wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: NWA Halloween Havoc ’90
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-We are getting closer and closer to the end of 1990 and for this promotion they are getting closer to making the switch to WCW for good, but it’s technically still under the NWA banner even with WCW all over the place. We are still in the Sting era and this is his first PPV Title defense, but he also still has Black Scorpion issues. Let’s get to it.
-I am watching this on Peacock and for whatever reason the run time is just a shade under two hours. I believe this is the home video version of the show instead of the full PPV. I’ll not what matches didn’t make the cut.
-Announce Team: Jim Ross and Paul E Dangerously
-Date: Oct 27, 1990
-Location: UIC Pavilion, Chicago, IL
-Attendance: 8,000
-PPV Buys:
-Jim Ross welcomes us to the show and is joined by Paul E. Ross is dressed as Al Capone and Dangerously is a Vampire. -They throw to Tony Schiavone who is dressed as THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. That’s a sure fire way to get my attention. I have loved Phantom since hearing the musical in 8th grade. Love the musical, love the box, love all the versions of the movie. My Bluesky profile pic is Lon Chaney’s Phantom. Sorry, Tony is with Ricky Morton and Tommy Rich who have a match tonight. Gibson is at home injured, so Rich is filling in for him tonight.
”Wildfire” Tommy Rich and Ricky Morton vs. The Midnight Express (w/ James Cornette)
-The ring set-up is unique as we have an red/orange canvas with orange ropes on top and bottom. Tiger Striped rope in the middle and black and red orange turnbuckles. It is certainly a look that was memorable though I assume it looked cooler to me when I was 9. Morton and Eaton start us out and they can probably do this with their eyes closed at this point. Eaton gets a hip-toss out of the corner as we start a little slow. Lockup to the corner and another hip-toss from Eaton. To the corner again and Eaton gets a right hand and then catches a charging Morton with an elbow. Eaton up top, but gets caught with a right hand on the way down. Criss-cross sequence with the ropes and Morton gets a backdrop and then a head scissors. Rich lands an elbow from the apron. The ME gain the advantage with some timely tandem offense. Eaton drops a leg on the back of the head for two. Morton misses in the corner and goes shoulder first into the post. Eaton comes off the top and I have no clue if he hit anything or not as the camera kind of missed it and I am not sure Eaton knew what he wanted to do. Cornette gets in a cheap shot with the racket. Clothesline from Eaton on the floor and he goes to a choke. Back in the ring Stan Lane works his KARATE. Morton gets a sunset flip, but Cornette just happens to be on the apron, so no count. Eaton rakes the face of Morton on the ORANGE RING ROPE! Cornette takes the ref again, and that lets Stan hit a slam on the floor. Then another on the ramp and they hit The Rocket Launcher out there to a massive pop from the crowd. That was cool and the crowd knew it! Lane does The Cabbage Patch and gets a jackknife cover for two. Morton with another roll-up, but a blind tag was made and Bobby hits a swinging neckbreaker. Sling-shot backbreaker gets two! Cornette with another racket shot for fun! Lane decks Rich to draw him into the match, which lets Lane dump Ricky over the top to the floor and Lane falls down to fool the ref. Morton avoids a charge on the floor as Eaton runs into the post. Rana from Morton which JR calls a Japanese head scissors. Cornette lands a stomp as he continues to torment Morton. Back in the ring Eaton gets the tag and heads up top. He connects with The Alabama Jam and that should be it, but he apparently wants a 10 count. That’s just dumb! Morton is up at 8 as Jim Ross tries to cover for what the ME opted not to go for a pin. Lane in and he unloads with right hands. Morton just stares at home and fires back, but can’t make the tag. Another Rocket Launcher, but Morton gets his knees up to block. Nearly 13 minutes into the match, Rich finally gets the tag. He is a house of (wild) fire and gets a Thesz Press for two. All four men brawl in the ring. Rich gets a slam on Lane and heads up top, but Cornette decks him with the racket to knock him to the mat. The Southern Boys are here and they are dressed like Cornette. They deck him and just cause havoc which lets Rich use the racket on Lane for the pin at 14:01.
Winners: Ricky Morton and Tommy Rich via pin at 14:01
-This was a tag match alright. I believe it was cut down as the listed run time I saw elsewhere was 20:49. That seems like a lot to cut out and perhaps it was Rich getting involved earlier. I am sure Gibson being injured killed what they wanted to do, so they tried to pull something off here. Morton got his ass beat for 12 minutes and then the ME only lose because of two other guys showing up. Weird match, but The ME looked great. **1/2
-Back to Phantom Tony who brings out Sting. He is a little bit fired up for his match with Sid. The Black Scorpion shows up and Sting and Tony don’t even realize it. Scorpion is already in his monologue before Sting finally turns around to see him grab a “fan” and make her disappear behind a curtain. We get a wide shot of Sting fighting through refs and then some pyro. Scorpion shows up on the other side of the stage with the fan and says they will meet again. This is just awful!
-Poor Jim Ross and Paul E have to sell this crap!
-Matches we didn’t get on this version of the show: Terry Taylor over Bill Irwin (11:47), Brad Armstrong over JW Storm (5:04), and The Master Blasters over The Southern Boys (7:17)
The Renegade Warriors vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (w/ Little Richard Marley)
-BAD STREET! Again, I have seen enough Bird matches during this Retro Run, but at least I het to hear BAD STREET! The Renegade Warriors are Chris and Mark Youngblood. Marley is wearing Robert Gibson’s tights as the Birds took credit for injuring him. The also took out Allen Iron Eagle, who is a friend of The Renegade Warriors. Ross is not a fan of Marley and goes on a rant against him. It’s not HHH levels of hate, but still strong. Hayes struts and lands a chop, but gets run into the buckle by Mark. Backdrop and a double chop from Mark. Garvin gets one as well and then Chris comes off the top with a double clothesline. This is break neck pace by Birds’ standards. Ross continues to rant against The Birds taking out Gibson. Paul is on top of it as he continues to egg Ross on. Too funny! Now we get the stalling from The Birds that we are used to. Garvin in as Paul makes Indian jokes about basket weaving. Chris escapes a side headlock and gets a roll-up for two, but gets caught with a punch from Hayes from the apron. Chris gets dumped to the floor behind the ref’s back and Hayes lands a shot out there. Little Richard gets involved as well. Back in the ring Garvin gets a chinlock. Chris breaks, but runs into a knee. Tag to Hayes and drops a fight to the face and then some dancing. Reverse chinlock from Hayes because that’s what this match needs. The crowd starts a DDT chant and Ross has to note there are a few Freebird fans in the crowd. Hayes in and he goes to the reverse chinlock. We are told 15 minutes have passed at 7:50 so either the timer is really off, or they edited this match down. Considering this is the home video release I assume the match has been clipped. Maybe they cut out the normally stalling and arguing with the crowd the Birds do to open a match. Hayes gets a slam and drops an elbow for two. Another reverse chinlock as we get another DDT chant. Chris starts to fight back, but a thumb to the eye stops that. Chris gets a high cross body for two, but Hayes back to the chinlock. Man! On one hand this is boring, but on the other it is letting check my e-mail and scroll through Draft Kings. Hayes with a slam and he heads up top. Chris catches him and slams him down. Tag made to Mark and there is 0 pop for the Hot Tag. Mark runs wild and runs The Birds together. Chris with a double clothesline. Some grandma yells, “kick their butts,” which is cool. Marley gets brought into the match and that draws the ref’s attention. The Birds go with the finish they know: Garvin gets rolled up which lets Hayes hit a DDT for the pin at 12:38.
Winners: The Fabulous Freebirds via pin at 12:38
-Apparently the match ran 17:28, so they cut five minutes out here. I kind of doubt those 5 minutes would have helped anything. I hate reviewing matches that have been cut down, but this was bad at 12 minutes and probably bad at 17. 1/2* for Bad Street and The DDT.
-The Horsemen get interviewed by Phantom Tony!
NWA United States Tag Team Championship: The Steiner Brothers (c) vs. The Nasty Boys
-The immediately start brawling on the floor before the bell sounds and the crowd loves it. Scott gets tossed into a railing and Saggs blasts him with a chair. On the other side Knobbs and Rick exchange right hands. In the ring Scott slips out of a superplex and goes back up to get a middle rope belly to belly to a big pop. This is already better than anything else we have seen on this show. Heyman was probably taking notes sitting at commentary. The ref is sadly trying to get this back to a regular tag match and I just want a brawl. Saggs lands a back elbow on Scott and fires away with forearms. He misses a clothesline and sets to early on a backdrop. That lets Scott hit a double underhook into a sit-out powerbomb. Rick comes off the top with a Bulldog! Knobbs uses a chair on Scott to stop a pin behind the ref’s back (kind of). That gets two for Knobbs. He drops Scott with a sidewalk slam and then a power slam for two. Scott gets dumped to the floor and Saggs comes off the apron with a knee. Back in the ring Saggs is in and gets another slam as they continue to work the back. Smart! Rick in to break up a pin and that lets Knobbs come in without a tag. Knobbs hooks an abdominal stretch and pulls the tights for extra leverage. Saggs back in with a bearhug as this is losing a little steam. Scott reverses and snaps off a belly to belly suplex to break. Everyone back in the ring again. STEINERLINE from Rick to Knobbs, but a second one misses and Rick goes flying over the top. Back in the ring The Nasty Boys hit Scott with a spike piledriver. No count as Knobbs won’t get out of the ring. Rick uses a chair to break up the pin anyway and Saggs is bleeding. Scott gets a belly to back suplex, but Knobbs cuts off the hot tag. Knobbs goes back to the bearhug to let Saggs clear his likely concussed head after that chair shot. Charge in the corner is blocked as Scott gets a boot up, but again, the tag gets cut off. Boston Crab from a bloody Saggs in a cool visual. That blood won’t really show up well on the ref canvas though. Scott continues to tease the hot tag, but keeps getting cut off. So simple and yet, so effective! Camel Clutch from Knobbs as Sags yells for the ref to ring the bell. This isn’t Montreal! Scott gets to his feet and is able to fall back to break the hold, but again, the fresh Nasty Boy gets the tag and stops the hot tag. Inverted atomic drop from Scott, but no follow up. Knobbs misses a splash in the corner and Scott gets a STEINERLINE to Saggs. HOT TAG RICK! STEINERLINE! STEINERLINE! Belly to belly gets two, but Saggs breaks that up. All four men brawl and Scott gets dumped over the top. Rick gets sent to the floor as well. Rick comes off the top with a double STEINERLINE. The numbers catch up to Rick. The Nasty Boys hit the floor and get a double slam on Scott. Scott is able to trip Saggs and pull him to the floor. He sends him into the post . SCOTT WITH THE FRANKENSTEINER for the pin at 15:23.
Winners and Still US Tag Team Champions: The Steiner Brothers via pin at 15:23
-Fun match that made The Nasty Boys so much that the WWF came calling. I think it would have been an all time classic if they just let them continue the brawl all over the building, but we weren’t ready for that yet. ***1/2
-The Nasty Boys attack after the bell and hit The Steiners with their Championship Belts. Rick gets run shoulder first into the post before Scott finally chases them to the back.
-Phantom Tony is with Scott Steiner as I assume this was after a match that was cut. Saggs, dressed as a concession worker, attacks Scott and gets left laying. Five months later The Nasty Boys are winning The WWF Tag Titles from The Hart Foundation at WrestleMania VII.
-Checking wikipedia, the other match cut at this point was JYD over Moondog Rex (3:15).
NWA World Tag Team Championship: Doom (c) (w/ Teddy Long) vs. The Horsemen (Ric Flair and Arn Anderson)
-Arn Anderson starts with Ron Simmons and Ross immediately mentions Simmons’ football background at Florida State. Simmons uses his power game early which has Arn considering other options. He backs Simmons to the ropes and hits a couple shoulders, but misses a left hand. Ron with a right hand and he gets a suplex to bring Arn off the apron and back into the ring. Several head-butts and Arn is out on the floor to regroup with Flair. Their plans works for a second as Flair gets in a knee from the apron, but Ron shakes off a suplex and gets a powerslam. Flair in behind the ref’s back and he lays in some chops, but Ron shakes that off as well and clotheslines down both Horsemen. Teddy Long in and he SLAPS RIC FLAIR IN THE FACE. That draws a gasp from the crowd and Paul is stunned on commentary. Reed in and he wants some of Flair. I know they have history and produced what many called a classic years before this. I never saw that match, and when I saw all the praise heaped on it, I was curious to see what they pulled off. Dangerously mentions that Flair is a 3 time Tag Champion in the 70s. Flair fires off chops, but it only wakes Reed up and he goes crazy with right hands. Gorilla Press to Flair! Simmons in and Gorilla Press to Anderson. Reed gets the 10 count punch in the corner and then a clothesline. Flair goes to the eyes and again, a chop only pisses Reed off. They start trading chops, but once it becomes punches, Reed wins the exchange. Flair can’t help himself and goes back to the chops. That ends with a bunch of right hands and a Flair Flop! AWESOME! Flair goes upside down in the corner and nearly takes out the cameraman. He does run into Simmons and that’s not a good time for Ric. Here’s a chop and Simmons just him down and they start walking back towards the entrance. Flair goes to the eyes and they head back to the ring where Reed and Anderson are fighting each other. We get back to Anderson and Reed and a high knee knocks Arn to the mat. Double clothesline from Doom gets a two count! Simmons sets too early on a backdrop and Arm comes down with a knee. Flair in to drop a knee to the back of the head. Now the chops from Flair are doing some damage. SPINEBUSTER from Arn gets a nice pop and a two count as Ron kicks out with ease. Flair back in and he starts to go to work on the knee. You don’t have to ask Arn Anderson twice to attack a body part as he is all over the knee. Belly to back suplex from Flair and he hooks the figure-four. Arn is there to give some leverage as he holds Flair’s arms. Reed keeps coming in, but as the ref forces him out, Arn is in to stomp at the knee. Cool! Simmons rolls to reverse the pressure, but Flair tags out quickly. Arn goes right to work on the knee and avoids a dropkick by holding the ropes. He gets two off that and then another two as he wrestles to keep Ron’s shoulders on the mat. Arn ends up getting crotched on Ron’s shins, but he can’t get the tag to Reed. Flair back in and right to the knee. CHOP! Flair Woos and tries to run over Ron, but knocks himself down. I found that hilarious after he seemed so confident with the Woo. Ron gets dumped to the floor, but he sends Flair into the railing. Ron gets a sunset flip on Arn, but a tag was made to Flair in a nice spot. Flair misses an elbow which lets Simmons clip Flair with a clothesline. We are told 20 minutes has passed, but I have 15:30. HOT TAG to Reed and it gets a decent pop considering both teams are heels here. Shoulder block to Flair gets two as Arn makes the save. All four men start brawling and Reed/Flair end up on the floor. Arn tries a piledriver, but Reed comes off the top with a shoulder. Flair breaks up that pin. Arn sticks Reed with a DDT, but Simmons makes the save. The crowd is standing now as they are cooking now. Reed runs Flair down with a clothesline as Arn and Simmons brawl on the floor. Now all four men are on the floor trading punches and chops. They brawl through ringside and we get a double count-out at 18:13.
Double Count-out at 18:13
-Crappy ending to a fantastic match! Arn and Flair meshed fantastically as a team and they were great against the power of Doom. The Horsemen were go great with their cheating it got the fans cheering Doom. Man, I wish this had a better ending. ***3/4
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship: Lex Luger (c) vs. Stan Hansen
-Luger starts with a back elbow and Hansen bails to the floor. Luger should have worn tights that aren’t orange as he blending in with the ring. Hansen regroups and starts mauling Luger. Lex responds with a slam as Ross now goes over Luger’s football background and the fact he had a 3.78 GPA in college. The 5 minute call at 2:10 which is ridiculous! As a kid I took the timekeeper’s word as gospel and now I know it was all a throne of lies. Hansen misses a charge in the corner and spills to the floor. They start brawling on the floor and the ref follows them as I guess he isn’t going to count. Back in the ring Lex beats Hansen down in the corner and then drops a knee for a two count. Hansen gets in a shot and hits a snap suplex followed by an elbow drop for two. Hansen drops a knee for another two count. Lex starts firing back with right hands, so Hansen throws a head-butt. He hits a bulldog for two! Hansen gets a take down as he fights off Luger getting the mounted punches in the corner. Hansen misses an elbow from the middle rope. That lets Luger get back on track with a suplex followed by a slam. Elbow from Lex gets two. Vertical suplex gets two! Hansen gets a clothesline in the corner as Ross notes that was the right arm, so only a clothesline and not the Lariat. The ref accidentally gets decked. Lariat is missed as Lex gets his own version. Here’s Dan Spivey and he tosses the cowbell to Hansen. Luger gets a backdrop to block and plants Hansen face first on the bell. Lex preps for The Torture Rack but Hansen gets the Lariat out of nowhere for the pin at 9:29.
Winner and New NWA United States Heavyweight Champion: Stan Hansen via pin at 9:29
-This was okay and went as long as needed. Weird to see Luger finally lose after he was protected in all the matches with Flair this year. **
-Phantom Tony is with Teddy Long, who has the Tag Titles with him. Long tells The Horsemen they are done with them and they aren’t getting another Title Match.
NWA World Heavyweight Championship: Sting (c) vs. Sid Vicious
-Sid is just an intimidating presence! He misses wildly with a a clothesline, but catches Sting trying a cross-body. He gets a back breaker, but kind of a weak one and Sting just pops up. Sid bails to the floor and then we have another go. Sid misses wildly again and they start brawling on the floor. Sid gets sent shoulder first into the post. Back in the ring, Sting hooks a wrist-lock. Sid misses a charge in the corner and Sting goes to an arm ringer then into an arm-bar. They keep cutting to the crowd because we don’t have anything happening in the ring. Sting gets a head scissors, but Sid kips up and takes Sting’s head off with a clothesline. He then flashes the 4 Horsemen sign to a solid pop. Nerve hold from Sid! Dangerously brings up The Reds winning the World Series in a sweep. Stupid Reds beat my Pirates in what was the first memory I have of baseball. We’ll always have our CUETO moment. Sid gets a powerslam for two, so Sid goes to a choke. He does break at four! Sid buries a knee to the ribs and chokes some more. Sting reverses a whip and goes for broke with The Stinger Splash, but Sid evades easily. More posing from Sid which gives Sting a chance to head up and come off with a crossbody for two. Sid recovers and rubs Stings face in the mat. Clothesline on the apron gets two. Very weak chinlock from Sid as the crowd is just not into this one, which sucks for Sting’s first PPV Title defense. Sting starts his comeback which finally gets the crowd into this one a bit, but he runs into a big boot and spills to the ramp. Heavy clothesline as the ref follows them out again. Sid gets a slam on the ramp but sprints back and dives over the ropes with a clothesline in a tremendous spot! That was sweet! Another dive over the top to the floor and here are The Horsemen to distract the ref. Sid and Sting disappear and when they are back Sid falls back on “Sting” for the pin at 11:44. It gets a strong pop from the crowd as pyro is going off. The real Sting is back as he was tied up somewhere. He gets a Stinger Splash and roll-up for the real pin at 12:37.
Winner and Still NWA World Heavyweight Champion: Sting via pin at 12:37
-Sid wasn’t ready for a match like this yet and Sting wasn’t the guy, yet, to carry him in a Main Event match. The ending did Sting no favors either as he needed a strong win in his first PPV defense. *
-Sting gets interviewed by Ross as we go off the air with Heyman throwing a fit. Thanks for reading!
