–Gene Okerlund and Bobby Heenan are in the studio for today’s telecast. Okerlund does his best to describe how the monster truck battle between Hulk Hogan and the Giant will play out at Halloween Havoc.
–As part of the Halloween Havoc Control Center WCW Champion Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart do a taped promo where they promise to do whatever it takes to defeat the Giant at Halloween Havoc.
–Heenan says that Ric Flair is showing a newfound intensity in his feud with Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman and that is going to make him tough to beat.
–Heenan says that Hulk Hogan can keep changing his look, but it is not going to save him from the Dungeon of Doom.
–V.K. Wallstreet (1-1) beat Sergeant Craig Pittman (37-7) after Big Bubba Rogers interferes at 8:50:
Mike Rotunda always looked great in a suit but his in-ring gear for this character left something to be desired, wearing a black singlet with a gaudy dollar sign and “Wallstreet” banner in yellow on the back. Options were probably limited, though, because WCW wanted to avoid a lawsuit based on him looking like his former IRS character in the WWF. Pittman and Wallstreet have gifted amateur backgrounds, so a lot of this match takes place on the mat with each man exchanging armbars. And of course, Wallstreet has to work in his “abdominal stretch and I grab the ropes while the referee is not looking” spot. This exchange of submissions would make sense if they built to anything, but it is just a random exchange of moves until Big Bubba Rogers tapes his fist, walks to the ring, and knocks out Pittman so his pal can prevail. Pittman is now on a three-match losing streak. Rating: *
–Okerlund says that Pittman and Wallstreet will have a rematch on next week’s Main Event, which will air live from Detroit, because of the outcome of tonight’s feature match.
The Last Word: At least WCW spent this broadcast building to next week’s live Main Eventtelecast. If Sergeant Craig Pittman was forced to align with Hacksaw Jim Duggan because of V.K. Wallstreet and Big Bubba Rogers that would not be the worst idea since he and Duggan both have American-style gimmicks and would make for a fun tag team.
Backstage News*: The reason for the abrupt Diamond Dallas Page-Johnny B. Badd match on Monday Nitro was because Badd had not fully recovered from a rib injury and was in no condition to compete. This was also why Badd’s match against Paul Orndorff was so short on WCW Saturday Night. WCW has concerns that Badd may not be ready to compete at Halloween Havoc, which could disrupt plans for the television title scene.
*WCW will be taping two hours of Monday Nitro in Jacksonville, Florida on November 6 because it will be running combined shows with New Japan the following week, so the November 13 telecast will be the first taped Nitro. The combined show in Tokyo on November 13 is set to feature Sting defending the United States title against Kensuke Sasaki, Ric Flair against Osamu Nishimura, Hiroyoshi Tenzan against Kurasawa, Keiji Muto against Lord Steven Regal, Shinya Hashimoto & Yadao Yasuda against the Giant & Arn Anderson, Riki Choshu & Masa Saito against the Nasty Boys, Harlem Heat against Takashi Iizuka & Junji Hirata, Hiro Saito & Masa Chono against Johnny B. Badd & Bobby Eaton, Jushin Liger against Alex Wright, and Koji Kanemoto against Shinjiro Otani. The following night some of the top bouts include Muto & Nishimura against Sting and Flair, Hasimoto & Hirata defending the IWGP tag team titles against Harlem Heat, and Kameoto against Wright for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title.
*WCW does plan to have a three-ring, sixty-man battle royal headline its World War 3 pay-per-view in Norfolk, Virginia on November 26 with the winner receiving a WCW title shot at the January Clash of the Champions. One of the big appeals of the match will be a giant in every ring as El Gigante is set to come in at the Yeti character and Ron Reis will supposedly wrestle as a babyface called T-Rex. Both men are bigger than the Giant, so that could cause some problems for his gimmick. The company only has forty-four wrestlers under contract so it may scour the independent circuit and/or bring in veterans for a one-time deal.
*WCW will not allow Brian Pillman or Chris Benoit to wrestle on a Stu Hart tribute show in Calgary on December 15 because WWF talent will be at the show. Bruce Hart, who was putting it together, was interested in calling Lex Luger and Randy Savage to appear in addition to Pillman and Benoit.
*In talent relations news, WCW is hoping to debut Konnan at the World War 3 show, but contract details have yet to be agreed to. The company is also interested in bringing in Dave Finlay from Europe. Vader was officially informed on October 11 that he was fired because he was medically unable to compete due to a shoulder injury suffered at Bash at the Beach. He was sitting at home without pay until WCW decided his fate.
*Backstage news provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for October 23 and 30.
Up Next: WCW Monday Nitro for October 23!