Halloween Havoc 1998 Review: Looking Back 17 Years Later

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Screenshot via WWE Network

Positives

How much talent appeared on the 1998 version of the Halloween Havoc pay-per-view? Chris Jericho and Raven kicked off the three-plus-hour event. At this point in his career, Jericho wasn’t the Chris Jericho that will eventually enter the WWE Hall of Fame, but he was still talented and loaded with charisma and excitement. As for Raven, it’s Raven. He’s saw it all and did it all. You name a wrestling organization, Raven probably competed in it.

One of the things WCW did get right during their time in business: the Cruiserweight Division. There was not one, but two cruiserweight matches during this Halloween Havoc pay-per-view. Disco Inferno defeated Juventud Guerrera in the third match of the night, then competed against Billy Kidman later in the night for the WCW Cruiserweight Championship. Over 20 minutes of fast-paced action? Sign me up for that.

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The hype and the talent that led to the hype. Look at the names on this card: Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Bret Hart, Sting, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, The Warrior, Diamond Dallas Page and Bill Goldberg. What’s insane about all of this talent: those performers performed all in a row in the last hour of the show. For WCW to keep up with WWF in the ratings/buy rate categories, they had to get some big names. They did that … and then some.

There will be more mention about this later, but the main event of the night: Diamond Dallas Page vs. Goldberg for the WCW World Heavyweight title. In terms of Halloween Havoc matches over the 12 years the pay-per-view was around, this match might have been the best of all-time. In this match, it didn’t matter that there was no clear heel, as both men were fan favorites. It’s not a good thing for a title match to only be a little over 10 minutes, but this match was great from start-to-finish.

Next: Negatives