6 Ups And 1 Down From NXT Halloween Havoc (28 Oct)

1. The Wait Of The World*

I don't know how many times I can spell this out for NXT, but unannounced, barely-booked filler matches have no place on these "special event" shows. They shouldn't have been on In Your House, they shouldn't have been on the Great American Bash, and they definitely shouldn't have been here. It devalues the overall feeling of the occasion and makes the match itself feel even more superfluous than it would on TV.

On top of all that, given the Cruiserweight division is desperate for a new angle to move it away from Swerve vs Escobar, having Atlas beaten so resoundingly here actually pushes back against last week's meagre developments. Atlas looked the next most likely challenger 7 days ago, now he's been walloped in a little over 3 minutes and looks nowhere near Escobar's level.

NXT's usual saving grace of 'well, at least the match was good' can't even rescue this segment, with the two men not given sufficient time to really craft anything eye-catching. This was a total waste of talent, a waste of a feud, and a waste of a few minutes on a night when the brand's biggest performers would have welcomed more time to tell storylines we're actually engaged in.

*This is a really clever title and I need to make sure you all get it. Atlas was the figure in Greek mythology who had to literally carry the world on his shoulders, but here I've changed "weight" with "wait" because f**k knows when we're getting a proper Cruiserweight feud. No idea how this website is free.