Welcome to part 3 of my October special for ThunderStruck! In this portion, we look back at another three matches from Halloween Havoc's past!
Halloween Havoc: October 25, 1992 from Philadelphia, PA
Ron Simmons w/ Teddy Long vs The Barbarian w/ Cactus Jack, WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match: This match was actually not the main event of the night in 1992, as it was overshadowed by the rivalry between Jake the Snake Roberts and Sting. It ended up backfiring for Sting and Roberts however, as Simmons and Barbarian put on a really good match and Roberts and Sting had to improvise in a coal miner's glove match. Simmons ended up defending his title successfully in this contest.
Barbarian: Originally a member of the Powers of Pain with the Warlord in the WWF, the Barbarian went to WCW in 1992 and had little success overall in the company. He replaced Samu in the Headshrinkers tag team alongside Fatu during his return to the WWF in 1994. Fatu and Barbarian were essentially jobbed out during their run as a team. Barbarian would go back to WCW in 1995 and reform a tag team with the Warlord. After a brief run, he would team with Meng and be known as the faces of fear, one part of the Dungeon of Doom stable that was designed to go after Hulk Hogan. Barbarian would also be a part of Jimmy Hart's First Family stable until his release in 1999. He was re-signed by WCW in 2000 and was actually the last Hardcore Champion in World Championship Wrestling. He has since wrestled on the independent circuit for various promotions.
Teddy Long: Long was originally a referee in WCW, then went on his managerial role. Long managed a lot of well known names like Marc Mero when he was under the Johnny B. Badd gimmick, One Man Gang, The skyscrapers, Bagwell, and 2 Cold Scorpio. He also managed Ron Simmons when he was one half of Doom with Butch Reed, and continued to manage Simmons as a singles competitor.Long would go on to the WWE and be a referee from 1999 to 2002, where he then went back to his manager role. Long would do this until 2004 when he would become the general manager of Smackdown. From June 2008 to July 2009, Long would switch over and become the general manager of ECW on SyFy before coming back to Smackdown. Long has been involved in many storylines of controversy and continues to be a huge factor every week on Friday Night Smackdown.
Ron Simmons: DAMN! I guess that probably isn't the best place to start. Simmons had a solid tag team career as one half of Doom in WCW with Butch Reed, and even captured the WCW World Championship as a singles competitor(Simmons is noted for being the first black World Champion). Simmons would join the WWF in 1996 as Farooq and fail to capture the Intercontinental championship on a few occasions, and would then form the Nation of Domination in November of 1996. Farooq would lead the group going into 1997 and would fail to capture the WWF Championship from the Undertaker at the King of the Ring that year. The next night on RAW Farooq would throw Savio Vega and Crush out of the Nation, and would form a new nation. The nation stable would change several times before the Rock finally took it over. Farooq would become a member of the Ministry with Bradshaw as his partner forming the Acolytes. Eventually they turned away from the dark gimmick that we all knew and formed the beer drinking and card playing APA(acolyte protection agency). Farooq would do very little with his career beyong the APA tag team gimmick, although they did capture tag team gold together. Simmons now is best known for his random spots of showing up in backstage segments on high profile pay per views with his famous one line phrase: DAMN!
Cactus Jack: What is there really to say about the Hardcore Legend himself? Foley would have a feud with Vader leading up to the 1993 HH event, where he would lose in a Texas Death Match. Foley would go on to have his infamous Mankind gimmick in the WWF, and then would take on his Dude Love persona, as well as reinvent his Mankind persona into a fan favorite character. It payed off well for Foley when he won the WWF title from the Rock on January 4, 1999(read the Monday Night War history on this one!). Foley would exchange the title multiple times that year between the Rock, Triple H, and Steve Austin. Mick would continue to have great matches even after his 2000 "retirement", like when he stole the show at WM22 with Edge in a street fight. Mick would also capture the TNA World Title from Sting at the 2009 Lockdown event. Since leaving TNA, Foley has been teasing a return to the WWE, with a potential match rumored for WM28.
Halloween Havoc: October 27, 1996 from Las Vegas, NV
Syxx(Sean Waltman) vs Chris Jericho: This was a true battle of the cruiserweights during a time that these guys were the prime filler entertainment for Nitro and pay per views alike. Jericho and Waltman gave us a great match loaded with the high spots that you would expect from the two. The match never slowed down in pace and ultimately Jericho got screwed over by Nick Patrick refusing to make a normal count when he had the pinfall. Syxx picked up the victory with a spinning heel kick on a distracted Jericho. This match shows the sort of entertainment that kept WCW going during a time where their main events were booked with stars, but the matches didn't necessarily live up to the hype.
Sean Waltman: Waltman had little success in WCW, only capturing the Cruiserweight title one time. Waltman joined the new DX the night after WrestleMania 14 with Triple H and the New Age Outlaws. Waltman would win the tag titles twice with Kane, the European title twice, and the Cruiserweight and Light Heavyweight Title one time each. Waltman formed the group XFactor with Albert and Justin Credible after his DX days, but little success came from the group. Waltman would wrestle on the independent circuit following his time in WWE, and would appear sporadically in TNA with little success over the next few years.
Chris Jericho: The best of Jericho was yet to come after his time in WCW. Jericho would wrestle for both WCW in 1997 as well as New Japan under the Super Liger gimmick to combat Jushin Thunder Liger. Jericho would hold the Cruiserweight Championship four times beginning in June of 1997 and would best be known for his feud with Dean Malenko and the man of 1,000 holds gimmick. He also had a brief feud with Rey Mysterio and Juventud Guerrera before leaving the Cruiserweight division. Jericho would then hold the TV Title and in storyline call out Bill Goldberg over and over and challenge him to a match. Because of WCW's idiotic booking choices, no match ever took place. Jericho would drop the title to Konnan in November 1998. Jericho's final rivalry in WCW was with Perry Saturn. Boring. Jericho blasted his way into the WWE in late 1999 with the millennium man gimmick. Jericho would capture both the European and Intercontinental Championships during the early part of his time in WWE. He would defeat The Rock at No Mercy in 2001 to become the WCW Champion and would go on to become the first ever Undisputed Champion. Jericho would feud with Triple H and drop the title, and would feud with Test, Shawn Michaels with a classic WM match, and Jeff Hardy. He also feuded with Goldberg several years after the fact, and had a feud with Christian that started with a bet about Lita and Trish Stratus. Jericho would leave WWE in August 2005 the night after Summerslam when he failed to capture the WWE Title from John Cena. Jericho would come back in November 2007 with the Savior gimmick and fail to capture the WWE Title from Randy Orton. Jericho would hold the IC Title again as well as the World Heavyweight Championship. He would feud with Ricky Steamboat and other WWE legends leading up to his match at WM25 with Steamboat, Piper, and Jimmy Snuka(where Jericho was victorious). Jericho would have a brief feud with Rey Mysterio before having a world tag title run with Edge as his partner. Edge would get injured and feud with Jericho in 2010 over the WHC during his return. Jericho defeated Edge at WM26 but lost the WHC to Jack Swagger who cashed in his MITB on the Smackdown following WM. Jericho was punted in the head by Randy Orton in September of 2010 and was storyline put out of action because of it. Jericho hasn't been seen in the WWE since then.
Halloween Havoc: October 26, 1997 from Las Vegas, NV
Curt Hennig vs Ric Flair for the WCW United States Championship: These two had a storied past in the WWF, and this match took place four years after their memorable "loser leaves the WWF" match from Monday Night Raw in 1993. Hennig mocked Flair at the opening of this contest by wearing one of Flair's robes to the ring with the sleeves cut off. These two are both known for being master ring technicians and they definitely come up big in this contest. You also get a variation of that 80's brawl style fighting on the outside that Flair used to have often with guys like Dusty Rhodes. The match actually ends prematurely when Flair hands up Hennig in a tree of woe and refuses to stop his beatdown on him. Hennig was able to retain his US Title in this match, but you had to know their feud was far from over. Had this match been given a legitimate finish, I would say that it would've been better suited than the main event of the evening that pitted Hogan and Piper going at it once again. That's just my opinion, however.
Curt Hennig: Hennig would drop the US Title to DDP at Starrcade that year. Hennig would be injury plagued throughout 1998 and would lose to Bill Goldberg in a World Title match at Bash at the Beach. He would go on to be kicked out of the nWo shortly thereafter and would form the West Texas Rednecks group. Hennig is infamous for recording the "I hate rap" country song that was the theme for the group. Hennig's only other notable feud at the end of his time in WCW was with Shawn Stasiak, who came up with a "perfect" gimmick of his own. Hennig returned to the WWE at the Royal Rumble in 2002, and wrestled mostly at the mid card level following the event. Hennig was released after less than six months with the company. He died less than a year later.
Ric Flair: Flair would feud with Eric Bischoff throughout much of 1998, Hulk Hogan in 1999, and Sting in 2000. He won the WHC twice in 2000. Flair would wrestle the final match of WCW Nitro against Sting in March of 2001. He wouldn't be seen again until he returned to the WWE in November of 2001 as kayfabe 50% owner of the company. He would feud with both Vince McMahon and the Undertaker before forming Evolution with Triple H, Batista, and Randy Orton. Flair would hold the Intercontinental Title for the first time while in the group. Slick Ric went on to feud with Mick Foley in 2006, and would form a tag team with Carlito in early 2007 that eventually led to a rivalry between the two. Flair's final storyline in WWE began in November 2007 where he said he would never retire. It was set up that every match Flair participated in was a career threatening match. This led to the 2008 match of the year(overrated if you ask me) with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24. Flair's career should have been over. He would join TNA on January 4th, 2010 after facing Hulk Hogan in four matches on the Australian Hulkamania Tour. Flair has wrestled several matches since joining TNA, most notable a tag match with AJ Styles against Abyss and Hulk Hogan, a last man standing match with Mick Foley, and his most recent contest with Sting. Flair has not been in the ring since that match due to an injured elbow. There's rumor and speculation for a Flair/Eric Bischoff vs Hogan/Garrett Bischoff somewhere down the line. I'm not sure who is supposed to be the workhorse for that match, but it's been discussed.
As we near the end of the month, I have to say it's been fun watching some of these old school matches. Honestly, 1995 and up doesn't feel all that old to me because it's some of the stuff that I remember the best and was the most into as a fan. I hope you enjoy reminiscing like I do, and part four of this piece will be out on Monday. Thanks for reading!
Add Joe Thunder on Facebook
email joethunder06@hotmail.com
Halloween Havoc: October 25, 1992 from Philadelphia, PA
Ron Simmons w/ Teddy Long vs The Barbarian w/ Cactus Jack, WCW World Heavyweight Championship Match: This match was actually not the main event of the night in 1992, as it was overshadowed by the rivalry between Jake the Snake Roberts and Sting. It ended up backfiring for Sting and Roberts however, as Simmons and Barbarian put on a really good match and Roberts and Sting had to improvise in a coal miner's glove match. Simmons ended up defending his title successfully in this contest.
Barbarian: Originally a member of the Powers of Pain with the Warlord in the WWF, the Barbarian went to WCW in 1992 and had little success overall in the company. He replaced Samu in the Headshrinkers tag team alongside Fatu during his return to the WWF in 1994. Fatu and Barbarian were essentially jobbed out during their run as a team. Barbarian would go back to WCW in 1995 and reform a tag team with the Warlord. After a brief run, he would team with Meng and be known as the faces of fear, one part of the Dungeon of Doom stable that was designed to go after Hulk Hogan. Barbarian would also be a part of Jimmy Hart's First Family stable until his release in 1999. He was re-signed by WCW in 2000 and was actually the last Hardcore Champion in World Championship Wrestling. He has since wrestled on the independent circuit for various promotions.
Teddy Long: Long was originally a referee in WCW, then went on his managerial role. Long managed a lot of well known names like Marc Mero when he was under the Johnny B. Badd gimmick, One Man Gang, The skyscrapers, Bagwell, and 2 Cold Scorpio. He also managed Ron Simmons when he was one half of Doom with Butch Reed, and continued to manage Simmons as a singles competitor.Long would go on to the WWE and be a referee from 1999 to 2002, where he then went back to his manager role. Long would do this until 2004 when he would become the general manager of Smackdown. From June 2008 to July 2009, Long would switch over and become the general manager of ECW on SyFy before coming back to Smackdown. Long has been involved in many storylines of controversy and continues to be a huge factor every week on Friday Night Smackdown.
Ron Simmons: DAMN! I guess that probably isn't the best place to start. Simmons had a solid tag team career as one half of Doom in WCW with Butch Reed, and even captured the WCW World Championship as a singles competitor(Simmons is noted for being the first black World Champion). Simmons would join the WWF in 1996 as Farooq and fail to capture the Intercontinental championship on a few occasions, and would then form the Nation of Domination in November of 1996. Farooq would lead the group going into 1997 and would fail to capture the WWF Championship from the Undertaker at the King of the Ring that year. The next night on RAW Farooq would throw Savio Vega and Crush out of the Nation, and would form a new nation. The nation stable would change several times before the Rock finally took it over. Farooq would become a member of the Ministry with Bradshaw as his partner forming the Acolytes. Eventually they turned away from the dark gimmick that we all knew and formed the beer drinking and card playing APA(acolyte protection agency). Farooq would do very little with his career beyong the APA tag team gimmick, although they did capture tag team gold together. Simmons now is best known for his random spots of showing up in backstage segments on high profile pay per views with his famous one line phrase: DAMN!
Cactus Jack: What is there really to say about the Hardcore Legend himself? Foley would have a feud with Vader leading up to the 1993 HH event, where he would lose in a Texas Death Match. Foley would go on to have his infamous Mankind gimmick in the WWF, and then would take on his Dude Love persona, as well as reinvent his Mankind persona into a fan favorite character. It payed off well for Foley when he won the WWF title from the Rock on January 4, 1999(read the Monday Night War history on this one!). Foley would exchange the title multiple times that year between the Rock, Triple H, and Steve Austin. Mick would continue to have great matches even after his 2000 "retirement", like when he stole the show at WM22 with Edge in a street fight. Mick would also capture the TNA World Title from Sting at the 2009 Lockdown event. Since leaving TNA, Foley has been teasing a return to the WWE, with a potential match rumored for WM28.
Halloween Havoc: October 27, 1996 from Las Vegas, NV
Syxx(Sean Waltman) vs Chris Jericho: This was a true battle of the cruiserweights during a time that these guys were the prime filler entertainment for Nitro and pay per views alike. Jericho and Waltman gave us a great match loaded with the high spots that you would expect from the two. The match never slowed down in pace and ultimately Jericho got screwed over by Nick Patrick refusing to make a normal count when he had the pinfall. Syxx picked up the victory with a spinning heel kick on a distracted Jericho. This match shows the sort of entertainment that kept WCW going during a time where their main events were booked with stars, but the matches didn't necessarily live up to the hype.
Sean Waltman: Waltman had little success in WCW, only capturing the Cruiserweight title one time. Waltman joined the new DX the night after WrestleMania 14 with Triple H and the New Age Outlaws. Waltman would win the tag titles twice with Kane, the European title twice, and the Cruiserweight and Light Heavyweight Title one time each. Waltman formed the group XFactor with Albert and Justin Credible after his DX days, but little success came from the group. Waltman would wrestle on the independent circuit following his time in WWE, and would appear sporadically in TNA with little success over the next few years.
Chris Jericho: The best of Jericho was yet to come after his time in WCW. Jericho would wrestle for both WCW in 1997 as well as New Japan under the Super Liger gimmick to combat Jushin Thunder Liger. Jericho would hold the Cruiserweight Championship four times beginning in June of 1997 and would best be known for his feud with Dean Malenko and the man of 1,000 holds gimmick. He also had a brief feud with Rey Mysterio and Juventud Guerrera before leaving the Cruiserweight division. Jericho would then hold the TV Title and in storyline call out Bill Goldberg over and over and challenge him to a match. Because of WCW's idiotic booking choices, no match ever took place. Jericho would drop the title to Konnan in November 1998. Jericho's final rivalry in WCW was with Perry Saturn. Boring. Jericho blasted his way into the WWE in late 1999 with the millennium man gimmick. Jericho would capture both the European and Intercontinental Championships during the early part of his time in WWE. He would defeat The Rock at No Mercy in 2001 to become the WCW Champion and would go on to become the first ever Undisputed Champion. Jericho would feud with Triple H and drop the title, and would feud with Test, Shawn Michaels with a classic WM match, and Jeff Hardy. He also feuded with Goldberg several years after the fact, and had a feud with Christian that started with a bet about Lita and Trish Stratus. Jericho would leave WWE in August 2005 the night after Summerslam when he failed to capture the WWE Title from John Cena. Jericho would come back in November 2007 with the Savior gimmick and fail to capture the WWE Title from Randy Orton. Jericho would hold the IC Title again as well as the World Heavyweight Championship. He would feud with Ricky Steamboat and other WWE legends leading up to his match at WM25 with Steamboat, Piper, and Jimmy Snuka(where Jericho was victorious). Jericho would have a brief feud with Rey Mysterio before having a world tag title run with Edge as his partner. Edge would get injured and feud with Jericho in 2010 over the WHC during his return. Jericho defeated Edge at WM26 but lost the WHC to Jack Swagger who cashed in his MITB on the Smackdown following WM. Jericho was punted in the head by Randy Orton in September of 2010 and was storyline put out of action because of it. Jericho hasn't been seen in the WWE since then.
Halloween Havoc: October 26, 1997 from Las Vegas, NV
Curt Hennig vs Ric Flair for the WCW United States Championship: These two had a storied past in the WWF, and this match took place four years after their memorable "loser leaves the WWF" match from Monday Night Raw in 1993. Hennig mocked Flair at the opening of this contest by wearing one of Flair's robes to the ring with the sleeves cut off. These two are both known for being master ring technicians and they definitely come up big in this contest. You also get a variation of that 80's brawl style fighting on the outside that Flair used to have often with guys like Dusty Rhodes. The match actually ends prematurely when Flair hands up Hennig in a tree of woe and refuses to stop his beatdown on him. Hennig was able to retain his US Title in this match, but you had to know their feud was far from over. Had this match been given a legitimate finish, I would say that it would've been better suited than the main event of the evening that pitted Hogan and Piper going at it once again. That's just my opinion, however.
Curt Hennig: Hennig would drop the US Title to DDP at Starrcade that year. Hennig would be injury plagued throughout 1998 and would lose to Bill Goldberg in a World Title match at Bash at the Beach. He would go on to be kicked out of the nWo shortly thereafter and would form the West Texas Rednecks group. Hennig is infamous for recording the "I hate rap" country song that was the theme for the group. Hennig's only other notable feud at the end of his time in WCW was with Shawn Stasiak, who came up with a "perfect" gimmick of his own. Hennig returned to the WWE at the Royal Rumble in 2002, and wrestled mostly at the mid card level following the event. Hennig was released after less than six months with the company. He died less than a year later.
Ric Flair: Flair would feud with Eric Bischoff throughout much of 1998, Hulk Hogan in 1999, and Sting in 2000. He won the WHC twice in 2000. Flair would wrestle the final match of WCW Nitro against Sting in March of 2001. He wouldn't be seen again until he returned to the WWE in November of 2001 as kayfabe 50% owner of the company. He would feud with both Vince McMahon and the Undertaker before forming Evolution with Triple H, Batista, and Randy Orton. Flair would hold the Intercontinental Title for the first time while in the group. Slick Ric went on to feud with Mick Foley in 2006, and would form a tag team with Carlito in early 2007 that eventually led to a rivalry between the two. Flair's final storyline in WWE began in November 2007 where he said he would never retire. It was set up that every match Flair participated in was a career threatening match. This led to the 2008 match of the year(overrated if you ask me) with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 24. Flair's career should have been over. He would join TNA on January 4th, 2010 after facing Hulk Hogan in four matches on the Australian Hulkamania Tour. Flair has wrestled several matches since joining TNA, most notable a tag match with AJ Styles against Abyss and Hulk Hogan, a last man standing match with Mick Foley, and his most recent contest with Sting. Flair has not been in the ring since that match due to an injured elbow. There's rumor and speculation for a Flair/Eric Bischoff vs Hogan/Garrett Bischoff somewhere down the line. I'm not sure who is supposed to be the workhorse for that match, but it's been discussed.
As we near the end of the month, I have to say it's been fun watching some of these old school matches. Honestly, 1995 and up doesn't feel all that old to me because it's some of the stuff that I remember the best and was the most into as a fan. I hope you enjoy reminiscing like I do, and part four of this piece will be out on Monday. Thanks for reading!
Add Joe Thunder on Facebook
email joethunder06@hotmail.com