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The War on Pay-Per-View: WCW Halloween Havov 1995

November 29, 2013 | Posted by Maxwell Baumbach
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The War on Pay-Per-View: WCW Halloween Havov 1995  

Monday Night War PPV Scoreboard:
-WWF In Your House 3: Triple Header 7.0
-WCW Fall Brawl 1995 6.5
-WWF In Your House 4: The Great White North 3.5

WCW Halloween Havoc 1995
October 29, 1995
Detroit, Michigan

Tonight- The Giant and Hulk Hogan will meet twice- once in a sumo truck battle, and once in a match. They give away that the sumo battle is pre-taped, as they SHOW THEM IN THE TRUCKS ON TOP OF THE ROOF ALREADY.

A video package hypes up the TV title match between Johnny B. Badd and Diamond Dallas Page. This revolves around a storyline where DDP slashed Badd’s tires to cost him a US title shot.

WCW Television Championship: Diamond Dallas Page (c) w/ The Diamond Doll and Max Muscle vs. Johnny B. Badd

Both of these guys delivered at the last WCW PPV, so I’m expecting this to be solid. Badd comes out of the crowd to trick DDP and jump him off the bat. DDP gets dumped into the crowd, and Badd sends him into the barricade before punching him back into the ringside area. DDP gets sent into the post and Badd takes it back inside. Badd starts to work the arm. Badd goes for some mounted punches in the corner, but DDP gives him snake eyes onto the top turnbuckle. Page slowly pounds away on Badd. Page covers for two. Badd gets sent chest-first into the buckles and dropped with a back suplex. Page hits the pancake! One, two, no! Page slaps on a headlock. Badd gets to his feet, but Page slams him down to the mat by his hair for two. Page goes to a side headlock. Badd gets to his feet and finds a backslide for two, but Page pops right up and levels him with a clothesline! That gets two. Page hits a big powerslam! One, two, no! Page goes back to the side headlock. Badd starts to counter out, but Max Muscle gives DDP the leverage to send Badd down to the mat. DDP hits an elbow drop to the back of the neck. Muscle gets up on the apron, allowing DDP to choke Badd with his wrist tape. Page changes the hold to a side headlock when the referee turns around. Badd fights up to his feet. Badd spins out and hits a delayed back suplex! Badd gets caught with a right hand. He ducks another to score with an inverted atomic drop. Badd then hits a traditional atomic drop. Badd catches DDP with a tilt-a-whirl head scissors. Badd goes up top- double axe handle! The crowd is rallying behind Badd, and The Diamond Doll holds up the “10” card for Badd! He covers- 1, 2, no! SITOUT POWERBOMB BY BADD! ONE, TWO, NO! Badd sends DDP off the ropes, but DDP CATCHES HIM WITH THE DIAMOND DREAM! DDP crawls over and makes the cover- ONE, TWO, NO! DDP looks for the Diamond Cutter, but Badd blocks it by holding the ropes! Badd mounts Page in the corner and lands some punches. DDP tries for snake eyes again, but this time Badd drops him to the floor. BADD TAKES OUT DDP AND MAX MUSCLE WITH A FRONTFLIP SENTON TO THE FLOOR! Badd rolls DDP inside- BAD DAY! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Muscle gets up on the apron, and Badd dropkicks DDP into him! SCHOOL BOY! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Badd gets sent to the floor, and he sends Muscle into the post. Muscle gets up on the apron and tries for a clothesline, but Badd ducks and he takes out DDP! Badd dumps Muscle to the floor. COVER! ONE, TWO, THREE!

Winner, and NEW WCW TELEVSION CHAMPION, Johnnt B. Badd
This was a bit slow at times in the early goings, but once it picked up, the action was fun and the crowd was hot. DDP’s act was great, and he did all of the little things to take this to the next level. Badd’s offense got the crowd in his corner in a big way, which added to the finishing stretch. 1 for 1.

Zodiac vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage

Savage jumps Zodiac to start. Savage chokes Zodiac with the top rope. A fan jumps into the ring, so Savage and Zodiac go to the floor. Zodiac goes to the eyes and weakly sends Savage into the ring post. Zodiac hits a scoop slam. Kamala was supposed to be facing Savage tonight, apparently. Zodiac misses a move off the second, and Savage goes up top- FLYING ELBOW DROP! ONE, TWO, THREE!

Winner: Randy Savage
Umm…okay. The match was a little over a minute long, and none of it was compelling. This did not need to be on pay-per-view. 1 for 2.

Johnny B. Badd joins Mean Gene backstage. He says he’s gone through a lot of adversity, and that dreams do come true. He says he never gave up, and that he will never quit. Badd says he will keep the belt, and he is a bad man. He tells Gene he’ll buy him dinner tonight. They plan to have Greek food and sing karaoke. Not sure why that last part was in there…

A video package sets up the next match.

Road Warrior Hawk vs. Kurasawa w/ Colonel Buddy Parker

Hawk jumps Kurasawa at the bell and levels him with a shoulder block. He follows up with a neckbreaker. A fist drop gets two. Hawk misses a spear in the corner, but immediately goes back on the offensive with a gutwrench suplex. Kurasawa hits a scoop slam and goes up top- FLYING ELBOW DROP BUT NOBODY’S HOME! Hawk clotheslines Kurasawa to the floor, and takes out Colonel Parker with a clothesline off the apron. Kurasawa sends Hawk into the ring post. Kurasawa hits a terrible back body drop. Samoan Drop by Kurasawa, and he covers with his feet on the ropes- one, two, three. Oh.

Winner: Kurasawa
You see, Kurasawa had to looks strong because…WAIT, WHAT?! This was short and weird. Hawk was pretty much squashing him up until the finish, which would be fine if they were going anywhere with this. 1 for 3.

Mean Gene is backstage with “Macho Man” Randy Savage. Savage will wrestle Luger later on tonight if Luger wins his match with Meng. Savage talks about his match, as well as Hogan vs. The Giant.

JL vs. Sabu w/ The Sheik

Sabu gets a nice pop. They sloppily exchange as the action goes out to the floor. SABU WITH AN ASAI MOONSAULT! JL reverses a whip and sends Sabu into the guardrail. Sabu tries for a diving attack on the floor, but JL avoids him. JL goes up top, and hits a CROSS BODY TO THE FLOOR! Back inside Sabu gets launched to the top rope. He goes for a moonsault, but JL evades! JL up top- MOONSAULT PRESS! ONE, TWO, NO! SITOUT POWERBOMB BY JL! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! JL avoids an attack in the corner and goes out to the apron. SLINGSHOT FLIPPING LEG DROP! ONE, TWO, NO! Sabu goes up to the second, but JL YANKS HIM OFF WITH A GERMAN SUPLEX! ONE, TWO, NO! JL heads up top, but Sabu cuts him off. Sabu follows up top. SUPER VICTORY ROLL! ONE, TWO, NO! Sabu climbs the buckles, but JL SPRINGS UP AND DROPKICKS SABU TO THE FLOOR! Sabu gets to the apron and cuts of JL. Sabu hits an ARABIAN PRESS! ONE, TWO, THREE!

Winner: Sabu
This match was a complete sprint, and while the selling wasn’t exactly on point, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t incredibly entertaining. 2 for 4.

After the match, The Sheik throws a fireball at JL for some reason.

Backstage, The Taskmaster is with The Master. The Master yells about the stars being aligned. He keeps yelling for what seems like forever. Sullivan then yells about The Dungeon of Doom truck being the strongest of them all.

Meng w/ The Taskmaster vs. Lex Luger

Luger gets off to a hot start by repeatedly ramming Meng’s head into the top turnbuckle. Luger slingshots Meng into the buckles. Luger uses the top rope to rake the eyes of Meng, but Meng hits him with a kick to the gut. Meng evades a back body drop with a kick, and gets a small package for two. Meng charges Luger in the corner but eats a boot. Luger then clotheslines him to the outside. On the floor, Luger sends Meng into the ring post. Luger then sends him into the post arm-first. Back inside, Meng retakes control. Luger blocks a punch and lands a series of right hands. Luger tries a back suplex, but Meng counters and falls on him for two. Meng hits a shoulder breaker and poses to the dismay of the fans. Meng wrenches the arm of Luger over the top rope until the count of five. Meng chokes Luger with his boot. Meng hits a PILEDRIVER! ONE, TWO, NO! Meng chokes Luger out of frustration before going to a sleeper. Luger gets to his feet and fights out. Both men hit the ropes and a double cross body sees Luger land on top! One, two, no! Meng picks up Luger and drops him with a back suplex for two. Luger gets sent to the floor, and The Taskmaster talks to him while he’s down. Luger starts to get up, but Meng boots him down from the ring. The commentators infer that The Taskmaster wants Luger in the Dungeon of Doom because he didn’t attack Luger. Back inside, Meng stomps on Luger. Luger tries to mount a comeback, but Meng goes to the eyes. Meng shoots Luger off and tries for a dropkick, but Luger holds onto the ropes to block. Meng gets dumped to the apron, and Luger suplexes him back inside! Luger avoids a back body drop and sends Meng to the mat after a series of clotheslines. Luger hits a back body drop and a pair of clotheslines. Luger sends Meng off and hits a powerslam. Meng grabs the golden spike, and SPIKES LUGER! ONE, TWO, SULLIVAN BREAKS THE COUNT! The referee calls for the bell.

Winner by DQ: Lex Luger
The crowd was only into the match when one of the wrestlers directly pandered to them. This shows that the match itself wasn’t very engaging. Much of it was plodding, and the non-finish didn’t help anything. 2 for 5.

After the match, Meng argues with The Taskmaster.

The Giant joins Mean Gene, who talks to him about the Monster Truck Sumo match. The Giant says Hogan is afraid of him, and that he is going to push Hogan off the roof. He claims that if Hogan lives, he will take the title from him.

Arn Anderson and “Flyin'” Brian Pillman vs. Ric Flair and Sting

Sting comes to the ring without Flair, but still outdoes both of his opponents in the early goings. Sting drops Arn with a bulldog, and when Pillman charges in, he gets dumped outside. Sting chases Pillman around the ring, and Sting manages to avoid the obvious set-up and beats up both of his opponents. Back inside, Sting gives Pillman a big gorilla press, and then asks for Arn. Arn takes over momentarily. Pillman goes up top, but Sting slingshots Arn into the buckles and crotches him. Sting goes to the outside and gives Pillman a ROCKET LAUNCHER INTO THE BARRICADE JESUS CHRIST. Arn takes over, but Flair makes his way out to the ring in dress clothes! Flair takes off his shirt. Pillman takes it to Sting on the floor. Sting gets rolled back inside, and Arn works him over. Pillman tags in and chops Sting, but Sting fires back. A drop toe hold grounds Sting, and Arn comes into keep control. Arn plants Sting and Pillman goes up top- ROCKET LAUNHCER, BUT STING GETS HIS KNEES UP! Sting wanders toward his corner, but Arn cuts him off with a back suplex for two. Arn and Pillman take turns wearing down Sting. Sting lands a series of haymakers, but ARN CATCHES HIM WITH THE SPINEBUSTER! ONE, TWO, FLAIR STOPS THE COVER! Pillman tags in and targets the legs of Sting. Arn tags in and slaps on a bow and arrow. Flair encourages Sting to get to the corner, but he can’t. Arn locks in a bear hug. Sting fights free, but Arn catches him with a toe-hold and Pillman tags in to cut off Sting. Sting mounts a comeback and delivers a noggin-knocker to Anderson and Pillman! HOT TAG TO FLAIR AND THE ROOF COMES OFF THE FUCKING BUILDING, BUT FLAIR COLDCOCKS STING!

No Contest
The whole purpose of the match was to set up the angle, and it did so perfectly. Sting looked like a tough son-of-a-bitch for taking on both guys, and you really feel bad for him while once Flair turns. 3 for 6.

STING FIGHTS FOR ALL HE’S WORTH, BUT HE’S BEING TRIPLE TEAMED! Arn holds up Sting while Flair chops and punches him. Flair kicks Sting while he’s down. Mean Gene says this is the most disgusting thing he’s ever seen. Flair takes the microphone and says that now we go to school. He says you don’t jump Arn, mess around with Pillman or Flair, and don’t walk, talk, and breathe unless the Horsemen want you to. Flair says the Four Horsemen are reunited, and it feels so good.

Lex Luger joins Mike Tenay, and he doesn’t understand why The Taskmaster did what he did earlier on. Luger lays down a challenge to “The Macho Man” Randy Savage, who he will take on later tonight.

We get a recap of the Hogan/Giant shenanigans, such as them talking about Monster Trucks, The Yeti, and Hogan’s mustache getting shaved.

Some asshole talks about trucks.

On the roof, some other asshole goes over the rules for the Monster Truck Sumo Match!

Monster Truck Sumo Match: Hulk Hogan vs. The Giant

Since they are calling this a “match,” I’m counting it. THE TWO TRUCKS ARE GOING HEAD TO HEAD. Neither man gives an inch. The asshole from earlier is talking about a bunch of mechanical mumbo-jumbo. The trucks move slowly, beautifully, and majestically in a circle. Giant is shoving Hogan back, and Hogan is smiling. Only once set of wheels goes out! That’s the Monster Truck Sumo Match equivalent of skinning the cat, yo. This is still going on somehow. Hogan goes back to the edge, but he stays in the contest. He hit something that caused pyro. OH SHIT, HOGANS GOT IT! HOGAN PUSHES THE GIANT OUT OF THE CIRCLE! THIS IS THE GREATEST NIGHT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR SPORT!

Winner: Hulk Hogan
Ass. 3 for 7.

The two get out of their trucks and fight on the edge of the roof. The Giant takes Hogan to the edge. HOGAN SHOVES THE GIANT OFF OF THE BUILDING! NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOGAN TRIES TO GET HELP! Bischoff is speechless. Heenan asks what side Hogan was thrown off of, and Bischoff responds, “You’ve got a parking lot on one side and a river on the other, what difference does it make?” RIP In Piece WCW.

Lex Luger vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage

The commentators are more focused on the possible death of The Giant than the happenings in the ring. Luger goes for a hand shake, but Savage doesn’t oblige and jumps Luger. Luger gets sent into the buckles but he comes back with a clothesline. Jimmy Hart comes out to the ring while Luger works over Savage. Luger dumps Savage to the floor while the commentators speculate about The Giant. Savage gains some steam, but his top rope axe-handle attempt is cut off. Luger covers Savage with a folding press and has his feet on the ropes, but the referee doesn’t see it because Hart is on the apron. Luger gets sent into Hart, and Savage goes up top- FLYING ELBOW DROP! ONE, TWO, THREE!

Winner: Randy Savage
This was really weird, and I’m not sure what they were going for here. Luger was acting like a face earlier, but then suddenly became dastardly in the ring, only to lose. It also didn’t help that the commentators could not have cared less about the action in the ring because they were too focused on the cartoony angle involving Hogan. 3 for 8.

We recap the possible death of The Giant, in case you weren’t aware of it or just tuning into the pay-per-view for some reason. They throw it to Michael Buffer without knowing if The Giant is dead.

Hogan and Hart are both in black as they come out to the ring. Hogan says that he didn’t want to kill The Giant. He’s so distraught that he’s speaking in all of his usual catchphrases. The Giant comes out, and he’s just fine. Yup.

Main-Event, WCW Championship Match: Hulk Hogan (c) w/ Jimmy Hart vs. The Giant w/ The Taskmaster

The Giant walks gingerly to the ring, and he has no cuts or bruises. Hogan removes his bandana and has Taskmaster style face paint on. Hogan tries to take it to The Giant, but he won’t go down. The Giant wobbles. Hogan tries to pick up The Giant, but he can’t do it. Giant sends Hogan into the buckles and sort-of hits a big boot. The Giant controls Hogan with a TEST OF STRENGTH (Copywrite, Paul Griffin of RBR Weekley Wrestling Talk). Hogan gets to his feet, but The Giant kicks him down to the mat. The Giant tries for a leg drop, but Hogan moves out of the way and pops up. Hogan lands a few big rights and slams The Giant’s head off of the buckles. 10-punch from Hogan. Hogan connects with a series of back rakes. In a nice touch, Heenan points out that The Giant still hasn’t gone down. Hogan hits a series of clotheslines but can’t drop the big man. HOGAN CLOTHESLINES THE GIANT TO THE OUTSIDE! The Giant and The Taskmaster head to the back, but Hogan pulls him back to the ring. Hogan goes to the eyes. A series of shoulder blocks don’t knock Hogan down. GOOZLE, but Hogan goes to the eyes to break free. Hogan hits the ropes but gets caught with a backbreaker. The Giant covers for two. Hogan tries to rally the crowd behind him, but he gets caught with a bear hug. After sitting in the hold for a few minutes, Hogan fights free but gets GOOZLED! CHOKESLAM! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! HOGAN HULKS UP BECAUSE F*** MAKING OTHER PEOPLE LOOK GOOD! YOUUUUUUUUUUU! Hogan fires off with rights and hits the big boot, but The Giant won’t go down. The Giant wobbles like an N64 wrestling game character. SLAM BY HOGAN! LEG DROP! JIMMY HART ATTACKED THE REFEREE! Hart gets in the ring and claims his innocence. They help the official up, but Hart shoves the referee down and hits Hogan with the belt, which Hogan no-sells. The Giant reapplies the Bear Hug while Hart cheers on The Giant. The Taskmaster works over Hogan with the hold in tact. Luger and Savage run out, but Luger attacks Savage, which was supposed to be surprising I think. The Yeti adds (?) to the bear hug by grabbing Hogan from behind and girating. Luger gets Hogan in the torture rack. Savage receives a torture rack as well. Heenan tells us we will never see a PPV like this again. Thank God. The referee gets up. The Giant is announced the winner by DQ. Umm…WHAT?! HOW?!

The Giant by DQ
Not only was the match boring, but Hogan had to HULK UP immediately after a chokeslam. Then after Hogan was beat down by a bunch of people and attacked by his own manager, The Giant was announced the winner by DQ somehow. This was a horrendous ending to a pay-per-view. I would have been furious if I had paid full price for this. 3 for 9.

After the match, Hogan and Savage are attended to by officials.

The 411: There are a few good things on this show. You had a fun opener, an entertaining spotfest, and a great angle with the Four Horsemen. Aside from that, you had a bunch of bad matches, one of the most comically bad angles of all-time, and a horrendous main-event with a puzzling conclusion. Halloween Havoc 1995 felt like more of a trick and than a treat. Avoid this show at all costs, unless you are a gluten for punishment.
 
Final Score:  2.0   [ Very Bad ]  legend

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