Ranking Halloween Havoc's 10 Greatest (and Weirdest) Moments in WWE NXT and WCW History

For the first time ever, Halloween Havoc will air as a premium live event for WWE NXT on Halloween night this Saturday, live from WWE's Performance Center in Orlando.

The concept was revived by the black-and-gold brand as an annual staple starting in 2020 and has been one of their most entertaining shows of the year since then. Prior to that point, Halloween Havoc served as a tentpole pay-per-view for WCW between 1989 and 2000.

NXT has kept the core spirit of the event alive by incorporating as many stipulations, spooky elements and colorful characters as possible. It's traditionally the one night of the year where the wrestlers are allowed to let loose and embrace the sheer madness of the haunted holiday.

There's been some standout matches and memorable moments at the October classic under the NXT umbrella, but very little has been able to come close to the craziness that ensued at the event during its days as an WCW exclusive.

From notable debuts and returns to career-altering performances and wacky gimmicks, these are the 10 greatest—as well as the weirdest—moments in Halloween Havoc history.

NXT 2.0 was still in its infancy at the time of Halloween Havoc 2021, which was largely built around the newer names that just debuted on the brand. The night saw Bron Breakker narrowly fall short of dethroning Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Championship and Toxic Attraction assume total control of the women's division by taking all the titles.

Breakker wouldn't win the NXT Championship until a few months later and Toxic Attraction's success was eventually overshadowed by the dominance of Fatal Influence, but one moment from the event that did stand the test of time was Solo Sikoa's debut.

LA Knight and Grayson Waller were too busy beefing over who the rightful host of Halloween Havoc was when Sikoa, whose arrival had been hyped up in vignettes in the weeks leading up to it, emerged to make an immediate impact. He proceeded to take out both men in impressive fashion, establishing himself as a one-man wrecking crew in the process.

Sikoa has undergone quite the transformation as a character over the last five years, but everything he's accomplished can be traced back to that destructive debut.

9. Roddy Piper Confronts Hulk Hogan (1996)

The New World Order was mere months into their hostile takeover of WCW when Halloween Havoc 1996 rolled around, an event headlined by "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan successfully defending his WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Randy Savage in a heavily-touted WrestleMania rematch.

With Savage being the one Hogan betrayed when he turned heel at Bash at the Beach, all signs pointed to him being Hogan's ultimate opponent at Starrcade at the end of the year. WCW going with that match at Halloween Havoc instead left Hogan without an obvious adversary for the their biggest show on the calendar.

Hot Rod was fresh off a run as an on-screen authority figure in WWE, so it was certainly shocking to see him jump ship to WCW at a time when they were picking up steam. He walked out in the closing moments of Halloween Havoc to send the message to Hogan that he had another ghost from his past that he had yet to conquer.

Piper was treated like a massive babyface by the crowd that night, and his first-ever appearance for the promotion set the stage for a blockbuster Starrcade main event.

8. Tatum Paxley Wins the NXT Women's Championship (2025)

In many ways, it never felt like Tatum Paxley was intentionally put in positions to thrive in NXT. Rather, she was always an afterthought with very little direction but managed to capture the hearts and minds of the NXT faithful, anyway.

Her descent into darkness in 2024, specifically the storyline where she served as a stalker for Lyra Valkyria, was what initially helped her stand out. From there, she gradually gained momentum before finally becoming the breakout star of The Culling in the fall of 2025.

Fans didn't want to boo her despite The Culling being a heel faction, which made her the babyface by default in her NXT Women's Championship clash with Jacy Jane at Halloween Havoc 2025. Jane had reigned as champion for several months and didn't appear to be on the verge of losing the title anytime soon.

Once The Culling and Fatal Influence canceled each other out at ringside, Izzi Dame entered the ring and nearly blasted Jane with the NXT Women's title. That was enough of a distraction to earn Paxley the victory and her first-ever taste of gold on the brand.

Paxley's reign ended up being short-lived, but she did go on to hold the NXT Women's North American Championship as well as get called up to SmackDown this past summer.

7. The Chamber of Horrors Catastrophe (1991)

There a handful of stipulations that have only ever been done once because they were colossal failures, and WCW's Chamber of Horrors match from 1991's Halloween Havoc finds itself on that infamous list.

This was at a time when WCW could still be extremely campy and was trying just about anything to see what would stick. The innovation was appreciated, but the execution in this case left a lot to be desired.

Sting, El Gigante and The Steiner Brothers battled Abdullah the Butcher, Cactus Jack, Big Van Vader and The Diamond Studd inside of a steel cage. The catch was that you had to strap your opponent into a chair and "electrocute" them in order to win.

It was as silly as it sounds, though they attempted to make it work with some solid wrestling. It was weapons galore and just a total mess on the whole.

Abdullah was strapped down in the chair when Jack pulled the lever, accidentally awarding the babyfaces the victory. It was surely a sight to behold and somehow the perfect kind of catastrophe for a show such as Halloween Havoc.

6. Becky Lynch Passes the Torch to Lyra Valkyria (2023)

Becky Lynch's brief run as NXT Women's champion was one of the best things to happen on the brand in 2023, as it was completely unexpected and extremely beneficial for everyone involved.

The title reign gave Lynch something substantial to sink her teeth into and the opportunity for her to work with a bunch of fresh faces. Those fresh faces included Tiffany Stratton, Xia Li, Tegan Nox and Indi Hartwell, and all of them gained something simply from sharing the squared circle with her.

Lynch's toughest test as champ came when she had to defend against her former protege Lyra Valkyria, who at that time was struggling to find her footing in NXT. The crowd had yet to rally behind her, but this was her chance to show what she could do and prove her worth as a star on the rise.

The two had a terrific matchup, filled with suspenseful nearfalls and smart psychology with both women knowing each other exceptionally well. In the end, Valkyria pulled out the shocking upset to clinch the prestigious prize for the first time in her career.

It was a wonderful passing-of-the-torch type of moment that not only cemented Valkyria as the new face of the division but also eventually led to them rekindling their rivalry over the Women's Intercontinental Championship on Raw a year and a half later.

5. Cactus Jack and Big Van Vader Fight to the Death (1993)

Long before he became Mankind in WWE, Cactus Jack originally ascended to super stardom by waging war with all of the top titans WCW had to offer, Big Van Vader being chief among them.

Jack and Vader battered each other in a series of sadistic matches throughout 1993, culminating in a Texas Death match at Halloween Havoc 1993. It was built up as such an attraction that it actually closed the show over the WCW International World Heavyweight Championship bout between Rick Rude and Ric Flair.

The stipulation was determined by the "Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal" gimmick that remains a fixture of NXT's Halloween Havoc event to this day. In addition to securing a pinfall or tap-out, either man then had to ensure that their opponent could not return to their feet for a count of 10.

Their adulterated hatred for each other resulted in a barbaric battle on the ramp, near the entrance and on the floor. The constant chair shots and all of the other brutal bumps they endured caused copious amounts of blood to be spilled by both men.

The finish was a tad underwhelming in comparison when Vader's manager Harley Race got involved and cost Jack the win by putting him down with a stun gun. Jack was the last man standing afterward when he connected with a devastating DDT on Race, and it was his valiant performance that was the true highlight.

4. Dexter Lumis Terrorizes Cameron Grimes (2020)

For a brand known for its awe-inspiring in-ring action, NXT and its identity suffered the most from the limitations put on it by the pandemic in 2020. The great matches didn't quite hit the same in a near-empty arena, but to their credit, they made the most of it with a few fun cinematic matchups.

There were no two people more perfect for pulling it off at that time than Cameron Grimes and Dexter Lumis.

Grimes was a goofy heel at his most entertaining when he was trying to avoid getting his comeuppance. Meanwhile, Lumis was a creepy character whose obsession with Grimes led to them having their big blow-off in a Haunted House of Terror match at Halloween Havoc.

Grimes was exceptional at being scared, making Lumis a fantastic foil for him. Inside the haunted house, Lumis forced him to endure fright after fright, including an army of zombies that followed him all the way back to the ring.

Lumis locked Grimes in a sleeper to score the win and put an end to one of the most bizarre matchups to ever transpire in NXT.

3. Diamond Dallas Page Rises to the Occasion (1998)

Goldberg wasn't widely known for having barn burners at the height of his popularity, but he was WCW's hottest hand in 1998 and needed to keep his momentum rolling by delivering in the main event of Halloween Havoc 1998.

He was put up against Diamond Dallas Page, a newcomer to the main event scene. Page had just won WarGames the month prior and didn't pose much of a threat to Goldberg on paper, but being the beloved underdog that he was, he rose to the occasion and made believers out of everyone watching that night.

During the course of their competitive contest, DDP evaded Goldberg's signature Spear at every turn and targeted his right shoulder. DDP nearly had the match won when he nailed a Diamond Cutter on Goldberg and had the crowd buying into the possibility of him doing the unthinkable.

Although Goldberg did retain the title, DDP didn't walk away a loser whatsoever. He looked like a top guy in defeat and even earned the respect of Goldberg afterward.

Amazingly, this matchup did get the main event nod over the atrocity that was Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan, but the pay-per-view ended early and cut to black for most viewers because of an overrun, so there were many fans who didn't see it in real time.

For as many remarkable moments that have been synonymous with Halloween Havoc since its inception, there's been almost an equal number of train wrecks, akin to 1991's Chamber of Horrors and 2020's Haunted House of Terror.

Halloween Havoc 1995 as a whole was wild. It kicked off with a monster truck battle between Hulk Hogan and The Giant on a roof that played into their WCW World Heavyweight Championship collision in the main event later that night.

The bout was nothing short of awful and the excessive amount of interference and shenanigans hardly helped. To make matters worse, Jimmy Hart betrayed Hogan by hitting the referee with the belt to get his client disqualified and join The Dungeon of Doom.

In the midst of the chaos, a man dressed as a mummy walked down the aisle, entered the fray and assisted The Giant in attacking Hogan. Needless to say, their double bearhug on Hogan wasn't the least bit damaging.

If anything, it turned what was supposed to be a serious angle into complete comedy. Even the commentators' call of Yeti's appearance was worth ridiculing, and just like that, Yeti's WCW career was over before it could even begin.

1. Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero Steal the Show (1997)

Not only is Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero one of the very best bouts in the history of Halloween Havoc, it was also incredibly crucial to the careers of both legendary luchadors.

Guerrero's WCW Cruiserweight Championship was on the line as well as Mysterio's mask, so something significant was happening regardless of who went over. They did an effective job of making their match as meaningful as possible in the weeks leading up to it, and when the lights were on bright at Halloween Havoc, they did not disappoint.

For nearly 15 minutes, they battled back and forth and never let up. They worked a consistently-frantic pace and pulled out various moves in their respective arsenals that weren't being done regularly on American television back then.

Mysterio and Guerrero produced an absolute masterclass in storytelling, complete with high-octane action and an invested crowd. Mysterio winning was the stamp of approval he needed to cement his spot on the roster and add to his growing legacy.

Having been revered and emulated by so many, this is undoubtedly the defining Halloween Havoc moment.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant , and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.