Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s possibly annual (?) review of "WWE NXT" Halloween Havoc 2024, which was a PLE this year even though it wasn't last year because reasons! This ... was a bit of an uneven one, folks. It gives the WINC staff no pleasure to inform you that things we love were difficult to come by on this show, which is why the moments we've singled out for praise in this column are mostly smaller and less momentous than usual. As for the thing we hated ... well, we'll get to them, but let's just say we were spoilt for choice.
All this having been said, we actually are going to cover most of the five-match card, from Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer's tag team win to the Ambulance Match to the Gauntlet Match to the main event, and all that followed it. The one thing we're not really going to talk about is Tony D'Angelo stacking up a second win against Oba Femi, which we generally thought was fine and which you can read about by checking out our Halloween Havoc results page. Beyond that match, however, we have strong feelings about pretty much everything, so here are three things we hated and three things we loved (or maybe three tricks and three treats) about "WWE NXT" Halloween Havoc 2024!
With a Heritage Cup Match set for Tuesday's episode of "WWE NXT," Lexis King's search for a cornerman hadn't yielded any viable candidates until a backstage segment at Halloween Havoc featured the return of a familiar face in William Regal, who offered his services to King against none other than Regal's own son Charlie Dempsey. Of late, King has more openly referred to his father, the late Brian Pillman, and perhaps the connection with Regal will begin to push him back toward embracing his heritage as Brian Pillman Jr.
Since Regal's return to WWE in January, on-screen appearances have been of a cameo nature and few and far between, announcing Dempsey's All Japan Pro Wrestling appearances earlier this year, appointing Ava as "NXT" General Manager, congratulating Dempsey on winning The Heritage Cup at Roadblock, and showing up alongside Giulia when she was first shown on WWE television at Stand and Deliver. Now, it appears as though he'll at least be a trigger point in changing the direction of not one but two up-and-coming talents.
Inserting Regal into a feud centered around The Heritage Cup can only be a good thing since that's been a bit dry in general since its inception, in my opinion, and he can bring some color to it all, but to do so while Dempsey is an integral part of the storyline is even better. Add to that the fact that King is the adversary, and the previous connections between Regal and the elder Pillman, and this has the makings of, well, several different potentially satisfying end results. Outside of The Heritage Cup, it's no stretch at all to say that both Dempsey and King could use a little more oomph to their respective directions anyway and who better to do just that than "The Gentleman Villain?" Heel turns, character shifts, double-crosses and so much else, it seems, may be right around the corner.
Written by Jon Jordan
To be clear: The "NXT" women's division is the best thing on the show and has been for years now. The arrivals of Stephanie Vaquer and Giulia have been by far the most exciting thing the brand has going for it, and it's hard to remember the last time a Roxanne Perez PLE match wasn't match of the night, as it was again onSunday. Trick Williams is great and he's super popular, but these three women are undeniably the primary drivers of buzz for "NXT's current incarnation.And Cora Jade is here, too! So why did the big Perez & Jade vs. Vaquer and Giulia match seem to mean so little in the broader context of Halloween Havoc?
In general, you don't put any of your biggest matches in the second spot on the show. The opener is a big deal, the main event is a big deal, and you can usually drop a big match somewhere near the middle, but the second match? Generally not a prominent spot. Also, while the match was good, it was also pretty basic in terms of how the finish set things up going forward. Vaquer pinned Perez, so that's a title match we're probably getting, but that's also a title match we were always getting. Beyond that, all we got in terms of tangible storytelling was Zaria showing up to stare at the winners and then she showed up again later and did significantly more than stare at Fallon Henley.
No matter how talented the wrestlers involved might be, it's up to the promotion and the booker to make a match feel truly special. This felt the one way I didn't expect a match involving Vaquer, Giulia, and Perez to feel: routine.
Written byMiles Schneiderman
Even though this stipulation wasn't set up with a fun wheel spin, it was made official following an intense video package exchange where Ridge Holland challenged Andre Chase to an ambulance match, so that's still okay in my book. As commentary kept mentioning, this was apparently only the seventh ambulance match in WWE history, and I'm a sucker for a good gimmick match. This was a feud where an ambulance match made a ton of sense, with Holland sending Chase and Duke Hudson out of arenas in an ambulance. And tonight, he did it once again to Mr. Chase, seemingly ending their blood feud for good, as we'd see what's next for Holland later on in the night.
The match itself was pretty good, albeit a bit slow, but not drawn out too long, from the showcase of Holland's athleticism, to the various weapons used like kendo sticks and the gurney from inside the ambulance. I thought it was also placed very well on a well-paced card. No one from Chase U got involved, which I thought was interesting, but I didn't hate, though I might have missed something where they were banned from ringside. I think the best thing to come out of this match wasn't any kind of crazy memorable spot (we really only got Chase cannonballing off the top of the ambulance), but rather, what it means for Chase U and its storyline moving forward, now that we know Holland is done with them.
Andre Chase has been through a lot over the past year, from almost losing the university, to almost losing Thea Hail when gambling on her abilities, to being taken out of an arena not once, but twice in an ambulance, after letting an outsider into their group. This has to mean something for Chase U and the story going forward, and I'm excited to see what that is. Is this the end of Chase U? Will someone new take over as the leader, maybe Hudson? Well anyone even feel sorry for Chase after he accepted this match? There's not much that Chase U can do on "NXT" that gets me interested or excited anymore, but a dissolution storyline where everyone, especially Hudson and Hail, go off on their own to be successful is something I'd like to see.
Written byDaisyRuth
While this headline may or may not also be my life's mantra, in this case, I'm speaking specifically about Kelani Jordan, who was protected in defeat by the fact that the she had to take on all of Fatal Influence in a gauntlet match (as announced on the preshow). So, in the longrun, she's going to be just fine. Still, she didn't win. And neither did Fallon Henley, despite the fact that she came away with the NXT Women's North American Championship, first on account of the fact that it took her being the third leg of said gauntlet, second as she needed help from her other two stablemates during her segment of the match to get the pinfall, and third as she, and all of Fatal Influence, were simply decimated by a debuting (for real this time) Zaria.
We can take a little bit of a moral victory from the fact that the former Delta's third in-person appearance in "NXT" was at least more than just staring at people (and that F5 she hit was pretty cool) but even Zaria seemingly takes a small step down the ladder from what appeared to be having a spot in the main event picture right out of the gate only an hour or so before (when she stared down all of Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, Cora Jade, and NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez). She, too, will be alright, as her in-ring debut come Tuesday will surely showcase more of what she can do, and maybe result in another face-to-face with Fatal Influence before she re-engages with the main event ladies, but let's get back to the faction at hand here.
Where do they go from here? Okay, Henley's got a title, and one with a measure of prestige at that, becoming only the second ever to hold the Women's North American Championship. But she and her homies all got shellacked moments afterwards. I don't think they're getting any revenge on Zaria, so they all just come off as less-than. And that stinks. But it just goes to show you, once again, no one wins when (a) Jordan loses.
Written by Jon Jordan
This may seem a little silly, but Tatum Paxley appearing, scaring Booker T, and really keeping the havoc of Halloween Havoc going in to "NXT" on Tuesday was a cute little addition for me. Paxley and her nemesis Wendy Choo (who I have started calling "Nightmare" Choo in her current character iteration of a sleep paralysis demon or whatever she has going on, considering that wasn't really ever explained) were two of the "spooky," weird characters on "NXT" that weren't featured on Halloween Havoc, and this was a perfect way to further things for them. I had honestly forgotten they were still feuding for a moment there, as I don't remember anything too interesting happening between the pair on the leadup to this show, but if they weren't going to be wrestling on it, I rather things have played out the way they did.
Paxley just kind of appeared out of a box while Booker T was explaining the rules of a Devil's Playground match and wandering the set pieces, and General Manager Ava rushed out to attempt to get Paxley some help with the medical team. Paxley explained she needed a match with Choo, to which Ava agreed for "NXT," then without warning, Paxley spun the Halloween Havoc wheel to make things more interesting. The wheel landed on a coffin match for Tuesday, and I'm all for exciting things like stipulation matches getting added to "NXT" episodes before the fact to spice things up.
The havoc of Halloween will continue this week on "NXT" in a pretty perfect way. A coffin match seems like a good stipulation between these two characters, and it is still right before Halloween. I'm hoping Paxley comes out victorious and Choo turns back into her old character, or something a little different than what she's working with now, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. Overall, this was simple, but very effective for me tonight.
Written by Daisy Ruth
There is a lot going right for "WWE NXT" at the moment with a stacked roster of young stars including Oba Femi, Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, Kelani Jordan, and many more it feels criminal not to mention. For a time there has also been a well-balanced cycle of main roster veterans coming down to the brand to bridge the gap for the prospects, so for the love of everything on this wonderful planet, why would you have the main event of a PPV close with a 53-year-old Bubba Ray Dudley?
Trick Williams overcame Ethan Page in the Devil's Playground rubber match for the NXT Championship, a violent and bump-filled affair that saw the defending champion undertake a Herculean feat of resilience almost unrealistically so, if we're being cynical but found his celebration cut short by the fallen challenger and an emerging Ridge Holland. Holland had beaten Andre Chase earlier in the night in an Ambulance Match, but I'll be honest and say it wasn't him I was hoping to make a return in this spot; my sentimental pick would have been Femi, having lost his North American title feud with Tony D'Angelo earlier. Nevertheless, surely this was the time to truly cement Holland in the role as next challenger? Evidently not, it would seem, as he was briefly relegated to taking orders from Page, only for their attack to be interrupted by Bubba Ray because Holland had disrespected him twice throughout the night. Because the one thing "WWE NXT" needs at this time is a feud between them.
I don't understand why the decision was made to have Page and Holland demean themselves in the eyes of the viewer by running away from a single semi-retired wrestler, especially if the idea is that Holland is some dangerous monster and considering that Page had just lost a match where he threw everything under the kitchen sink at his opponent. Nor does it really benefit Williams to have to be saved by the WWE Hall of Famer. There are a number of babyfaces who could have put in that position, even main roster stars if the payoff for this is really supposed to be a tag match of some form (Because in 2024 who really wants to see Bubba Ray return to the ring?). But to rely on someone better known for their opinions on wrestling as opposed to their in-ring product over recent years in a developmental territory really just feels like a backwards methodology but that could just be me.
Written by Max Everett
