Classic Review: WCW Halloween Havoc 1992

This month’s Classic Review is, at least partially, a predictable enough choice, what with it being “spooky szn” and whatnot, and wrestling having a classic “spooky szn” annual event from 1989-2000, which were important years for me, an old

I thought about doing ‘94 because of the 30th anniversary, but I just couldn’t motivate on it. So we’re going to ‘92, where they spun the wheel and made the deal!

WCW Halloween Havoc
October 25, 1992
Philadelphia, PA

Halloween Havoc returns to its ancestral home, Philadelphia, where the first event was held in 1989 at the same Civic Center venue. Havoc’s first five years were Philly, Chicago, Chattanooga, Philly again, and then New Orleans, before the event moved to Detroit for 1994-95 and then Las Vegas for 1996-2000.

• Hosting duties: We’ve got Tony Schiavone and Bruno Sammartino up yonder. The company had first brought Sammartino into the fold at the first Halloween Havoc in ‘89, after he’d left the WWF in 1988 and become a major critic of the company and Vince McMahon. Luckily here in WCW nobody is using steroids or doing any “vulgar” storylines. We will spin the wheel and make the deal for Sting vs Jake “The Snake” Roberts! Your options: Texas Bull Rope, Spinners’ Choice, Russian Chain, Dog Collar, I Quit, Barbed Wire, Cage, Lumberjacks with Belts, Prince of Darkness, Texas Death, Coal Miners Glove, First Blood. Also: Terry Gordy isn’t here and Steve Austin will team with Steve Williams instead.

• Backstage: Missy Hyatt is outside of Rick Rude’s locker room. She is dressed as a mermaid.

• Ringside: Jim Ross and Jesse Ventura will actually call the show. Ventura is way over the top and Ross is just not on that wavelength at all. Hey, don’t worry: If it lands on spinners’ choice and Jake Roberts makes his snake bite Sting, there is some anti-cobra venom on hand.

Z-Man, Johnny Gunn & Shane Douglas vs Arn Anderson, Beautiful Bobby & Michael Hayes

This is a period where the Dangerous Alliance was dying.¹ The babyface team is just pure dorkery. Hayes and Douglas were also on opposite sides at Havoc ‘89, where the Dynamic Dudes were famously booed out of the building and the hardcores rooted heavily for the heel Freebirds.

Johnny Gunn, who went on to be Salvatore Sincere and Tom Brandi in the WWF, and also bought the Patriot gimmick from Del Wilkes, starts with Arn. Arn takes a bump from the second rope down to the floor pretty much immediately. Remember you’ve got no ringside mats, because Bill Watts doesn’t believe in such wimp stuff.

Eaton pops in with Z-Man and smacks young (well) Thomas with one of his right hands. And just like ‘89, there are plenty of heel fans in Philly against a team of pretty boys. They don’t yet know they’ll be told they deeply care about Shane Douglas in a couple years.

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