We have a spooky time show to tackle today, but I barely have time to type this bad boy up with my crazy life right now. Just in the past five days, we sold our house and bought a new one. I started a brand-new job that includes a significant promotion and increased responsibility. Our daughter is preparing to start kindergarten and soccer. Life is a lot right now.
This project is a great distraction from the insanity. As long as I survive on a day-to-day basis, I will try to pump out reviews and recaps. It’s easy when it’s a notable show like this one.
PAY PER VIEW RETRO DIARY 117: WCW HALLOWEEN HAVOC 1996
Written on 6/5/22
HOW WE START: Hollywood Hulk Hogan’s betrayal, Eric Bischoff admitting the mistake of bringing him in and the nWo maintaining dominance. Elizabeth is being used in Hogan’s rivalry with Randy Savage and he’s outlined in spray painted like a dead body. A helicopter shot of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas transitions into one of the GOAT stages and pyro. Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Dusty Rhodes all in polos welcome us. The fight between Hogan and Savage (with nothing left) is discussed before we head to the ring to kick the show off hot.
MATCH NUMBER ONE: CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE MATCH- Dean Malenko vs Rey Mysterio Jr (Champ)
BEFORE THE BELL: Malenko enters with a mask in hand and a typically stern look on his face. The Slim Jim ring posts are epic. Rey comes out next and Heenan tells a weird hotel story to accentuate how serious Malenko is. Mike Tenay joins the team.
WHAT STANDS OUT
-Dean jumps Rey at the bell and hammers him early, trying the Cloverleaf early. It’s countered and Tenay discusses the legacy of the mask in Mexico. Counters and tons of speed brings the crowd to their feet already.
-Rey recaptures his stolen mask after a dive and puts it on while hiding his face the whole time. He’s the first MVP for that reason and the crispness of his spins and moves.
-Mysterio is grounded and sickly thrown from the top with a belly-to-back. The heel that doesn’t cheat is explained by the announcers.
-More submissions in between the hope nearfalls by Rey. All of the past events at the MGM (The Who, KISS, Tyson/Holyfield) get mentioned. I wonder what’s happening at Caesar’s Palace. It’s the real one, right? Yep, that’s a Hangover reference challenge.
-A couple of sleepers give me time to notice a guy doing Papa Shango cosplay in the front row and his friend with an airbrushed shirt of Shango. Nice!
-Interesting double down from top rope punches to the floor. A guardrail springboard is botched, so Dean just kicks him in the dick to reset. A beautifully seamless series of roll up reversals leads to a close two count on Malenko.
-The champ hits a corkscrew moonsault to the floor and an awesome hurricanrana for a great false finish. He’s caught with an incredible powerbomb off a West Coast Pop attempt for an equally believable ending. Mark Curtis is rightfully pointed out as a great ref.
-Another top rope move is attempted, but it’s blocked and leads to a moment of destruction.
HOW IT ENDED:
Dean Malenko wins the title in 18:32 with a top rope tilt-a-whirl powerbomb
FINAL WORD: Good luck topping that, rest of the show.
THE STUFF IN-BETWEEN: Look at Bill Apter taking pictures at ringside during the replay! Lee Marshall backstage mentions that Ric Flair is out of his match against The Giant due to injury. Fucking Jeff Jarrett is filling in and gets promo time. He keeps laughing quickly and messing a couple words up. In other words, he’s the first LVP. He literally does the little laugh six times before Flair joins to save the segment. He’s begrudgingly rooting for Macho Man later and talks about Vegas girls.
MATCH NUMBER TWO: BATTLE FOR THE RING- Diamond Dallas Page vs Eddie Guerrero (Champ)
BEFORE THE BELL: Page enters in Halloween colors. The dub causes a lack of commentators and ring announcement. Nick Patrick is the ref and wears a neck brace to continue his turn. Eddie enters with a lot of sparkling pryo and a mean look on his face. The Battlebowl ring is apparently lost at the moment?
WHAT STANDS OUT
-A tense brawl starts complete with a DDP back fist and a whip into the rail. Then, they work a headlock for awhile as all the commentators bicker because Bobby is making excuses for Nick Patrick.
-How many people in the front row have gimmicks? Eddie is on top with some chops and his brawling on the floor until he’s straddled on the top rope.
-Patrick is way too prevalent and distracting and an LVP with his constant faces and imbalanced refereeing when he does and doesn’t catch cheating. Eddie takes a scary nosedive on a catapult.
-Dallas hits a great tilt-a-whirl sidewalk slam. Guerrero seems to be having an off night. Patrick and Page push and argue before shaking it off. This match doesn’t need all of this.
-A slow and heatless fish out of the water spot gets hurt by Nick’s bad counts. DDP gets the crowd back with a sick clothesline.
-Nice dive from the top to the floor by Guerrero. That crazy moptop kid is front row and making his usual faces. You know the kid.
-A flapjack and sitout powerbomb can’t keep the face down. He seems legit hurt now, so they just go to the finish awkwardly.
HOW DOES IT END:
Diamond Dallas Page wins the ring in 13:41 with the Diamond Cutter
FINAL WORD: This was solid, but felt significantly off between Eddie’s injury and the referee focus
THE STUFF IN-BETWEEN: The Battlebowl ring is miraculously back and Patrick gives it to Page. Tenay interviews Macho Man in his sweet Halloween gear to give away a Slim Jim monster truck to a sweepstakes winner. Where the fuck is the winner going to put it?!?! Savage does the drum roll himself and literally snaps a giant Slim Jim to pull the entry out. Tenay forces a legalese reading before Joan from Michigan wins and Savage asks her out for a date. He is ON IT TONIGHT!
-Then, this show is the first audio simulcast online! Technology! Chris Jericho talks to a fan through a nerd on CompuServe. Tenay is doing heavy lifting with another interview, this time Dean Malenko. He cuts a calm, cool and collected promo that was very refreshing.
MATCH NUMBER THREE: The Giant vs Jeff Jarrett w/Ric Flair
BEFORE THE BELL: The nWo has a special interview section in the crowd. Ted DiBiase talks up the Giant with the US Title on his shoulder. Boy, Ted doesn’t fit the tone of the group at all. He cuts an LVP promo on Jarrett. Vincent is already next to him. The music finally plays and Giant makes his way to the ring through the crowd. Nick Patrick holds the belt up and gets yelled at by Schiavone. Jarrett’s fiddle music is so bad and he’s booed as the “face.” 2001 and Ric Flair’s entrance saves the segment again. He almost follows the Hooters girls instead and I wouldn’t have blamed him.
WHAT STANDS OUT
-After one punch, Jarrett struts like an idiot. He uses his speed and Flair struts and WOOs as well. Giant throws Jeff to the sky and it’s clear the fans prefer him.
-Dusty and Bobby are falling apart with one another. Chants of “nWo” ring out as Jarrett bores with a sleeper. A big boot wakes people up just as an “errant” headbutt low blow does. Flair randomly gets on the mic to yell at Jeff to get up and kick Giant’s ass.
-Giant catches Jarrett and hits some bad backbreakers. I was about to give him a compliment that this is the best he’s looked despite his inexperience. A bearhug doesn’t help.
-A slam attempt doesn’t work, but Jarrett keeps trying to knock him off his feet with shots until a top rope cross body works. Giant kicks off the Figure Four attempt and they fight on the floor. Giant hits the post and the Figure Four gets applied on the floor, but broken up with a chokeslam set up. Ric Flair hits a low blow to prevent that from happening.
HOW DOES IT END:
The Giant wins by DQ at 9:55
FINAL WORD: That was a match. That’s all I can say about it.
THE STUFF IN-BETWEEN: The Horsemen run down before Giant can respond, so he retreats. Arn Anderson must have loved Hog Wild because he’s rocking the show’s denim vest along with his gear.
MATCH NUMBER FOUR: Syxx vs Chris Jericho
Ted DiBiase and Vincent cut another promo in the crowd with Syxx. Let me reiterate DiBiase is woefully miscast. He is boring and puts over Chris Jericho before giving Syxx the mic to talk. You know, his strong suit. The presentation is correct, but the material and performers aren’t. As he walks to the ring, Bobby tries to give him his due, but Tony and Dusty call him a punk. It feels like he’s trying to be a tough guy. Jericho walks down to Basketball Highlights #2 and it’s amazing how not over he is no matter how many times he leans against the railing. Nick Patrick is STILL the ref.
WHAT STANDS OUT
-Good speed early and The Taskmaster, Konnan and Big Bubba are shown watching in the front row. As bad as Jericho’s character work has been, his in-ring work has been the opposite. LOUD chops and intensity by him before he’s dropkicked off the top rope over the post.
-Syxx also isn’t over. Jericho makes funny faces and noises while getting stomped on the head. It’s a shame that the in-ring action (mainly strikes) has been on point and the crowd is silent.
-Jericho hits the top rope springboard he fucked up on Fall Brawl. The list I started already feels redundant. I have to figure that gimmick out. Patrick is pointed out as being slow on counts and getting into position. He gets worse and worse and the fans boo because it’s obvious now.
-After the fourth questionable moment, Lionheart complains and loses.
HOW DOES IT END:
Syxx wins in 9:50 with a spin kick
FINAL WORD: Despite the character growing pains and split focus, that was good because Sean Waltman and Chris Jericho were in a wrestling ring together.
THE STUFF IN-BETWEEN: Jericho goes after Patrick after the bell, but he skedaddles with Syxx and helps him and his bloody mouth to the back. Mike Tenay interviews Lex Luger backstage and his hair is hilariously disheveled. He took the War Games blame, but it’s not enough. Is this a great Lex Luger promo? Almost! He stumbled on one word, but the material and tone are right. He is going to hurt and take out Arn Anderson tonight.
MATCH NUMBER FIVE: Arn Anderson vs Lex Luger
BEFORE THE BELL: The Enforcer enters as Heenan makes fun of Lex’s hair. He’s still rocking that damn vest. It’s like a satchel as an active choice (one more to go). Luger enters flexing and totally jacked. George Napolitano is visible at ringside and Sting’s looming presence is mentioned.
WHAT STANDS OUT
-Anderson goes after the midsection and hilariously mocks Lex’s posing. The Total Package is loudly selling as you’d expect. He flexes to power up and hits a press slam and smash into the post with the lower back. Sullivan is shown rooting for Lex.
-After a good stretch of face domination, Double A hits the spinebuster for a double down. The rail is being used so much tonight. Dusty hilariously tries to explain why he said “bula bula” and it’s about Buddy Holly?
-Mark Curtis’ fine work is pointed out again when he catches an abdominal stretch cheating spot. I’m giving him an honorary MVP.
-The DDT is blocked and the ref gets bumped. Arn gets a chair and misses against the post, breaking the chair and ends up getting catapulted slowly into the post. Curtis sells in the corner forever and Lex hits Arn in the back three times (very protected). Back in the ring, the finish is called for and applied.
HOW DOES IT END:
Lex Luger wins in 12:21 with the Torture Rack
FINAL WORD: Basic, but two pros figured out how to tell a good story.
THE STUFF IN-BETWEEN: The Dungeon cheers Lex on and Lex won’t let go of the hold. Tony is good talking about his purpose and revenge. Ric Flair and Jeff Jarrett (looking hysterical with his hair tied back and a black vest) come down to take care of Arn. This is either the end for him or it will be soon. A gurney is brought down and there’s a lot of time spent analyzing before Lee Marshall in the locker room discusses free agent Sting that leads to a hotline ad. He interviews Harlem Heat, Col. Parker and Sherri. After the managers talk, Booker cuts a good promo and looks cool having the belt over his shoulder without the strap.
MATCH NUMBER SIX: The Faces of Fear w/Jimmy Hart vs Chris Benoit and Steve McMichael w/Woman and Debra
BEFORE THE BELL: Meng and Barbarian walk out with sweet skulls on their gear. The Horsemen music just fits Benoit and McMichael and less so their ladies. Woman staring a hole through the camera next to Benoit is a sight to behold. The contents of Mongo’s Haliburton are discussed.
WHAT STANDS OUT
-OMG YES give me Mongo vs Meng! Whatever it is, I will take it! There are some collisions until Meng is knocked off his feet. Barb vs Benoit follows it up and the Wolverine is called “Mr. Intensity” and mentioned as not being scared of anything. I’ll add all of that to the list.
-Meng challenges Mongo to a sumo affair and owns him at it. It’s answered with football cadences and chop blocks. Go figure these two have weird chemistry. Mongo even throws a decent dropkick.
-Great backdrop into a powerbomb by the Faces of Fear on Benoit and it makes the crowd come alive. Barbarian is a surprising MVP candidate with a huge overhead top rope belly-to-belly suplex.
-A double top rope headbutt and Mongo’s save leads to a riveting breakdown of the old one save tag rule. Meng hits a top rope splash and Mongo breaks it up and unleashes a vicious UNPROTECTED shot to the head with the briefcase. From there, we wrap this one up.
HOW DOES IT END:
The Horsemen win in 9:25 when Chris Benoit pins Meng with a top rope headbutt
FINAL WORD: What a shocking little gem of a tag match.
THE STUFF IN-BETWEEN: The Dungeon from the crowd enter. Konnan grabs Woman, Meng piledrives Mongo and Benoit fights everyone off. He’s eventually outnumbered. Mongo gets an UNPROTECTED case shot from Taskmaster and everyone takes turns on Benoit. There’s nice continuity with the other Horsemen being gone attending to Arn and unable to help. Sullivan undresses and talks trash to Woman before beating Chris up some more and leaving.
MATCH NUMBER SEVEN: TAG TITLE MATCH- The Outsiders vs Harlem Heat w/Col. Parker and Sister Sherri (Champs)
BEFORE THE BELL: DiBiase in the crowd once more says it’s 2-0 for the nWo. He has to be the lead LVP just because he’s not cool. He introduces the Outsiders and they get bombarded in the audience (and rightfully so). Security and their ushering after matches are pointed out. Whoever made the Harlem Heat theme hopefully got the money they deserve. Sherri and Parker’s constant issues get pointed out as a liability. Loud nWo chants cause Hall and Nash to play to them. This has a big fight feel. “Diesel” and “Razor” chants when they taunt with the belts.
WHAT STANDS OUT
-Booker T and Scott Hall start. The toothpick to the face and the finger willies to the face. A disruption in the crowd causes a distraction, so time is wasted until they settle. Hall’s punches and charisma are second to none and make him an MVP threat.
-After a hip toss over the top rope, Stevie hits a clothesline and Sherri taunts. Back in the ring, Hall spits at Stevie and tags Nash in. It’s a great moment and Nash comes in to dissect with elbows. He gets them back and Ray spits at Hall for a big face reaction. The crowd is very into this.
-Stevie is so rigid, yet explosive. Nash and Hall make their offense count. I almost want to give them both MVP because they’ve been impeccable so far. Hall’s fallaway catch makes me think otherwise as does taking a sick slap from Sherri. I feel less inclined when he forces a kiss on her. Schiavone: “she asked for it!” Ouch. It does get another loud “Razor” chant.
-Wonderful speed on a double down collision. Stevie tags in and takes both Outsiders on. He press slams Hall onto Nash. The Hangover lands from the top, but the ref is out of position. Parker tries to get his cane to the boys, but Nash intercepts and the cowardly heel gives it up and bails. Nash doesn’t waste an opportunity.
HOW DOES IT END:
The Outsiders win the titles in 13:07 when Scott Hall pins Stevie Ray after a cane shot from Kevin Nash
FINAL WORD: That was an all-time underrated tag match because of the atmosphere. I loved every second of that.
THE STUFF IN-BETWEEN: Hall is totally out of it (selling like the wonderful heel that he is) as Nash helps him up and the former champs complain. The new champs pose in an iconic shot. The replay shows Nash got Ray UNPROTECTED with that cane in the head. A World War 3 commercial has some bad conspiracy theory guy talking about “what could happen, man!”
MATCH NUMBER EIGHT: WCW TITLE MATCH- Randy Savage vs Hollywood Hulk Hogan w/Ted DiBiase (Champ)
BEFORE THE BELL: Hogan is in the crowd with DiBiase and Giant and he’s got the most ridiculous wig of all time. He talks about Santa with Muscles and the new 3 Ninjas movie. Yeah, those will make you cool. His shrieking “Hollywood” like “2 Sweet” is lame as fuck. The Outsiders have apparently been escorted out of the building and Hogan walks to the ring with Giant and Vincent. Michael Buffer handles the intros and Randy Anderson is the ref for the first time tonight. As soon as Hogan gets in the ring, Macho’s music starts even though Buffer hasn’t finished his introduction. They fade out Savage’s music and they start again with gusto and pyro when the time is right. He’s called one of the classiest stars in the world? He waves in a monster truck in his visage. What a better pairing: monster trucks and Halloween Havoc! They are part of the real Wolfpack (and our challenge is over). As the ref tells the New World Order to leave, Savage gets the mic and says he’s going to kick Hogan’s ass.
WHAT STANDS OUT
-Still rocking his sunglasses, Hulk immediately bails and jaws with the crowd and avoid contact. They finally touch after two minutes. They do one spot and go back to avoiding anything resembling a match.
-Hulk has to be an LVP with his bad strikes, look and everything thus far. A chop and a clothesline are a little better. That said, it takes seven minutes for the glasses to fall off. That should say something about the effort. DiBiase watching emotionless at ringside makes him take the LVP back.
-The hair comes off and Macho puts it on his head. This blood feud has time for toupee antics. Savage stuffs the hair in Hulk’s mouth when he tries to escape.
-Hulk takes an UNPROTECTED chair to the head, but no DQ is called. What about the rules? The ref grabs it on a second attempt and Hogan hits his own all over the body behind the ref’s back.
-Elizabeth enters in a very loud outfit while Hulk beats Macho up outside and kisses his head. We get a shot of Hulk thong (yuck) on a roll up and they rerun the spot for the other side of the crowd. WHY?!?!
-Hollywood hides behind Liz during a chase and he sandbags a bodyslam. He hides again, then hits a big boot. Liz checks on Randy. This poor woman was always used by these two. She’s taunted and Hulk misses the leg drop.
-The ref is bumped after Liz blocks an object pass. Nick Patrick runs down to boos and sighs. Ted tries to stop the flying elbow, but messes up the timing and it lands anyway. Patrick counts and feigns neck pain before three. Dusty and Bobby lose their minds and the crowd is disgusted. He blocks an object shot and hits Hogan.
-DiBiase blocks the second elbow (correctly this time) and Giant enters to dish out a chokeslam on the floor. A library isn’t this overbooked. Patrick is okay to count now.
HOW DOES IT END:
Hollywood Hulk Hogan retains at 18:38 after a chokeslam from the Giant
FINAL WORD: People may have understated that whole WCW main event stigma somehow.
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE: Giant carries a big bowl of ice to the ring and pours it on Hulk to wake him up. This is overblown to the hilt. Savage is helped out by Mark Curtis and trainers. “Any question who the real king of Hollywood is” yells Hogan on mic. This stuff at the end of the show always saves him (except when he calls the fans “nWo-ites.”) Bagpipes play and people stir. Dusty sells the moment well. Roddy Piper appears with some goon in suspenders behind him. Hulk sells shock and terror and hides behind Giant.
-Piper tells Giant to not even think about it right away and the two archrivals share a hilarious “hi”. Slim Jims get thrown into the ring. Hogan tries to give Piper credit, but Piper is here to stake claim to being as big an icon as Hogan. He claims to be “shooting” as a multimillionaire that’s been stabbed three times. He has total command of the room despite talking crazy. Hulk tries to get him to cut to the chase because they are going long. “Remember WrestleMania,” Roddy asks. He keeps telling Hulk to shut up and he’s not finished. He’s the only guy he’s never beat and his voice cracks when he wants Hulk to admit that the people made him and not the other way around. Hogan acquiesces and they shake hands. Piper tells him to straighten up and Hogan makes a squatting joke when Piper’s about to leave. This is fascinating in both good and bad ways. “Your day is coming.” “Maybe we should have the war that didn’t settle the score.” Schiavone says he have to go. Piper takes his belt and they keep going as the lower third appears and the show ends with credits. Craziness.
THE LAST IMAGE: Roddy Piper, Hollywood Hulk Hogan and The Giant
THE WRAP UP
FINAL MVP of PPV: He may have never gotten one as Razor Ramon, but Scott Hall finally takes this one home. He feels like a totally different guy and held together a classic match while being the coolest guy in the room.
FINAL LVP of PPV: The antithesis of Scott Hall to the nWo, Ted DiBiase is just collecting checks and sloppily out of place despite his high profile.
MY FAVORITE MATCH: Dean Malenko vs Rey Mysterio Jr
MY LEAST FAVORITE MATCH: Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage
FINAL THOUGHTS: That was the best Halloween Havoc of all time, bar none. The undercard showed up and made up for the superstar insanity in the main event. This is the number one company in the world hitting the ball and driving in runs. It flew by and set up so much in the future (even the bad stuff). MULLET RECOMMENDS
NEXT TIME: The most famous arena in the world gets a double main event for the ages at Survivor Series 1996. I hope I survive to that point.