WWE NXT: Halloween Havoc: Night 2 Review - October 31, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Creed Brothers def. Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo in a Tables, Ladders and Scares Match

I'm not a big fan of doing TLC matches without a contract or a title on the line, especially when these teams have hardly been feuding up to this point, but I can't complain too much because this was an awesome opener and they worked wonderfully together. I thought the Creeds might lose now that it appears they're main roster bound permanently, but apparently not. What a week it's been for the Creeds. Hopefully Garza and Carrillo can bounce back because they're a talented team in their own right.

Fallon Henley vs. Tiffany Stratton Went to a No Contest

The scheduled match stemmed from Henley doing a dead-on cosplay of Stratton last week. Henley was attacked by Stratton during her entrance, so the matchup never got underway. I assume it was cut due to time constraints, which I'm not sure was necessary since the lengthy videos they filmed with Akira Tozawa scaring The Meta-Four at a haunted house weren't all that entertaining. At least this angle heats up the issue between these two.

NXT North American Champion "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio def. Nathan Frazer

The jail costumes from Mysterio and Ripley were a nice touch. Mysterio has been stepping up his in-ring game lately and this was another quality contest from him. Then again, Frazer is always a treat to watch, so that shouldn't have been much of a surprise. I appreciated that Mysterio was able to win clean. Post-match, Wes Lee returned to rekindle his rivalry with the man who took his title from him. I'd have no issue with him being the one to dethrone Mysterio during this second reign of his.

Bron Breakker def. Mr. Stone

Stone has had a handful of matches on NXT TV over the years, but this was the first time he was supposed to be taken seriously. Of course, it would've been laughable had he picked up the upset victory, so I'm glad they didn't do that. Breakker has lost a lot this year and shouldn't be suffering a loss to Stone of all people. This was what it needed to be with Stone valiantly fighting back only to get squashed in the end. Von Wagner returned afterward sporting a silly bandage around his head, so his feud with Breakker will continue.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green and Piper Niven def. Chase U (Thea Hail and Jacy Jane)

Somehow I've missed it in recent weeks, but Jane has been trying to convince Andre Chase to cheat in their matches and attempting to tease tension within the group in the process. Chase denied her the chance to use the belt to cheat in this match, so Green and Niven ended up retaining. The match was well worked but nothing special. It was more about progressing the Chase U story and it succeeded because they have my interest.

Lola Vice def. Kelani Jordan in the Finals of the NXT Women's Breakout Tournament

As expected, this was a fairly basic bout between two inexperienced wrestlers, but they both held their own and produced a passable match. None of these tourney matches will be remembered in the long run, and it's all a matter of where these women go from here. I have faith Jordan and especially Jordan will be just fine, though. I expected Jordan to go over in the finals, but Vice has potential, too. By virtue of her victory, she's earned a championship opportunity anytime of her choosing. She should either hold onto it or choose to contend for the tag titles at some point because she's far from ready for a shot at the NXT Women's Championship.

NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov def. Carmelo Hayes

I'd definitely put this on par with their other encounters. It was more predictable, of course, but make no mistake about it, it was equally excellent as their chemistry is simply stellar. Trick Williams emerged toward the end, distracting Hayes and costing him the win. It wasn't explicitly said, but it was heavily implied Hayes was behind Williams' recent attack, and I liked how they left it open-ended as a cliffhanger for next week. Dragunov probably should have won clean first before Williams showed up, but that's my only nitpick. Speaking of Dragunov, Baron Corbin attacked him backstage to close the show, so he'll be Dragunov's next challenger.

Overall Show

Night 1 was a stronger show on the whole in my opinion, but it was an enjoyable two-plus hours, nonetheless. They opened and closed the night with above-average matches, the NXT Women's Breakout Tournament wrapped up, and seeds are being planted for Deadline in December. They also announced qualifying matches for the Iron Survivor matches at Deadline will kick off next week. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn did a decent job of hosting the festivities, too. I'd consider Halloween Havoc a smashing success this year and look forward to what else the brand has in store in the weeks ahead with the wave of momentum they're riding right now. Happy Halloween!

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