WCW Halloween Havoc 1989: Settling The Score
by Scrooge McSuck
- I'm skipping over Clash of the Champions VIII since it's not available to me either from my personal collection or from online searching. Sorry. Featured on the card... The Road Warriors vs. The SST, Tom Zenk's Debut against the Cuban Assassin, Sid Vicious destroying Ranger Ross, the Freebirds defending the Tag Titles against the Steiner Brothers, Flyin' Brian vs. Norman "The Lunatic", Steve Williams vs. Mike Rotunda, Lex Luger defending the US Title against Tommy Rich, and Ric Flair and Sting taking on The Great Muta and Dick Slater (subbing for Terry Funk) in the main event featuring Flair being smothered with a plastic bag.
- Originating on October 28th, 1989, from the Philadelphia Civic Center in (you guessed it) Philadelphia, PA. Jim Ross and Bob Caudle are calling the action, as usual with these shows from this time frame. I should note, this is the Turner Home Entertainment version, so expect some clip jobs during the undercard matches.
The Z-Man vs. Captain Mike Rotunda:
Rotunda sure is letting his hair grow out. I know, that was a weird observation on my part. While I'm on the subject, why is Rotunda introduced as "Captain", especially since the Varsity Club was no more at this point? Z-Man is, of course, Tom Zenk, a.k.a the most angry midcarder to hit the internet in the early part of the 21st century. Lockup, and Rotunda with a waist-lock takedown. Lockup, and Z-Man with a standing side headlock. Irish whip, and Z-Man with a shoulder block. Lockup, and Z-Man with another headlock and shoulder block. CLIP JOB! Rotunda takes Z-Man over with a suplex and covers for a two count. Rotunda slaps on a front facelock, then turns it into an abdominal stretch. Yes, he uses the ropes for leverage. Rotunda is dripping sweat, and even by his standards of heavy sweating, that must've been a hell of a clip job. Rotunda releases after being caught cheating, then quickly applies a rear chinlock. Z-Man escapes with elbows to the midsection, but Rotunda kills him with a flying clothesline to a pretty good face pop. Irish whip, and Rotunda misses a dropkick. Whip to the corner, and Z-Man puts Rotunda down with a back elbow. Rotunda rakes the eyes. Whip to the corner is reversed, and Z-Man rolls through a cross body for the three count at 4:17, clipped down from about 13-minutes. Quite off topic, but I'm amazed Vince Russo never formed a tag team called "The Sea Men", considering his level of immature humor and penis jokes. *1/2 Not much was here, but it looked okay, and I'm sure the full match was a bit better. Stupid THE clip jobs.The Midnight Express & Steve Williams (w/ Jim Cornette) vs. The Samoan Swat Team & The Samoan Savage (w/ Big Kahuna):
Come on, when is this nonsense feud between the Midnights and SST ever going to end? Paul E. Dangeorusly is out as manager, and in is Sir Oliver Humperdink, with only the second most retarded nickname he was given by WCW (Big Daddy Dink would be the worst when he was the Freebirds' "Roadie" in 1991). The Savage is the Islander Formerly Known as Tama (or Toe-Ma, if you're Jesse Ventura). We CLIP already, with Eaton being double teamed by Fatu and Savage. Fatu quickly slaps on the Samoan Nerve Grip of Doom, and I just don't understand the logic to clipping the match to the point where it's a RESTHOLD! Eaton with some slaps and Fatu retaliates with a clothesline. Samoan Savage nails him from the apron, then tosses him back in the ring, where Samu greets him with a leg drop and headbutt. Samoan Savage tags in and bites the arm of Eaton. Savage with a side suplex for a two count. Fatu comes in without a tag and quickly slaps on another resthold. Eaton must be bored too, because the camera gets a nice shot of him just laying there without any emotion on his face. Savage tries a splash from the second rope, but Eaton gets the knees up. Dr. Death gets the hot tag, and he comes in with an axehandle. Irish whip, and Williams with a clothesline, then press slams to both SST members. Williams scoops up the Savage and chucks him onto both SST. Irish whip and a powerslam on the Savage gets a two count.. Lane tags in and Savage blows a fucking neck breaker spot. Lane hammers on the SST, then nails the Savage with an enziguri. It's chaos! Savage nails Lane from behind, knocking him into Cornette, then covers him for the three count at a butchered 5:10. 1/2* Outside of Williams' offensive explosion at the end of the match, totally worthless dick of a match. Seriously, why are the Midnight Express jobbing to these losers?"Wildfire" Tommy Rich vs. The Cuban Assassin:
Talk about bringing the excitement after the last stinker. I've talked about Tommy Rich in my AWF Reviews, but in short, he's about 8 years past the point of relevance here, and his claim to fame was a NWA World Title run that lasted all of a week. Wrestling myth was that he exchanged some manly pleasure for the strap, but take that with a couple of cups of salt. No idea who Cuban Assassin is, and I don't care enough to look him up. As old as Rich was starting to look here, by 1991, he looked even WORSE! Assassin attacks from behind and pounds away with rights. Rich comes back with a pair of slams and we CLIP to Rich having an armbar applied. Cuban Assassin rakes the eyes and pounds with forearms. Assassin with a scoop slam, but he misses an elbow. The crowd is REALLY not into this, and boring chants are out of sync. Rich with an arm drag, then back to the armbar. Assassin escapes and applies a wristlock, then yanks the hair to bring Rich to the canvas. Rich fights to his feet and escapes with a headbutt. Irish whip, and Assassin with a shitty running high knee. Assassin stomps away and chokes. Assassin goes for a piledriver, but Rich blocks and counters with a back drop. Assassin with a headbutt to the midsection, followed by a knee lift for a two count. Cuban Ass with a chinlock, then he takes Rich over with a suplex. Assassin heads to the top rope, but Rich crotches him across the top turnbuckle. Irish whip, and Rich with a back elbow. Whip to the corner is reversed, and Assassin misses a cross body. Rich with a Lou Thesz press, and THAT gets the three count at 5:15 to a chorus of boos. DUD Total shit. Who, past 1953, used that as a finishing move? Seriously.NWA World Tag Team Championship Match:
The Fabulous Freebirds © vs. The Dynamic Dudes (w/ Jim Cornette):
(Michael "P.S." Hayes & Jimmy Garvin vs. Shane Douglas & Johnny Ace)Not much of a backstory to the match, but the Dudes have enlisted the help of Jim Cornette over the summer, and in the process, they've shot to the top of the contenders list, while Cornette's other project, the Midnight Express, have fallen down the charts. I should note the Philadelphia crowd gives the Freebirds the biggest babyface reaction of the night so far, but Philadelphia is known for cheering the heels, so take that for what it's worth. The Freebirds come out to the lengthy guitar solo portion of Free Bird, so maybe that helped get the crowd going. We clip immediately to Ace having a headlock applied to Jimmy Jam. Ace toys around with Hayes, who keeps trying to make a tag, then sends both Freebirds out of the ring with a headlock and head scissors combination. Ace slaps on another headlock as the crowd is chanting something not so nice towards the Dudes. Ace with a roll up for a two count, but Hayes nails him from the apron, and Garvin takes him down with a back suplex, all to huge pops. Garvin sends Ace out of the ring to give the crowd another reason to cheer. Hayes comes over with a cheap shot, just because he can. Garvin boots Ace in the face a few times to keep him out of the ring. Hayes tags in and unloads with rights in the corner. Ace fights back, but Hayes drives an elbow to the midsection. Garvin tags in and takes Ace over with a back drop. Whip to the corner, and Hayes comes charging to the corner with a clothesline. Hayes goes for the DDT, but Ace blocks it.. Douglas gets the cold tag (not a single reaction) and quickly goes to work hitting everyone with dropkicks. Double noggin' knocker and a double clothesline from Ace. Irish whip and a double high knee to Hayes, sending him out of the ring. They go for the Wipe Out (slingshot back suplex), but Hayes trips up Ace, and Garvin lands on top of Douglas for the three count at a butchered 5:32 to retain the titles. I'm curious why the Freebirds got such a great face reaction out of all the heels. Michael Hayes' success in wrestling was generally in the southern regions, I thought. I guess the Dudes were that hated for being crappy posers. * Generously rated for the crowd shitting all over the Dudes.
The Steiner Brothers vs. Doom (w/ Woman):
(Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Doom #1 & #2)
Here's an intersting one for you. The Steiner Brothers, or more specifically Rick Steiner, had started hanging around an obsessed fan named Robin Green, who began to accompany the team to ringside, but Rick's brother, Scott, and their manager at the time, Missy Hyatt, didn't take kindly to her and thought she was weird, so she turned heel on Rick and vowed to bring Doom to Halloween Havoc for the Steiners. Doom turns out to be two masked, muscular african-americans, and to say EVERYONE at the time knew it was Ron Simmons and Butch Reed would be an understatement. It's almost up their with the Midnight Rider and Charlie Brown gimmicks in terms of obvious, except here we weren't supposed to know it was them, but the fact both disappeared from television a few weeks before and were never seen again (except as Doom, of course) kind of made it even more obvious. I should note that both Simmons and Reed completely abandoned their typical formulas and basically did punch-kick, so at least they tried to mask themselves. No pun intended. The Steiners come to the ring to Guns N' Roses "Welcome To The Jungle." I don't exactly think "Steiners" when I hear this song, but whatever. Woman, is of course, Nancy Sullivan, who's claim to wrestling fame at this point was probably her association with Kevin Sullivan (her then-husband) and his devil worshipping stable.
The Steiners attack before the bell, and we've got a slugfest in opposite corners. Whips are reversed, sending both Doom members into each other, and the Steiners take Doom down with simultanious belly-to-back suplexes. Back in the ring, and the Steiners send Doom back out with clotheslines. In the ring, Scott and Doom #1 lockup, with Doom #1 taking control. Whip to the corner is reversed, and Scott nails a clothesline to the back of the head. Scott with a snapmare, followed by a knee drop for two count. Rick tags in and takes out both Doom with his signature clotheslines. Doom #2 tags in and hammers away. Irish whip is reversed, and Rick puts him down with a forearm for a two count, then slaps on a chinlock. Doom #2 escapes with an inverted atomic drop, and Doom #1 tags in and falls over performing a headbutt. #1 appears to be Ron Simmons. Rick blocks a suplex attempt and takes Doom #1 over with his own. Rick slaps on a headlock, and Scott tags in, coming off the top rope with a clothesline for a two count. Rick tags in and Doom #1 nails him with a move that would later be known as the Stone Cold Stunner. Doom #2 (Butch Reed) tags in and puts the boots to Rick. Irish whip, and Doom #2 with a clothesline, complete with over-sell from Rick. Doom #2 drops Rick across the top rope for a two count. Irish whip, and Rick with a boot to the face of Doom #2. Scott tags in and plants Doom #2 with a front-face suplex. Doom #1 tags in and is quickly taken down with a belly-to-back suplex. Scott with a pair of elbow drops for a two count. Scott with a snapmare, then applies a chinlock. Scott hits the ropes, and Doom #2 nails him in the back. Doom #1 with a snapmare, and Doom #2 comes in off the top rope with a double axehandle.
Scott gets tossed out of the ring, where the punishment continues as both Doom members drop Scott across the security rail. Irish whip, and a double elbow from Doom for a two count. Doom #1 covers again, then slaps on a chinlock. Scott tries to fight free, but takes a knee to the midsection. Doom #2 tags in and does some punchy-kicky-chokey. Doom #2 tosses Scott over the top rope while the referee is ditracted by Rick. Scott with a sunset flip into the ring, and with a little help from Rick, takes him over for a two count. Doom #2 with a swinging neck breaker for a two count. Crowd is kind of note into it, as both Doom members can be heard talking smack. Doom #1 tags in and takes Scott over with a powerslam for a two count. Double slam by Doom gets another two count. Doom #2 tags in and applies a front facelock. Rick gets the tag, but the referee didn't see it, of course. Doom with a Spike Piledriver on Scott, but he's Superman, and kick out at two. Doom #1 slaps on another chinlock. Irish whip, and Scott with a boot to the chest. Rick finally gets the hot tag, and unloads on Doom #2. Irish whip, and Rick with a back drop. Irish whip, and Rick with a charging clothesline, followed by another to Doom #1. Scott comes in and gives Doom #1 the Frankensteiner (hurricanrana) and Rick takes Doom #2 over with a powerslam. Woman gets on the apron as Rick takes Doom #2 down with a belly-to-belly suplex. Woman loads up the mask of Doom #2 as Rick is preoccupied with Doom #1. Rick goes for another belly-to-belly suplex, but Doom #2 headbutts him, and covers for the three count at 15:32. ** Not a bad match, but a little too long. The Steiners brought a lot of energy and an impressive move-set, but Doom really didn't do much, except for the occasional cool double team moves.
NWA United States Championship Match:
"The Total Package" Lex Luger © vs. Flyin' Brian:
Interesting to see Pillman recieving a title match so early in his tenure. I don't think there was any real angle here, just something for both guys to do, so I don't expect Luger to be dropping the title here. Luger is still an asshole arrogant heel, but the Philadelphia crowd loves him, too. So much for that heel turn. The one time in his career fans didn't want to boo him, I guess. Lockup into the corner, and they struggle before we get a clean break. Lockup #2, and we get the same result. Third lockup, and Luger with a knee to the midsection, followed by blows across the back. Luger with a series of rights, followed by a slam. Luger with a slap, then Pillman comes back with a tackle and unloads with rights and lefts. Whip to the corner, and Pillman with a back drop, followed by a dropkick. Luger rolls out of the ring, and Pillman nails him with a baseball slide. Pillman follows out and unloads with a series of chops. Back in the ring, and Luger avoids something from the top rope. Pillman chases Luger around the ring, then back in the ring, Luger puts the boots to Pillman, then rakes the eyes across the top rope. Luger takes it to the corner, stomping away at the midsection of the challenger. Whip to the corner, and Pillman comes off the top rope with a cross body for a two count. Pillman with an arm drag, then slaps on an armbar. Back to their feet, and Pillman turns it into a wristlock. Luger escapes with a knee to the midsection, and drives an axehandle across the back, Irish whip, and Pillman counters a hip toss, then puts Luger down with a dropkick. Pillman with a pair of arm drags, then goes back to the armbar. Luger forces a break in the corner, and pounds away again. Irish whip to the corner, and Pillman boots Luger coming in. Pillman to the top rope, but he misses a splash attempt.
Irish whip, and Luger presses Pillman up in the air for a crash landing. Luger drops Pillman throat-first across the top rope, then takes time to trash talk the crowd. Irish whip, and Luger takes Pillman's head off with a clothesline. Pillman is back to his feet and throws out some desperate offensive blows, but Luger boots him and takes him out with another clothesline. Luger with a clothesline to the back of the head to a big babyface pop. Luger stomps away on the back of the head of Pillman, then drops a series of elbows across the neck. Luger with a delayed vertical suplex, but he takes his sweet time to make a cover, and only gets a two count as a result of it. Luger drops a pair of elbows across the chest of Pillman. Pillman attempts a comeback, but Luger tosses him out of the ring in retaliation. Luger pulls him back to the apron and slams a forearm across the chest. Pillman with a shoulder to the midsection, and a surprise sunset flip for a two count. Luger throws a clothesline, but Pillman ducks, and Luger goes over the top rope, to the floor. Back in the ring, and Pillman with mounted punches in the corner. Luger counters but running Pillman across the ring and nailing an inverted atomic drop. Luger picks Pillman up and places him on the top turnbuckle. Luger follows up, but Pillman shoves him off. Pillman comes off with a sunset flip for another two count. Irish whip, and Pillman comes off the ropes with a diving back elbow. Whip to the corner, and Pillman with a back drop. Pillman heads to the apron, then springs off the top rope with a clothesline, but Luger gets a leg on the ropes before a pinfall can be made. Pillman with a snap neckbreaker, then heads to the top rope, missing a missile dropkick. Irish whip, and Luger with a stun gun for the three count at 13:20 to retain the United States Championship. I'm somewhat surprised the finish was clean, but again, Pillman wasn't that much of a contender yet. ***1/2 Pretty good match, and 1989 is proving to be Luger's best year in wrestling. Of course, it didn't hurt being in the ring with such talents as Barry Windham, Ricky Steamboat, and Flyin' Brian on all of the PPV's that year, but hey, whatever works. It's sad to see that Luger CAN go, but almost all of his career, he always looked like he wasn't putting a full effort into his performances.
The Road Warriors (w/ Paul Ellering) vs. The Skyscrapers (w/ Theodore R. Long):
(Road Warrior Hawk & Animal vs. Sid Vicious & Dan Spivey)
The Skyscrapers are announced from the Metropolis, for those who care. I guess that's better than "Anywhere He DARN Well Pleases." The Road Warriors and Long have issues dating back to the 6th Clash of the Champions, when after manhandling Long, he performed the fastest three count in history, costing them the World Tag Team Titles. Since being fired as a referee, Long scouted wrestlers for weeks before debuting his newly formed team of Spivey and Vicious during the Summer, as well as an insane asylum patient. They could've killed two birds with one stone and used Sid for both, I guess. Everyone goes face-to-face, and the Skyscrapers obviously tower over the LOD, but not by an insane amount or anything.
Animal and Spivey start. Lockup, and Spivey with a series of lefts. Irish whip is reversed, and Animal clotheslines Spivey out of the ring. He blows the "go-over-the-top-rope spot" in the process. Back in the ring, and Animal works the arm. Hawk comes off the top with an axehandle, then applies a wristlock. Irish whip, and a shoulder block doesn't budge anyone. Hawk puts Spivey down with a diving shoulder tackle, and it's time for another regrouping outside the ring. Sid tags in for the first time, and he hammers away. Irish whip, and Sid blows a CLOTHESLINE. Hawk hits his own, but Sid doesn't sell it very much. Lockup into the corner, and Sid hammers away. Whip to the corner, and Sid misses a charge. Animal tags in, and they nail a double elbow. Animal slaps on a headlock, but that doesn't last long. Irish whip, and a shoulder block does nothing. Sid misses a clothesline, and Animal comes off the ropes with a flying shoulder block, sending Sid out of the ring. Long traded in a modest, normal key, for an over-sized gimmick key. Hawk tags in and wants a test-of-strength with Sid. Sid takes control of it, but Hawk fights back up with it and takes Sid over. Animal tags in and slaps on an armbar. Sid takes it to the corner for some double team action. Irish whip is reversed, and Animal nails Spivey with a clothesline. Animal applies a wristlock, and Hawk tags in to work the arm some more. Sid tags in and takes Hawk over with a headlock. Hawk with a head scissors, but Sid kips up(!), and takes Hawk down with a clothesline. Sid scoops Hawk up an gives him a helicopter spin! Spivey tags in and plants Hawk with a side suplex for a two count. Irish whip, and Hawk nails Spivey with a clothesline. Spivey is up first though, and baseball slides Hawk out of the ring. Sid takes advantage of the situation, dropping Hawk across the security rail. Back in the ring, and Spivey takes Hawk over with a suplex for a two count. Whip to the corner, and we get some double team action. Sid hammers away and flattens Hawk with a clothesline. Spivey tags in and nails a clothesline of his own. Spivey tries for a suplex, but Hawk blocks and takes him over with his own suplex. Sid tags in and slaps on a front facelock. Hawk scoops Sid up and tags Animal, but the referee didn't see it. Didn't we see that happen in a match already on this show? Spivey sends Hawk to the corner, then charges in with an avalanche. He tries for it again, but Hawk boots him and nails a clothesline. Animal gets the real hot tag, and nails Spivey with a dropkick. Irish whip, and Animal with a diving shoulder tackle. Animal and Sid slug it out, and soon Hawk is in the ring with Spivey, too. Animal with a powerslam on Sid, and now Long and Ellering get in the ring. Spivey nails Hawk with the giant key, and it's a Disqualification at 11:38. The Skyscrapers continue to beat up on Animal with the stupid key. Hawk nails Spivey with a clothesline from the top rope, then bashes them both with the key to clear the ring. * For some cool big man power stuff, but for the most part, kinda sluggish, boring, and sloppy. Teams like the Skyscrapers and Road Warriors are fun to watch when squashing opponents, but in long matches? No thanks.
Thunderdome Cage Match:
Ric Flair & Sting (w/ Ole Anderson) vs. Terry Funk & The Great Muta (w/ Gary Hart):
Special Referee: Bruno Sammartino
For those unfamiliar, the Thunderdome Cage is a a giant cage that surrounds the entire ring area, allowing for action outside of the ring itself, and it's probably the tallest cage I've seen until Hell in a Cell, and the roof slants inwards to prevent escaping. Oh, and the cage is "electrified", to make escape even more impossible. Ole Anderson and Gary Hart are the "terminators" for their teams, meaning, the only way to win is to force the teams terminator to throw in the towel. Bruno Sammartino is Special Referee for whatever reason. I guess because he's from Pennsylvania or something, I don't know. Sting is finally in the main events after wasting away in 1989 with the Television Title and being put in meaningless matches on all the PPV's. Funk and Flair still have issues, especially since Funk tried to smother Flair with a plastic bag on the last Clash of the Champions. Sting and Flair as a tag team had to be an unusual site to see for it's time, considering their series of matches in 1988 and the fact that Flair hadn't worked as a babyface for most of the decade. Flair is the reigning World Champion and Great Muta won the Television Title, which was held up following the Great American Bash, in a rematch with Sting. Neither title is on the line, of course. The way I'm describing things right now makes it seem like I'm writing for EWR or something. Remember that game? God, us wrestling fans are complete nerds sometimes. Introductions are made and then the cage is lowered, because there's no door on it.
Funk, the crazy middle-aged man he is, climbs the cage for no apparent reason before we get underway. There's a fight in some of the shrubs attached to the cage, so Mutas climbs up and puts it out with his mist. I'm giving this match an extra 1/4* just for THAT. Flair and Funk start with a lockup. Irish whip, and Funk with a shoulder block. They head to the corner and Flair unloads with chops. Irish whip, and Sting with an ear smack from the apron. Everyone gets in the ring, but it's a stalemate. Flair and Funk lockup again, and Funk puts Flair down with a scoop slam. Flair is up and retaliates with a pair of his own slams, then dumps Funk over the top rope. Flair snaps Funk across the top rope and Sting tags in to put the boots to him. Sting tosses Funk out of the ring and slams him face-first into the cage, then rakes his back in a ode to Hulk Hogan. Back in the ring, and a double clothesline connects. Flair sends Funk to the corners and nails him with a nasty chop. Flair comes out of the corner with his signature knee drop, then knocks Muta off the apron for napping. Muta comes in and gets caught with a double team, and Flair chops the shit out of both opponents. Sting tags in and hits Funk with a dropkick. Muta gets the tag in for the first time, and Jim Ross name drops "the Blade Runners" and takes a shot at "his former partner" in the process. Muta and Sting with some shoving, andf Sting hammers away. Irish whip, and Sting press slams Muta onto Funk, then takes Muta over with a suplex. Flair with a snapmare and some short rights to the top of the head. Flair with an inverted atomic drop, followed by more chops. Flair with another snapmare, followed by a knee drop. Sting tags in and dumps Muta out of the ring. Sting rams Muta into the cage, then rams him repeatedly into the cage while his head is resting between the bars. Back in the ring, and Muta hammers away on Sting. Funk with cheap shots from the apron. Muta with a snapmare, followed by his snap elbow drop and a leg drop. Muta tosses Sting out of the ring, drawing Flair in while Funk works Sting over. Muta and Flair head out of the ring now, and Flair is chopping everything that moves. Funk rams Flair into the cage a couple of times, as Muta brings Sting back in the ring. Muta with a snap suplex, and Funk comes in to drop a knee across the throat. Muta and Funk with a series of elbow drops on Sting. Flair comes in and tosses Muta over the top rope, then chops Funk's skin off. Flair with a suplex on Funk, and Sting takes Muta down with a running bulldog, then he does the same to Funk. Sting hangs Muta up across the top rope and Flair tags in for a double team atomic drop and clothesline. Sting slaps on the Scorpion Deathlock, but Funk breaks it up quite quickly. Funk rams Sting to the buckle, and Muta adds stiff kicks to the midsection.
Muta chokes out Sting while Flair works Funk over on the apron. They start hanging out on the cage, and Flair rams him into it a couple of times. Sting with a suplex on Muta, and Muta rolls out of the ring to do some climbing. Sting goes out after him and Muta gets shocked. Flair continues to work over Funk, who keeps trying to climb the cage. Flair finally yanks Funk off, while Sting and Muta head back in the ring. Flair and Funk climb to the top of the cage, and Flair chops away on Funk, who's hanging from the highest point. Flair uses a rope to swing into Funk. Interesting prop. Inside the ring, Sting press slams Muta after teasing tossing him over the top rope. Funk is hanging by his legs from the cage. Sting tosses Muta out of the ring, and the match has quickly lost any sense or direction. Muta crawls under the ring, then surprises Flair from behind, whipping him into the cage. They exchange chops while Sting and Funk brawl at the top of the cage. Flair with a back suplex on Muta, then slaps on the Figure-Four. Sting uses the rope to swing into Funk feet first. Flair tosses Muta out of the ring again, but Muta comes back in and nails Flair with an enziguri. Sting misses his tarzan swing, and Funk hog ties him to the cage afterwards. Back in the ring, and Muta has a reverse spinning toe hold applied on Flair, then bridges into a front facelock. Ole Anderson helps untie Sting from the cage. Funk and Muta with a spike piledriver on Flair. Sting is still struggling to get free from the cage, so Muta and Funk just beat the crap out of Flair. Sting is FREE, climbs the cage, and comes flying into the ring with a clothesline to Funk for the biggest pop of the night. Sting with boots to Muta, sending him out of the ring... then Muta climbs. WHY!? IFlair goes to work on Funk with chops and knees to the leg. Flair with an atomic drop to the right knee of Funk, followed by a knee drop. Muta nails Sting with a jumping heel kick and connects with a back breaker. Muta heads to the top rope, but Sting knocks him off to the floor. Flair has the Figure-Four on Funk, and Sting comes off the top rope with a splash. Sting heads to the top rope again and comes off with another splash. Muta tries to sucker punch Sammartino, but that fails and Bruno knocks Muta out of the ring. Ole and Hart come in the ring, and Ole knocks Hart silly, which forces Hart to throw up the towel, and Sammartino sees this as a surrender, giving the match to Sting and Flair at 22:05. **1/2 Match was a bit of a mess at times, and the nonsensical attempts to climb the cage killed any momentum the match would gain from the in-ring action. It always came across as obvious that neither team really worked that well together, as it seemed a little sloppy and disjointed at times, and the awkward moments of dead spots didn't help either. Still, there was some fun stuff going on, it was just not nearly as fun or exciting as I would have anticipated.
Final Thoughts: There's a couple of good matches in the main portion of the show, but nothing really outstanding. The Main Event was disappointing despite having four very talented performers having to work around a gimmick match that shouldn't have been that hard to get a good match out of, and the high profile tag matches were very sluggish. Pillman vs. Luger was the highlight of the card, but then you factor in the pathetic undercard, and you've got a really boring show that doesn't really have any historic appeal other than this being the first Halloween Havoc. It's not like it's Wrestlemania or something. Mild Recommendation to avoid.
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