NXT Halloween Havoc is a WWE premium streaming special exclusive to Peacock based on their NXT brand, which is basically a development territory for newer superstars and divas. When I heard they revived the Halloween Havoc PPV back in 2020, I was not into the program, but after seeing the 2022 one, I am convinced WWE have turned a WCW legend with some infamous moments (like the Chamber of Horrors, and the Hulk Hogan-Ultimate Warrior rematch done so Hogan can use his creative control to get revenge for WrestleMania VI), and made it even more gimmicky than the WCW did in its lifespan.
Starting with a ladder match for the NXT North American championship between Nathan Frazer, Oro Mensah, Wes Lee, Von Wagner, and Carmelo Hayes, you can already tell the card is going to be full of gimmicks matches. The ladder match was good because of the insane moments (like Von Wagner throwing Wes Lee out of the ring and over the announcer's table, causing the special to cut to reactions from the audience, and Von Wagner actually being put through a ladder, and by through, I mean the ladder actually breaks in two), but the show has some horrible Halloween gimmicks, like Mandy Rose trying to find her opponent, Alba Fyre, in a haunted house, which looks lame and fails to even be scary due to the scares not being sudden, and to top this off, the special has Chucky, the killer doll made famous in the Child's Play trilogy and currently, the star of his own TV show, appear. Yeah, for WWE, a company trying to be PC, Chucky would not fit the bill, so either he was there to keep older viewers watching or NBC Universal told WWE to put him in as cross-promotion (as the TV show Chucky airs on USA Network, is owned by NBC Universal, who also owns Peacock). It's sad to see how the WWE has become nothing but a gimmick fest under Triple H's leadership.
