halloween havoc

Wrestling Recap: Hogan vs. Warrior (Halloween Havoc ’98)

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The Date: 25 October 1998
The Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena; Paradise, Nevada
The Commentary: Tony Schiavone, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and Mike Tenay
The Referee: Nick Patrick
The Stakes: Grudge match

The Build-Up:
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) changed the wrestling industry on 4 September 1995 by airing the first episode of WCW Monday Nitro in direct competition to the World Wrestling Federation’s (WWF) Raw is War, kicking off the “Monday Night Wars” that saw WCW dominate for a staggering eighty-four weeks. WCW accomplished this by signing some of wrestling’s biggest names to lucrative contracts. with perhaps their biggest coup being signing the undisputed face of the WWF, “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan, after being wooed by promises of big paydays and future film roles. While his initial run saw Hogan going though the motions of his usual hero shtick, he reinvigorated his career when he turned heel, rechristened himself “Hollywood” Hogan, and ran roughshod throughout WCW alongside the New World Order (nWo). Despite being relieved of the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in controversial fashion, Hogan and the nWo continued to dominate Nitro, leading to his old rival, the Ultimate warrior, to sign with WCW after numerous disagreements with the WWF. The Warrior’s arrival had been previously teased with a lookalike, the Renegade, but the real deal finally debuted in WCW in May 1998, going on a half-crazed rant, forming the “One Warrior Nation” (oWn), and critically injuring Davey Boy Smith with a gimmicked trapdoor. The Warrior would haunt Hogan with ridiculous mind games and tricks, which resulted in a dangerous fireball botch in this match, which is generally considered to be one of the worst matches in WCW history and incomparable to their WrestleMania VI classic.

The Match:
I’m somewhat amazed that Hogan didn’t politic his way into the main event spot of Halloween Havoc, which instead went to Goldberg’s much-celebrated victory over Diamond Dallas Page. While the commentary team big up the Warrior’s “magnificent body”, it’s clear he’s less than “Ultimate” here and much smaller than in his prime. Still, the crowd seemed anxious for the two old rivals to lock horns once more and, after a brief tie-up, Hogan took the early advantage with a knee to the gut and some clubbing blows into the corner. However, while working over the Warrior’s wrist, Hogan was overpowered and trapped in an arm lock then sent to the canvas by a hard shoulder block. After recuperating on the outside and dictating the pace of the early going, Hogan baited the Warrior into a test of strength, muscling the Warrior into another corner and deliver a beatdown. However, when Hogan clasped his hands to the Warrior’s and forced him to his knees, dominating and mocking his opponent, the Warrior powered up and overpowered Hogan, receiving a gut kick for his efforts. Hogan continued to dominate, keeping him on his knees and forcing him to expend precious energy, only for Hogan to keep his grip on the Warrior’s wrist. An Irish whip led to them criss-crossing until Hogan planted the Warrior with a scoop slam. However, as Hogan showboated, the Warrior popped up and hit a scoop slam of his own before awkwardly clotheslined Hogan over the top rope. The Warrior quickly followed, beating and slamming Hogan’s head against the security railing, smashing Hogan’s forehead off the ring post after raking the Warrior’s eyes.

A plodding match with a strange botch and an egotistical win for Hogan.

The match quickly returned to the ring, where Hogan accidentally collided with the referee and then doubled down by dropping a knee on him so the nWo could interfere. However, the Warrior dodged the Giant’s big kick and took both him and Stevie Ray out, only for the referee to miss his cover over Hogan. A back suplex scored Hogan a two count, so he repeatedly rammed his knee into the Warrior’s spine and whipped and choked him with his belt. Though he missed his signature Big Splash, the Warrior avoided Hogan’s elbow drops and returned the favour by whipping Hogan with his own belt. As Nick Patrick reprimanded the Warrior, Hogan struggled with some flash paper, resulting in the flames fizzling out in his hands and completely missing the Warrior’s eyes! Undeterred, the Warrior hit two top rope axehandles, somehow busting Hogan open. Hogan then hit an Atomic Leg Drop, but missed a second, allowing the Warrior to “pump up” and floor Hogan with repeated clotheslines. However, when the Warrior tried to win, Eric Bischoff distracted the referee, and Horace Hogan surprisingly cracked the Warrior over the head with a steel chair. This allowed Hogan to get his win back, though, luckily, WCW officials kept the Hogans from setting the Warrior on fire. I’d heard that this was a stinker, but honestly it wasn’t any better or worse than most Hogan matches. It actually had a bit of energy, with Hogan berating and clawing at the Warrior with an intense hatred, though the story of the Warrior being this resilient, powerful force fell completely flat as he was on the backend for most of it. The fireball botch was embarrassing, for sure, and the interference was annoying, and it’s definitely not on par with their WrestleMania VI match, but I’ve seen far worse efforts from Hogan.

The Aftermath:
Despite WCW going to great lengths to sign the Warrior and get him back in the ring with Hogan, this was Jim Hellwig’s last match in WCW. The last of three, I might add. He showed up on WCW Monday Nitro to rescue the Disciple from the nWo and then left the company, and the wrestling industry, prior to a brief return to the ring for the Nu-Wrestling Federation in 2008. Unfortunately, even the cataclysmic error that saw many viewers miss the Halloween Havoc main event match couldn’t distract wrestling critics from tearing this match apart. It was labelled a disaster only surpassed by the Warrior’s bizarre and lukewarm debut in WCW, with both competitors throwing barbs at each other for years to come regarding their respective attitudes and talents. Still, after years of being estranged from and vilified by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the Ultimate Warrior was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, made amends with Hogan, and gave a rousing speech to his fans that became disturbingly prophetic after he was found dead the very next day.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think to the long-awaited rematch between Hogan and the Warrior? Were you excited to see the Warrior in WCW? What did you think to his crazed rants and parlour tricks? Were you disappointed when the fireball spot went wrong? Do you think this match is as bad as everyone says? Were you happy to see the Ultimate Warrior honoured by the WWE after so many years of animosity? Which Halloween Havoc match is your favourite? Share your thoughts on this infamous match below, support me on Ko-Fi, and be sure to check out my other wrestling content across the site.

Wrestling Recap: Hogan vs. Flair (Halloween Havoc ’94)

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The Date: 23 October 1994
The Venue: Joe Louis Arena; Detroit, Michigan
The Commentary: Tony Schiavone and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
The Referee: Mr. T (guest)
The Stakes: Steel cage match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship with both men’s careers also on the line

The Build-Up:
Easily one of the biggest missed opportunities in the wrestling world was then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) chairman deciding not to main event WrestleMania VIII with the biggest dream match the industry could produce at the time, the “Immortal” Hulk Hogan taking on “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. A falling out with World Championship Wrestling’s (WCW) Jim Herd saw Flair leave WCW with their World Heavyweight Championship, but McMahon was put off from pitting the two icons against each other after being unimpressed with the reception to their unaired matches and a preference for slotting Sid Justice into a main event role. While Flair went on to have a highly-rated WWF Championship match against “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Hogan and Sid put on one of the worst WrestleMania main events and WCW wasn’t about to make the same mistake two years later. Flair returned to WCW in 1993 and recaptured the gold, competing against old rivals Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and Sting, while Hogan dramatically jumped ship in 1994. Before he reinvigorated his career as part of the New World Order (nWo), Hogan largely continued the same schtick that had made him so popular in the WWF and immediately targeted WCW Champion Ric Flair, whom he defeated for the belt in his debut match at the 1994 Bash at the Beach. With the “Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart in his corner, Hogan retained the title against Flair via count-out at Clash of the Champions XXVIII, leading to Flair putting his and Hogan’s careers on the line for one last shot at the gold at Halloween Havoc.

The Match:
It’s probably controversial to say but I’ve never been much of a fan of Ric Flair. I think it’s mainly because he’s always been from a bygone era and his peak was way before my time as a wrestling fan, when the grounded style and presentation was notably different not just to today but to when I started watching wrestling in the nineties. I’m a little more lenient on Hulk Hogan simply because he’s a larger-than-life icon of the industry but I’ve never been massively wowed by his matches as he had a very limited repertoire and very rarely deviated from what worked, meaning I find his matches quite repetitive. However, I will say that much of my exposure to both men was when they were in the heyday of their careers and wrestling in an extremely limited capacity, so a part of me is interested in seeing more from both men at their peak and against a contextual background the plays into their strengths, and even I can’t deny that Hogan vs. Flair was the match of the wrestling industry back in the day. Flair was the first to enter the arena for this long-awaited match. Accompanied by “Sensuous” Sherri and draped in one of his trademark robes, Flair exuded the pomp and grandeur of the classic wrestling heel from head to toe. In comparison, Hogan was his usual bombastic self; played to the ring by his awful “American Made” theme and accompanied by Jimmy Hart and Brother Bruti (all of them garbed in Hogan’s signature garish red and yellow). Hogan pandered to and posed with the crowd in the epitome of the beloved, indomitable wrestling babyface. In addition to Michael Buffer running down each man’s lengthy list of accomplishments, Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan emphasised that both men had made an indelible mark on the industry and cemented themselves as icons of the business, and to really hammer home that this match would spell the end of one of their legendary careers. Interestingly, the flimsy, rickety wireframe cage was lowered around the ring after the competitors entered, making for an unsettling visual as the ring crew scrambled to get it secured, though this ultimately milked the anticipation of the crowd as was common for Hogan matches. Also, the cage wasn’t really built or tall enough for climbing; it was simply a frame to keep both men in and ensure a decisive victory by pin fall or submission.

Hogan showed an unusual aggression during the match, while Flair systematically targeted his knee.

Surprisingly for these two, the match kicked off with a bit of a brawl. Hogan pummelled and clawed at Flair in the corner, despite Mr. T’s best efforts to separate the two, and sent Flair flying with a back body drop after unsuccessfully trying to ram the Nature Boy’s head into the wire mesh of the cage wall. A couple of weak-ass clotheslines saw Flair begging off but Hogan wasn’t having any of it. He stuffed his bandana down Flair’s throat and ended up partially scaling the cage to stomp on Flair’s chest in the corner! Despite the fact that the match was no disqualification, Mr. T got very hot about Hogan’s uncharacteristic aggression and the two got into a semi-physical argument that was all the opportunity Flair needed to take control following an eye poke to the champion. Unfortunately, the Nature Boy’s dirty tactics and trademark chops didn’t help him when it came to slamming Hogan into the cage wall. The champion powered out of it and smashed Flair into the mesh instead, then ran him back into the wall to shift the momentum back in his favour and send Flair tumbling to the mat with his signature flop. A low blow and a chop block to the back of Hogan’s knee saw Flair regain control, however. With Hogan down, Flair immediately went after the knee and leg of the champion, which caused him to clash with Mr. T as well. Flair finally tossed Hogan into the steel mesh and firmly established his dominance with a triumphant “Woo!” to the braying audience (of which the legendary Muhammed Ali was a member!) before striking with his patented knee drop. Incensed by the onslaught, Hogan suddenly made a comeback, launching Flair into the corner and the cage wall and then driving him head-first into the mesh like a lawn-dart, but Flair answered back with an ungainly double axehandle from the top rope. The match noticeably slowed as Flair sporadically targeted Hogan’s knee and scored near fall off an admittedly impressive suplex. He was so pleased with his commanding position that he made sure to stop for a bit of a strut.

The two brawled using the cage walls but Flair got some…assistance (?)…when Sherri entered the ring.

The two superstar icons exchanged chops and blows in the corner, and Flair frantically tried to escape the cage when he realised he couldn’t win the slugfest. Hogan followed, however, and assaulted the Nature Boy using the cage before causing Flair to drop crotch-first onto the ring ropes. However, Hogan’s renewed aggression was shut down with a boot to the face and put him at risk of the Figure Four, though the champion countered into a roll-up for a near fall. When Flair tried to stun Hogan with some knife edge chops, the Hulkster simply shrugged it off and started “Hulking Up”. He crushed Flair’s hand, ran him into the cage wall once more and then started grating Flair’s forehead on the mesh. A back suplex scored Hogan a two count and, as Hogan again argued with Mr. T (who, the commentators admitted, wasn’t a professional referee so didn’t have the best technique), Flair again tried to escape. This time, Hogan repeatedly smashed Flair’s head off the mesh and hit him with a barrage of chops, only for Flair to shut down his momentum with a knee lift and a couple more running knee drops, this time to Hogan’s weakened leg. Flair continued to work over the leg and wrench at Hogan’s knee, again causing him to butt heads with Mr. T, before finally slapping on the Figure Four Leglock. The crowd, Jimmy Hart, and Bobby Heenan were whipped into a frenzy as Hogan writhed in the hold before mustering the strength to power out of it and to his feet, but Mr. T accidentally took a bump during Hogan’s big comeback. Frustrated, Ric Flair kicked at  Mr. T and Sherri tried to climb into the ring to help Flair out. Although Jimmy Hart succeeded only in exposing her ass to the audience, Sting intercepted her and got clobbered from behind by a masked man wielding a steel pipe.

Flair’s bizarre decision in incapacitate Mr. T ultimately cost him the match (but not his career).

Sherri leapt into the ring, which sounds impressive (and, admittedly, it was) but it ended up looking a little awkward as she barely grazed Hogan. Regardless, Sherri worked with Flair to handcuff Mr. T to the cage wall, which was a weird thing to do as it meant that the gruff official couldn’t make the count when Flair had Hogan pinned after a shot from the masked man’s pipe. Despite the odds, Hogan took his attackers out, showing no compunction about slamming, clotheslining, or tossing Sherri about before once again assaulting Flair with the cage wall. Flair’s counterattack proved futile in the face of Hulk’s signature “Hulk Up”. Hogan shrugged off Flair’s chops and staggered him with clubbing blows, dropped him with the Big Boot, and crushed him with the Atomic Leg Drop. Mr. T made the count and, just like that, Hogan retained the WCW Championship and Ric Flair’s wrestling career was over. Hogan celebrated with Mr. T and Muhammad Ali but was jumped by the masked man, who was shockingly revealed to be Brother Bruti! Hogan’s former ally then teamed up with Kevin Sullivan and the debuting Avalanche to assault Hogan, who had to be saved by Sting. Considering how big both Hogan and Flair were back in the day, this match was really quite a let-down. It was surprisingly physical, especially in the early going and when Hogan showed an uncharacteristic aggression, but it slowed to a crawl in the middle and there were way too many repeated spots, such as Flair taking a back body drop or the two slapping each other about while perched precariously on the ring ropes. One thing I hate about cage matches is when they fail at the one thing they’re designed to do, which is keep people out. Sherri and the masked Bruti easily interfered in the match, but I don’t understand why she and Flair chose to attack and incapacitate Mr. T when it significantly impacted Flair’s chances of winning. Hogan “overcoming the odds” was a story that had gotten old long before this, but the crowd seemed into it here and were happy to see him win, but it didn’t really land for me. For what should have been an epic clash between the two biggest icons in the industry, the match was plodding and basic and shrouded by smoke and mirrors, meaning the spectacle of their long-awaited clash is mired by an otherwise forgettable contest.

The Aftermath:
Following this Halloween Havoc match, Hogan held onto the WCW Championship for a record-setting fifteen months. He wouldn’t drop the belt until the next year’s Halloween Havoc event, where he was defeated by the Giant before forming the nWo later in 1996. Perhaps in a bid to continue to capitalise on both men’s iconic status, this match certainly wouldn’t be the last time Hogan and Flair faced each other. Between 1994 and 2000 when WCW shut their doors, the two squared off in singles and multi-man matches no less than 21 times in WCW alone! They also fought on an episode of World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) Raw in 2002, were at opposite ends of a tag team match in Total Nonstop Action (TNA), and even captained teams of five against each other when the WWE put on one of their controversial Saudi Arabi shows in 2019. All this is to say that no, this absolutely wasn’t Ric Flair’s last match in WCW or anywhere else. In fact, Flair was back on WCW television a little over two months later, regained the WCW Championship on more than one occasion, and reformed his legendary stable, the Four Horsemen, to oppose “Hollywood” Hogan and his disruptive takeover of the company. There was even a rumour that the aging Hulkster would be coming out of retirement to face Flair in the Nature Boy’s true final ever match in 2022 but, thankfully (given not just the deteriorating physical condition of both men but also how the actual match turned out) we were spared that contest…until the next time Flair decides to lace his boots up again!

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think to the match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair from Halloween Havoc? Do you think that their matches in WCW lived up to the expectations or were you let disappointed by bouts such as this one? What did you think to the ending and the odd decision to handcuff Mr. T to the cage? Were you a fan of either man during their WCW days? Which of their matches and moments was your favourite and would you have liked to see Hogan and Flair face off at WrestleMania as originally planned? What’s your favourite Halloween Havoc match or event? Whatever your thoughts on Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Halloween Havoc, I’d love to see them in the comments.

Wrestling Recap: Goldberg vs. DDP (Halloween Havoc ’98)

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The Date: 25 October 1998
The Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena; Paradise, Nevada
The Commentary: Tony Schiavone, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and Mike Tenay
The Referee: Mickie Jay
The Stakes: Singles match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship

The Build-Up:
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) gets a lot of flack for not building more original, home-grown stars; one of the principal reasons they took a commanding lead in the “Monday Night Wars” against the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) was because they lured over big-name stars like Hulk Hogan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage with lucrative contracts to cash-in on their mainstream popularity. However, there are actually many home-grown WCW stars: “The Icon” Sting was unquestionably the heart and soul of the company, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair their most prolific link to the glory days of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Diamond Dallas Page/DDP their most inspirational story of a journeyman wrestler becoming a beloved figurehead, and Bill Goldberg easily their most successful home-made talent. After an injury saw his American football career come to an end, Goldberg transition first to powerlifting and mixed martial arts before being persuaded by Sting and Lex Luger to train at the WCW Power Plant. Impressed by the big man’s physique and intensity, WCW head honcho Eric Bischoff rushed Goldberg to television and booked him on an unprecedented winning streak that saw him amass an alleged win 173 consecutive wins (though the number was actually closer to 156) using a very simple formula of hitting a couple of big moves, including performing his finisher, the Jackhammer, on the seven-foot Giant! In contrast, DDP was a late bloomer, having started as a manager before transitioning to an in-ring career at the relatively late age of thirty-five. Page hit his stride when he famously rejected joining the New World Order (nWo) super stable and cemented himself as WCW’s top babyface, scoring WCW Tag Team Championship and United States Championship victories with his signature Diamond Cutter, which he boasted he could hit on anyone, anywhere, at anytime. Goldberg’s impressive (if inflated) winning streak eventually saw him dethrone “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on one of the most successful (if controversial) episodes of WCW Monday Nitro in 1998. After DDP earned the right to challenge for the championship at Halloween Havoc by winning a War Games match the previous month, the stage was set for these two icons to collide but it wasn’t all plain sailing. Goldberg disagreed with DDP’s ideas for the match and WCW came under fire when the pay-per-view overran its allotted timeslot, meaning paying viewers didn’t get to see the main event bout and had to settle for a re-run on the following episode of Monday Nitro.

The Match:
As I’ve detailed before, I wasn’t lucky enough to grow up watching WCW or WWF; I wasn’t able to get into wrestling until early-2000, and by then all I could really watch were WWF pay-per-views, so my knowledge of WCW was limited to magazines and videogames. Still, competitors like Goldberg and DDP definitely stuck out for me, primarily because they had a lot of media attention and featured in one of my first real experiences of WCW, the ill-fated Ready to Rumble (Robbins, 2000). I didn’t really get to see DDP in action until he was inexplicably cast as the Undertaker’s sadistic stalker during the botched “Invasion” angle, a decision which meant DDP’s WWF and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) career never reached the heights of his WCW fame. Similarly, I wouldn’t get to see Goldberg in action until he arrived in WWE in 2003 for a lacklustre run that saw him put on one of the worst performances in wrestling history, and later further tarnish his reputation with a series of questionable performances following his Hall of Fame induction. Still, I’m always excited to watch WCW biggest stars perform at the height of their career and popularity and to see them booked correctly, especially as this is considered one of the best matches in either man’s career. There was a moment of trepidation as the bell rang; at this point, Goldberg has amassed a winning streak of 154 and his matches were short, sharp affairs that played to his strengths as a powerhouse. DDP, meanwhile, was more of a technician and a wily competitor, though neither man backed down or showed any fear; this was undoubtedly a match with high stakes for both since it meant a championship reign for DDP and another feather in the cap of WCW’s brutish superstar. After a spot of jaw-jacking, the two men locked up, with DDP being easily overpowered in the early going; Goldberg repeatedly tossed him into the far corner with little effort and DDP, realising that tenacity alone wouldn’t win the day, changed tactics, stalling for time and then took the big man down with an arm drag before goading him into charging the two of them through the ropes and to the outside.

It took some time for Goldberg to play to his strengths and he ended up injuring himself as a result.

The crowd grew a little restless as the two men stalled some more and clambered back into the ring; DDP went back to basics, slapping on a headlock, only for Goldberg to surprisingly wrestle his way out of it with a wrist-lock takedown and then counter DDP’s attempts at a trip with an impressive standing back flip! DDP’s efforts to rile Goldberg up resulted in the big man losing his cool and pummelling the challenger with some stiff shots, slamming him to the mat with an overhead throw, and then locking in a cross armbreaker on the canvas. DDP easily reached the ropes and stunned Goldberg with a jawbreaker before laying in some forearms and working over Goldberg’s arm and shoulder; however, he found himself tumbling outside when Goldberg easily threw off an attempted Diamond Cutter. Once DDP hopped back into the ring, Goldberg went back to the wrist lock and, this time, DDP countered with a drop-toehold before being bashed to the outside again with a shoulder block. A jawbreaker over the ropes and a spinning neckbreaker saw allowed DDP to press the attack, tossing Goldberg into the corner and scoring a two count off a Russian leg sweep. DDP put the pressure on with a front facelock to give both men a chance to rest, but Goldberg soon fought back with some stiff knee strikes to DDP’s ribs and that weird spinning takedown thing he liked to do. Goldberg followed up with a modified suplex and a nice sidewalk slam, but a lackadaisical cover saw DDP easily kick out. Goldberg then punished DDP with another cross armbreaker but, clearly having run out of moves, paid the price when he tried for another sidewalk slam as DDP countered with an awkward, but effective, headscissor takedown! Goldberg popped right back up, however, and delivered a sidekick (thankfully not to DDP’s head…) but crashed and burned on a Spear attempt when DDP wisely flipped out of the way and caused the champion to charge shoulder-first into the ring post and spill to the outside.

Both men hit their signature moves but it was the undefeated Goldberg who eventually came out on top.

The two milked the moment to take a breather before DDP took Goldberg down with a big top-rope clothesline for a two-count; despite favouring his right arm, Goldberg planted DDP with a uranage-like slam (that honestly looked like DDP countered into a DDT). Although DDP got to his feet first and called for the Diamond Cutter, he got absolutely blasted with Goldberg’s trademark Spear, much to the delight of the crowd, but Goldberg couldn’t capitalise thanks to his shoulder injury from the ring post. This also meant he struggled to lift DDP for the Jackhammer and, when he finally did, the challenger slipped out of it and planted him with the Diamond Cutter. However, exhaustion also meant that DDP couldn’t immediately follow-up so Goldberg easily kicked out. It was at this point that the crowd really came alive, just in time for Goldberg to counter DDP’s suplex into a Jackhammer and score the three count in the blink of an eye! Having been taken to his limit, Goldberg helped DDP to his feet and showed him respect before celebrating his win to a chorus of cheers. However, I have to say that I wasn’t massively won over by this; Goldberg was always at his best when he played to his strengths, which meant power, power, and more power. There were times here where he looked lost and his limitations showed, such as him struggling to respond to DDP’s attempts to get him up and him going for the same moves. It wasn’t massively glaring but it makes DDP’s efforts to carry Goldberg to a more competitive match even more obvious; Goldberg, didn’t exactly press his attack, or overpower DDP enough for me to believe that Page was too beat up to make a cover, especially as DDP did a lot of stalling throughout the match. I appreciated the attempt to showcase Goldberg’s more technical abilities, but his physicality could’ve been played up more, maybe with a few more hard shoves and that military press slam he liked to do. In the end, it was a decent match, potentially the best of Goldberg’s career at that point, but I could feel the crowd getting restless throughout and I echoed those sentiments and was just waiting for a little more action from both men.

The Aftermath:
Although this wouldn’t be the last time Goldberg and DDP faced off against each other, it did mark the end of their feud; by the next month’s pay-per-view, DDP was once again the WCW United States Champion and was busy feuding with Bret “Hitman” Hart. Although Goldberg wasn’t on the show, he did headline Starrcade the following month, where he lost the WCW Championship and had his winning streak snapped in controversial fashion by “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash following interference from Scott Hall and a taser. Goldberg and DDP wouldn’t face each other again until April 1999, where they battled for the WCW Championship on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro, this time with DDP as the champion. They battled each other sporadically throughout 1999, with their final match being a singles bout at Fall Brawl 1999, which Goldberg again won. As far as I can tell, they never crossed paths when in WWE and, with DDP officially retired and committed to helping wrestlers and others improve their lives through his DDP Yoga, I can’t imagine that we’ll ever see these two locking up in a match ever again.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Are you a fan of Goldberg’s match against Diamond Dallas Page at Halloween Havoc? Do you agree that it’s one of their best matches or do you think it’s over-rated and prefer a different bout of theirs? Were you a fan of either man during their WCW days? Which of their matches and moments was your favourite and what did you think to their career outside of WCW? What’s your favourite Halloween Havoc match or event? Whatever your thoughts on Goldberg, DDP, WCW, and Halloween Havoc, I’d love to see them in the comments.

Wrestling Recap: Mysterio Jr. vs. Guerrero (Halloween Havoc ’97)

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The Date: 26 October 1997
The Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena; Paradise, Nevada
The Commentary: Tony Schiavone, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, and “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes
The Referee: Billy Silverman
The Stakes: Singles match for the WCW Crusierweight Championship with Mysterio Jr.’s mask also on the line

The Build-Up:
One of the many aspects that helped propel World Championship Wrestling (WCW) to the top of the wrestling ratings war back in the day was their exhilarating cruiserweight division. Although the company sold itself as being “where the big boys play” and featured a who’s who of heavyweight talent, both in and out of their super-popular New World Order (nWo) stable, WCW also separated itself from the competition by snapping up and showcasing smaller, more agile and physically talented cruiserweights on a weekly basis. Spearheaded by WCW figurehead Eric Bischoff, the cruiserweight division introduced lucha libre wrestling to mainstream audiences and gave stars like “Lionheart” Chris Jericho, Juventud Guerrera, Ultimo Dragon, and Psicosis a platform to shine with their fast-paced, high-risk offense. Two of WCW’s biggest cruiserweight stars were future World Champions Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio Jr.; both had cut their teeth in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) prior to being snapped up by WCW and both had their roots in Mexican wrestling, with Eddie coming from the prestigious Guerrero family and Rey being the nephew of the legendary luchadore Rey Misterio. After losing the WCW United States Championship, Eddie Guerrero turned heel and set his sights on the WCW Cruiserweight Championship, a belt he captured the previous month from Chris Jericho, crossing paths with Rey Mysterio Jr. for the first time on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro in the process. Since Mysterio won that match, he had a legitimate claim to challenging for the Cruiserweight Championship, something that Guerrero attempted to proactively get ahead of by taunting Mysterio and attacking him while in the guise of a masked luchador. After Mysterio pinned Guerrero again and unmasked him, Guerrero was humiliated and incensed and demanded that Rey unmask (the greatest dishonour to befall a luchador) if he failed to win the title at Halloween Havoc, going so far as to steal Rey’s mask during a match against Dean Malenko on Nitro and costing him that match. The initial plan was for Rey to lose this match as Bischoff believed that he would have a better time getting over and selling if his face were exposed; Rey, however, fought against this decision and emphasised the importance of a mask in lucha libre. Although he managed to convince Bischoff, Rey would eventually be unmasked a couple of years later, a decision Bischoff later admitted to regretting since he underestimated how important the mask’s iconography was to Mysterio, his fanbase, and his heritage.

The Match:
Since I didn’t grow up being able to watch WCW, I’m not massively familiar with much of their product, especially the peak of their cruiserweight division. I first encountered stars like Jericho, Dean Malenko, Guerrero, and Billy Kidman while watching the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programming, where many of these smaller performers were already mid-card talents if not flirting with the main event. When the WWE first resurrected the cruiserweight division, officially adopting the term and making their inferior light-heavyweight division defunct, in the early-2000s, I was an avid watcher of SmackDown! and delighted in the high-flying action, which greatly contributed to separating the Blue Brand from the more over-the-top Raw. This was also my first introduction to Rey Mysterio, who returned to his masked persona after stupidly being stripped of it in 1999, and I was right there for his initial feuds and his efforts as part of the fabled “SmackDown! Six”. All this is to say that it’s always a delight to go back and revisit early matches in both wrestler’s careers, especially in WCW, and it’s fascinating to see the longevity Rey Mysterio has had in the industry and the consistent popularity of the late, great Eddie Guerrero. In a precursor to his later elaborate superhero-themed attires, Mysterio wrestled this match garbed in what is clearly a homage to pulp hero Kit Walker/The Phantom, an iconic, purple-themed body suit that really helped him stand out amongst his peers. Playing the part of the arrogant, sneering heel, Guerrero sauntered to the ring, bombarded by boos and chants of “Eddie Sucks!”, and carrying the belt that was Mysterio’s goal; the commentators, however, raised the question of how important winning the belt is for Mysterio compared to retaining his mask and his honour and made no bones about hyping this contest as the most important match of Mysterio’s career.

Guerrrero focused on Mysterio’s back, forcing the challenger to desperately try and fight back.

Things got off to a fast-paced, action-packed start right after the bell rang and Guerrero spat taunts in Mysterio’s masked face; Rey bounced off the ropes into a flipping arm drag, flipped Guerrero clear across the ring with his feet, and took the champion to the outside with a running crossbody attack. Mysterio looked to follow up with a somersault manoeuvre over the ropes, but Guerrero had it scouted and tripped Rey on the apron, sending him spilling to the outside, where Guerrero quickly pressed his advantage by running Mysterio shoulder-first into the steel steps at ringside. Eddie’s trademark somersault over the top rope delivered more pain to his challenger, with the champion’s early focus squarely on Mysterio’s back and ribs, which he followed up with a hard knife-edge chop and a European uppercut to Mysterio, who was little more than a ragdoll at this point in the match. Although Mysterio tried to build some momentum with an Irish whip reversal and a dropkick, Guerrero beautifully countered a handspring attack into a back body drop, which he followed with a vertical suplex and the first pin attempt of the match. After Mysterio kicked out at two, Guerrero planted him with his trademark tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to deliver more damage to Mysterio’s back, but the champion became visibly frustrated when he failed to score a three count on the following pin attempt. So annoyed was Guerrero that he started to pull at Rey’s mask, earning him the referee’s admonishment, and then locked in an abdominal stretch to further punish Mysterio’s back while also clawing at his mask. Guerrero then delivered another big backbreaker for another two count before trying to force Mysterio’s shoulders to the mat, to no avail. To make matters worse for the hot-headed champion, Mysterio was able to hop to his feet, springboard of the ropes, and hit a gorgeously smooth DDT to buy himself some much-needed time to recuperate. Both competitors showcased their speed following this; Mysterio dropkicked Guerrero to the outside and managed to adjust his momentum in mid-air when he saw Eddie slide back into the ring as he (as in Rey) was going for another high-flying manoeuvre before Guerrero returned the favour and sent Rey to the outside with a dropkick through the ropes.

Mysterio’s high-flying offense and a last-second counter saw him capture the championship.

Guerrero then viciously whipped Mysterio sternum-first into the barricade before dumping him into the ring and locking in first a Camel Clutch and then the Gory Special. Guerrero shut down Rey’s attempts at a comeback with an elevated backbreaker (that I recognise as A-Train’s Train Wreck) and another submission designed to punish his back and ribs before putting a beating on Mysterio in the ring corner. Mysterio valiantly fought back and caused Guerrero to slide crotch-first into the ring post before taking him down with a huge top-rope crossbod, flipping out of another tilt-a-whirl attempt, and surprising the champion with a hurricanrana pin for a close near fall. Guerrero attempted to regain his momentum and ended up being flung outside with a 619-like headscissor takedown from Mysterio, which Rey followed with a somersault headscissor takedown over the ropes. Eddie again kicked out from a corkscrew attack thanks to Mysterio’s exhausted, lackadaisical cover and then absolutely planted Mysterio with a massive powerbomb. Incensed that Rey again kicked out at two, Guerrero ran him into the corner but ended up eating a flapjack and a spinning heel kick. Mysterio went for his signature springboard hurricanrana pin and ate a somewhat sloppy backbreaker for his troubles and landed in prime position for Guerrero’s patented Frog Splash. Although Mysterio rolled out of the way, Guerrero adjusted his trajectory to roll through; Guerrero then attempted to hit an avalanche Crucifix Powerbomb but Mysterio countered into his hurricanrana pin to finally score the three count, with Guerrero briefly jumping him during his celebration. Overall, an intense and fast-paced match with both men delivering some slick manoeuvres; Guerrero played the wily heel, targeting Mysterio’s back and putting him in the underdog position so the fans could rally behind him and Mysterio shined with his innovative and high-risk high-flying offense. It’s only a short match, clocking in at around fifteen minutes, but they crammed a lot into it, and the commentators did a great job of selling Eddie’s mean streak and Rey’s never-say-die attitude.

The Aftermath:
This was far from the last time Rey Mysterio Jr. and Eddie Guerrero crossed paths; in fact, they had a rematch about fifteen days later on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro that saw Guerrero regain the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. They also fought at World War 3 at the end of November 1997, with Guerrero coming out on top, though both men moved on to separate storylines by the time Starrcade came around. Rey Mysterio Jr. wouldn’t recapture the WCW Cruiserweight Championship until early 1998 in another disappointingly short reign, and he fought with Guerrero again later in 1998 when Eddie attempted to induct Rey into his stable, the Latino World Order (lWo), before they joined forces for the first time as part of the Filthy Animals. They wouldn’t interact again until Mysterio was signed by the WWE in 2002 and they were involved in a series of tag team matches as part of the aforementioned SmackDown! Six; although Rey Mysterio and Edge feuded with Eddie and his nephew, Chavo, during this time, he and Eddie would come together as a tag team in 2005, culminating in an opening match at WWE WrestleMania 21 that pitted the two against each other while they were the WWE Tag Team Champions. After losing the belts the following month, Guerrero turned on Mysterio and the two reignited their feud, which eventually grew to encompass ridiculous soap opera aspects such as battling in a ladder match for custody of Rey’s son, Dominik. Following Guerrero’s tragic and untimely passing on 13 November 2005, Rey Mysterio was given a massive push towards the main event, capturing his first World Championship; though his championship reign was soured by poor booking decisions, Mysterio continued to honour the memory and legacy of one of his best friends and greatest rivals and Guerrero’s impact on the business was not only revered in his WWE Hall of Fame induction but continued tributes and celebrations decades after his passing. Additionally, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Eddie Guerrero’s Halloween Havoc match is widely regarded as one of their finest matches, one of WCW’s greatest cruiserweight bouts, and one of the best cruiserweight matches on American soil; it was such a memorable contest between them that it was recreated in the Showcase mode of WWE 2K22 (Visual Concepts, 2022) to allow fans to play it for themselves.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

Are you a fan of Rey Mysterio Jr.’s match against Eddie Guerrero at Halloween Havoc? Do you agree that it’s one of their best matches, and the best cruiserweight matches, or do you perhaps think it’s over-rated and prefer a different bout of theirs? Were you a fan of either man during their WCW days? Which of their matches and moments was your favourite and were you a fan of the WCW cruiserweight division back in the day? What’s your favourite Halloween Havoc match or event? Whatever your thoughts on Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, the cruiserweights, and Halloween Havoc, I’d love to see them in the comments below.