The 2024 NXT Halloween Havoc was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It was the fifth annual Halloween Havoc held for the promotion's developmental brand NXT, and the 17th Halloween Havoc event overall. It took place on October 27, 2024, at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. This was the second NXT Halloween Havoc to be held as a livestreaming event, after 2022, as the 2020, 2021, and 2023 events were held as television specials of NXT, and also returned the event to one night as the 2023 edition was a two-night event.
| NXT Halloween Havoc | |||
|---|---|---|---|
_Poster.jpg) Promotional poster featuring Trick Williams, Roxanne Perez, Giulia, Oba Femi, Ethan Page, and Kelani Jordan | |||
| Promotion | WWE | ||
| Brand(s) | NXT | ||
| Date | October 27, 2024 | ||
| City | Hershey, Pennsylvania | ||
| Venue | Giant Center | ||
| WWE Network event chronology | |||
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| Halloween Havoc chronology | |||
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| NXT major events chronology | |||
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Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Trick Williams defeated Ethan Page in a Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal: Devil's Playground match to retain the NXT Championship. In another prominent match, Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer defeated Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade in a tag team match, and in the opening bout, Tony D'Angelo defeated Oba Femi in a Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal: Tables, Ladders, and Scares match to retain the NXT North American Championship. This event was notable for the appearance of WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley.
The event received generally negative reviews from fans and critics alike, with the main focuses of criticism being towards the booking as well as the match quality combined, with many call it one of the absolute worst NXT events of all time.
Production
editBackground
edit
Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October. It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view (PPV) event by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 1989 until 2000 as WWE purchased WCW in 2001. The 2000 event was the final Halloween Havoc until WWE revived the show as an annual event for their developmental brand NXT in 2020.[1] The 2020, 2021, and 2023 events were held as television specials of the NXT program on the USA Network, but for 2022, it was a livestreaming event.[2] The 2023 edition was also two nights.[3]
On July 15, 2024, it was announced that NXT Halloween Havoc would return as a one-night livestreaming event. The fifth annual NXT Halloween Havoc, and 17th Halloween Havoc overall, was scheduled to take place on October 27, 2024, at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, marking the first NXT Halloween Havoc to take place outside of the brand's home base, the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.[4][5]
Storylines
edit| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentators | Vic Joseph |
| Booker T | |
| Spanish commentators | Marcelo Rodríguez |
| Jerry Soto | |
| Ring announcer | Mike Rome |
| Referees | Adrian Butler |
| Chip Danning | |
| Dallas Irvin | |
| Derek Sanders | |
| Felix Fernandez | |
| Interviewer | Sarah Schreiber |
| Pre-show panel | Megan Morant |
| Sam Roberts | |
| Dave LaGreca | |
| Bubba Ray Dudley |
The event comprised five matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, NXT, and the supplementary online streaming show, Level Up.[6][7]
During NXT's CW premiere episode on October 1, a vignette aired with an unidentified wrestler approaching a road sign with the numbers "10" and "27". Several observers interpreted the vignette as indicating Australian wrestler Delta would debut at Halloween Havoc.[8][9] A follow-up vignette that aired on the October 22 episode revealed that Delta would perform in NXT, but under the name Zaria; she then appeared in person to close the show.[10]
At Heatwave, Ethan Page defeated Trick Williams to win the NXT Championship in a fatal four-way match which also involved Je'Von Evans, the latter of whom Page pinned.[11] Williams vowed to regain the championship from Page, which he did on NXT's CW premiere episode on October 1 with Raw's CM Punk as the special guest referee.[12] The following week, Williams celebrated his victory, only to be interrupted by Wes Lee, who stated that he would take the title from Williams. Later that night, Page blamed Punk for losing the title and demanded a rematch. At the end of the show, NXT General Manager Ava announced that Lee, Page, and Evans, the latter of whom Ava added to the match after being impressed by his performance against SmackDown's Randy Orton, would compete in a triple threat match the following week to determine the challenger for Williams at Halloween Havoc,[13] which was won by Page. After the match, Page spun the Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal wheel, landing on the Devil's Playground match, which was made official for Halloween Havoc.[14]
On the October 8 episode of NXT, Tony D'Angelo defeated Oba Femi to win the NXT North American Championship, ending Femi's reign at a record-setting 273 days.[13] The following week, D'Angelo celebrated his title win before Femi interrupted him. Femi announced that a rematch would take place at Halloween Havoc. Femi then spun the Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal wheel, confirming that the match stipulation would be a Tables, Ladders, and Scares match.[14] On October 22, NXT General Manager Ava announced that the match would only be decided by pinfall.[10]
On NXT's CW premiere episode on October 1, Roxanne Perez defeated Giulia to retain the NXT Women's Championship. In the closing moments, Perez attempted to use the championship belt to strike Giulia with it, only for a hooded individual to attack Giulia, costing her the match. After the match, the hooded individual was revealed to be the returning Cora Jade.[12] The following week, Jade stated why she attacked Giulia, feeling as if the fans forgot about her while she was recovering from her ACL injury and that she and Perez were working on mending their friendship. Giulia appeared, albeit with former rival Stephanie Vaquer by her side as a brawl ensued between the four women.[13] The following week, Vaquer defeated Wren Sinclair in her NXT debut match, only for Jade and Perez to ambush her before Giulia came to her defense. Vaquer and Giulia then challenged Jade and Perez to a tag team match at Hallowen Havoc, which was later confirmed.[14]
On the June 18 episode of NXT, Ridge Holland was accepted as an official member of Chase University despite initial pushback from Riley Osborne and Duke Hudson.[15] On the August 13 episode of NXT, Holland and Andre Chase defeated Nathan Frazer and Axiom to win the NXT Tag Team Championship[16] but lost the titles back to them at No Mercy. After the match, Holland viciously attacked Chase, defecting from Chase U and reverting to a heel in the process. Chase was subsequently strechered out of the arena and taken by ambulance to a hospital.[17] After his defection, Holland vowed to take down Chase U. On the September 10 episode of NXT, Holland defeated Hudson and took out Hudson with the barricade after the match.[18] On the October 15 episode of NXT, Chase returned to save Osborne from being taken out by Holland after their match.[14] The following week, Chase challenged Holland to an Ambulance match at Halloween Havoc, which was made official.[10]
Since September, Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Jazmyn Nyx) had been feuding with NXT Women's North American Champion Kelani Jordan, setting their sights on the title. On the October 22 episode of NXT, it was announced that Jordan would defend the championship at Halloween Havoc against one member of Fatal Influence; however, she would not know which member until the event. Later that night, Jordan prevented Nyx from interfering in Jayne and Henley's match against Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer, which they ultimately lost. After the match, Jayne spun the Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal wheel, landing on Spinner's Choice, allowing Fatal Influence to choose the stipulation for the match at Halloween Havoc, and they chose a Gauntlet match.[10]
Reception
editThe event received negative reviews from fans and critics alike, with the main focuses of criticism going towards the match quality as well as the booking of the entire event. The opening match was graded a D+ on Bleacher Report which stated “We were promised a TLC match but instead got a street fight just to pop the crowd.” The Ambulance Match between Ridge Holland and Andre Chase, however, was universally panned with some calling it one of the worst matches in NXT history as the criticism was on the finish of the match as well as the overall quality. Bleacher Report would also grade the match a D, making it the website’s lowest rated match of the event. Cagematch would rate the Ambulance Match a 4.75 based on 123 votes.
Results
edit| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[20] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony D'Angelo (c) defeated Oba Femi by pinfall | Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal: Tables, Ladders, and Scares match for the NXT North American Championship[19] The match could only be won by pinfall or submission. | 15:20 | ||
| 2 | Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer defeated Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade by pinfall | Tag team match[19] | 14:15 | ||
| 3 | Ridge Holland defeated Andre Chase | Ambulance match[19] | 14:30 | ||
| 4 | Fallon Henley defeated Kelani Jordan (c) by pinfall | Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal: Spinner's Choice match for the NXT Women's North American Championship[19] Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne, Jazmyn Nyx, and Fallon Henley) chose a Gauntlet match, in which all three were participants. | 14:15 | ||
| 5 | Trick Williams (c) defeated Ethan Page by pinfall | Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal: Devil's Playground match for the NXT Championship[19] | 18:00 | ||
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References
edit- ^ Toro, Carlos (October 4, 2020). "NXT Halloween Havoc Announced For 10/28". Fightful. Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- ^ Defelice, Robert; Tessier, Colin (September 20, 2022). "Solo Sikoa Forced To Relinquish NXT North American Title, Ladder Match Set For Halloween Havoc". Fightful. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (September 30, 2023). "NXT Halloween Havoc Set For October 24 And October 31". Fightful. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
- ^ "WWE Announces NXT No Mercy on Sunday, September 1 & NXT Halloween". WWE. July 15, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Defelice, Robert (July 15, 2024). "WWE Announces NXT Halloween Havoc For 10/27 In Hershey, PA; Confirms NXT No Mercy Will Be On 9/1". Fightful. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (October 1, 2024). "DELTA Vignette Airs On WWE NXT". Fightful. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
- ^ Boone, Matt (October 1, 2024). "Highly-Touted Australian Women's Wrestling Prospect DELTA Appears In Vignette Hyping WWE NXT Debut". WrestlingHeadline. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Moore, John (October 22, 2024). "NXT TV results (10/22): Moore's review of Iyo Sky and Kairi Sane vs. Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson, Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer vs. Fatal Influence, Oba Femi vs. Luca Crusifino, Tatum Paxley vs. Jaida Parker". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- ^ Moore, John (July 7, 2024). "NXT Heatwave results: Moore's live review of Trick Williams vs. Ethan Page vs. Je'Von Evans vs. Shawn Spears for the NXT Championship, Roxanne Perez vs. Lola Vice for the NXT Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on July 14, 2024. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
- ^ a b Moore, John (October 1, 2024). "NXT TV results (10/1): Moore's review of The CW premiere featuring Ethan Page vs. Trick Williams for the NXT Championship with CM Punk as special referee, Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia for the NXT Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- ^ a b c Moore, John (October 8, 2024). "NXT TV results (10/8): Moore's review of Randy Orton vs. Je'Von Evans, Oba Femi vs. Tony D'Angelo for the NXT NA Title, Axiom and Nathan Frazer vs. A-Town Down Under for the NXT Tag Titles". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Moore, John (October 15, 2024). "NXT TV results (10/15): Moore's review of Ethan Page vs. Wes Lee vs. Je'Von Evans for a shot at the NXT Championship at Halloween Havoc, Stephanie Vaquer vs. Wren Sinclair, Halloween Havoc Wheel". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ^ Moore, John (June 18, 2024). "NXT TV results (6/18): Moore's review of the 25-man battle royal for a shot at the NXT Championship at NXT Heatwave, Kelani Jordan vs. Michin for the North American Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
- ^ Moore, John (August 13, 2024). "NXT TV results (8/13): Moore's review of Nathan Frazer and Axiom vs. Andre Chase and Ridge Holland for the NXT Tag Titles, Oba Femi's open challenge for the NXT North American Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on August 14, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
- ^ Moore, John (September 1, 2024). "NXT No Mercy results: Moore's live review of Ethan Page vs. Joe Hendry for the NXT Championship with Trick Williams as special referee, Roxanne Perez vs. Jaida Parker for the NXT Women's Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on September 2, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
- ^ Moore, John (September 10, 2024). "NXT TV results (9/10): Moore's review of Trick Williams vs. Pete Dunne in a Last Man Standing match for a shot at the NXT Title, Nathan Frazer and Axiom vs. The Street Profits for the NXT Tag Titles, Giulia vs. Chelsea Green". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e WWE.com Staff (October 27, 2024). "Full Halloween Havoc 2024 results". WWE. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
- ^ Powell, Jason (October 27, 2024). "NXT Halloween Havoc results: Powell's live review of Trick Williams vs. Ethan Page in a Devil's Playground match for the NXT Title, Tony D'Angelo vs. Oba Femi in a TLS match for the NA Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved October 27, 2024.