With WWE’s recent fondness of bringing back classic pay-per-view names, let us take a look at five more they should consider bringing back.

Halloween Havoc

This was a massive fan favourite, named by the late Dusty Rhodes, Halloween Havoc provided fans with multiple memories throughout its 21-year run. From the Thunderdome Cage Match at Halloween Havoc 1989 involving Sting, Ric Flair taking on Gary Hart’s dreadful duo of Terry Funk and The Great Muta, to the memorable Chamber of Horrors match at the 1990 event, Vader brutalising Cactus Jack in 1993, Hogan and Flair in a chaotic “career-ending” Cage match in 1994, Battle of the Sumo Monster trucks in ’95, “Age in a cage” between Roddy Piper and Hollywood Hogan, and of course, the legendary contest between the amazing Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio Jr. at the 1997 show. These matches are still talked about to this very day, creating a nostalgic feeling for so many fans that grew up with the mock graveyard set design accompanied by either a massive pumpkin or Gargoyle. Also, since it’d be in October it would be a suitable replacement for WWE’s Hell in a Cell show and could be a first step in making the cell a special attraction once again.

Spring Stampede

The April show had its fair share of ups and downs, but always boasted a unique set design, typically farm themed and also showcased various classics. Steve Austin against The Great Muta, Cactus Jack and Maxx Payne against the Nasty Boys in a Chicago Street Fight, and the final one on one encounter between Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair; all from the 1994 show. Randy Savage and Diamond Dallas Page went to war in 1997 and their first match was at Spring Stampede. In the late 90s, the show and WCW as a whole left much to be desired, but a Farm type set would provide a nice change of pace from the WWE Status Quo set designs.

SuperBrawl

Admittedly outside of Sting and Lex Luger facing the Steiner Brothers, there isn’t a list of great matches or moments from SuperBrawl I can reminisce on, I just like the name of the pay-per-view. It could also act as a bridge between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania doing away with the Elimination Chamber concept, WWE could still use it sparingly but not every year, saving it as a big attraction.

No Mercy

The inaugural No Mercy was held in the UK and the main event was a triple threat between Steve Austin, The Undertaker and Triple H. After this initial success the company made it an annual show with main events involving everyone from The Rock and Kurt Angle to Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar. Obviously, the promotion holds a No Mercy every now and again, similar to their King of the Ring, but making it a full-time event could serve as a replacement for the TLC show which almost always results in one or more injured stars due to the physical nature of stipulation matches.

Breaking Point

In 2009, WWE experimented with a submission themed pay-per-view entitled Breaking Point. The result was a mixed reaction, but I thought the Submissions count anywhere match between Legacy and D-Generation X was really good and entertaining. Cena and Orton’s I Quit match was more about psychology than physicality, and then there was CM Punk against The Undertaker. Ironically the two men who would have been most capable of having a mat-based submission match yet instead (since the event was being held in Montreal), they got saddled with the completely overplayed “screw job” finish after a fairly lacklustre match overall. In 2020 with an influx of independent names, many of whom are well-versed in submission grappling, I think Breaking Point could be a much bigger success than it was in 2009 if booked properly.

All images courtesy of WWE