NXT presents Halloween Havoc this Saturday, October 22, live on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network elsewhere. Here’s your match-by-match preview of the premiere live event (PLE) and the history of Halloween Havoc.
Halloween Havoc first aired in 1989 when World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was still associated with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and would remain as such through the next event in 1990. The 1989 event featured Ric Flair teaming with Sting defeat The Great Muta and Terry Funk in a Thunderdome match with the late Bruno Sammartino as special guest referee.
From 1991 through 2000, Halloween Havoc was a staple pay-per-view (PPV) for WCW. Maybe the most memorable match from the 90s was Eddie Guerrero taking on a young luchador named Rey Misterio, Jr. in a Title vs. Mask match (1997) as Guerrero was the reigning WCW Cruiserweight Champion. The match is actually the first match you play in WWE 2K22’s Showcase mode that focuses on the career of the now Rey Mysterio.
However, after the purchase of WCW by Vince McMahon, Halloween Havoc was basically retired for two decades before NXT resurrected the show in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year it will be airing for the third consecutive year, now seemingly a staple PLE for WWE’s developmental brand.
Interestingly, while this will be the third straight year with the event, it will also be the third consecutive one that sees NXT in a vastly different place than a year prior. 2020 was still largely the NXT fans had come to expect; 2021’s event was the first PLE after the sudden and stark shift to 2.0. Now, NXT is a fusion of the two in its Black & Gold & White iteration.
Now, let’s move to the preview of this Saturday’s show.
Halloween Havoc 2022 Hosts: Shotzi and Quincy Elliott
As she did with the initial show under the NXT banner, Shotz will be the host of this weekend’s PLE as announced on this week’s episode. As she was speaking, she was interrupted by Xyon Quinn about being her co-host, who was then interrupted by Quincy Elliott. Shotzi said since they were going to have a match anyway, the winner would be her co-host. Elliott ended up defeating Quinn with a Banzai drop.
NXT has been gradually giving Elliott more television time and being placed as co-host seems to indicate that creative is happy with his development. While green in the ring, it is inarguable that Elliott knows his character and has mic skills that he can display as co-host with Shotzi, herself a bundle of energy.
Apollo Crews vs. Grayson Waller (Singles Match)
This feud finds its genesis in a match between the two on the August 30 episode of NXT. Waller attacked the left eye of Crews twice during the match, including when Crews had Waller set for his finisher, to escape with the victory and injure Crews.
NXT has aired a few vignettes from Crews in the six weeks since in the vigilante style that has become his signature. They included Crews narrating the vignettes while showing off his eye injury and, as shown above, a measure of payback on Waller.
During Waller’s match with Oro Mensah to qualify for the North American Championship ladder match, Waller was surprised by the “Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal” wheel that he used to set Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade in a “Weapons Wild” match. He then lost to Mensah and has been frantic in backstage interviews with McKenzie Mitchell. In fact, he was even interrupted on this week’s show by Chucky!
Crews’ character has been a bit stagnant since a return that garnered hope for a better push. With Waller clearly a part of the future of NXT and WWE, it makes sense for him to win here, but it’s also very possible the heel receives his comeuppance at the hands of Crews…and possibly a Chucky appearance?
Julius Creed vs. Damon Kemp (Ambulance Match, Brutus Creed’s NXT Career at Stake)
Quite possibly the longest story told heading into the PLE, this feud arose after Damon Kemp was revealed to be the one sowing dissension within Diamond Mine, coyly having the others blame Roderick Strong, before he sidelined Strong and turned on The Creed Brothers in the NXT Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way elimination match at Worlds Collide.
Kemp then purposely lost by disqualification to Brutus Creed in a singles match on NXT, whipping him with a chair upwards of 20 times. Julius, the elder brother, then challenged Kemp to a match, but Kemp would only agree if Brutus’ career were on the line. Brutus accepted before Julius could say anything, and the ambulance match was set.
In the weeks that followed the turn, NXT aired video of Kemp providing his justification for his actions, and his bland face act has turned into a better heel act. He deftly countered Julius’ barb that Kemp “isn’t even the best athlete in his family” (as the brother of Gable Stevenson) by laughing and asking Julius what he’s going to do when the second-best athlete in Kemp’s family defeats him.
Expect shenanigans from Brutus and possibly a miraculous return for Strong during the match. It seems highly unlikely that Brutus will be forced to leave NXT – many view Julius as the Montez Ford of the tag team – which may lead to a Triple H-Shawn Michaels finish from their unsanctioned match at SummerSlam 2002 where Michaels won with a jackknife cover, but Triple H laid him out immediately after the match.
In this case, Julius may shut the ambulance doors on Kemp only for them to shoot open for Kemp to launch an attack as Julius (and possibly Brutus) stand in victory.
Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade (Weapons Wild Match)
Another feud that was initiated by a turn, Perez and Jade have been essentially connected to each other since Perez’s debut in April and her eventual win the Women’s Breakout Tournament. She challenged for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship with her best friend, Jade, who had her own issues with Toxic Attraction at the time.
They won the Tag Team Championship, but Jade turned on Perez as Perez fought Mandy Rose for the NXT Women’s Championship. Since then, the two have been either at each other’s throats or thwarting the other’s attempts at moving up the card.
They meet Saturday in what will likely be a feud ender between the two for now. The story heading into Saturday is that Perez has been trying to find that “killer instinct” and be more aggressive, using weapons like Jade’s black kendo stick. Her hesitation has cost her over the past few months, but her recent losses to Meiko Satomura and Rhea Ripley have forced Perez to bring out more physicality.
Jade has played the part of the weasel heel, always seeking to find the path of least resistance. On NXT, she went for her kendo stick almost immediately when she realized her offense was having no effect on Raquel Rodriguez. Unfortunately for Jade, Rodriguez caught the kendo stick and beat her with it so while Jade won the match, she suffered, including being attacked from behind by Perez.
The winner of this match my indicate the winner of the Women’s Championship match. If Rose is set to retain, then it’s likely the face (Perez) wins. If Fyre is set to vanquish Rose, then it’s likely the heel (Jade) will win.
Carmelo Hayes (w/ Trick Williams) vs. Wes Lee vs. Oro Mensah vs. Von Wagner (w/Mr. Stone) vs. Nathan Frazer ( North American Championship Ladder Match)
The North American Championship ladder match has become one of NXT’s marquee matches, especially now that it seems like War Games has shifted to Raw and SmackDown. After all, the title was first awarded in a ladder match as Adam Cole became the inaugural champion at TakeOver: New Orleans in 2018 in a six-man ladder match.
The ladder match stems from Solo Sikoa having to relinquish the title a week after defeating the “A-Champ” Carmelo Hayes in a surprise appearance after helping Roman Reigns defeat Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle. In pre-recorded segment, Shawn Michaels forced Sikoa to vacate the championship and gave Hayes a bye from qualifying as the former champion, making him the first to qualify for the match.
Ensuing weeks would see qualifiers that were won by Wes Lee, Oro Mensah, and Von Wagner. The last spot was determined by the winner of the best-of-three series between Axiom and Nathan Frazer, with many calling their final match one of the best television matches of the year. Frazer qualified to round out the field.
This match may be the most chaotic on Saturday with all of the moving parts plus the speed and skills of those involved. Hayes winning again could be seen as a lateral move as he should be challenging for the NXT Men’s Championship or moved to Monday or Friday nights. Lee, Mensah, or Frazer winning could immensely boost their status if they follow the same playbook as Hayes, while Wagner winning would legitimize his push.
However, the North American Championship has traditionally (well, about as traditionally as four years can be) been held by those who have a faster, fluid style, so Wagner winning would both be a surprise and a shift. Sure, Keith Lee won it, too, but he’s cruiserweight in a heavyweight’s body.
NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose vs. Alba Fyre
Speaking of women who have had their long-running issues with Toxic Attraction, Fyre has been targeting Rose for months, basically since her re-debut as Alba Fyre. Fyre has both been hampered by and has hampered Toxic Attraction. She finally receives her first one-on-one title match with Rose since her defeat to Rose in February when she was still Kay Lee Ray.
Rose has held the Women’s Championship for almost a calendar year as she defeated the then Raquel Gonzalez on October 26, 2021 at last year’s Halloween Havoc. Since then, she and Toxic Attraction have basically run the women’s division, though the tag team division has seen a recent rise outside of the stable. Rose, for her part, has retained her title without the help of her cronies on many occasions.
Fyre saw a name and gimmick change that has turned out well as she has seemingly embodied the Alby Fyre character, made even more menacing by the red bat with the flaming tip. Since her loss to Rose in February, Fyre has not lost a singles match with her only losses coming in multi-women and tag team matches.
Next Tuesday’s episode of NXT falls one day short of 365 days for Rose. Should she retain on Saturday, it wouldn’t be surprising to see her lose the title in a shocking way like Hayes to Sikoa. However, Fyre is a former NXT UK Women’s Champion and has the in-ring, promo, and character skills to be the Women’s Champion. Will Rose surpass a year, or will she be stopped just short by Fyre – or a mystery opponent on Tuesday?
NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh
Bron Breakker has won the Men’s Championship twice since the start of 2022, most recently winning it (and still holding it) on April 4 when the title was inexplicably defended on Raw as he defeated Dolph Ziggler. Breakker’s second run has been a mix with great matches against Gunther and Cameron Grimes mixed in with esoteric feuds against Joe Gacy and JD McDonagh, who unsuccessfully challenged Breakker in a singles match for the title.
Dragunov made a surprise debut in NXT on September 20, interrupting Breakker and McDonagh. Dragunov had issues with both men as the NXT UK Men’s Championship was unified with Breakker’s title though Dragunov never lost the former title. He had to relinquish it due to injury – suffered at hands of McDonagh when he was still Jordan Devlin.
The triple threat match was set, but things escalated between the three over the past two weeks. Last week, Dragunov hit his Torpedo finisher on Breakker because McDonagh dodged, and then Breakker drilled Dragunov with a crushing spear to end the show. This week’s edition of “The K.O. Show” saw things devolve quickly even after Kevin Owens warned the two faces they were playing right into McDonah’s mind games. The show ended with Dragunov standing tall with the Men’s Championship…only to be interrupted by Austin Theory.
Vic Joseph and the NXT Twitter account are heavily pushing the scenario that Theory may cash in his Money in the Bank contract this Saturday before, during, or after the triple threat match. If so, that would seem like a step down for Theory, though his character does seem like one who would, like Jade, look for the path of least resistance.
Should Theory’s appearance have been just a one-off to try and boost views for Saturday’s PLE, then Breakker or Dragunov should emerge victorious. Then again, with how Owens laid out that the two are doing exactly what McDonagh wants, the door is open to have McDonagh be the unlikely one to end Breakker’s second reign.
With six matches for Saturday’s Halloween Havoc, the show should be a tidy few hours with action-packed matches. Remember to watch Halloween Havoc this Saturday, October 22, at 8 pm ET on peacock.
