WCW Halloween Havoc Flashback Report - 10 years ago
October 29, 2000
Top Ten Things To Know!

(1) Significance: Final Halloween Havoc PPV before WCW was bought out by WWE five months later.

(2) Main Event: Goldberg beat Kronik (Bryan Clark & Brian Adams).

(3) Best Match: Booker T beat Scott Steiner via DQ in the semi-main event. (***1/2)

(4) You Knew These Were The Dying Days Part 1: Buff Bagwell beat David Flair at 5:40 in a First Blood match.

(5) You Knew These Were The Dying Days Part 2: Mike Sanders beat The Cat in a three-round boxing match to become WCW commissioner.

(6) Ten Years Later: WCW ran angle involving a Fake Sting in a match vs. Jeff Jarrett, just like ten years earlier at Halloween Havoc 1990 during a match with Sting vs. Sid Vicious. (Halloween Havoc '90 Flashback Report from Saturday.)

(7) TNA Angle 2010: WCW ran angle with Goldberg being checked by the State Athletic Commissioner for head and neck injuries prior to the main event vs. Kronik.

(8) Another Streak: This was the fifth consecutive Halloween Havoc PPV held in Las Vegas.

(9) Anyone Currently In WWE: Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman (agent).

(10) Anyone Currently In TNA: Sting, Jeff Jarrett.

***

WCW Halloween Havoc
October 29, 2000
Las Vegas, Nev. at MGM Grand Arena
Report by Wade Keller, PWTorch editor

Tony Schiavone, Mark Madden, and Stevie Ray introduced the event.

(1) Mark Jindrak & Sean O’Haire beat Boogie Knights (Disqo & Alex Wright) and Kidman & Rey Mysterio Jr. when Jindrak pinned Disqo at 10:04 to retain the WCW Tag Team Titles. Kidman and Wright worked together against Jindrak early, but then they turned on each other. Kidman got a good pop for two good dropkicks. Rey Jr. then tagged in and went for the Rough Rider, but caught a boot to the crotch for his effort. Jindrak took over. At 3:50 Disqo and Rey fought over who got to cover O’Haire. All three teams continued to stop anyone else from scoring pins. O’Haire had an awkward exchange with Rey Jr. Jindrak and O’Haire beat up Rey Jr. at ringside, then threw him into the ring where Wright caught him and powerslammed him. Kidman broke up the pin. Rey Jr. gave O’Haire a huracanrana over the top rope to the floor. Kidman and Rey Jr. each flew over the top rope onto opponents at ringside. Rey Jr. gave Disqo a Rough Rider. Jindrak picked up Rey and threw him over the top rope to the floor. Disqo surprised Jindrak with a Last Dance, then tossed Kidman out of the ring. Disqo covered Jindrak, but Rey Jr. nailed Disqo with a legdrop. O’Haire then nailed Disqo with a Swanton Bomb off the top rope and scored the pin. After the match, Konnan got beaten up at ringside. AWOL ran out and cleared the ring. (**3/4)

(2) Reno pinned AWOL at 10:55 to retain the WCW Hardcore Title. At 3:00 AWOL put a trash can over Reno’s head and kicked the can twice. When Reno hit AWOL low, Madden said, "He used his testicles for a speed bag there." AWOL stacked up two tables and slammed Reno off the ramp through both of them. The spot came off well. They brawled backstage where a fake computer monitor made of plastic was used as a weapon. When Reno tried to use a laptop as a weapon, Schiavone let us know "those things are solid!" Thanks, Tony. At 9:00, AWOL threw Reno back down the rampway into the bowl of the arena. The match slowed to a crawl for a minute as AWOL set up a table. Reno nailed an unsuspecting AWOL with a Roll of Dice onto the table at ringside for the win. Sean Stasiak and Chuck Palumbo attacked AWOL after the match. The other Misfits came out for the save and cleared the ring. A typical hardcore match with stand-up brawling mixed with a few crash spots. Okay for what it was. (*)

Kronik told the State Athletic Commissioner to check Goldberg for head and neck injuries that might prevent him from wrestling.

(3) Cpl. Cajun & Lt. Loco. beat Sean Stasiak & Chuck Palumbo when Loco pinned Stasiak at 9:21. Exactly what you’d expect from these four. A good effort, but nothing memorable.

(4) Tigress & Konnan beat Torrie Wilson & Shane Douglas when Konnan pinned Douglas at 8:40. The first spot between Torrie and Tigress was embarrassingly bad. At 1:00 Konnan ran out to save Tigress from being double-teamed by Douglas and Torrie. Douglas and Torrie dropped Tigress and went after Konnan. Konnan fought back and hit Douglas with a rolling clothesline. Douglas bailed out of the ring as the crowd popped. Tigress and Konnan slidekicked Douglas and Torrie at ringside; Torrie no-sold it out of lack of competence, not ego. Douglas applied a Steiner Recliner on Tigress. Douglas applied a crossface chickenwing on Tigress, but she legitimately escaped and hot-tagged Konnan. Konnan nailed Douglas with a sitdown dropkick. Torrie raked Konnan’s eyes when he covered her. Torrie gave Konnan the Franchise Chindrop and only a Tigress save stopped the three count. Tigress and Konnan gave Douglas a gutbuster for the win. The men selling for the women’s moves lacked credibility several times. A bit longer than it needed to be to get its spots in and the point across. (*)

Gene Okerlund interviewed David Flair who vowed to reveal DNA evidence to prove Buff is the father.

(5) Buff Bagwell beat David Flair at 5:40 in a First Blood match. Bagwell dominated offense early. David took a face-first bump a la his father. Buff tried to humiliate David by grabbing his arms from behind and putting him in Hulk Hogan like poses. David fought back with an elbow and went from completely limp to 100 percent strong. David lifted the ringside mats and went for a piledriver, but Buff blocked it and backdropped David onto the padding behind him. At 4:50 as David entered the ring, Buff lifted the second rope to crotch him, then nailed David with a chair that David had slid into the ring a moment earlier. Buff then did his gay little pose and dance routine to very little pop. David came up bleeding and then walked right into a Buff Blockbuster. The ref saw the blood and called for the bell. Lex Luger walked out and held Bagwell’s arm up, then turned on him and clotheslined him. Schiavone said, "How many times is Lex Luger going to turn on people here in WCW? What motivates him?" (How about because he continually fails to get over in one persona, so he turns constantly for cheap heat.) (1/2*)

David wandered around backstage holding up a stick with Buff’s blood on it looking for lab technicians. The technicians took the blood sample and left the arena. Goldberg arrived in the background with his bags...

(6) Mike Sanders beat The Cat in a three-round boxing match so Sanders won the commissionership. Cat knocked down Sanders twice in the first round. Cat continued to dominate the second round with a flurry of well-thrown karate point fighting kicks. Sanders could barely get to his feet at the start of the third round. Cat hit Sanders with a series of punches in the corner. As Palumbo distracted the ref, Douglas punched Cat, knocking him cold. When the third round ended, Cat got up just at 9. It was an official draw. Cat then went to ringside and attacked Douglas. Cat was then counted out, so Sanders was declared the winner. (NR)

The commissioner questioned Goldberg about his condition backstage. Goldberg was grabbing at his head as if suffering headaches... Okerlund interviewed Kronik backstage. They said either way they get paid. Brian Adams said if Goldberg doesn’t wrestle, he loses by forfeit and his winning streak and WCW career would be over...

(7) Mike Awesome pinned Vampiro at 9:50. As the two wrestlers brawled into the crowd, a fan went after Vampiro. Awesome and Vamp both went to work on the fan hardcore, then continued into the crowd. Their transition back into fighting each other was pretty soft, but their attack on the fan was memorable. Back in the ring they executed one awkward spot after another. At 9:00 Awesome powerbombed Vamp on the ringside mat and Vamp kicked out. From the top rope Awesome gave Vamp an Awesome Bomb for the pin. The finisher was pretty dangerous looking, but they managed to pull it off. Vampiro needed help getting up. Vamp held the back of his head, which snapped against the mat upon impact. They replayed it from several angles. (1/2*)

(8) Gen. Rection beat Lance Storm & Hacksaw Duggan (w/Major Gunns) to capture the U.S./Canadian Title when Rection pinned Duggan at 10:10. It began with Duggan vs. Rection, then Storm took over for Duggan. Madden called it a "Vancouver Tornado Rules" match. Duggan and Storm continued to tag each other, taking turns working over Rection. At 7:20 Storm accidentally clotheslined Duggan, then Rection took over. Storm stopped Rection’s pin attempt on Duggan. The ref then went down. Elix Skipper ran out to interfere, but Major Gunns hit him on the shins with her flag pole (missing on the first attempt badly). Storm got in her face for her disloyalty and walked her to the back. Meanwhile, Rection hit (well, he missed) Duggan with the moonsault and scored the pin. Madden declared that Storm may have lost the title, but he wasn’t pinned for it. Nothing special, but watchable. (*3/4)

(9) Jeff Jarrett pinned Sting at 14:30. Sting went to work on Jarrett from the opening bell. A wrestler came out with bleached blond spiked hair and facepaint like the old ’80s Sting. Sting attacked him in the aisle and gave him the Deathdrop. Jarrett then went after Sting. Sting fought back and regained control. A "90s Sting" (Steve Armstrong) came out wearing the pink jacket and facepaint. Sting beat him up in the ring for a minute, then threw him over the top rope. Sting followed ’90s Sting up the ramp and gave him the Deathdrop on the stage again as Jarrett watched from the ring. Sting yelled, then returned to the ring. Wolfpac Sting then came out dressed in red with the baseball bat, Wolfpac t-shirt, and long dark hair. Sting attacked him, ramming him into the ringside railing and then gave him another Scorpion Deathdrop on the stage. Jarrett attacked Sting aggressively with the baseball bat. At 9:00 Jarrett put Sting in the sleeper. At 10:00 Sting reversed it. Jarrett immediately back suplexed out of it. Sting went on a flurry, but as he set up the Scorpion Deathlock, a carbon copy Sting came up from under the mat and yanked him under the ring with him. A few seconds later, Sting came up with a bloodied carbon copy and threw the copy out of the ring. He then went for the Deathdrop again, but a wigged Sting rappelled from the roof to the floor. Sting punched him and his wig flew off, revealing a a nearly bald head. Sting gave him a Deathdrop through the announcing table. Sting returned to the ring and managed to immediately set up Jarrett for the Scorpion Deathlock, but the bloodied carbon copy Sting returned and hit Sting with a guitar. Jarrett then hit Sting with a second guitar and scored the pin. The real Sting ended up cut on the face from the finishing sequence. An entertaining match that told a story with some interesting visuals with the different Stings and the various entrances. (**3/4)

(10) Booker T beat Scott Steiner via DQ at 13:00 so Booker retained the WCW Hvt. Title. Steiner took early control, but got distracted by fans in the crowd and went after them. Security quickly got between Steiner and any fan who might be dumb enough to think Steiner actually realizes it’s all a work. Midajah distracted Booker just as he was about to get in some offense. Steiner threw Booker into the crowd. At 5:30 Steiner slammed Booker through the announcers’ table right into Stevie Ray’s lap. Later Steiner put Booker on his shoulders on the top rope and dropped back. He then did a series of push-ups to flaunt his dominance. Steiner kicked away at Booker in the corner. As Booker fought back, Steiner quickly stopped it with a mule kick. Later Booker went to the top rope, but Steiner met him there and was going to set up a suplex, but Booker punched him off. Midajah then knocked Booker off balance. Steiner grabbed Booker again for a suplex, but Booker headbutted him to the mat. Booker then hit the Missile Dropkick for a two count at 11:50. Booker hit the Axe Kick, but sold an injury upon landing. Midajah handed Steiner a lead pipe. As Booker went for a Harlem Kick, Steiner met him with a pipe. Steiner then put the ref in the corner upside down. Schiavone said Steiner "never cared about winning." Steiner applied a Steiner Recliner. When a second ref entered, Steiner attacked him, then reapplied the Recliner. A third ref ran into the ring and called for the bell. Steiner hit him with the pipe. The crowd booed. Steiner swung a chair at Booker’s knee several times. Jarrett came out to calm Steiner down. Steiner took another shot at Booker’s knees with the pipe. A methodically paced match, but very watchable. Steiner dominated 95 percent of offense and didn’t take many bumps, but you couldn’t accuse either wrestler of not working hard. (***1/2)

(11) Goldberg beat Kronik at 3:43. Kronik doubled on Goldberg at ringside in the first minute. They threw him into the ring, whipped him into the ropes, and dropped him with a clothesline. Adams brought in a table. They wanted to slam him through the table, but Goldberg blocked it. Goldberg escaped a Clark suplex attempt and speared Clark through the table propped in the corner. He scored a pin on Clark at 2:24. The ref signalled the match should continue as Clark attacked Goldberg. Adams gave Goldberg a full nelson and then suplexed him to the mat. Goldberg kicked out. Goldberg rebounded with a spear and then signalled with the thumb across his throat that the Jackhammer was next. He finished Adams with the Jackhammer for the win. Goldberg celebrated for about ten seconds before the PPV went off the air. Maybe having the top babyface win in the end was best for the show, but perhaps it was too formula and predictable. (*)

[Torch art credit Joe Borzotta (c) PWTorch.com]

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