(Special thanks to Frost for suggesting these matches. If you'd like to see a match covered on the Worst in the World, leave a comment down below.)
Last week, I began this look at World War 3, WCW's attempt to establish a signature battle royal match (their own Royal Rumble, essentially), by looking at the 1995 and 1996 editions of the match. The 1995 match is a chaotic, cluttered, unfocused, and unwatchable mess of a match that knocked off the infamous Akira Maeda/Andre the Giant match that devolved into a shoot as the new Worst in the World. The 1996 match is a slightly less (just slightly) chaotic, cluttered, unfocused, and unwatchable mess of a match that I put in the bottom 15 of the list. Two of the bottom 15 matches in this series that consists of 216 matches (soon to be 218) are World War 3 matches. But, I am a completionist, so let's go through the final two World War 3 matches WCW ever put on.
1997
Like 1996, the 1997 edition of World War 3 would see the winner of the 60-man battle royal earning a shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, which was currently held by Hollywood Hogan. Unlike last year, however, the winner did not get that match at any pay-per-view they wanted. They would instead have it at SuperBrawl VIII next year. Let's get into this.
Michael Buffer reads the rules and clarifies that just leaving the ring & hitting the floor, regardless of if they went over the top rope or not, is an elimination. Thank. God. They can still switch rings without hitting the floor, but at least with this rule, you can still tell who's in the match. The participants in the match enter as follows:
- Diamond Dallas Page
- Ray Traylor (the former Big Bubba)
- Alex Wright, accompanied by Debra McMichael
- Disco Inferno
- Meng
- Villano IV
- Villano V
- Chris Benoit
- Fit Finlay
- La Parka
- Steven Regal
- Rocco Rock
- Johnny Grunge
- Dave Taylor
- Ultimo Dragon
- Norman Smiley
- Louie Spicolli
- Hector Garza
- Lizmark Jr.
- The Giant, who has a broken thumb
- Chris Adams
- Greg Valentine
- Yuji Nagata
- Chris Jericho
- Juventud Guerrera
- Wrath, accompanied by James Vandenberg (Father James Mitchell/The Sinister Minister)
- Stevie Ray
- Booker T (both members of Harlem Heat were accompanied by Jacqueline)
- Rick Steiner
- Scott Steiner (both Steiners were accompanied by Ted DiBiase)
- Jim Duggan
- Hugh Morrus
- Lex Luger
- Ernest "The Cat" Miller
- Brad Armstrong
- Silver King
- Mortis (Chris Kanyon under a mask)
- The Barbarian
- Eddie Guerrero
- Damien (not 666 in WCW, I guess)
- Prince Iaukea
- Barry Darsow (Demolition Smash)
- Dean Malenko
- John Nord (The Berserker in the WWF)
- Kendall Windham
- El Dandy (who are you to doubt him?)
- Rey Mysterio Jr.
- Steve McMichael
- Ciclope
- The Renegade
- Chavo Guerrero Jr.
- Super Calo
- Glacier
- Bobby Blaze
- Buff Bagwell
- Scott Hall
- Curt Hennig (Mr. Perfect)
- Randy Savage
- Vincent (Virgil)
- Kevin Nash...?
At least, it's supposed to be Kevin Nash, but he doesn't come out with the rest of the nWo, who all come out together alongside Miss Elizabeth & Rick Rude. The match starts and we instantly get a split screen. Like with the first two matches, I'll write down whatever I see or whatever the commentators say happened. There are only three commentators (Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Mike Tenay) for all three rings instead of two for each ring, so I have a feeling there are going to be some eliminations I miss. Hector Garza is the first man eliminated, being thrown over the top rope by The Giant in Ring #3 almost immediately. He gets eliminated so fast that the commentators don't even acknowledge it, and never do. The Giant picks up five more eliminations quickly, tossing Lizmark Jr., Louie Spicolli, Disco Inferno, and both Villanos out of the ring in quick succession. We then get another way WCW fixed the issue of the match being too chaotic to follow by switching from the triple split screen to making one of the rings full-screen at times. La Parka's the next man out in Ring #3, getting thrown out by Meng. The Public Enemy & Norman Smiley try to triple-team Meng and eliminate him, only for Smiley to end up getting tossed out of the ring. A miscommunication by the Public Enemy nearly gets Rocco Rock eliminated before both men get superkicked out of the ring by Meng. Already, this is so much better than the two previous World War 3 matches because I can actually follow what's happening.
Over in Ring #1, Scott Hall proves why you can, in fact, doubt El Dandy, as he picks him up and dumps him out of the ring fairly easily. Buff Bagwell picks up the next elimination, sending a charging Bobby Blaze out of the ring. Cut to Ring #2, where Silver King & Ernest Miller try to eliminate Stevie Ray. Lex Luger joins in to try and help, but Stevie Ray fights out and survives. Scott Steiner runs over to join in on the Stevie Ray targeting, but Booker T runs over to make the save. Harlem Heat then teams up to eliminate Brad Armstrong & Silver King. Booker then picks up another elimination, suplexing Damien onto the ropes before knocking him out of the ring with a Harlem Side Kick. Man, most of the luchadors (i.e. anyone that's not Mysterio, Juventud, or a Guerrero) didn't get anything in this match. I know a lot of them were just there to pad the numbers, but like...did they all have to spend less time than 46-year-old Greg Valentine did? They can't even outlast John Nord?
Still in Ring #2, Diamond Dallas Page chucks Prince Iaukea out of the ring before tipping Yuji Nagata out of the ring. Wrath & Mortis team up to eliminate The Renegade, only for Mortis to tip Wrath out as well. At some point, while the camera is focused on Ring #1, Chris Jericho gets eliminated. Meanwhile, the nWo teams up to push Kendall Windham out of the ring, only for Rey Mysterio to nearly eliminate Scott Hall, but the rest of the nWo makes the save. Randy Savage almost tossed Mysterio out right after, but Mysterio also survives. Greg Valentine is the next person eliminated, getting dumped out by DDP & Glacier, with Chris Adams the next to go, getting knocked out by Steven Regal. Fit Finlay gets tossed out by Dave Taylor before Chris Benoit & DDP nearly brawl themselves out of the ring. Alex Wright picks up the next elimination, dropkicking Dave Taylor out of the ring before DDP & Dean Malenko clothesline Benoit out of the ring. Dean Malenko then gets karate kicked out of the ring by Ernest Miller.
Over in Ring #1, Hugh Morrus backdrops Jim Duggan out of the ring, while the Barbarian tosses Ernest Miller out of Ring #2. The Barbarian goes out right after, getting clotheslined out by DDP. Back over in Ring #1, Rey Mysterio eliminates Eddie Guerrero, while Randy Savage & Scott Hall toss Hugh Morrus out of the ring. Savage then teams up with Curt Hennig to eliminate Mysterio. Ray Traylor & Barry Darsow also get eliminated at some point. Back over in Ring #3, Meng tosses Steve McMichael out of the ring, while The Giant survives a double team from Alex Wright & Mortis before sending both men out of the ring. Scott Steiner gets eliminated from Ring #1 off-screen while The Giant & Meng, the last two men in Ring #3, brawl. With Steiner's elimination, the nWo stands alone in Ring #1, while Lex Luger dumps Stevie Ray out of the ring. Back in Ring #3, The Giant stands tall, dropkicking Meng out of the ring. It's down to the final 10 as everyone merges into one ring; The Giant, DDP, Luger, Booker T, Rick Steiner, Savage, Hall, Hennig, Bagwell, and the cream of the crop...Vincent. No joke, in a match with 60 men in it, VINCENT makes the final 10. Wild.
The nWo refuses to leave Ring #1, forcing everyone in Ring #2 to run into Ring #1. Everyone brawls as The Giant also makes his way into Ring #1. DDP hits the Diamond Cutter on Vincent, leaving him for The Giant to kick him out of the ring. Everyone pairs off while The Giant stays in the corner. Booker T & Rick Steiner are the next to go, with Booker getting thrown out by Hennig while Savage & Bagwell team up to eliminate Steiner. With the numbers in their favor, the nWo tries to gang up on Luger, only for The Giant to run over and shove Bagwell out of the ring. Hennig & Luger end up dragging each other out of the ring as well, leaving Giant, DDP, Savage, and Hall as the final four. Savage takes the fight to DDP while The Giant corners Hall. DDP fights back and calls for the Diamond Cutter, but Savage blocks it with a lawbreaker and hits a bodyslam. Meanwhile, The Giant picks up Hall and slams him. Savage goes to the top rope for the elbow drop, but The Giant gets in his way to block it. Savage dives at The Giant, but The Giant catches him with a bearhug. Savage fights out of the hold, only for DDP to hit the Diamond Cutter. DDP tries to roll Savage out, only for The Giant to block him so he can chokeslam him...and then roll him out of the ring.
Now outnumbered, Hall retreats into Ring #2 before he points to the entranceway. The nWo's music hits, but it's not Kevin Nash, it's Hollywood Hogan, who runs down to Ring #2. Hall & Hogan enter Ring #1 together and brawl with DDP & The Giant. Hogan bodyslams The Giant before taking the fight to DDP, dropping him crotch first onto the top rope. Hall turns his attention The Giant, who picks him up in a bearhug. Hogan goes over to help, only for The Giant to grab him as well for a double bear hug. Suddenly, a man in a Sting mask descends from the rafters. Based on the fact that he is at least half a foot taller than Sting and has long light brown hair, it's pretty obvious that this is Kevin Nash and not Sting.This makes the commentators look very stupid when they act like that is actually Sting. Hogan throws DDP out of the ring before he runs out of the ring and away from the fake Sting. Everything I've read (Wikipedia, Cagematch.net, The Internet Wrestling Database) says Hogan was the 60th entrant, and the commentators act like he is, so I guess he's eliminated. The fake Sting smashes The Giant with his baseball bat, knocking him out of the ring, giving Scott Hall the win and the title shot at SuperBrawl...except that gets delayed because of how the Starrcade match between Hogan & Sting ends, forcing them to book a rematch at SuperBrawl, so Hall gets his title shot at Uncensored. The fake Sting takes gets in the ring and stands across the ring from Hall, only to take off his mask and reveal he is, in fact, Kevin Nash. Hogan DDTs DDP at ringside before the rest of the nWo runs down to celebrate. Hogan drags DDP into the ring to hit him with a Diamond Cutter to close the show.
The Verdict
I was so ready to put this match a lot higher because I actually thought the majority of the match was fairly well done. Yes, it's still super cluttered and there are still some very obvious issues (there are multiple times during the split screen where they show one ring on two different screens), but this was far easier to follow than the previous two matches, and once they get down to the final 10, the crowd is legit hot for the nWo vs WCW angle. But of course, WCW found a way to squander this. The ending of this is super convoluted & messy, with a very obvious Kevin Nash pretending to be Sting and having the commentators actually sell it like he's really Sting. It's really dumb. An otherwise better-than-expected edition of a bad match type, bogged down by a rough ending.
The Rankings (Best to Worst)
- Tommy Dreamer vs Bully Ray-Victory Road 2011
- Triple H vs Kevin Nash-TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2011
- Wrath vs Glacier-World War 3 1998
- Rick Rude vs Jake Roberts-WrestleMania IV
- Too Much vs Al Snow & Head-King of the Ring 1998
- Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns-Greatest Royal Rumble
- Ernest Miller vs Norman Smiley-Fall Brawl 1998
- The Concrete Crypt Match-The Great American Bash 2004
- Shane McMahon vs Eric Bischoff-SummerSlam 2003
- Mordecai vs Hardcore Holly-The Great American Bash 2004
- Luther Reigns vs Charlie Haas-The Great American Bash 2004
- The Tag Team Gauntlet-Extreme Rules 2010
- The Gimmick Battle Royal-WrestleMania X-Seven
- Hernandez vs Matt Morgan-Victory Road 2011
- Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 33
- Vampiro vs Sting-Great American Bash 2000
- T&A vs Head Cheese-WrestleMania 2000
- David Arquette & Diamond Dallas Page vs Jeff Jarrett & Eric Bischoff
- The Women's Tag Team Turmoil-WrestleMania 37 (Night 1)
- Triple H vs Sgt. Slaughter-D-Generation X: In Your House
- Konnan vs One Man Gang-SuperBrawl VI
- Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules-WrestleMania IV
- Rick Rude vs Hawk-Clash of the Champions XXV
- Shelton Benjamin vs Viscera-New Year's Revolution 2006
- Steve McMichael vs Reggie White-Slamboree 1997
- Chyna vs Ivory-WrestleMania X-Seven
- Lars Sullivan vs Lucha House Party-Super Showdown 2019
- Alexa Bliss vs Bayley-Extreme Rules 2017
- The Tag Team Fatal 4-Way Match-WrestleMania 13
- The Barbed Wire Christmas Tree Match-TNA iMPACT (12/20/2007)
- Tag Team Battle Royal-WrestleMania XIV
- EVIL vs Tomohiro Ishii-Wrestle Kingdom 16 (Day 1)
- The Chamber of Horrors-Halloween Havoc 1991
- Toru Yano vs Great O-Khan-New Japan Cup 2021 (Day 6)
- Glacier vs Wrath-The Great American Bash 1997
- The Natural Disasters vs Money Inc.-WrestleMania VIII
- Ivan Koloff vs Paul Jones-Clash of the Champions IV
- ODB, Taylor Wilde, and Roxxi vs The Kongtourage-Genesis 2009
- Kazushi Sakuraba & Yuji Nagata vs Daniel & Rolles Gracie-Wrestle Kingdom 8
- Ivory vs Tori-SummerSlam 1999
- Giant Baba vs Bulldog Bob Brown-WrestleRock
- The Reverse Battle Royal-Impact! (10/26/2006)
- The Undertaker vs King Mabel-In Your House 5: Season's Beatings
- Savio Vega vs Rocky Maivia-In Your House 14: Revenge of the Taker
- Jerry Blackwell vs Boris Zhukov-SuperClash II
- Nikita Koloff vs Bobby Eaton-Bunkhouse Stampede
- Alex Wright vs Steve McMichael-Halloween Havoc 1997
- The Great Khali vs Kane-WrestleMania 23
- Savio Vega vs Crush vs Faarooq-Ground Zero: In Your House
- The Shockmaster vs Awesome/King Kong-Starrcade 1993
- Total Divas vs Other Divas-Survivor Series 2013
- The Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber-Elimination Chamber 2015
- The Oddities vs Kaientai-SummerSlam 1998
- Team RAW vs Team SmackDown Men's Elimination Match-Survivor Series 2017
- Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice-WrestleMania VIII
- Paul Ellering vs Teddy Long-Capital Combat
- Dusty Rhodes vs Big Boss Man-Saturday Night's Main Event (10/31/1989)
- Konnan vs Scott Hall-Fall Brawl 1998
- Damian Priest vs The Miz-WrestleMania Backlash
- Tyson Tomko vs Stevie Richards-Unforgiven 2004
- Kane vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2009
- The 2022 Women's Royal Rumble
- Rick Steiner vs Scott Steiner-Fall Brawl 1998
- The Extreme Elimination Chamber-December to Dismember 2006
- Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Hog Wild
- Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Souled Out 1997
- Dustin Rhodes & King Kong vs Awesome Kong & The Equalizer-Battlebowl
- Finlay & Little Bastard vs The Boogeyman & Little Boogeyman-No Way Out 2007
- Mr. Anderson vs Rob Van Dam-Victory Road 2011
- Jake Roberts vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania V
- El Gigante vs Nailz-G1 Climax 1994 (Day 1)
- Yokozuna vs King Mabel-In Your House 4
- Dusty Rhodes vs The Honky Tonk Man-SummerSlam 1989
- Sting & Hawk vs Meng & Kurasawa-Clash of the Champions XXXI
- The Hurt Business vs RETRIBUTION-WWE Monday Night RAW (10/26/2020)
- Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage-Uncensored 1998
- Santino Marella vs Heath Slater-WWE Friday Night SmackDown (9/27/2013)
- Al Snow vs Big Boss Man-Unforgiven 1999
- Vince Russo vs Ric Flair-WCW Monday Nitro (6/5/2000)
- Allie vs Leva Bates-Fyter Fest 2019
- Mickie James vs Ashley-Royal Rumble 2006
- Antonio Inoki vs The Great Antonio-NJPW Sumo Hall Show (12/8/1977)
- Christy Hemme vs Big Fat Oily Guy-Against All Odds 2007
- Kenzo Suzuki vs Billy Gunn-The Great American Bash 2004
- The Big Show vs Erick Rowan-TLC: Tables, Ladders, Chairs 2014
- British Bulldog & Jim Neidhart vs The Dancing Fools-Fall Brawl 1998
- Stevie Ray vs Konnan-World War 3 1998
- Vampiro vs The KISS Demon-Bash at the Beach 2000
- Team WCW vs nWo Wolfpac vs nWo Hollywood-Fall Brawl 1998
- Vampiro vs Oklahoma-Starrcade 1999
- Diesel vs King Mabel-SummerSlam 1995
- Big Swole vs Penelope Ford, Rebel, and Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.-AEW Dynamite (8/27/2020)
- Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania III
- Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton-Battleground 2017
- Van Hammer vs Terrance Taylor-Clash of the Champions XVI
- Junkyard Dog vs Moondog Spot-Wrestling Classic
- The New Blood Gauntlet-WCW Monday Nitro (6/5/2000)
- Chris Jericho vs "Goldberg"-Fall Brawl 1998
- Hulk Hogan vs Kevin Nash-WCW Monday Nitro (1/4/1999)
- Sting vs Hulk Hogan-Halloween Havoc 1999
- Hulk Hogan vs Jeff Jarrett-Bash at the Beach 2000
- Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs EVIL & Dick Togo-The New Beginning in Hiroshima 2021 (Day 2)
- Glacier vs Mortis-Slamboree 1997
- Michael Nakazawa vs Alex Jebailey-Fyter Fest 2019
- The 1997 World War 3 Match
- The 2022 Men's Royal Rumble
- Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker-WrestleMania 33
- Konnan vs Stevie Ray-Slamboree 1999
- The Undertaker vs Goldberg-Super ShowDown 2019
- Hiroshi Wajima vs Tom Magee-All Japan Pro Wrestling 1988
- Jim Duggan vs Big Boss Man-Royal Rumble 1990
- Meng vs Jim Duggan-Uncensored 1995
- Jim Steele vs The Equalizer-SuperBrawl IV
- The Golden Truth vs Breezango-Money in the Bank 2016
- The Undertaker vs Giant González-WrestleMania IX
- Sting vs Tony Palmore-Battle 7
- D-Generation X vs Brothers of Destruction-Crown Jewel
- Wendi Richter vs Leilani Kai-WrestleMania
- Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar-WrestleMania XX
- Hornswoggle vs Chavo Guerrero-WWE Monday Night Raw (7/20/2009)
- Edge vs Triple H vs Vladimir Kozlov-Survivor Series 2008
- Rosita & Sarita vs Angelina Love & Winter-Victory Road 2011
- Kevin Sullivan vs Dave Sullivan-SuperBrawl V
- Steve McMichael vs Brian Adams-Road Wild 1998
- Scott Hall vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl IX
- Boris Zhukov vs Paul Samson-Beach Brawl
- Roddy Piper vs Hollywood Hogan-Halloween Havoc 1997
- Kane vs The Great Khali-Breaking Point
- Hollywood Hogan & Dennis Rodman vs Diamond Dallas Page & Karl Malone-Bash at the Beach 1998
- PN News & Bobby Eaton vs Steve Austin & Terrance Taylor-Great American Bash 1991
- Scott Steiner vs Sid Vicious vs Jeff Jarrett vs Road Warrior Animal-Sin
- Hollywood Hogan vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl 1997
- The 2015 Royal Rumble Match
- Kazuchika Okada vs Gedo-New Japan Cup 2020 (Day 2)
- Batista vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2007
- Sting vs Hollywood Hogan-Starrcade 1997
- Sable vs Tori-WrestleMania XV
- Super Invader vs Todd Champion-WrestleWar 1992
- Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez-Crown Jewel 2019
- King Kong Bundy & Jim Neidhart vs Yokozuna & Jake Roberts-Heroes of Wrestling
- Sid Vicious vs The Nightstalker-Clash of the Champions XIII
- Mabel vs Savio Vega-King of the Ring 1995
- Monty Brown vs Trytan-Destination X 2005
- The 8-Divas Tag Match-Survivor Series 1999
- The Fabulous Freebirds vs The Renegade Warriors-Halloween Havoc 1990
- The Knockouts Gauntlet-One Night Only: Live! 2016
- AJ Styles vs Frank Trigg-No Surrender 2008
- Rick Rude vs Masahiro Chono-Halloween Havoc 1992
- Mike Awesome vs Vampiro-Halloween Havoc 2000
- Bray Wyatt vs John Cena-Extreme Rules 2014
- Brothers of Destruction vs KroniK-Unforgiven 2001
- The Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal-WrestleMania 25
- Mabel vs The Undertaker-King of the Ring 1995
- Wendi Richter vs The Fabulous Moolah-The Brawl to End it All
- David Flair vs Kimberly Page-Mayhem 1999
- The Truth Commission vs The Disciples of Apocolypse-Survivor Series 1997
- Daffney vs Miss Hancock-Bash at the Beach 2000
- The Bushwhacker vs The Fabulous Rougeaus-WrestleMania V
- Randy Orton vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 37 (Night 2)
- Lex Luger vs Sting-WWA The Retribution
- The Beverly Brothers vs The Bushwhackers-Royal Rumble 1992
- Savio Vega vs Rocky Maivia-WWF Monday Night Raw (4/14/1997)
- Teddy Long vs Eric Bischoff-Survivor Series 2005
- Savio Vega vs Rocky Maivia-WWF Shotgun Saturday Night (1/25/1997)
- Greg Valentine vs George Steele-Heroes of Wrestling
- Abdullah the Butcher vs One Man Gang-Heroes of Wrestling
- Major Gunns vs Miss Hancock-New Blood Rising
- Vince Russo vs Booker T-WCW Monday Nitro (9/25/2000)
- Bradshaw & Trish Stratus vs Christopher Nowinski & Jackie Gayda-WWE Monday Night RAW (7/8/2002)
- The Countdown to Armageddon Match-WCW Thunder (10/18/2000)
- Triple H vs Scott Steiner-Royal Rumble 2003
- Goldberg vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Super ShowDown 2020
- Santina Marella vs Vickie & Chavo Guerrero-Extreme Rules 2009
- Kevin Nash vs Scott Steiner vs Goldberg-New Blood Rising
- Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker-WrestleMania XXX
- Hollywood Hogan vs The Warrior-Halloween Havoc 1998
- Mr. T vs Roddy Piper-WrestleMania 2
- The Royal Family vs Clowns R' Us-Survivor Series 1994
- The House of Horrors Match-Payback 2017
- The Blacktop Bully vs Dustin Rhodes-Uncensored 1995
- Team Dos Caras vs Team El Canek-Leyendas Mexicanas 2017
- Pat Patterson vs Gerald Brisco-King of the Ring 2000
- The Wyatt Swamp Fight-The Horror Show at Extreme Rules
- The Four Doinks vs Team Bigelow-Survivor Series 1993
- Sting vs Jeff Hardy-Victory Road 2011
- Bret Hart vs Mr. McMahon-WrestleMania XVI
- WarGames 2000: Russo's Revenge-WCW Monday Nitro (9/4/2000)
- Oz vs Tim Parker-SuperBrawl
- Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman-Crown Jewel 2018
- Brock Lesnar vs Ricochet-Super ShowDown 2020
- Toru Yano vs KENTA-G1 Climax 2021 (Day 1)
- The Fabulous Moolah vs Ivory-No Mercy 1999
- The Mighty Maccabee vs The Iron Sheik-Maccabiah Mania II: Shekel Slam
- Van Hammer vs Doug Somers-Halloween Havoc 1991
- Ultimate Warrior vs Andre the Giant-Saturday Night's Main Event (11/25/1989)
- Jeff Jarrett vs Sting-Halloween Havoc 2000
- The Doomsday Cage Match-Uncensored 1996
- "Donald Trump" vs "Rosie O'Donnell"-WWE Monday Night RAW (1/8/2007)
- Kane vs The Undertaker-Judgement Day 1998
- Toru Yano vs Jado-New Japan Cup 2020 (Day 1)
- Rebel vs Shelly Martinez-One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown
- Sable vs Torrie Wilson-The Great American Bash 2004
- The Evening Gown Pool Match-Armageddon 1999
- Kaitlyn vs Maxine-NXT (10/19/2010)
- Sabu vs The Sandman-November to Remember 1997
- The 1996 World War 3 Match
- Seth Rollins vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Hell in a Cell 2019
- Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler-WrestleMania XXVII
- The Bushwhackers vs Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff-Heroes of Wrestling
- James Storm vs Chris Harris-Lockdown 2007
- John Laurinaitis vs John Cena-Over the Limit 2012
- Hulk Hogan vs The Giant-Halloween Havoc 1995
- Ultimate Warrior vs Goldust-In Your House 7
- Los Villanos vs Los Psycho Circus-Triplemania XXIII
- Jenna Morasca vs Sharmell-Victory Road 2009
- Akira Maeda vs Andre the Giant-NJPW Big Fighter Series 1986 (Day 15)
- The 1995 World War 3 Match
1998
And so, we have reached the finale of this look back at World War 3. The final World War 3 match took place in 1998 at what was also the final World War 3 pay-per-view. The winner would once again receive a shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, now held by Goldberg, at that year's Starrcade. Like the previous year, this edition of the match brought a new rule with it, as pinfalls & submissions would now result in an elimination. They never show this happening, so I have no idea why they added this rule. The entrants are as follows:
- Alex Wright
- Bobby Blaze
- Barry Darsow (now the evil golfer Mr. Hole-in-One...this was a real thing WCW did...in 1998)
- Chavo Guerrero Jr.
- Chip Minton
- Chris Adams
- Chris Benoit
- Ciclope
- Damien (still no 666)
- Perry Saturn
- The Disciple (Ed Leslie gimmick #18)
- Disco Inferno
- Eddie Guerrero
- El Dandy (again, who are you to doubt him?)
- The Giant
- Hector Garza
- Horace Hogan
- Chris Jericho
- Booker T
- Wrath
- Ernest Miller
- Scott Steiner
- Scott Norton
- Scott Hall
- Scotty Riggs
- Rey Mysterio Jr.
- Barry Horowitz
- Bobby Eaton
- Stevie Ray
- Kidman (no first name)
- Juventud Guerrera
- Psychosis
- Dean Malenko
- Steve McMichael
- Kaz Hayashi
- Lex Luger
- Konnan
- Bobby Duncum Jr., who just kind of stumbles out from the back at the same time the next person enters, walks off to the side, and doesn't get even get the camera to pay attention to him...seriously, I had to rewatch the entrances because I could not find him the first time I watched it.
- Kanyon (also no first name)
- Kevin Nash
- Johnny Swinger
- The Renegade
- Scott Putski
- Silver King
- Super Calo
- Tokyo Magnum (sometimes Magnum Tokyo)
- Hammer (no Van)
- Villano V
- Vincent
- Kendall Windham
- Kenny Kaos
- La Parka
- Lenny Lane
- Lizmark Jr.
- Mike Enos
- Lodi
- Norman Smiley
- Prince Iaukea
- Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker
- And finally...Glacier
The match starts with the focus on Ring #1, where everyone brawl while Scott Hall stays in the corner and uses referee Mickie Jay as a human shield. Immediately, you can tell that WCW has decided to eliminate the split screen entirely, instead only focusing on one ring at a time. There's also a tally in the bottom left corner with how many people are left in the match, but it'll go down at times without the commentators mentioning an elimination, so it's not much help in terms of keeping track of eliminations. The first eliminations come from Ring #3, where Kevin Nash dumps out Norman Smiley, Super Calo, Lodi, and Lizmark Jr. in quick succession. Prince Iaukea also gets thrown out by someone (can't tell who) before Nash picks up another elimination, tossing Scott Putski out of the ring. Evidence of how far Glacier has fallen, he gets eliminated by Lenny Lane. Tokyo Magnum gets dumped out by La Parka & Silver King before Mike Enos picks up a double elimination, sending Lane & Johnny Swinger out of the ring when they charge at him. Nash continues to make quick work of Ring #3, tossing Kenny Kaos out before tossing Silver King (not El Dandy like the commentators say) out of the ring.
Over in Ring #1, Bobby Duncum Jr. clotheslines Chris Jericho out of the ring, but takes himself out in the process. At some point, Vincent gets tossed out of Ring #3. Back at Ring #3, Van Hammer dropkicks Mike Enos out of the ring, but then gets big booted out by Kevin Nash, leaving Nash as the only man in Ring #3. Over in Ring #2, Psychosis goes for a crossbody off the top onto Scott Hall, but Hall catches him and tosses him out of the ring. Bobby Eaton gets kicked out by Buddy Lee Parker. Kanyon tries to innovate some new offense on Kidman, seemingly setting up for a powerbomb or a piledriver from a superplex position on the top rope, but Kidman powers out and throws Kanyon out of the ring. At the same time, Wrath tosses Kaz Hayashi out of the ring.
Back in Ring #1, The Disciple & Horace Hogan eliminate each other before The Giant dumps Chavo Guerrero out of the ring. With seven men left in Ring #1, everyone gangs up on The Giant, but The Giant is able to power out and throw them all away from him. Over in Ring #2, we're told someone is eliminated, but never who. Scott Steiner tosses Juventud Guerrera out of the ring before Rey Mysterio Jr. gets eliminated. With 20 men left, everyone merges into Ring #2. Before they even get in the middle ring, Perry Saturn & Ernest Miller end up brawling on the outside, causing both of them to get eliminated. A crossbody from Chavo Guerrero ends up taking himself & Alex Wright out of the ring., with Eddie Guerrero & Disco Inferno getting tossed out soon after. Kidman is the next to go, getting gorilla pressed out of the ring by The Giant.
After a long gap between eliminations, Stevie Ray is the next to go, getting dumped out by Lex Luger. Mongo dumps Scott Norton out of the ring next, only to get tossed out by Nash right after. Suddenly, Bam Bam Bigelow emerges from the crowd, running into the ring...only to get immediately swarmed and kicked out of the ring. Goldberg runs down and starts to brawl with Bigelow as security tries to break them up. Meanwhile, Nash tosses Steiner out of the ring. Wrath also gets eliminated at some point. Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko team up to eliminate Booker T as we're down to the final seven; Luger, Nash, Konnan, Benoit, Malenko, The Giant, and Hall.
Everyone pairs off, with Hall dodging a Konnan attack and sending Konnan out of the ring. Nash directs traffic, leading an attack on The Giant, ending with The Giant being eliminated by all five men. Benoit & Malenko try to eliminate Hall, but end up being the next to go, with Benoit dumped out by Nash & Luger while Hall eliminates Malenko. It's down to the final three, Nash, Luger & Hall trade blows. Luger floors Nash with a forearm shot before giving Hall one of his own. Luger picks up Hall for the Torture Rack, clearly learning nothing from the 1996 match. Nash runs over and hits a big boot, sending Hall & Luger out of the ring, and giving Nash the win.
The Verdict
Still an improvement over the first two World War 3 matches, but I would still put it below the 1997 match. Not having any split screen does make the match easier to focus on, but you definitely miss a lot of eliminations. Again, better than the first two, but still below the 1997 match.
The Rankings (Best to Worst)
- Tommy Dreamer vs Bully Ray-Victory Road 2011
- Triple H vs Kevin Nash-TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs 2011
- Wrath vs Glacier-World War 3 1998
- Rick Rude vs Jake Roberts-WrestleMania IV
- Too Much vs Al Snow & Head-King of the Ring 1998
- Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns-Greatest Royal Rumble
- Ernest Miller vs Norman Smiley-Fall Brawl 1998
- The Concrete Crypt Match-The Great American Bash 2004
- Shane McMahon vs Eric Bischoff-SummerSlam 2003
- Mordecai vs Hardcore Holly-The Great American Bash 2004
- Luther Reigns vs Charlie Haas-The Great American Bash 2004
- The Tag Team Gauntlet-Extreme Rules 2010
- The Gimmick Battle Royal-WrestleMania X-Seven
- Hernandez vs Matt Morgan-Victory Road 2011
- Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 33
- Vampiro vs Sting-Great American Bash 2000
- T&A vs Head Cheese-WrestleMania 2000
- David Arquette & Diamond Dallas Page vs Jeff Jarrett & Eric Bischoff
- The Women's Tag Team Turmoil-WrestleMania 37 (Night 1)
- Triple H vs Sgt. Slaughter-D-Generation X: In Your House
- Konnan vs One Man Gang-SuperBrawl VI
- Ultimate Warrior vs Hercules-WrestleMania IV
- Rick Rude vs Hawk-Clash of the Champions XXV
- Shelton Benjamin vs Viscera-New Year's Revolution 2006
- Steve McMichael vs Reggie White-Slamboree 1997
- Chyna vs Ivory-WrestleMania X-Seven
- Lars Sullivan vs Lucha House Party-Super Showdown 2019
- Alexa Bliss vs Bayley-Extreme Rules 2017
- The Tag Team Fatal 4-Way Match-WrestleMania 13
- The Barbed Wire Christmas Tree Match-TNA iMPACT (12/20/2007)
- Tag Team Battle Royal-WrestleMania XIV
- EVIL vs Tomohiro Ishii-Wrestle Kingdom 16 (Day 1)
- The Chamber of Horrors-Halloween Havoc 1991
- Toru Yano vs Great O-Khan-New Japan Cup 2021 (Day 6)
- Glacier vs Wrath-The Great American Bash 1997
- The Natural Disasters vs Money Inc.-WrestleMania VIII
- Ivan Koloff vs Paul Jones-Clash of the Champions IV
- ODB, Taylor Wilde, and Roxxi vs The Kongtourage-Genesis 2009
- Kazushi Sakuraba & Yuji Nagata vs Daniel & Rolles Gracie-Wrestle Kingdom 8
- Ivory vs Tori-SummerSlam 1999
- Giant Baba vs Bulldog Bob Brown-WrestleRock
- The Reverse Battle Royal-Impact! (10/26/2006)
- The Undertaker vs King Mabel-In Your House 5: Season's Beatings
- Savio Vega vs Rocky Maivia-In Your House 14: Revenge of the Taker
- Jerry Blackwell vs Boris Zhukov-SuperClash II
- Nikita Koloff vs Bobby Eaton-Bunkhouse Stampede
- Alex Wright vs Steve McMichael-Halloween Havoc 1997
- The Great Khali vs Kane-WrestleMania 23
- Savio Vega vs Crush vs Faarooq-Ground Zero: In Your House
- The Shockmaster vs Awesome/King Kong-Starrcade 1993
- Total Divas vs Other Divas-Survivor Series 2013
- The Intercontinental Championship Elimination Chamber-Elimination Chamber 2015
- The Oddities vs Kaientai-SummerSlam 1998
- Team RAW vs Team SmackDown Men's Elimination Match-Survivor Series 2017
- Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice-WrestleMania VIII
- Paul Ellering vs Teddy Long-Capital Combat
- Dusty Rhodes vs Big Boss Man-Saturday Night's Main Event (10/31/1989)
- Konnan vs Scott Hall-Fall Brawl 1998
- Damian Priest vs The Miz-WrestleMania Backlash
- Tyson Tomko vs Stevie Richards-Unforgiven 2004
- Kane vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2009
- The 2022 Women's Royal Rumble
- Rick Steiner vs Scott Steiner-Fall Brawl 1998
- The Extreme Elimination Chamber-December to Dismember 2006
- Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Hog Wild
- Hollywood Hogan vs The Giant-Souled Out 1997
- Dustin Rhodes & King Kong vs Awesome Kong & The Equalizer-Battlebowl
- Finlay & Little Bastard vs The Boogeyman & Little Boogeyman-No Way Out 2007
- Mr. Anderson vs Rob Van Dam-Victory Road 2011
- Jake Roberts vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania V
- El Gigante vs Nailz-G1 Climax 1994 (Day 1)
- Yokozuna vs King Mabel-In Your House 4
- Dusty Rhodes vs The Honky Tonk Man-SummerSlam 1989
- Sting & Hawk vs Meng & Kurasawa-Clash of the Champions XXXI
- The Hurt Business vs RETRIBUTION-WWE Monday Night RAW (10/26/2020)
- Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage-Uncensored 1998
- Santino Marella vs Heath Slater-WWE Friday Night SmackDown (9/27/2013)
- Al Snow vs Big Boss Man-Unforgiven 1999
- Vince Russo vs Ric Flair-WCW Monday Nitro (6/5/2000)
- Allie vs Leva Bates-Fyter Fest 2019
- Mickie James vs Ashley-Royal Rumble 2006
- Antonio Inoki vs The Great Antonio-NJPW Sumo Hall Show (12/8/1977)
- Christy Hemme vs Big Fat Oily Guy-Against All Odds 2007
- Kenzo Suzuki vs Billy Gunn-The Great American Bash 2004
- The Big Show vs Erick Rowan-TLC: Tables, Ladders, Chairs 2014
- British Bulldog & Jim Neidhart vs The Dancing Fools-Fall Brawl 1998
- Stevie Ray vs Konnan-World War 3 1998
- Vampiro vs The KISS Demon-Bash at the Beach 2000
- Team WCW vs nWo Wolfpac vs nWo Hollywood-Fall Brawl 1998
- Vampiro vs Oklahoma-Starrcade 1999
- Diesel vs King Mabel-SummerSlam 1995
- Big Swole vs Penelope Ford, Rebel, and Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D.-AEW Dynamite (8/27/2020)
- Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant-WrestleMania III
- Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton-Battleground 2017
- Van Hammer vs Terrance Taylor-Clash of the Champions XVI
- Junkyard Dog vs Moondog Spot-Wrestling Classic
- The New Blood Gauntlet-WCW Monday Nitro (6/5/2000)
- Chris Jericho vs "Goldberg"-Fall Brawl 1998
- Hulk Hogan vs Kevin Nash-WCW Monday Nitro (1/4/1999)
- Sting vs Hulk Hogan-Halloween Havoc 1999
- Hulk Hogan vs Jeff Jarrett-Bash at the Beach 2000
- Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs EVIL & Dick Togo-The New Beginning in Hiroshima 2021 (Day 2)
- Glacier vs Mortis-Slamboree 1997
- Michael Nakazawa vs Alex Jebailey-Fyter Fest 2019
- The 1997 World War 3 Match
- The 2022 Men's Royal Rumble
- Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker-WrestleMania 33
- Konnan vs Stevie Ray-Slamboree 1999
- The 1998 World War 3
- The Undertaker vs Goldberg-Super ShowDown 2019
- Hiroshi Wajima vs Tom Magee-All Japan Pro Wrestling 1988
- Jim Duggan vs Big Boss Man-Royal Rumble 1990
- Meng vs Jim Duggan-Uncensored 1995
- Jim Steele vs The Equalizer-SuperBrawl IV
- The Golden Truth vs Breezango-Money in the Bank 2016
- The Undertaker vs Giant González-WrestleMania IX
- Sting vs Tony Palmore-Battle 7
- D-Generation X vs Brothers of Destruction-Crown Jewel
- Wendi Richter vs Leilani Kai-WrestleMania
- Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar-WrestleMania XX
- Hornswoggle vs Chavo Guerrero-WWE Monday Night Raw (7/20/2009)
- Edge vs Triple H vs Vladimir Kozlov-Survivor Series 2008
- Rosita & Sarita vs Angelina Love & Winter-Victory Road 2011
- Kevin Sullivan vs Dave Sullivan-SuperBrawl V
- Steve McMichael vs Brian Adams-Road Wild 1998
- Scott Hall vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl IX
- Boris Zhukov vs Paul Samson-Beach Brawl
- Roddy Piper vs Hollywood Hogan-Halloween Havoc 1997
- Kane vs The Great Khali-Breaking Point
- Hollywood Hogan & Dennis Rodman vs Diamond Dallas Page & Karl Malone-Bash at the Beach 1998
- PN News & Bobby Eaton vs Steve Austin & Terrance Taylor-Great American Bash 1991
- Scott Steiner vs Sid Vicious vs Jeff Jarrett vs Road Warrior Animal-Sin
- Hollywood Hogan vs Roddy Piper-SuperBrawl 1997
- The 2015 Royal Rumble Match
- Kazuchika Okada vs Gedo-New Japan Cup 2020 (Day 2)
- Batista vs The Great Khali-SummerSlam 2007
- Sting vs Hollywood Hogan-Starrcade 1997
- Sable vs Tori-WrestleMania XV
- Super Invader vs Todd Champion-WrestleWar 1992
- Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez-Crown Jewel 2019
- King Kong Bundy & Jim Neidhart vs Yokozuna & Jake Roberts-Heroes of Wrestling
- Sid Vicious vs The Nightstalker-Clash of the Champions XIII
- Mabel vs Savio Vega-King of the Ring 1995
- Monty Brown vs Trytan-Destination X 2005
- The 8-Divas Tag Match-Survivor Series 1999
- The Fabulous Freebirds vs The Renegade Warriors-Halloween Havoc 1990
- The Knockouts Gauntlet-One Night Only: Live! 2016
- AJ Styles vs Frank Trigg-No Surrender 2008
- Rick Rude vs Masahiro Chono-Halloween Havoc 1992
- Mike Awesome vs Vampiro-Halloween Havoc 2000
- Bray Wyatt vs John Cena-Extreme Rules 2014
- Brothers of Destruction vs KroniK-Unforgiven 2001
- The Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal-WrestleMania 25
- Mabel vs The Undertaker-King of the Ring 1995
- Wendi Richter vs The Fabulous Moolah-The Brawl to End it All
- David Flair vs Kimberly Page-Mayhem 1999
- The Truth Commission vs The Disciples of Apocolypse-Survivor Series 1997
- Daffney vs Miss Hancock-Bash at the Beach 2000
- The Bushwhacker vs The Fabulous Rougeaus-WrestleMania V
- Randy Orton vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-WrestleMania 37 (Night 2)
- Lex Luger vs Sting-WWA The Retribution
- The Beverly Brothers vs The Bushwhackers-Royal Rumble 1992
- Savio Vega vs Rocky Maivia-WWF Monday Night Raw (4/14/1997)
- Teddy Long vs Eric Bischoff-Survivor Series 2005
- Savio Vega vs Rocky Maivia-WWF Shotgun Saturday Night (1/25/1997)
- Greg Valentine vs George Steele-Heroes of Wrestling
- Abdullah the Butcher vs One Man Gang-Heroes of Wrestling
- Major Gunns vs Miss Hancock-New Blood Rising
- Vince Russo vs Booker T-WCW Monday Nitro (9/25/2000)
- Bradshaw & Trish Stratus vs Christopher Nowinski & Jackie Gayda-WWE Monday Night RAW (7/8/2002)
- The Countdown to Armageddon Match-WCW Thunder (10/18/2000)
- Triple H vs Scott Steiner-Royal Rumble 2003
- Goldberg vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Super ShowDown 2020
- Santina Marella vs Vickie & Chavo Guerrero-Extreme Rules 2009
- Kevin Nash vs Scott Steiner vs Goldberg-New Blood Rising
- Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker-WrestleMania XXX
- Hollywood Hogan vs The Warrior-Halloween Havoc 1998
- Mr. T vs Roddy Piper-WrestleMania 2
- The Royal Family vs Clowns R' Us-Survivor Series 1994
- The House of Horrors Match-Payback 2017
- The Blacktop Bully vs Dustin Rhodes-Uncensored 1995
- Team Dos Caras vs Team El Canek-Leyendas Mexicanas 2017
- Pat Patterson vs Gerald Brisco-King of the Ring 2000
- The Wyatt Swamp Fight-The Horror Show at Extreme Rules
- The Four Doinks vs Team Bigelow-Survivor Series 1993
- Sting vs Jeff Hardy-Victory Road 2011
- Bret Hart vs Mr. McMahon-WrestleMania XVI
- WarGames 2000: Russo's Revenge-WCW Monday Nitro (9/4/2000)
- Oz vs Tim Parker-SuperBrawl
- Brock Lesnar vs Braun Strowman-Crown Jewel 2018
- Brock Lesnar vs Ricochet-Super ShowDown 2020
- Toru Yano vs KENTA-G1 Climax 2021 (Day 1)
- The Fabulous Moolah vs Ivory-No Mercy 1999
- The Mighty Maccabee vs The Iron Sheik-Maccabiah Mania II: Shekel Slam
- Van Hammer vs Doug Somers-Halloween Havoc 1991
- Ultimate Warrior vs Andre the Giant-Saturday Night's Main Event (11/25/1989)
- Jeff Jarrett vs Sting-Halloween Havoc 2000
- The Doomsday Cage Match-Uncensored 1996
- "Donald Trump" vs "Rosie O'Donnell"-WWE Monday Night RAW (1/8/2007)
- Kane vs The Undertaker-Judgement Day 1998
- Toru Yano vs Jado-New Japan Cup 2020 (Day 1)
- Rebel vs Shelly Martinez-One Night Only: Knockouts Knockdown
- Sable vs Torrie Wilson-The Great American Bash 2004
- The Evening Gown Pool Match-Armageddon 1999
- Kaitlyn vs Maxine-NXT (10/19/2010)
- Sabu vs The Sandman-November to Remember 1997
- The 1996 World War 3 Match
- Seth Rollins vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt-Hell in a Cell 2019
- Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler-WrestleMania XXVII
- The Bushwhackers vs Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff-Heroes of Wrestling
- James Storm vs Chris Harris-Lockdown 2007
- John Laurinaitis vs John Cena-Over the Limit 2012
- Hulk Hogan vs The Giant-Halloween Havoc 1995
- Ultimate Warrior vs Goldust-In Your House 7
- Los Villanos vs Los Psycho Circus-Triplemania XXIII
- Jenna Morasca vs Sharmell-Victory Road 2009
- Akira Maeda vs Andre the Giant-NJPW Big Fighter Series 1986 (Day 15)
- The 1995 World War 3 Match
Thanks for reading! Be sure to share if you enjoyed and leave any suggestions for matches you'd like to see covered on the Worst in the World in the comments. Next week will be the finale of A Very WCW October, and since it'll be the day before Halloween, what better time to a take a multi-match look at the worst edition of Halloween Havoc. Stay tuned.
I got a few of match requests, both come from Wrestlemania 7.
ReplyDelete1. Genichiro Tenryu/Koji Kitao vs Demolition
2. Jake Roberts vs Rick Martel
And last but not least one of the worst Mania main events of all time, Hulk Hogan vs Sgt Slaughter.
I'll add them to the list! Looking over Mania 7, there's a couple more matches I think I'll add on to that idea. Between that and SummerSlam 1990, this should be a fun little look at the last few years of the Hulkamania era. Thanks for the suggestions!
DeleteYou're welcome man, anytime!
DeleteTeam Alliance vs Team Mercenaries at Survivor Series is a terrible match that nobody ever brings up for some reason in worst matches. You’re going to have to relive the Bushwhackers again as well as the Bolsheviks on opposite sides. Not to mention a screwy finish to protect Sarge.
DeleteWell I guess I'm going to give that match a look.
DeleteI'll add it to the list. It's been a while since I've delved into the Hulkamania era so all the requests I've been getting should be fun, even if it's a Bushwhackers match. Thanks for the suggestion!
DeleteYou want to know what is truly sad? From your sign-off of "the worst edition of Halloween Havoc" I went and looked up the match ratings from all of WCW's installments of the PPV.
ReplyDeleteI legitimately do not know which one you are referencing because so many of them are just...bland. My gut says 2000; it is 2000s WCW, after all. I don't know what it is about that line of PPVs but there are so many matches that just absolutely sucked.
It is 2000. As for why there are so many lackluster matches at Halloween Havoc over the years, I really don't know either. Maybe WCW thought it was a lesser pay-per-view because of the Halloween-theme, but It definetly seems like Havoc got a lot of uninteresting matches over the years.
Delete