WCW Halloween Havoc 1992

[Enigma 0]

Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, & Michael P.S. Hayes vs. Shane Douglas, the Z-Man, & Johnny Gunn

Ricky Steamboat vs. Brian Pillman

WCW United States Championship
Big Van Vader* vs. Nikita Koloff

WCW/NWA World Tag Team Championship
Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes vs. Steve Williams & Steve Austin

NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Special Guest Referees: Kensuke Sasaki & Harley Race
Masahiro Chono vs. Rick Rude

WCW World Heavyweight Championship
Ron Simmons vs. The Barbarian

Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal -- Coal Miner's Glove Match
Sting vs. Jake Roberts

* - Vader was allowed to defend the U.S. Title for Rick Rude since Rude had a match later in the show

[Diamonddust 0]

Should be noted for just an awesome tirade Paul E. has on Medusa.

 

Plus, I'll never forget the videos they used to hype the Spin the Wheel/Make the Deal Match. The gimmick in that match (Coal Miners Glove) was definitely a let-down in terms of what it could have been.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

Should be noted for just an awesome tirade Paul E. has on Medusa.

 

"The reason that I chose you... is because the other hooker had a previous obligation."

 

"Come on, bitch!"

 

That was some jaw-dropping shit as far as my eleven year-old self was concerned. Never heard that kind of language on a wrestling program.

[cabbageboy 0]

This show has a lot of foolish stuff on it. It's not as bad as reputed though, I recall it being on 24/7 a year or two ago and I thought it was fairly entertaining. That said, stuff like Steamboat/Pillman wasn't as good as it could have been. Tag title match was solid wrestling but ends up not really mattering.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I believe this show is also the 24/7 debut of Fake Gary Cappetta (when it aired in 2006). He tries so much harder on this show.

[Enigma 0]

Hilarious show. I love how the Philly crowd was behind the heels in the first match with Ventura going nuts about it. The heels were dicks about it too and started playing to the crowd.

 

Pretty funny seeing WWF superfan Vladimir (complete with WBF tanktop, which he later covered up), Hat Guy and his buddy with the sunglasses in the front row. BONUS: See if you can spot the Blue Meanie at ringside before the NWA Title match and during the Sting/Roberts match.

 

Pretty weird pacing. I don't understand why they ran the Madusa/Paul E. angle right before Rick Rude's match, because everyone wanted to cheer Madusa, but she was still with Rude, a dick heel. By the way, did Madusa look hot in that skin-tight outfit or what? This stretch of time in WCW was when she really hit her peak hotness.

 

The "We Want Flair" chants right before Rude/Chono were classic.

 

I like how Jim Ross took a few jabs at the WWF during the Rude/Chono match. When Ventura was praising Rude's posing, "This isn't bodybuilding and posing. That's the other guys." Also when J.R. was explaining the different names of the cobra clutch to Jesse, he said, "Well, you wrestled for the other guys. They wouldn't know stuff like this." Even funnier considering he'd be in the WWF less than 5 months later.

 

Also pretty funny how the crowd went nuts for Kensuke Sasaki beating the shit out of everybody when they were on their thumbs for everything Chono did.

 

Overall, a pretty mediocre show. The show would have been horrible if not for the great commentary by Ross and Ventura.

[Boner Kawanger 0]

This just became available for me and ends tomorrow, according to my OnDemand. I just go past the Paul E. angle. I've been enjoying it for the most part. The six man is fun thanks to the fan allegiance. Pillman/Steamboat is a really good match. I like it when technical/high-flying matches have an edge to them, and the whole psyching each other out element adds a lot.

 

So is this the wheel that WCW didn't rig? It has the lever and pyro and other gimmicks. I always figured Coal Miner's Glove was pre-picked so that Jake could have a glove on when he handled the snake, but they may be my childhood logic seeping into my brain.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

It's great when they list of every other mat stipulation that could be much more exciting than the glove match. Even PRINCE OF DARKNESS match, which I assume means "Blindfold", SOUNDS exciting.

[Slayer 0]

Does anyone have the complete list of match types from the wheel?

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

1. Texas Bull Rope

2. Spinner's Choice (which Ross hinted meant Jake would make some match involving his cobra).

3. Russian Chain Match

4. Dog collar Match

5. "I Quit"

6. Babred Wire

7. Cage

8. Lumber Jacks with Belts

9. Prince of Darkness.

10. Texas Death Match

11. Coal Miner's Glove

12. First Blood

 

Quite the helpful graphic WCW put up at the beginning of the show.

[Slayer 0]

Didn't see the show (don't have 24/7)... just remembered the whole concept and the hype around it

 

Thanks, Venky

[Enigma 0]

I remember wanting the cage match, because they said on the TV shows it would be a special cage with weapons inside.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Didn't see the show (don't have 24/7)... just remembered the whole concept and the hype around it

 

Thanks, Venky

 

No problem. Also, just to clarify, I wasn't trying to be a smartass or anything, it really was helpful (for me to answer your question) that WCW put the whole thing on screen.

[Brett Favre 0]

Man, they could have just gotten rid of the Coal Miner's Glove match and literally any other one would have been fine (well except maybe Dog collar).

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

I remember wanting the cage match, because they said on the TV shows it would be a special cage with weapons inside.

 

I was all about the barbed wire. And I really thought that I was going to get it the following year, what with the awesome promo that Cactus cut the night before.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

God bless the Philly crowd going nuts for the heels in the opener.

[Enigma 0]

Pretty funny how after the match everyone was saying the feud with Sting/Roberts was just getting started. Jake was never to be seen again in WCW after this show. I'm not sure why Jake really left WCW, but I think they explained it on TV by Watts suspending Roberts indefinitely for bringing the snake in.

 

I also thought it was pretty scary the haphazard way they got the snake back behind the curtain, just dragging it down the aisle. Imagine the chaos if the snake had gotten away from Jake.

[Slayer 0]

Wait, aren't Texas Bull Rope, Russian Chain and Dog Collar Match all essentially the same concept?

[Diamonddust 0]

Wait, aren't Texas Bull Rope, Russian Chain and Dog Collar Match all essentially the same concept?

 

Yeah, but the dog-collar match is usually the more brutal of the three since the wrestlers are attached to the chain by the neck.

[Zack Malibu 0]

I haven't watched this in a while (about a year ago I converted the original VHS to a DVD and sold the tape on Ebay), but I remember Rude/Chono being so damn boring.

 

I was also greatly disappointed as a kid with the results of the Spin The Wheel match. And the end of the PPV with the snake "turning" on Jake and biting him was horrendously bad stuff.

[Enigma 0]

Rude/Chono was fucking boring. There were a ton of "boring" chants. The fans were more interested in Madusa yelling at Kensuke Sasaki and something that was going on in the crowd than the match.

 

And there were three specific points where you can see the snake wants nothing to do with Jake's neck so he has to forcibly pull it to his neck. To make it worse, the camera was right in Jake's face when it was going down. Horrible all the way around.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

I believe Mr. Keith gave Chono/Rude -***.

 

I do recall being disappointed with Roberts/Sting when I watched this show in 2006. I knew it wasn't good, but up until that point I had only seen the build-up to the match. Roberts killing Sting with multiple DDTs on a chair was a huge deal for me in 1992 and I thought this was going to be a huge grudge match to settle the score. I almost ordered this PPV but my mom put her foot down, saying it was this or Survivor Series and I went with Survivor Series.

[Zack Malibu 0]

Agreed with Doc here, Jake coming out and attacking Sting on Saturday night was awesome. It's too bad that between his own demons and this crapfest that Jake's awesome arrival in WCW was cut short.

[Enigma 0]

To answer my own question, upon doing some research I discovered why Jake left WCW.

 

Jake's WWF contract expired on April 30, 1992. He agreed in principle to a HUGE deal with WCW while K. Allen Frey was in charge of WCW to the tune of 2 years and $7 million. The nature of contracts back then was such that Jake could sign with WCW, but it would not actually go into effect until his WWF no-compete was over with, which made his contract ineligible to be finalized until August 1, 1992 (Roberts debuted on August 2). About 45 days into the no-compete, K. Allen Frey resigned from his position and he was replaced by "Cowboy" Bill Watts. Well, Watts still had heat with Roberts for him bailing on Mid-South Wrestling to join the WWF in 1986. Watts trashed the 2-year, $7 million offer Frey gave him and only offered a 2-year, $400,000 deal. Knowing that he already pissed Vince off by leaving, he felt pressured to take Watts' lowballed deal. Roberts was so unhappy in just two months in WCW that he told Watts to fuck off after Havoc and went to AAA in Mexico after his 90-day with WCW expired in early 1993.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Where did you find this out?

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Wikipedia, of course (I'm just taking a guess, though). The source for that is the Pick Your Poison DVD (I seem to recall Meltzer ripping Jake's version of history apart).

[Diamonddust 0]

Watts had heat with Jake from the Mid-South days, but it wasn't over him leaving for the WWF. In his shoot interviews, Watts has actually praised Jake for leaving the proper way and being willing to do what was right on the way out. When the newsletters got wind of it, Watts intentionally had Jake leave the area with a win and then he came back to drop the title he was holding.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Wikipedia, of course. The source for that is the Pick Your Poison DVD (I seem to recall Meltzer ripping Jake's version of history apart).

A credible source then.

 

K. Allen Frey offered some really sweet deals during his tenure, but no way is he offering a deal like that.

[Enigma 0]

I was just going by the figures Jake claimed on the DVD.

[Diamonddust 0]

I was just going by the figures Jake claimed on the DVD.

 

Would we even consider Jake a credible source at this point?