October 28, 2020 – Orlando, Florida
They treat this like a big show right out of the gate, giving host Shotzi Blackheart a big, spark-filled intro and having Damien Priest’s entrance music played by a live musician. Johnny Gargano, dressed as Jack Skellington, rips a giant inflated pumpkin on the ramp to be a jerk. Blackheart Spins the Wheel to Make a Deal and we get our first stipulation.
Johnny Gargano def. Damian Priest {NXT North American Championship Devil’s Playground Match}
That’s a dramatic name for a falls count anywhere match. The first commercial break robs us of a kendo stick vs. nightstick fight. What the hell?! The best gag in this match had to be Gargano getting scared by a Halloween gimmick and superkicking it out of frustration. This dragged a bit leading into the second commercial break with too much walking around the building, but other than that it was a fun brawl. Someone in a Scream costume (Austin Theory or Indi Hartwell) helps Gargano, giving him a gravestone with which he hits Priest and knocks him off of the wheel balcony. That’s enough for the win and the title at 13:58 (shown). This was frontloaded and petered out quite a bit before the end. ***
Pat McAfee and the new NXT Tag Team Champions are in the ring. McAfee is bitter because Adam Cole didn’t congratulate him on his well-fought debut at Takeover XXX. So he enlisted Ridge Holland to attack Cole. When Holland got hurt, he reached out to the guy who put his guy on the shelf, Oney Lorcan, but Lorcan said he couldn’t be bought. But after losing their contender match to the Undisputed Era, Lorcan & Danny Burch had a change of heart and decided they needed some help. It’s almost sick how much that makes sense. Kyle O’Reilly comes out with shredded Pete Dunne as his backup (since the tag champs put the rest of the Undisputed Era in the hospital). And then, because this alliance makes no sense (the Undisputed Era screwed with Dunne a ton), Dunne turns on O’Reilly and hits him with a chair. Burch seems really excited to be a heel, and I’m digging this new stable.
Santos Escobar def. Jake Atlas
Escobar is wearing Rey Mysterio’s pants from Halloween Havoc ‘97. Escobar made quick work of Atlas, who got a hope spot with the Rainbow DDT and a plancha onto Legado del Fantasma. But moments later, Escobar hit a double arm gutbuster for the win at 3:30. *¾
Michael Hayes puts Cameron Grimes in an unmarked van with zombies in the front seat so he can be taken to his match against Dexter Lumis. It’s a cinematic bit of business, not a match. If you’re curious in what it would be like to watch Grimes walk through a haunted house, this is for you. I found it pretty funny. The best bit was Grimes seeing a referee in a Blair Witch Project position and asking him what the rules of the match are before getting jump scared by him. The bit where Grimes forgets he’s in a haunted house and tries to hook up with a witch in a shower before being scared out of his mind is funny too. This Grimes, he makes me smile. He fights off Lumis and some zombies before running back to the Capitol Wrestling Center. There, Lumis and the zombies catch him in the ring until Lumis chokes him out. Again, not a match, but entertaining thanks to Mr. To The Moon.
Rhea Ripley def. Raquel Gonzalez
I like Gonzalez’s subtle pentagram top given the occasion. This was a lot of fun. You don’t usually get hoss fights from the women’s side of things, but Ripley has now given us that kind of match against Piper Niven, against Mercedes Martinez, and now against Gonzalez. I wish the match had been a bit longer and that there had been a portion where Ripley was in a bit more trouble, but that’s a minor quibble given her trajectory now seems like a straight shot against the champ. She hit the Riptide at 9:33 (shown) for the win. ***¼
Drake Maverick dresses up like Hulk Hogan and gets Dungeon of Doom treatment from a couple of giant Performance Center dudes. Then Killian Dain screws up his Shockmaster entrance by not screwing up, and Maverick ends up being the one who trips. But in true comedy sketch fashion, this goes on too long and doesn’t know how to end on a high note. Later, Tommaso Ciampa doesn’t recognize NXT anymore. Me either, man. He challenges Velveteen Dream to a match. That and Dakota Kai vs. Ember Moon happen next week.
Io Shirai def. Candice LeRae {NXT Women’s Championship Tables, Ladders, and Scares Match}
Poppy plays Shirai to the ring. Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal gave us this stipulation too. Aside from an early bit where LeRae unknowingly dumps out a bag of fake bloody body parts, the Halloween portion of this TLC match was almost entirely chromatic. These two took some wild bumps in this match. Some of the spots were a bit contrived, but I mostly felt like they were trying to win and not doing fancy moves for the sake of it. The Scream mask person comes out to give LeRae a Rhyno boost up the ladder, but Blackheart runs down to neutralize the threat. Shirai dumped LeRae from the top of the ladder through another ladder hanging off the apron (a real nasty landing too) and then retrieved the belt at 13:58. I’d call this on par with their very good match from Takeover 31 and not quite at the level of their amazing Toronto match. ***¾