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Post by guiltyparty on Oct 19, 2014 17:20:14 GMT -4
The crowd was fairly pro-Luger, though not as pro-Luger as they were pro-Freebirds.
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Post by guiltyparty on Oct 19, 2014 17:23:46 GMT -4
Road Warriors vs Skyscrappers is the next match.
I've had discussions with some in our community (Wildfire... Havoc... Scooter Ottman over on the O board) that I am of the opinion that Road Warriors matches have not aged particularly well. We'll see if this is one such case.
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Post by guiltyparty on Oct 19, 2014 17:26:58 GMT -4
Teddy Long, managing the Skyscrappers, Playa, is carrying the oversized novelty key he used to control Norman the Lunatic. I love managers with signature props.
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Post by guiltyparty on Oct 19, 2014 17:45:33 GMT -4
This is probably the Hossiest Hoss match to have ever Hossed.
They called the Skyscrappers the team of the nineties... By the time 1990 actually got there they wouldn't still be a thing.
anyway, Road Warriors win via DQ when the Skyscrappers use chekov's oversized novelty key.
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Post by guiltyparty on Oct 19, 2014 17:58:36 GMT -4
Main event next.
Let's see if I can get all this in one sentence: World Champion Ric Flair and Sting with Ole Anderson vs Television Champion The Great Muta and Terry Funk with Gary Hart in an electrified "thunderdome" (meaning the top of the cage curves in) cage match which can only be ended by the corner men throwing in the towel.
Oh, and Bruno Samartino is the special guest referee.
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Post by guiltyparty on Oct 19, 2014 19:01:45 GMT -4
Okay, so thoughts on the main event....
flair/funk was the best feud of 1989. There's a lot oh good brawling here but it's hard to follow because the cage sucks and decorations (an early attempt at the Halloween themed branding) make it difficult to see.
Having the cage AND the "designated terminators" (as Bob Codile calls them at least thirty times) is what we used to call "a hat on a hat". One or the other would have made for a better match.
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Post by lowtrav on Oct 19, 2014 19:13:44 GMT -4
Rich wins the the Thesz press. The Philly crowd rightly poops on this one. Next match is the Dynamic Dudes (accompanied by Jom Cornette) challenging the Freebirds for the World Tag Team Championship. Oddly, only Jimmy Garvin brings out one of the tag belts. I wonder if Hayes had hocked his for booze money? I think that's when Hayes left it on the back of a toilet and when he realized it, he went back and it was gone (supposedly) |
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Post by guiltyparty on Oct 19, 2014 19:15:31 GMT -4
Final thoughts for 1989
So far, this is the best Havoc. While no indivisible match is anywhere near Rey vs Eddie in 97, the average match quality is higher than the others.
Best match: Luger/Pillman wins by a nose over Midnights & Williams vs Samoans.
Worst match: Rich vs Cuban Assassaun. Not a bad match, but more deserving of a Clash or a Saturday Night than a PPV.
MVP: The Great Muta. Young Muta did most of the heavy lifting in the main event, sold for Bruno, and even used his mist to extinguish a small fire that broke out when the electrified cage caught some of the decorations ablaze.
Counted programming note: the next month, WWF would feature Survivor Series 1989, which would famously be Arn Anderson's last WWF PPV before going back to WCW to reform the Horsemen.
Roll of the dice gives us: 1999 as our next installment. Back to the land of Russo.
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Post by tax on Oct 19, 2014 21:26:08 GMT -4
Good to get the Russo stuff out of the way at least. HH 89 was actually the first WCW PPV I watched on VHS way back in the day. I enjoyed it quite a bit though your complaints about the main event were spot on.
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Post by MT on Oct 20, 2014 10:04:01 GMT -4
I watched Havoc '89 for the first time in many years yesterday when it was on the Network's live feed. It went pretty much exactly as I remembered it. There was nothing wrong technically with most of the undercard matches (except Hayes was sloppy as hell in the tag title match and Samoan Savage was as clumsy as ever), but in 89 WCW was light years behind WWF in the concept of PPV. WCW was still throwing the undercard guys on the show in meaningless matches, more along the lines of the traditional "supercard" of the 70s and early 80s, where WWF was giving almost every match a reason for being on the show or putting two top stars against each other if there wasn't a story or personal issue.
The main event was the mess I remember it being, and now I can see far more problems with it than I did then. On top of there being entirely too much going on in the match and with that cage, the wrestlers never seemed to get on the same page as far as what was going on. This is one of those times trying to reinvent the wheel and come up with new gimmick matches all the time backfired. Stipulation matches should be like that old fashion tip about accessorizing: put everything on, look in the mirror, then take off the last thing you put on before you leave. Otherwise you end up going out with too much crap hanging off your cage and you look like an idiot. Or something like that.
I loved the backstage interview with Bruno early in the show where he did his best to explain why he needed to be in there as a ref when there was no disqualification and the only way to lose was to have the outside man throw in the towel. Bruno did his best, which was damn good, to explain his place there but the fact of the matter is they shoehorned him into an awkward spot because they wanted him involved in the main event.
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Post by guiltyparty on Oct 20, 2014 21:57:49 GMT -4
Let's see how much of this I can get through tonight:
Havoc 1999
Video package to open the show highlights Goldberg/Sid and heel Sting/face Hogan.
1999 had the most over the top set... Giant inflatable goblin with a pumpkin. I love it.
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Post by guiltyparty on Oct 20, 2014 21:58:34 GMT -4
Show opens with the first mention of the "Powers that be".
And with a title being vacated. Russo!
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Post by guiltyparty on Oct 20, 2014 22:01:44 GMT -4
Disco Inferno out to defend the cruiserweight champion against LOW's own Lash LeRoux...
Man, we need Disco in the game so we can recreate this classic.. Said no one ever.
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Post by guiltyparty on Oct 20, 2014 22:11:41 GMT -4
Obviously, he's no ring work hero, but Disco's psychology was very solid. This match is pretty good. It's no cruiser classic, but it's good.
Disco retains with the last dance. Afterwards, Lash attacks Disco who offers him a handshake and hits him with the whiplash onto the belt. This should have been a double turn... But the fans cheer... Because Disco.
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Post by guiltyparty on Oct 20, 2014 22:16:41 GMT -4
Tag championship falls count anywhere triple threat is next. Filthy Animals vs First Family (Knobbs and Hugh Morris) vs Harlem Heat.
I can't get over the fact that the Filthy Animals existed in one form or another for almost THREE YEARS.
That's longer than evolution or the dangerous alliance or the nexus or almost any faction not named nWo or Horsemen.
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