The Sting era has begun following The Great American Bash and it’s time for the face of WCW to defend his World Title at the second annual Halloween Havoc! Ric Flair has taken a step back from the top title picture and fellow Horsemen, Sid Vicious seeks to bring the championship back to the group. However, another angle that’s begun will signify the proverbial “rails” starting to come off. What is it? Read and let’s find out together!

In The Arena: Tony Schiavone is standing by with Ricky Morton & Tommy Rich. Morton gives a shout out to his Rock ‘N’ Roll Express partner, Robert Gibson. Rich says this will be the greatest night in the history of professional wrestling.

Match #1: ‘Wildfire’ Tommy Rich & Ricky Morton vs. The Midnight Express (‘Sweet’ Stan Lane & ‘Beautiful’ Bobby Eaton) w/Jim Cornette
Cornette grabs a microphone and introduces his team to a mixture of cheering and booing. Jim Ross explains that Gibson had his knee injured by the Fabulous Freebirds. Eaton and Morton start things. Morton gives gives a shove but Eaton takes his time. Collar and Elbow tie up and Morton is forced into the corner. Eaton breaks it off clean and circles the ring. They lock up and Eaton executes a hip toss. Morton tries again, but is hit with another. Collar and elbow, Eaton slaps Morton with a right. Ricky reverses an Irish whip but Eaton catches him with an elbow. Eaton heads for the top rope. He leaps and Morton hits him with a right hand on his way down. Back to vertical bases and the two criss-cross the ring. Morton ends the sequence with a back body drop.

The partners rush in, and Rich leaps on Eaton’s shoulders taking him down with a head scissor. Beautiful Bobby rolls out of the ring to regroup. Back in and Morton and Eaton exchange rights. A blind tag is made to Stan Lane and the Express give Morton a double backbody drop. Lane delivers a face buster over the top rope before a leaping clothesline. Lane pulls Morton up and makes a tag to Eaton. Trademarked Midnight Express double team action with a drop toe hold by Lane and an elbow by Eaton . Bobby makes a cover and gets a two count. Morton reverses an Irish whip to the corner, but Eaton moves and he he hits the ring post. Morton rolls outside and Cornette heads his way. Eaton heads for the top rope while referee Nick Patrick is distracted on the other side of the ring. Eaton leaps down to the floor with an ax handle.

Patrick tries to reign in the chaos giving Cornette the chance to take a cheap shot with the tennis racket. Eaton takes liberties with Morton outside of the ring until Patrick demands they get back in. Lane is the legal man. He sends Morton for a ride, who then leaps over Lane for a sunset flip. Cornette has the referee distracted and he doesn’t get a count off. Right hand to the midsection by Lane before tossing Morton through the middle rope. Cornette runs another distraction and Lane scoop slams Morton on the floor. He pulls Morton up to the raised entrance ramp and delivers another scoop slam and the Express execute their patented Rocket Launcher. Morton is tossed back in the ring, and Lane takes his time before attempting a pin. He only gets two.

Morton is able to grab a waist lock and pull Lane over for a pin, but a tag was made to Eaton who breaks up the attempt. Eaton slams Morton to the mat with an impressive neck breaker. Eaton uses the top rope for a slingshot back breaker and gets two and a half. Lane is tagged in and he drapes Morton on the middle rope. Nick Patrick pulls him away while Cornette takes a second cheap shot with the racket. Stomps to the mid section from Lane. Lane instigates Tommy Rich who charges into the ring and he has to be stopped by the official. With Patrick’s back turned, Lane hurls Morton over the top rope. Eaton sends Morton into the post.

Bobby tries to follow with a splash but Morton moves. Morton takes Eaton down with another head scissor, this time on the floor. Morton is slow to get up and Cornette kicks him in the mid section. He is rolled back in the ring and surprises Lane with an inside cradle for a two count. Lane comes back with a head butt and tags in Eaton. Eaton digs Morton’s eyes and delivers a scoop slam. Bobby heads for the top rope and lands a flying leg drop. Eaton taunts instead of covering Morton. The ref starts the ten count, but only gets to eight before he is back to his feet. Lane is tagged in and goes on offense with a series of karate kicks. Morton blocks Lane’s attempt to send him head first into the turn buckle and instead returns the thought.

Lane breaks it up with an eye poke. Sweet Stan delivers unsuccessful right hands and a rejuvenated Morton fights back. He tries to make a tag to Rich but Lane holds his ankle. Eaton is tagged in. Scoop slam by Lane as Eaton climbs to the top. The Express are set up for a second Rocket Launcher. Morton gets his knees up and both men are slow to get up. Eaton makes a tag but so does Morton. Lane wants no part of Rich who throws rights to both of his opponents. Eaton is scoop slammed while Lane is sent for the ride and receives a Thesz Press. Eaton breaks up the pin, and Morton rejoins the action to take care of Bobby.

Lane is slammed to the mat and Rich climbs the turnbuckles. Cornette gets up on the apron and hits Rich across the back with the racket. Rich is laid out but the Express is distracted. The Southern Boys who have come out to ringside dressed as (and are mocking) Jim Cornette. Cornette frantically tells Lane to cover Rich, but he only gets two after the long delay. The Southern Boys knock Cornette from the apron into the ring and he drops his racket. Rich picks it up and knocks Lane on the head. Nick Patrick turns around and makes the three count.
Winners: ‘Wildfire’ Tommy Rich & Ricky Morton (Rich/Foreign Object)

• EA’s Take: With Robert Gibson sidelined, 80% of this match was one-sided. Morton took a ton of punishment, I think Rich probably saw about 90 seconds worth of action. The Rock ‘N’ Roll Express were in a program with The Fabulous Freebirds and I suppose they didn’t want to burn out that feud with one-half of The Express gone. It’s a long-term knee injury for Gibson, so we’re going to see Morton staying busy. The Midnight Express are always a reliable go-to in the meantime.

In The Arena: Tony Schiavone is standing by and the crowd pops as he introduces the NWA World Heavyweight Champion Sting. Sting is psyched up and ready for his match with Sid Vicious. A mysterious voice says Sting’s name over the loud speaer. The Black Scorpion appears behind him. He wants to show Sting an example of his black magic and grabs a female from the side of the stage and drags her behind a curtain. Sting rushes over to help but the referees hold him back. Sparks fly around the curtain when Sting gets there, the two disappeared. The mysterious being surprises Sting by reappearing on the other side of the staging with the girl. He rushes back, she leaps to Sting who catches her, and the robed guy runs away.

Match #2: The Renegade Warriors (Chris & Mark Youngblood) vs. The Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy ‘Jam’ Garvin & Michael ‘PS’ Hayes) w/Little Richard Marley
Hayes and Mark Youngblood start the match. Hayes gets in a cheap kick to the midsection on an attempted tie up. There is a chop by Hayes who attempts to send Mark to the corner. Youngblood blocks it and grabs Hayes’ head. The crowd counts as Hayes’ head repeatedly hits the turnbuckle. An Irish whip by Mark is followed up with a back body drop. Big chops are landed on both Freebirds as Garvin rushed in to help his partner. Chris Youngblood evens the numbers advantage by climbing the turnbuckle and hitting a flying double clothesline. The Birds roll out to the floor and regroup. Mark and Hayes tie up. Youngblood grabs a wrist lock.

Hayes is thrown with a hip toss and he wants to call time out. He wanders to his corner. Garvin fixes Hayes’ hair and gives encouraging words. Youngblood is backed into the Freebirds’ corner but he fights off both opponents and gets out of there quickly. Hayes makes a tag to Garvin who struts his way into the ring. Garvin’s offense is foiled and he is on the receiving end of a hip toss. Youngblood grabs a side head lock and prevents Garvin from making a tag to Hayes. Garvin rakes his opponents eyes to break it up. He can’t scoop Youngblood and is rolled over from a waist lock. Garvin kicks out at two and Hayes takes a cheap left from the apron. The legal men tie up.

Garvin with a belly to back suplex on Mark and follows it by stomping at the head of the Renegade Warrior. Garvin dumps Chris over the top rope with the referee’s back turned and Hayes goes on the attack on the floor. Marley brawls with Chris before Mark rushes over to break it up. Back to the ring for Chris and he is taken down with a snap mare followed by a reverse chinlock from Garvin. He slowly uses his strength to get vertical. Chris throws some elbows to the gut to break the hold and runs for the ropes. Garvin stops the momentum with a knee to the gut and tags in Michael Hayes. Hayes pulls off a scoop slam and he drops his fist to Chris’ head. Hayes grabs a reverse chin lock. Once back on his feet, Chris is able to free himself with elbows once again.

He sends Hayes for the ride and grabs a sleeper hold. Youngblood didn’t see that Hayes made the tag to Garvin before it was locked in. Garvin breaks up the hold with a right and continues to strike. Youngblood is straddled across the middle rope. Garvin runs a distraction in the ring while Hayes chokes Chris on the rope by sitting on his head. The Freebird fans are cheering for a DDT and Hayes is tagged back in. The two exchange rights and Hayes gets the better of it. There is a snap mare take down with another reverse chin lock by Hayes. They run the ropes and the crowd pops as Hayes appears to be set up for the DDT. Chris reverses the finisher with a back body drop.

Garvin is tagged in and he exchanges chops and rights. Garvin sends Chris who is stalked by Hayes on the floor. He gets a cheap shot in before returning to the apron. Scoop slam by Garvin and a tag is made to Hayes. An arrogant cover by Hayes who only gets two. Hayes goes back to the reverse chin lock as the crowd starts to chant for the DDT once again. Youngblood fights off with some elbows, but Hayes pokes him in the eye with his thumb. They run the ropes and Youngblood gets the better of it with a cross body and a two count. Yet another reverse chin lock is applied from Hayes.

Back to their feet, Hayes uses his partner’s knee as a weapon and scoop slams Youngblood to the mat. Hayes goes to the top rope. Youngblood gets back to his vertical base, fights Hayes from the mat and sends him flying over with a gorilla press. Hayes crawls over to make the tag to Garvin and the Renegade Warriors also make an exchange. Mark elevates both Freebirds with back body drops. He delivers a series of chops before bashing Hayes and Garvin’s heads together. Chris returns to the action with a double clothesline on the Birds. The Youngbloods each take a dance partner to a corner and deliver right hands.

Little Richard Marley is up on the ring apron. Chris Youngblood sees this and uses the top rope to whip him into the ring. There is commotion all over and Garvin rolled backwards into a pin from a standing waistlock. It may have been good enough to win but the referee’s back was turned. Hayes rushes to his partner’s aid and delivers the DDT. Garvin pins Mark for the win.
Winners: The Fabulous Freebirds (Garvin/DDT)

• EA’s Take: As members of the WWE Hall of Fame, you really need to watch some of these matches on the Network to respect how entertaining The Freebirds were for their time. Their work rate in a match like this wasn’t complex, but they captivated the crowd. They’ll be resuming their program with The Rock ‘N’ Roll Express upon Gibson’s return. We’ve seen Mark Youngblood before, but now younger brother Chris is along for the ride as his tag partner. Honestly, they looked like cheap knockoffs of The Rockers.

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