As we continue our Halloween Havoc moments this week, this day in wrestling history will look at WCW’s 1998 Halloween Havoc and Bill Goldberg’s title defense against Diamond Dallas Page on October 25, 1998.
This was an great match and showed why Diamond Dallas Page’s attention to detail, similar to Randy Savage, should’ve put him on top sooner than it did.
Unfortunately, the match is known for another reason and that’s because the ending was cut off when the pay-per-view ended.
The event itself is remembered due to the disastrous Hulk Hogan vs. Warrior rematch.
Miscommunication
There were times where WCW were their own worst enemy, and a lot of it was because of Warner Media hindering them. This time, it was squarely on them.
WCW Halloween Havoc ran for three and a half hours instead of the usual three, so a lot of pay-per-view feeds cut off so many didn’t get to see the main event.
The company tried to make it right by showing the match on the following Monday Nitro, which this lucky viewer got to see since I missed the PPV and the Hogan-Warrior rematch I wanted to see.
But we won’t talk about that as Goldberg and Page stole the show.
Goldberg talked about this in his book, I’m Next, so let’s dive into his perspective. Special thanks to @awrestlinghistorian for the excerpt.
“My match with Dallas at Halloween Havoc was one of the best matches I’ve ever had. He is very meticulous in his planning, and you’re always in for a long night’s work when you wrestle him. I learned a lot from that match, about myself, and the business. We took pride in the fact that we had a good match. I entrusted him with a lot that night and he came through for me. Toward the end of the match, I went to Spear him and he left a little bit early for some reason. I ended up spearing my head into the ring post like a lawn dart. Basically, I knocked myself out.
“I rolled over, shook out the cobwebs, and finished the match. That was the hardest obstacle I ever had to overcome and to be honest with you, I don’t remember the end of it. It looked pretty devastating. The way I see it, as long as it doesn’t cause permanent damage, it makes for a good show.
“They played the match again the following night on Nitro because the pay-per-view went over the time limit and thousands of viewers missed the match. Rather than refund their money, they decided to show the match on free TV. At the time, it was the highest TV match in wrestling history.”
The what ifs
There’s so much to unpack from this PPV from the miscommunication between WCW and the cable companies to the much sought after Hogan-Warrior rematch that was, well, we’ll just leave it at that.
Had the PPV not been cut off, chances are this day in wrestling history would be solely about the Goldberg and Page match. Still, we have to take the bad with the good in these cases.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
Remember to stay up to date with the latest news on TheOvertimer. Don’t forget to visit ScreenJuicer for great videos, news, and gameplay!
