Halloween Havoc '97

Match 1- Yuji Nagata def Ultimo Dragon

Match 2- Chris Jericho def Gedo

Segment- Mean Gene interviews Debra McMichael backstage. Debra says that her guy won't lose to Mongo tonight. Steve 'Mongo' McMichael interrupts telling Debra if she wants to be truly independent, she can give him back his credit cards.

Cruiserweight Title

Match 3- Rey Mysterio def Eddie Guerrero (c) (Title Vs Mask Match)

Segment- Eric Bischoff says Hogan won't wrestle unless Sting is banned from the building.

Match 4- Alex Wright def Steve McMichael

Match 5- Jacqueline def Disco Inferno (Intergender Match)

United States Championship

Match 6- (c) Curt Hennig def Ric Flair via DQ

Segment- J.J. Dillion update on Hogan and Bischoff demands. Dillon says the match will in fact take place! Eric Bischoff interrupts until J.J. Dillon shows Bischoff a document stating that Bischoff's demands have in fact been met. Eric Bischoff adds that if Sting does show up, the nWo want full control of WCW Nitro!

Match 7-

Lex Luger def Scott Hall (Special Referee: Larry Zbyszko)

Match 8-

Randy Savage def DDP (Las Vegas Sudden Death Match)

Match 9-

'Rowdy' Roddy Piper def 'Hollywood' Hogan (Steel Cage Match)

Analysis

Preamble

Admittedly I have been out of the game for some time when it came to these reviews. I will be paying closer attention to the commentary team this time around to see if they can fill in the gaps of things I may have forgotten. That said, I am feeling hyped for what should be on paper, a very strong PPV!

Matches 1 & 2

A fast paced opener between Ultimo Dragon and Yuji Nagata. Yuji Nagata was a 'hired assassin', essentially paid by Sonny Onoo to exact revenge on Ultimo Dragon for turning him away! The commentary team also put over the fact that the winner of this match would be considered "one of the top contenders" within the Cruiserweight division, which was a nice touch. This was slightly stiffer during parts, with lots of chest kicks from Nagata, which was somewhat unique for WCWs Cruiserweight division at this time.

This was a really good match from a technical standpoint, but I'd be lying if I said I was massively invested in it. The finish came out of nowhere, as Nagata reversed a dragon sleeper into an armbar of sorts for the submission victory. But overall, this was a solid match and pretty much what you'd expect from the Japanese contingent of WCWs cruiserweight division at this time.

The second match of the evening saw Chris Jericho gain victory over Gedo. Nowhere near as strong as the opener, but it was still important for Jericho to get a win on PPV, on order to maintain his momentum.

Match 3

The next match was one that is now seen as an all time classic (and quite rightly so) between the late Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio. Even the ring gear from this match has become iconic, with Rey's purple gear even being referenced as tribute in various events, such as Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2020, as well as former NXT star Santos Escobar donning it for his own brand's iteration of Halloween Havoc in the same year.

A fantastic match anyway. The feud was well built, the action was smooth and the crowd was the hottest for this Cruiserweight match than any other so far! A testament to Rey's rising popularity, combined with Eddie's excellent heel work to get them invested!

Rey Mysterio was wrestling from behind for most of the match, with Eddie using his size to outmuscle Mysterio. This allowed Rey to use his aerial ability, and showcase his quick counter attacking arsenal. I honestly think, more than this simply being a good match, that this was the coming out party for the Cruiserweight division as a whole. The crowd reacted to it like never before! Was it THE BEST match that WCW have ever showcased from the Cruiserweight division, in my opinion, probably not. But was it the most important? For the crowd reaction alone I'd certainly say it could make that claim. My biggest takeaway from the match is that it has become so mythical, people don't judge it fairly anymore. It was far too short to be anything other than a really good cruiserweight match, and in my opinion, it certainly wasn't "five stars". Whatever that even means anymore.

Match 4

Steve 'Mongo' McMichael lost to Alex Wright after outside interference from Goldberg.

Steve McMichael wasn't a very strong worker, and that's me putting it politely. His drop downs were slow and out of time, he looked flat footed and the talented Alex Wright was forced to change pace in order to accommodate these factors. Goldberg hit Alex Wright with a spear post-match, also walking away with Steve McMichael's Super Bowl ring!

Match 5

Jacqueline pinned the WCW TV champion Disco Inferno in non-title action! Jacqueline was a good wrestler, but unfortunately for her, WCW's women division had been torn apart earlier that year. Anyway, PLENTY of stalling in this one until Jacqueline finally got her hands on Disco Inferno. This match essentially consisted of Disco Inferno trying to run away from Jacqueline, hitting little to no offence for the entire match. The worst part is that Jacqueline won via roll-up, so the victory wasn't even a decisive one. This felt like a slog to watch in all honesty.

Match 6

Ric Flair took on Curt Hennig for the US Title in a grudge match. This dated back to WarGames, when Hennig slammed Flair's head in-between the cage door, temporarily putting him out of action.

This was a fun and energetic match to start with, with Flair going ham until Hennig started to slow the Nature Boy down. Ric Flair eventually lost via DQ after using the belt on Hennig. The DQ finish was a shame but I appreciate WCW were trying to tell a story here, so I didn't mind it as much this time.

Match 7

Lex Luger faced Scott Hall with Larry Zbyszko as the special referee. Larry Zybysko eventually got fed up with Hall's BS, backdropping him out of the ring and shoving Bischoff off the apron as he attempted to get involved. Syxx interfered, handing Hall the win but the decision was reversed after Zybysko used wrestlings equivalent of VAR. Luger locked in the torture rack for the win, before Zybysko was eventually mobbed by Syxx, Hall and Bischoff.

Personally I wasn't invested in this fued at all, with even the commentary team commenting on the 'slow pace' of the match. I love both Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, but they never did anymore than was required in WCW, and sometimes that hurt the quality of the matches. This one was really dull in my opinion. It was far too slow with far too many rest holds and wrist locks for two guys on the level of Luger and Hall.

Match 8

DDP faced Randy Savage in a Las Vegas Sudden Death Match. No pinfalls, no count outs, winner decided by a 10 count. 'Sting' attacks DDP with a bat, handing Savage the win. The commentary team alludes to the fact that it may have been a "man dressed like Sting". No shit, sherlock!

A non serious, gimmick inspired brawl with one of the loudest ovations coming when Kimberly pulled Miss Elizabeth away by her hair. I'm not a fan of last man standing matches, although this match is critically acclaimed receiving over 3 stars from Uncle Dave. While I understand that wrestling is subjective and most people actually loved this match, with some even calling it Savage's "last great match" Sadly I just didn't see it that way, and while it was fun during parts, I've never enjoyed the 10 count stipulation and the fake Sting run-in took a lot of the heat out of the match. Sadly that means for me, this entire PPV hinged on the quality of the main-event (spoiler, it wasn't very good)

Main-event

'Rowdy' Roddy Piper defeated 'Hollywood' Hogan, in a non-title Steel Cage match. Post match, Piper was handcuffed to the cage and assaulted, with a 'fan' climbing into the cage only to feel the Wrath of Hogan and Savage.

The cage in question was almost like the old Memphis cage, with lots of space around the ring. I only say that because WCW had used the more traditional 'closed off' steel cages before. This was massively overbooked, with multiple fake stings coming out at one point, alongside the interference of Randy Savage. I also didn't understand why it was non-title. Well I did, because 'Hogan' basically. Not that Piper wanted or needed the title. But it made little to no sense that he had already beaten Hogan multiple times, and yet wasn't awarded a title match!

Summary

Perhaps somewhat controversially, I DIDN'T like this show (Which is worrying to me, as this is actually considered as one of WCW's better PPVs) I have even seen some people claim it to be better than Bad Blood '97, which is absurd to me as Taker/Shawn is head and shoulders above anything on this card (Yes, even Rey and Eddie) This show is fondly remembered, mainly due to the Mysterio/Guerrero match, but while it started off hot, the wheels slowly started to fall off (a common theme for WCW PPVs) Now I can also appreciate how some people would have enjoyed the drama during the Sudden Death Match, but I didn't and at the end of the day, this is my rating. Personally, I feel my overall score is actually generous, but I'm trying to take the slower style of some of WCW's ageing roster into account, alongside the star power on this PPV. Basically, if you legitimately thought Rey and Eddie was a genuine MOTY contender, while also enjoying DDP/Savage, you probably loved this show. But those aren't my views and I didn't enjoy the PPV as a whole, so my final score has to reflect that (2.25 Stars)