Welcome to the fourth and final edition of October's column, Halloween Havoc ThunderStruck style! We've looked at nine past matches so far, and I've really enjoyed the flashback to these old school events and where the careers of these guys ended up. In this last edition, I'm looking at three matches featuring some of the big time players of sports entertainment from 1998-2000. Based on their popularity at the time, it's more than interesting to see where these guys have ended up.
Halloween Havoc: October 25, 1998 from Las Vegas, NV
Kevin Nash vs Scott Hall: This match certainly wasn't similar to their 1994 Summerslam battle, but it was a brawl and very fun to watch! Nash had the wolfpac theme; Hall had the original nWo theme. Hall had been kicked out of nWo at this point, however, and wrestled under the "Lone Wolf" gimmick. Nah dominated the final few minutes of this match. These guys had been beating the hell out of each other and the match ended rather abruptly. After hitting two jack-knifes on Hall, Nash walked out of the ring and lost the match by countout. These two would be reunited by the end of the year however, when Hall helped Nash end Goldberg's steak.
Scott Hall: Hall was a seven time tag champion in WCW and held the TV title once and the US Title twice. He helped Kevin Nash defeat Goldberg at Starrcade that year, and the two nWo factions joined together in January 1999(see Fingerpoke of doom). Hall would go on to win the US Title from Roddy Piper and would have to forfeit the belt due to injury. Hall would win the US Title again and would hold the TV Title simultaneously. He would drop the TV Title in a trash can and was again forced to vacate the US Title due to injury. Hall would form nWo 2000 with Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, Bret Hart, and Scott Steiner in December of 1999. His final match in WCW was a loss to Sid in a triple threat match at Superbrawl along with Jeff Jarrett for the WCW World Title. He returned to the WWE in early 2002 with the reformation of the nWo with Hogan and Nash, but would only wrestle one major match with Steve Austin at WM18. Hall lost the match and was gone from the company within a couple months. Hall would do several stints in TNA between 2003 and 2010 involving attempted factions with Kevin Nash, but wouldn't achieve any major success. Hall also wrestled for Juggalo Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Council where he would win the promotion's Heavyweight Championship. Hall has done several independent appearances since the start of 2010 and has been in and out of rehab numerous times over the last few years.
Kevin Nash: Following his match with Hall, Nash would the World War 3 challenge and go on to win the WCW World Title from Goldberg in December that year at Starrcade, thus ending Goldberg's long undefeated streak. Nash and Hogan would join the two nWo factions together in January of 1999 and the group lasted until mid 1999. Nash would hold the WCW Title four more times while with the company, and would feud with guys like Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, Scott Steiner, and Booker T. Nash returned to the WWE in February 2002 to reform the nWo with Hogan and Hall. After Hogan went face and Hall left the company, Nash tried to rebuild the group with Booker T, Sean Waltman, the Big Show, and Shawn Michaels. Nash was working on recruiting Triple H when he suffered an injury and the storyline was completely killed. Nash would return in 2003 to feud with Triple H but would fail to capture the WHC from him in two attempts. They put on a terrific Hell in a Cell match in 2004 at Badd Blood. Nash left the company later that year after Summerslam. Nash would return to TNA and take part in several storylines. Nash, Hall and Jarrett attempted to form a faction called the Kings of Wrestling, but it failed. Nash would go on to try and help the X division, but it turned into a wasted storyline. Nash's best storyline in TNA was the Main Event Mafia, a group consisting of himself, Booker T, Scott Steiner, Sting, and Kurt Angle. The group had total power and domination in the company. But like many good storylines in the recent past, this one got dropped too soon when Angle and Sting got into a feud. Nash would try to reform the Band with Scott Hall and Sean Waltman, but it was short lived. He then attempted to recreate the Wolf Pack group with Sting, but that also was short lived and Nash left the company in October of 2010. Nash returned as Diesel at the 2011 Royal Rumble and was eliminated by Wade Barrett. He wasn't seen again on television until his surprise attack on CM Punk at Summerslam. Nash has since been feuding with Triple H, despite his age and lack of ability to move well in the ring.
Hallowee Havoc: October 24, 1999 from Las Vegas, NV
The Total Package vs Bret Hart: It was quite obvious that Luger was hitting the steroids hard during this time. For many of us, this was a long awaited match that we all dreamed about getting at WrestleMania X! Vince was apparently just too scared to do face vs face again after the Hogan/Warrior mess four years prior. This match was typical Bret in that he executed his moved flawlessly as usual. Luger was never really much of a terrific wrestler and this match really shows just how bad he was. Luger would work on Hart's leg repeatedly which had been banged up earlier in the week and Bret would tap out to a half boston crab applied by Luger.
Lex Luger: Luger would go on to feud with Sting and Hogan and would form Team Package with Nature Boy Ric Flair. He would challenge Booker T for his WCW World Title and challenge Goldberg twice for the title during the next year and fail to win the championship. He formed a tag team with Buff Bagwell called Totally Buff until the end of WCW. Luger would not appear on tv again until 2003 with TNA. He would make sporadic appearances for the company through 2006. he suffered a spinal stroke in 2007 and was unable to walk for a couple years. He currently is working for WWE and their wellness program. He is working with talent as a mentor/guide for physical fitness and drug prevention.
Bret Hart: Bret was 40 when the Montreal Screwjob went down and was still in the prime of his career. He would win the Mayhem tournament in 1999 following his loss to Luger at Havoc, defeating Goldberg along the way to win the US Title before dropping it to Scott Hall, and ultimately defeating Chris Benoit in the finals. Hart would defeat Goldberg in a World Title match at Starrcade, but suffered an injury during the match from a kick to the skull by Goldberg. This kick to the skull is most noted as being the move that ended Hart's career prematurely. Hart was 42 years old and was the best in ring technician in any organization at the time(yeah, I'm a Hart mark, deal with it. Benoit was a close second.) Hart would wrestle his final match on January 6, 2000 when he defended his title against Kevin Nash that ended in a no contest. After vacating the title due to injury, he would make sporadic appearances and cut promos in WCW until October 2000 when he left the company. Hart was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in April of 2006. Bret would return to WWE on January 4, 2010 and bury the hatchet with Shawn Michaels. He would go on to defeat Vince McMahon at WM26 and would win the US Title from the Miz in May(Hart would vacate the title immediately). He would make sporadic appearances and serve as the GM of RAW for a short time period. He served on team WWE with John Cena against the Nexus at Summerslam 2010. Hart would continue to make sporadic guest appearances on both RAW and Smackdown heading into 2011. Hart's most recent appearance pitted himself and John Cena in a tag team match against Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez. Bret picked up the win in that match when Ricardo submitted to the sharpshooter.
Halloween Havoc: October 29, 2000 from Las Vegas, NV
Booker T vs Scott Steiner for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship: These two were the best WCW had to offer during it's final months as an active organization. They were put on second to last at this event because of Bill Goldberg's handicap match against Brian Adams and Brian Clark. This is one example of WCW's poor booking that was destroying the company. The second problem was that this was their World Title bout and the match ended in disqualification, with Booker retaining his title. These guys give you some of their best work in this match, and it's probably the only wrestling match working taking a look at on this entire card. But if you're a big Sting fan, you may want to check out his match with Jeff Jarrett(you see a lot more than just one Sting).
Scott Steiner: Steiner would win the championship in November and lose it back to Booker T on the final edition of Monday Nitro in March of 2001. He would compete for World Wrestling All Stars until November of 2002 when he returned to WWE. Steiner had a feud with Triple H where he failed to capture the World Title at the 2003 No Way Out pay per view event(one a side note, this match was voted worst worked wrestling match of 2003 by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter). He would go on to form a tag team with Test while managed by Stacey Keibler. This would be all he would do until he left the company just before Summerslam in 2004. Steiner would go to TNA in 2006 and do multiple roles such as playing Jeff Jarrett's bodyguard, being Championship Consultant for Christian, serving as the muscle for the Main Event Mafia, and in his most recent role serve as a member of the group Immortal. Despite his charisma and size, Steiner only held the WCW Title the one time during his feud with Booker T.
Booker T: Booker would drop the title to Steiner the following month and would gain it back on the final edition of Nitro. Booker was still the WCW Champion during the Invasion angle in the WWE, and he feuded with Kurt Angle initially. Booker dropped the title to Angle but then gained it back. He then dropped the title to The Rock at Summerslam 2001. Booker went on to form a tag team with Test, and then feuded with Edge leading to their match at WM18. Booker then teamed with Goldust and even held the World Tag Titles for a short time, which gave us some of the funniest Booker T skits you'll ever watch. After splitting from the team, Booker faced Triple H for the WHC at WM19 and failed to win the title. He then feuded with Christian for his IC Title. Booker won the title, then quickly lost it back to him. Booker then formed a tag team with Rob Van Dam before moving on to his classic best of five series of matches over the US Title with a very new John Cena. These matches are the true testament of just how well Cena CAN wrestle when told to. Booker then feuded with JBL and Kurt Angle, before working a rivalry with Chris Benoit. Booker was able to capture the US Title from Benoit during this rivarly in October 2005. Booker and Benoit would feud all the way to No Way Out in 2006, where Benoit would come out on top. Booker had a ridiculous feud with the Boogeyman(the guy could wrestle) and lost to him at WM22. Booker won the King of the Ring in May and took on the King Booker gimmick. It was annoying. Booker won the World Title from Rey Mysterio, and then feuded with Batista, who dropped the title to at the Survivor Series. Booker then had a feud with Kane, Matt Hardy, and then a returning Triple H at Summerslam 2007. He left the company in October 2007 and headed to TNA. Booker worked a rivalry with Robert Roode before joining the Main Event Mafia, where he would capture the newly created Legends Title. Booker and Scott Steiner went after and won the TNA Tag Titles during their time in the MEM. Booker left TNA in 2010. He returned to WWE at the 2011 Royal Rumble and worked just a couple matches after his return. He now sits at the broadcast table on Smackdown, calling action with Michael Cole and Josh Matthews. He frequently talks about his "fave five"(I'm pretty sure it has about 12 members).
And that will do it for this series of columns! It was a lot of fun to look back on these matches and see what these guys have done since. What I need to know now is how much you the reader enjoyed this, or if the idea was a complete waste of time since most of this info can be found on various websites. So, however you would like to respond, definitely leave me some feedback on whether or not this was a good choice for column structure. I'm not sure what we'll be looking at in November, but you can vote on my page. Until the next special edition of ThunderStruck, thanks for reading!
Halloween Havoc: October 25, 1998 from Las Vegas, NV
Kevin Nash vs Scott Hall: This match certainly wasn't similar to their 1994 Summerslam battle, but it was a brawl and very fun to watch! Nash had the wolfpac theme; Hall had the original nWo theme. Hall had been kicked out of nWo at this point, however, and wrestled under the "Lone Wolf" gimmick. Nah dominated the final few minutes of this match. These guys had been beating the hell out of each other and the match ended rather abruptly. After hitting two jack-knifes on Hall, Nash walked out of the ring and lost the match by countout. These two would be reunited by the end of the year however, when Hall helped Nash end Goldberg's steak.
Scott Hall: Hall was a seven time tag champion in WCW and held the TV title once and the US Title twice. He helped Kevin Nash defeat Goldberg at Starrcade that year, and the two nWo factions joined together in January 1999(see Fingerpoke of doom). Hall would go on to win the US Title from Roddy Piper and would have to forfeit the belt due to injury. Hall would win the US Title again and would hold the TV Title simultaneously. He would drop the TV Title in a trash can and was again forced to vacate the US Title due to injury. Hall would form nWo 2000 with Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, Bret Hart, and Scott Steiner in December of 1999. His final match in WCW was a loss to Sid in a triple threat match at Superbrawl along with Jeff Jarrett for the WCW World Title. He returned to the WWE in early 2002 with the reformation of the nWo with Hogan and Nash, but would only wrestle one major match with Steve Austin at WM18. Hall lost the match and was gone from the company within a couple months. Hall would do several stints in TNA between 2003 and 2010 involving attempted factions with Kevin Nash, but wouldn't achieve any major success. Hall also wrestled for Juggalo Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Council where he would win the promotion's Heavyweight Championship. Hall has done several independent appearances since the start of 2010 and has been in and out of rehab numerous times over the last few years.
Kevin Nash: Following his match with Hall, Nash would the World War 3 challenge and go on to win the WCW World Title from Goldberg in December that year at Starrcade, thus ending Goldberg's long undefeated streak. Nash and Hogan would join the two nWo factions together in January of 1999 and the group lasted until mid 1999. Nash would hold the WCW Title four more times while with the company, and would feud with guys like Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, Scott Steiner, and Booker T. Nash returned to the WWE in February 2002 to reform the nWo with Hogan and Hall. After Hogan went face and Hall left the company, Nash tried to rebuild the group with Booker T, Sean Waltman, the Big Show, and Shawn Michaels. Nash was working on recruiting Triple H when he suffered an injury and the storyline was completely killed. Nash would return in 2003 to feud with Triple H but would fail to capture the WHC from him in two attempts. They put on a terrific Hell in a Cell match in 2004 at Badd Blood. Nash left the company later that year after Summerslam. Nash would return to TNA and take part in several storylines. Nash, Hall and Jarrett attempted to form a faction called the Kings of Wrestling, but it failed. Nash would go on to try and help the X division, but it turned into a wasted storyline. Nash's best storyline in TNA was the Main Event Mafia, a group consisting of himself, Booker T, Scott Steiner, Sting, and Kurt Angle. The group had total power and domination in the company. But like many good storylines in the recent past, this one got dropped too soon when Angle and Sting got into a feud. Nash would try to reform the Band with Scott Hall and Sean Waltman, but it was short lived. He then attempted to recreate the Wolf Pack group with Sting, but that also was short lived and Nash left the company in October of 2010. Nash returned as Diesel at the 2011 Royal Rumble and was eliminated by Wade Barrett. He wasn't seen again on television until his surprise attack on CM Punk at Summerslam. Nash has since been feuding with Triple H, despite his age and lack of ability to move well in the ring.
Hallowee Havoc: October 24, 1999 from Las Vegas, NV
The Total Package vs Bret Hart: It was quite obvious that Luger was hitting the steroids hard during this time. For many of us, this was a long awaited match that we all dreamed about getting at WrestleMania X! Vince was apparently just too scared to do face vs face again after the Hogan/Warrior mess four years prior. This match was typical Bret in that he executed his moved flawlessly as usual. Luger was never really much of a terrific wrestler and this match really shows just how bad he was. Luger would work on Hart's leg repeatedly which had been banged up earlier in the week and Bret would tap out to a half boston crab applied by Luger.
Lex Luger: Luger would go on to feud with Sting and Hogan and would form Team Package with Nature Boy Ric Flair. He would challenge Booker T for his WCW World Title and challenge Goldberg twice for the title during the next year and fail to win the championship. He formed a tag team with Buff Bagwell called Totally Buff until the end of WCW. Luger would not appear on tv again until 2003 with TNA. He would make sporadic appearances for the company through 2006. he suffered a spinal stroke in 2007 and was unable to walk for a couple years. He currently is working for WWE and their wellness program. He is working with talent as a mentor/guide for physical fitness and drug prevention.
Bret Hart: Bret was 40 when the Montreal Screwjob went down and was still in the prime of his career. He would win the Mayhem tournament in 1999 following his loss to Luger at Havoc, defeating Goldberg along the way to win the US Title before dropping it to Scott Hall, and ultimately defeating Chris Benoit in the finals. Hart would defeat Goldberg in a World Title match at Starrcade, but suffered an injury during the match from a kick to the skull by Goldberg. This kick to the skull is most noted as being the move that ended Hart's career prematurely. Hart was 42 years old and was the best in ring technician in any organization at the time(yeah, I'm a Hart mark, deal with it. Benoit was a close second.) Hart would wrestle his final match on January 6, 2000 when he defended his title against Kevin Nash that ended in a no contest. After vacating the title due to injury, he would make sporadic appearances and cut promos in WCW until October 2000 when he left the company. Hart was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in April of 2006. Bret would return to WWE on January 4, 2010 and bury the hatchet with Shawn Michaels. He would go on to defeat Vince McMahon at WM26 and would win the US Title from the Miz in May(Hart would vacate the title immediately). He would make sporadic appearances and serve as the GM of RAW for a short time period. He served on team WWE with John Cena against the Nexus at Summerslam 2010. Hart would continue to make sporadic guest appearances on both RAW and Smackdown heading into 2011. Hart's most recent appearance pitted himself and John Cena in a tag team match against Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez. Bret picked up the win in that match when Ricardo submitted to the sharpshooter.
Halloween Havoc: October 29, 2000 from Las Vegas, NV
Booker T vs Scott Steiner for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship: These two were the best WCW had to offer during it's final months as an active organization. They were put on second to last at this event because of Bill Goldberg's handicap match against Brian Adams and Brian Clark. This is one example of WCW's poor booking that was destroying the company. The second problem was that this was their World Title bout and the match ended in disqualification, with Booker retaining his title. These guys give you some of their best work in this match, and it's probably the only wrestling match working taking a look at on this entire card. But if you're a big Sting fan, you may want to check out his match with Jeff Jarrett(you see a lot more than just one Sting).
Scott Steiner: Steiner would win the championship in November and lose it back to Booker T on the final edition of Monday Nitro in March of 2001. He would compete for World Wrestling All Stars until November of 2002 when he returned to WWE. Steiner had a feud with Triple H where he failed to capture the World Title at the 2003 No Way Out pay per view event(one a side note, this match was voted worst worked wrestling match of 2003 by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter). He would go on to form a tag team with Test while managed by Stacey Keibler. This would be all he would do until he left the company just before Summerslam in 2004. Steiner would go to TNA in 2006 and do multiple roles such as playing Jeff Jarrett's bodyguard, being Championship Consultant for Christian, serving as the muscle for the Main Event Mafia, and in his most recent role serve as a member of the group Immortal. Despite his charisma and size, Steiner only held the WCW Title the one time during his feud with Booker T.
Booker T: Booker would drop the title to Steiner the following month and would gain it back on the final edition of Nitro. Booker was still the WCW Champion during the Invasion angle in the WWE, and he feuded with Kurt Angle initially. Booker dropped the title to Angle but then gained it back. He then dropped the title to The Rock at Summerslam 2001. Booker went on to form a tag team with Test, and then feuded with Edge leading to their match at WM18. Booker then teamed with Goldust and even held the World Tag Titles for a short time, which gave us some of the funniest Booker T skits you'll ever watch. After splitting from the team, Booker faced Triple H for the WHC at WM19 and failed to win the title. He then feuded with Christian for his IC Title. Booker won the title, then quickly lost it back to him. Booker then formed a tag team with Rob Van Dam before moving on to his classic best of five series of matches over the US Title with a very new John Cena. These matches are the true testament of just how well Cena CAN wrestle when told to. Booker then feuded with JBL and Kurt Angle, before working a rivalry with Chris Benoit. Booker was able to capture the US Title from Benoit during this rivarly in October 2005. Booker and Benoit would feud all the way to No Way Out in 2006, where Benoit would come out on top. Booker had a ridiculous feud with the Boogeyman(the guy could wrestle) and lost to him at WM22. Booker won the King of the Ring in May and took on the King Booker gimmick. It was annoying. Booker won the World Title from Rey Mysterio, and then feuded with Batista, who dropped the title to at the Survivor Series. Booker then had a feud with Kane, Matt Hardy, and then a returning Triple H at Summerslam 2007. He left the company in October 2007 and headed to TNA. Booker worked a rivalry with Robert Roode before joining the Main Event Mafia, where he would capture the newly created Legends Title. Booker and Scott Steiner went after and won the TNA Tag Titles during their time in the MEM. Booker left TNA in 2010. He returned to WWE at the 2011 Royal Rumble and worked just a couple matches after his return. He now sits at the broadcast table on Smackdown, calling action with Michael Cole and Josh Matthews. He frequently talks about his "fave five"(I'm pretty sure it has about 12 members).
And that will do it for this series of columns! It was a lot of fun to look back on these matches and see what these guys have done since. What I need to know now is how much you the reader enjoyed this, or if the idea was a complete waste of time since most of this info can be found on various websites. So, however you would like to respond, definitely leave me some feedback on whether or not this was a good choice for column structure. I'm not sure what we'll be looking at in November, but you can vote on my page. Until the next special edition of ThunderStruck, thanks for reading!