Halloween season is upon us. And if you are a wrestling fan, that puts you in the mindset of Halloween Havoc, the annual WCW tradition during its time. So I decided to go back and watch all of the WCW Halloween Havoc PPVs and rank them from best to worst.
12. 2000
Best Match: Ummm, Pass
Worst Match: Take Your Pick
The dying days of WCW are here. You can tell Russo is gone and they are trying to refocus a little bit on building certain stars. But that doesn’t stop the show from getting the all time worst ranking on this list. Nothing on this show is good. A DNA match between Buff Bagwell and David Flair? Jeff Jarrett vs Sting where Sting fights off 5 previous versions of himself in the process is not good. Scott Steiner gets over as a crazy man but the crowd hates the DQ finish in a title match. I guess at least Goldberg vs Kronik was a short entertaining match. But man this show is a complete snooze fest.
11. 1995
Best Match: Johnny B. Badd vs Diamond Dallas Page
Worst Match: Hawk vs Kurosawa
Welcome to Hulk Hogan WCW. We all know the story of this show. It is Wrestlecrap City. You can’t help but laugh at everything. From the Monster Truck Battle, to Giant’s apparent death, to the YEE-TAHH- All of it is bad. We have a fan come into the ring during Savage vs Zodiac, a stupid finish to Luger vs Meng and then an awful ending to Luger vs Savage. The opener and the great Ric Flair heel turn are the only things worth watching on this show. Otherwise it deserves all of the crap that gets thrown at it as one of the worst PPVs of all time.
10. 1999
Best Match: Goldberg vs Sid
Worst Match: Hulk Hogan vs Sting
We go from Hulk Hogan WCW to Vince Russo WCW on this list. This was the first PPV under his regime and it is quite telling where we are going. We have a worked shoot between Hogan/Sting. We have in ring promos for some reason on the show. Wrestling is at a bare minimum because who wants to see wrestling on a wrestling show bro? The only reason this isn’t last is because I have a soft spot for the Goldberg/Sid match here despite it being short. And how about a main event where no one knows if it was for the WCW title or not? It is a mess that would go on to show you what Russo would bring to the table in the coming months.
9. 1991
Best Match: Terrence Taylor vs Bobby Eaton
Worst Match: Oz vs Bill Kazmaier
Any show that has Van Hammer on it is bound to be a bad show. And this show is bad. You also have Kevin Nash as Oz getting squashed. He probably kept that in mind when he came back to help kill the company in 1996. The Chamber of Horrors match is so bad that it is just funny and as discussed recently on the Watching Rasslin Podcast, the ending is just plain bad. This is WCW post Ric Flair leaving so they are struggling to find an identity. Lex Luger vs Ron Simmons bombed in the main event. Austin vs Dustin Rhodes probably would have been the Best Match if not for the ending.
8. 1989
Best Match: Thunderdome Cage
Worst Match: Tommy Rich vs The Cuban Assassin
The Inauguaral Halloween Havoc brought the electrified Thunderdome Cage. The cage structure itself is actually what I would prefer for a cage match: room outside to roam the ringside area and a curved top making it difficult to get in. Thankfully the talent involved in the match makes it good. Lex Luger does his best to keep up with Brian Pillman. And if you wanted to see what John Laurinitis looks like with long blonde hair this is the show to watch. There is nothing terribly bad on this show outside of the Rich/Assassin match. Everything else is at least watchable.
7. 1998
Best Match: Goldberg vs DDP
Worst Match: Hollywood Hogan vs Warrior
Heather and I recently rewatched the Hogan/Warrior match on the Watching Rasslin Podcast- It is as awful now as it was in 1998. Sometimes you just don’t need to see rematches like these. Thankfully the main event of DDP/Goldberg saved the fans in the arena from going home pissed. Too bad the PPV viewers in 1998 didn’t get to see it. With those two matches, Hall vs Nash and Bret Hart vs Sting, this show looked great on paper. But it was a long mess. Everything leading up to those matches was fine. And at least the Rick Steiner/Scott Steiner angle had good heat. But otherwise this show is remembered as a disaster and a sign of the chaos that was ahead for WCW.
6. 1992
Best Match: Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham vs Dr. Death Steve Williams and Steve Austin
Worst Match: Rick Rude vs Masahiro Chono
The show is in Philadelphia. And it is evident from the start that they are here to cheer the heels and boo the faces. They are just having fun Michael! The first half of the show actually has some good wrestling in the opening 6 man, Steamboat vs Pillman and the tag match. The comes Rude vs Chono. And it hits a wall. That match is long and has an awful ending because no one wants to job. Ron Simmons fights The Barbarian. That goes to show you how much they cared about Ron Simmons title reign. The main event gives us a short glimpse of Jake Roberts WCW run. But it is clear he is not in the shape he was once in. This is Bill Watts WCW and it shows during the PPV.
5. 1990
Best Match: Ric Flair and Arn Anderson vs Doom
Worst Match: The Renegade Warriors vs The Fabulous Freebirds
The main event of this show has a strange WCW ending that you would think Hulk Hogan was booking the show. But I guess they didn’t want Sid to lose clean. The Horsemen/Doom match is unique for just seeing Flair in a tag title match as a member of the Horsemen and not in the World Title match. You also remember the Nasty Boys were in WCW before going to the WWF. The opener was great action as well. The match quality on this one is higher for this time period of WCW.
4. 1993
Best Match: Vader vs Cactus Jack
Worst Match: Harlem Heat and The Equalizer vs The Shockmaster, Ice Train and Charlie Norris
This show had the potential to be near the very top of the list. But the endings to some of these matches are just bad. I HATE the rules of the Vader/Jack match, but I love watching them beat the crap out of each other. Rhodes and Austin have another good match with a screwy ending. The same can be said with Rude and Flair. 2 Cold Scorpio and Marcus Bagwell even pull a decent match out of the Nasty Boys! The only thing preventing this from being at the top are the bad endings.
3. 1994
Best Match: Pretty Wonderful vs Stars & Stripes
Worst Match: Kevin Sullivan vs David Sullivan
Hulk Hogan in WCW had not gone into full effect yet in 1994. Yes, he constantly got the better of Ric Flair and beat him in the main event, forcing him to “retire.” But we haven’t gotten to full Dungeon of Doom absurdity. That starts after this show. I’ve seen some people not care for this show but I liked it. The show kind of officially ends the pre Hogan WCW. But we still get some good matches out of it. The Tag Title match, Dustin Rhodes/Arn Anderson and Vader/Guardian Angel are all good matches. The Sullivan brothers’ match really is the only match that I would consider unwatchable. Even the main event with all the shenanigans is at least entertaining. So while this show brought an end to “work rate” WCW, it is still rather good.
2. 1997
Best Match: Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio
Worst Match: Steve McMichael vs Alex Wright
The best match in Halloween Havoc history takes place on this show in Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero. But the show misses out on the top ranking because of 4 straight screwy finishes in the last four matches. Also, Piper vs Hogan is an absolute snooze fest outside of Randy Savage being an absolute madman and jumping from the top of the cage into the ring. DDP vs Savage is a good end to their rivalry but I prefer their first two matches to the last one. But all three are strong matches. Everything else for the most part is fine. But I can’t overlook the four straight screwy finishes in the last four matches and that prevents it from getting all the way to the top for me.
1. 1996
Best Match: Rey Mysterio vs Dean Malenko
Worst Match: Hollywood Hogan vs Randy Savage
Everything on this show up to the main event is very good. The wrestling is some of the best WCW had to offer at the time. The Mysterio/Malenko match is great, as you would expect. Syxx and Chris Jericho have a good match. DDP and Eddie Guerrero delivers. Hell, even the Outsiders vs Harlem Heat for the WCW Tag Team titles is good. The main event is an absolute farce. It is famous for Hogan wearing that awful wig, that Macho Man then pulls off and wears himself. But the wrestling from everything before that makes this the best Halloween Havoc of all time in my eyes. The nWo is still in its early stages and hasn’t worn out its welcome and that helps as well. And they are still treated as a separate entity throughout the show, with their own entrance and interview setup.
Agree with my rankings? Disagree. Drop me a line on Twitter @JCWonka and let me know!
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