Worst in the World: Roddy Piper vs Hollywood Hogan-Halloween Havoc 1997

(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.)

Just when I said a month and a half ago that there have only been two pairings that have multiple matches in this series, we've got another one. Roddy Piper vs Hollywood Hogan from Halloween Havoc 1997 in a Steel Cage match. Last seen in the series stinking up the joint at SuperBrawl that same year, Hogan & Piper had a legendary rivalry in the mid-80s in the WWF. The only problem for 1997 was that it wasn't the mid-80s anymore, and both were far past their primes, which is extra alarming considering neither of them were known for their expert in-ring abilities, even in their primes. This match is the third in a lackluster trilogy the two had for nearly a year, with Piper winning the first non-title match (which made no sense because Piper was the one who had the contract written up in storyline) at Starrcade 1996 and Hogan retaining the title in a rematch at SuperBrawl thanks to Randy Savage turning his back on Piper & WCW. Eight months after that loss, Piper was appointed the new Commissioner of WCW, a quickly booked one final match between him and Hogan, who was once again World Heavyweight Champion, at Halloween Havoc. Neither of the first two matches were any good, could the rubber match break that streak? Of course not, it's on this series. Let's get into it.

Michael Buffer introduces the match, saying there will be no rules and if there is a survivor, they will be declared the winner. That's...that's pretty intense for a wrestling show. Buffer earns his $5,000 and drops his famous "LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!" before Hollywood Hogan comes out. Hogan shakes the cage on his way to the ring and GET A LOAD OF THIS BOCKETY PIECE OF SHIT.

Dear lord. Let's actually just take a look at the actual cage real quick.

This thing looks absolutely hideous. Not only is it way bigger than it has any business being, but it's super thin and, as I just showed, completely unstable. It doesn't even look good, it looks like a less professionally made cage than the one from WWE 2K19's career mode. You know, the one that was made from junkyard parts and the characters openly refer to as a death trap. This cage is worse than that.

Piper is out next with Hogan's World Heavyweight Championship for some reason as Buffer announces he is "the lone wolf of professional wrestling" and represents "no wrestling organization or affiliation." The commissioner of a wrestling organization wrestling on said wrestling organization's wrestling show is not affiliated with any wrestling organization. OK. Hogan refuses to get in the ring with Piper to start, immediately trying to escape through the locked door before opting to climb the cage. There's not a dollar amount in the world that would make climbing this cage seem reasonable. Piper catches up to Hogan and whips him with the belt from his kilt before just straight up biting his ass.

Man, Roddy Piper was ahead of his time. Piper punches away at Hogan before biting Hogan's back, and then the face before throwing Hogan into the ring apron and finally into the ring. Hogan pleads for mercy, so Piper pokes him in the eye before hitting an atomic drop. At this point, Tony Schiavone on commentary points out that there is no referee in the cage, a plot point that is ruined by the finish. Piper continues to beat down on Hogan before he tries to climb out of the cage again. Tired of biting, Piper instead low blows Hogan before both ram each other's heads into the cage wall. Hogan calls for the door to be unlocked and opened...so the referee on the outside Randy Anderson does it. Why lock it if you can just ask for it to be unlocked? Makes no sense. Schiavone says that if Hogan can leave the cage then the match is over. Hogan tries to walk out, only for Piper to tackle him through to the outside. The match is over

The Verdict

Actually, scratch that. Schiavone says that because they went out at the same time, the match continues. First off, that's not how cage matches work. And second, even if it was, look at how they went out the door:

Hogan is in front of Piper, he's clearly out before him. I swear, only WCW pulls stuff like this. Even in the worst days of TNA, I don't think they ever pulled something that just flagrantly throws out the established rules of a match like this. Piper beats down Hogan at ringside until Hogan just flings the cage door right into Piper's face. The camera doesn't get all of it, but it actually looks really nasty. That is followed up by another door shot that looks pretty good and two more that just miss completely. Should've quit while he was ahead.

Hogan crotches Piper across the guard rail before trying to abandoning the match, only for Sting to appear in the entrance ramp. The distraction allows Piper to recover, throw Hogan into the cage wall, and slam the door into Hogan's body before throwing him back into the ring. Randy Anderson quickly locks the door behind them, probably waiting patiently for someone to tell him to unlock it so he can immediately oblige. Back in the ring, Hogan takes a pratfall out of the ring and onto the floor, so Piper follows him out, throws him into the cage wall, and beats him down. Hogan is able to gain the advantage with a jab to the eye before throwing Piper into the wall two times. Hogan tries to climb out of the cage, so Piper climbs after him. The two brawl on the side of the cage as Sting watches on before he is joined by...another Sting.

Foreshadowing? Piper knocks Hogan down to the floor off camera and tries to climb out of the cage, but Hogan catches up to him and gives him a low blow. The two climb back down to the floor before Hogan beats down on Piper. Hogan throws Piper back in the ring before pulling something out of his tight and taking off his weightlifting belt. Hogan whips Piper before stomping away and whipping him in the head. Hogan slaps Piper around before opting to climb out of the cage again. Hogan actually makes his way over the top of the cage, but one of the Stings comes over the stops him from dropping down. Piper is able to catch up to Hogan as even more Stings appear, one on the entrance ramp and another in the crowd.

Now I'm just getting Vietnam flashbacks to Halloween Havoc 2000

Piper gains the upper hand on top of the cage and tries to hit the floor, but Hogan stops him and drags him back into the cage as the cage just wobbles and wobbles and wobbles.

This might just be me, but if I was a wrestler I would rather take Da Gringo Killa from Homicide 100 times before I ever even considered climbing a cage like that. Back in the ring, Piper uses Hogan's ripped t-shirt to choke him, only to receive a belt shot to the head from Hogan. Hogan slams Piper's head into the mat before hitting a leg drop. Hogan demands Randy Anderson gets in the ring and counts the pin, which makes there not being a referee in the cage completely pointless. Hogan hits another leg drop for good measure, but Piper kicks out at two.

Hogan calls for help from the back, and Randy Savage makes his way out from the back. He runs right past two of the Stings, who do absolutely nothing to stop him. Savage quickly climbs the cage and...this happens.

So let's break this down a bit. First off, Savage gets all the way to the top of the cage. Presumably, he's already seen the appalling sturdiness of this cage, so he's, as the Brits would call him, an absolute mad lad for that. Second, once he gets to the top of the cage, he has to balance on these thin bars. There's a reason regular steel cages have those thicker, flat parts at the top so you have a much easier time getting your footing for high spots. And when they don't use that cage, like for WarGames matches in NXT, they put down individual spots on the top so they're not trying to dive off a round bar.

Third, when Savage actually jumps, the cage bends beneath him, so even if he was going to make the jump, that completely screwed him. And fourth, there's not even an attempt to catch him by Hogan, so Savage just kind of gets Hogan with his hand while his legs crumble underneath him when he lands. Like, the GIF makes it look nasty, but watching it in real-time is even worse. I can't find any info on Savage getting injured because of this spot, so unless I'm missing something, he is incredibly lucky he didn't get seriously hurt because of this spot. A spot that was cool in theory, but horribly executed thanks to a lot of outside factors, so much so that it probably never should've happened.

Piper quickly tosses Savage out of the ring before locking in the sleeper hold on Hogan. Hogan passes out and the referee raises his hand and drops it three times...and it falls all three times! THE MATCH IS OVER! RODDY PIPER IS THE NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION!...Right?...No. Because, not only has WCW faked out the fans with this exact outcome for the third time in a row, not only has WCW booked the exact same story of Piper beating Hogan in the main event match without mentioning beforehand that belt isn't on the line, but Roddy Piper, the Commissioner of WCW, made a match for himself with the World Champion and failed to make it a title match...which is the exact same thing that happened at Starrcade 1996. You'd think he'd learn his lesson. The lapses in logic that comes out of WCW's booking is astounding. WHY IS THIS COMPANY SO FUCKING STUPID!

 Piper gets to celebrate for approximately 1.5 seconds before Savage springs to life and beats down Piper. Eric Bischoff runs into the cage, again with minimal resistance from the Stings, to revive Hogan. One of the Stings gets in the cage and...just kind of holds Savage in place while Hogan wakes up.

Hogan smashes Piper in the head with the title before he quickly dispatches the Sting, who is revealed to be a fake because I'm 99.99% sure that Sting isn't a random black guy.

Hogan and Savage handcuff Piper to the cage as the fans chant "WE WANT STING!" You already got like four Stings, don't be greedy. Savage punches away at Piper, but he's so exhausted he can barely sell them.

Same energy. Hogan & Savage beat down Piper, which includes Hogan putting on the fake Sting's mask before he hits Piper with his belt.

And then something bizarre happens.

So, someone from the crowd hops the guard rail, quickly climbs the cage. Now, in all the years I've watched wrestling, or even just sports in general, every time a fan hops the barricade and tries to run in on the match or show, the cameras don't draw attention, and any time the fan gets on camera is purely incidental. WCW was focused on this fan, so that would lead you to believe that this was planned...except as soon as he gets in the cage, he gets tackled to the ground. So...this wasn't a planned spot and WCW just focused on a fan running in for no reason whatsoever? If it were any other company I wouldn't believe it. Also, fun note, the person who tackled the fan:

Black Fake Sting, earning that paycheck.

Hogan & Savage continue to beat down on Piper, with Bischoff even getting a few shots in before Hogan & Savage turning their attention to the fan. The two beat down on the fan until security breaks them up and gets the fan out of the cage and the show just ends.

The Verdict

This match...my god, this match. Let me start by saying that I don't think this match is quite as bad as I thought it would be. There are a lot of negatives to this match. It's Hogan & Piper in 1997, so there's predictably a handful of actual wrestling moves and mostly just brawling. The rules were also inconsistent, with Hogan & Piper just brawling outside the cage for an extended period of time and the referee not being in the cage for no reason when they needed one. And of course, the dive. Like I said, it would have been crazy cool if things would've gone perfectly, but all the set up for the spot was anything but perfect, down to the rinky-dink cage Savage tried to jump off of. With that being said, this match isn't going too far towards the bottom. There are no botches outsides of the big one, which wasn't even by one of the competitors, there are some spots that actually look good, and there's no ridiculous finish like the last time Hogan & Piper face off. The match is kind of one you need to see believe because there's a lot of wacky stuff, but it's not as bad as the other matches I've reviewed that I've given that distinction.

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