wrestling / Video Reviews
Leighty’s Retro Review: WCW Halloween Havoc ’95
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...-I am not abandoning my walk through 1991, but since I started doing weekly retro reviews of Nitro, it has led me to this show. People following my Nitro reviews asked if I would do Havoc, so here we are. Lets get to it!
-Announce Team: Tony Schiavone and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
-Date: Oct. 29, 1995
-Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI
-Attendance: 13,000
-PPV Buys: 120,000 (Third Highest of 95 for WCW)
-Tony and Bobby welcome us to the show and have a report that Ric Flair was attacked by Brian Pillman and Arn Anderson. Heenan starts laughing, and after knowing his this goes, I can only assume Heenan was laughing because he knew what was coming which is a great character touch.
-Recap of Johnny B Badd missing a US Title shot against Sting on Saturday Night due to a flat tire. DDP mocks him and Max Muscle lets it slip that they had something to with Badd’s car trouble.
WCW World Television Championship: Diamond Dallas Page (c) (w/ Kimberly and Max Muscle) vs. Johnny B. Badd
-Someone dressed like Badd walks backwards down the aisle, so the real Badd can jump Page from behind. High knee from Bad followed by a whip to the corner and Page goes flying over the buckle to the floor. Muscle tries to get involved, but Badd runs him into DDP. Page gets dumped over the railing and they brawl in the crowd which didn’t happen often back then. Badd puts a bucket on Page’s head and claps his hands around it. Back in the ring Badd with an arm-drag and drop toe-hold into an armbar. Kind of interesting to go from a bucket on the head to mat wrestling. That goes on for a bit as Page complains about a hair pull. Badd gets caught in the corner and Page drops him face first on the top buckle. Page’s gear is pretty awful here and it’s interesting to watch his climb up the ranks. Badd get sent chest first into the corner and then Page gets caught with a belly to back suplex. Flapjack from Page gets two! Page hooks a reverse chinlock as this continues to be a slow, plodding match. Muscle tries to get the crowd to start a DDP chant, but they just boo instead. So really, he did his job there. Page releases to get a two count. Badd gets a backslide for two, but Page drops him with a clothesline. Badd back with a sunset flip attempt, but Page punches him in the face and kneels down for two. Badd then transitions to complete the sunset-flip for two. Page up first again and gets a power slam for two. Back to the chinlock! Blah! Badd nearly powers out, but Muscle lends DDP a hand to get the leverage back on his side. Page drops an elbow to the back of the head. Muscle distracts the ref so Page can choke Page with his wrist tape. Cheat to win! Page back to the chinlock. The crowd rallies behind Badd and he gets a belly to back suplex to break. Page misses a punch which lets Badd get an inverted atomic drop and then a standard atomic drop. Head scissors and Badd comes off the top with a double axe. The crowd is into this one now and pops as The Diamond Doll gave Badd a 10. Funny! Sit-out powerbomb gets two! Page hits a modified DDT that he apparently calls The Diamond Dream according to Schiavone. Guess that one didn’t stick. He looks for The Diamond Cutter, but Badd grabs the top rope to break. He gets a two count. They fight in the corner and Page ends flying over the top. Badd actually breaks out the Rey Mysterio fake out in a WTF moment for me. Badd with a flipping Senton onto Page and Muscle. Back in he gets a sling shot splash for a two count. Tutti Frutti, but Muscle grabs Badd. Page swings, but holds up. Badd with a roll-up for two as the crowd is rocking with them now. Page sends Badd to the floor, but Muscle continues to be useless and gets sent into the post. Muscle tries again, but clothesline Page by mistake and Badd gets the pin at 17:01.
Winner and New WCW World Television Champion: Johnny B. Badd via pin at 17:01
-The final six or so minutes got pretty great. The 11 minutes to get there were slow and kind of boring, but they worked hard and got the crowd rocking by the end so good on them. ***
Zodiak vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage
-Zodiak comes out to the music that ended up becoming Rey Mysterio’s WCW theme. This was supposed to be Kamala, but gets buried by Heenan on commentary so I assume he didn’t want to job and got sent packing. The deal here is that if Savage wins and Luger win his match later in the show, they will meet each other tonight. Savage is coming off a win over Kurasawa on Nitro, where he got his ass handed to him for 99% of the match. Bell sounds and Savage is all over Zodiak. He chokes away on the ropes as a fan tries to get in the ring. Anderson holds him off as security gets into the ring. Savage and Zodiak smartly take the match to the floor. I’m shocked Savage didn’t deck the fan. Heenan puts over the crowd reaction being for Savage, but I assume it’s for the drunk in the ring. The ring is cleared, so Zodiak gets a slam back in the ring. He misses a splash off the middle ropes and Savage drops the flying elbow for the pin at 1:30.
Winner: Randy Savage via pin at 1:30
-Nothing match but the crowd liked seeing Savage and whoever the drunk fan was that rushed the ring. DUD
-Gene is backstage to plug the hotline and interviews Johnny B Bad as he celebrates winning the TV Title. Badd offers to buy Gene dinner and Gene promises to sing at the bar. I honestly would be shocked if that did not happen.
-We go back to The Clash earlier in the year where Kurasawa broke the arm of Road Warrior Hawk.
Kurasawa (w/ Colonel Parker) vs. Road Warrior Hawk
-The bell sounds and they just start beating on each other. Hawk with a jumping shoulder tackle and then a reverse neckbreaker. He drops a fist for a two count and then another two count. Hawk fires off a chop and lands a right hand. He stomps away and then fires off another heavy chop. Hawk misses a charge in the corner, but shrugs it off and gets a slam. Powerbomb! Parker grabs the leg though which lets Kurosawa gain an advantage. He gets a slam and heads up top. Hawk moves and hits a clothesline that sends Kurasawa over the top to the floor. He comes off the apron with another clothesline, but hits Parker with this one. Kurasawa sends Hawk head first into the post. Back inside the ring backdrop suplex and a Samoan Drop gets the pin with his feet on the ropes and Parker holding his feet at 3:16.
Winner: Kurasawa via pin at 3:16
-Weird to see Hawk lose when the story of the match was he was out for revenge after having his arm broken. WCW brass must have seen something in Kurasawa. The result seemed to shock the crowd as well. It was better than the previous match at least. *
-Gene is backstage with Randy Savage. He references the fan who got into the ring and seems cool with it. Savage tells Hogan he is his friend, but if he sees him in the ring he can beat him. Savage tells Gene his mustache is crooked and Gene responds that Savage has a crooked beard. It’s Macho and Mean Gene, so it works!
Sabu (w/ The Original Sheik) vs. Mr. JL
-These two had a really fun match on Nitro a few weeks earlier. I believe this is the only WCW PPV appearance for each man. Definitely the only for Sabu as his WCW run was just about finished. I checked and JL was part of the World War 3 Battle Royal in 96 and 96. For Sabu this was his only WCW PPV appearance and the third of four matches he had in the company. This is Detroit so they are well aware of The Sheik, who has a machete with him. Sabu gets dumped on the floor, but comes off the middle ropes with a moonsault to the floor and it takes out JL and Sheik. Sabu charges, but JL moves and Sabu crashes into the railing. JL off the top with a cross-body to the floor as Bobby and Tony discuss Sheik’s run in Detroit. Back in the ring Sabu misses a moonsault, but JL gets one for a two count. Sit-out powerbomb gets two! JL misses a kick in the corner and Sabu gets the slingshot legdrop from the apron. JL with a belly to back suplex into a bridge for two. No real transitions here. JL up top and Sabu brings him down with a head scissors into a roll for two. Sabu up and JL dropkicks him to the floor. This certainly isn’t boring! Sabu snaps JL’s neck off the top rope and hits the slingshot moonsault for the pin at 3:26.
Winner: Sabu via pin at 3:26
-Just trading move after move without anything between, but it was entertaining enough for three and a half minutes. **1/2
-Sheik casually throws a ball of fire at JL’s face after the match for good measure.
-We get a live Dungeon of Doom interview as The Master is here with Kevin Sullivan and The Master yells a lot about The Milky Way Galaxy, China, and whatever else. Sullivan tries to out crazy The Master, but his promo makes more sense so he loses. -Hulk Hogan, still dressed in black, is with Mean Gene and people from a Harley Dealer to present a contest winner with a new Harley Davidson.
-World War 3 commercial!
Meng (w/ Kevin Sullivan) vs. Lex Luger
-Meng and Sullivan get pelted with garbage on the way to the ring. If Luger gets a win he gets to face Randy Savage later tonight. Spoiler, he gets to face Randy Savage later tonight. Still allegations out there that Luger is working with The Dungeon of Doom. Luger starts fast as he jumps Meng at the bell and then hooks a side headlock. Meng shoves off and wants a monkey flip but Luger stops that and lays in the boots. Luger with a catapult that sends Meng first face into the top buckle. Meng gets in a shot as Bobby tells everyone to make sure they watch every show from WCW as things are happening all over the place. Meng gets a small package for two. Luger gets a boot up in the corner to block a charge and gets a clothesline that sends Meng to the floor. Heenan connects some dots and notes Meng is part of the DOD so why would he be fighting Luger if they are working together. Luger follows to the floor and wraps Meg’s arm around the post. Heenan notes you could throw Meng off the roof with the truck and it wouldn’t hurt him. I guess that’s kind of a SPOILER. Tony notes that Sting has finally arrived to the arena and Flair has been getting medical attention. Heenan wonders why Sting was late arriving and wasn’t here to help Flair when he was attacked. Yes, commentary is entertaining me more than this match at the moment. Luger misses a charge in the corner, but ducks a clothesline. Luger goes for a belly to back suplex, but Meng shifts his wait and gets a two count. Nasty shoulder breaker from Meng! Sullivan is great at ringside as he keeps making eyes towards Luger to keep adding doubt as to where all this is going. Meng with a piledriver for two! Meng hooks a reverse chinlock after some choking. This crowd is toast right now! Luger tries to get them back into it, but even the camera knows this is boring and we get a pan of the crowd. Tony is so bored he brings up The Red Wings playing in the Arena for 70 years. Heenan notes perhaps they will win again some day. Ah yes, this was just before the Red Wings dynasty started. Meng kicks Luger to the floor and Sullivan tells Luger something while he is out there. Meng just stands by and we wait for Luger to get back in the ring. This has been 10 minutes of nothing really happening other that a sweet shoulder breaker and piledriver. Meng goes to the eyes and lays in some chops to the back of the neck. Schiavone grills Heenan about a business meeting he had earlier in the week. Heenan says it was just a business friend from Japan. Yes, that would be leading somewhere! Luger mounts his comeback during all of this and lands a series of clothesline to knock Meng off his feet. Backdrop from Luger and another clothesline and another. Powerslam! Luger calls for The Rack, but Meng gets the golden spike on his thumb. Meng hits him in the throat and goes for the pin, but Sullivan jumps in and boots Luger to cause a DQ at 13:14.
Winner: Lex Luger via DQ at 13:14
-So boring and then the anti-climactic ending. No clue why Luger couldn’t win clean, but they had a plan and story to tell throughout this show and this was part of it. 1/2*
-Gene is backstage with The Giant and he cuts a very generic, cookie cutter promo, but I mean, that was kind of expected. Cutting the promo in his monster truck suit was kind of funny as well.
Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman vs. Sting and Ric Flair
-I dig the orange and black face paint Sting is rocking here. No Flair as he is still recovering from the earlier “attack.” The crowd starts a “We Want Flair,” chant and my guess is most of them want Flair out there because they know what’s coming. Pillman yells at a cameraman as he is just getting to the loose canon aspects of his character. Another loud “we want Flair” chant as they are just playing the crowd here. Sting and Arn have a go again. Sting plans Arn on his face and decks Pillman with a right hand. Back hand to Arn and Sting clears the ring again. Pillman in and he slaps Sting in the face and then immediately rolls to the floor. He forces Sting to chase, but he is a step ahead and ducks a clothesline from Pillman and then one from Arn who was waiting. Sting runs both down with a clothesline. More chants for Flair! Pillman offers a handshake, which Sting accepts and then hits. Gorilla Press Slam. Sting wants Arn, and Pillman is all to willing to get out after taking that slam. Arn pounds Sting to the mat with a double axe and looks for a piledriver, but Sting counters and catapults Arn into the post just as Pillman was heading up top. Sting then pitches Pillman off the top to the floor where he lands on the security railing. Arn gets resilient and sends Sting into Pillman’s head. Here’s Ric Flair as he sprints to the ring with a bandage on his head. He is still wearing dress pants and wants a piece of Arn Anderson. Sting gets pitched to the floor and Pillman sends him into the railing. Flair is losing it on the apron as he rallies the crowd behind Sting. Flair throws a shoe at Arn for good measure. Pillman comes off the top, but Sting gets the knees up and Flair starts strutting as he is begging for Sting to make the tag. Arn cuts off the tag though and this is just fantastic. Arn gets a belly to back suplex and holds Sting’s shoulders down for a two count. Arn takes a shot in the balls, but grabs Sting’s leg to keep him from making the tag. Pillman runs over to Flair, who just happens to bail to the floor and give chase. Sting gets caught with an abdominal stretch and you can hear him screaming for Ric. Again, brilliant! Pillman in and he fires off chops and bites the forehead. Flair grabs Pillman by the tights as he is trying anything he can to help Sting. Arn with a spinebuster, but the pin is broken up by Flair. Well, he didn’t really hit Arn to break the pin, but he rushed in and Arn backed off the cover. Tony and Bobby both note that for all Flair’s anger he hasn’t been able to touch Arn or Flair. Wonder why? Sting starts screaming for Nature Boy and Flair tells him, “come on buddy, I’m here.” I love this! Again, Tony wants Flair to just rush in and put the boots to someone to give Flair a breather. Sting breaks for a bear hug, but Pillman gets the tag and cuts Sting off again. Sting has one more rally in him and lays out Pillman and then Arn before collapsing in the ring. He drags himself to Flair and MAKES THE HOT TAG. THE PLACE EXPLODES AND FLAIR DECKS STING RIGHT IN HIS FACE. Sting is PISSED and just unloads on Flair because in his heart he knew it was coming and just wanted to make sure he gets in a few shots before taking the beating. We get a bell at 17:52!
No Winner at 17:52
-This was a handicap match with some tag psychology and it was fine, but it was the story, and little touches from Sting and Flair that made this great. As a match, decent, but everything else makes it must see. ****
-Heenan is so pleased with the double-cross and Gene is in the aisle and notes this is right down Heenan’s alley. Flair, Arn, and Pillman meet up with Gene and start getting cups thrown at them. Flair mentions The Horsemen and says they are reunited. I guess they need a 4th member.
-Video recap of Hogan/Giant as they have been building to this match for nearly four months.
-Eric Bischoff takes Tony’s place on commentary and they bring in Bob Chandler, Monster Truck expert.
Sumo Monster Truck: Hulk Hogan vs. The Giant
-This is still really weird and stupid as I have no clue how it fits into a feud like this. The idea is Hogan and Giant are each driving Monster Trucks that are welded together in the front and they have to push their opponent fully out of a ring to win. They are also some barrels that are charged with explosives. It’s a cool visual I will give them that though it’s just not for me. Eric, Heenan, and Eric are sure trying to sell it as epic and historic. Hogan’s truck eventually pushes The Dungeon of Doom truck out of the sumo ring.
Winner: Hulk Hogan Monster Truck
-Giant and Hogan start fighting on the roof and Giant lifts Hogan off the ground with a choke. They end up on the ledge and as they do battle The Giant gets knocked off the roof and falls to his death. Hogan runs away screaming for help! They focus on a shot of the river before going back to the arena. Eric leaves to go find out what has happened, so Tony is back.
Lex Luger vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage
-Heenan is doing a solid job of selling the moment, but it’s just silly he has to sell something like that. Tony questions if we will even have a World Title match. This is years before Owen, but the way the announcers are talking about how can anyone have a match after something like that is eerie. Bobby doesn’t event want to call the match and Tony tells him he has too. Bobby: “Tony, he fell off the roof.” Lex offers a handshake, but Savage kicks him in the gut. Whip to the corner, but Luger bounces out with a clothesline. He stomps Savage in the corner and uses his boot to choke. Jimmy Hart is at ringside now, but the focus of the announcers is elsewhere. Savage starts landing shots to the ribs, but Luger goes to the eyes. Heenan loses it as he screams for someone to go get word on what is happening. Luger comes off the apron with a double axe. Savage blocks being sent into the railing and sends Luger into it. He runs Luger into the steps and back into the railing again. Back in the ring Savage hits a clothesline to the back of the head, but gets caught with a right hand coming off the top. Hart gets on the apron to distract the ref while Luger tries to get a pin with his feet on the ropes. Savage sends Luger into Hart and that lets Savage hit The Flying Elbow for the pin at 5:23.
Winner: Randy Savage via pin at 5:23
-Nothing match where the announcers didn’t even care. *
-Heenan storms off as he is going to take matters into his own hands, but comes back. Heenan goes on a fun rant about the technology in 1995 and how we can talk to Astronauts on the moon but can’t get any information from something that happened across the street. He then brings up going far back with Andre and what this means to him. God Bless The Brain for doing all he could here!
-We see a replay of Hogan winning The Monster Truck Battle and then the fight that led to Giant falling off the roof.
-Hulk Hogan, still wearing black, is out with Jimmy Hart and grabs the mic as he motions for the crowd to quiet down. What happened out there wasn’t supposed to go down. He apologizes for the accident, but then The Giant just heads down to the ring unscathed.
WCW World Heavyweight Championship: Hulk Hogan (c) (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. The Giant (w/ Kevin Sullivan)
-Heenan: “I do not understand anything.” Again, I love The Brain! This is the Giant’s in ring debut and no wonder it was noted that he had ego issues. The man’s first match is a PPV Main Event against Hulk Hogan for a World Title. Giant charges and Hogan moves and fires off some right hands. Hogan is sporting face pain similar to Sullivan’s as both signs continue to play mind games. Hogan staggers Giant with right hands and goes for a slam, but Giant slugs him in the back. Giant is fit and trim here compared to later years. Giant pounds away on Hogan and chokes in the corner as the crowd starts a “Hogan” chant. More choking in the next corner. He uses his boot to choke in the corner and then delivers a boot to the gut. Test of Strength as Giant has Hogan broken down on his knees. Hogan sells like a maniac as he tells Jimmy that “he is too strong.” The crowd starts to roar which gives Hogan life and he fights to his feet. Giant kicks him in the gut and drops an elbow. Giant seems to get little lost and opts for a back elbow and then a slam. Giant misses a leg drop and Hogan starts firing off right hands. He runs Giant from one corner to the opposite one and pounds away with right hands in the corner. He bites Giant’s forehead and rakes the the back as this is Hollywood Hogan 2 years early. Running clothesline in the corner. Three more clotheslines and Giant flips over the top and lands on his ass. Giant and Sullivan are leaving apparently, so Hogan follows and runs then into each other. Back in the ring Hogan lands a thumb to the eye. Clothesline, but Giant just stares him down. Hogan goes to the eyes, but gets caught with a backbreaker for two. Giant hooks a bear-hug and Hogan starts to fade. He fights back and punches to force a break, but can’t follow up and Giant gets a slam. Back to the bear-hug as Tony notes The Giant is just too strong. Tony brings up Mania III and how everyone thought Andre was too strong. The arm stays up on the third go and Hogan fires off eight punches to break the hold, but gets PLANTED with a choke slam and it gets a solid pop from the crowd. Hogan is out at two as Heenan yells, “I give up.” Hogan starts to Hulk-Up and the crowd is into this now. There are some boos mixed in as well. Three punches and the big boot! The crowd pops huge for the slam though the Andre slam looked way more impressive visually. The ref gets knocked down as the camera missed Jimmy Hart hitting him and I wonder if that was on purpose. Jimmy then decks Hogan with the title, but that doesn’t do anything. The Giant grabbing a bear-hug does though. The match is over at this point, but the craziness isn’t.
Winner: The Giant via DQ at 16:57
-I was running the match time until the announcement not that it matters. This was a basic Hogan match which worked well enough and helped ease Giant through his first match. The shock ending was there and again, they had a story to run through-out the show and they paid it off here. **
-Savage and Luger are out and the truth comes out as Luger blasts Savage and stands with Jimmy Hart. Here’s The Yeti (A GIANT MUMMY) and we get the DOUBLE DRY HUMP OF DEATH as he joins The Giant in getting a bear hug. Luger puts Hogan in The Rack to make sure we are fully aware what side he is on. Savage gets racked as well!
-Michael Buffer announces The Giant wins by DQ, but can’t win the title in that manner. Well, we will see about that on Nitro.
-Thanks for reading!
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