Worst in the World: Hulk Hogan vs The Giant-Halloween Havoc 1995

Special thanks to Otter Empire for suggesting this match. If you'd like to see a match covered on the Worst in the World, leave a comment down below.

Seriously, what is with Hulk Hogan and the Giant? It seems like they were physically incapable of putting on even decent matches together. I know Hogan was never known for his top-notch in-ring work (at least not in the US) and the Giant was very new to wrestling when he was in WCW, but they were both able to put on at least passable matches around this time. But for whatever reason, the two went together about as well as oil and water. They're such a bad pairing that, in the 130 entries I've done for Worst in the World, they're one of only two pairings that has multiple matches in the series. The other one: Kane vs the Great Khali. That is not company you want to be in. This match-up at Halloween Havoc 1995, arguably one of the worst pay-per-views of all-time, saw Hogan and the Giant square off for the first time in what would be just the Giant's second match.

The build-up to this match is...it's something. In the fallout of the Three Faces of Fear failing to end Hulkamania, their leader Kevin Sullivan encountered "The Master" (King Curtis Iaukea painted up like a rock person.)

The Master appointed Sullivan as "The Taskmaster" of the Dungeon of Doom, a group of wacky characters mostly portrayed by Hulk Hogan's buddies from the WWF. Along for the ride, however, was The Giant, aka the Big Show as the kayfabe son of Andre the Giant, looking to avenge his father against Hogan. The rivalry between Hogan and the Giant heated up when snapped Hogan's neck after his WarGames match, shaving Hogan's mustache off, and even running over Hogan's motorcycle with a GOD DAMN MONSTER TRUCK. This is all real. It was a strange time in WCW. This drove Hogan to the dark side, as he started wearing all black while still cutting the same promos he always did and was all supposed to lead to a match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of Halloween Havoc, but this couldn't be settled with just one match. Hogan & Giant would also face off in a non-title match...a MONSTER TRUCK SUMO MATCH ON TOP OF COBO HALL! Again, this is real. Let's get into this.

Chapter 1: The Monster Truck Sumo Match

Before the match officially starts, Hogan and the Giant are read the rules. Hulk Hogan, a man who has been involved in more wacky, outlandish gimmicks and storylines than just about anybody in the history of wrestling, gives that man a look of utter confusion.

Our mulleted rule keeper does such a bad job explaining the rules of this match that Eric Bischoff has to reiterate what the rules actually are. The winner of the match is the man who is able to push his opponent's monster truck out of the circle, with both axles needing to exit the circle for the man to win. Along with that, the trucks are welded together so they're always going to be pushing against each other. Also, there are explosions...just cause. Bob Chandler, the creator of the monster truck Bigfoot (thank you, Wikipedia), says on commentary that if the explosions blow up the fuel lines of a truck, then that man will die. He actually says this.

So the match starts. The trucks push against each other...that is all. Sometimes they spin, sometimes they tease Hogan going out, there's a single explosion, but for the majority of the time, they're just pushing against each other. Bobby Heenan calls it exciting. Bobby Heenan is a dirty, dirty liar. And it just. Keeps. Going. This barely goes on for five minutes, but it feels twice as long. The "match" finally, mercifully ends when Hogan pushes Giant out of the ring for the win. Following that, the Giant exits his monster truck and goes after Hogan. The two fight to the edge of the building, where Giant chokes Hogan until Hogan breaks free. The Giant then takes a pratfall off the roof. The Giant is dead everybody.

Now...calling this a match deserves the biggest asterisk you can possibly type up. Yes, it is a match on a wrestling show featuring two wrestlers fighting...but I can't possibly rank this. It's so awful that calling it wrestling is an insult to wrestling itself. So, instead, I'm going to lump this in with the actual match these two have later in the show. It might be a cop-out, but that's what I'm going with. So...onto the actual wrestling match.

Chapter 2: An Actual Wrestling Match

So, you might be wondering how we could be having a match between Hulk Hogan and the Giant is the Giant has presumably fallen to his death not even half an hour ago. Well, WCW has an answer for that...just don't worry about it. Hogan comes down to the ring with Jimmy Hart. No playing up to the crowd because he just kind of murdered someone on accident...OR DID HE!? No, outcomes the Giant and Kevin Sullivan. Showing no indication that he has fallen off a building whatsoever. Couldn't even wet his hair to make it seem like he fell in the Detroit River. Hogan immediately bails out of the ring before the referee calms down the Giant so the match can officially begin. Hogan then removes his bandana, revealing he has Taskmaster-style face paint.

Hogan dodges the charging Giant and punches away at him, but the Giant no-sells every shot. After 40 straight seconds of that, Hogan goes for a body slam, but the Giant blocks it and clobbers him with a forearm to the back. The Giant beats down Hogan with mostly double axe handles to the back, but also some chops and back rake. The Giant chokes Hogan in two corners before choking him with his boot in a third. The two go to the Test of Strength spot for nearly TWO STRAIGHT MINUTES before Hogan gets to his feet, only for the Giant to kick him in the gut. The Giant goes for a suplex, but there's a clear miscommunication between the two, so they abandon the spot so the Giant can hit a back elbow and a body slam. The Giant tries to follow up with an elbow drop, but Hogan avoids it and Hulks Up.

Punch. Punch. Punch. Throw Giant into the turnbuckle. Throw him into another one. 10 punches in the corner. Bite the face (like a babyface would.) Threaten the referee (again, like a babyface.) Rake the back. Rake it again. And again. Corner clothesline. Punch. Clothesline, but the Giant doesn't go down. Another clothesline, but he's still up. Hogan clotheslines the Giant out of the ring, which pops the crowd bug, but the Giant is quickly on his feet again. Sullivan tries to lead the Giant away, but Hogan brings him back to the ring. Hogan pokes the Giant in the eyes twice before punching away the Giant and hitting a few shoulder blocks, which the Giant no-sells. Giant goes for a chokeslam, but Hogan rakes the eyes (once again, like a babyface.) Because of that, it's fair game when the Giant does the same and hits a backbreaker for the first near fall of the match.

The Giants beats Hogan down before locking a bearhug, which goes on for over a minute before Hogan breaks free, just so the Giant can clobber him before hitting a body slam. And back to the bearhug, they go for another minute. Hogan fades, so the referee raises and drops his hand three times. Hogan keeps his hand up on the third drop and fights out of the hold, punching away at the Giant. However, the Giant responds with a chokeslam, but Hogan kicks out and Hulk's Up once again. It's a two for one deal that nobody wanted. Hogan no-sells the Giant's kicks before giving him the point. Punch. Punch. Punch. Big boot. Eye rake. Body slam. And finally, the leg drop. Hogan makes the cover...but the referee is down? But how?

Hogan looks confused and so does Jimmy Hart. The two try to revive the referee, only for Hart to hit Hogan with the world title. Jimmy Hart has turned on Hogan. Hogan goes after Hart, but the Giant gets him from behind and locks in another bear hug. Kevin Sullivan joins in, beating down Hogan before Randy Savage and Lex Luger run down to make the save. Jimmy Hart quickly subdues Savage with a belt shot...AND LUGER STOMPS AWAY AT SAVAGE! ANOTHER SWERVE! And then...the moment you've all been waiting for...IT'S THE YETAY!

Jesus Christ, what are we doing? OK...so the YETAY! Where to even begin with this guy? For weeks, WCW brought out a giant ice block on Nitro, and on the go-home show, the YETAY emerged from it. Obviously...that is not a yeti likes it's supposed to be. It's a mummy. The YETAY comes down to the ring and joins in on the beatdown, giving us the infamous double bear hug where it looks like he's dry humping Hulk Hogan's ass.

A young Road Dogg Jesse James takes notes. Following...that...Lex Luger puts Hogan in the Torture Rack as Giant & YETAY give Savage a double bear hug of his own before giving him up for Luger to put him in the Torture Rack. The Dungeon of Doom stands tall as Michael Buffer announces that, due to Hart being on Hogan's side when he attacked the referee, the Giant wins by DQ, but doesn't win the championship as the title can't change hands on a DQ. The Dungeon of Doom celebrates as the show ends.

The Verdict

I...I have no words. This is, without a doubt, some of the worst wrestling I've ever seen. Not just in the ring, it's just all bad. The match between Hogan and Giant was a bland, nothing match with a few moves sprinkled in between punches and multiple Hulk Ups, which is probably what you should expect when the match involves someone in their second match like the Giant. And even then, it's probably the least awful thing about this whole debacle. The match ends in the biggest clusterf*ck of a f*ck finish I've ever seen. Jimmy Hart turns on Hogan when he's about to win to side with a group of goobers. Lex Luger joining up with them made even less sense. The f*cking YETAY! All of this is just a nightmare to watch. And then there's the Monster Truck Sumo Match, the most boring, unexciting thing I've ever seen on a wrestling show. Root canals are more entertaining than the Monster Truck Sumo Match. All of this put together is one of the worst viewing experiences in wrestling history. It's genuinely awful. Don't watch any of this...maybe the YETAY for a good laugh, but other than that, avoid anything to do with Hogan vs Giant at Halloween Havoc 1995.

Rankings (Best to Worst)

1. Rick Rude vs Jake Roberts-WrestleMania IV
2. Too Much vs Al Snow & Head-King of the Ring 1998
3. Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns-Greatest Royal Rumble
4. The Tag Team Gauntlet-Extreme Rules 2010
5. Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 33
6. Vampiro vs Sting-Great American Bash 2000
7. T&A vs Head Cheese-WrestleMania 2000
8. Triple H vs Sgt. Slaughter-D-Generation X: In Your House
9. Konnan vs One Man Gang-SuperBrawl VI
10. Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules-WrestleMania IV
11. Rick Rude vs Hawk-Clash of the Champions XXV
12. Shelton Benjamin vs Viscera-New Year's Revolution 2006
13. Steve McMichael vs Reggie White-Slamboree 1997
14. The Tag Team Fatal 4-Way Match-WrestleMania 13
15. Tag Team Battle Royal-WrestleMania XIV
16. The Chamber of Horrors-Halloween Havoc 1991
17. The Natural Disasters vs Money Inc.-WrestleMania VIII
18. Ivan Koloff vs Paul Jones-Clash of the Champions IV
19. ODB, Taylor Wilde, and Roxxi vs The Kongtourage-Genesis 2009
20. Ivory vs Tori-SummerSlam 1999
21. Giant Baba vs Bulldog Bob Brown-WrestleRock
22. The Reverse Battle Royal-Impact! (10/26/2006)
23. Jerry Blackwell vs Boris Zhukov-SuperClash II
24. Nikita Koloff vs Bobby Eaton-Bunkhouse Stampede
25. Alex Wright vs Steve McMichael-Halloween Havoc 1997
26. The Great Khali vs Kane-WrestleMania 23
27. Savio Vega vs Crush vs Faarooq-Ground Zero: In Your House
28. The Shockmaster vs Awesome/King Kong-Starrcade 1993
29. Total Divas vs Other Divas-Survivor Series 2013
30. The Oddities vs Kaientai-SummerSlam 1998
31. Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice-WrestleMania VIII
32. Paul Ellering vs Teddy Long-Capital Combat
33. Dusty Rhodes vs Big Boss Man-Saturday Night's Main Event (10/31/1989)
34. Tyson Tomko vs Stevie Richards-Unforgiven 2004
35. Kane vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2009
36. Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Hog Wild
37. Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Souled Out 1997
38. Dustin Rhodes & King Kong vs Awesome Kong & The Equalizer-Battlebowl
39. Finlay & Little Bastard vs The Boogeyman & Little Boogeyman-No Way Out 2007
40. Jake Roberts vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania V
41. Yokozuna vs King Mabel-In Your House 4
42. Dusty Rhodes vs The Honky Tonk Man-SummerSlam 1989
43. Sting & Hawk vs Meng & Kurasawa-Clash of the Champions XXXI
44. Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage-Uncensored 1998
45. Al Snow vs Big Boss Man-Unforgiven 1999
46. Mickie James vs Ashley-Royal Rumble 2006
47. Christy Hemme vs Big Fat Oily Guy-Against All Odds 2007
48. Stevie Ray vs Konnan-World War 3 1998
49. Vampiro vs The KISS Demon-Bash at the Beach 2000
50. Team WCW vs nWo Wolfpac vs nWo Hollywood-Fall Brawl 1998
51. Vampiro vs Oklahoma-Starrcade 1999
52. Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania III
53. Van Hammer vs Terrance Taylor-Clash of the Champions XVI
54. Junkyard Dog vs Moondog Spot-Wrestling Classic
55. The Undertaker vs Goldberg-Super ShowDown 2019
56. Hiroshi Wajima vs Tom Magee-All Japan Pro Wrestling 1988
57. Jim Duggan vs Big Boss Man-Royal Rumble 1990
58. Meng vs Jim Duggan-Uncensored 1995
59. Jim Steele vs The Equalizer-SuperBrawl IV
60. The Undertaker vs Giant González-WrestleMania IX
61. Sting vs Tony Palmore-Battle 7
62. D-Generation X vs Brothers of Destruction-Crown Jewel
63. Wendi Richter vs Leilani Kai-WrestleMania
64. Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar-WrestleMania XX
65. Edge vs Triple H vs Vladimir Kozlov-Survivor Series 2008
66. Kevin Sullivan vs Dave Sullivan-SuperBrawl V
67. Steve McMichael vs Brian Adams-Road Wild 1998
68. Scott Hall vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl IX
69. Boris Zhukov vs Paul Samson-Beach Brawl
70. Kane vs The Great Khali-Breaking Point
71. PN News & Bobby Eaton vs Steve Austin & Terrance Taylor-Great American Bash 1991
72. Scott Steiner vs Sid Vicious vs Jeff Jarrett vs Road Warrior Animal-Sin
73. Hollywood Hogan vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl 1997
74. Batista vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2007
75.  Sable vs Tori-WrestleMania XV
76. Super Invader vs Todd Champion-WrestleWar 1992
77. Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez-Crown Jewel 2019
78. King Kong Bundy & Jim Neidhart vs Yokozuna & Jake Roberts-Heroes of Wrestling
79. Sid Vicious vs The Nightstalker-Clash of the Champions XIII
80. The 8-Divas Tag Match-Survivor Series 1999
81. The Fabulous Freebirds vs The Renegade Warriors-Halloween Havoc 1990
82. The Knockouts Gauntlet-One Night Only: Live! 2016
83. AJ Styles vs Frank Trigg-No Surrender 2008
84. Rick Rude vs Masahiro Chono-Halloween Havoc 1992
85. Mike Awesome vs Vampiro-Halloween Havoc 2000
86. Bray Wyatt vs John Cena-Extreme Rules 2014
87. Brothers of Destruction vs KroniK-Unforgiven 2001
88. Mabel vs The Undertaker-King of the Ring 1995
89. Wendi Richter vs The Fabulous Moolah-The Brawl to End it All
90. David Flair vs Kimberly Page-Mayhem 1999
91. The Truth Commission vs The Disciples of Apocolypse-Survivor Series 1997
92. Daffney vs Miss Hancock-Bash at the Beach 2000
93. The Bushwhacker vs The Fabulous Rougeaus-WrestleMania V
94. The Beverly Brothers vs The Bushwhackers-Royal Rumble 1992
95. Teddy Long vs Eric Bischoff-Survivor Series 2005
96. Greg Valentine vs George Steele-Heroes of Wrestling
97. Abdullah the Butcher vs One Man Gang-Heroes of Wrestling
98. Major Gunns vs Miss Hancock-New Blood Rising
99. Bradshaw & Trish Stratus vs Christopher Nowinski & Jackie Gayda-RAW (7/8/2002)
100. Triple H vs Scott Steiner-Royal Rumble 2003
101. Santina Marella vs Vickie & Chavo Guerrero-Extreme Rules 2009
102. Kevin Nash vs Scott Steiner vs Goldberg-New Blood Rising
103. Hollywood Hogan vs The Warrior-Halloween Havoc 1998
104. Mr. T vs Roddy Piper-WrestleMania 2
105. The Royal Family vs Clowns R' Us-Survivor Series 1994
106. The Blacktop Bully vs Dustin Rhodes-Uncensored 1995
107. Team Dos Caras vs Team El Canek-Leyendas Mexicanas 2017
108. Pat Patterson vs Gerald Brisco-King of the Ring 2000
109. The Four Doinks vs Team Bigelow-Survivor Series 1993
110. Sting vs Jeff Hardy-Victory Road 2011
111. Oz vs Tim Parker-SuperBrawl
112. Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman-Crown Jewel 2018
113. Brock Lesnar vs Ricochet-Super ShowDown 2020
114. The Mighty Maccabee vs The Iron Sheik-Maccabiah Mania II: Shekel Slam
115. Van Hammer vs Doug Somers-Halloween Havoc 1991
116. Ultimate Warrior vs Andre the Giant-Saturday Night's Main Event (11/25/1989)
117. Jeff Jarrett vs Sting-Halloween Havoc 2000
118. The Doomsday Cage Match-Uncensored 1996
119. Kane vs The Undertaker-Judgement Day 1998
120. Rebel vs Shelly Martinez-One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown
121. Kaitlyn vs Maxine-NXT (10/19/2010)
122. Sabu vs The Sandman-November to Remember 1997
123. Seth Rollins vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Hell in a Cell 2019
124. Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler-WrestleMania XXVII
125. The Bushwhackers vs Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff-Heroes of Wrestling
126. James Storm vs Chris Harris-Lockdown 2007
127. John Laurinaitis vs John Cena-Over the Limit 2012
128. Hulk Hogan vs The Giant-Halloween Havoc 1995
129. Ultimate Warrior vs Goldust-In Your House 7
130. Los Villanos vs Los Psycho Circus-Triplemania XXIII
131. Jenna Morasca vs Sharmell-Victory Road 2009

Thanks for reading! Be sure to share if you enjoy and leave any suggestions for matches you'd like to see covered on the Worst in the World. Next time, I'll be looking at a match that combines two of my favorite things; wrestling and basketball. Until next time