Tracy Smothers

[PPV Review] ‘WCW HALLOWEEN HAVOC 91’ – Chamber of Horrors, Luger vs. Simmons

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DATE: October 27, 1991
VENUE: UTC Arena (Chattanooga, TN)
COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross & Tony Schiavone

The 1991 edition of Halloween Havoc features the infamous CHAMBER OF HORRORS, the crowning of the first Light Heavyweight Champion, a Ravishing Halloween Phantom, and 2 out of 3 Falls Match for the World Title.

CHAMPIONS

  • WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: “The Total Package” Lex Luger
  • WCW UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: Sting
  • WCW WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION: “Stunning” Steve Austin
  • WCW LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: Vacant
  • WCW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: The Enforcers (“The Enforcer” Arn Anderson & “The Living Legend” Larry Zbyszko)
  • WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: The Patriots (Firebreaker Chip & Todd Champion)

LINEUP

  • CHAMBER OF HORRORS: Sting, El Gigante, & The Steiner Brothers vs. Cactus Jack, Abdullah The Butcher, The Diamond Studd, & Big Van Vader (*)
  • PN News & Big Josh vs. The Creatures (*1/4)
  • Bobby Eaton vs. Terrence Taylor (***)
  • Jimmy Garvin vs. Johnny B. Badd (**)
  • Steve Austin [c] vs. Dustin Rhodes for the WCW WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP (***1/2)
  • Bill Kazmaier vs. Oz (*1/2)
  • Van Hammer vs. Doug Somers (SQUASH)
  • Brian Pillman vs. Richard Morton for the vacant WCW LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (**3/4)
  • Tom Zenk vs. WCW Halloween Phantom (SQUASH)
  • The Enforcers [c] vs. The Patriots for the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (*3/4)
  • 2 OUT OF 3 FALLS: Lex Luger [c] vs. Ron Simmons for the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (***1/2)

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[PPV Recap] ‘WCW HALLOWEEN HAVOC ’90’ – Sting(s) vs. Sid, Steiners vs. Nasty Boys, Black Scorpion Shenanigans

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DATE: October 27, 1990
VENUE: UIC Pavilion (Chicago, IL)
COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross & Paul E. Dangerously

Halloween Havoc ‘90 features four title matches, including Sid Vicious’ first PPV main event, as well as a whole lot of fluff in the undercard and Black Scorpion shenanigans. It’s a…mixed bag of a show to say the least.

CHAMPIONS

  • NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: Sting
  • NWA UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: “The Total Package” Lex Luger
  • NWA WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION: “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson
  • NWA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: Doom (Ron Simmons & “Hacksaw” Butch Reed)
  • NWA UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner)

LINEUP

  • Ricky Morton & Tommy Rich vs. The Midnight Express (***)
  • Terry Taylor vs. Bill Irwin (**)
  • Brad Armstrong vs. J.W. Storm (*1/2)
  • The Southern Boys vs. The Master Blasters (*1/2)
  • The Renegade Warriors vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (*3/4)
  • The Steiner Brothers [c] vs. The Nasty Boys for the NWA UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (****)
  • The Junkyard Dog vs. Moondog Rex (*1/4)
  • Doom [c] vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson for the NWA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (***1/2)
  • Lex Luger [c] vs. Stan Hansen for the NWA UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (***)
  • Sting [c] vs. Sid Vicious for the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (**1/4)

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[TV Recap] ‘WCW Clash of the Champions XI: Coastal Crush’ – Flair vs. JYD, Orndorff vs. Anderson

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DATE: June 13, 1990
VENUE: McAlister Field House (Charleston, SC)
COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross & Bob Caudle

The 11th edition of Clash of the Champions features the World Title on the line as Ric Flair defends against…The Junkyard Dog?!? That’s a match I’d never thought I’d see. Also on the show Doom defends the World Tag Team Titles against The Steiner Brothers in a Capital Combat rematch, Lex Luger collides with Sid Vicious, and…Paul Orndorff battles Arn Anderson? Are we sure this is  a real show?

CHAMPIONS
  • NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair
  • NWA UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: “The Total Package” Lex Luger
  • NWA WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION: “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson
  • NWA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: Doom (Ron Simmons & “Hacksaw” Butch Reed)
  • NWA UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: The Midnight Express (“Beautiful” Bobby Eaton & “Sweet” Stan Lane)
LINEUP
  • The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (***)
  • Tommy Rich vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (*3/4)
  • Tom Zenk & Mike Rotunda vs. The Samoan SWAT Team (**1/4)
  • Brian PIllman vs. Mean Mark (***)
  • The Midnight Express [c] vs. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express for the NWA UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (***)
  • Doug Furnas vs. Barry Windham (**3/4)
  • Lex Luger vs. Sid Vicious (NR)
  • Doom [c] vs. The Steiner Brothers for the NWA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (***)
  • Paul Orndorff vs. Arn Anderson (***)
  • Ric Flair [c] vs. The Junkyard Dog for the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (**)

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[PPV Recap] ‘WCW SuperBrawl: Return from the Rising Sun’ – Flair vs. Fujinami, Steiners vs. Sting & Luger

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DATE: May 19, 1991
VENUE: Bayfront Arena (St. Petersburg, FL)
COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross & “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes

The first annual SuperBrawl features the end to the controversy as Ric Flair takes on Tatsumi Fujinami to decide who the real World Champion is (even though WCW has already said who it was many times over). Also on the show we get an absolute classic of a tag team match, two regular debuts and one absolutely insane debut, and Bobby Eaton gets his big shot at singles stardom.

CHAMPIONS
  • WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair
  • WCW UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: “The Total Package” Lex Luger
  • WCW WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION: “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson
  • WCW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner)
  • WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: Vacant
  • WCW WORLD SIX MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: Ricky Morton, “Wildfire” Tommy Rich, & Junkyard Dog
LINEUP
  • The Young Pistols vs. The Fabulous Freebirds for the vacant WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (**)
  • Ricky Morton vs. Dan Spivey (*1/2)
  • DEBUT PROMO: Johnny B. Badd & Teddy Long
  • Tommy Rich vs. Nikita Koloff (*3/4)
  • Dustin Rhodes vs. Terrence Taylor (**1/4)
  • Big Josh vs. Black Bart (*1/2)
  • THE DANGER ZONE w/ Paul E. Dangerously & Stan Hansen
  • Oz vs. Tim Parker (SQUASH)
  • TAPED FIST MATCH: Brian Pillman vs. Barry Windham (**3/4)
  • DIAMOND MINE w/ Diamond Dallas Page & The Diamond Studd
  • STRETCHER MATCH: El Gigante vs. Sid Vicious (DUD)
  • THUNDERDOOM CAGE MATCH: Ron Simmons vs. Butch Reed (**3/4)
  • The Steiner Brothers [c] vs. Sting & Lex Luger for the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (****1/2)
  • Arn Anderson [c] vs. Bobby Eaton for the WCW WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP (**3/4)
  • Ric Flair [c] vs. Tatsumi Fujinami for the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (***)

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[TV Recap] ‘WCW Clash of the Champions XV: Knocksville USA’ – Flair vs. Eaton, Luger vs. Muta, Sting vs. Koloff

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DATE: June 12, 1991
VENUE: Civic Auditorium (Knoxville, TN)
COMMENTATORS: Jim Ross & Tony Schiavone

Clash of the Champions XV: Knocksville USA features a gangbuster of a main event as Ric Flair defends the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Bobby Eaton in a 2 out of 3 Falls match. Also on the show Lex Luger takes on The Great Muta in a #1 Contender’s Match, Sting looks for revenge against Nikita Koloff, and much more!

THIS IS A REPOST FROM SISTER SITE LEGACY OF WCW, WHERE I’M GOING THROUGH THE ENTIRETY OF WCW (TV/PPV) from 1991 to 2001. Check it out!

CHAMPIONS
  • WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair
  • WCW UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: “The Total Package” Lex Luger
  • WCW WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION: “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton
  • WCW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner)
  • WCW UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael “P.S.” Hayes & Jimmy “Jam” Garvin)
  • WCW WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: Ricky Morton, “Wildfire” Tommy Rich, & The Junkyard Dog
LINEUP
  • Tom Zenk & The Young Pistols vs. Badstreet & The Fabulous Freebirds (**1/2)
  • Johnny Rich vs. Oz (SQUASH)
  • Big Josh vs. Dan Spivey (**)
  • Dustin Rhodes vs. Terrence Taylor (**)
  • Sting vs. Nikita Koloff (**3/4)
  • LOSER LEAVES WCW: Brain Pillman & El Gigante vs. Arn Anderson & Barry Windham (***)
  • The Steiner Brothers [c] vs. Hiroshi Hase & Masahiro Chono for the IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (****)
  • Tommy Rich vs. The Diamond Studd (SQUASH)
  • #1 CONTENDER’S MATCH: Lex Luger vs. The Great Muta (**1/4)
  • Steve Austin vs. Joey Maggs (SQUASH)
  • 2 OUT OF 3 FALLS: Ric Flair [c] vs. Bobby Eaton for the WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (***1/2)

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[PPV Recap] ‘WCW Great American Bash 1990: New Revolution’ – Flair vs. Sting, Luger vs. Callous, Doom vs. RNR

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Date: July 7, 1990
Venue: Baltimore Arena (Baltimore, MD)
Commentators: Jim Ross & Bob Caudle

The 1990 edition of The Great American Bash is best remembered for the official crowning of Sting as the top dog in WCW, months after it was initially planned due to a knee injury suffered in January. Have I watched this show a bunch? Yup. Have I recapped this at least twice before? Yup. Is it going to stop me now? Nope.

CHAMPION ROLL-CALL

  • NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair
  • NWA UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: “The Total Package” Lex Luger
  • NWA WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION: “The Enforcer” Arn Anderson
  • NWA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: Doom (Ron Simmons & “Hacksaw” Butch Reed)
  • NWA UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: The Midnight Express (“Beautiful” Bobby Eaton & “Sweet” Stan Lane)

THE LINEUP

  • Brian Pillman vs. Buddy Landell (**1/2)
  • Mike Rotunda vs. The Iron Sheik (1/4*)
  • Doug Furnas vs. Dutch Mantell (**)
  • Tommy Rich vs. Harley Race (**1/2)
  • The Midnight Express [c] vs. The Southern Boys for the NWA UNITED STATES TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (****1/2)
  • Tom Zenk vs. Big Van Vader (SQUASH)
  • The Steiner Brothers vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (**3/4)
  • El Gigante, Paul Orndorff, & The Junkyard Dog vs. Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, & Sid Vicious (**)
  • Lex Luger [c] vs. Mark Callous for the NWA UNITED STATES HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (**3/4)
  • Doom [c] vs. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express for the NWA WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (***)
  • Ric Flair [c] vs. Sting for the NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (***1/2)

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[PPV Recap] ‘WCW WrestleWar ’91: War Games’ – War Games Returns, Vader vs. Hansen, Luger vs. Spivey

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Date: February 24, 1991
Venue: Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Phoenix, AZ)
Commentators: Jim Ross & Dusty Rhodes

NOTE: Did I just repurpose a review I did for Legacy of WCW again? You bet your ass I did! I reformatted it a bit but kept in all the references to the original Legacy of WCW website because why edit and put in more work, am I right?

The first PPV for WCW in 1991 features one of the company’s notorious matches, as Sting teams with Brian Pillman and The Steiner Brothers to take on The Four Horsemen in War Games. Also on the show we get our FIFTH Z-Man/Terry Taylor match as the two meet in a No-DQ contest, the WCW Six Man Tag Team Championship gets defended for the first time, and Lex Luger defends the United States Championship against ‘Dangerous’ Dan Spivey. After a month of TV matches I am ready for some actual competitive contests so let’s dive right the hell in.

CHAMPIONS
  • WCW World Champion: Ric Flair
  • WCW United States Champion: Lex Luger
  • WCW Television Champion: Arn Anderson
  • WCW World Tag Team Champions: Doom (Ron Simmons & Butch Reed)
  • WCW United States Tag Team Champions: The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner)
  • WCW Six-Man Tag Team Champions: Ricky Morton, Tommy Rich, & The Junkyard Dog
LINEUP
  • Ricky Morton, Tommy Rich, & Junkyard Dog [c] vs. Big Cat & The State Patrol for the WCW SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (*)
  • Brad Armstrong vs. Bobby Eaton (***)
  • Mami Kitamura & Itsuki Yamasaki vs. Miss A & Miki Handa (**1/2)
  • Dustin Rhodes vs. Buddy Landell (**)
  • The Young Pistols vs. The Royal Family (*)
  • No Disqualification Match: Tom Zenk vs. Terry Taylor (*1/2)
  • Big Van Vader vs. Stan Hansen (***1/4)
  • Lex Luger [c] vs. Dan Spivey for the WCW UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP (***)
  • Doom [c] vs. The Fabulous Freebirds for the WCW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (*)
  • War Games: The Match Beyond: Sting, Brian Pillman, & The Steiner Brothers vs. Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious, & Larry Zbyszko (***3/4)

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[PPV Recap] ‘ECW Guilty as Charged 1999’ – Douglas vs. Taz, Stairway to Hell

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Date: January 10, 1999
Venue: Millenium Theatre (Kissimmee, FL)
Commentator: Joey Styles

ECW Guilty as Charged 1999 is the only ECW PPV I ever watched live so it holds a special place in my heart. And what a show it is to as Taz finally gets his shot as ECW World Champion Shane Douglas, both Tajiri and Super Crazy make their American debuts, and a whole lot more. Unfortunately this is the WWE Network version so the music is going to be generic and terrible but hey can’t win them all. I haven’t watched this since it first aired, bootleg copies I had of it always had technical issues for some reason, so I’m excited to see how it holds up. Will it still be good or will it be like most ECW shows and have aged poorly? Let’s find out!

CHAMPIONS
  • ECW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: ‘The Franchise’ Shane Douglas
  • ECW WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPION: ‘The Whole F’N Show’ Rob Van Dam
  • ECW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS: Sabu & Rob Van Dam
LINEUP
  • THREE WAY DANCE: Axl Rotten & Balls Mahoney vs. The F.B.I. vs. Danny Doring & Amish Roadkill (**1/2)
  • Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Super Crazy (***3/4)
  • John Kronus vs. ??? (SQUASH)
  • New Jack & Spike Dudley vs. The Dudley Boyz (*1/4)
  • Rob Van Dam [c] vs. Lance Storm for the ECW WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP (****)
  • STAIRWAY TO HELL: Tommy Dreamer vs. Justin Credible (***)
  • Shane Douglas [c] vs. Taz for the ECW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (***1/4)

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