Halloween Havoc (1989)

(Redirected from Halloween Havoc 1989)

The 1989 Halloween Havoc was the inaugural Halloween Havoc professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner. It took place on October 28, 1989, at the Philadelphia Civic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the name implies, it was a Halloween-themed event.

Halloween Havoc
DVD cover featuring Animal and Hawk
PromotionNational Wrestling Alliance: World Championship Wrestling
DateOctober 28, 1989
CityPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
VenuePhiladelphia Civic Center
Attendance7,300
Tagline(s)Settling the Score
Pay-per-view chronology
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The Great American Bash
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Starrcade
Halloween Havoc chronology
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First
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1990

Eight matches were contested on the event. The main event was a Thunderdome match pitting Ric Flair and Sting against Terry Funk and The Great Muta. Flair and Sting won when Funk and Muta's manager Gary Hart threw in the towel for his team.

Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
Commentator Jim Ross
Bob Caudle
Referee Nick Patrick
Tommy Young
Bruno Sammartino (Thunderdome Match)
Interviewer Gordon Solie
Chris Cruise
Ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta

Production

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Background

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In 1989, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) scheduled a Halloween-themed pay-per-view event for October 28, 1989, at the Philadelphia Civic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event was aptly named Halloween Havoc.[1]

Storylines

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The event featured wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[2]

Aftermath

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Ric Flair's feud with Terry Funk ended at Clash of Champions IX when Flair made Funk submit to the figure-four leglock in an "I Quit" match, then Gary Hart's J-Tex corporation began a full-scale feud with Fiair and Sting, but in early December Arn Anderson returned from the WWF and joined Flair, Sting, and Ole Anderson to reform the Four Horsemen. Tommy Young's long refereeing career in the NWA ended in November, 1989, during a TV taping of WCW Saturday Night when Tommy Rich knocked Young to the mat and into the ropes during a match, legitimately injuring his neck.

A second Halloween Havoc was scheduled for the following year,[3] thus establishing Halloween Havoc as an annual PPV for WCW until 2000 (the 1989 and 1990 events were also the only two Halloween Havocs produced by WCW under the NWA as in January 1991, WCW split from the NWA). The 2000 event was the final Halloween Havoc produced by WCW,[4] as in March 2001, WCW was acquired by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF); the WWF was renamed WWE in 2002. In 2020, after 19 years since the acquisition of WCW, WWE revived Halloween Havoc as an annual event for their developmental brand, NXT.[5]

Results

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No.Results[1]StipulationsTimes
1Tom Zenk defeated Mike RotundaSingles match13:23
2The Samoan SWAT Team (Fatu, The Samoan Savage and Samu) (with Oliver Humperdink) defeated The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane) and Steve Williams (with Jim Cornette)Six-man tag team match18:23
3Tommy Rich defeated The Cuban AssassinSingles match08:29
4The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) (c) defeated The Dynamic Dudes (Shane Douglas and Johnny Ace) (with Jim Cornette)Tag team match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship11:28
5Doom (Ron Simmons and Butch Reed) (with Woman) defeated The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner)Tag team match15:32
6Lex Luger (c) defeated Brian PillmanSingles match for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship16:49
7The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal) (with Paul Ellering) defeated The Skyscrapers (Sid Vicious and Dan Spivey) (with Teddy Long) by disqualificationTag team match11:39
8Ric Flair and Sting (with Ole Anderson) defeated Terry Funk and The Great Muta (with Gary Hart)Thunderdome match with Bruno Sammartino as special guest referee23:46
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match

References

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  1. ^ a b "2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts: Halloween Havoc 1989". Wrestling's Historical Cards. Kappa Publishing. 2007. p. 134.
  2. ^ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Retrieved 2015-11-15.
  3. ^ "2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts: Halloween Havoc 1990". Wrestling's Historical Cards. Kappa Publishing. 2007. p. 135.
  4. ^ "2007 Wrestling Almanac & Book of Facts: Halloween Havoc 2000". Wrestling's Historical Cards. Kappa Publishing. 2007. p. 153.
  5. ^ "NXT Halloween Havoc to take place Oct. 28". WWE. October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
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