The 1990 Halloween Havoc was the second annual

Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October. It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view (PPV ...

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

(PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

produced by

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

(WCW) under the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

(NWA) banner. It took place on October 27, 1990, from the UIC Pavilion in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. This was also the final Halloween Havoc produced by WCW under the NWA, as in January 1991, WCW split from the NWA. On the original VHS release, only 6 of the 10 matches of the main broadcast were included as the fourth, fifth, sixth, and ninth matches of the show were not included. In 2014, all of WCW's Halloween Havoc PPVs became available on

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

's streaming service, the WWE Network; however, the WWE Network version of the 1990 Halloween Havoc is also edited and not the complete version as is usual for WCW's other PPVs on the Network from this period.

Production

Background

On October 28, 1989,

(WCW) of the

(NWA) held a

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

-themed

(PPV) event titled

. A second Halloween Havoc was scheduled for October 27, 1990, at the UIC Pavilion in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, thus establishing

as an annual PPV for WCW.

Storylines

The event featured

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Professional wrestlers portray

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character as ...

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Event

Prior to the start of the event, there were two dark matches in which

Tim Horner Timothy Horner (born August 19, 1959) is a retired professional wrestler, best known as Tim "White Lightning" Horner, one half of The Lightning Express with Brad Armstrong. Professional wrestling career Early career (1978–1988) Tim Horner ...

defeated Barry Horowitz and Rip Rogers defeated

Reno Riggins Neal Hargrove, better known by his ring name, Reno Riggins, (born January 13, 1967) is an American professional wrestler. Riggins has competed in Southeastern independent promotions including the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) during th ...

. In the opening match Tommy Rich and Ricky Morton defeated The Midnight Express ( Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane), after Lane hit Rich with Jim Cornette’s tennis racket. In the following match, Terry Taylor defeated

Bill Irwin William Mills Irwin (born April 11, 1950) is an American actor, clown, and comedian. He began as a vaudeville-style stage performer and has been noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He has made a n ...

. Brad Armstrong then defeated J.W. Storm. Following this match, The Master Blasters ( Blade and

Steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

) defeated

The Southern Boys The Southern Boys - also known as The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys and The Young Pistols - were a professional wrestling tag team active between 1987 and 1991 in Championship Wrestling from Florida, Southeastern Championship Wrestling, and World Champ ...

( Tracy Smothers and

Steve Armstrong Steven James (born March 16, 1965), better known by his ring name Steve Armstrong, is an American professional wrestler. He is the son of fellow wrestler "Bullet" Bob Armstrong, and has three brothers who also wrestled: Scott, Brad, and Brian. ...

). Armstrong attempted to attack Jim Cornette to stop him from interfering in the match, which allowed Steel to hit a clothesline on Armstrong and pick up the victory via pinfall. In the following match, The Fabulous Freebirds ( Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes) defeated The Renegade Warriors ( Chris Youngblood and Mark Youngblood). The Steiner Brothers (

Rick Steiner Robert Rechsteiner (born March 9, 1961) is an American real estate broker and retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Rick Steiner. Steiner is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he was ...

and Scott Steiner) then defeated The Nasty Boys (

Brian Knobbs Brian Yandrisovitz (born May 6, 1964), better known as Brian Knobbs, is an operatic tenor and an American professional wrestler best known as half of the tag team The Nasty Boys with his partner Jerry Sags. Early life Knobbs was born on May 6 ...

and Jerry Sags) to retain the

NWA United States Tag Team Championship The NWA United States Tag Team Championship is a name used for several secondary tag team championship used by various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) members since 1958. There are eleven different versions of the NWA United States Tag Team Champ ...

. This match featured the Steiner Brothers utilizing the double team bulldog off the top rope for the first time. Scott ultimately picked up the victory via pinfall on Knobbs following a Frankensteiner. After the match, The Nasty Boys attacked the Steiner Brothers with the championship belts, and attacked the referee. During the next match between the Junkyard Dog and

Moondog Rex Randy Colley (May 2, 1950 – December 14, 2019) was an American professional wrestler better known as Moondog Rex. He was best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation as a part of The Moondogs, and as the original Smash of D ...

, Rex attempted to use his bone as a weapon. When the referee grabbed the bone, Junkyard Dog used the opportunity to hit a headbutt and pick up a pinfall victory. In the next match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship, the champions

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * L ...

( Ron Simmons and

Butch Reed Bruce Franklin Reed (July 11, 1954 – February 5, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and football player, better known by the ring name Butch Reed. He played college football at the University of Central Missouri, was a star in Mid-So ...

) along with the challengers

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

and Arn Anderson, wrestled to a double count out. The second to last match, for the

NWA United States Championship The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, currently de ...

, saw Stan Hansen defeat

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and football player. In 2011 he began working with WWE on its wellness policy. He is best known for ...

to win the championship. The main event, for the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

saw

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

retain his title against Sid Vicious. Sid originally thought he won the match, after Sting hit a bodyslam off the top rope, with Sid falling on him to pick up the victory via pinfall. As fireworks went off and balloons dropped from the ceiling, Sting came out from the back and revealed the man in the ring was really

Barry Windham Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler. The son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan, he is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). ...

. Windham had traded places with Sting during the main event, after Sid attacked him backstage before the match. The real Sting entered the ring, hit the Stinger Splash and picked up the victory. The show ended following Sting’s interview with

Jim Ross James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator, analyst, and senior advisor. Ross is best known for a long and distinguished career as ...

regarding the match and The Black Scorpion.

Aftermath

The 1990 Halloween Havoc would be the final Halloween Havoc produced by WCW under the NWA banner, as in January 1991, WCW split from the NWA. Stan Hansen ended Lex Luger's record 523-day reign as United States Heavyweight Champion, then returned to Japan shortly after dropping the title back to Luger at Starrcade. The Black Scorpion angle continued until Starrcade when it was revealed that

was behind the character, in an attempt to regain the NWA World Heavyweight title. The Midnight Express broke up after the PPV, Jim Cornette was tired of his and his team's treatment by Jim Herd so he and Stan Lane left to form

Smoky Mountain Wrestling Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...

in 1991, but Bobby Eaton remained in the promotion and began a short singles career (even having a short reign with the WCW World Television Championship) before joining Paul E. Dangerously's "Dangerous Alliance" and teamed up with Arn Anderson.

Results

References

{{WCWPPV, Halloween Havoc Professional wrestling in the Chicago metropolitan area 1990 in Illinois 1990s in Chicago Events in Chicago Halloween Havoc October 1990 events in the United States 1990 World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view events Holidays themed professional wrestling events