Two decades after it was last on WCW Pay-Per-View, the spirit of Halloween Havoc was alive – or at least available. It was on Peacock now as an NXT Premium Live Event, the second in two months though the first to not rely on WWE’s main roster for half the card. Did the remaining talent deliver? Well.
McKenzie Mitchell, Sam Roberts and Busted Open Radio’s Dave LaGreca hosted the Kickoff Show, while Quincy Elliott and Shotzi hosted the show itself.
1. 5-Way – Ladder Match – NXT North American Title: Wes Lee vs. Nathan Frazer vs. Oro Mensah vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Von Wagner w/ Mr. Stone
It was less about pushing the possibilities of human athleticism and more about humans hitting each other with or falling off ladders; that’s just what happens when you’re young in NXT. Lee and Frazer were most featured alongside Wagner, who powerbombed Frazer through a ladder and tossed Lee from the ring over the commentary table. When Lee recovered he climbed the ladder to become champion, the match’s main highlight and a triumph the result of a journey I’ll let someone else explain. ***1/2
2. Casket Match: Apollo Crews vs. Grayson Waller
Shotzi and Quincy Elliott Spun a Wheel on the Kickoff Show to see what type of match this would be and landed on Casket Match, which didn’t work to either guy’s strengths as they brawled en route to uncomfortable casket bumps instead of something cool involving the ropes or anything that’d make people remember this, really. I think druids got involved? **1/2
Professor Andre Chase introduced transfer student Duke Hudson to Chase University, replacing the missing Bodhi Hayward who’d be released in the next few days. This business…
3. Weapons Wild Match: Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade
Lots of brawling and gimmicks but not enough structure to actually emphasize any of it; this was a miss for these two up-and-comers. Perez’ bump to the floor with a trash can over her head was probably the highlight, especially given the bump towards the end off the NXT’s crow’s nest that was supposed to be the highlight but looked so contrived they might as well have held hands before jumping. **3/4
4. Ambulance Match: Julius Creed vs. Damon Kemp
Julius Creed keeps passing every one of pro wrestling’s big tests; here he got a singles showcase in a big gimmick match and passed another one. Nothing on this show felt any different from a good effort that’d close or even open NXT TV except this, this gritty brawl surrounded by props (pumpkins! chairs! an ambulance!!) that could’ve easily been silly if not for a commitment bell-to-bell to violence.
Kemp battered Creed with the ambulance door all match but in between was a shit-kicking for the ages that began with Creed tossing pumpkins. He entered the ring with a springboard dropkick and suplexed Kemp on the floor, dragged Kemp to the ambulance and kicked the ambulance door into his face, threw a cup at him and put him in a wheelchair and rolled him into the steel steps at ringside and chucked an office chair at him. After a brief dark night of the soul he fired back with punches, a chairshot and powerbomb that put Kemp through a stretcher. ***3/4
5. NXT Women’s Title: Mandy Rose [c] vs. Alba Fyre
Earlier in the show, a pre-tape aired where Mandy Rose and the Toxic Attraction gang visited Alba Fyre’s home. It was a whole elaborate thing with jokes and sound effects that ranged from camp to bad, then when it came time for Match #5 they just arrived and started wrestling. Then Toxic Attraction ran-in and it ended after a minute. Bummer! *1/2
6. Triple Threat Match – NXT Title: Bron Breakker [c] vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh
It felt like a while before it found its’ rhythm, then Breakker did a Frankensteiner off the top rope to Devlin that Dragunov caught with a powerbomb and the crowd chanted This is Awesome. It got pretty spectacular from there, though it topped out at that. ***1/2
Happy Thoughts: Did they deliver!? Not quite. Or at least not yet. Whether a lack of seasoning on or off-screen – probably both – Halloween Havoc didn’t confirm this incarnation of NXT’s ability to “deliver,” or at least deliver a show I’d want to return to, or one that felt like PPV, or a PLE… or a TakeOver… or a Halloween Havoc, actually. Hold on— 2.75 / 5.0
