Even though pro wrestling has monsters, masked men and people in costumes year-round, Halloween is still a special time in the sports-entertainment realm and has produced both tricks and treats over the years.
Here’s a look at the top 10 most memorable Halloween moments in pro wrestling:
No. 10: Phantom delivers Rude Awakening for WCW
In keeping with the theme of the season for its Halloween Havoc pay-per-view in 1991, WCW debuted a mysterious wrestler at the show named The WCW Phantom (creative, right?). After Phantom made quick work of Tom Zenk, he unmasked, revealing that it was Rick Rude under the hood.
Rude, with manager Paul E. Dangerously (Paul Heyman) and valet Madusa by his side, told C-level announcer Eric Bischoff (who was wearing a Dracula costume) that he was coming after Sting’s United States title.
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No. 9: Smashing Pumpkin
No, this entry has nothing to do with Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan’s latest pro wrestling endeavor, although it is pretty scary to think that anyone believes bringing the NWA back from the dead and trying to make it relevant in 2017 is a good idea.
This is about the Trick or Treat Street Fight between Dolph Ziggler and The Miz on the Halloween 2015 episode of “SmackDown.”
In this match, Halloween items such as pumpkins and a tub filled with apples were available for use. The highlight was Ziggler putting a pumpkin over Miz’s head and smashing it with a superkick.
No. 8: The Lunatic Witch
WWE’s first Trick or Treat Street Fight took place on the Halloween 2014 episode of “SmackDown” and pitted Dean Ambrose against Cesaro. Ambrose, who seems to be channelling Jack Nicholson in “The Shining” 365 days a year, certainly was in his element.
He not only hit Dirty Deeds on Cesaro while Cesaro had a pumpkin on his head, but he also used a skeleton (or was that former WWE “star” Colin Delaney?) as a weapon and hopped on a witch’s broom while dropping an elbow off the top rope.
No. 7: Tarzan The Macho Man
There were a number of great moments from the classic Halloween-themed of “Saturday Night’s Main Event” in 1985, which featured a backstage costume party with WWE stars, including Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth as Tarzan and Jane, The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff as Batman and Robin, and King Kong Bundy as Abraham Lincoln. The highlight, though, was the pumpkin-pass contest, in which WWE stars would pass a pumpkin to one another using only their chins.
When it Elizabeth’s tried to pass the pumpkin to Roddy Piper (dressed as Super Rod), the transfer was botched and the pumpkin fell to the ground. The not-so-chivalrous Piper immediately blamed Elizabeth, and Savage berated her for messing up.
On a side note, notice how the cameraman shot the scene with Piper and Elizabeth in a manner that put her … physique on display.
No. 6: Treat or Delete
What better place to celebrate All Hallows Eve than the mystical Hardy compound? The Halloween 2016 episode of “Impact Wrestling” documented the Broken Hardys welcoming trick or treaters to their abode.
Broken Matt, looking out for the health of the youth of America, chose to hand out delectable green beans rather than candy. The strange festivities also included cameo appearances by The Hurricane, Itchweed and presidential hopefuls “Donald Trump” and “Hillary Clinton.”
No. 5: The Wheel Deal
The main event for WCW’s “Halloween Havoc” pay-per-view 1992 was a “Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal” match between the sinister Jake “The Snake” Roberts and the heroic Sting. In the lead-up to the match, WCW shot a mini-movie that is the pro wrestling equivalent of “Showgirls”, although Sting’s acting here makes the chick who played Jessie Spano look like Meryl Streep.
No words can do this clip justice, so just watch it and enjoy. You’ll thank me later (or you’ll curse me for taking up five minutes of your life that you’ll never get back).
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No. 4: Trick or Treat, Mr. Piper
Also included on the aforementioned episode of “Saturday Night’s Main Event” was a remote segment from Roddy Piper’s rented American home on Halloween night. Piper was the top heel in the business at the time, so you can imagine how “Rowdy” Roddy felt about trick or treaters ringing his doorbell.
The motor-mouthed Piper delivered a brilliant performance, although it seemed as if he had been consuming loads of coffee and energy drinks (or something along those “lines”) all day before shooting. Vince McMahon, decked out in a tuxedo for some reason, was there to document the occasion.
Trivia note: A young Stephanie McMahon made her television debut in this clip. She’s the girl with the short hair.
No. 3: Chambers of Horrors a real shocker
If the “Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal” vignette wasn’t the very definition of “WrestleCrap,” the Chamber of Horrors Match at Halloween Havoc in 1991 certainly is. The spectacle was an eight-man tag match inside a steel cage cage in which the object was to place your opponent in the electric chair inside the ring and electrocute them. No, really.
It pitted Sting, the Steiner Brothers and El Gigante against Cactus Jack, Abdullah The Butcher, Big Van Vader and The Diamond Studd (Scott Hall). As Abdullah put Rick Steiner in the chair, Cactus Jack scaled the cage and prepared to flip the switch. But Steiner fought out of it and belly-to-belly suplexed Abdullah into the chair.
Poor Cactus Jack had to hang off the side of the cage seemingly forever and pretend to not know Steiner and Abdullah had exchanged places while Steiner clumsily tried to strap down Abdullah and place the electrodes on his head. With Abdullah finally in place, Cactus Jack flipped the switch, accidentally frying his partner.
Yes, a man was literally executed in the middle of the ring. And that was just the opening match!
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No. 2: A mega-star is born
It’s hard to fathom now, but there was a time when John Cena was having trouble getting over because he seemed to be lacking the “it factor.” That all changed with the Halloween episode of “SmackDown” in 2002.
During a backstage costume party, Cena went from a vanilla babyface to a Vanilla Ice heel. After that night, it wasn’t long before “The Master of Thuganomics” was cooking like a pound of bacon.
No. 1: Stephanie McMahon makes out with 'Vince McMahon'
And now for something truly creepy, or as Vince McMahon likes to call it — "family entertainment."
It’s no secret that McMahon has considered doing incest angles in the past. One proposed angle featured the reveal that he was the father of his daughter’s Stephanie’s baby; an alternate pitch was that his son, Shane, was the daddy. Fortunately, Stephanie nixed both disturbing suggestions.
The closest Vince got to realizing WWE’s version of a “Taboo” scenario took place during the Halloween 2002 “SmackDown.” A man in a Vince mask summoned Stephanie, who was dressed as a witch in a very low-cut dress, into his office.
The man under the mask revealed himself to be Stephanie’s rival, Eric Bischoff. Stephanie tried to slap him, but Bischoff caught her hand and forcibly kissed her. Stephanie resisted at first, but then seemed to be digging it.
Now for the really scary part — WWE never followed up on this major development!