When wrestling fans look at the month of October, there is usually very little going on. Whatever pay-per-view being offered by WWE is interchangeable with filler throughout the year and is never considered one of the big five.
Over in All Elite Wrestling, they don’t have a pay-per-view in October and all efforts are put building towards their next pay-per-view Full Gear which happens in November.
Impact Wrestling has its biggest special of the year in October titled Bound For Glory. But even Bound For Glory events have less prestige than they have in the past.
There was a time when October gave us something to look forward to. In 1989 World Championship Wrestling had their first PPV in October and they called it Halloween Havoc!
At this point in time, WCW was only offering five pay-per-views a year. Beyond 1989, The Great American Bash, Starrcade, and Halloween Havoc would be the only shows to stick around on an annual basis.
For a pay-per-view that happened annually from 1989 to 2000, a total of 121 matches took place. I am going to give your my top 10 favorite matches that happened along with the results of the and a brief description of the story that led to that match. This is the
10 Best Halloween Havoc Matches
Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair (1994)
This was all about jealousy from Hulk Hogan joining WCW in 1994. When Hogan was signed, WCW had received more publicity than at any time previously. Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan had two matches earlier in the year. Hogan won the first by pinfall.
The second match was won by Ric Flair but he had won by count-out. So Hogan would remain the World Heavyweight champion. While this was the third bout between the two, they would still meet again in future matches.
This was a cage match featuring Mr. T as the guest referee and both competitors put their careers on the line. Hogan’s World Championship was also up for grabs of course.
Hulk Hogan would win by pinfall after hitting Ric Flair with the big boot.
Ric Flair & Sting vs Terry Funk & The Great Muta (1989)
In May of 1989, Terry Funk attacked Ric Flair after Flair won his sixth World title.
After the attack, Flair portrayed a terrible neck injury and started discussing a possible retirement. Terry Funk would take verbal shots at Ric Flair and hired a Flair imposter that had a yellow streak down his back.
At The Great American Bash, Ric Flair and Terry Funk had their first match. Terry Funk was unable to defeat Flair for the title and after The Great Muta got involved, Sting came out to save Flair from being permanently injured.
Ric Flair and Terry Funk would meet many more times after the incident but these events were not televised. Ric Flair would win most of these matches.
At Halloween Havoc Ric Flair & Sting would clash with Terry Funk and The Great Muta in a Thunderdome cage match.
This was a tag team cage match but it was not a standard cage. This cage was taller than any other used in professional wrestling and the top was electrified! To make things more interesting, there were weapons in the cage that could be used.
A highlight of the match is when Sting jumps off the top of the cage onto The Great Muta who was on the ground below. Ultimately Ric Flair and Sting would be victorious in the Thunderdome that night.
Steve Austin vs Dustin Rhodes (1991)
Steve Austin and Dustin Rhodes have met in the ring plenty of times but this match is one you might want to watch. While it was for the WCW Television Championship, it sadly ended in a time limit draw.
Seven or eight minutes into the match, Dustin would miss a crossbody and bounce off the floor outside of the ring. The crowd would then boo Austin as he beat up Rhodes outside the ring.
Rhodes would turn the match around and draw blood on Steve Austin by sending him into the ring post. Dustin would try to finish Austin with a pin but the time limit would expire first with Dustin coming close to getting the pin at the end of the match.
Tommy Rich and Ricky Morton vs Midnight Express (1990)
The best part of this match was when Bobby Eaton faced off against Ricky Morton. This was one of the last appearances of the Midnight Express before the new Midnight Express was created in WWE in the late ’90s.
There was no real build-up to the match between these four guys going into the event but it’s still regarded as one of the best on the card, and one of the best in tag-team matches in Halloween Havoc history.
Goldberg vs Diamond Dallas Page (1998)
This match between two babyfaces happened because Diamond Dallas Page was the #1 contender for Goldberg’s championship. People watching this Halloween Havoc live remember that the Pay-Per-View went off the air just after this match began.
Diamond Dallas Page looked like a huge underdog taking on Bill Goldberg who was still in the middle of an undefeated streak. In the match, Diamond Dallas Page had fans believing he would win for a moment after hitting the Diamond Cutter. Goldberg would kick out at two and retain the title.
Looking back at it now, it feels like DDP should have been the opponent to end Goldberg’s undefeated streak. Would it be better than Kevin Nash defeating Goldberg with the help of Scott Hall and a taser at Starrcade two months later? That’s up to personal opinion.
The Nasty Boys vs The Steiner Brothers (1990)
When the Nasty Boys first came to WCW in 1990, their first rivals were Rick and Scott: The Steiner Brothers. This rivalry was over the United States Tag Team Titles. If you like wrestling matches that feel like smash-mouth, then this is a match you’ll enjoy.
The four men went in the ring and had a very physical match. Some people say this may have been the best match of the Nasty Boys career. It looked like Knobss could have broken his neck from Scott’s Frankenstein at the end of the match.
Brian Pillman vs Lex Luger (1989)
There was no storyline to this match. Pillman came into WCW after working for Stampede Wrestling and Lex Luger was one of the biggest heels at the time. They would meet here for the NWA United States Championship.
Despite Brian Pillman just arriving in WCW, he did get a lot of offense against Luger. However, as the match would go on Brian would return to the underdog role fighting against an unstoppable champion.
Lex Luger would retain the belt after dropping Brian on the top rope throat first. While he was not victorious in this match, it did have WCW take notice of the fantastic star they had in Brian Pillman.
Randy Savage vs Diamond Dallas Page (1997)
This was the third match between the two on Pay-Per-View. Diamond Dallas Page won their first match at Spring Stampede and Randy Savage a victory at The Great American Bash.
Randy wanted to help Diamond Dallas Page become a main eventer in the eyes of WCW management.
If you like watching brawls then you will enjoy this rematch between the Macho Man and DDP. It would end with interference from Hulk Hogan disguised as Sting would hit DDP with a bat to help Randy Savage get the victory, ending the feud.
Vader vs Cactus Jack (1993)
WWF wasn’t the only company in the early ’90s that featured gimmicks that could be viewed as crazy. Vader wasn’t your average heel. He was a true strong man that handle himself in a real fight with anyone.
Cactus Jack on the other hand was someone who didn’t seem to feel pain. These two men wrestled in a Texas Death match for 16 minutes. Neither one of them held back and it looked more like a fight than a wrestling match.
While Vader would lose the title a couple of months later, Foley made Vader look like someone who could not be defeated. Both men left this match looking much more threatening and credible than they had been going into it.
Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Jr. (1997)
It didn’t matter if you went to a WCW show wanting to see the nWo. What brought most people back was the work of the cruiserweights. Rey Mysterio himself references this match as the one that describes his entire career.
Rey’s match with Eddie Guerrero was a Title vs Mask match. If Rey Mysterio won, he was the new Cruiserweight Champion. If Rey Mysterio lost, he would have to unmask while the audience in person and the people at home watching.
When people talk about the greatest cruiserweight matches in WCW, this match always comes up. Rey was the winner in the end. He has since stated that if this match didn’t happen, some of the other big matches in his career might not have taken place. That’s why this match is ranked #1.
Choosing 10 of the best Halloween Havoc matches from a list of more than 100 was not easy. If you have another that you think should be here, we’d love to hear it. If you are into classic wrestling, all of the above are worth watching for a fun trip down memory lane.