Tag: halloween havoc

NXT’s third annual Halloween Havoc event takes place tonight, streaming live on Peacock/WWE Network starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

The show will be headlined by Bron Breakker vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh for the NXT Championship. But it could be Austin Theory who walks out of Halloween Havoc with the NXT title. Theory appeared on NXT earlier this week and teased cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase.

Two other title bouts are also set for tonight. Mandy Rose is set to put her NXT Women’s Championship on the line against Alba Fyre, while the vacant NXT North American Championship will be up for grabs in a ladder match. Carmelo Hayes, Oro Mensah, Wes Lee, Von Wagner, and Nathan Frazer are the ladder match participants.

Grudge matches round out the remainder of the Halloween Havoc card. Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade will meet in a Weapons Wild match, Julius Creed takes on Damon Kemp in an ambulance match, and Apollo Crews faces off with Grayson Waller (stipulation to be determined).

Tonight’s pre-show begins at 7:30 p.m. Eastern and features McKenzie Mitchell, Sam Roberts, and an appearance by Busted Open Radio’s Dave LaGreca.

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Kickoff Show —

The kickoff show panel was McKenzie Mitchell, Sam Roberts, and Dave LaGreca.

The main hosts of Halloween Havoc were Shotzi and Quincy Elliott. They spun the wheel, and it was determined that Apollo Crews vs. Grayson Waller would be contested in a Casket Match. Apollo was thrilled by the news, but Waller was concerned.

In an online exclusive promo, Alba Fyre was confident in facing Mandy Rose. Back live, Rose wasn’t worried about the match, but the rest of Toxic Attraction tried to get her to take Alba seriously. (The movie character “Chucky” was seated behind them.)

NXT Halloween Havoc report —

Shotzi and Quincy Elliott introduced the show.

Wes Lee defeated Carmelo Hayes (w/ Trick Williams), Nathan Frazer, Von Wagner, & Oro Mensah in a Ladder Match to win the vacant NXT North American Championship [19:55]

This was an awesome five-way ladder match with tons of cool, innovative spots and fast-paced action. I think Lee winning is an absolutely inspired choice as I feared they’d go with the safe choice in Melo, who is ready to move on from this title picture.

After everyone jockeyed for position at the start, it was Frazer and Mensah left in the ring. Frazer took out Mensah and climbed the ropes before re-directing to dive onto Wagner. He worked together with Mensah to take out their opponents with a ladder, then when Mensah got taken out, he drove Melo into the ladder. Mensah stopped Frazer’s climb, then Lee stopped Mensah from doing the same.

Mensah backdropped Melo onto a ladder but ran into a dropkick from Lee. Wagner re-entered the fray and took out Lee with a boot. Frazer tried to take a ladder from Wagner but was powerbombed into it for his trouble. Melo dispatched Wagner and climbed a ladder. In a great spot, Frazer sent Melo crashing from the ladder with a dropkick before running right into a ladder-assisted senton from Lee. 

Melo recovered, but Frazer countered a springboard into an inverted Spanish Fly onto a ladder. There was a parade of big moves, including Melo clotheslining Lee and himself to the floor. Mensah was left in the ring, so he set up a ladder and climbed. Trick Williams met him on the other side and dumped Mensah onto the other four men. Mensah took a nasty landing.

Robert Stone ran out and climbed. He and Trick were at the top of the ladder; Stone hit Trick with a shoe, but Trick overturned the ladder, sending Stone crashing to the floor. Back in the ring, Wagner continued to use the ladder as a weapon. Out on the outside, Wagner pulled a bigger ladder out from under the ring and inadvertently ended up striking or nearly striking a woman in the front row; luckily everyone seemed to be okay. He set up the ladder as a bridge between the apron and the barricade.

Lee got involved and Wagner ended up prone on the ladder, so Frazer sent him through it with a frog splash. There was another parade of big moves, with Melo springboarding off the barricade and Lee hitting a cannonball splash off the steel steps. Lee produced another giant ladder, which Wagner set up. Wagner press slammed Lee from the ring onto the announce table, which didn’t break. So nasty.

Wagner climbed, but Frazer met him at the top and stomped him down. Wagner got Frazer in powerbomb position, leading to Frazer pulling Wagner out of the ring on a headscissor takeover. Mensah took Wagner out with a wild tackle, then he and Frazer repeatedly struck Wagner with a smaller ladder to permanently eliminate Wagner from contention.

Back in the ring, Frazer and Mensah climbed to the the top and fought each other to reach the ladder. Mensah eventually pushed Frazer down, but Melo showed up and pulled Mensah down. Melo climbed to the top, but Lee climbed a giant ladder and sprung up to send Melo to the mat. They both fought while standing on a ladder bridge in the ring; Lee finally took out Melo with a meteora onto the bridge. That bought Lee enough time to climb the ladder and win the championship.

– After the match, Lee broke down in tears and was showered with “You deserve it!” chants. 

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JD McDonagh was shown meditating backstage.

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NXT Women’s Championship: Mandy Rose (c) (w/ Toxic Attraction) vs. Alba Fyre PRE-MATCH SEGMENT

This was indescribably stupid and a complete waste of time.

It was a cinematic match. Rose, Dolin, and Jayne drove up to Alba’s location. Rose played the straight woman as Dolin was excited and Jayne was terrified. Zombiez tried to scare them, but Rose no-sold it. 

They entered the building with flashlights and continued to bicker. Rose decided it would be a good plan to split up, which Jayne didn’t like. The camera followed Jayne, who was taken out by Alba. Dolin, meanwhile, met Chucky and some monsters at a table. Alba surprised her as well, but Dolin put up more of a fight than Jayne. Eventually, however, Alba shut Dolin in a freezer.

Finally, we caught up with Rose, who encountered Alba after being startled by an organ. Alba attacked her with a baseball bat, and her monstrous associates prevented Rose from gaining the upper hand. Outside, Alba shut Rose in her car and whacked Toxic Attraction with the bat. She drove off, and then we came back to the arena, where the announcers were stunned.

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Apollo Crews defeated Grayson Waller in a Casket Match [11:06]

Two straight incredibly bad segments that made no sense. I guess there was some passable action at the end? That’s it.

They had a rapid back-and-forth exchange at the start, with Apollo getting the upper hand on an Asai moonsault. As Apollo beat Waller down on the announce table, Waller grabbed a pen and stabbed at Apollo’s face, allowing him to gain control of the match. He kept up his attack on Apollo on the floor.

The two jockeyed for position on the top rope, with Waller pushing Apollo into the casket. For some reason, the match wasn’t over. Then the lights went out. When they came back on, eerie music played and druids brought out another casket. Apollo had recovered, and he attacked Waller with the steel steps. (I have literally no idea what happened there or what it was supposed to be.)

There was a new casket set up on the side of the ring. Waller eventually got Apollo fully in the casket, but Apollo fought back when Waller tried to shut the door. They both escaped the area. Apollo landed a diving crossbody on Waller out on the floor. Apollo nearly had Waller in the casket, but Waller hit a rolling cutter to buy himself a breather.

Apollo recovered to hit a double-knee facebuster and nearly shut Waller in the casket. He was eventually able to chokeslam Waller into the casket for the win.

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A Chase U segment played, where Andre Chase was frustrated with some of his students’ performance on a “history of Halloween” assignment. He revealed that Duke Hudson is a new transfer student. Duke answered an extra credit question correctly, which angered Bodhi Hayward.

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Pretty Deadly were backstage. They’re not worried about defending against Malik Blade and Edris Enofe this week. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance walked up and said they were the best tag champions on the brand.

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Roxanne Perez defeated Cora Jade in a Weapons Wild match [13:23]

Yet another bad hardcore match on this show. This was pretty comparable to Liv Morgan vs. Ronda Rousey at Extreme Rules — lots of plodding, slow, boring brawling. The major high spot came across so contrived, and the fans were more behind Cora, the heel, than they were behind Roxanne.

Roxanne attacked right away with a skateboard. She dominated early on and set up a table as Cora crawled under the ring. When Roxanne pulled Cora out from under the ring, Cora sprayed her with cold spray and swung her into the barricade. Back in the ring, Cora attacked with a chair and a trashcan. 

On the outside, Cora choked Roxanne with a rope. She produced a chain, but Roxanne avoided the shot and came back with the rope. Back inside, Roxanne hit a kendo stick-assisted Russian legsweep for two. Roxanne maintained control until Cora gained some space and ran into the stands. 

They eventually met each other on a high platform of some sort. Cora slammed Roxanne on the hard surface and pulled away the barrier. Roxanne fought back and had a chance to send Cora crashing down, but they weirdly re-adjusted and both fell down through ladders. (I think it was supposed to look like Cora pulling Roxanne down, but it just looked like they both jumped off together.)

Eventually, they made their way to the ring, where a pile of chairs was set up. Roxanne backdropped Cora onto it and hit the Pop Rocks through the chairs for the win.

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There was a segment with show hosts Shotzi and Quincy Elliott coming out to the ring. They started to do some schtick, but then Lash Legend interrupted. She has a problem with someone from Smackdown hosting the show, when Lash feels she’d do it better. Shotzi got in her face and hit her with a DDT.

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There was a Schism video promo. They have a new member who will “remove his mask.” 

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Julius Creed defeated Damon Kemp in an Ambulance match [14:52]

Finally, more good stuff beyond just the opener! This was way more intense than most safety-proofed WWE hardcore matches with some wild bumps and weapon shots. Both of these guys have a ton of potential.

If Julius loses, his brother Brutus will be forced to leave NXT. Julius exploded right out of the gate, disarming Kemp’s chair and hitting a head-and-arm suplex out on the floor. They moved to a backstage area where an ambulance was set up. Julius nearly shut Kemp into it, but Kemp blocked the door from shutting with a crutch and used it to attack Julius. 

Back towards the ring, Julius recovered by spraying Kemp with a fire extinguisher. Kemp fired back with a back suplex on the floor and tossed Julius into the steel steps. They moved back in the direction of the ambulance, where Kemp sent Julius into the vehicle and nearly got it closed.

Julius fired up and drove Kemp into the ring post, but back inside the ring, Kemp planted Julius on the steel steps with a spinebuster. On the outside, Julius fought back and trapped Kemp in a wheelchair with a crutch before sending him into the steps again. 

They fought for control of a stretcher, leading to Kemp sending Julius into the post once again. They started chucking things at each other, including the ring bell. Kemp dropped Julius in a laundry cart and repeatedly pushed it into the ambulance. He threw Julius back into the ambulance, but Julius would not let Kemp shut the door, putting his fingers in the way.

Julius exploded out of the ambulance and slammed Kemp through a table. He repeatedly whacked Kemp with chair shots and dropped him on a stretcher before clotheslining him through a chair. Julius carried Kemp to the ambulance and slammed it shut to win the match.

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As the ambulance from the previous match drove away, we saw Mandy Rose’s Range Rover pull up with Alba Fyre driving it. Rose tried to escape into the building and then the ring, and when they both entered, the match was under way with a referee and everything. No Toxic Attraction.

NXT Women’s Championship: Mandy Rose (c) defeated Alba Fyre [6:24]

I didn’t understand this at all. Rose’s reign has been the exact same for literally a full year, with constant distraction and interference finishes interspersed with bad, boring wrestling. They finally do something different — still really bad, but different — and then they end up doing the same distraction ref bump finish as always! What is the point?! Remember when this belt was a highlight of NXT TakeOver while being held by people like Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Asuka, Shayna Baszler, Ember Moon, Kairi Sane, Rhea Ripley, Io Shirai…?

Alba dominated at the start until Rose got an opening by pushing Alba off the top rope to the floor. Rose was in control for a long time considering she had been kidnapped/incapacitated/scared out of her mind by Alba for the previous 90 minutes. Simultaneous clotheslines led to a double down. 

Rose hit a spinebuster for two. Alba came back with a powerbomb for two of her own. She climbed the ropes and hit a swanton bomb, but both of Toxic Attraction pulled the official out of the ring. Alba superkicked Jayne into the official and Dolin and hit a Gory Bomb, but there was no official to count. 

Jayne and Dolin took out Alba, and Rose hit Kiss The Rose for the win.

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NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships #1 contenders Zoey Stark and Nikkita Lyons were backstage. Stark talked about her journey, and Lyons said she’d do it for her. Malik Blade and Edris Enofe appeared, and the two teams hyped each other up ahead of their title matches on Tuesday.

NXT lineup (10/25) —

• Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (c) vs. Zoey Stark & Nikkita Lyons
• Pretty Deadly (c) vs. Malik Blade & Edris Enofe
• Shotzi vs. Lash Legend

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NXT Championship: Bron Breakker (c) defeated Ilja Dragunov & JD McDonagh [23:34]

Awesome main event and probably the best Bron match yet. Dragunov and McDonagh are still incredible in-ring talents. After a somewhat slow start, this turned into a crazy hard-hitting affair with a real big-fight feel, and the dynamic of the two powerhouses vs. the despicable weasel was a ton of fun.

Dragunov went right at McDonagh, then Bron did the same, as they essentially ended up fighting for the privilege of beating up on McDonagh. The Irishman took advantage of their infighting and targeted Bron. There was a lot of two-in, one-out fighting as one man would cut off another as they had control on the third. Bron and Dragunov had a long exchange as McDonagh would try to sneak out a win with a quick roll-up.

At one point, when McDonagh tried to get involved, Dragonov cut him off and laid in hammer-and-anvil elbows for the near-stoppage. He then hit a running Death Valley bomb on McDonagh onto Bron in the corner before landing a coast-to-coast dropkick on both.

Bron and Dragunov laid into each other with a slugfest in the center of the ring. McDonagh was proud of himself for being the last one standing, but Dragunov popped up and pursued him out of the ring, chasing him into a backdrop from Bron. Both Bron and Dragunov traded punches and chops on McDonagh before tossing him out of the ring.

Dragunov turned his attention to Bron, who fired up with a hard clothesline. He pressed Dragunov up but was cut off by a headbutt from McDonagh. They were all down until Breakker and McDonagh made their way to the top turnbuckle. Bron landed a Frankensteiner, sending McDonagh into Dragunov.

The three all traded strikes. Dragunov crushed McDonagh with a senton before Bron sent him to the outside with a spear. McDonagh then hit an Asai moonsault on both opponents. Back in the ring, Dragunov powerbombed Bron for a near fall, crushed him with a forearm for another near fall, and then McDonagh hit a 450 splash on Dragunov for yet another near fall.

McDonagh hit Bron with a sheer drop brainbruster for another near fall. Dragunov countered the Devil Inside into repeated German suplexes. Bron then popped up and hit both opponents with a double German. He landed the diving bulldog on Dragunov, followed it up with the military press powerslam, but McDonagh pulled him off and covered Dragunov for a great near fall. 

Bron dispatched McDonagh and set up for a Spear, but Dragunov countered it into a rising knee. Dragunov landed a diving senton and landed Torpedo Moscow. He covered and had it won, but McDonagh stopped the official from counting “three.” Dragunov and McDonagh traded strikes until they both left the ring, where McDonagh countered a running clothesline into a Spanish Fly on the floor.

McDonagh produced a chair and swung it at Dragunov’s foot, but Dragunov avoided landed and hit a step-up diving headbutt. Back in the ring, it was Bron and Dragunov. Dragunov laid in strikes, but Bron wouldn’t go down until Dragunov hit a German and an overhand lariat. He called for Torpedo Moscow but was cut off by a Bron Spear for the win.

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Final Thoughts —

This show was practically the definition of “hit-and-miss.” The hits (the opener, the main event, Julius vs. Kemp) all had a super tight layout and exciting, hard-hitting wrestling. The misses (Rose vs. Alba, Apollo vs. Waller, Roxanne vs. Cora) all featured genuinely awful moments and some baffling booking. Still, the show’s high marks proved that NXT continues to have a decently bright future after the failed 2.0 experiment.