WCW Halloween Havoc 1998
by Scrooge McSuck
- This is the trimmed down Turner Video version, thankfully. I don't know why, but the live show went way too long, past the three hour timeslot they were permitted, and I'm sure some people had difficulties with the broadcast as a result. Maybe God was telling them even he had seen enough and just wanted to turn the crap off.
- Broadcasted live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV, on October 25th, 1998. I never understood going to such a location on what seemed like a yearly basis. Once, fine, but FIVE years consecutively? That's just a little too much, I think. Oh, Halloween Havoc is sponsered by Snickers, if you couldn't tell with the giant Snickers logo all over the place.Tony Schiavone, Mike Tenay, and Bobby Heenan (well past the point of giving a shit) are calling all the bullshit, I mean action.
- Nitro girls perform. Yay.
- Rick Steiner comes out to talk, then Buff Bagwell comes out, swearing he will be on Rick Steiner's side against Scott Steiner and the Giant, despite being Scott's lackey for a good year or so at this point. Rick Steiner can't be that stupid... oh wait, he argued with a fucking DOLL and got beat in a verbal debate.
WCW Television Championship Match:
Chris Jericho © vs Raven:
Interesting match to (finally) open the show with. I don't know a lot about WCW, but I remember Jericho being a complete jackass towards Goldberg at the previous PPV, so I doubt there was much storyline here. Raven's theme sounds like a rip-off of a familiar song, but I don't know my grunge music very well, so I'm sorry for not knowing it off the top of my head. Jericho has a "WCW Monday Jericho" shirt on... I think "Raw is Jericho" rolls off the tongue a bit better. Before the match starts, Raven wines about whatever, then "shoots" about this being an unscheduled match until the day of the show, and no one told him about it before hand. Jericho: I don't want to be here, either. Jesus, this one segment of the PPV is probably the best part of the show. Raven bum-rushes, but Jericho stomps away on him. Jericho strips Raven of his jacket and beats him with that, too. Irish whip, and Jericho with a clothesline, and a cocky cover for a two count. Raven comes back with a boot to the chest, and a clothesline takes both men over the top rope, to the floor. Raven sets up the steel steps, and drops Jericho's midsection across it. Raven runs up the steps, and connects with a missile dropkick. Back in the ring, and Jericho drops Raven throat-first across the top rope, then dropkicks Raven off the apron, into the security rail. Jericho follows out, but misses a dive, and eats some rail, himself. Jericho reverses an Irish whip, sending Raven into the rail, once again. Back in the ring, and Raven chokes Jericho with his flannel shirt. Irish whip, and Raven slaps on a sleeper hold. Jericho counters, and takes Raven down with a back suplex, then hits Raven with a senton. Jericho undoes one of the turnbuckle pads, but Raven blocks, powerbombs Jericho, and sling shots him into the steel knot. Raven with a clothesline off the ropes, and covers for a two count. Jericho fights back, but misses a spinning heel kick, and Raven takes him down with a belly-to-belly suplex for another two count. They counter back suplexes, and Jericho takes Raven off his feet and slaps on the Liontamer, but Raven makes it to the bottom rope to force a break. Raven counters an Irish whip, and connects with a DDT for a two count. Jericho surprises Raven with a school boy, and that gets a two count. Jericho with a low blow, and a bridging German suplex for another two count. Kanyon makes his way to ringside, but he's useless, and Jericho with the Liontamer once more, and it's enough for the submission at 7:49... that's all? Really good match, despite being a little short on time. You know, maybe this PPV won't be so bad, after all!
- "Hollywood" Hogan and Eric Bischoff come out to talk... what's with all the random Nitro shirts? This time, Hogan has a "nWo Monday Nitro" shirt. What's with all the fucking talking on a PPV? We're 30-minutes into the EDITED version, and the second match has yet to start, and the opener got less than 10.
Disco Inferno vs. Juventud Guerrera:
Oh NO, not Disco Inferno! I have to admit, the theme music is a bit catchy in a horrible kind of way, and there's a mild bit of cheese to the character that makes him entertaining for a few minutes, but that's it. I can't remember once saying "that was a damn good DISCO INFERNO match." Juvy is unmasked at this point, so all his coolness is gone. Winner here gets a shot at the Cruiserweight Title... later on the PPV. WHY? Inferno quickly takes Juventud to the corner and puts the boots to him, then takes him down with a side suplex for a two count. Juventud comes back with a series of chops, then mocks Disco's dancing. Irish whip, and Juventud with a spinning head scissors, followed by a clothesline. They blow a spot (surprised?), then REPEAT THE SPOT!!! Juventud with his version of the Rocker Dropper, but poses rather than going for a cover. Juventud charges to the corner, but Disco catches him coming with an elbow. Disco hits the ropes, but gets flung over the top rope, and Juventud follows him out for another head scissors. Back in the ring, Disco connects with an atomic drop, followed by a clothesline, complete with over-sell. Who does Juvy think he is, the Mexican Marty Jannetty? First the Rocker Dropper, then the inside-out sell of a clothesline... Feh. Disco with the Bret Hart elbow drop, but that only gets a two count. Juventud escapes a chinlock, and rolls Disco up for a two count. Disco back drops Juventud over the top rope, but Juventud hangs him up across the top rope, then follows him out of the ring with a plancha. Back in the ring, and a series of counters leads to a Juventud hurricanrana. Disco counters the Juvy Driver, drops him across the top rope, and lays Juvy out with a swinging neck breaker. For whatever reason, Disco tries doing the Macarena, but Juventud rolls him up for a two count. Disco goes all 1894 on Juventud, doing the giant swing, then staggering around "dizzy" and landing on Juventud's crotch. Juventud quite clearly says "oh, my dick" with the camera right in his face. Thanks Juvy, I wouldn't have known that if you didn't tell me. Disco with a suplex, then heads to the top rope, and predictably gets crotched for taking too long. Juventud with ANOTHER hurricanrana, followed by a spinning heel kick for a two count. Juventud with a bulldog for another two count. Disco counters whatever, and a jumping piledriver KILLS Juventud for the three count at 9:41. Decent enough match, nothing outstanding, nothing bad, except for the repeating of a blown spot.- Nitro girls dance... AGAIN.
- Scott Steiner comes out to talk, too. Then the Giant comes out. Then Nick Bockwinkel. For shits sake, why is a PPV having all this talking? People have already paid to watch this shit, you don't need to hype up the show AS IT TAKES PLACE.
- Nitro girls dance AGAIN!!!!!! Predictably, at least one of them blows a spot in the routine.
WCW Cruiserweight Championship Match:
Billy Kidman © vs. Disco Inferno:
Why am I doomed to watch ANOTHER Disco Inferno match?! The first one was okay... wait, why is this match taking place on the same show as the contender's match!?! Shouldn't this be on Nitro, or something? And was the Cruiserweight Division so weak DISCO FUCKING INFERNO got two matches on PPV? Kidman's theme song sounds like one of the lame, generic themes for characters in an SNES wrestling game. Lockup, and Kidman with a side headlock. Inferno with a hip toss, but he misses an elbow, and Kidman retaliates with a dropkick. Kidman with another headlock, and Inferno escapes with a slam. Kidman with a drop toe hold, and slaps on an armbar. Disco with a wristlock and handful of hair, not once, not twice, but thrice! Kidman returns the favor, slamming Disco down by the hair. Kidman with a head scissors and some mudhole stomping. Criss-cross sequence, and Disco drop toe holds Kidman into the bottom rope. Disco with a boot to the chest, followed by a swinging neck breaker for a two count. Whip to the corner, complete with over-sell bump. Kidman attempts a comeback, but goes flying over the top rope. Disco follows out, and gets planted with a bulldog headlock for his troubles. Kidman to the top rope, and he misses a splash. Disco with the time-tested Cruiserweight hold, a chinlock. Kidman fights free and takes Disco's head off with a clothesline. Irish whip, and Disco presses Kidman into the air, allowing him to crash down on his chest. Disco with some stompin' and a back suplex for a two count. Disco spends a lot of time talking trash, and that always leads to trouble. Disco with a slam, and he heads to the second turnbuckle... he misses the elbow, of course. Kidman with the Sky-High, but it only gets a two count. Whip to the corner, and Kidman takes Disco over with a powerslam for another two count. Irish whip, and Kidman misses a dropkick. Disco connects with the piledriver, but he's just SO tired to make a cover, and by the time he does, Kidman is up at two. Disco goes for a suplex, but Kidman counters and hits a bulldog out of the corner. Disco NO-SELLS and connects with a front suplex for a two count. Disco goes for the piledriver again, but Kidman counters with a face buster. Kidman to the top rope, and the Shooting Star Press finishes things at 10:49. Well, that was much better than I was expecting. Wow, this show is really doing pretty well, despite all the talking in between matches. I guess I've spoken too soon about this show being total garbitch.
WCW Tag Team Championship Match:
Scott Steiner & The Giant © vs. Rick Steiner & Buff Bagwell:
I don't know, but I credit WCW for the start of "uppercard singles wrestlers" constantly holding the Tag Team Titles, starting with Nash and Hall, then gradually to even more random teams, like THIS. It's just way too sad to think of the Scott Steiner from the late 80's through mid 90's, and then the Scott Steiner from 1997 through the present day. It's seriously like two different guys. It's hard to remember Bagwell as anything but "Buff." The Steiners did a break up earlier in the year, with Scott joing the nWo and Rick just doinf whatever. It's a feud, much like any other in WCW, that really went nowhere for a long time, and never had a true blowoff. Just TYPING "Rick Steiner riding Buff Bagwell" makes me feel dirty... and WHY is the Giant smoking?!? Rick starts with the Giant, and gets treated like a bitch. Giant offers to tag out, but Scott tells Giant to continue. Giant with a back suplex, and NOW Scott tags in, putting a pounding on his brother. Scott tosses Rick outside, where the Giant greets him with more punishment. Back in the ring, and Scott with some choking. Rick comes back with an inverted atomic drop and clothesline, then pounds away in the corner. Rick with a clothesline, followed by an elbow drop. Buff tags in... and turns on Rick to the surprise of only stupid people. Seriously, is Rick Steiner challenging Sting for "Biggest idiot in WCW"? Scott with a low blow RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE REFEREE, in between stall tactics. Scott with a scoop slam, followed by choking. Giant tags in and uses Rick as a trampoline. Giant with a Russian leg sweep, then he dicks around with Rick, pulling him up during a pin attempt. Rick mounts a comeback, "hammering" away on Rick before a low blow puts him down. I think Schiavone said this was No DQ... would've been nice to know that BEFORE the match started. Giant goes to the top rope (!), and nails Scott by mistake with a MISSILE DROPKICK. Ho-ly. Shit. Rick with a pair of Steinerlines to the Giant, followed by a top rope bulldog, and that gets the three count and Tag Titles at 8:26... how is that going to work, and what the hell is going on? Rick is going to wrestle Scott, now, in a singles match!?
Well, Rick pounds away on Scott and rams him into the ring steps. Back in the ring, and Rick connects with a steinerline. Whip to the corner is reversed, but Scott charges right into a boot. Rick slams Scott into the top turnbuckle, and covers for a one count. Scott goes low, AGAIN, and takes Rick over with a belly-to-belly suplex. Irish whip, and Scott gives Rick a pretty stiff looking clothesline, then pounds on him with what look like equally stiff punches. Irish whip, and Rick catches Scott in a leap frog attempt with a powerslam. Rick with his own belly-to-belly suplex, but Bill Clinton makes his way to ringside, and he's got Stevie Ray with him. Clinton uses Stevie's slap jack on Rick, and unmasks as Buff Bagwell (surprise), drawing a DQ in a No DQ Match at around 3:30, give or take. Buff does a mock count, and Rick STILL won't do the job for his brother. Scott sets Rick up on the top turnbuckle, and actually manages a Frankensteiner, but again, Rick kicks out of the meaningless "pin" attempt. Rick wipes out Scott with a clothesline, then drops Buff throat-first across the top rope. Rick to the top rope, and he hits the bulldog on Scott, and Nick Patrick runs in for the three count!?! But the bell just rang a minute ago!!! Oh my GOD, what a load of nonsense. The match(es) sucked, the "swerve" was non-existant if you're IQ is higher than 34, and what was that crap after the tag team portion of the match? It's your typical WCW crap, I guess. Okay, that's just a speed bump in the road. I'm sure the rest of the show will kick ass.
Kevin Nash vs. Scott Hall:
... Are they seriously using Scott Hall's alcohol problems as fuel for a storyline? This is even worse than Hawk (which was around the same time), except this is a high profile program! Hall even comes to the ring with what I'm assuming is an alcoholic beverage... yikes. First we've got the Giant smoking during a match, and now Hall is drinking. In 1994, this might've been a good match... in 1998 WCW, not so much. Hall goes all sissy, tossing his drink in Nash's face, and stomps him out of the ring. Hall grabs the microphone, bashes Nash with it, then chokes him out with a cable at ringside. After a second-rate pounding, Hall gets on the house mic' and talks some trash. Nash gets back in the ring, and lays himself out like he's being shot for each of Hall's punches. Hall with a scoop slam, and he goes for an early Outsider Edge, but Nash shoves it off. Hall with rights, and Nash keeps asking for more... okay? Whip to the corner, and Hall charges in with a clothesline. Nash counters a whip to the corner, and takes Hall down with a side slam. Slugest, won by Hall, as Schiavone so desperately tries to get over how serious of an issue this is. Whatever. Nash goes for a powerbomb, but Hall escapes and rolls out of the ring. They lockup, as if the match is starting fresh, and Nash throws Hall down. Hall decides to take control regardless, and bitch slaps Nash a few times. Nash retaliates with a short-arm clothesline, and some kicks to the face. You know, if the whole point is that Nash doesn't really want to fight Hall, his body language isn't really buying me into it. HALL should be the more aggressive one, with Nash only selling and playing defense. Nash sits across the back of Hall, resting across the middle rope, and Hall acts like it killed him... To the corner, and Nash with a series of knees to the midsection. Nash continues playing the face, taunting Hall with alcohol references. Remember kids, if your friends have an alcohol problem and insist they don't want your help, give up helping them and make fun of them for it. Nash maintains control, seemingly laughing in Hall's face the whole time. Irish whip, and Nash lays Hall out with a big boot. The straps come down, because it is some serious business. Jacknife Powerbomb time (times two), and Nash... takes a walk, giving Hall the Count-Out victory at 14:19. What the hell was the point of that?! Stupid storyline, terrible booking, and an atrocious match. There was not one good quality to this, except for the WCW sheep being hot for it, but that could be audio sweetening from the home video department.- Guess what time it is... it's Vader Time! Just kidding, more Nito Girls dancing, this time with colorful wigs. The choreography for these things is very not in sync, most of the time.
WCW United States Championship Match:
Bret "Hitman" Hart © vs. Sting:
It's the Sharpshooter vs. the Scorpion Deathlock! For the longest time, as a youngster, this was a Dream Match for me. This is during the Wolfpack Era of Sting, so he looks like an overgrown Crab. If I start making Crab People references, please forgive me. Bret Hart is in the I Don't Care Anymore Era of his career. He has quite possibly the worst music I've ever heard, at least for someone like him. It has no rhythm and sounds more like monster heel music rather than, you know, BRET HART. Sting even has an evil goatee rocking... it's like Alice Cooper decided he wanted to look tough, or something. How did WCW ever explain STING joining a version of the New World Order? I never understood that. I know he's technically a babyface still, but he's NOT New World Order. I thought Bret Hart was, but I guess this was in between his 18 runs with the stable.
It's a game of cat-and-mouse to start, setting the tempo for the match. There's definitely some audio adjustment done, the crowd has been hot for EVERY SINGLE THING on this show, even when I see them clearly sititng on their hands. Sting finally gets Bret in the ring, and mounts him in the corner for some rights (six of them). Sting with a clothesline, then whips Bret, hard into the corner. Sting with an inverted atomic drop for a two count. Bret fights back with rights, and plants Sting with a DDT for a two count. Bret with an inverted atomic drop, followed by a clothesline. Bret with a headbutt to the misection and a leg drop for a two count. Bret continues to work over the lower back of Sting, then takes him to the corner for some choking. Bret with an elbow drop for a two count, and now it's chinlock time! Sting with elbows to escape, but a knee to the midsection kills his momentum. Bret with more choking, and a running bulldog. Bret sets up for a suplex, but Sting counters with a small package for a two count. Bret maintains control, however, and takes Sting off his feet with a Russian leg sweep. Bret with a missile dropkick attempt, but Sting dodges and slaps on the Scorpion Deathlock, but Bret grabs the ropes to escape. Sting in control now, and he pounds away s'more. Sting with a side headlock, followed by a shoulder block. Criss-cross, and Bret's knee gives out... IT'S A TRAP!!! Bret pulls something out of his trunks, but Sting lays him out with a clothesline and grabs whatever it is. The referee blocks Sting from using it, however, allowing Bret to land a low blow. Bret with a side back breaker, followed by his signature second rope elbow for a two count. The "action" spills outside the ring, with Bret in control, still. Sting is being treated like a complete scrub the entire match. Sting accidentally nails the referee, but then Bret drops a leg across the back of the head of the referee quite intentionally. Sting regains control with punchy-kicky, and another clothesline. Whip to the corner, but Sting runs into a pair of boots. Bret to the top rope, but Sting crotches him across the turnbuckle, and takes him over with a super-plex, across the legs of the poor referee! Everyone staggers around until Sting hits the Stinger Splash... but then he sells hitting his head on the ring post, and plays dead. Bret with the baseball bat, and he goes Larry Walker on him (because Walker's Canadian, get it?). The referee comes to life, with Bret having the sharpshooter applied. Sting is dead, so the referee calls for the bell at 15:05. If you've ever wanted to see the most disappointing match possible, here you go. This could've been a great match, or at the least quite good. Instead, it's painfully average, with Bret really toning down his performance, and Sting playing the role of Jobber for 90% of the match. Sting does a stretcher job, to add insult to injury.
The Warrior vs. "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan:
Where do I begin with this one... the Warrior made a surprise return to wrestling, showing up on an episode of Nitro during the dog days of summer. While not mentioning it by name, Warrior constantly rubbed it in Hogan's face that the last time they met, Warrior kicked his ass and won, and Hogan has never been able to beat him. That was all fine and good, but then Warrior turned into Batman, having his own signal in the sky, and even QUOTING the fucking guy (tune in next time, same Warrior time, same Warrior channel!). Then there were the trap doors in the ring, which lead to a notable injury to Davey Boy Smith, who allegedly got hooked on pain pills recovering from back surgery back of this, and nearly killing himself (until his unfortunate death about 5 years later). It gets better... Warrior formed his own stable, the One Warrior Nation (oWn, or nWo backwards, har har...) and kidnapped Hogan's butt-buddy, the Dicyple (Ed Leslie as a gay biker), but that should've made it Two Warrior's Nation, right? But wait... there's more! One notable Nitro moment I actually do remember watching was a time when Hogan appeared in one of the mirrors in Hogan's locker room, but Eric Bischoff claimed he didn't see anything, all while THE BROADCASTERS were talking about how they could see him. But wait... THERE'S MORE!!! Very recently, Horace, the nephew of Hulk, became semi-relevant in WCW, and got his ass beat by his own blood and the rest of the New World Order... and yes, THERE'S MORE! Warrior's in-ring appearances were brief scarce, but his most notable was about 60-seconds in the worst WarGames ever, where his Mystery Smog KO's everyone BUT Hulk Hogan... I've said too much, but I feel like I haven't said enough.I'm not going to lie... this was one of the few times (the other notable time being Starrcade '97) where I actually wanted to buy a WCW PPV. Thank goodness my parents said no, and let me order the WWF PPV's instead. Not to sound racially insensitive, but Hogan's tan is so out of control, he's no longer looking caucasian. The ring announcer actually introduces Warrior as the leader of the One Warrior Nation. Sadly, it's not Michael Buffer doing introductions. WCW might as well have used the Renegade's music, since it's basically the same rip-off of the classic WWF theme Warrior used. Stalling to start, of course. Hogan's idea of trash talking... threatening homicide. Fan: DO IT! Warrior Sucks chant, and it's QUITE audible, and Warrior still sells it like it's a positive chant. Hogan with more trash talking, so Warrior lays him out with one punch. Lockup, and Hogan with a knee to the midsection, followed by rights to the lower back. Irish whip, and Warrior with a shoulder block, sending Hogan out of the ring. It's dueling chants... Hogan Sucks and Warrior Sucks. Warrior wants a test-of-strength, but Hogan chooses to rake the eyes and "hammer" away. Hogan chokes and stomps, THEN slaps on the knucklelock. This goes on for a while, allowing Hogan to give some terrible "heel" laughs, as the crowd chants "Boring." Irish whip, and it's a criss-cross until Hogan plants Warrior with a slam, but it's no sold. Warrior returns the favor, and my, that seems like an oddly familiar spot. Warrior with a clothesline, knocking Hogan over the top rope... and I'm surprised he's not faking a knee injury, like when they did the same series of moves at WrestleMania VI. Warrior heads out regardless to work Hogan over, and they even do the ring post spot. Back in the ring, and the referee gets bumped during another criss-cross sequence. Is that Nick Patrick or Earl Hebner?
The Giant makes his way back to ringside, and accidentally lays Hogan out with a boot, then takes a clothesline from the Warrior, Stevie Ray and Vincent come to ringside and get laid out, too. Warrior covers Hogan, then counts his own three. Hogan from behind, and if you've seen WrestleMania VI, you know the rest. Hogan with knees into the back, and what, no chinlock spot? Hogan with his weight-lifting belt to whip and choke the Warrior. Hogan with some fish hooking on Warrior (you kinky bastard), followed by a scoop slam. Hogan misses several elbows, as Warrior demonstrates the Stop, Drop, and Roll technique. Warrior hits the ropes, and misses the splash, then dramatically over-sells it by doing a very poor sell job to begin with. Sucky Slugfest until Warrior strips Hogan of his belt and returns the lashings. Hogan hides in the corner, and digs something out of his trunks.... then takes forever setting the spot up. Warrior argues with the referee, then Hogan throws the most pathetic fireball in the history of wrestling, probably burning his hand more than anything, and not even a spark coming within a foot of the face of Warrior. Warrior heads to the top rope for a pair of double axehandles (WRESTLEMANIA VI!!!!), and Hogan has done a blade job... FOR WHAT?! Hogan goes low, right in front of the referee, and lays Warrior out with a clothesline. Hogan drops the leg, but chooses not to cover. Instead, Horace Hogan makes his way to ringside. Hogan misses a second leg drop, and Warrior starts having his usual seizure. Warrior with a trio of clotheslines, and here's Eric Bischoff to distract the referee. Horace comes in the ring, whacks Warrior with a crummy chair shot, and Hogan covers for the three count at 14:22, to a big pop, probably because this mess is finally over. It's nice to see the Hogan hairline carries on through the generations. After the match, The Hogans prepare Warrior for a Halloween BBQ, but the fire never burns, disappointing millions. To be fair, the match itself wasn't terrible, and I've seen much, much, MUCH worse. However, the fact it relies heavily on their spots from their previous match, move for move in most cases, it becomes comical to watch. There was a few blown spots, the finish sucked, and the post-match gasoline spraying made no sense, but this isn't one of the worst matches ever. If you've never seen their WrestleMania VI match, it might come across as watchable, but for someone who knows that match, move for move, it's laughable, and just makes you shake your head thinking that there was no effort into putting on a good, original match between the two.
WCW World Championship Match:
Goldberg © vs. Diamond Dallas Page:
I bet if I asked you what the main event for Halloween Havoc '98 was, you, or anyone else, would answer "Hogan/Warrior II", but here's the World Title Match, with Michael Buffer doing introductions, no less! I don't know if there's an angle here, but DDP won the WarGames Match to get a Title Shot, here. The less said about that match, the better, despite referencing in each of the last two matches. Goldberg won the title from Hogan leading up to Bash at the Beach, but seemed to play second fiddle the whole time as Champion. I have to admit (again), that I totally bought into Goldberg, and really got interested in WCW around this time (with the help of Warrior's return, too). After Starrcade, I stopped caring, again, and never looked back. Goldberg's entrance and the theme music were just PERFECT. I could've done without his air-fighting (remember his goofy karate and slipping at SummerSlam 2003?), but everything else was totally awesome, compared to just kind of awesome. Michael Buffer, in right situations, was an excellent choice for ring announcer duties for WCW shows, and introducing the undefeated Champion really fits well.
Lockup to start, and Goldberg shoves DDP back. DDP tries a couple of more times, unsuccessfully, and takes time to re-think his game plan. Lockup, and DDP with an arm drag. Lockup, and they go spilling out of the ring, and the referee gets between them to bring it back in the ring. DDP with a side headlock, but Goldberg counters with a hammerlock. Goldberg with a BACK FLIP, but he misses whatever, but still is in control, takes DDP over with a fireman's carry, and slaps on a cross armbreaker. Goldberg pulls DDP off the canvas, and gets nailed with a jaw breaker. DDP with a series of shoulder blocks, but a Diamond Cutter attempt sees himself being flung out of the ring. Back in the ring, and Goldberg goes to work on the arm. DDP rolls through it, takes him down with a drop toe hold, and slaps on a headlock. Irish whip, and a shoulder block sends DDP out of the ring, again. DDP hangs Goldberg up across the top rope, and a swinging neck breaker connects. Whip to the corner, and DDP with a russian leg sweep into a cover for a two count. DDP with a front facelock, wisely trying to wear down the adrenaline fueled maniac. Goldberg escapes following knees to the midsection, and takes DDP down with his own swinging neck breaker. DDP goes in for some more, but Goldberg takes him over with the second half of his Jackhammer (a high angle powerslam). Irish whip, and Goldberg with a side slam for a two count. Goldberg goes back to the arm, and reapplies the cross armbreaker, but DDP is too close to the ropes. Irish whip, and DDP counters another side slam with a head scissors. Goldberg is up first and hits a side kick, but meets the steel post on a charge into the corner, and spills out of the ring. DDP comes off the middle turnbuckle with a clothesline, and covers for a two count. Whip to the ropes is reversed, and DDP brings Goldberg back down with a DDT. DDP calls for the Diamond Cutter, but Goldberg spears him into the next Holiday themed PPV. Goldberg is back to his feet, still selling the arm (thank you). Goldberg goes for the Jackhammer, but he can't get DDP up. He tries again, but this time DDP counters and hits the Diamond Cutter out of nowhere, and both men are down! DDP crawls over slowly for the cover, but only gets a two count. DDP goes for a suplex, but Goldberg counters and hits the Jackhammer, retaining the title at 10:29. That was a damn fine match, despite being somewhat short for the main event. It's hard to describe, but this felt like it had legitimacy to it, without any comical spots, run ins, or any other stupid formula's WCW was known to have for it's big matches. Afterwards, they share a babyface "no hard feelings" as Goldberg celebrates, with the show coming to a close.
Final Thoughts: I remember seeing this show nearly a decade ago and being completely underwhelmed by it, but for the most part, it's a rather decent show. Sure, the Steiners stuff, the illogical booking for Nash and Hall, a disappointing match between Sting and Bret Hart, and depending on your POV, Warrior/Hogan II, falls under the negative side, but the undercard matches (or what was shown, here) were all good, especially the opener, the main event was fantastic, and while I've already mentioned Bret and Sting as a negative, it still wasn't an awful match, just disappointing. Hogan/Warrior II is well worth the watch, just for the sake of laughing at it. Weird show from top to bottom, but it's an inoffensive entry in the Halloween Havoc series, in comparison to other stinkers held under that shows name.
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