WCW Halloween Havoc 1997

By October 1997, WCW had such a commanding lead in the Monday Night War that it seemed like they would never be caught by their rivals. WWE could present the first ever televised matches between two of the best wrestlers in the world if they wanted, but the WCW powerhouse could simply trot out the umpteenth meeting between two men in their 40s and easily trump the buy rate managed by WWE. That is exactly what happened during this month as WWE put on the first ever Hell in a Cell match (chronicled here in my review of In Your House: Badd Blood) which would see Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker go at it in what must go down as a true classic. That same month a few weeks later, Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan would have a match that was accurately described by Jim Cornette on WWE television as the ‘Age in the Cage’ featuring sub-par in-ring action, nonsensical rules and copious amounts of needless interference and yet still outdraw WWE in a big way with their main event at Halloween Havoc 1997.

WWE In Your House: Badd Blood

WWE In Your House: Badd Blood is a fascinating snapshot of WWE at a time when everything was about to change in ways that couldn’t have been imagined at the time, mainly due to the fact that things already seemed to be changing in ways nobody could have imagined just a few months before. Going on air a matter of hours after the death of Brian Pillman and with details of what had happened to him still filtering through, there is an atmosphere of shell-shock that grips this show through the disjointed commentary, unconvincing undercard action and underwhelming crowd noise that pervades most of the matches. While it would be churlish to suggest that Pillman’s death was not a massively significant moment (to his peers, his family and to the wrestling world at the time- it was devastating), there is a sense that history remembers the night more for the events that would take place in the ring near the end of the broadcast, than the untimely death of a trailblazer worthy of celebration.