TJR: WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 2024 Preview
This is WWE NXT Halloween Havoc featuring Trick Williams battling Ethan Page while Stephanie Vaquer & Giulia face off against Roxanne Perez & Cora Jade.
The WWE NXT Halloween Havoc PLE name is back after being a television special last year. The main event of the 2022 Halloween Havoc PLE was Bron Breakker beating Ilja Dragunov & JD McDonagh. Look at where they are now as Raw superstars with Bron and JD holding titles while Ilja is out of action with a knee injury, but he’ll be a force next year.
Halloween Havoc is the sixth WWE NXT PLE this year and I assume we get Deadline in December as well. I think six or seven is a good number of PLE shows for NXT to do in a year. This one will be in Hershey, PA, which is not necessarily a big market, but I think it should be a good crowd.
As for this card, they have five advertised matches, which is like the main roster. Sometimes NXT has more matches than that, but I think five of them is fine. There are stipulation matches throughout the card as well. The two main men’s matches on this show are rematches from title changes earlier this month while the women’s tag is a big one. I would have liked to see a Je’Von Evans-Wes Lee match on the show too, but they didn’t go in that direction even though they have had some issues after losing a triple threat to Ethan Page.
You can watch NXT Halloween Havoc on Sunday, Oct. 27, streaming live at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Peacock in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else. Let’s get to it.
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NXT Women’s North American Championship: Kelani Jordan (c) vs. Fatal Influence’s Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley or Jazmyn Nyx
(The Fatal Influence trio gets to choose what kind of match it is because when they did “Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal” it landed on Spinner’s Choice.)
My initial thought here is that Fatal Influence would make this a triple threat match or a handicap match to create an unfair advantage. However, on WWE’s preview of the match, it says: “Kelani Jordan will defend the Women’s North American Championship against one member of Fatal Influence at Halloween Havoc.”
I’m going to go with Jacy Jayne representing Fatal Influence and I think there’s going to be a title change. Jordan has been fine as the champion, but it’s not like she needs to hold this title for half a year or longer to prove herself. I think Jordan can lose here and then get in the hunt for the NXT Women’s Title. I’m not sure what stipulation they might go with, but I think if the heels in Fatal Influence are going to pick the stipulation and they have the numbers advantage outside of the ring, they should definitely leave with the title as well. Perhaps they have Jacy in the match while Henley is the referee or something like that. Anyway, I think it’s time for Jayne or Henley to get a singles title. I don’t think it will be Nyx in the match.
Winner AND NEW NXT Women’s North American Champion: Fatal Influence’s Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley or Jazmyn Nyx
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Ambulance Match: Andre Chase vs. Ridge Holland
To win an Ambulance Match, a wrestler has to put their opponent in an ambulance and shut the doors. This storyline has been going on for several months with Ridge Holland turning heel against Chase U. Ridge attacked Andre, Duke Hudson and Riley Osborne at separate times, so now the Chase U leader Andre Chase is back for revenge. I’m glad there’s a story and the fans should be into it because they like the Chase U act.
When it comes to who wins the match, I think it makes a lot of sense to have Ridge Holland win because he’s a heel on the brand that needs some top heels. That’s because as of right now, the two male wrestlers holding the top titles are babyfaces, so if Ridge wins this match then realistically he’d be in line to go after one of those titles. I can’t say I find Ridge to be the most exciting guy or anything like that. However, I think it’s smart for WWE to try to invest in him as a heel to see what they can get out of him. Andre Chase is not a babyface who is going to move up the card, so I think Ridge winning makes sense. Another option is to have Duke Hudson & Riley Osborne show up to help Chase win as a measure of revenge and it would be cheap since it’s an Ambulance Match where Chase could get help to win. I just think it makes more sense for Ridge to win even though there is the obvious revenge story that could lead to Chase winning.
Winner: Ridge Holland
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Tables, Ladders & Scares Match for the NXT North American Championship: Tony D’Angelo (c) vs. Oba Femi
A Tables, Ladders & Scares Match is the same as Tables, Ladders & Chairs. The NXT North American Title will hang above the ring and to win the match, a wrestler has to climb the ladder to pull down the title.
This is a rematch from the October 8th episode of NXT in St. Louis when Tony D finally was able to beat Oba Femi for the NXT North American Title. If you read my NXT reviews regularly then you know I’m a big fan of Femi, who has been wrestling on television for less than a year and is having some of the best matches on the brand. I think Femi is on his way to being a main roster main event guy within the next two or three years. My issue at this point is that Femi goes from being a face to a heel sometimes and I think it’s better for him to stay in one role. Femi has come across as a heel in this feud because Tony D is more of a pure babyface, but for most of his run, Femi has been a face. I think being a face is better for Femi long term although I understand in NXT they want to have people try out different things.
My lean here is to go with Tony D’Angelo getting the win by proving he can beat Femi on his own. The story is that Femi took out Tony’s allies Luca Crusifino & Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo (and Adrianna Rizzo, but Femi didn’t do it himself), so Tony has to find a way to win on his own, which makes it a tough task since Femi is so hard to beat. They’ll break tables, use ladders all over the place and obviously chairs will be a big factor too. It’s a different kind of match for Femi, but I’m sure the producers helped him a lot to get through it. If Femi were to win the title back that’s fine with me. I just think Tony D retaining is the right move.
Winner: Tony D’Angelo
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Roxanne Perez & Cora Jade vs. Giulia & Stephanie Vaquer
This was set up because when Giulia faced Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women’s Title, Cora Jade showed up to attack Giulia and Perez kept her title. That also led to Vaquer making her NXT debut as a babyface who helped Giulia. I think when NXT’s Vic Joseph calls this a “dream match” it’s a bit of a stretch, but I understand trying to build up matches to feel like a big deal. I like Vaquer a lot while Giulia has been impressive as well.
I hope for Cora Jade can stay healthy for the rest of this year and many more years because she’s missed significant time twice in the last three years. Hopefully she can reach her potential by winning the NXT Women’s Title at some point next year.
Roxanne Perez has held the NXT Women’s Title for over 200 days, so it’s been a lengthy reign for her as a crafty heel champion. Somebody that’s in this match is likely to beat her for the title whether that’s Giulia, Vaquer or even Jade if she were to turn babyface on Perez. I’m leaning towards Giulia getting the title, so I think they will do that at the NXT Deadline PLE in December assuming that show happens. With that in mind, I’m going with Giulia getting the win for her team in this match. I’d have Giulia beat Perez too, but they might have Giulia beat Jade instead.
Winners: Giulia & Stephanie Vaquer
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Devil’s Playground Match for the NXT Championship: Trick Williams (c) vs. Ethan Page
A Devil’s Playground Match is another way of saying No Holds Barred or a Street Fight style of match where weapons are allowed. In other words, it’s going to be a chaotic match with a lot of weapons being used throughout the match.
They have done a good job with this story since Ethan Page won the NXT Title in a four-way match, but he didn’t pin Trick to win the title. It took Trick a few months to get his singles rematch with Page, which happened on the NXT episode in Chicago on October 1st. Page won a three-way to earn this rematch, so here we are with a stipulation match that will likely end the feud.
I’m going with Trick Williams to win what should be one of the best matches on the show. Trick and Page aren’t necessarily known for having the elite level matches like a Carmelo Hayes or Ilja Dragunov in NXT in the past, but I think with the Devil’s Playground stipulation, they are going to do a lot of creative things and probably have a lot of nearfalls for both guys. I think Trick winning is the right move while Page is taken out of the NXT Title picture. I think Page is a guy who will probably be moved to the main roster by the next WWE Draft in the spring, so he’ll be on Raw or Smackdown. They could even do it around Royal Rumble time. Anyway, this win for Trick Williams should solidify him in the role as the unquestioned top guy of the NXT brand.
Winner: Trick Williams
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BONUS THOUGHTS
The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most
Trick Williams vs. Ethan Page in a Devil’s Playground Match for the NXT Championship.
The Match I Care About The Least
Kelani Jordan (c) vs. Fatal Influence’s Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, or Jazmyn Nyx. The story is okay, but the other four matches are stronger.
Longest Match
Trick Williams vs. Ethan Page going about 22 minutes.
Shortest Match
Kelani Jordan vs. Fatal Influence’s Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, or Jazmyn Nyx going about 12 minutes.
Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)
I’m at a 7.25 out of 10. It’s a show that is heavy on storyline for at least four of the matches and then the Jordan title defense has a decent story. I think because the two men’s title matches are both rematches, I would be surprised if either of them has a title change. Both matches should be very good just like the Chase-Holland match. The women’s tag team match is interesting to see not just the match, but how it’s booked in terms of the finish. It’s not the strongest NXT PLE show of the year. However, I do think everybody will work hard and every match will get plenty of time, which will make it a very entertaining show overall.
I will have a review for NXT Halloween Havoc either late at night on Sunday or early Monday morning because I don’t think I’ll be able to do it live.
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Thanks for reading. My contact info is below.
John Canton
Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X @johnreport