NXT Halloween Havoc 2024

I don't watch many of NXT's Premium Live Events these days, but a decent looking card and a slightly earlier start time enticed me back. I know that NXT, after a couple years of being a little less like the exceptional 'black and gold' brand of the mid-to-late 2010's, has been rebuilding their prestigious perception, which was certainly an encouraging sign.

The night's opening match saw Tony D'angelo defend the NXT North American Championship against former champion Oba Femi in a Tables, Ladders & 'Scares' (chairs) match for the title. I liked many of the spots, particularly the first table spot. I wasn't such a big fan of the way the match ended, but I get why it happened, and, hopefully, both men use it to accelerate up the card.

Following this was a very entertaining tag team match between four of the best female wrestlers on the planet; the team of Cora Jade and NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez and the team of Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer. I really enjoyed the chemistry of both teams, and there were so many smooth moves. The right team won, and a few tantilising storyline threads were created for fans to look forward to.

The third match of the evening was an ambulance match between rivals Ridge Holland and Andre Chase. The crowd was the most disappointing part of this match, unfortunately - there was next to no energy from the fans in attendance. Holland showed a lot of the potential that he has shown the last few years - it's clear that he's been working hard. The match was solid, but was always going to struggle to follow two excellent openers. The most important thing was that the right man won though.

Match four of the evening was a gauntlet match for the NXT Women's North American Championship, which saw Kelani Jordan defend her title against all three members of 'Fatal Influence'. As such, it was a match with the potential for three mini matches within the overarching match. The matches weren't great, unfortunately. They felt rushed, more than anything. I don't think they had the time that they needed. The match ending was okay, but the crowd was once again very disappointing.

At last we reached the night's main event; the NXT Championship match between Trick Williams and Ethan Page. It was billed as a 'Devil's Playground' match - I wasn't sure what that would be - it turned out it was basically a standard extreme rules match. There were some really entertaining moments in this match, especially in the closing stages, where the drama was well established. The finish was a little odd, but worked fine. The post-match scene was strange, but set up an interesting potential match.

Overall, I think this was an okay premium live event, but weakened by a couple of average matches in the middle of the card and, quite frankly, a terrible live crowd, who did not bring much noise at any point throughout the evening. The brand definitely isn't back to its glory days, but the signs of healing are clear to see, and the future looks bright.