Halloween Havoc was considered one of WCW’s most important events of the year. That fact makes it all the more difficult to understand why the company felt the need to put on some of the most ridiculous matches of the year on these shows. It was all in the spirit of the season and often led to some unexpected madness in the squared circle.
Not only that: but as this list will show, WCW also frequently went to their franchise player to pull these things off. A feat that even a soon-to-be-retired icon couldn’t pull off. Here then are eight of the most ridiculous matches ever held at a Halloween Havoc PPV.
8 Chamber of Horrors (1991)
No list of Halloween Havoc flops is ever complete without this mess. Eight of the biggest stars in WCW were put in a cage match where the goal was to strap one member of the opposing team into the electric chair and flip the switch. Of course, the match needed more gimmicks, so there were caskets, ghouls, and other nonsense involved.
The cherry on top of the sundae is that this match was the opener because Game Seven of the World Series which saw the Atlanta Braves – also a Turner entity – lose to the Minnesota Twins started at 7:40 pm and WCW wanted to get their top stars on the air unopposed.
7 Rick Rude vs. Masahiro Chono (1992)
The whole Rick Rude situation going into Halloween Havoc 1992 was bizarre. Rude was the US Champion at the time and would challenge Chono for the NWA World Title. To avoid wrestling two matches, Rude agreed to let Vader defend the US Title against Nikita Koloff (which he did successfully).
Later, Rude and Chono would face off in a match where both men chose their own referee. Rude’s choice fell on Vader’s manager Harley Race, while Chono chose Kensuke Sasaki. With a flip of the coin, Race was chosen as the ref, and the bout ended in a DQ after he disqualified Chono.
6 Sting vs. Jake Roberts (1992)
Jake Roberts had left the WWE in 1992 for a number of reasons: lack of post-career employment opportunities, pay disputes, and spiraling addiction issues. WCW snatched the star up and immediately put him in a program with Sting. The culmination would come at Halloween Havoc 1992 in the first ever ‘Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal’ match.
WCW even produced its first mini-movie for it! The air was quickly sucked out of the arena – in Philadelphia – when the wheel landed on Coal Miner’s Glove. The match itself was terrible and had a ridiculous finish with Jake clearly pressing the snake against his face rather than the snake biting him.
5 Monster Truck Sumo Match (1995)
Because the WWE’s sumo matches between Earthquake and Yokozuna were such renowned classics, WCW needed to find a way to push the envelope. And what better way to do that than with monster trucks on top of an arena? Hulk Hogan and The Giant – in kayfabe – pushed each other’s trucks around for a few minutes until Hogan’s truck pushed Giant’s truck out of the circle.
They engaged in a brawl afterward and Hogan threw the Giant off the building, only for the Giant to reappear minutes later as if nothing happened for their scheduled match.
4 Jacqueline vs. Disco Inferno (1997)
While intergender wrestling has become somewhat normal, WCW had the extra hurdle of corporate policy to overcome in 1997. Disco Inferno faced Jacqueline at Halloween Havoc 1997, but the problem was that he could not engage with her physically according to Turner’s Standards & Practices.
The match consisted mostly of stalling and Jacqueline beating up Disco – then the World TV Champion – without Disco mounting much offense. Whatever your feelings on intergender wrestling are, all fans probably can agree that if you can’t have a proper match, don’t book intergender matches.
3 Hulk Hogan vs. Sting (1999)
In 1999, Sting was set to defend his World Heavyweight Title against Hulk Hogan in a rematch from Fall Brawl. However, Hogan showed up in street clothes and simply lay down on the mat as Sting covered him for the win.
Apparently, there were plans from Vince Russo to bring Hogan back at a later date, but the angle led nowhere after Russo was fired in January 2000. Hogan returned to TV weeks later, as if nothing had happened.
2 Jeff Jarrett vs. Sting (2000)
Poor Sting. Halloween Havoc really wasn’t his event. In 2000, Jeff Jarrett decided to play mind games with Sting. Not only did he dress up as Sting’s colorful self, but he brought in all different versions of Sting during their match at the PPV.
This led to the match being an absolute mess. Jeff would eventually beat the icon who would disappear from the company and only return for the final Monday Nitro.
1 Buff Bagwell vs. David Flair, DNA Match (2000)
The storyline that brought this match on was truly something else. Stacy Keibler – Miss Hancock in WCW – was David Flair’s partner. When she got pregnant, it turned into a ‘Who is the father?’ story that eventually put the spotlight on Buff Bagwell. David challenged Buff to a First Blood DNA match to get the sample from Buff in order to test whether he was the father.
It was all very Russo-esque and absolutely dreadful – much like this match. In the end, Buff won but got busted open after the match, so David got his sample anyway.