The build to WCW Halloween Havoc 1998 involved The Ultimate Warrior appearing to Hollywood Hogan in a mirror (that everyone except Eric Bischoff could see), but unless someone is truly messing with us, it almost involved something worse: Buff Bagwell dying in a plane crash and coming back as a ghost.
On this week’s episode of Sitting Ringside with David Penzer, former WCW ring announcer Penzer brought up the proposed angle to Buff and discussed it at length, from the fact that they were gonna work a plane crash death and not tell anyone it was fake, to a ghostly run-in on wires.
Here’s an excerpt from the discussion, which has to be read and also probably heard to be believed:
“So, I’ve wanted to ask you this forever. There was a rumor going around that Eric [Bischoff] wanted to work an angle having you “die” in a plane crash and come and interfere in a match and not smarten up the boys. Is that correct?”
“100% correct! MGM Grand was one of the last Halloween Havocs we did, and he (Eric) wanted me to die in a plane crash and so he was going to do it. I had already called my parents to get them ready for this, my wife to let them know, and then they switched it, I did some kind of a run in, I think in a Bill Clinton mask.” (If we went through with the original plan), “he wanted me to come down like a ghost, on wires, after the plane crash. Out of his mouth to me.”
While you try to process that (and figure out how much cocaine was involved in booking wrestling in the ’90s), please enjoy this related GIF of Bill Clinton whipping ass in a WCW ring.
Just think, it could’ve been a wrestler with a sheet over his head we’d been told was dead in real life!
(h/t to WrestleZone)
