WCW Halloween Havoc Flashback - 20 Years Ago
October 27, 1990
Top Ten Things To Know

(1) Main Event: Sting defeated Sid Vicious to retain the WCW World Title after a rather peculiar false finish.

(2) Best Match: The Steiners beat the Nasty Boys to retain the NWA United States Tag Team Titles. (****1/2)

(3) Tag Team Exhibition: Steiners vs. Knobbs (****1/2), Rich & Morton beat the Midnight Express (****), Doom vs. Flair & Anderson double count-out (***3/4).

(4) Kevin Nash 20 Years Ago: Nash, as Master Blaster Steel, went over in a tag match vs. The Southern Boys.

(5) Intriguing Semi-Main Event: Stan Hansen pinned Lex Luger to capture the U.S. Heavyweight Title.

(6) Halloween Themed Match: "Candyman" Brad Armstrong beat J.W. Storm.

(7) Early 1990s Comedy Match Action: Junkyard Dog pinned Moondog Rex.

(8) Classic 1990s WCW PPV Slogan: "Terror Rules the Ring - A night that will haunt you forever."

(9) Anyone Currently In WWE: Jim Ross, Michael Hayes.

(10) Anyone Currently In TNA: Ric Flair, Sting, Terry Taylor, Kevin Nash (as of earlier this month).

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WCW Halloween Havoc 1990 PPV Report
October 27, 1990
Chicago, Ill.
Originally Printed: Torch Newsletter #93
Cover Dated: November 1, 1990
PPV Report by Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

World Championship Wrestling presented a live three hour pay-per-view special event from Chicago, Ill. at the UIC Pavillion on October 27, 1990 - "Halloween Havoc '90: Terror Rules the Ring."

(1) Ricky Morton & Tommy Rich beat The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane w/Jim Cornette). The Southern Boys came to ringside dressed in bright colors like Cornette. One innovative move after another ended when Cornette's tennis racket ended up in the middle of the ring which Rich used to nail Lane and get the pin. Cornette had seconds earlier hit Rich with the racket when Rich was on the top rope.

STAR RATING: (****) An excellent match with nonstop action that got the fans on their feet. Midnights got the fourth best reaction of the night behind the Steiners, Lex Luger, and Sting.

(2) Terry Taylor pinned Bill Irwin. The match began slow-paced, earning "boring" chants from the fans. It led to a tight, believable fight between the two ending with Taylor pinning the short-haired Irwin.

STAR RATING: (**1/2)

Sting did an interview with Tony Schiavone interrupted by Black Scorpion, who grabbed a TBS female employee. Then Scorpion went into a cage behind a curtain. When Sting went after them, poof! Scorpion and the woman were gone. Then they appeared on the other side of the stage. The woman escaped, leaped into Sting's arms, and Scorpion said, "We will meet again soon, Sting." It was much more apparent it was Ole Anderson's voice.

(3) "Candyman" Brad Armstrong beat J.W. Storm in the first of two big upsets. As Jim Ross put it, Storm out-weighted, out-muscled, out-powered, and out-boxed Armstrong, but Armstrong out-wrestled Storm. It was only appropriate that Candyman won at Halloween Havoc. Paul E. sold Storm during commentary like he was his own son.

STAR RATING: (**)

(4) The Master Blasters (Blade & Steel a/k/a Kevin Nash) pinned The Southern Boys (Tracy Smothers & Steve Armstrong). The Master Blasters were met with chants of LOD as they wore make-up emulating the Road Warriors. Cornette was ringside dressed like the Southern Boys but cheering the Blasters. Cornette distracted Armstrong as he got clotheslined from behind leading to a pin. The Boys spanked Cornette after the bout.

STAR RATING: (*1/2) Better than Blasters's initial appearance at the last Clash of the Champions. A few missed moves, but saved by the Southern Boys.

-- Schiavone interviewed Candyman.

(5) The Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin & Michael Hayes) beat Renegade Warriors (Chris Youngblood & Mark Youngblood). The fans were behind the Freebirds 100 percent by the end of the match. The fans popped huge for the DDT by Hayes which put away Mark.

STAR RATING: (*3/4) The match went longer than needed. The Youngbloods did nothing to reverse fan support of the Freebirds.

-- Arn Anderson, Ric Flair, and Sid Vicious were interviewed with Schiavone predicting title acquisitions.

(6) The Steiners (Rick & Scott Steiner) beat the Nasty Boys (Jerry Sags & Brian Knobbs) after Scott Steiner frankensteined Knobbs to retain the NWA United States Tag Team Titles. The match began with wild brawling, had wild brawling in the middle, and ended with, of all things, wild brawling. The Nasty Boys took everything the Steiners could give them, including top rope bulldogs and suplexes.

STAR RATING: (****1/2). Fantastic nonstop action.

(7) Junkyard Dog pinned Moondog Rex. As expected, not good at all. It was short. The front row opposite the camera began to hold up "Chokehold" newsletters instead of watching the match.

STAR RATING: (DUD)

-- Tony Schiavone interviewed Scott Steiner. Jerry Saggs, dressed as a popcorn vendor, attacked Scott from behind. Saggs and Knobbs beat on Scott for a moment, hitting him with the U.S. Tag belt again.

(8) NWA World Tag Team champions Doom (Ron Simmons & Butch Reed) fought Ric Flair & Arn Anderson to a double count-out. Fans were worn out from the Steiners bout and dejected fromthe last bout, so this match had to get by with silent heat. The fans were into this match give and take, but intensely watched, not playing favorites. Those who went in fans of one team gained enough respect for the other team within a few minutes that they no longer cheered and popped for tags and moves. In the only non-clean finish of the evening, they brawled to the locker room for a double count-out.

STAR RATING: (***3/4) An intriguing match.

(9) Stan Hansen pinned Lex Luger to capture the U.S. Heavyweight Title. They started out intense with Luger clearing the ring of the wild man, Stan Hansen. It was a brawl throughout. At the end, Danny Spivey, Hansen's Japan partner and protege, came to ringside and tossed Hansen his bell when the ref was down. Hansen called an audible as he ignored the bell and nailed Luger with a lariat instead. Luger collapsed and Hansen cleanly pinned him. Luger was on the mat for several minutes before leaving ringside.

STAR RATING: ***

(10) Sting pinned Sid Vicious to retain the WCW World Title. The match began Hogan-Warrior style, with each man not selling a few moves. It moved to a lot of restholds, such as a long armbar on Vicious, which once relinquished by Sting, Vicious moved his arm like nothing happened. They fought down the runway. Sid returned to the ring. Sting ran back, diving over the top rope and flew into Sid three-fourths of the way across the ring.

The pace picked up as they brawled to the back room. Sid returned from the back, followed soon by "Sting." Sid slammed "Sting" and pinned him. "Sting" slithered back down the corridor. Gary Capetta announced Sid Vicious as the new World Heavyweight champion and he was given the belt. In the meantime, as "Sting," Barry Windham with a crew cut and facepaint, left the scene, he was met in the aisle by the real Sting. The real Sting had broken rope tied to his wrist, so he was apparently "tied up in the back." The duplicate "Sting" returned to the locker room. The real Sting returned to the ring, and a surprise Stinger Splash later, he got a three count on Sid Vicious and retained his World Title.

STAR RATING: *** No explanation was given to fans live who missed the Sting-"Sting" face-off as to why the match began again, and it was not at all obvious that the Sting who got pinned was not the real Sting. Fans watching on PPV were treated to Jim Ross saying that it was not the real Sting, but an imposter, "Barry Windham or someone."

Torch Newsletter Cover Story

In one of the strangest angles of all time, Sid Vicious apparently pinned Sting in the maine vent of October 27th's Halloween Havoc pay-per-view event. Fans stood stunned, some cheering, others simply with their jaws dropped, as Sid Vicious was announced as the new World Heavyweight champion.

However, the man who picked up Sid Vicious and fell backwards and got pinned was not Sting. It was Barry Windham. The full-house at the UIC Pavillion for the most part did not notice the difference between the two wrestlers.

Barry Windham, who was last seen nationally against Lex Luger in the U.S. Title match on NWA Main Event over six weeks ago, returned to WCW rings last Saturday. His disappearance began with a legitimate injury. However, WCW was supposedly having trouble communicating with him. The lack of communication turned out to be advantageous as it allowed for the surprise element which made Saturday's angle so fantastic.




[Torch photos credit Wade Keller (c) PWTorch.com]

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