Halloween Havoc 1997

Halloween Havoc 1997 Review



I don't care how silly he looks; Macho Man Randy Savage should be on every wrestling poster ever.




Yuji Nagata vs Ultimo Dragon
I always look forward to seeing two Japanese wrestlers going at it, as I do enjoy NJPW, and Japanese wrestlers do seem to work the hardest. Dragon received a good reaction from the crowd. The match lasted just under ten minutes and was great while it lasted. The arm psychology was sound as it led to the finish, and we got the usual high-flying from Dragon. Good stuff to start the show with. ***1/2



Gedo vs Chris Jericho
More Japanese wrestlers is absolutely fine by me, plus Jericho spent some time wrestling in Japan so he knows how to work the style. Jericho was still in his babyface stage. It wouldn't be too long until he turned his career around with an awesome heel turn. Jericho kinda botched the frankensteiner, but aside from that this was a technically sound contest. A good match here. ***



Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Jr.
The Cruiserweight Title is on the line. The best WCW match ever? Possibly. The best cruiserweight match in WCW? Absolutely. These guys went out there with the intention to show everyone backstage that they were the best and would steal the show, and that's exactly what they did. The match is only about thirteen minutes long, but not one second of that time is wasted at all. Eddie was great in his heel role and Mysterio hit some amazing high-flying moves that I don't think he ever used again. There's no way he'd be able to hit them nowadays. A fantastic all time classic that needs to be seen. *****


Good luck to anyone following that.


Steve McMichael vs Alex Wright
Judging by a backstage skit earlier in the night, I'm guessing this has something to do with Steve's feud with Debra. Alex got no reaction from the crowd during his entrance. A nothing match here until the finish with Goldberg interfering, and even then he took too damn long and the spear looked weak. 1/2*



Disco Inferno vs Jacqueline
What is it with Jacqueline and fighting men? She fought Chavo Guerrero in the WWE when she was Cruiserweight Champion (anyone actually remember that?). Disco stalled for a very long time to start with and it became very boring. This was quite fun once it got going and Jacqueline got her hands on Disco, but that was just the ending. Bad match with an entertaining finish. 1/4*



Curt Hennig vs Ric Flair
The US Title is on the line. Hennig is wearing one of Flair's robes for some reason. The commentators immediately downplay the US Title by saying that Flair isn't particularly gunning for it. This started off as a brawl and went on well from there until the DQ finish. Not as good as their Raw match in 1993, but it's still a nice, solid effort from both guys. The way Flair was DQ'd was a pretty cool finish too. **1/2



Scott Hall vs Lex Luger
Larry Zbyszko is the special guest referee. I don't really know why Larry was needed here. Maybe the other referees were just way too incompetent. The one in the Wright/McMichael match definitely was. Good god this was such a boring match. I had to stop myself from falling asleep. Larry seemed to be the only guy getting a reaction from the crowd. Just an awful match here and I groaned when it was restarted and it was still given a screwjob ending. DUD



Randy Savage vs Diamond Dallas Page : Las Vegas Sudden Death Match
This has the same rules as a Texas Deathmatch which is just the same as a Last Man Standing match. Don't know why it needs so many different names. The graveyard props didn't look very believable when Savage was being slammed against them, but these guys were talented enough to make it work. This was a great brawling match-up that had an exciting finishing stretch with both guys hitting their finishers and trying desperately to keep the other down. Great stuff. ****



But unfortunately we still have one match to go.



Hollywood Hogan vs Roddy Piper : Steel Cage
The World Title is not on the line for some reason. This one is usually dubbed 'Age in the Cage' and it's not hard to see why. I thought WCW would have learned their lesson after these guys stunk out the 1996 Starrcade, but I guess not. This was even worse than that and it just went on way too long. An awful way to end what had been a very good show. DUD



It's hard to decide on a rating for this one but I think I'll go with 7.5/10. The good stuff was awesome with a great opener, a good Jericho match, an all time classic with Guerrero/Mysterio, and a dramatic match with Savage/DDP. Unfortunately there's a lot to let it down like a couple of mildly bad ones and two absolutely awful ones featuring the so called main eventers of WCW. It's a recommended show but you need to skip a few things to really enjoy it.