17. Goldberg vs. Diamond Dallas Page (Halloween Havoc 98)
Infamous for being the match that got cut short live because WCW failed to manage their PPV minutes, the World Championship match between Diamond Dallas Page and Goldberg at Halloween Havoc 98 was also one of the best main-events produced by WCW in the Monday Night War. It was the bright spot of Goldbergs title reign, as he came against a highly motivated talent in DDP that desperately wanted to show the world that he belonged as a top flight star. Both were babyfaces at the time, which added a unique element to the match on the night of. For so long, WCW main-events had been so heavily influenced by the antagonistic New World Order that it was a breath of fresh air to see two fan favorites tell a simple story of whos the best? Page had come on strong in 1997 and 1998, becoming one of the few homegrown headliners for WCW in that entire era. He, in and of himself, was a great story. Nobody worked harder to reach his position than DDP. Goldberg was another of the few homegrown main-eventers for WCW in the late 1990s. A force like few in wrestling history had ever seen, he burst onto the scene like a wrecking ball and smashed through everyone in his path for a solid year. He was definitely not a wrestling aficionados dream. Fans had been conditioned to expect short matches from him, very much of the Hulk Hogan style from the 80s. When he ran up against DDP, expectations were fairly low, accordingly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdcwFJoVm20 Astonishingly, Page matched him move for move with a cunning series of counters that kept him in the hunt for the title. There was also an atmosphere to the match that gave it a big fight feel. Perhaps they fed off of it. Something just clicked, as they unleashed a flurry of surprisingly crisp sequences in rapid succession. The match wound up being rather epic despite its just 10-and-a-half minute length.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
