Halloween Havoc 1998 Had WCW's Best & Worst Matches Of The Decade
Halloween Havoc 1998 might be the most fitting WCW show in company history for both better and worse. WCW booked a loaded card with major names all over the show and mixed results following the creative effort. Eric Bischoff revealed that he wanted Halloween Havoc to be as big, if not bigger than Starrcade by that time.
RELATED: The 5 Best (& 5 Worst) Matches In Halloween Havoc History
The legacy of the show features fans loving the best and thinking about how bad things got for the worst moments. Goldberg vs Diamond Dallas Page provided an incredible match is still beloved today. Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior stands out as an all-time bad match that helped showcase the end of WCW. Regardless, Halloween Havoc 1998 is worth watching back for the impact of WCW’s best and worst matches.
Goldberg Vs DDP: Goldberg's Streak
The appeal of Diamond Dallas Page vs Goldberg featured both the WCW Championship on the line and Goldberg’s undefeated streak. WCW went over a year without Goldberg taking any defeats. Fans were captivated to find out who could eventually defeat the top star.
RELATED: The 10 Biggest Wins Of Goldberg's Undefeated Streak
The timing of Halloween Havoc came when Goldberg had defeated Hulk Hogan to win the WCW Championship and got past a few New World Order threats. DDP was next in line with the streak still on fire.
Hogan Vs Warrior: The End Of Warrior's Career
WCW signed the Ultimate Warrior on a short-term agreement to work a handful of matches. The assumption was that Warrior would stick around as the final Golden Era WWE legend on the WCW roster with Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Roddy Piper.
Unfortunately, the match against Hogan was bad enough to ruin that plan. Warrior looked abysmal in the ring and his attitude was already rubbing others the wrong way. An argument can be made this was the night Warrior’s career ended since he never had another high-profile match.
Goldberg Vs DDP: DDP's Rise
The momentum of Diamond Dallas Page added to the appeal of this huge match against Goldberg. DDP was a top fan favorite for almost two years at that point, but he had yet to have a PPV main event for the WCW Championship.
WCW did a great job setting Page up to become the top contender when scoring the win in a War Games match to earn the title shot. DDP’s Diamond Cutter finisher coming out of nowhere was his variable to provide a threat to Goldberg.
Hogan Vs Warrior: The Match Ran Too Long
The biggest negative about Halloween Havoc 1998 was that the paying PPV audience didn’t get to watch the incredible Goldberg vs Diamond Dallas Page on certain providers. Other matches ran long to go past the 11PM time slot WCW purchased for PPVs.
Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior went too long for their horrible match, and it negatively impacted the overall show. WCW would have been better off leaving this off the card altogether since the fourteen minutes hurt the end game.
Goldberg Vs DDP: Incredible Finish
The finish of a match can make or break it when done right or wrong. Diamond Dallas Page had a reputation for overly scripting matches, but it made perfect sense here. Goldberg was inexperienced, so Page led him with a few ideas that worked in the grand scheme of the story.
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The false finish of DDP hitting the Diamond Cutter received a monster pop from the fans. Goldberg kicking out shocked everyone to continue the match and give him the chance to hit his finishing moves. The excitement in the air put the match over the top when ending perfectly.
Hogan Vs Warrior: All-Time Bad Finish
Halloween Havoc 1998 really gave us the best and worst in every aspect of professional wrestling. Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior not only told a terrible story with slow action that lost the crowd for most of the match.
The ending made it even worse when Hulk’s nephew Horace Hogan was the biggest part of the finish. Horace was attacked by Hulk in prior weeks, but it all turned out to be a swerve. The weakest chair shot ever was delivered by Horace to Warrior allowing Hulk to steal the tainted victory.
Goldberg Vs DDP: Fans Rooting For Both Wrestlers
The concept of a face vs face match can be hit or miss when it comes to booking. A promotion is banking on both wrestlers being over enough to have fans cheer for them. There is also the middle ground of fans being conflicted and going back and forth throughout the match.
Goldberg and Diamond Dallas Page made this idea peak with the fans loving both men. There were times when the crowd clearly believed in Page ending the streak, but the ending of Goldberg winning showed they also were happy to see his run of dominance continue.
Hogan Vs Warrior: Hogan Burning His Own Face
The embarrassment of the Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior match had so many layers to it. Fans still watch the match back today when wanting to have a good laugh rather than hoping to witness an attraction between two legends.
One of the worst spots of the match featured Hogan using flash paper to try to throw a fireball towards Warrior’s face. Hogan was too sweaty and accidentally burned his own face. There was slight blood and a noticeable burn that just highlighted the point of no return. Few botches in wrestling have been as bad as Hogan’s error on this fateful night.
NEXT: WCW: Every Halloween Havoc Event, Ranked From Worst To Best
