While this is bound to come off as me complaining about working PLE on Halloween, I swear it isn’t. I would be bitter if this show was on any other Saturday of the year because it wasn’t very good and felt pretty unnecessary to me. I’ve had this thought in my head since Heatwave at the end of August, and that thought is that the “NXT” PLEs are developing brand episodes with an extra hour.
It goes beyond commercial breaks now that the PLEs air on the CW network. It’s also the fact that WWE doesn’t take them on the road very often anymore. The Hot Wave was in Texas, but Halloween Devastation, The Great American Bash, and Day of Revenge were all held at the Performance Center. While the PC crowd is great when the show isn’t elsewhere, it just doesn’t feel special or big PLE.
This show in particular was weird because WWE is clearly trying to load up the Wednesday edition of “NXT” this coming week as the show goes up against “AEW Dynamite. Blood & Guts” due to election coverage. The date for the midterms is of course set, so this was definitely something WWE knew was going to happen, at least going against an episode of the “Dynamite” part for quite some time. There were only two title matches tonight that meant anything, and both champions retained their gold medals.
When I say these PLEs look like long episodes of “NXT” TV, it’s evident through things like Cruz Montana and Dion Lennox’s backstage segment airing their grievances before their unsanctioned match on TV. It was given quite a bit of time, including the reveal that UFC fighter Michael Chandler would randomly be the special guest writer for the fight. It felt like any other segment on weekly “NXT” programming. General manager Robert Stone even made matches for television during PLE, including the Vanity Project, which didn’t even have a match at Halloween Havoc. These aren’t things you usually see on the main PLE list.
This entire show could have been canceled and the other non-title matches played throughout November. Even Wednesday’s title matches are more interesting than tonight’s. NXT Champion Grayson Waller takes on CM Punk and Jordan defends her NXT Women’s Championship against a mystery opponent. Both John Cena and Cody Rhodes appear. It’s going to be a much bigger show that will make Halloween a disaster, while in fun places it’s ultimately pretty pointless.
Posted by Daisy Ruth