show is being hosted by Foley and Thompson and will focus on the Hardcore Legend’s career.
The podcast is part of the Podcast Heat network.
āI know the way I feel when I hear a good podcast, how it can turn a whole day around and put a smile on my face,ā Foley told Sports Illustrated. āIām looking forward to telling stories and reminding people of a time they really enjoyed when they were big wrestling fans.ā
āMick is just so passionate about pro wrestling. And look at his career. He proved he could do it all — whether that was as a heel, the ultimate babyface, or a comedic character. He did it all so incredibly well,” Thompson said.
“And Iām really interested about Mickās thought process. His books were so good, and so are his one-man shows. I really believe that this show, which weāre recording in-person and in 4K, is going to be exactly what the wrestling world is looking for.”
Starrcast V has been announced for SummerSlam weekend.
As first reported by Sports Illustrated, Conrad Thompson’s convention returns July 29 to 31 from the Nashville Fairgrounds in Nashville, Tennessee. WWE’s SummerSlam will take place July 30 from nearby Nissan Stadium.
āPre-pandemic, we had hoped to do another Starrcast in Chicago in 2020, but the stars just didnāt align,ā Thompson said. āSo it makes sense to bring it back, especially with a stadium show nearbyābut this time, with a few twists that I think everybody is going to enjoy.ā
This will be the fifth Starrcast convention dating back to the original held in The Hyatt Regency Chicago over All In weekend in 2018.
Panel discussions have been a highlight of previous events and Thompson says those will return in 2022, with participating names being announced in the near future.
āYouāre going to hear from some names we havenāt heard from in quite a long while,ā he continued. āAnd there will be some others who we may be hearing from for the last time. Weāll start all of those announcements next week.ā
Starrcast will be partnering with Thuzio, the owners of FITE TV, to stream the event.
This will be the first Starrcast since November 2019 and Thompson says they aim to make it a special experience.
āWeāre so excited to see so many familiar faces and get everyone back together, especially after these past few years,ā said Thompson. āPeople from all over the world are coming to support wrestling, and weāre going above and beyond to make this special.”
Conrad Thompson, who produced last weekend’s Starrcast convention, indicated that he didn’t know Chris Jericho wouldn’t be appearing at the event until May 24th, two days before his “Talk Is Jericho” appearance was scheduled to take place.
Thompson noted he got a text message from Jericho on Friday afternoon before his announced Sunday afternoon appearance that stated that he couldn’t come due to family plans.
Jericho had previously said that he had given the word one month ago that he wasn’t doing the show due to finding out his segment would be airing on iPPV through FITE TV.
Jericho said they agreed he would show up before the crowd with an in-character rant on the fans where he would say he wasn’t doing a Talk is Jericho show because he didn’t get a thank you at Double or Nothing. But, he said he found out he had family plans for Sunday that he couldn’t change and sent in a video instead, saying basically the same thing as he would have said had he appeared live.
“It’s not Conrad’s fault I didn’t make an appearance,” Jericho said. “That’s all on me. But, the live Talk is Jericho was never happening.”
Thompson said Jericho wanted to do an angle at the appearance and they would figure it out that weekend what that would entail, but then on Friday, he sent the text and a video instead.
“We want back and forth, but in the end, he had no choice,” said Thompson.
Thompson said he sent in a video to explain not being there, but the video couldn’t air until after Double or Nothing was over since it talked about the result of the match with Kenny Omega in past tense as well as the post-match interview.
“I couldn’t exactly post that ahead of DON even though I had it hours before,” said Thompson.
When the Talk is Jericho show was scheduled to start, fans were in attendance and they were told that Jericho wasn’t there and a cardboard cutout of Jericho was brought out instead.
Wrestling star Ric Flair underwent an undisclosed surgery Thursday in Atlanta, GA, but according to his son-in-law, his medical situation is not as serious as some media outlets are making it out to be.
News broke from TMZ that the 70-year-old was rushed to a hospital following a medical emergency, saying it was a “very serious” situation.
However, Conrad Thompson, Flair’s son-in-law and the founder of Starrcast, said on a media call that the situation wasn’t as serious as TMZ claimed and the surgery was a planned procedure he wanted to have done before the event coming up in Las Vegas where he is scheduled to be the focus of a roast.
Dave Meltzer confirmed that the procedure was planned, but couldn’t answer definitively how serious the situation was.
Flair was hospitalized for 11 days in 2017 after suffering a ruptured intestine. He was placed in a medically induced coma and was near death in a very serious situation.
‘Left My Wallet’ returns with the man behind Starrcast and who bleeds Alabama crimson, Conrad Thompson.
We start our discussion about the disappointing showing for Alabama in the BCS championship game, how much the loss hurt, his thoughts on Dabo Sweeney, Kyler Murray’s NFL prospects, the ten Alabama players drafted in last week’s NFL Draft, and more.
The talk then tuns to Starrcast II as part of AEW Double or Nothing weekend. The man behind the all-around wrestling experience tells what made him decide to do a second Starrcast, what changes he’s made for the second, what he learned to do and not do, the impetus that made him decide to run again, and all the amazing experiences and shows he’s bringing to to Caesars Palace during the weekend.
Finally, he talks about his newest podcast endeavor with Jim Ross and what makes the reformatted podcast improved and unique.
It’s a quick and easy listen on wrestling, football, and podcasting with the 22-year Observer subscriber and the man responsible for so many polarizing podcasts today.
Hey hey, it’s Conrad Thompson on this special WrestleMania week edition of ‘I Left My Wallet In Greg Polanco’.
Join Antonio and the ‘Something To Wrestle’ co-host as they talk childhood Wrestlemania memories, what Conrad is looking forward to on the WrestleMania card, what other shows and matches he’s excited for, Cody vs. Kenny, the Young Bucks, Will Ospreay, and Conrad’s perspectve as a fan growing up in Alabama.
Then, the talk turns to sports. Conrad, a diehard Alabama Crimson Tide and college football fan, talks Alabama’s dramatic national championship win, his outlook for the top quarterbacks in this year’s NFL Draft, and why the Patriots dynasty is over.
Antonio then wraps up the show talking about his WrestleMania memories as a fan, and then as a worker for WWE during Mania season.
It’s a jam-packed WrestleMania edition of ‘I Left My Wallet’ which will get you primed and ready for all this week’s festivities. Enjoy!
