Greg DeMarco’s Good, Bad, & Ugly – WWE NXT Halloween Havoc Night 2 (October 31, 2023)

WWE NXT delivered Night 2 of Halloween Havoc, and Greg DeMarco delivers another Good, Bad, & Ugly review!

Daddy’s back AGAIN–two straight is a good start! Take a look at my thoughts on this week’s edition of WWE NXT–The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

The Good

• Tables, Ladders, & Scares – The Creed Brothers vs. Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo  – This was absolutely insane, and mirrored how NXT started Night 1 of Halloween Havoc. And when I say insane, I mean that in a good way.
• Joe Gacy reintroduction promo – Very good promo to reintroduce Joe Gacy’s character, which is still tormented and evil, but with less cult-leader.
• Dominik Mysterio defends the NXT North American Championship against Nathan Frazier – Really good match. Had a couple of misses, but the hot crowd and great (and clean) finish more than made up for it. I’ll be interested to see where they go with Frazier from here, and it’s great to have Wes Lee back.
• Robbie E Mr. Stone vs. Bron Breakker – The 30-time champion (including 4 title reigns in TNA) Mr. Stone played his role perfectly for Bron, who picked up the obvious victory. Also obvious was the post-match attack and return of Von Wagner But obvious can be good, and that was indeed good.
• WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green & Piper Niven defend vs. Thea Hail & Jacy Jayne (with Andre Chase & Duke Hudson) – Good match and successful title defense for Chelsea & Piper. But the story took precedence here, as the dissension for Chase U continues. It’s a given that Jacy Jayne will turn–but will Thea Hail go with her?
• NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament Finals: Kelani Jordan vs. Lola Vice – My one thought going into this match was “DO THE RIGHT THING, SHAWN!” and I am happy to report that HBK did not stray from the obvious plan. Little weirdness at the end as Lola has tears in her eyes and Elektra Lopez is just celebrating like normal. Lola was a star before she ever walked into the Performance Center, and tonight was another step in that journey.
• Carmelo Hayes challenges Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Championship – Bonus points to Melo for the Halloween Havoc inspired gear. Might want to auction those off, pal, i don’t think you’ll be on NXT this time next year. This trilogy has been awesome, and they added to it tonight. Melo continues to be HIM, but Dragunov has won me over this year. Truth be told, I wasn’t a fan. But I was wrong–dude is money. and the H-Bomb is becoming a favorite of mine dur to the million different ways you can use it. The one through the announce table was perfect. As was Trick Williams showing up at just the right time, and Melo’s selling of the moment. this doesn’t tarnish the finish for me at all, as it’s the perfect final program for Carmelo Hayes in NXT.

The Bad

• The Creed Brothers winning – This happens a lot, but it doesn’t need to. There was no reason for The Creeds to win here, as they are now on the Monday Night Raw roster. Give Garza & Carrillo a win to set them on the right path in NXT. Angel & Humberto looked amazing in this match, too.
• Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley – If the card was too full, let Tiffany attack Fallon backstage so they can move past this (or even film something that happened “earlier today.” No need to do it in the arena as if it was a match.
• Mata Four in the Haunted House – This might have been good had it not had history to live up to, especially in NXT with Cameron Grimes and Dexter Lumis.

The Ugly

• Baron Corbin attacks Ilja Dragunov after the main event – Listen, I completely understand the need for storytelling. But there is a time and a place. Trick-Melo is HUGE, as was Trick confronting Melo. Yes, it should be a cliffhanger, but don’t go away from it. that is how this show ends, with the camera fixated on Trick and Melo–not on Baron Corbin.

The Verdict

• Good – 7
• Bad – 3
• Ugly – 1

Over 60% of the show as “Good” this week, and only one match was “bad” — and that wasn’t even a match. I just started this, so I don’t have analysis from last week to compare the two nights of Halloween Havoc. but overall? This 2-week “mini-series” was a smashing success for me, as Shawn Michaels continues to cook.

The Final Verdict for WWE NXT Halloween Havoc Night 2 (October 31, 2023) – GOOD.