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WCW World Championship Wrestling– October 13, 1990

by Scrooge McSuck

- The road to Halloween Havoc '90 continues, with all content taped on October 1st from the Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville, GA. Stupid me didn't realize this is their Saturday Night timeslot, but it's never called "Saturday Night." I guess that wasn't a thing for a couple more years?

- Jim Ross and Bob Caudle are on tap to call all the action, unless otherwise noted.

The Juicer vs. Jeff Stone:

All these years later, I still don't know what they were doing with this gimmick (and yes, I'm aware he began working the gimmick in Portland about a year earlier, and there's even a horrible quality clip on YouTube of Roddy Piper "transforming" Art Barr into Beetlejuice). Other than being a curtain jerker, there's nowhere for this to go that could possibly be considered a meaningful storyline, all for the sake of trying to market to children. As usual, Juicer comes to a ring with a kid and helps take off his t-shirt to let him flex. Yeah, no, please stop doing that. Juicer (God, I hate typing that name) goes for the arm, but Stone manages a counter. Juicer springboards off the top to escape, throwing Stone across the ring with his momentum. Juicer with a pair of hip throws, frustrating Mr. Stone... then randomly kisses referee Nick Patrick on the forehead. OK... I'm creeped out. Caudle says Juicer's fan base is called "The Juice Patrol." That feels like a trademark infringement of another famous Juice, but I don't care enough to investigate further. Caudle uses this time, during another arm hold, to shill upcoming live events. Juicer with a thumb to the eyes and a Super-Kick. He comes off the ropes with the 1990 version of a Sling-Blade and finishes with the flying Thesz Press at 3:49. With all the baggy clothes, you kind of forget how small Art Barr is for the era.

- Recap of the Steiner Brothers/Nasty Boys Contract Signing from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.

The Nasty Boys vs. Joe Barrett & Keith Hart:

In case you missed it last week, the Nasty Boys will challenge the Steiner Brothers for the U.S. Tag Team Titles at Halloween Havoc '90 on Saturday Night, October 27th. Sags starts with Barrett, pounding away in the corner with forearms. Whip to the corner and Barrett meets a boot charging in. Sags with a short-arm clothesline, flipping Barrett onto his face. Caudle lets us know the Nasty Boys are ranked #3 in the WCW Top Ten. Whip, Sags with a knee lift, and Knobbs with a series of elbow drops. Barrett tries to get offense in, but Knobbs lays him out with a clothesline. Hart tags in and Sags swats away a dropkick. Sags picks Hart up for a suplex and Knobbs knocks him over, without Sags dropping down with him. Sags with a back breaker and turns Hart over with a Boston Crab, but Hart doesn't give up. Way to kill the finisher of someone from the competition. Knobbs with the sling-shot avalanche, power-slam, and Sags finishes with the flying elbow at 3:52. Again, how did the Nasty Boys go from this entertaining to the crap they produced in the WWF?

- The Steiner Brothers cut a promo on the Nasty Boys, but tonight, they'll defend the titles against The Midnight Express.

- Gordon Solie is standing by for the Wrestling Wrap-Up. We recap the signing between Sting and Sid Vicious for Halloween Havoc, including the post-match assault where Sid prevented Sting from unmasked the Black Scorpion (a bogus one, we assume). We saw the same clips on the October 6th show. WCW had so much time to fill on TV, it doesn't surprise me to see recycled stuff, but the WWF had Update and Special Report weekly and rarely resorted to doing the same, finding new content to use on the segment, even during weak periods of TV.

That's not all... this past week on World Wide Wrestling, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson got a measure of revenge on The Tag Team of Doom for their attack on Anderson two weeks ago. We follow that with quick promos from Theodore Long and Ric Flair & Arn Anderson hyping the Tag Team Title Match for Halloween Havoc '90.

- WCW Top Ten! Tag Teams: 10. The Master Blasters, 9. Flyin' Brian & The Z-Man, 8. Mike Rotunda & Tim Honer, 7. The Southern Boys, 6. The Midnight Express, 5. The Fabulous Freebirds, 4. The Rock ‘N' Roll Express, 3. The Nasty Boys, 2. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson, 1. The Steiner Brothers, and World Tag Team Champions: Doom

- WCW Top Ten! Singles: 10. Barry Windham, 9. Buddy Landell, 8. Junk Yard Dog, 7. Terry Taylor, 6. Flyin' Brian, 5. Arn Anderson, 4. Ric Flair, 3. Stan Hansen, 2. Sid Vicious, 1. Lex Luger, and World Heavyweight Champion: Sting (Yes, the listings are the same as last week, since they're in the WCW publication for the month).

The Z-Man vs. Bill Ford:

Will "Scrap Iron" Ford pick up a victory over the Z-Man? Probably not. Z-Man (Tom Zenk) is one of those guys who I always saw on TV as a kid, but never realized how little of importance he meant to the storylines. With my limited knowledge of WCW's product, I honestly don't recall ANY angles he was part of, other than winning the U.S. Tag Team Titles. Z-Man grabs a side headlock and comes off the ropes with a shoulder tackle. Caudle puts Z-Man over as a ladies man and lets us know he's a former Mr. Minnesota. Zenk with an over-head throw into the arm-bar. Ford gives a clean break in the corner and tries to gather crowd support for his sportsmanship. He pulls the hair to escape a side headlock and sends Zenk into the corner. Zenk avoids a charge and hits him with a belly-to-belly suplex. Flying body press finishes at 2:42. Good thing we didn't see Art Barr use practically the same finish less than 30-minutes ago.

- The Black Scorpion is standing by to further torment Sting. He's going to give him a break, so he can concentrate on Sid Vicious at Halloween Havoc. He wants Sting to know he won't go away completely, and that he'll be at Halloween Havoc, too. So... then he's not really giving him a break? Dammit, Ole, make sense with your rambling, the promo was only 40-seconds long!

"Wildfire" Tommy Rich vs. Moondog Rex:

It's not a squash match, but I'm not sure how I feel about this. Rex looks considerably rougher than his actual age (at the time) of 40 years old. Rich is only 34 but is looking a little more advanced in age too. I think the bleached-blonde hair doesn't help anyone, honestly. I didn't research this beforehand, but Rex only made his TV debut two weeks ago on World Championship Wrestling. Jim Ross says Rex will challenge Lex Luger for the US Title "tomorrow night" on Main Event, and that he's moved into the Top 10... wait, HOW? We just saw the Top Ten, but Caudle says he's on this week's list at #8! Because WCW. Rex throws Rich down with a handful of hair. Whip to the ropes, Rich has a hard time sliding between the legs, but comes off the ropes with a body press for two. Rich fakes Rex out on a body press and pounds away. Rich meets an elbow charging into the corner. Rex with choking and a rake of the eyes. Ross promotes the show in Atlanta, including a TAPED FIST MATCH between Bobby Eaton and Sid Vicious. Rich with a sunset flip for two. Rich regains control, connecting with a hangman's neck breaker. He misses an elbow from the middle rope, allowing Rich to make his comeback. Rich wins a slugfest and knocks Rex down with a knee lift. Whip to the corner and Rich with a power-slam. Rex grabs the bone and KO's Rich with it (away from the referee's view) and covers for three at 4:45. I guess Rex needed a big win to give him momentum against Luger.

Terry Taylor vs. Chuck Coats:

Jim Ross lied, he said the U.S. Tag Title Match was coming up next! We see Mama Taylor and Papa Taylor watching from the crowd. Ross promotes Taylor vs. "The Masked Dr. X" for Halloween Havoc. Taylor goes for the arm, but Coats grabs the ropes. Mid-match, we get DIFFERENT LISTINGS FOR THE TOP TEN (10. J.W. Storm, 9. Junk Yard Dog, and 8. Moondog Rex are the changes). Coats with a cheap-shot in the corner, whip across the ring, and an elbow for two. Taylor reverses a whip and hits Coats with the Hot Shot. Taylor with a running clothesline into the corner, followed by a jaw breaker. Whip to the ropes and the Five-Arm finishes at 3:11. Good to see Taylor pecking his way up the rankings in the WCW Top Ten.

- Trucker Norm is standing by to promote a safe Trick-or-Treating and Halloween Havoc.

J.W. Storm vs. John Peterson:

If you missed it, Storm is now ranked #10 and is still undefeated in WCW. Storm bum rushes Peterson and lays him out with a clothesline. What a generic look. Storm is tall and muscular, and that's it. He seems more suitable for the WWF than WCW based on his physique. Whip and Storm with a one-foot dropkick. Back drop and elbows across the back. He tosses Peterson through the ropes, hops over the top rope, to the floor, and plants Peterson with a slam. Back inside, Storm catches Peterson off the ropes with a Choke-Slam for three at 2:14. At least he didn't do the "cover casually with both hands on the chest" spot over and over. The replay cuts off his gimmick of knocking his opponent out with a right hand. Because WCW.

WCW U.S. Tag Team Championship Match:
The Steiner Brothers (c) vs. The Midnight Express (w/ Jim Cornette):

The Midnight Express are using their knock-off version of "The Chase" to my delight. The Express are looking to become 4-time US Tag Team Champions here, having lost the titles to the Steiner's on August 24th at the Meadowlands. Scott and Eaton start with a lockup into the corner and Scott tossing Eaton with a hip toss. Eaton with a cheap-shot in the ropes. Crisscross and Scott sweeps Eaton off his feet before turning him over with a single-leg crab. Eaton with another cheap-shot, knocking Scott to the floor. Scott counters a suplex on the floor and sends Eaton into the post. Back inside, Scott whips him into the corner and unloads with mounted right punches. Whip across the ring, but Eaton gets the elbow up to counter a charge. Eaton straddles Scott across the top turnbuckle, but Scott escapes, holds Eaton up in the Electric Chair position, and Rick comes off the top with the flying bulldog. Lane pulls Eaton out of the ring for the save as we take a break.

We return from commercial with Lane in the ring for the first time. Scott takes him over with a snap mare and hooks a chin-lock. Lane with rights to the midsection, followed by a side-kick. Eaton tags in and runs into the arm drag. Scott with slams on both members of the Midnight Express, and Rick caps it off with a double clothesline (Steiner-Line!). Lane begs Rick off before baling to the outside. Eaton offers a handshake, but Rick lays him out with a kneeling clothesline (Steiner-Line!). Rick comes off the ropes with a shoulder tackle, knocking Lane out of the ring. Eaton with the blind tag but Rick hits him with a forearm. He goes after Lane again, having not seen the tag, and Eaton recovers, taking him down from behind with a bulldog. Eaton with a short-arm clothesline for two. Lane with kicks to the midsection and on the chin. Whip to the ropes and he drops Rick with an elbow. Eaton with a thumb to the throat, knocking Rick out of the ring. Cornette with a shot to the ribs with the tennis racket with the referee distracted. Back inside, Rick surprises Eaton with a belly-to-belly suplex. Scott tags in, unloading with right hands and slams. Lane sweeps Rick off the apron as Scott plants Eaton with a power-slam. The distraction allows Eaton to recover and lay out Scott with a clothesline. I was about to say, how rare is it to see RICK as the face-in-peril? Lane with a whip and clothesline. Double elbow for a two-count. Eaton with a single-arm DDT for two. Scott counters a back-drop with a Tiger Driver and hot tags Rick. He throws right hands, selling the left arm. Cornette blasts Rick with the tennis racket and Eaton rolls on top for a near-fall. Eaton sets up for a piledriver, but Scott lays him out with a clothesline (STEINER-LINE!) and Rick stacks him up for the three-count at 11:31 (shown). With a little more time and bigger finish, this could've been even better, but as it is, just a really good TV match. ***1/2

- The Nasty Boys are standing by to say the Steiner Brothers can't beat them.

- Gordon Solie is standing by to run down the card for Halloween Havoc '90... Sting defends the "NWA" World Heavyweight Title against Sid Vicious, Lex Luger defends the U.S. Heavyweight Title against Stan Hansen, Doom defend the World Tag Team Titles against Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, The Steiner Brothers defend the U.S. Tag Team Titles against The Nasty Boys, The Renegade Warriors take on The Fabulous Freebirds, The Junk Yard Dog battles "The Moondog", Tommy Rich faces J.W. Storm, The Southern Boys take on The Master Blasters, Terry Taylor goes against WENDELL COOLEY, and The Rock ‘N' Roll Express meet The Midnight Express. UNDERCARD SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

- Jim Ross is standing by for an interview with Sting for comments on Halloween Havoc. He doesn't like the feeling of being laid out on his back, but we'll find out who the better man is at Halloween Havoc. What a weak promo to sell us on THE MAIN EVENT OF A PAY-PER-VIEW.

Tim Horner vs. Brian Carr:

Nice to see Jim Cornette's favorite wrestler in action. Lockup into the ropes and a clean break. They fight over a waist-lock and do some counters on the canvas. Horner with a wrist-lock and takeover into a cover for a one-count. Horner with some chain wrestling and a snap mare for another worthless pin attempt. Whip to the ropes, Horner with a drop toe hold and another cover. He keeps going for the arm, but Carr forces a break in the ropes each time. Carr pounds away in the corner. Horner quickly turns things around, ramming Carr into the turnbuckle. Whip to the ropes and the O'Connor Roll finishes at 3:54. Wow, what a boring "squash."

- Paul E. Dangerously is standing by in "The Danger Zone" with Sid Vicious. Dangerously says there's no doubt in his mind that Sid is leaving Halloween Havoc as the new Champion. Even though we just saw clips of Sid attacking from behind, Dangerously congratulates Sid for being a "John Wayne" attacking someone head-on. Another promo where the actual participant of the main event for the PPV said very little of note.

The Southern Boys vs. Death Row & Hassan Farouk:

Death Row is introduced from "The State Penitentiary." I guess it's simple and effective, even if it lacks creativity. I know I've seen Farouk before, and sure enough, he wrestled as "The Lebanese Assassin" on my "AWF Lost Episodes #1" recap. By the way, "Farouk" is pronounced the same as Ron Simmons' WWF name "Faarooq." Armstrong starts with Farouk as we get a Master Blasters inset promo. Wow, THIS IS AWESOME because it's SO AWFUL. Whip to the ropes and Smothers slingshots in with a boot to the chest. Smothers with an elbow from the top rope across the arm. Death Row (with a goofy haircut) tags in, weighing an alleged 399 pounds. He plants Smothers with a slam but misses an elbow. Southern Boys with a drop toe hold/elbow drop combo. Farouk tags back in to get worked over. Southern Boys with excessive double teaming. Double shoulder tackle knocks Death Row out of the ring, and Armstrong finishes with a flying headbutt on Farouk at 2:46. I'm pretty sure Death Row made a few appearances in Herb Abrams' UWF, too.

- Stan Hansen is standing by to cut a promo on Luger. He's got the bullseye on him, so he's bringing the rope and chewing tobacco to Halloween Havoc.

- Bob Caudle is standing by for comments from Lex Luger. We see highlights from the recent Clash of the Champions where Hansen attacked Lex and choked him with his bull rope. Luger says he's going into this match like a football game mentality. OK.

The Rock ‘N' Roll Express vs. The Ring Lords:

No names for the Ring Lords. They have matching perms and mustaches. Tomorrow night on Main Event, the RnR Express will face Arn Anderson and Ric Flair! Gibson and Ring Lord #1 lockup into the ropes for a clean break. The same can't be said on the second lockup. Gibson quickly recovers throwing both Ring Lords with hip throws. Jim Ross notes the RnR Express are the #5 Tag Team in WCW... they were #4! THAT MEANS THEY DROPPED A SPOT! Morton lays out a Ring Lord with a clothesline and takes him over into an arm-bar. Ring Lords with a sloppy double elbow for two. Whip to the corner and Lord #2 with another elbow. Ring Lord #1 unloads with rights as I notice he has "Rick" on his tights. RICK LORD. Maybe next week I can decipher the other Ring Lord name. Whip and ANOTHER elbow for two. Morton fights out of the corner mount with an inverted atomic drop. Rick Lord with a slam, but he misses an elbow. It's about damn time. Unknown Lord meets the post on a failed charge, finally allowing Gibson to get the hot tag. Whip and a back drop on Ric Lord. DOUBLE NOGGIN NOCKER! Whip to the ropes and a double dropkick finishes Rick Lord at 7:44. It takes skill to make a Rock ‘N' Roll Express match boring, even in 1990 when they were already past their peak.

- Missy Hyatt is standing by for comments from the Super-Team of Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. Flair all but guarantees winning the Tag Titles. Anderson says the thrive on being over-achievers, but tomorrow they've got to wipe out the Rock ‘N' Roll Express before they get to Doom at Halloween Havoc.

- Highlights from The Main Event where The Renegade Warriors got into a brawl with the Fabulous Freebirds after a match with Flyin' Brian and their kin, Allen Iron Eagle.

The Renegade Warriors vs. The State Patrol:

We're closing the show on this stinker, huh? The State Patrol attack from behind (but after the bell), but quickly lose control as the Warriors hit them with sloppy chops. Chris pounds the canvas like a tribal beat, but the crowd doesn't buy into it. Wright pounds away on Mark and grabs a Full Nelson. Mark avoids a double team and the Youngbloods with synchronized slams and dropkicks to clear the ring, again. Chris comes in with a double axe-handle and works the arm on Lt. Wright. Whip to the ropes and the State Patrol connect with a double clothesline. Parker with a power-slam. Wright with his own power-slam followed by an assisted elbow drop for two. Wright comes off the ropes with a headbutt for two. Parker barely makes contact with a slingshot whatever. We get more heel miscommunication (in slow motion), allowing Mark to tag in and run wild with jumping boots. Chris with the blind tag and he comes off the top with a flying elbow with Parker laid across the back of Mark, and that finishes at 6:15.

Final Thoughts: Halloween Havoc inches closer, and we've got a solid "feature" match with the Steiner Brothers taking on the Midnight Express. The squash matches are mostly watchable, although the show drags at the end with a few long semi-competitive matches with the State Patrol and Ring Lords in action. I'm surprised to see them cross-promoting their programming, hyping "The Main Event" several times, but at the same time, promoting their Top Ten lists twice, but with different rankings both times.

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