WCW Halloween Havoc 1996 Results and Review

Poster For Halloween Havoc 1996

Going back to 1996 the New World Order was in full effect. Hollywood Hulk Hogan had defeated The Giant at Hog Wild, he had turned heel at Bash at the Beach and was going through every main eventer. Then came The Macho Man to lay claim to the title, before he too joined the New World Order.

Halloween Havoc 1996 was held on October 27, 1996 in Las Vegas. There were a legit 10,000 people there, and the crowd was hot at various times. There were 10 total matches, with 7 of them being on PPV. Here’s how it went down.

WCW Halloween Havoc 1996 Results

Dean Malenko defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. in the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship
Diamond Dallas Page defeated Eddie Guerrero
The Giant defeated Jeff Jarrett by DQ
Syxx defeated Chris Jericho
Lex Luger defeated Arn Anderson
Steve McMichael and Chris Benoit defeated The Faces of Fear
The Outsiders defeated Harlem Heat for the WCW Tag Team Championship
Hollywood Hogan defeated Randy Savage in the WCW World Title Match

WCW Halloween Havoc 1996 Review

Dean Malenko defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. in the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship

The opening match was an instant classic. Under 20 minutes long, and yet better than most of the WWE cruiserweight matches that you’ve ever seen. Malenko put on a show with Mysterio. You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen these guys clash for the title. Lots of great back and forth, lots of high spots, and Malenko’s psychology taking the passenger seat at times.

Diamond Dallas Page defeated Eddie Guerrero

This was a stiff match. It wasn’t that great at all. It had a lot of good moments, but let’s be honest, the two weren’t in their prime just yet.

The Giant defeated Jeff Jarrett by DQ

The Giant was able to win a match against Jeff Jarrett, but not without some interference and well, this was less than stellar in under 7 minutes.

Syxx defeated Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho should’ve won this back and forth match. Syxx was good, no doubt, but Jericho was shining here with a lot of crisp offense. It would eventually break down and Syxx would get the win, but barely. Great overall match, with under 10 minutes of action, but lots of great momentum shifts.

Lex Luger defeated Arn Anderson

The crowd was going nuts for this one. Arn Anderson was amazing here, and Lex Luger was put through a good overall match. At under 13 minutes, this was a fast moving, great back and forth match that played to the crowd at various levels. When Lex Luger put Anderson into the Torture Rack, things really gained a whole new level. The crowd blew up to all new levels, and it was a fun romp.

Steve McMichael and Chris Benoit defeated The Faces of Fear

This was a somewhat boring match. Meng and The Barbarian were monsters, and it showed here. The two were able to put on a hard hitting battle with the Four Horseman members, and it wasn’t half bad. Sure, it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t half bad, good stuff if you like big man matches.

The Outsiders defeated Harlem Heat for the WCW Tag Team Championship

The Outsiders had good chemistry with Harlem Heat, and this match showed the two could work well together. Harlem Heat had too much going on with Sister Sherri and Col. Parker, and that led to their downfall here. Hall and Nash finally pick up the tag titles, and this would be a momentum swing for the New World Order.

Hollywood Hogan defeated Randy Savage in the WCW World Title Match

At under 20 minutes, this was less than classic between the two. However, the fans were all into this one. Randy Savage was blown up midway, and Hogan was not at his best either. But the two knew how to worked the crowd. I didn’t think this was a great match at all, but the fact that the two could get the crowd into a feeding frenzy was great to see. The match broke down into Randy Savage hitting two major elbows on Hogan, but Nick Patrick wouldn’t count the 3. That led to a break down, and eventually Hogan would win with interference from the New World Order. Oh, and Hogan had a wig on, it was great.

To end the show, Roddy Piper came to the ring, and things broke down. That would set up a feud between Hogan and Piper that would go into Superbrawl in February, but I already talked about that, and their match at Starrcade. You can click those links to see those reviews.

Overall, Halloween Havoc 1996 wasn’t that great. But it didn’t suck like most of the WCW events did in the mid 1990s. This was a great showcase of talent, and there was enough to keep me interested at times. The best match was the opener and the Lex Luger match. Other than that, this was an ok show. Get the VHS tape for the best version of this, not the WWE Network edited option.

WCW Fall Brawl 97 Results and Review A Better VHS Experience

A sellout crowd in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for WCW’s Fall Brawl on September 14, 1997. This was an instant classic, even if you haven’t seen it, the card looked amazing, which is why I had to watch this play out. I didn’t see it live, but had the VHS tape. I revisit this today to see whether or not it still worth owning, and whether or not the matches are fun to watch. So here we go, a breakdown of WCW Fall Brawl 97.

WCW Fall Brawl 1997 Results and Review

Eddie Guerrero defeated Chris Jericho for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship

These are two wrestlers in their prime, and opening up the card. This went roughly 17 minutes, and it was a fun back and forth contest. These two went back and forth, but it was Guerrero that would pick up the win, and Jericho left better off for it. This was a competitive, fast paced, great match that makes this a great PPV to start with, but that doesn’t mean greatness throughout.

The Steiner Brothers defeated Harlem Heat

This was a hard hitting tag match, and it was fun to watch, but the Steiners looked tired after a while. Harlem Heat worked stiff, only to get the loss. Lots of clotheslines here, lots of big bumps, and even a Harlem Hangover attempt. It was fun, but nothing grand.

Alex Wright defeated Ultimo Dragon

This surprised me. Ultimo is an incredible talent, but Wright won this match after around 18 minutes, and it was some of Wright’s best work. Ultimo Dragon was absolutely great, and his offense is second to none. What you should look for in this match is the stiff kicks of Dragon. He doesn’t slap his leg to make a noise, he literally kicks you as hard as he can and it resonates on camera. You can hear it, and Wright’s chest was turning red. Wright wins after a hard battle, and it was fun.

Jeff Jarrett defeated Dean Malenko

I never liked Jeff Jarrett, and Dean Malenko is no captain charisma. This match was not grand, but there were a few moments in which the crowd made this worth watching. It was a bit slow, but it’s to be expected.

Wrath and Mortis defeated The Faces of Fear

A hard hitting big man match. Meng and The Barbarian were absolutely stiff here, dropping people on their heads, and just throwing the young guys around. They’d lose this one, but wow, what a hard hitting bout.

The Giant defeated Scott Norton

Norton was buried here, simple as that. The Giant wins.

Lex Luger and DDP defeated Scott Hall and Randy Savage (NO DQ)

This was mostly DDP fighting Hall and Savage, but Luger got the hot tag and racked everyone for the win. Not a bad match, lots of action, and Savage worked hard and heavy on DDP which set up their match for Halloween Havoc, in a sudden death match.

The NWO defeated The Four Horseman

While the horseman weren’t my favorite in this incarnation, they did manage to beat the snot out of Nash, Bagwell, Syxx, and Konnan. However, it was Curt Hennig that ran in to betray the Horseman with hadncuffs that made this. He tied up the Horseman than slammed a gate into Ric Flair’s head to end the night and the match. What a war. No blood, but wow, lots of stiff shots on Syxx, and Bagwell.

Overall Rating: 6 out of 10

While there was some good wrestling, it wasn’t grand. The card fell flat in the middle before picking up in the end. There was no major fall out after this, and seeing Flair get a door slammed into his head is a tough watch. Other than that, this was above average, but only for 3 matches tops.

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WCW Superbrawl 1997 Results and Review A Better VHS Experience

This show starts with Roddy Piper running away from Alcatraz, like a crazy person. He runs out of jail, and onto a boat, and that’s how we start Superbrawl VII. This show was live from the Cow Palace in San Francisco with 13,000 plus fans live in 1999. Once again, it’s best to get the VHS version to see the unedited event, but of course it’s on the WWE network. Here goes my review and the results of WCW Superbrawl VII from 1997.

Where were you in 1997? I was living in West Los Angeles, learning to skateboard, and trying to just be a normal kid. Meanwhile, WWF was pushing Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and others. The Attitude era, I think was in full effect, or at least it was coming. But the WCW product is definitely worth noting.

WCW Superbrawl 1997 Results and Review

Syxx defeated Dean Malenko

This was a really good match, and for all the crap X-Pac gets, he could really go. Here he showcased great work with Dean Malenko. The match, however, involved Eddy Guerrero getting involved, causing Malenko to win the match.

Konnan, La Parka and Villano IV defeated Juventud Guerrera, Super Calo, and Ciclope

In under 12 minutes, the lucha libre stars shined. Wow, what a match. If you haven’t seen this one, check it out. Look for the graceful flight of La Parka, who is absolutely brilliant for being such a big guy. It gives us bigger guys hope, I guess. Overall, lots of action, and a good amount of time to showcase the raw talent of these guys.

Prince Iuakea defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. (WCW Television Championship)

Stephen Regal interfered at the end, but before that, Prince Iuakea and Rey put on a decent match. It was cut short, but the guys put in some great offense, and reversals. Mysterio didn’t get the pop I expected, but really shined in this match up.

DDP defeated Buff Bagwell via disqualification

Buff didn’t do much for this match to be watchable. In under 10 minutes, this was a dud, and even DDP can’t save it.

Eddy Guerrero defeated Chris Jericho (WCW United States Championship)

This was a great match, with Jericho really showing off what he learned in Mexico. Eddy (not Eddie, as you may know), looked smaller than you’d expect, and thereby being faster. He was fast and matched up great with Jericho. Jericho put on a showcase here, and the two work so well together, making this an instant classic. (just saying, they kept it as Eddy in this one, but they changed it later)

The Public Enemy defeated Harlem Heat and The Faces of Fear

This was a short triple threat match, and it ended somewhat abruptly. Public Enemy brought a table down, but that wasn’t used until later. This match was not half bad, but it wasn’t great either. It was a bit fast too, but hey, it had some good moments, including Public Enemy selling like HBK at times.

Jeff Jarrett defeated Mongo McMichael

This was a throwaway match in which we saw Debra turn on Mongo. Overall, an ok match, but nothing to really write home about.

Chris Benoit defeated The Taskmaster Kevin Sullivan in a San Francisco Death Match

This was epic. Jacquelyn was tied to Woman with a leather strap and the two were throwing haymakers at each other. They were straight up shooting, and also were getting in the way of Benoit and Sullivan. The finish of this one, holy crap. Jacquelyn and Sullivan are on top of a table and Chris Benoit dives off the top rope onto both of them, erupting the crowd into an insane cheering roar. This alone was well worth it! Although, afterwards, everyone involved was taking out in ambulances. Not sure if that was kayfabe or not, but this match was one hell of a match up.

Lex Luger and The Giant defeated The Outsiders (WCW World Tag Team Championship)

The Giant battled the Outsiders alone for the most of this match, but after a while out came Luger with a broken arm, and a cast. He would eventually get in and torture rack Kevin Nash for the win. Not a bad match, but not a great one either.

Hollywood Hogan defeated Roddy Piper

This introduced Macho Man as part of the NWO. Not a great match, in fact, not even that fun to watch. Piper was still a bit ripped at this point, and Hogan, well he played the cowardly heel. After much interference, and a false finish, Piper gets beat down and several elbow drops, and leg drops. That’s the end of this PPV, and well, it wasn’t grand.

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10

The best match of this one was the San Francisco Death Match. The women threw some hay makers at each other, and Benoit versus Sullivan always delivers. This was insane, with an even more insane ending. The last bump, holy crap, you have to see it to believe it. Other than that, a good under card, but nothing too spectacular in the main event spot. There's a lot of nice spots overall, and this is a good effort, but not marvelous.

You can pick up the unedited VHS edition of WCW Superbrawl VII here. It features the original music, and commentary, unedited! 

Rare Wrestling Finds: WCW Starrcade 1997 VHS

You might not know that there are rare pro wrestling vhs tapes found on amazon and ebay, but there are a lot. Some of them are not too expensive while others can be really high in price. Here's one of the tapes that you'll want to add to your collection that is available today on amazon online, and it's relatively rare, the tape is WCW Starrcade 1997, without a doubt the biggest Starrcade ever.

WCW Starrcade 1997

The event was held on December 28, 1997 and was completely sold out at the MCI Center in Washington D.C. with 17,500 fans cramming into the arena for what was building for several years.

WCW STARRCADE 1997 Card

Eddie Guerrero defeated Dean Malenko (Cruiserweight Title Match)

Scott Norton, Vincent, and Randy Savage W/ Miss Elizabeth defeated The Steiner Brothers, and Ray Traylor w/ Ted Dibiase Sr.

Bill Goldberg defeated Steve "Mongo" McMichael

Saturn defeated Chris Benoit in a Raven's Rules Match

Buff Bagwell defeated Lex Luger

Diamond Dallas Page defeated Curt Henning (United States Title Match)

Larry Zbysko defeated Eric Bischoff by Disqualification

Sting defeated Hollywood Hulk Hogan w/ Bret Hart as special guest Referee (world title match)

Where to Buy the VHS Tape

There are only a few ways to obtain a real edition of the Time Warner Released video tape. I originally bought mine on ebay for around $9.99 when it first came out and WCW vhs tapes were readily available at Suncoast Video. If you're lucky you can find one with the original event without edits. The WWE has not released this on dvd, and any dvd you find is a pirated version.

If you want the real thing you can find it online here. Yes, you can buy Starrcade 1999 VHS tape on amazon. The going rate is as high as $69.99 last I checked, but it's well worth the money. The title match alone was epic, but the DDP vs Henning match is a rare gem of a match.

WWE 24/7 The Monday Night Wars Review

On WWE 24/7 they have a program running where they show WWE Raw & Nitro back to back! That’s about 5 hours of wrestling, but they shorten it, because they don’t show the commercials, which on Nitro was A TON!

The only major matches that were featured, in a good light were:

Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero (Us Title Match)

This was a classic and the two have so much chemistry together, too bad Syxx ruined the match with a run in and causing a count out! Of all things…thanks Syxx.

Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Lord Steven Regal

Wow! What a match up. Regal really deflated Mysterio’s high flying attack working on the right arm for most of the match, but around the 9 minute mark Rey Mysterio was poised to win the match and the T.V Title, but fell short in the closing moments when the time ran out! That’s right, there was a time limit draw! Wow! The match was great though.

The Outsiders vs. Extreme

This was a squash match, but what a great one! The Outsiders had such charisma man, it was so good, and to set up their match at Superbrawl VII and insult their future opponents: The Giant & Lex Luger they did the finishing maneuvers of their rivals! It was great. Hall gave one member of the other team a stiff chokeslam that I’m sure knocked the wind out of the poor sap.

That’s about all that was good from the WCW 97’ Nitro.

The WWE Raw show didn’t have anything that I remember. It featured the “I lost my smile” speech, and that’s about all I can recall from the event.

No wonder Nitro was winning the war.

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Bring On The Mexican, Super Crazy To Return

Super Crazy has not been seen or heard from lately, and that's because he's recovering from a Knee Injury. However, do you remember what feuds he was in before leaving? Yep. He was battling it out with Chris Masters, and a few matches with Carlito, and some other jobbers. Wait he is the Jobber!

Why does WWE toy with our emotions? Super Crazy doesn't need to say a whole lot backstage, and he can take a similar role to Dean Malenko in WCW. In WCW Dean said very few things. He just went out there and performed, wrestled, and wrestled and showed 2000+ wrestling moves to the astonishment of all comers. When he held the belt, he would defend it on a weekly and monthly basis!

So why can Super Crazy get involved with the Cruiserweight division, or the tag division?

Oh right...

The WWE doesn't like the Lucha Libre influenced wrestling style that Super Crazy & guys like Mistico bring to the table.

Super Crazy is set to return to Raw soon, and probably won't last long. I think he's on par with Val Venis & Steven Richards at this point...just hopeless jobbers to whatever monster heel they are going to push this week.

I hope they prove me wrong though.