| Halloween Havoc | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Promotion | World Championship Wrestling | ||
| Date | October 26, 1997 | ||
| City | Las Vegas, Nevada | ||
| Venue | MGM Grand Garden Arena | ||
| Attendance | 12,457 | ||
| Buy rate | 405,000 | ||
| Tagline | Snap Into The Madness! | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Halloween Havoc chronology | |||
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The 1997Halloween Havoc was the ninth annualHalloween Havocprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW). It took place on October 26, 1997, from theMGM Grand Garden Arena inLas Vegas, Nevada.[1]
The event is notable for theRey Mysterio Jr. vs.Eddie Guerrerotitle vs. mask match for theWCW Cruiserweight Championship, which is considered both one of the best matches in WCW history, and one of the best matches of the 1990s.[2]
In 2014, all of WCW's Halloween Havoc PPVs became available onWWE's streaming service, theWWE Network.[3] The event had a buyrate of 405,000.[4]
Halloween Havoc was an annualprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view event produced byWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) since 1989. As the name implies, it was aHalloween-themed show held in October. The 1997 event was the ninth event in the Halloween Havoc chronology and it took place on October 26, 1997, from theMGM Grand Garden Arena in theLas Vegas suburb ofParadise, Nevada for the second consecutive year.[5]
The event featuredprofessional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds andstorylines. Professional wrestlers portrayvillains,heroes, orless distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.[6]
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentators | Tony Schiavone |
| Bobby Heenan | |
| Mike Tenay | |
| Dusty Rhodes | |
| Interviewer | Gene Okerlund |
| Ring announcers | Michael Buffer |
| David Penzer | |
| Referees | Randy Anderson |
| Mark Curtis | |
| Scott Dickinson | |
| Mickie Jay | |
| Nick Patrick |
The third match was for the Cruiserweight title betweenEddie Guerrero andRey Mysterio with the added stipulation that if Mysterio lost he would no longer be allowed to wrestle wearing a luchador mask. Mysterio won the match after he managed to counter Guerrero's crucifix powerbomb off the second rope into a Hurricanrana for the pin being one of the greatest matches in Wrestling history.
The fourth match pittedAlex Wright againstSteve McMichael, with Wright being a replacement for the departedJeff Jarrett.Goldberg attacked McMichael during the match, hit theJackhammer on him, and placed Wright on top of him for the pin. After the match Goldberg was given McMichael'sSuper Bowl XX championship ring by McMichael's ex-wife Debra and then attacked Wright in the ring.
Ric Flair challengedCurt Hennig for the United States Championship. Flair wrapped Hennig in a tree of woe, put the title belt over Hennig's head, and kicked the center plate into his face to cause a disqualification.
Next was the match betweenScott Hall andLex Luger withLarry Zbyszko as the special guest referee. Hall originally defeated Luger by giving him theOutsiders Edge afterSyxx interfered and kicked Luger in the head as Zbyszko was arguing withEric Bischoff. He then began celebrating in the ring with Bischoff and Syxx and forced Zbyszko to raise his hand in victory.
Zbyszko, meanwhile, suspected the nWo had played a role in Hall's victory and called for a replay of the match's ending. Once he saw what Syxx had done, Zbyszko restarted the match. Hall began arguing with Zbyszko once back in the ring, and Zbyszko shoved him into a waiting Luger. Luger then placed Hall in theTorture Rack and Hall submitted. As Zbyszko called for the bell Syxx attacked him, only to be put in a gogoplata followed by a guillotine choke. Bischoff and Hall then returned to the ring and attacked Zbyszko, ending with Bischoff kicking Zbyszko in the head and Hall counting a pin.
Randy Savage defeatedDiamond Dallas Page in a last man standing match after a fakeSting (Hollywood Hogan) hit Page with a baseball bat. The only way to win the match was to have your opponent not answer the referee's count of 10.
In the main event, held inside a steel cage,Roddy Piper beat Hogan by technical submission with asleeper hold. Randy Savage interfered by climbing into the cage and he and Hogan beat down Piper following the match. After the match, afan climbed into the cage and was beat up by Savage and Hogan.
In 2017, Kevin Pantoja of 411Mania gave the event a rating of 6.0 [Average], stating, "One of the better WCW Pay-Per-Views I can recall from this era. It still suffered from the same issues (fun undercard with a bad main event) but had more positives. For one, you can’t miss Guerrero/Mysterio. It is required viewing. Nagata/Dragon and DDP/Savage were both strong matches. Gedo/Jericho is alright too. There are a few stinkers (Mongo/Wright, Disco/Jackie and Hogan/Piper) but the good manages to outweigh the bad on this particular night."[7]
| No. | Results[5][8] | Stipulations | Times[9] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuji Nagata (withSonny Onoo) defeatedÚltimo Dragón | Singles match | 09:42 | ||
| 2 | Chris Jericho defeatedGedo | Singles match | 07:18 | ||
| 3 | Rey Misterio Jr. defeatedEddie Guerrero (c) | Title vs. Mask match for theWCW Cruiserweight Championship | 13:51 | ||
| 4 | Alex Wright (withDebra) defeatedSteve McMichael | Singles match | 06:31 | ||
| 5 | Jacqueline defeatedDisco Inferno | Singles match | 09:39 | ||
| 6 | Curt Hennig (c) defeatedRic Flair by disqualification | Singles match forWCW United States Heavyweight Championship | 13:57 | ||
| 7 | Lex Luger vs.Scott Hall (withSyxx) ended in a no contest | Singles match withLarry Zbyszko asspecial guest referee | 13:02 | ||
| 8 | Randy Savage (withMiss Elizabeth) defeatedDiamond Dallas Page | Las Vegas Sudden Death match | 18:07 | ||
| 9 | Roddy Piper defeatedHollywood Hogan | Steel Cage match | 13:37 | ||
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