Halloween Havoc

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date

October 25, 1992

City

Venue

Philadelphia Civic Center

Attendance

7,000

Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal

Pay-per-view chronology

← Previous
The Great American Bash 1992

Next →
Starrcade 1992

Halloween Havoc 1992 took place on October 25, 1992 from the Philadelphia Civic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.^[4]

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

Dark match: Erik Watts and Van Hammer defeated The Vegas Connection (Vinnie Vegas and Diamond Dallas Page) (12:00)
Tom Zenk, Johnny Gunn and Shane Douglas defeated Arn Anderson, Michael Hayes and Bobby Eaton (11:02)
- Gunn pinned Hayes.
Ricky Steamboat defeated Brian Pillman (10:25)
- Steamboat pinned Pillman.
Big Van Vader defeated Nikita Koloff (11:35)
- Vader pinned Koloff.
- Vader was defending the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship for Rick Rude, who complained about having to wrestle twice.
- This was also a No Disqualification Match and Madusa was barred from ringside.
NWA and WCW World Tag Team Champions Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes fought Steve Williams and Steve Austin to a time-limit draw (30:00)^[5]
- Windham and Rhodes retained the titles.
- Austin was subbing for Terry Gordy, who no-showed the event.^[5]
- It was originally scheduled to be Williams and Gordy vs. The Steiner Brothers, but was changed after Rick Steiner suffered a torn chest muscle during a Japanese tour, and Windham and Rhodes won the titles from Williams and Gordy on the October 3 edition of WCW Saturday Night, making Williams and Gordy challenge Windham and Rhodes to a rematch for the titles.^[6]
Rick Rude (with Madusa) defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion Masahiro Chono (with Hiro Matsuda) (with Harley Race and Kensuke Sasaki as special guest referees) by disqualification (22:23)
- Chono was disqualified by Race for throwing Rude over the top rope, Chono retained the title.
- Rude's WCW United States Heavyweight Championship was not on the line, despite being the champion.
- After the match, Sasaki attacked Rude and Race.
Ron Simmons (with Teddy Long) defeated The Barbarian (with Cactus Jack) to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (12:41)
- Simmons pinned Barbarian.
Sting defeated Jake Roberts in a Coal Miner's Glove match (10:34)
- Sting pinned Roberts after Roberts was bitten by his own snake.
- This was a "Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal" match with the match type determined by spinning wheel.

1993

Halloween Havoc 1993

File:HH 93.JPG

Promotional Poster Featuring Big Van Vader and Cactus Jack

Date

October 24, 1993

City

New Orleans, Louisiana

Venue

Lakefront Arena

Attendance

6,000

Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal

Pay-per-view chronology

← Previous
Fall Brawl 1993

Next →
Battlebowl

Halloween Havoc 1993 took place on October 24, 1993 from the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana.^[7]

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

Ice Train, Charlie Norris and The Shockmaster defeated Harlem Heat (Kole and Kane) and The Equalizer (9:45)
- Shockmaster pinned Kole after a spinebuster.
Paul Orndorff (with The Assassin) defeated Ricky Steamboat by countout (18:35)
- Steamboat was counted-out after The Assassin put a weapon in his mask and headbutted Steamboat.
- Orndorff replaced the injured Yoshi Kwan.
WCW World Television Champion Lord Steven Regal fought Davey Boy Smith to a time-limit draw (15:00)
- Regal retained the title.
Dustin Rhodes defeated Steve Austin to retain the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (14:23)
- Rhodes pinned Austin with an inside cradle.
The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags) (with Missy Hyatt) defeated Marcus Bagwell and 2 Cold Scorpio (with Teddy Long) to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship (14:38)
- Knobs pinned Scorpio.
Sting defeated Sid Vicious (10:41)
- Sting pinned Vicious with a roll-up.
Rick Rude defeated Ric Flair (with Terry Taylor as Special Enforcer) by disqualification to retain the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship (19:22)
- Flair was disqualified.
Vader (with Harley Race) defeated Cactus Jack in a Texas Death match (15:59)
- Vader won after he pinned Jack on the Stage after a DDT on a steel chair and Race tazed Jack to keep him down for the referee's 10 count.
- This was a Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal match with the match type randomly chosen by a spinning wheel.

1994

Halloween Havoc 1994

File:HH 94.JPG

VHS cover featuring Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan

Date

October 23, 1994

City

Detroit, Michigan

Venue

Joe Louis Arena

Attendance

14,000

The Cage! Revenge!

Pay-per-view chronology

← Previous
Fall Brawl 1994

Next →
Starrcade 1994

Halloween Havoc 1994 took place on October 23, 1994 from the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.^[8]

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

Main Event match: Booker T defeated Brian Armstrong
- Booker pinned Armstrong after a flying forearm.
- Originally, it was scheduled to be Harlem Heat versus The Armstrongs, but Brad Armstrong had a family emergency, and did not appear.
WCW World Television Champion Johnny B. Badd fought The Honky Tonk Man to a time-limit draw (10:00)
- Badd retained the title.
Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma) defeated Stars and Stripes (The Patriot and Marcus Alexander Bagwell) to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship (13:47)
- Orndorff pinned Bagwell after a flying elbow drop from Roma while Bagwell had Orndorff pinned.
Dave Sullivan defeated Kevin Sullivan by count-out (5:17)
- Dave made it back into the ring after Kevin threw him into the ringpost, intending to get him counted out.
Dustin Rhodes defeated Arn Anderson (with Col. Robert Parker and Meng) (9:50)
- Rhodes pinned Anderson with a roll-up.
Jim Duggan defeated Steve Austin by disqualification to retain the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (8:02)
- Austin was disqualified after he back body dropped Duggan over the top rope.
Vader (with Harley Race) defeated The Guardian Angel (8:17)
- Vader pinned the Angel with a splash after Angel suplexed Harley Race.
The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags) defeated Terry Funk and Bunkhouse Buck (with Col. Robert Parker and Meng) (7:56)
- Knobs pinned Funk after Sags hit Funk with a Piledriver on a Jack-O-Lantern.
Hulk Hogan (with Jimmy Hart) defeated Ric Flair (with Sensuous Sherri) (with Mr. T as Special Enforcer) in a Steel Cage career vs. career match to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (19:25)
- Hogan pinned Flair after a leg drop.
- Per the match stipulation, Flair was forced to retire.
- After the match, Hogan was attacked by a masked man who had been stalking him for months. Hogan eventually unmasked the man to reveal him as Brother Bruti.

1995

Halloween Havoc 1995

File:HH 95.JPG

VHS cover featuring Hulk Hogan

Date

October 29, 1995
(Sumo Monster truck match was taped on October 28, 1995)

City

Detroit, Michigan

Venue

Joe Louis Arena

Attendance

13,000

File:HalloweenHavoc1996.jpg

There's Nowhere to Hide

Pay-per-view chronology

← Previous
Fall Brawl 1995

Next →
World War 3 1995

Halloween Havoc 1995 took place on October 29, 1995 from the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.^[9]

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

Main Event match: Eddie Guerrero defeated Disco Inferno (3:21)
- Guerrero pinned Inferno after a flying headscissor takedown from the top rope.
Main Event match: Paul Orndorff defeated The Renegade (1:22)
- Orndorff pinned Renegade after piledriving him twice.
Main Event match: Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko defeated The Blue Bloods (Lord Steven Regal and Earl Robert Eaton) (8:41)
- Benoit pinned Regal after a belly-to-back suplex/dropkick double team maneuver.
Main Event match: Sgt. Craig Pittman defeated VK Wallstreet (3:37)
- Pittman pinned Wallstreet after Hacksaw Jim Duggan hit Wallstreet with a taped fist.
- Duggan's interference came after Big Bubba Rogers hit Pittman with his own taped fist to knock him out.
Johnny B. Badd defeated Diamond Dallas Page (with the Diamond Doll and Max Muscle) to win the WCW World Television Championship (17:01)
- Badd pinned Page after Muscle accidentally hit Page with a clothesline.
- After Page entered the ring, a fake Johnny B. Badd appeared at the entranceway (played by Joey Maggs) to distract Page and allow the real Badd to sneak up on Page from behind.
Randy Savage defeated The Zodiac (1:30)
- Savage pinned Zodiac after a Flying Elbow.
- Zodiac replaced Kamala, who had left WCW.
- Near the end of this short match, security is plainly seen escorting an unidentified person out of the ringside area for unspecified reasons. This action is not acknowledged by the commentators.
Kurasawa (with Col. Robert Parker) defeated Road Warrior Hawk (3:15)
- Kurasawa pinned Hawk with his feet on the ropes
Sabu (with The Sheik) defeated Mr. JL (3:25)
- Sabu pinned JL after a split-legged moonsault.
- Immediately following the pin, Sheik threw a fireball into the face of the downed JL.
Lex Luger defeated Meng by disqualification (13:14)
- Meng was disqualified after The Taskmaster interfered on Meng's behalf.
Sting and Ric Flair defeated Brian Pillman and Arn Anderson by disqualification (17:09)
- Pillman and Anderson were disqualified when Flair turned on Sting.
Hulk Hogan defeated The Giant in a Sumo Monster truck match (5:00)
- Hogan's "Hulkster" truck pushed Giant's "Dungeon of Doom" truck out of the circle for the win.
- This match took place on top of the nearby Cobo Hall. Although it was portrayed as live, the match was actually taped the previous night.
- WCW stunt co-ordinator Ellis Edwards portrayed the referee for this match, and the commentary team was joined by Bigfoot creator Bob Chandler.
- After the match, Hogan and The Giant began fighting, resulting in Giant (kayfabe) falling off the side of the building.
Randy Savage defeated Lex Luger (5:23)
- Savage pinned Luger after a Flying Elbow.
The Giant (with The Taskmaster) defeated Hulk Hogan (with Jimmy Hart) by disqualification to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (14:30)
- Hogan was disqualified after Hart hit the referee with the WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt.
- Hart then turned on Hogan by hitting him with the world title belt and became manager of the Dungeon of Doom.
- After the match The Yeti came to the ring and assisted Giant in hugging Hogan, so that they were both hugging Hogan at the same time.
- Randy Savage came to the ring to try to save Hogan, as did Lex Luger.
- Luger turned on Savage by attacking him and then put Hogan in the Torture Rack, joining the Dungeon of Doom.
- The Giant took the belt from the referee after the match and left with it; Jimmy Hart later revealed that he had a clause put in the contract that the title could change hands on a disqualification, but a week later on Nitro, The Giant was stripped of the title, because the disqualification was due to Hart's interference, The title belt was later rewarded to the winner of the 3 ring 60 man Battle Royal at WCW World War 3 1995, which was won by Randy Savage.

1996

Halloween Havoc 1996

Date

October 27, 1996

City

Las Vegas, Nevada

Venue

MGM Grand Garden Arena

Attendance

10,000

A Night Of Terror And Suspense!

Pay-per-view chronology

← Previous
Fall Brawl 1996

Next →
World War 3 1996

Halloween Havoc 1996 took place on October 27, 1996 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[10]

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

Dark match: Jim Powers defeated Pat Tanaka.
- Powers pinned Tanaka.
Dark match: Psychosis and Juventud Guerrera defeated Damien and Halloween
- Guerrera pinned Damien.
Dean Malenko defeated Rey Misterio, Jr. to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship (18:32)
- Malenko pinned Misterio after a powerbomb off of the top rope.
Diamond Dallas Page defeated Eddy Guerrero (13:44)
- Page pinned Guerrero after a Diamond Cutter
The Giant defeated Jeff Jarrett by disqualification
- Jarrett was disqualified after Ric Flair gave Giant a low blow.
Syxx defeated Chris Jericho (9:49)
- Syxx pinned Jericho after a spinning heel-kick.
Lex Luger defeated Arn Anderson (12:22)
- Luger forced Anderson to submit with the Torture Rack.
Steve McMichael and Chris Benoit (with Woman and Debra McMichael) defeated The Faces of Fear (Meng and The Barbarian) (9:23)
- Benoit pinned Meng after a Diving Headbutt.
The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) defeated Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) (with Sister Sherri and Col. Robert Parker) to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship (13:07)
- Hall pinned Stevie Ray after Nash hit him twice with Parker's cane behind the referee's back.
Hollywood Hogan defeated Randy Savage to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (17:37)
- Hogan pinned Savage after The Giant chokeslammed Savage to the floor; Giant then dragged an unconscious Hogan onto Savage.
- During the match, Miss Elizabeth interfered on Savage's behalf.
- Roddy Piper came out following the match to confront Hogan and make his WCW debut.

1997

Halloween Havoc 1997

File:HH 97.JPG

VHS Cover featuring Hollywood Hogan and Roddy Piper

Date

October 26, 1997

City

Las Vegas, Nevada

Venue

MGM Grand Garden Arena

Attendance

12,457

Snap Into The Madness!

Pay-per-view chronology

← Previous
Fall Brawl 1997

Next →
World War 3 1997

Halloween Havoc 1997 took place on October 26, 1997 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[11]

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

Yuji Nagata (with Sonny Onoo) defeated Último Dragón (9:42)
- Nagata forced Dragon to submit with an armlock.
Chris Jericho defeated Gedo (7:18)
- Jericho forced Gedo to submit with the Liontamer.
Rey Misterio, Jr. defeated Eddy Guerrero in a Mask versus Title match to win the WCW Cruiserweight Championship (13:51)
- Misterio pinned Guerrero with a hurricanrana.
Alex Wright (with Debra) defeated Steve McMichael (6:31)
- Wright pinned McMichael after Goldberg attacked McMichael, hit the Jackhammer on him, and placed Wright on top of him.
- After the match Goldberg was given McMichael's Super Bowl XX championship ring by Debra and then attacked Wright in the ring.
- Originally the match was scheduled to be McMichael vs. Jeff Jarrett, whom Debra was managing at the time. However, Jarrett did not renew his WCW contract when it expired and instead returned to the World Wrestling Federation. Since Debra was also managing Alex Wright at the time, Wright became the replacement.
Jacqueline defeated Disco Inferno (9:39)
- Jacqueline pinned Inferno with a roll-up.
Curt Hennig defeated Ric Flair by disqualification to retain the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (13:57)
- Flair was disqualified after he tied Hennig in a tree of woe, put the title belt over Hennig's head, and kicked the center plate into his face.
Lex Luger defeated Scott Hall (with Syxx) (with Larry Zbyszko as special guest referee) (13:02)
- The match's original ending saw Hall pin Luger by giving him the Outsiders Edge after Syxx interfered and kicked Luger in the head while Zbyszko was arguing with an interfering Eric Bischoff. He then began celebrating in the ring with Bischoff and Syxx while forcing Zbyszko to raise his hand in victory.
- While checking on Luger Zbyszko asked to see a replay of the finish, and declared the match restarted after seeing what Syxx did.
- Hall began arguing with Zbyszko once back in the ring, and Zbyszko shoved him into a waiting Luger, who put Hall in the Torture Rack and caused him to submit.
- As Zbyszko called for the bell Syxx attacked him, only to be put in a gogoplata followed by a guillotine choke.
- Bischoff and Hall then returned to the ring and attacked Zbyszko, ending with Bischoff kicking Zbyszko in the head and Hall counting a pin.
Randy Savage (with Miss Elizabeth) defeated Diamond Dallas Page in a Las Vegas Sudden Death match (18:07)
- Page was counted out after a fake Sting (Hollywood Hogan) hit Page with a baseball bat.
- The only way to win the match was to have your opponent not answer the referee's count of 10.
Roddy Piper defeated Hollywood Hogan in a Steel cage match (15:37)
- Piper beat Hogan by sleeper hold.
- Randy Savage interfered by climbing into the cage and he and Hogan beat down Piper following the match.
- After the match, a fan climbed into the cage and was beat up by Hogan and Savage as the show abruptly cut out.

1998

Halloween Havoc 1998

File:HH 98.JPG

VHS cover featuring Hollywood Hogan and The Warrior

Date

October 25, 1998

City

Las Vegas, Nevada

Venue

MGM Grand Garden Arena

Attendance

10,663

The Night When Good Battles Evil.

Pay-per-view chronology

← Previous
Fall Brawl 1998

Next →
World War 3 1998

Halloween Havoc 1998 took place on October 25, 1998 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada and featured a double main event.^[12]

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

Chris Jericho defeated Raven to retain the WCW World Television Championship (7:49)
- Jericho forced Raven to submit with the Liontamer.
Dark match: Wrath defeated Meng (4:23)
- Wrath pinned Meng after a Meltdown.
Disco Inferno defeated Juventud Guerrera (9:39)
- Inferno pinned Guerrera after a piledriver to become number one contender to the WCW Cruiserweight Championship.
Dark match: Alex Wright defeated Fit Finlay (5:09)
- Wright pinned Finlay after a Hangman's Neckbreaker.
Dark match: Perry Saturn defeated Lodi (3:50)
- Saturn pinned Lodi after a Death Valley Driver.
Billy Kidman defeated Disco Inferno to retain the WCW Cruiserweight Championship (10:49)
- Kidman pinned Inferno after a Shooting star press.
Rick Steiner and Buff Bagwell defeated The Giant and Scott Steiner to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship (8:24)
- Rick pinned The Giant after a Steiner Bulldog.
- Bagwell turned on Rick during the match, leaving him to win the title on his own.
- Scott Steiner was a substitute for Scott Hall, the other half of the tag team champions who was wrestling later that night.
Rick Steiner defeated Scott Steiner (5:10)
- Bagwell wearing a mask interfered with Stevie Ray's Slapjack
- Rick pinned Scott after a Steiner Bulldog
Scott Hall defeated Kevin Nash by countout (14:19)
- Nash was counted out after he hit two Jacknife Powerbombs on Hall and left the ring.
Bret Hart defeated Sting to retain the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (15:03)
- Hart beat Sting by TKO when he put an unconscious Sting in the Sharpshooter.
Hollywood Hogan defeated The Warrior (14:18)
- Hogan pinned Warrior after Horace Hogan came out and hit Warrior with a steel chair.
- In many areas the pay-per-view was cut off after this match, so for those areas this was the last match which aired on pay-per-view.
Goldberg defeated Diamond Dallas Page to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (10:29)
- Goldberg pinned Page after a Jackhammer.
- This match was also shown free the next night on Nitro, due to the pay-per-view feed cutting out in many areas.

Reaction

The 1998 card is infamous for featuring Hollywood Hogan vs. The Warrior in a widely pilloried rematch from WrestleMania VI, a 1990 pay-per-view event produced by rival promotion the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). There, Warrior had defeated Hogan for the WWF Championship (and retained his own WWF Intercontinental Championship). Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter named their 1998 return bout the worst match of the year, as did readers of professional wrestling magazine Power Slam,^[13] whose editor, Fin Martin, later wrote: "WCW hired Warrior at great expense in May 1998 specifically to massage the Hogan ego. Hogan pinned Warrior in one of the worst matches ever held."^[14]

Reflecting on the contest, then-WCW president Eric Bischoff conceded critical opinion that it was "one of the worst matches in history", and asserted that it "pretty much stunk up the joint." He however dismissed reports that he had hired Warrior solely to lose to Hogan in return for Hogan's WrestleMania VI loss, claiming that these are "not true" and that those responsible are "drinking their own Kool-Aid".^[15] Veteran announcer Gene Okerlund, who was employed by WCW at the time of the bout, described it as "horrible" and "a disaster".^[15]

Criticism was compounded by the fact that WCW decided to run the PPV to three and half hours, rather than the standard three, without warning the cable companies. Due to this, many PPV feeds ended while the main event, Goldberg vs. Diamond Dallas Page, was still underway; WCW was forced to air the match the following night for free on Nitro.^[16]

1999

Halloween Havoc 1999

File:HH 99.jpg

VHS cover featuring Sid Vicious, Sting and Goldberg

Date

October 24, 1999

City

Las Vegas, Nevada

Venue

MGM Grand Garden Arena

Attendance

8,464

The Stuff Nightmares Are Made Of... When Our Inner Animals Come Out To Play.

Pay-per-view chronology

← Previous
Fall Brawl 1999

Next →
Mayhem 1999

Halloween Havoc 1999 took place on October 24, 1999 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[17]

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

Disco Inferno defeated Lash LeRoux to retain the WCW Cruiserweight Championship (7:35)
- Inferno pinned LeRoux after a Last Dance.
Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) defeated The Filthy Animals (Billy Kidman and Konnan) and The First Family (Brian Knobs and Hugh Morrus) (with Jimmy Hart) in a Triple Threat Street Fight to win the vacant WCW World Tag Team Championship (5:02)
- Booker and Ray pinned Knobs after hitting him with a plastic mummy.
Eddy Guerrero defeated Perry Saturn by disqualification (11:12)
- Saturn was disqualified after Ric Flair came out and hit Guerrero with a crowbar.
Brad Armstrong defeated Berlyn (with The Wall) (4:23)
- Armstrong pinned Berlyn after a reverse neckbreaker.
Rick Steiner defeated Chris Benoit to win the WCW World Television Championship (12:50)
- Steiner pinned Benoit after Dean Malenko came out and hit Benoit with a steel chair.
The Total Package (with Elizabeth) defeated Bret Hart (7:46)
- Package forced Hart to submit with a Half Boston Crab.
Sting defeated Hulk Hogan to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (0:03)
- Hogan laid down for Sting, allowing Sting to pin him for the win.
Goldberg defeated Sid Vicious to win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (7:11)
- Referee Mickey Jay stopped the match and deemed Sid unable to continue due to excessive bleeding after Goldberg re-opened a gash on the champion's head that Sid had received earlier in the evening.
Diamond Dallas Page (with Kimberly Page) defeated Ric Flair in a Strap match (12:49)
- Page pinned Flair after a Diamond Cutter.
Goldberg defeated WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting in an impromptu unsanctioned match (3:08)
- Goldberg pinned Sting after a Jackhammer.
- Originally, Goldberg was awarded the title following the match.
- The following night on Nitro, Sting declared that he never agreed to defend the title and called James J. Dillon to the ring to explain.
- Dillon then announced the title was being vacated due to Sting's attack on referee Charles Robinson during the unsanctioned match and announced a tournament for the vacant title to conclude at the following month's Mayhem pay-per-view event.

2000

Halloween Havoc 2000

File:HH 00.jpg

Promotional poster featuring Sting

Date

October 29, 2000

City

Las Vegas, Nevada

Venue

MGM Grand Garden Arena

Attendance

7,582