October 27th 1991,
Chattanooga, Tennessee
I first reviewed WCW Halloween Havoc 1991 over 12 years ago.
Long before the launch of the WWE Network, the version I reviewed was the Turner Home Video VHS cassette tape which I proudly still own somewhere.
Since that version only really omitted undercard matches of no importance, I wasn't going to bother revisiting this event even though it's exactly the point I've just reached as I work my way through WCW's early history.
However, I decided to do so for three reasons:
1. I'm a glutton for punishment and feel like this review won't be truly finished until I've discussed matches I previously didn't see like Oz vs. Bill Kazmier.
2. I used to format my reviews completely differently, so I want to go through and reformat this one for the sake of consistency.
3. I figured the show might make more sense to me now that I've finally seen the rest of WCW's big shows of 1991 and it might also help me to put future events in a better context too.
So here's what I'm going to do:
I'm going to keep my original thoughts and commentary from my first review as they are. I'll add new comments from today's watch-through in bold red font like this.
I'll review any matches I haven't already seen in my usual style.
I'll also add new screenshots because, to be honest, the ones originally included in this review are terrible.
Without further ado then, let's get on with it.
Original WCW Halloween Havoc 1991 Review Introduction
World Championship Wrestling's third annual Halloween Havoc stands out as a memorable pay-per-view event, though probably for all the wrong reasons.
Despite a memorable debut from none other than the late
Ravishing Rick Rude, a great bout between The Artist Yet to be Known as
Goldust, and the man who would go on to raise hell as
Stone Cold Steve Austin (and
Eric Bischoff dressed as a vampire) it was the opening Chamber of Horrors match which leaves the memory of Halloween Havoc '91 to be uttered in the same embarrassing tones as
Lost in Cleveland or the legendary
Shockmaster Incident7
.The Turner Home Entertainment VHS version, which remains the only lasting record of the show (other than the one sitting in WWE's video library*) omits several matches from the undercard.
*2022 update - that's the version I'll be watching today.
This is probably a good thing. After all, does anybody really need to see matches like Bill Kazmaier vs. Kevin 'Oz' Nash or Van hammer vs. Doug Sommers (who?) more than once in a lifetime? (no, but I'm going to do it anyway).
That said, there is one match not included on the tape that is certainly worth a look; Brian Pillman defeating Richard Morton to be named WCW's first Light Heavyweight Champion.
What there is on the tape ranges from good to awful, though not necessarily in that order. Let's take a look.
Barry Windham is Attacked!
The show opened with one of WCW's typically naff video packages in which "spooky" greyed-out pictures of tonight's star wrestlers hovered up over a graphic of a haunted house that was about as good as something you might find on a NES.
As the camera panned live into the arena, fireworks exploded and Jim Ross welcomed us to the show, telling us that no less than 11 matches had been signed.
He and Tony Schiavone put over our big title matches and wondered who the mysterious WCW Phantom could be (spoiler alert: I already gave it away in the intro).
From there, Ross and Schiavone sent us to Eric Bischoff who was standing outside the arena waiting to talk to the stars of WCW as they arrived.
After the pairings of Cactus Jack & Abdullah The Butcher and Diamond Dallas Page & The Diamond Studd arrived, we saw a shot of Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham pulling up at the arena.
As Bischoff tried to get an interview, Arn Anderson and Larry Zybysko show up and slam his arm in the car door.
Bet that was painful.
Chamber of Horrors match
El Gigante, Sting and The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner) vs. Big Van Vader, Cactus Jack, The Diamond Studd and Abdullah the Butcher
Ah, the infamous Chamber of Horrors match.
This one reads like a who's-who of big names from the 1990s. You had Sting and The Steiner Brothers, stars synonymous with the WCW brand.
You had Vader, a phenomenal performer who sat comfortably at the top of the card until Hulk Hogan showed up (at least he would do eventually, now that I've seen every early WCW event in chronological order, I know that Big Van Vader hadn't really done much of note in the company at this stage).
You had The Diamond Stud, later known as Razor Ramon and then by his real name, Scott 'I started the nWo' Hall and, of course, Cactus Jack, the man who would go on to be known as 'The Hardcore Legend, Mick Foley.
Throw in wrestling institution
Abdullah The Butcher (and forget about the useless
El Gigante, who's only claim to fame is a poorly-received
Wrestlemania 9 match against
The Undertaker), and it all made for one star-studded bout.
Unfortunately, that's about all this had going for it.
The basic premise for the contest was that two teams would enter into a no-holds-barred cage match which could only end when a wrestler strapped a member of the opposing team into an electric chair, pull a lever and, you know, electrocute him.
And if the concept wasn't ridiculous enough, the execution was equally as stupid.
All eight men immediately began beating the hell out of each other with an array of weapons including chains, skulls and coffins.
Not that you could see much.
Half of the match was shot a long way from the ring, with the cumbersome cage obscuring pretty much all of the action.
The other half was shot using the ill-conceived 'Refer-eye' camera; yes, a camera attached to the referee's head which led to such awe-inspiring visuals as a close-up of Scott Steiner's backside, followed by a minute of staring at his thigh.
At one point, some random guy in black tights and a mask appeared. He probably came out of the coffin, though since your writer couldn't see anything and the announcers made absolutely no mention of this, it's impossible to be sure.
The whole debacle came crashing to a close when Cactus Jack (who, to be fair, worked hard in this one) pulled the lever, 'accidentally' electrocuting his own teammate, Abdullah.
Fireworks exploded from the chair as Abbi did his best 'oh no, I'm a bit dead' impression, and absolutely nobody in the arena appeared to care.
Your Winners: Sting, El Gigante, and The Steiner Brothers
Afterward, Abdullah woke up, knocked over Mick Foley, then charged out of the ring and attacked a small army of 'ghouls' who had been charged with taking the victim away.
Hilariously, a bloody Cactus joined in with the beatdown.
2022 Thoughts: Honestly, I think history has been a little unkind to the Chamber of Horrors match. Watching it back today, it's obvious that it wasn't just Cactus Jack that was working hard. Everyone here was doing their best to make this an entertaining brawl, but the gratuitously over-the-top gimmick kind of ruined it, and -as I said in my original write-up- the cage itself made it hard to see what was going on.
In case you're wondering, this was the same cage they used for the Thunderdome Cage Match back at Halloween Havoc 1989.
The Young Pistols are Ready for The Patriots
Up next, we got a segment that wasn't included on the VHS tape, so I'm seeing it and reviewing it here for the first time.
The announcers sent us to Eric Bischoff who was dressed as a vampire and Missy Hyatt, who was dressed as a sexy showgirl.
Bischoff was eager to learn who the mysterious WCW Phantom was, but Missy claimed she already knew though wouldn't tell Eric because she didn't like him.
The two then welcomed
The Young Pistols (
Tracy Smothers and
Steve Armstrong) who had apparently turned heel since we last saw them at
Clash 16.
One can only assume they got sick of wrestling The Fabulous Freebirds eight million times and finally snapped.
Whatever the reason for their turn, tonight they had their sites set on reclaiming the US tag team titles from The Patriots.
Honestly, this was a decent promo from Tracy and Steve, but I was way too distracted staring at Missy's legs.
The Creatures (Creature 1 & Creature 2?) vs. PN News & Big Josh
This match wasn't included on the VHS tape for pretty obvious reasons.
The Creatures were apparently Joey Maggs and Johnny Rich who wore neon-green snakeskin masks and came out to theme later used by Retro Pro Wrestling favorite, Psychosis.
The random pairing of PN News and Big Josh then came out and some enthusiastic kid in the front row danced his heart out to News' terrible rapping.
I'm not knocking the kid either -the whole point of going to a wrestling show is to enjoy yourself, so fair play to that lad- but yeah, for saying his whole gimmick was that of a rapper, News was pretty terrible at spittin' bars.
Just as I wrote that, they showed some lady in the front row called Christine Valver who had won a "PN News rap contest" in WCW magazine. I hope the rap she wrote wasn't the one News just did at the start of this match because that would make me look like an asshole.
Anyway, all that aside, this turned out to be a somewhat decent squash match which ended when Big Josh jumped up and sat on one of the Creature's chests.
It was basically an Earthquake Splash, but Jim Ross told us that it was called "The Northern Exposure" which seemed somewhat gross given that it involved Josh basically putting his junk in his opponent's face.
News then hit a move that wasn't really a splash. It was basically him falling off the top rope onto his opponent for the uno, dos, tres.
Your Winners: PN News and Big Josh
Before the next match, JR and Schiavone talked about where Beautiful Bobby and Terrence Taylor were on the WCW top 10.
Beautiful Bobby Eaton vs. Terrence Taylor (w/ Alexandra York)
Another match that is not included on the VHS which I'm reviewing for the first time.
Given that this was the longest match on the show so far, I totally get why this was cut from the VHS tape, but it's a shame that it was because this was a fantastic match.
No, neither Terrence Taylor nor Bobby Eaton were the biggest stars in the company, but they were two solid wrestlers who knew how to work.
Combine their talent with a clear heel vs. face storyline and what you had here was tremendous.
It wasn't fancy, but it was hugely enjoyable.
After a lengthy battle that entertained from start to finish, Bobby picked up the win with the Alabama Jam.
Your Winner: Bobby Eaton
Johnny B. Badd (w/ Theodore Long) vs. Jimmy 'Jam' Garvin (w/ Michael 'PS' Hayes)
After
Jimmy 'Jam' Garvin and
Michael 'P.S' Hayes got the crowd nicely fired up, future Smackdown General Manager
Teddy Long led the flamboyant
Johnny B. Badd to the ring for a match that seemed to serve no other purpose than to rouse the crowd from the confusion-induced silence resulting from the previous Chamber farce.
In that respect, this nifty little contest did its job well, with the Freebirds inspiring loud, repeated chants from the audience and the action itself being fun to watch.
In the end, Badd punched out Garvin to win the bout.
Your Winner: Johnny B. Badd
So, clearly when I reviewed this the first time, I assumed that Badd/Garvin went right after the Chamber of Horrors match, hence my comment about it being used to rouse the crowd.
The most interesting thing here was that The Freebirds were now full-blown babyfaces when they had still been heels back at the last WCW show.
Otherwise, this was a fun little match that I enjoyed.
The Search for the Halloween Phanton
In a respite from the action, the announcers sent cameras to Missy Hyatt, who was desperate to find the mysterious Halloween Phanton.
When Bobby Eaton walked past, Hyatt asked if he'd seen the Phantom. Frustrated, Eaton replied that he didn't care about the Phantom, he'd just won a match.
Now, when you're watching this as a young child and don't realize matches are missing from the card, you suddenly think 'what? No you didn't! that was Johnny B. Badd who just won a match! Bobby Eaton didn't even wrestle'
Much like many other things WCW would do during their time on earth, it was all very confusing.
I've nothing to add to this one except to reiterate what a beauty Missy Hyatt was. Oh, and also, Bobby Eaton had a pumpkin which was surely a missed opportunity for a promo line:
'You know what Missy? If I do see the Halloween Phantom, I'm gonna carve him up like I'm about to carve up this here pumpkin!'
World Championship Wrestling World Television Championship
World Television Champion Steve Austin (w/ Lady Blossom) vs. Dustin Rhodes
Rhodes and Austin had a notable string of excellent matches during their time together, and though this one wasn't the peak of such brilliance, it was still a very good match.
The man who would go on to shave his head and call himself 'Stone Cold' held off the challenge of the man who would go on to paint his face gold in an entertaining affair, despite Rhodes numerous, dramatic attempts to capture the television title.
Ultimately, the whole thing ran to a time limit draw.
Time-Limit Draw.
Again, I've nothing much to add to that match as I agree with my much younger self that Austin/Rhodes was a great match. On a personal note though, it's nice to see how much my review writing has improved over the years as that whole match review was a disaster. I've fixed it a little, but wow, what a mess.
Oz vs. Bill Kazmaier
First time reviewing this match.
By this stage, Kevin Nash had dropped almost everything about the Oz gimmick apart from the name and the green cloak. He no longer wore that goofy rubber mask to ringside, no longer had Kevin Sullivan dress up like a goblin wizzard and accompany him to the ring, and no longer had any of the elaborate set-dressing as he made his way out.
He'd even cut off the grey ponytail he'd previously been rocking and now came out sporting a shaved crop of bleach-blonde hair.
Meanwhile, Bill Kazmaier came to the ring carrying a huge inflatable globe to show how strong he was.
This match was...
Well, let's just say it's not hard to see why they cut it from the VHS tape. Kazmaier won the rather unexciting contest with a torture rack. I can't remember if Luger was already using that move regularly at this stage or not.
Your Winner: Bill Kazmaier
"That wasn't pretty, but it was effective," said JR afterward.
He was half right at least.
Heavy Metal Van Hammer vs. Pretty Boy Doug Somers
You know the drill by now...a new match review that wasn't on the VHS.
Oh boy.
As Van Hammer came to the ring, Jim Ross pointed out that construction workers were drilling the set with jackhammers just for him. You know, because when I think of heavy metal, the first thing I always think of is people drilling into fake grave sites with pneumatic drills.
Van Hammer also randomly yelled out "Rock of Ages!" which must have been the only song he knew that could have been vaguely considered metal.
He got in the ring and locked up with Pretty Boy Doug Somers who must have been using that name ironically because he was anything but pretty.
The resulting match was a sloppy, horrible monstrosity with nary a single properly executed move in sight.
It ended when Van Hammer hit his opponent with a slingshot suplex that was so badly done it could have easily broken Somers' neck.
No wonder that got cut from the VHS tape too.
Your Winner: Van Hammer
Before the next match, we got promos from both Flyin' Brian Pillman and the duo of Richard Morton and his manager Alexandra York.
Pillman put over what an important occasion it was to compete for the Light Heavyweight Championship and dedicated the match to both his family and the WCW fans.
Meanwhile, Morton and York simply talked about how great Morton was and how he was championship material.
Both promos were decent enough to generate a little interest in the upcoming match.
Match to Determine the first World Championship Wrestling Light Heavyweight Champion
Flyin' Brian vs. Richard Morton (w/ Alexandra York)
It's crazy that they left this one off the VHS tape given that it was kind of important.
Then again, it was such a dull match that it's not really surprising.
It's a shame really because this could have really been something good had Richard Morton not adopted the weird heel gimmick of "Word's Most Boring Wrestler."
Seriously, if you expected Flyin' Brian versus The Guy from Rock 'n' Roll Express, you'd be disappointed. Since joining up with Alexandra York, Morton had decided that rather than changing anything about his appearance as most heels do, he was just going to work a style that made all of his matches utter snoozefests.
Need proof? Well, there's this match, and there's also the lifeless encounter he had with Robert Gibson back at
The Great American Bash '91.
There was nothing bad about this one. It wasn't that the wrestling was sloppy or didn't work, it was just incredibly boring.
As such, it came as a relief when Pillman finally flew onto Morton with a top-rope crossbody to win the match.
Your Winner and NEW Light Heavyweight Champion: Flyin' Brian Pillman
Before the next contest, JR and Schiavone speculated on the identity of the mysterious WCW Phantom.
WCW Halloween Phantom vs. Tom Zenk
The whole point of the Halloween Phantom was that he was supposed to be a big mystery. Nobody knew who he was, where he came from, or what he wanted.
All they knew was that he was big, he was dangerous, and that when he finally was revealed, it was going to be a huge surprise.
Everybody knew that it was supposed to be a surprise except for WCW announcer Tony Schiavone, who, after the 'Phantom made short work of Zenk with a Reverse Neckbreaker, ruined the whole thing by declaring "that's a move that a lot of people know as a Rude Awakening".
Yeah, thanks, Tony.
Your Winner: The WCW Halloween Phantom
To be fair to Schiavone, it was pretty obvious who was under the mask if you actually cared to look. Just check out that screenshot above.
The Phantom's identity was only marginally better hidden than the time Ric Flair was The Black Scorpion back at Starrcade 1990.
Before the next match, we got a commercial for Starrcade 1991 with pictures of WCW stars on trading cards that fell into a bowl because, geddit? It was time for Battlebowl!
World Championship Wrestling World Tag Team Championship
WCW World Tag Team Champions The Enforcers (Arn Anderson & Larry Zybysko)vs. WCW United States Tag Team Champions The Patriots (Firebreaker Chip & Todd Champion)
The US titles were not on the line here, not that it would have made this any more interesting if they were; Anderson and Zybysko basically wrestled circles around their rookie opponents in a boring contest so memorable this writer can't remember a single thing that happened in it, even though he only watched the tape an hour before writing this piece.Your Winners and Still Tag Team Champions: The Enforcers
To be fair, I was probably a little harsh on this match as The Enforcers did at least do their best to make it as entertaining as possible, but there was only so much they could do with Champion and Chip, and it still wasn't all that amazing.Paul Heyman introduced Rick Rude as his new charge.
Paul E. Dangerously, who had previously been fired
'for being too controversial for television' returned to WCW and cut a fantastic promo in which he ranted and raved with a passion about the state of WCW whilst
Madusa stood around looking good.
Dangerously went on to announce that he had found the man who would defeat Sting.
That man was the Halloween Phantom and, yes, just as Schiavone had hinted at, the Halloween Phantom turned out to be none other than former WWF star, 'Ravishing' Rick Rude.
My original review didn't do justice to how awesome this segment really was. Dangerously was positively pissed about being booted off WCW TV and was now using his manager's license to assemble a team who would systemically destroy the company, starting with its top star, Sting.
Paul E.'s promo was amazing, Rude was as good as could be, and Madusa played the role of eye candy well. This was one of the best things on the whole show.
2-out-of-3 Falls for the World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship
WCW World Heavyweight Champion Lex Luger (w/ Harley Race) vs. Ron Simmons (w/ Dusty Rhodes)
Until
The Great Khali headlined Smackdown for a while, this main event held some sort of record for the most tedious main event on a wrestling show ever in the history of wrestling shows.
Ron Simmons was an average worker at best, whilst Luger made his way to the main event based purely on his chiseled physique and a knack for over-selling everything.
Putting the two together in a 20+ minute two-out-of-three falls match, WCW presented a main event so mind-numbingly dull it's unreal. Nothing interesting happened for a while, Luger won, and then would go on to do nothing interesting for the rest of his career besides bodyslamming Yokozuna and showing up unexpectedly on Nitro that time.
Your Winner and Still World Heavyweight Champion: Lex Luger
I honestly don't know why I hated this match so much all those year ago as it was actually pretty decent.
It's also kind of funny how angry I was about Luger, as I've grown to really appreciate his early WCW run, especially when he played the heel.
OK, so it wasn't the greatest main event of all time, but I certainly enjoyed it a lot more the second time around.
And thus World Championship Wrestling's Halloween Havoc 1991 show came to a dismal finale. The Chamber of Horrors concept would never be used again (for good reason), the two men who had the best match on the card, or at least the tape, went to the World Wrestling Federation and became huge stars, and Tony Schiavone and other WCW announcers would continue to spoil things until the company's dying day.
Judging by this show, it's a small miracle that day didn't come a whole lot sooner.
2022 closing comments: Remembering Halloween Havoc 1991 for little more than the Chamber of Horrors match, I came into this one expecting to hate it and came away pleasantly surprised. That's mostly because one of the best matches on the card - Taylor/Eaton was left off, and I'd completely forgotten how good Austin/Dustin was.
Although there was still some stuff that wasn't very good, Havoc '91 was a decent show that I'm glad I watched again.
Other 1991 pro wrestling reviews:
Other WCW Halloween Havoc Reviews
Download RPW's first book,
The Complete History of NWA/WCW Starrcade - Vol 1: 1983 - 1989. Available now from Amazon.
