WRESTLING REVIEW: Halloween Havoc XIV

C.V.R. The Bard

3 years ago

The tradition continues with two title matches contested within the possibly the most talented women’s division on WWE television, if Smackdown and 205 Live didn’t exist.
Already the event was a ten out of ten with the creative corniness behind the match titles (Scareway to Hell , Trick or Street Fight) and then the opening !
Indie Hartwell & Pirotta were ultimately the underdogs on the card, so per biased, this was not hard to root for the two ladies who had height, but were far from their height of power.
Toxic Attraction appeared as the dark horse, popping up while least expected which allowed them ultimately to steal the win, since Stark seemed so focused on feeding the crowd that her showboating ultimately cost her & Shirai the titles.

Those two women performed the most dangerous spots out of their program, and with the botch dive onto the ladder that Stark performed towards the end of the match it appears that she may be out for some months ahead, and if not – damn she is one good seller ! But Indie and Pirotta, logically speaking, should have went over if to extend the concept of 50/50 booking. Yes Toxic Attraction is a tag team that is part of a heel faction, but Hartwell & Pirotta are obvious heel’s as well. They each have an imposing between the two of them, and it just made no sense to see them constantly squander their height advantage on that ladder. I understand this pro-wrestling, but Hartwell (a former tag champion in her own right) & Pirotta had so many opportunities to bag the titles, that the match became frustrating to watch off sheer disbelief – yes even with, the Pirotta getting her neck caved in with a ladder and Hartwell’s sells which have filled whatever room for improvement was around when The Way was still together. But Toxic Attraction is apart of a powerful faction, which invites more room for great story than one featuring a mildly tested tag team so the right heels went over… for now.

Speaking of now, the Trick or Street Fight match featured Gonzalez’ best entrance to date. Shades of Big Evil, which truly matches Gonzalez’ own dominating size and ring presence. A pity this was her last match to hold the title, just when NXT finally got her an intro that gave her some more character. Disappointingly the match was not contested in the streets. Yeah, this wasn’t falls count anywhere, so there were portions of the match where the audience could understandably be as confused as Mandy Rose during the desk chair spot. But starting off with the whipping of Singapore canes, dives through tables, and the appearance of a Jason mask with more than T.L.C. being used to inflict damage, made this Street Fight worth the spectacle of the storied stipulation.

The match was heel vs. heel, which is always tough to compose a finish for. Yet, Rose taking advantage of a shovel to the head which normally would have resulted a DQ, was the perfect way to catapult Gonzalez in the babyface position through sheer empathy. Rose has finally broke out of mid-card from NXT to SD and back again, with a faction behind her to boot! Looks like getting her head shaved off and making out with Otis has it’s payoffs and payday was due without delay at Halloween Havoc.

Score : 5/5