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TJR: WWE NXT Halloween Havoc 2021 Predictions

By John Canton • Published 26th October 2021
wwe nxt halloween havoc raquel gonzalez mandy rose

The WWE NXT brand is airing a special episode tonight using the Halloween Havoc theme. It’s an event similar to some NXT Takeover events in the past where multiple titles are on the line and it has the feel of a more important episode than the usual NXT television show.

Frankly, I think WWE has made a mistake in dumping the Takeover concept because I think it’s a great idea for content on Peacock/WWE Network in addition to the NXT TV show. I realize that we have been in the NXT 2.0 era and the last Takeover in August may be the last one for a while, but I think WWE should still do Takeover shows at least four to six times a year. Since I guess they have stopped doing them, tonight’s NXT feels like a Takeover using the Halloween Havoc. The name Halloween Havoc comes from WCW when they held an October PPV using that name and then the NXT brand brought the name back last year.

The show tonight will feature four title matches, so that’s four of the main NXT Title matches. The North American and Cruiserweight Titles are not on the line at this time.

NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Scareway to Hell Ladder Match: Io Shirai & Zoey Stark (c) vs. Indi Hartwell & Persia Pirotta vs. Toxic Attraction’s Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne

This match is tough to call and also has me concerned a bit. I’m not sure how wise this match is since some of them are not that experienced and we just saw a Ladder Match on Raw last night too. Those four guys are among the most experienced in WWE too. The good thing for these women in NXT is that they have known about the match, so they have been able to practice it and come up with some cool spots for the match. Io Shirai is the best in the group, so she should stand out. Persia Pirotta is still really new to me and she’s got some good power moves. Indi is a good athlete for sure. I think Gigi Dolin could stand out because she’s got a unique look and is talented in the ring. Jacy Jayne left a match NXT on last week with a possible head injury, but I guess she’s okay since I haven’t heard otherwise.

While Shirai/Stark have been good as a team, they haven’t defended the titles that much. My feeling is that the NXT brand is all in on the Toxic Attraction group with good reason, so I’m going with Gigi and Jacy to win the titles here. I think Io Shirai is likely going to be on the main roster in a few months maybe after a debut at the Royal Rumble and then on Raw or Smackdown from there. There’s really not much more for Shirai to do in NXT other than go after the NXT Women’s Title again. I’m going with Gigi and Jacy here.

Winners AND NEW NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions: Toxic Attraction’s Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne

NXT Tag Team Championship Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal Match: MSK – Wes Lee & Nash Carter vs. Imperium – Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner

It’s a “Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal” match, which means we will find out the stipulation when the match begins. I think if they did a Tornado Tag Team Match with no tags it could be a lot of fun.

These are two established tag teams with MSK working an exciting babyface style while Imperium are technically sound and they bump very well while looking credible on offense. I’m not sure what kind of match it will be and your guess is as good as mine as far as that goes. I think the champs retain, but it wouldn’t shock me if they lose the titles soon. I just don’t think Imperium is the right team to take the titles from them. It will probably be somebody else.

Winners: MSK

NXT Women’s Championship Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal Match: Raquel Gonzalez (c) vs. Mandy Rose

It’s another “Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal” match, so we will learn the stipulation before the match. I have really liked how well Mandy Rose has transitioned to NXT. Mandy is a favorite of mine because she’s absolutely gorgeous of course, but I think she’s a talented wrestler that just didn’t get a chance to show what she can do on Raw or Smackdown. I also like the brunette look more than the blonde hair. Plus, the creation of the Toxic Attraction group has been awesome for her to make her into a leader of some talented young women (Gigi & Jacy), but also the fact that there aren’t women’s only factions in NXT, so they can dominate due to the numbers game. I like Raquel as champion and if you have watched NXT regularly in the last year then you know she pretty much wins every match she’s in. Most of that time saw Raquel in a heel role, but then she became a face when Dakota Kai turned on her a few months ago.

My prediction here is that a returning Dakota Kai will cost Raquel the match. I thought Dakota might get drafted to Raw or Smackdown, then she wasn’t and that made me think she could return here to screw her former best friend Raquel out of the title. The reason I am going for a cheap win is because of how rarely Raquel has lost. If it’s not Kai then maybe Gigi & Jacy help Mandy win. I guess it all depends on the stipulation. I just don’t think Mandy is going to beat Raquel clean, nor should she since Mandy is a heel. Anyway, if Mandy wins I’ll be pretty happy for her. She has been part of WWE for six years going back to her Tough Enough days without a title win, so this would be big for her.

Winner AND NEW NXT Women’s Champion: Mandy Rose

NXT Championship: Tommaso Ciampa (c) vs. Bron Breakker

Is it too soon for Bron Breakker to become NXT Champion? That’s the main question going into this match. The 24-year-old Breakker has only wrestled three matches on NXT TV after debuting on the September 14 episode of NXT that was the start of the NXT 2.0 concept. Breakker beat LA Knight easily on that show. Since then, Breakker has teamed with Ciampa twice and they won both of their matches together. Breakker is undefeated in NXT, so when people ask if it’s too soon for him to become NXT Champion, we should also be asking is it too soon for him to lose a match? My feeling is that if you really want to get people talking about the NXT brand and excited about the 2.0 concept then they should absolutely do a title change in this change.

I really liked Tommaso Ciampa’s promo recently about how the NXT Title is everything to him because this is where he’s at home while it’s just a stepping stone for Breakker, who will likely be a champion on Raw or Smackdown some day. It’s a valid point made by Ciampa and makes the audience believe that he’s going to do anything to keep the title while Breakker would be just fine if he lost. If Breakker loses then I could see him hanging around NXT for a few months, being in the Royal Rumble where he makes a huge impact and then he gets called up to Raw or Smackdown soon after that. I don’t know if that’s the plan, but that’s certainly a possibility if Breakker fails to win the title here.

I’m going with the Breakker win in dominant fashion. I don’t expect it to be some 20-minute wrestling classic or anything like that. I doubt Breakker is good enough to really do that kind of match this early in his career. I think it will be more like a ten-minute match where Ciampa does get some offense in, but not that much and I think Breakker will win in a decisive manner.

Winner AND NEW NXT Champion: Bron Breakker

The Rest of NXT Halloween Havoc

In addition to the above four matches, this is what else is advertised:

* Debut of Solo Sikoa – Solo is the son of Rikishi and brother of The Usos. I assume he wins a short match.

* A Mysterious Superstar Unveiled – I don’t know who it is, but there have been vignettes for a few weeks. It could be somebody new or a wrestler making their return.

* Lashing Out with Lash Legend Halloween Havoc Special – It’s usually a quick talk show type segment. Maybe Tony D’Angelo tries to get on the show again.

* LA Knight Is The Host Of Halloween Havoc – Some promos and comedy bits. It won’t be that much.

* Horror movie icon Chucky will also be part of the show in some capacity since he has a show on USA Network now. Chucky even did a promo.

Final Thoughts

I’m looking forward to the show. Am I bold in picking three title changes? I don’t know. I think the new NXT 2.0 means a lot of changes are coming including three title changes on this show. As I wrote above, I think the women’s division is about to be dominated by Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne of Toxic Attraction, so I think all three women will be holding titles by the end of the night. As for Bron Breakker, I just don’t think it’s smart to have him lose, so he’s probably leaving as NXT Champion as well.

I wish the NXT North American Title match between Carmelo Hayes and Johnny Gargano was on the show because that would have been the best match most likely, but I understand that it needs more build. Most of the card is decent and as long as the four title matches get some time (over ten minutes each) then they should be able to produce some quality matches.

I should have a review up later tonight on TJRWrestling. I don’t know if it will be live because I want to watch most of the MLB World Series Game One, but I’ll try to get it posted later tonight.

Thanks for reading.

John Canton

Email: mrjohncanton@gmail.com

Twitter: @johnreport