WWE NXT (October 28, 2020)

Original Airdate: October 28, 2020

From Orlando, Florida; Your Hosts are Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, and Beth Phoenix on commentary, along with Shotzi Blackheart as host for this special Halloween Havoc episode

Opening NXT North American Title Devil's Playground Match: Damian Priest v Johnny Gargano: They bring back the old Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal gimmick for this, with (a very committed) Blackheart doing the honors. Kudos to them for putting Coal Miner's Glove on there as a possibility. So Devil's Playground is basically just fancy talk for a Hardcore match. Johnny deflates the giant pumpkin on the way to the ring, just to be a dick. Priest attacks while Gargano is crying over the stips, and hits a flatliner early on. Damien with a pair of corner backelbows and a corner splash, followed by a nasty spinheel kick for two. He really tagged him with that one there. Springboard sends Johnny to the outside, so he tries a slingshot spear on the way back in, but Priest blocks. Priest tries a rope-hung inverted DDT, but Gargano escapes back to the outside to block, and the champ eats steps out there. Gargano finds a kendo stick, but Priest finds a nightstick, and it's a duel! Johnny dives off the stage with a somersault senton, and it's kendo time on the way back in, but Priest blocks an enzuigiri with the nightstick. Sitout chokeslam gets the champion two, and they spill back to the outside, where Gargano reverses him into the barricade. Johnny with a cool sliced bread on the steps for two, but Priest counters a tornado DDT with a suplex-slam onto the announce table. Johnny bails into the A/V area, and Priest follows for a brawl out there, over by a cemetery set. Gargano opens a casket, but a scary doll falls out of it, triggering Johnny to superkick it. Ha. That allows Priest to recover, and they brawl backstage, where Gargano uses a fire extinguisher to buy time. That allows him to bash Priest's head into a garage door a few times, and he dumps a bunch of trash onto him. Oh no, not a bunch of empty water bottles! How will Damian survive this one?! Back out into the arena for more brawling at the graveyard, and they fight up to where the Wheel is, triggering a funny line from the announcers about how Gargano 'hates heights, and he hates wheels.' Not sure if that was meant humorously, but it certainly cracked me up. Gargano beats on him with a trashcan, and even the virtual fans are playing with their phones. Well, that wasn't an option during the WCW days, but I'm sure it captures the spirit. Priest gets control and goes for the kill, but a guy in a Ghostface costume hits him with a pipe to save the challenger's hopes. Gargano capitalizes with a DDT, and Ghostface hands him a headstone to break over Priest's head. It's very obviously gimmicked, but at least it looked cool. So Johnny knocks him cold, with Damian taking a bump off the set, and Gargano hooks the leg for the title at 17:58. I wasn't feeling this at all, but then I'm one of those weirdoes who thinks sticking great workers in garbage brawls is generally a waste of time. I mean, there's a reason guys like the Nasty Boys or Public Enemy were booked for these types of matches, you know? *

Santos Escobar v Jake Atlas: Escobar is the interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion (due to COVID preventing champion Jordan Devlin from traveling), but this is non-title anyway. Escobar immediately nails him with a dropkick the moment the bell sounds, and he takes him to school in the corner. Corner whip works, but Atlas fucks up taking a corner splash somehow, so Escobar hits him with a running kneesmash. Escobar continues to toy with him, but Jake gets fired up, and starts making a comeback. Forearm smash gets him two, and a cool cartwheel DDT is worth two when Escobar's crew gets him into the ropes. Jake responds by diving out of the ring at them, but he gets overwhelmed fighting both goons off, and Escobar delivers a double-underhook kneeling facebuster at 3:29. * ½

Haunted House of Terror Match: Dexter Lumis v Cameron Grimes: So this is another stab at cinematic wrestling, and Grimes shows up at the House all bluster, but clearly terrified out of his mind. And he's pretty great at it. We get a funny bit with the terrified Grimes walking around the house yelling for Lumis, all while continuously wondering if it's the right house. It would be pretty hilarious if it wasn't, and this one also randomly had a camera crew hanging around in it. Grimes discovers a referee standing in the corner of a room, but he's been possessed like Viktor Krum in the hedge maze. This allows Lumis to trap Grimes in a bathroom, where there's a sexy woman in the shower. This very much excites Grimes, but it's a Shining style trick when he pulls back the curtain, and poor Grimes is losing his mind. That allows Lumis to come in through an open window to attack, and Grimes is running like Forrest Gump on acid. So, you know, Forrest Gump. Grimes finds a weapon, but he's overrun by ghouls before he can use it on Lumis, so he runs back to his van, but Dexter is already inside. That sets Grimes off running again, and we get a 'to be continued' graphic at 5:54.

Rhea Ripley v Raquel Gonzalez: I know it's nothing new, but the announcers are getting really obnoxious with the constant Geico shilling. Gonzalez powers her around in the early going, and I'm pretty sure these two are gonna hate-fuck at some point. Gonzalez tries a vertical suplex, but Ripley keeps blocking, and eventually turns it into a two-alarm short-clothesline, but Gonzalez won't go down. Reversal sequence ends in Rhea knocking her to the outside with a dropkick, and she follows up with a baseball slide, but a somersault senton from the apron ends badly when Gonzalez catches her with a powerbomb into the barricade. Back in, Gonzalez works a gory special, but Ripley escapes into a sunset cradle for two. Gonzalez cuts her right off with a clothesline for two, and a corner whip sets up a corner clothesline. Another clothesline for two, but Ripley backdrops her way out of a powerbomb, and throws chops. Dropkick gets two, and Ripley puts the boots to her ahead of a reverse Texas cloverleaf. Rhea shifts the hold into a cradle for two, but Gonzalez fights back with a spinning slam for two. Gonzalez takes it upstairs for a superplex, but Rhea fights her off with headbutts, and tries a Riptide off the middle, but Gonzalez blocks. Ripley responds by trying a dive, but Gonzalez slams her off the top anyway, for two. Gonzalez tries a slam, but Rhea uses a headscissors to send her into the buckles, and the Riptide finishes at 11:31. I'm glad they didn't do a kickout there, I like when finishers actually finish. You don't see too many women's power matches, and this was a fun change of pace. ***

Haunted House of Terror Match: Dexter Lumis v Cameron Grimes: We pick up with Grimes still running, having apparently made it here to the arena. He ends up inside, and is at the graveyard set, and his moaning is getting really distracting. So the ghouls show up and chase him into the ring, where Lumis shows up, and starts unloading. Cool effect here where they have smoke fill the ring as they fight, and it's neat. Lumis with a bulldog and an inverted atomic drop, as more ghouls surround the ring - including a Daniel Bryan looking one. Lumis chucks one of the ghouls at him, and then chokes him out at 3:30 (9:24 total), though there's no bell or referee, so I just assume that's the finish. None of this is what you might call 'good,' but at least it was relatively short, and Grimes did a good job of getting the act over. It's still nothing I'm interested in seeing on a wrestling show, but the production values were okay, and it was entertaining enough to get a pass. ¼*

Main Event: NXT Women's Title Tables, Ladders, and Scares Match: Io Shirai v Candice LeRae: This is another Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal... deal. LeRae tries jumping her, but gets dumped to the outside in short order, and Io hits her with a tope out there. Io goes for a (very festive orange/black) ladder, but LeRae chucks her into the barricade before she can get it out. That allows Candice to shop for some plunder of her own, but a bag she finds is filled with dismembered human remains. 'All legal, no disqualifications,' note the announcers. Yeah, not sure it works that way, guys. So LeRae gets understandably freaked, allowing Io to beat her with a dismembered arm. That's creepy in a bad way, off-putting. Io takes her onto an announce table, but LeRae fights her off by whacking her with one of the monitors. I miss the old school CRT monitors. Flat screens just aren't scary. LeRae planks a ladder between the ring and the announce table, but Io chucks a chair at her head before she can do anything, and then hits a kneesmash against the steps. Io starts piling chairs in the ring, and gives a recovering LeRae a vertical suplex on the floor. They set up a pair of (also festive) tables at ringside, but a slugfest results in both women going down before they get used. Io recovers first and heads in with a ladder, but LeRae is on her tail, and sneaks past up the rungs. Io pulls her down, so Candice gives her a wheelbarrow facebuster. LeRae climbs, but Io pulls her off, and gives her a butterfly backbreaker to set up a flying moonsault - only for LeRae to roll out of the way, causing Io to wipe out on some chairs. LeRae capitalizes by beating on the champion with a chair, and isn't that the same referee that was Viktor Krum earlier now at ringside, totally normal? Candice tries a suplex onto a chair, but LeRae counters, and ouch. Io climbs, but LeRae pulls her off, and slaps her hard across the face. Io responds by trying a running kneesmash against the ladder, but LeRae dodges, and the ladder even tips over onto the champion for good measure. LeRae is still really battered, and has trouble getting to the top rope for a follow-up, allowing Io to block with an uppercut. She sets up a pair of chairs for a superplex, but LeRae blocks, and gets down to the apron. Io responds by wrapping a chair around her ankle for a little wrenching, but LeRae ducks a tiger feint kick, and whacks her with a chair. That allows Candice to put her through the tables with a swinging neckbreaker off of the apron, though it hurts LeRae as much as it does Io. Luckily for her, Ghostface shows up again, and literally carries her up the ladder for the gold - only for Shotzi Blackheart to run in and pull Ghostface off. That leaves a still unconscious LeRae at the top of the ladder, but Io is back before she can recover enough to grab the belt. Io climbs up a parallel ladder, but loses a fight up there, and LeRae has her hands on the gold - only for Io to tip her over at the last second, sending the challenger crashing through the planked ladder from earlier. And that's enough to give Io the win at 15:57. Felt like it needed one more horror villain style comeback from Ghostface there. Fun match, though. ** ¾

BUExperience: I wasn’t especially taken by it, but as a special episode of the regular weekly show, it was a lot of silly, harmless fun – just like Halloween. Fun little diversions like this are always welcome.