-Overall, Scarlett and Shotzi were totally fine hosting the show this week. Obviously, if this were a regular episode of NXT, they’d have both been beyond obnoxious, but the Halloween Havoc theme allowed for the step both women took into the spooky stratosphere.
-Roxanne Perez vs. Kiana James in what was essentially a hardcore trick or street style match was fine for what it was. I’m not a fan of treating hardcore matches as silly holiday nods, but WWE does it all the time. This was on the higher end of that bad idea. NXT continues to find ways to beat the audience over the head about the fact that Perez isn’t some nicey nice fan, but a ruthless competitor. Long term, that is a good strategy even if in some instances it’s over the the top and too obvious.
-The vibe and presentation of Lexis King worked on night one, but he needs to work on matching up his wrestling with that vibe. King himself seemed disconnected with the new character and while he had the bells and whistles behind him, it won’t work long term for him unless he clicks with it. He’s green and this is what NXT is for, but there was nothing about this debut that stood out in a drop everything and watch this guy kind of way.
-Both Women’s Breakout Tournament matches were what they were. Not great. The women involved were all very athletic, but were out there playing wrestler like child would for Halloween. The matches felt like dances instead of fights.
-Chase U finally have some gold in their classroom. I liked what was done with this match. Andre Chase will inevitably find out about Jacy Jayne cheating to help them win and it will lead to a struggle within the group about how proud they should actually feel about the victory. Duke Hudson will head up the “we’re champs” side of things, while Andre Chase will keep the babyface perspective of “we didn’t do it the right way.” The entire saga with these guys is something I’ve enjoyed and this is another strong chapter.
-Blair Davenport vs. Gigi Dolin delivered surprisingly well. Maybe because most of the match took place in the dark? Who knows, but it was fine. The match was very similar to the opening match, except for the fact that all the lights were out. An odd stipulation, but the Blair Davenport win signals she’s likely to be in the title picture sooner rather than later.
-The entire NXT brass and parts of the roster blaming Carmelo Hayes for the attack on Trick Williams put some very effective sympathy on Hayes. Hayes sold the accusations in a way that balanced being emotionally hurt, exacerbated, shocked, angry, and confident at the same time. An interesting whodunnit mystery.
-We have a new NXT Women’s Champion and her name is Lyra Valkyria. The match itself was clunky in spots and it appeared as if Valkyria gassed out during multiple parts of the match. Still, she was able to hit her big moves and make her big kick out of the Manhandle Slam in a way that resonated with the crowd in attendance. Valkyria got the clean roll-up win and is setup now for a strong push at the top of the card each week.
-Bravo, Becky Lynch. Lynch did the job that she had to do and it made perfect sense to do it here. Lynch helped elevate Tiffany Stratton and now has done the same thing for Valkyria, but in a different way. Regardless, Lynch proved just how valuable she is to the WWE.