[1990-10-27-NWA-Halloween Havoc] Rick & Scott Steiner vs Nasty Boys

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I always thought this was a great spotfest brawl, and that's still true after watching it again. I think I like this better than the more talked about brawls with Cactus in '94, because it's chaotic, but also is still a fairly traditional tag match too.

[Ditch]

I think I like this better than the more talked about brawls with Cactus in '94

Agreed, although part of it for me was seeing the '94 matches well after the fact with huge hype and not seeing what the big deal was (similar to the WMX ladder match).

 

Easily my favorite Nasties match.

[El-P]

The best "straight" Nasties match ever, because they are only good when they get the shit beat ouf them, which the Steiners delivered in spades. I think I do prefer the Sullivan/Cactus match as it was really a great insane brawl, but both are the only must-see Nasties match. This is also probably one of the best Steiner matches ever BTW.

[Exposer]

I always thought the finish to this match was absolutely frightening but helped to make it so great.

[shoe]

I've always loved this match and still do. The crowd was going nuts.

 

I was at an Indy show in November of 2011 and the Nasty Boys were there unannounced. Knobbs was just bombed while Sags was just chillin. I went over and had a beer with Sags. I asked him what he thought their best match was. He said Halloween Havoc 90 against the Steiners.

[PeteF3]

This was very much organized chaos if you want to describe it as such. Not to go all Ross here but he and Paul E. did a great job of getting over their "game plan"--isolate Scott and work over the back that got slammed onto the table. Scott works a pretty impressively long FIP with some teases and cut-offs before making the hot tag and then we get several more minutes of action after that. One thing that must be said in credit to both teams is that for their sloppy, bullying tendencies, neither team at least at this point was remotely concerned about taking everything in return that they dished out. Both teams brutalize the other with chairshots and Knobbs almost dies on a scary ending Frankensteiner. The other thing that jumps out watching this is just how much offense the Nasties were capable of, Saggs in particular. Without noting everything I counted a pumphandle slam, a gutwrench, a Boston crab, an attempted superplex, and a Cactus Jack-esque kneedrop to the floor. And the "restholds" were all consistent with working over the back. Honestly, give full credit to the Nasty Boys for structuring this properly...not something many match reviewers have ever said, I'm sure.

 

The Nasties get pushed hard after the match. Rick gets destroyed immediately after the match and then later Scott is cutting a promo when he's leveled by the tray of a snack vendor who turns out to be Jerry Sags. Did they have a fake vendor costume that they brought with him knowing that this situation was a possibility? Seems like a fairly well-laid-out plan by the Nasties' standards. Knobbs promises that the war is not over. I would fully approve of this, but sadly WCW's shortage on guaranteed contracts would mean that it pretty much was.

[soup23]

Really interesting structure to this match with the ferocious start and then the reigning in with some great body work by the nasties leading to the chaotic finish. I am loving all of these Steiner matches at this point in 1990 where they leave to dopey dog barking shit at home and just throw down and also sell appropriately. Really great match and I don't know what it is about the nasties and the UIC Pavilion but it works.

[Childs]

Wow, two excellent Steiners matches from the same month! Again, the key was that they fit their shit into a fairly traditional babyface tag performance, with Scott playing a surprisingly effective face-in-peril. It helped that the Nasties were big dudes who didn't mind stiffing the hell out of the Steiners. Overall, a great blend of structure and recklessness.

[Kevin Ridge]

Sags means business right away trying for a top rope suplex. Scotty reverses and gets a big belly to belly. The Steiners don’t like to pin their opponents. Almost cost them with Nasties using a chair. Big clothesline by Rick on Knobbs. Nice looking spike piledriver by the Nasties. Sags takes a big whack to the head with a chair. I thought Scott broke Knobbs neck with the Frankensteiner. This was really enjoyable match. Nasty Boys are the ideal opponents for the Steiners.

[Zenjo]

I was shocked by how good this was. I never expected to see the Nasty Boyz in a match this impressive. Super hot start with wild action. I thought that they'd blown their load and could never keep it up. Surprisingly it was well structured with a lengthy FIP segment that was very good. The attacks were focused on Scotty's lower back, and the partners interfered so often it never got bogged down. Then a nice stretch with an awesome Frankensteiner to finish. My US MOTY.

[PhilTLL]

Really solid stuff. Not much I can add except that this is an exemplar in not judging a match/worker before you watch it. If you Google this match, a bunch of Kevin the Masked Reviewer dot Blogspot types trash it on not much more than the received wisdom that the Nasties can't work, without bothering to look at the actual work.

[flyonthewall2983]

How long were the Nasties in WCW then?

[PhilTLL]

Three months.

[garretta]

Anyone who says the Nasties couldn't work after seeing this bout knows nothing about wrestling, period. This was definitely the best tag match of the year so far in North America, and they're the reason why. We all know what the Steiners can do, but they're at their best when they have an opponent who can match them move for move and bump for bump, and the Nasties not only match them, they surpass them, at least in this bout. Their work on Scotty's back is first rate, and they don't let the brawling sequences which flare up from time to time distract them from it. After Sags' attempted superplex in the opening seconds, that work is done with basic moves, but those moves are executed so crisply that they seem extra brutal. They really come across as monsters from the streets who are scared of nothing, as evidenced when Sags is busted open by a chair shot from Rick and calmly comes back up to the apron ready to go a few moments later. I think we should have gotten a "By God!" from JR for that, but he only acknowledges it in passing, and only after Heyman registers shock. This isn't one of his best pay-per-views, and he almost seems legitimately angry about having to work with Paul instead of Bob Caudle or Gordon Solie.

 

Just because the Nasties do most of the work doesn't mean that the Steiners don't shine. Scotty's not a Ricky Morton-level FIP, but he's good under these circumstances, and he and Rick still get to bust out their big moves. I find it hard to believe that Paul had never seen the top-rope bulldog before, but that's a nitpick. My two favorite spots from the Steiners were the front-and-back Steinerlines off the top from Rick that laid both Nasties out and the Frankensteiner that ended the match. Was it a botch, was it a receipt, or was it a new version of the move designed to look more impactful? Whichever it was, it drew a gasp from me, and I don't gasp when watching wrestling much anymore. Credit to Knobbs (I think) for taking it and getting back up for the postmatch attack.

 

What made that attack more memorable than the standard sore loser routine was the Pearl Harbor job on Scotty at the interview platform. Having Knobbs dress up as a vendor was a truly inspired bit of business, and whoever came up with it deserved a raise. Maybe I'm too used to "AS GOD IS MY WITNESS, HE'S BROKEN IN HALF!" level stuff from JR, but I think he undersold this criminally. Heyman's glee more than made up for it, though. You wonder if he would have ended up managing the Nasties if they'd stuck around; it sure seemed here like things were headed that way.

 

The topper actually comes right before we go to the ring for the World tag title match, when JR's had enough of Paul's attitude and snaps, "Are you gonna say something intelligent or just stand there laughing like an idiot?" Maybe they were going for a Monsoon/Heenan vibe with these two, but even that team suffered when Gino forgot himself and started screaming at Bobby too much. The fun is gone from this kind of announce team when the babyface starts bullying the heel and showing anger with him; either JR didn't understand that or didn't give a damn, and all he succeeded in doing was making Heyman look as sympathetic as the Paul E. Dangerously character could look (which wasn't very much at all, but my point still stands). They either needed to put JR with a straight color man or tell him to not worry so much about the match in the ring (which, as Heenan has since pointed out, the viewers can see for themselves and don't necessarily need to be told about), and learn to be wrestling's version of Bud Abbott.

 

At any rate, this is my Match of the Year so far, displacing Flair/Luger at WrestleWar. It had a clean finish, more hatred, and a postmatch that was rare for its creativity at the time. For that matter, the amount of rule stretching during the match (chairshots and such) was rare for a match that wasn't billed as a street fight. I wish we had more matches between these teams, and I'm sorry that the Nasties never came close to having a match like this in the WWF, at least from what I can remember.

[drew wardlaw]

I've seen this match several times at this point, and never thought much of it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it this time around. I think the Midnight Express match better, but this is a cool match. The crowd losing their minds during the opening and then settling down into a straight forward match is very good. I've been more impressed with the Steiners than ever before.

[Superstar Sleeze]

WCW US Tag Team Champions Steiner Brothers vs Nasty Boys - NWA Halloween Havoc '90

 

I remembered this match fondly, but this was even better than I remembered. It was not just a heavyweight bombfest, but actually a very well-structured match with great progression. It actually felt very All Japan with all the bombs, saves, suplexes and just general chaos. Loved how they just started with a brawl and Saggs throwing Scotty into the railing and bouncing a chair off his back. Saggs is definitely my favorite Nasty Boy. The Steiners' shine is awesome. Top Rope Belly-to-Belly Suplex, Butterfly Powerbomb and Steiner Bulldog. Electric! Nasty Boys smash Scotty's back with a chair and now we go to work. Nasties are throwing all sorts of suplexes on Scotty's back and working great holds. Loved the belly 2 belly out of the bearug as a hope spot. Rick is a little overzealous thinking Scotty would make the tag and hits a MONSTAH STEINERLINE! Then takes a wicked tumble over the top rope and was so pissed he smashes the back of Saggs' skull, which he blades off of. The work on Scotty's back continues and the Nasties are actually really damn good working cutoffs and building the drama to the tag. When Scotty does tag, the place explodes and Rick just destroys everything with huge Steinerlines. I love the double Steinerline from the top rope and Saggs takes it like a man to the back. Rick signals for Scotty to for the Frankensteiner and the place explodes in anticipation. Scotty hits the MUTHA OF ALL FRANKENSTEINERS! Everyone always says Nasties' best match or a contender with their '94 Cactus brawls. But the Steiners actually don't really have a laundry list of great matches either. In fact, you could make the argument this is the Steiners' best match without it being the Nasties best match. I need to rewatch that one great MVC match, but other than that I got this at number two for the Steiners. Incredible bombfest with a relaly strong middle section that builds to the finish. One of the best North American tags of the decade! ****1/2

[JKWebb]

http://placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-400-351/

 

#376

 

Halloween Havoc 1990 is typically the one I throw in around Halloween, so I've seen this a bunch. I love the look of the show, and this match is so much fun. I think the key ingredient of the greatness has to be the Steiners EXPLOSIVE offense. The Bulldog off the top and the finishing Frankensteiner are probably my two favorites. Both teams delivered great performances. If this were a really great action movie, I'd say the Steiners are the stars that get to save the day and have the cool action sequences... but the Nastys were the story, the glue, the structure that made the explosions mean so much more when they happened. ****1/2

 

I like this better than the Cactus brawls too.

[dawho5]

Two teams that need a heavyweight slugfest top really shine in a heavyweight slugfest with some structure. Nothing to complain about here, lots of hurty looking violence and bombs. This is the kind of match WCW shhould have had mroe often, seems to go right with their marketing strategy.