If you don’t watch NXT every Tuesday but Halloween Havoc sounds like a fun way to spend Saturday night, this is for you.
You don’t need to watch months of NXT television before tonight. Consider this your catch-up guide. Halloween Havoc has six matches tonight, with two championships on the line, several wrestlers you may recognize from elsewhere in WWE and a few names you’ll probably be hearing much more about in the future.
So before you turn it on, here’s what actually matters: who these wrestlers are, why they’re fighting and who you should be watching tonight.
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Grayson Waller vs. Tony D’Angelo: Start Here
If you recognize one person on this card, there’s a good chance it’s Grayson Waller.
Waller spent several years on WWE’s main roster, including a run alongside Austin Theory as A-Town Down Under, before returning to NXT and eventually becoming NXT Champion. He’s still the obnoxious, loud, extremely punchable Grayson Waller you remember. The difference is that he’s now at the top of the brand.
Tony D’Angelo is the former champion trying to get his title back. Waller defeated D’Angelo at Heatwave in August, but there was an important catch: Cruz Montana interfered and hit D’Angelo before Waller pinned him.
D’Angelo eventually earned his one-on-one rematch by defeating Myles Borne on Oct. 13. The feud has become increasingly personal since then, culminating Tuesday when Waller actually showed up at D’Angelo’s home and the two fought outside.
This is the main NXT Championship story and the easiest match for a casual WWE fan to jump into. Waller is the established WWE personality who believes he’s bigger than NXT. D’Angelo is trying to prove Waller never should have taken his championship in the first place.
Kelani Jordan vs. Wren Sinclair: Don’t Overlook Wren
Kelani Jordan is the NXT Women’s Champion and one of the most naturally athletic women on the roster. If you haven’t watched much NXT, she’s someone worth paying attention to tonight.
Her challenger has taken a much stranger route to this match.
Wren Sinclair was suspended after striking an official while trying to attack Jordan. That should have eliminated her from the championship picture. Instead, Sinclair disguised herself as AAA wrestler Lady Shani, secretly entered a 20-woman battle royal and won the entire thing to become No. 1 contender.
She took off the mask afterward and revealed the scheme.
General Manager Robert Stone ultimately reinstated Sinclair and honored the victory, despite Jordan’s objections.
The easiest way into this match is simple: Jordan looks like the superior athlete and the champion you would expect WWE to build around. Sinclair has become increasingly unpredictable and literally snuck her way into a title match. If you’re assuming the women’s championship match is straightforward, that’s the part of the story to remember.
Zilla Fatu vs. Charlie Dempsey: Yes, THAT Fatu Family
If the name Zilla Fatu immediately gets your attention, it should.
Zilla is the son of the late WWE star Umaga and another member of the Anoa’i wrestling family that includes Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu.
That alone makes him one of the most interesting long-term names on this card.
His issue tonight is with Charlie Dempsey, the son of WWE legend William Regal, and his BirthRight faction. The group tried to recruit Fatu, he refused, and they responded by repeatedly attacking him and targeting his hand. Fatu eventually returned looking for revenge and has been fighting the group ever since. On Tuesday, BirthRight attacked him again and used a shovel during the assault.
Now Fatu gets Dempsey one-on-one in a Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal Match, meaning the wheel determines the stipulation.
For somebody dropping into NXT tonight, this is probably the wrestler I’d tell you to watch most closely. Zilla carries an enormous family legacy, but WWE is giving him the opportunity to establish who he is beyond his last name.
Tavion Heights vs. Myles Borne: Former Partners Who Hate Each Other
This one doesn’t require much homework.
Tavion Heights and Myles Borne used to be friends and tag team partners. They became NXT Tag Team Champions together. Then Borne turned on Heights, including pretending to apologize before attacking him again.
Now they’re fighting in a Weapons Wild Match.
The wrestler to watch here is Heights. Before WWE, he competed in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won gold at the 2020 Pan American Championships. That legitimate wrestling background puts him in the same broad WWE tradition as Kurt Angle and Chad Gable, even though he’s still developing his own professional wrestling identity.
Borne has become much more ruthless, and the stipulation means this isn’t supposed to be a technical wrestling showcase. It’s two former partners getting weapons and settling it.
Zaria vs. Izzi Dame: The Championship Isn’t Even on the Line
Here’s the weird part: Zaria is the NXT Women’s North American Champion, but Izzi Dame doesn’t want her championship match.
Zaria offered Dame a title opportunity. Dame rejected it.
That’s intentional.
Dame has been trying to get inside Zaria’s head, and it appears to be working. Instead of chasing the championship like almost every wrestler normally would, she’s more interested in frustrating the champion and proving she can control her.
That means Zaria’s title is not on the line tonight.
If you’re watching this match without the weekly context, pay attention to Zaria’s demeanor more than the championship around her waist. The story is whether Dame can make a powerful champion lose control.
Shiloh Hill vs. Naraku: This Is the Weird One
If Halloween Havoc needs one match that feels like it belongs specifically on Halloween, here you go.
Naraku cost Shiloh Hill an opportunity at the NXT North American Championship by spraying him with mist. Hill then leaned into one of the stranger details of his character: he used his chemistry knowledge to develop a cure.
Yes, that’s the story.
Hill is now cleared to wrestle and wants revenge on Naraku.
You don’t need much more than that. These are two of NXT’s more unusual characters, and this is the match most likely to make a first-time viewer ask, “Wait, what is going on here?”
On Halloween, that’s probably a feature rather than a bug.
Who Should You Watch at Halloween Havoc?
If you’re only watching tonight and don’t plan on becoming an NXT historian by Monday morning, keep four names in mind.
Grayson Waller is the champion and the most established WWE personality on the card. Tony D’Angelo is the former champion with the strongest claim to Waller’s title. Kelani Jordan is one of the women’s division’s premier athletes.
Then there’s Zilla Fatu.
If you’re the kind of wrestling fan who likes watching someone before they become a much bigger deal, he’s the name I’d circle.
You don’t need to know everything that happened on NXT this fall to enjoy Halloween Havoc. That’s the beauty of a card like this. There are championships, grudges, weapons, a mystery stipulation and enough weird Halloween stuff to make the show feel different from a normal Tuesday night.
If you’re dropping into NXT for one night, Halloween Havoc is a pretty good one to pick. Now you know who to watch.
