Halloween Havoc History: From WCW in 1989 to NXT on October 31
A fake Sting, Rey Mysterio's mask and a pay-per-view feed that cut out on Goldberg: the story of the show NXT puts on for the 19th time on October 31.
NXT Halloween Havoc on Saturday, October 31, 2026 will be the 19th show under that name: twelve from WCW between 1989 and 2000, and seven from NXT since WWE brought the name back in 2020. It is also the first premium live event edition to fall on Halloween itself. Every WCW Havoc took place between October 23 and October 29, and the only earlier edition held on the 31st was the second night of the 2023 show, which aired as a regular Tuesday episode of NXT.
Kelani Jordan defends the NXT Women's Championship against Wren Sinclair, and Grayson Waller defends the NXT Championship against the winner of Tony D'Angelo vs. Myles Borne, a No. 1 contender's match booked for the October 13 episode.
The WCW years, 1989 to 2000
WCW, then still part of the National Wrestling Alliance, ran the first Halloween Havoc on October 28, 1989 at the Philadelphia Civic Center. The main event was a Thunderdome cage match with Ric Flair and Sting against Terry Funk and The Great Muta, refereed by Bruno Sammartino. It ended when Gary Hart threw in the towel for his team.
The 1990 show in Chicago gave the event its strangest finish. Sid Vicious appeared to pin Sting for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but the man on the mat was Barry Windham dressed as Sting. The real Sting ran out, hit a Stinger Splash and pinned Sid to keep the title. WCW left the NWA in January 1991, so that was the last Havoc under the NWA banner.
WCW spent five straight years at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas from 1996, and those shows produced the matches people still bring up. In 1997, Rey Mysterio Jr. put his mask up against Eddie Guerrero's WCW Cruiserweight Championship and won by turning Guerrero's powerbomb into a hurricanrana. It is regularly listed among the best matches WCW ever aired. Roddy Piper beat Hollywood Hogan in a cage in the main event that night.
The 1998 show ran about three and a half hours instead of three, and many pay-per-view feeds cut off during the main event, in which Goldberg kept the WCW title against Diamond Dallas Page. WCW had to refund customers and showed the match the next night on Nitro. Earlier on that card, Hogan beat The Ultimate Warrior in a rematch that is often ranked among the worst matches of all time.
A year later, Hogan came out in street clothes for his title match with Sting, lay down in the ring and let himself be pinned without the bell ever ringing. Goldberg then beat Sting in a main event the announcers called non-title, and was announced as the new champion anyway. The last WCW edition, on October 29, 2000, was headlined by Goldberg in a handicap match against Kronik. The WWF bought WCW in March 2001, and the name sat unused for 19 years.
Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal
The gimmick most tied to Halloween Havoc is a wheel of stipulations spun on the night. WCW introduced it in 1992, when the wheel offered twelve options for Sting vs. Jake Roberts and landed on a coal miner's glove match. Sting won after Roberts was bitten by his own snake. In 1993 in New Orleans, Vader's spin picked a Texas Death match against Cactus Jack, which Vader won after Harley Race hit Jack with a stun gun behind the referee's back.
NXT kept the wheel when it revived the show. In 2020 it chose the stipulations for both the North American and Women's title matches, and in 2022 it produced a Casket match and a Weapons Wild match.
NXT's version, 2020 to 2025
The first NXT Halloween Havoc aired on October 28, 2020 as a special episode on USA Network from the Capitol Wrestling Center, the closed set NXT used at the WWE Performance Center during the pandemic. Shotzi Blackheart hosted, Johnny Gargano won the North American Championship from Damian Priest in a Devil's Playground match, and Io Shirai kept the Women's Championship against Candice LeRae in a Tables, Ladders and Scares match.
Chucky co-hosted in 2021 to promote his TV series, alongside Grayson Waller and LA Knight. Mandy Rose won the Women's Championship from Raquel González in a Trick or Street Fight that night, and Tommaso Ciampa kept the NXT title against Bron Breakker. In 2022, the first edition sold as a premium live event, Breakker retained in a triple threat with Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh, and Waller lost the Casket match to Apollo Crews.
The 2023 show went back to television and split across two Tuesdays. Lyra Valkyria beat Becky Lynch for her first NXT Women's Championship on October 24, and Dragunov kept the NXT title against Carmelo Hayes on October 31. In 2024 the event left Orlando for the first time, going to the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where Trick Williams beat Ethan Page in a Devil's Playground match. That night Kelani Jordan lost the Women's North American Championship to Fallon Henley at the end of a gauntlet against all three members of Fatal Influence.
Last year's edition, at the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, Arizona on October 25, 2025, was the first Halloween Havoc to stream on Netflix outside the United States. Ricky Saints kept the NXT title against Williams, Tatum Paxley won the Women's Championship from Jacy Jayne, and DarkState beat The Hardys in a Broken Rules match for the tag team titles.
Breakker and Williams, who headlined four of the six NXT editions between them, were both booked for the men's ladder match at Money in the Bank on October 10.
Every Halloween Havoc main event
| Date | City | Main event |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 28, 1989 | Philadelphia | Flair and Sting vs. Funk and Muta, Thunderdome |
| Oct. 27, 1990 | Chicago | Sting (c) vs. Sid Vicious, NWA World title |
| Oct. 27, 1991 | Chattanooga, Tenn. | Lex Luger (c) vs. Ron Simmons, WCW World title |
| Oct. 25, 1992 | Philadelphia | Sting vs. Jake Roberts, coal miner's glove |
| Oct. 24, 1993 | New Orleans | Vader vs. Cactus Jack, Texas Death |
| Oct. 23, 1994 | Detroit | Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Ric Flair, steel cage |
| Oct. 29, 1995 | Detroit | Hulk Hogan (c) vs. The Giant |
| Oct. 27, 1996 | Las Vegas | Hollywood Hogan (c) vs. Randy Savage |
| Oct. 26, 1997 | Las Vegas | Roddy Piper vs. Hollywood Hogan, steel cage |
| Oct. 25, 1998 | Las Vegas | Goldberg (c) vs. Diamond Dallas Page |
| Oct. 24, 1999 | Las Vegas | Sting (c) vs. Goldberg |
| Oct. 29, 2000 | Las Vegas | Goldberg vs. Kronik, handicap match |
| Oct. 28, 2020 | Orlando | Io Shirai (c) vs. Candice LeRae |
| Oct. 26, 2021 | Orlando | Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Bron Breakker |
| Oct. 22, 2022 | Orlando | Bron Breakker (c) vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh |
| Oct. 24 and 31, 2023 | Orlando | Becky Lynch (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria; Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes |
| Oct. 27, 2024 | Hershey, Pa. | Trick Williams (c) vs. Ethan Page, Devil's Playground |
| Oct. 25, 2025 | Prescott Valley, Ariz. | Ricky Saints (c) vs. Trick Williams |
| Oct. 31, 2026 | Not announced | To be confirmed |
What is set for October 31
NXT general manager Robert Stone announced the date at Heatwave on August 30, and the show is set to air on The CW. WWE did not name a venue or city with the date. Both champions won their titles at Heatwave in Edinburg, Texas: Waller took the NXT Championship from D'Angelo in a four-way that also included Zilla Fatu and Cruz Montana, and Jordan beat Kendal Grey for the Women's Championship.
Sinclair, who wrestled on the independent circuit as Madi Wrenkowski before signing with WWE in December 2023, was suspended after attacking Jordan with a kendo stick on the September 8 episode. She got her title match by entering the October 6 battle royal disguised as AAA's Lady Shani and eliminating Kali Armstrong last. The full story of that night is in our NXT results for October 6 and our report on Sinclair's title shot.
Both champions have been here before. Waller co-hosted the 2021 show and lost the 2022 Casket match, and Jordan's last appearance there ended with Henley taking her title. Sinclair also has history with Henley: she beat her on March 17, 2026 to win the Women's Speed Championship, her first title in WWE.
Questions
When is NXT Halloween Havoc 2026?
Saturday, October 31, 2026. NXT general manager Robert Stone announced the date at Heatwave on August 30 and said the show airs on The CW. WWE did not name a venue with the date.
How many Halloween Havoc events have there been?
The 2026 show is the 19th. WCW held twelve from 1989 to 2000, and NXT has held seven since reviving the name in 2020, counting the two-night 2023 edition as one.
What is Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal?
A wheel of match stipulations spun on the night to decide how a match will be fought. WCW introduced it at Halloween Havoc in 1992, and NXT brought it back in 2020 and used it again in 2022.
Has Halloween Havoc been held on October 31 before?
Only once, as the second night of the 2023 NXT edition, which aired as a regular TV episode. Every WCW edition took place between October 23 and 29, so 2026 is the first premium live event edition on Halloween.
