The Halloween Havoc Experiment Part 2: Halloween Havoc '90: Terrror Rules the Ring

My formatting and the amount of time I spend blogging this experiment will be directly tied to the number of views I'm getting from you guys. I don't mind writing for my audience of ten--on average--but if the numbers drop and nobody cares, well...those that stick around will see a lot fewer pictures. As a writing exercise I'm doing this on my own accord and mean to see it through until the bitter end, but looking for crappy still pics on Google does get a bit tedious, and nobody likes reading a wall of text. Remember all of these PPVs are available on WWE Network, which is where I'm watching, but also many of the matches are on YouTube and the more nefarious sites of your choice...that being said, I had a hard time finding seeders nowadays for classic torrents which is why I'm trying the network...and away we go...

 One of the first snags I'm going to hit in formatting my blog review is that the official video/DVD from back in the day as well as the current version of the PPV on the network has been edited. I am also using Wikipedia as my go to source. Thus, I'll give some brief info from the Wiki about what we missed. I can't review what I haven't seen, but from the looks of things...we're probably better off from having missed the filler.

What was going on in 1990? Politically, it would be more of the same in the good ol' USA. We'll be headed to Gulf War I pretty soon. Bush the first will remain very popular until the economy sours.

Television: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1990_American_television_series_debuts

Plenty going on. Of note the first attempt at a The Flash TV series with John Wesley Shipp tries to catch in on the popularity of last year's Batman movie. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and In Living Color debuted. Both shows would be a launching pad for various talents including the highly paid Will Smith and Jim Carey.

Movies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_in_film

The first Die Hard sequel, the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pretty Woman, Ghost, and Home Alone were all huge and bring back memories for me.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Year-End_Hot_100_singles_of_1990

So many hits, but Biz Markie's 'Just a Friend' outdid them all, I'm sure.

Why include these things? (BTW they'll get shorter and shorter I predict) Because wrestling doesn't exist in a vacuum. You may think repackaging Tony Atlas as Saba Simba in the WWF(E) is racist, but not really, it was an answer to a popular television mini-series from the late 80's called "Shaka Zulu". You get a guy like "The Juicer" in WCW as a play off of the popular 'Beetlejuice'. You make an Arachniman because of the popularity of Spider-man...and you get sued. Your 'Russian Nightmare' becomes an Allied Power because at the time there was Rocky IV and a real-life thawing of the cold war...at least back then. Wrestling does seem to be about two to three years behind the trends however, except in the cases wherein they are creating the trend themselves such as: Hulkamania, Austin 3:16, NWO, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. On with the show...

 We open with cutting edge graphics from 1990. I'm pretty sure these were recycled from a TBS Tom and Jerry Halloween Special, and I'm certain they'll be recycled again for next year's Havoc. Spoiler Alert: I'm trying to stay at least one PPV ahead of my reviews.

 Good Ol' J.R. and a young Paul E. Dangerously (Heyman) have the call. Halloween shenanigans to start. I suppose Ross is Dick Tracy which was also a popular film of 1990 and Heyman went with the classic Dracula.

Tony Schiavone dressed as the Phantom of the Opera--popular stage play at the time and not to be confused with next year's WCW Phantom--is the backstage reporter. Mandela Effect and laziness to look it up can be blamed if I'm wrong, but if I remember correctly, Mr. Schiavone has just returned from a brief WWF(E) run. Jim Cornette is show here dressed in a Civil War uniform or maybe the Cavalry? I'm not sure, but this is left on the cutting room floor anyway, so it couldn't have been too important.

Dark Matches:

All according to Wikipedia:

Tim Horner over Barry Horowitz: Both perennial jobbers. I like Horowitz who got to have a mini-run in WWF(E) as an unlikely underdog. Tim Horner was always solid in tag-team matches.

Rip Rogers--who I think I remember from WCCW days as a funny heel/jobber--defeated Reno Riggins 

Main Card: Edited

Tommy Rich and Ricky Morton vs. The Midnight Express (Lane and Eaton) with Jim Cornette (20:49)

The ring ropes are done in a festive orange and black while the mat is a burgundy evoking blood an vampire imagery. If you're going to do a themed PPV, do it right. This is a step in the right direction. Tommy Rich was replacing the injured Robert Gibson--I have no idea if the injury was legit or not and I'm not going to look it up. Rich remains lanky and awkward especially compared with the smooth Midnights and Morton. Tommy and Ricky get the win by DQ when Stan uses Cornette's tennis racket. ** The WCW audience is very hot for tag-team action, but there's nothing to see here, and it goes on for much too long. Something tells me I better not review any of the Crockett Cup Tag Team Tournaments.

Left on the Cutting Room Floor:

Terry Taylor defeats Bill Irwin: Taylor is probably most infamous for his WWF(E) Red Rooster gimmick while long-time wrestling star "Cowboy" Bill Irwin was repackaged by WWF(E) as the hockey player--the Goon. N/A

Brad Armstrong (June 15th 1962-November 1st 2012) defeats J.W.Storm whom I've never heard of. For his part Armstrong was a part of the famous wrestling Armstrong Family. The most notable members being brother "Road Dog" Jessie James Armstrong of DX?New Age Outlaws fame in WWF(E) and father "Bullet" Bob Armstrong--who wrestled, masked for the most part, in various territories back in the old days. Brad had many gimmicks including the Arachniman one that I mentioned earlier. He was always a good hand--primarily for NWA/WCW--and should have had even more success than he did. N/A

The Master Blasters defeated the Southern Boys: Your MB team, Blade and Steel consisted of partners better known as Al Green and Kevin Nash (Diesel) while the Southern Boys were made up of the pair Tracy Smothers and another Armstrong brother--Steve Armstrong. Jim Cornette was involved as manager for one of these teams...maybe the Southern Boys based on that outfit from earlier, but this is cutting room floor, so who knows? N/A

Back to the Card:

     

The Freebirds (Michael P.S. Hayes and Jimmy "JAM" Garvin with Little Richard Marley) vs. The Renegade Warriors (Chris Youngblood and Mark Youngblood):(17:28)

I discussed this incarnation of the 'Birds in my review of Halloween Havoc '89. This time they are with Rocky King--a long time journeymen in NWA/WCW who, according to Wikipedia is still involved in the independent scene to this day--who has been repackaged as Little Richard Marley. In the storyline Marley is responsible for the injury to Robert Gibson of the Rock and Roll Express. To get cheap heat, Marley is dressed in a version of the R&R costume. BTW Brad Armstrong was a 'Bird at one time donning a mask and taking the name of Fantasia/Badstreet. Just in case I never  have another occasion to mention them. Bam Bam Terry Gordy( April 23rd 1961-July 16, 2001) and Buddy Jack Roberts (May 16th, 1947-November 26th 2012) along with Hayes were the members of the original,classic Freebirds line-up in the territory days.  Just like last year, the Birds should be the heels, but they are getting at least as many cheers as their babyface opponents. The Renegade Warriors were a Native American tag-team consisting of brothers Chris and Mark Youngblood. They've had long careers with Mark continuing to be involved with the independent scene to this day.

There isn't much to this match. The Youngbloods aren't outright booed out of the building the way 'The Dynamic Dudes'  were last year, but the 'Birds still get the lion's share of the cheers and eventually pick up the victory. ** 1/2

 The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner) vs. The Nasty Boys (Jerry Sags and Brian Knobbs): (15:24)

Both of these teams are famous and all the participants are still with us today, so I won't go into too much background here. It was still early in the career of the 'Nasties and they were being effectively pushed as monster heels. Time hasn't been kind to the 'Nasties as far as "Wrestling Pundits" are concerned due to their overall sloppy brawling style, but back in the old days, they were very much over with fans. They also did a lot of charity work and are generally considered to be very nice guys in real life. As to this match, the Steiners are clearly superior. The 'Nasties do a lot of brawling moves, but are easily out performed by the Brothers. The Steiners get the win defending their NWA U.S. Tag Team Championships. The 'Nasties attacked the Steiner's and the Ref after the fight to keep their heat. ** 1/2. I'm no snob, but it's the best I can give this one. 

Another Match Bites the Dust:

Of all the cut matches, this one seems like it would have been the most interesting to me. It was the Junkyard Dog (December 13th 1952-June 2, 1998) vs. Moondog Rex: JYD picked up the win when he stole the Moondog's bone and smashed him with it...according to the Wiki. N/A

 Doom with Teddy Long vs. Ric Flair and Arn Anderson: (18:20)

Doom--defending world tag team champions--are now without their masks and are managed by Teddy Long instead of Woman. Flair and Anderson are tagging amongst themselves without additional Horesemen at the moment, but just wait. It's a very good match between the four with the Horsemen getting the most cheers. The match length is no problem when you've got guys that know how to use the psychology and work well together. The problems here are the double-count out finish and the fact that as presented by the Network we're on our fourth tag match in a row. Still ***

NOTE: Both a U.S. tag-team belt and  World tag team title defense. As presented by the network, we've had four tag matches in a row. Keep in mind that we thankfully lost an additional tag-team affair on the cutting room floor. In this day and age, there are only so many tag-team matches that I can take even when the teams are good.

Stan Hansen vs. Lex Luger: (9:30)

This was for the U.S. singles title which Luger had held for 523 days. It was a hard hitting and stiff affair that eventually saw Hansen pick up the win. ***

The Main Event:...and not a moment too soon:

 Sting Vs. Sid Viscious for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship:

Neither of these men need an introduction. Multi-time world heavyweight champions and top tier performers for the "Big Two" when that meant something. I would argue that Sting has had the most success and by far the most longevity while Sid is very memorable and obviously physically imposing. This match is fine with a smaller guy using his speed and agility against the big guy using his power move set. The ending screws it up. It's not so bad that they tried to swerve with a bogus Sting as portrayed by Barry Windham--who is clearly having fun as evidenced here:

 

    ...but the time it took to set it up...just a few seconds mind you, but clearly awkward and hard to follow, just takes you out of it. For a few seconds it looks as if Sid pinned the real Sting...seconds later comes the reveal that it was a fake...Sting quickly does away with Sid after the match is restarted and he retains the title.  ** 1/2 and I'm being kind. This wouldn't be the last time Sting would be haunted by clones of himself. At least here it made some sense to do it because it was Halloween.

The night ends with Sting giving an interview talking about The Black Scorpion. Alright, so the Black Scorpion is an infamous NWA/WCW gimmick. This mysterious, masked wrestler dressed all haunted Sting with cryptic video packages giving hints to his identity. The Scorpion was always in silhouette and voiced by Ole Anderson. Rumors abounded that the character would be a person from Sting's past, but eventually they just went with the idea of it having been Ric Flair the whole time playing "mind games". Earlier on this night the Scorpion performed a magic show of sorts during an interview with Sting. The dark wizard, Scorpion made a woman disappear and then reappear much to Sting's chagrin...and to much overacting on the part of the announce crew. The magic segment is so well remembered that the Wikipedia page doesn't mention it, and I can't remember at what point in the card it happened. 

Joe Bob Briggs Memorial "Drive-in Totals": 

4- matches left on the cutting room floor

1- Double Count Out finish

4-Tag matches
1-Bogus Sting

1-wrestling Armstrong who is no longer with us: R.I.P.

My match of the night is Lex Luger vs. Stan Hansen.  I didn't do much of a write up about as doing the play by play isn't necessarily my purpose, but it is a really stiff and brutal affair especially by WCW standards. Worth looking up. As to the rest...if you don't have the nostalgia for this stuff, I just don't think you'll enjoy it as much as I and others of my age will. Being able to fast forward or to watch the card in smaller doses helps.