Themed PPVs have always been a staple of professional wrestling. It is an often-used trope for every organization out there, and for the most part, it has worked well. One of the most famous of these has to be WCW’s yearly extravaganza, Halloween Havoc.
Hitting the world in 1989, Halloween Havoc was the perfect spooky addition to the October schedule. It was great to see the set littered with pumpkins and ghouls as it set the company apart from anything that others were doing.
Now, as much as this was a great idea, that doesn’t mean that WCW always made a great impression on the viewing audience. Sometimes there were great moments, sometimes there were moments more scary than entertaining. Below are some of those moments.
Goldberg v Diamond Dallas Page (WCW World Championship Match)
Goldberg and DDP represented the best of WCW. In a time when many of their stars were made in other companies, those two men were homegrown. They were both top guys and their paths were fated to cross eventually. That cross happened at Halloween Havoc.
Now, the low-hanging fruit is how WCW handled the PPV, more on that later, but it overshadowed what was a fantastic match. Both men were not known for their technical skills, but they made up for this by providing a hard-hitting contest. It worked to the strengths of both men, and they had the crowd eating out of their hands. It was the best of WCW’s main eventing one of their bigger shows of the year.
DDP and Goldberg Get Cut Short
We talked about the good with the main event of Halloween Havoc 1998, so let’s discuss the elephant in the room. There was perhaps no time in WCW history when the company bungled a PPV. Through ignorance or incompetence, they let every match run long, thus running out of scheduled time. This led to them cutting out of the PPV just moments after Goldberg and DDP locked up.
The crowd in attendance had no idea what was going on, but everyone watching at home was outraged. Many had tuned in to specifically watch the two hottest stars in the company. The rest of the PPV was awful and its only selling point was cut before it could start. It was an ugly mistake from WCW.
Spin the Wheel Make The Deal
WCW was always one to try new things. Their creative team would throw just about anything at the wall to see if it would stick. For the most part, it didn’t work out too well for the company, with Spin the Wheel Make the Deal being a prime example.
Everyone loves a gimmick match, but this was not the way to go about it. For starters, the wheel looked ridiculous. It resembled something out of a cheap game show than from a professional wrestling show.
The wheel was also littered with awful gimmick matches. A Coal Miners Glove match is a terrible concept and one that shouldn’t have been used. Stick to the gimmick matches that you’re used to.
Cactus Jack v Big Van Vader
Now yes, the Spin the Wheel gimmick was a flop, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. One of those times was the incredibly physical Texas Death Match between Cactus Jack and Big Van Vader at Halloween Havoc 1993.
Both men worked in a physical style, which was perfect for this type of match. It allowed for some brutally stiff shots to be exchanged. Every weapon, at their disposal, was used as Vader and Cactus engaged in a war of attrition.
A war that was only won, by Vader, after some outside interference. It was an iffy ending but one that shouldn’t take away from the job that both men did on that night. They worked their butts off in the main event and they sent the audience home happy.
The Yeti Debuts
The matchup between Hulk Hogan and The Giant, at Halloween Havoc 1995, was supposed to be one for the ages. This was until the WCW creative team thought it would be a great idea to dress up Kyle Reese as a mummy and have him interfere. Sure, it’s a Halloween-themed PPV but there was no need to jump into the ridiculous side of the pool. Fans were bewildered when he came through the curtain and not the good kind.
The hilarity didn’t stop there as he was dubbed The Yeti which, as everyone knows, is not a mummy. It made no sense to call the character by this name, it immediately painted the monster as a joke. A joke that was further compounded when he stepped into the ring and performed a dubious bear hug on Hogan. Why WCW would end a PPV like this is beyond anyone.
Diamond Dallas Page v Randy Savage
Dallas Page and Randy Savage was the best feud of 1997. The intensity that each man brought to the program was awesome. It bled into everything they did, including a great Last Man Standing Match at Halloween Havoc.
Page and Savage worked a beautiful match. Savage was his usual crazy self as he continued to beat Page down, and Page would always fight back. It built Page up as a conquering hero and should have ended with Page getting the win. Naturally, the NWO interfered on their brethren’s behalf as was the style at the time.
Finish aside this match was great. Savage was at his very best as he helped to create a new star for WCW.
Hulk Hogan v The Warrior II
Ugh, what was WCW thinking with this one? In 1990 Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior was the match of the year. It pitted the two biggest faces of WWE against one another and sold out the SkyDome. By 1997 both men were past their prime and in no shape to put on the classic that they did 7 years prior.
This match is generally known as the one Hogan wanted to get his win back. You’d think he would have put more effort into the contest, or Warrior for that matter. Both men slogged their way through every spot and had a hard time keeping anyone’s attention. It was a boring match that was made worse by Hogan screwing up the fireball spot at the end. It failed to capture any of the magic of their first encounter in Toronto.
Eddie Guerrero v Rey Mysterio Jr.
Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio tore the house down at Halloween Havoc. Their title v mask was not as hyped as other matches on the card, but it was the one that left a lasting impression on everyone.
This was exactly what a wrestling match should be. It was crisp, fast-paced, and included plenty of spots that WCW audiences were not used to seeing. Eddie and Rey were very comfortable working with one another, and they translated this into an incredible match.
The title v mask stipulation was also a great idea for the contest. It heightened the stakes and importance of a match that was up against some heavy hitters later on in the night.
The Chamber of Horrors
Halloween Havoc seemed a bottomless pit for terrible gimmick ideas. Spin the Wheel was bad, but the Chamber of Horrors match was downright unwatchable.
The original hype seemed promising for the contest. A War Games style of cage match is always a great time, but then they took it too far. WCW added an electric chair in the middle of the ring, the object to put your opponent in as you flipped the switch. Now, of course, the company wasn’t going to kill someone, so why would they even tease this finish?
Then there was the ridiculous acting that the wrestlers had to commit to when put in the chair. The flopping around looked as silly as the gimmick itself. There was no reason this match should have made it past the drawing board.
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