October 1995 WCW Recap: Darkside Hogan
Hulk Hogan turns to the darkside, Ric Flair betrays Sting, and Lex Luger shows his true colors! Full recap, thoughts, and match recommendations inside.
Get caught up with the September recap and go show-by-show through October.
Recap
The main storyline in October 1995 WCW revolved around Hulk Hogan embracing the dark side as he prepared for his Monster Truck Challenge and World Title defense against The Giant at Halloween Havoc. The Giant had "snapped" Hogan's neck, forcing him to wear a neckbrace, and Kevin Sullivan even shaved Hogan's iconic mustache on Nitro. Hogan began dressing in all black, playing the Dungeon of Doom's game. During one of his interviews, he sent a message to a New York promoter, claiming the man was "choking on his own ego and dying." Crowds, especially in Chicago, loudly rejected Hogan. Hogan insisted the world stood still when he wore black and blamed The Giant for bringing out the evil in him. The Giant vowed to push Hogan off the roof at Halloween Havoc, while the Dungeon of Doom introduced a second giant, The Yeti, who emerged from a block of ice. Hogan also called out Sting and Randy Savage for abandoning him, though Savage argued it was Hogan who drew the line in the sand. Hogan said he had a surprise and removed his neckbrace before Halloween Havoc.
At Halloween Havoc, Hogan and Giant faced off in a Monster Truck Sumo Match, which Hogan won. The Giant attempted to push Hogan off the roof as promised, but instead, he fell off himself, seemingly to his demise. However, he reappeared later, soaking wet, and challenged Hogan in the main event. In the match, Jimmy Hart betrayed Hogan, hitting him with the belt, and The Yeti helped The Giant take Hogan down with a unique double bearhug. To make matters worse for Hogan, Lex Luger joined in and racked him. The Giant won by DQ, but since the title can't change hands on a disqualification, Hogan retained the belt. On the following Nitro, The Giant claimed the World Title as his own, backed by Taskmaster and Jimmy Hart, who promised to explain his actions the next week.
Lex Luger and Randy Savage continued their feud throughout October, with Savage convinced Luger had joined the Dungeon of Doom. Sting tried to mediate, suggesting that if both won their matches at Havoc, they should face each other later that night. Luger initially resisted until Sting called him "pathetic," prompting him to agree. At Havoc, Savage quickly defeated Zodiac, while Kevin Sullivan got Meng disqualified against Luger, ensuring the Savage-Luger match. The two brawled until Jimmy Hart interfered, leading to Savage sending Luger into Hart and securing the win. Luger retaliated during the main event, siding with Jimmy Hart and helping take out Hogan.
Ric Flair sought revenge against Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman after they turned on him at Fall Brawl. Flair struggled to find a partner for Havoc, appealing to Sting and Savage, both of whom turned him down. Desperate, Flair brought out "Little Stingers" and made a final plea to Sting, who reluctantly agreed but warned Flair not to betray him. The teams faced off on Nitro before Havoc, with Sting delaying his entrance to test Flair's loyalty. Sting cleaned house, and Arn and Pillman retreated. Sting declared Flair had shown guts and seemed to be on the right side. However, Arn hinted at the rebirth of the Four Horsemen, which came to fruition at Havoc when Flair, seemingly attacked by Arn and Pillman earlier, betrayed Sting during their match. Flair, Arn, and Pillman reformed the Horsemen, leaving Sting furious.
Other developments included Sabu having chaotic matches with Mr. JL, using tables as weapons. Road Warrior Hawk went after Kurasawa for injuring his arm but couldn't secure a win. Johnny B. Badd won the TV Title from Diamond Dallas Page, much to the delight of the Diamond Doll. Dean Malenko debuted, renewing an old rivalry with Eddie Guerrero. Chris Benoit arrived and defeated Guerrero on Nitro. Brian Pillman took out Guerrero during a tag match. Eric Bischoff continued hyping the new Cruiserweight Title with Malenko, Guerrero, Benoit, and Alex Wright. Big Bubba and Jim Duggan continued their taped fist feud, with VK Wallstreet aiding Bubba. Disco Inferno became a regular on TV, often losing matches but still claiming to be undefeated. The Man of Question (Hugh Morrus) debuted with vignettes targeting Randy Savage leading to Savage defeated him in their match. Harlem Heat regained the World Tag Team Titles from the American Males on the last Saturday Night of the month. Scott Norton and Shark also engaged in a mini-feud.
Thoughts
The undercard saw a huge boost in action thanks to fresh faces like Eddie Guerrero, Sabu, Dean Malenko, Mr. JL, and Chris Benoit. Eddie stood out the most and quickly won over fans. This new talent blended perfectly with the top stars, who were heavily focused on storyline-driven weekly TV. While not all crowds were immediately receptive to the new faces, a recurring issue for WCW throughout the year, the difference here is that these guys won them over by the end of their matches. Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan, and Dusty Rhodes all sounded genuinely excited by the new blood and frequently praised the quality of the matches. It’s the first time during the year that I made not of announcers putting over how good the matches were.
The early episodes of Nitro did a fantastic job building mystery, intrigue, and tension between Sting, Randy Savage, and Lex Luger. Savage was excellent at weekly TV, Luger delivered strong performances, and the storyline added much-needed depth to Sting, who hadn’t had much to work with all year.
At one hour, Nitro felt like a well-paced variety show with a winning formula. The way they promoted intrigue right from the start was effective, and the shows seemed carefully thought out in terms of presentation. Everything felt important, the pacing was sharp, and ending each episode with a preview of the following week’s card was a great touch.
The Arn Anderson and Ric Flair feud continued to deliver, with babyface Flair searching for a partner. While it was a bit lower on the card at the moment, it gave the storyline room to breathe. The turn at Halloween Havoc was executed brilliantly. Flair sank to new lows to con Sting, and Sting ultimately made good on his warning. This version of the Horsemen is one of my favorites, and Brian Pillman, in particular, felt like he turned his career around with his heel turn.
On the other hand, "Darkside" Hulk Hogan was absurd, even more so than the silliest Dungeon of Doom antics. It felt like going live each week only amplified the backlash from the crowds. Hogan seemed to be scrambling. He seemed very gotten to by whatever WWF was doing at the time and what was in the newsletters.
On the flip side, I’ve been impressed with The Giant’s early work and even enjoyed his Halloween Havoc match before all the nonsense. He’s still very raw and goes way too over-the-top, but he doesn’t feel out of place coming in and getting a huge push in the way a lot of giants have.
Harlem Heat reclaiming the tag titles was a small positive in an otherwise neglected tag team division. It was also great to see Johnny B. Badd win the TV Title and get a more prominent storyline. He’s been terrific since adopting a more serious edge, and in many ways, he felt like the perfect Nitro wrestler. It’s unfortunate he’s wrapping up soon. Disco Inferno’s fake undefeated streak gimmick was a fun addition to the undercard, providing easy heat and some entertaining moments.
Recommendations
Full credit to everyone out there who makes all of this accessible.
Kevin Sullivan shaves Hulk’s moustache (Oct. 2 Nitro #5)
Johnny B Badd interview on DDP (Oct. 7 Worldwide)
Neckbrace Hogan talks about killing a giant (Oct. 7 Worldwide)
Randy Savage v Dick Slater (Oct. 7 Worldwide)
Ric Flair tries to get Randy Savage to be his partner (Oct. 7 Worldwide)
Arn Anderson interview on Flair cage match (Oct. 7 Pro)
Dean Malenko v Eddie Guerrero (Oct. 7 Saturday Night)
Sabu v Mr JL (Oct. 9 Nitro #6)
Sting tries to solve Savage and Luger problem (Oct. 9 Nitro #6)
Chicago turns on Hulk Hogan (Oct. 9 Nitro #6)
Arn Anderson v Ric Flair Cage Match + Post-match Flair interview (Oct. 9 Nitro #6)
Ric Flair’s final plea to Sting (Oct. 14 Pro)
Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman promo (Oct. 14 Saturday Night)
Disco Inferno is ‘undefeated’ (Oct. 14 Saturday Night)
Darkside Hogan promo (Oct. 14 Saturday Night)
Dean Malenko profile (Oct. 14 Worldwide)
Eddie Guerrero promo on history with Dean Malenko (Oct. 14 Worldwide)
Eddie Guerrero v Chris Benoit (Oct. 16 Nitro #7)
Darkside Hogan promo (Oct. 16 Nitro #7)
Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman v Ric Flair & Sting + Sting & Flair interview (Oct. 16 Nitro #7)
DUNGEON OF DOOM: Master promises Yeti at Havoc (Oct. 21 Worldwide)
Eddie Guerrero v Alex Wright II (Oct. 21 Saturday Night)
Darkside Hulk Hogan promo (Oct. 21 Saturday Night)
Johnny B. Badd breaks Mr. Wonderful’s mirror (Oct. 21 Saturday Night)
Darkside Hogan mentions OJ (Oct. 23 Nitro #8)
Eddie Guerrero & Mr. JL v Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko (Oct. 23 Nitro #8) (1, 2)
The Yeti comes out of his ice cube (Oct. 23 Nitro #8)
Mark Starr v Chris Benoit (Oct. 28 Pro)
Darkside Hogan battle plan (Oct. 28 Pro)
Arn Anderson & Brian Pillman interview (Oct. 28 Pro)
Mr JL v Barry Houston (Oct. 28 Saturday Night)
World Tag Team Titles American Males v Harlem Heat (Oct. 28 Saturday Night)
Ric Flair & Sting squash + interview (Oct. 28 Saturday Night)
Lex Luger interview (Oct. 28 Saturday Night)
Darkside Hogan promo in Dungeon (Oct. 28 Saturday Night)
World Television Title Diamond Dallas Page (c) vs. Johnny B. Badd (Oct. 29 Halloween Havoc)
Ric Flair & Sting vs. Arn Anderson & Flyin' Brian (Oct. 29 Halloween Havoc)
World Heavyweight Title Hulk Hogan (c) vs. The Giant (Oct. 29 Halloween Havoc)
Horsemen interview (Oct. 30 Nitro #9)
The Giant, Lex Luger, Taskmaster and Jimmy Hart interview (Oct. 30 Nitro #9)
Wrestler of the Month: Eddie Guerrero
Match of the Month: Dean Malenko v Eddie Guerrero (Oct. 7 Saturday Night)
Promo of the Month: Arn Anderson interview on Flair in a cage (Oct. 7 Pro)