After weeks of anticipation, WWE is bringing back Halloween Havoc as a right-proper “Premium Live Event” for NXT. They've booked Shotzi to come down to Orlando as a special host for the event, secured an 8 pm Saturday start for the show on Peacock as opposed to two hours on a Wednesday with normal commercial breaks, and have assembled a card that features a few interesting matches and the potential for even more depending on how things shake out.

Will Shawn Michaels secure the goods for the white and gold brand? Will he make good on his hopes of making Halloween Havoc “NXT's SummerSlam?” Or will the show fail to live up to the bar set by Worlds Collide back in September? Needless to say, there is a lot at stake on the show, and as a result, it's in NXT's best interest to put on a fantastic card worthy of note for the next year.

6 bold predictions ahead of WWE NXT's Halloween Havoc.

6. Apollo Crews vs. Grayson Waller lands a lame stipulation

Apollo Crews' run in NXT has been interesting. There have been highs, there have been lows, and yet, here we are at Halloween Havoc, and he's about to wrestle Grayson Waller, who famously couldn't get the job done against LA Knight, in a spin-the-wheel stipulation match. Is there any chance this ends up being a five-star match?

Unpopular prediction: The duo land a lame stipulation and deliver a mid-level match that is far less memorable than Crews' Nigerian Drum Fight from WWE WrestleMania 37… unless it's a Child's Play and/or Chucky match – now that would be interesting.

5. Damon Kemp kicks Julius Creed off of NXT

Hot take: The Creed Brothers need to leave NXT. No offense to Julius and Brutus, who are great performers, but their act has gotten rather stale, and there's only so much pain the promotion can put Roderick Strong through before he simply stops showing up for work. While it would be odd to push Damon Kemp as a solo performer, giving The Creeds the Legado de Fantasma treatment on the way out the door is a solid idea ahead of an eventual main roster debut.

4. Roxanne Perez strikes down Cora Jade ahead of a SmackDown run

Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade don't like each other, at least in a Kayfabe sort of way. They've been feuding since the latter turned on her partner once they won the NXT Women's Tag Team Championships and even picked each other's poison ahead of the show with matches against Rhea Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez. If this is the end of the feud – which, considering Perez's fantastic showing on SmackDown versus Bayley, it could be – Perez should go out on top, even if it's not the way a performer usually leaves one brand for another.

3. Carmelo Hayes doesn't get the three-peat

Carmelo Hayes has a chance to become a three-time North American Champion at Halloween Havoc should he pull down the vacant strap at the end of a five-way strap match. Though the competition is stiff, with Oro Mensah, Wes Lee, Nathan Frazer, and the ever-feisty Von Wagner also taking part in the match, Hayes has to be considered a favorite for the match, as he's an expert high flyer and still has the champion's advantage.

And yet, after Shawn Michaels spoke out on Hayes being ready for the main roster on his media call, it feels like giving him a third title reign would be a reductive decision, as opposed to progress in his storyline. Send Hayes up to the main roster and give the belt to someone else – bonus points if it's Wagner who gets the win.

2. Wade Barrett comes back to call Mandy Rose vs. Alba Fyre

Wade Barrett has been a very successful addition to the SmackDown commentary team, almost making fans forget about Pat McAffee, who has been killing it on College GameDay on ESPN. He's hit the reference game out of the park, provided great color commentary, and has even added in-ring insight that few of Michael Cole's recent partners have been able to offer.

However, the one bummer of Barrett's promotion is that he no longer gets to call Mandy Rose matches and gush about his favorite WWE Superstar. If WWE wants to give the people – and Barrett – what they want, they'll bring back the former Nexus leader as a guest commentator.

1. Bron Breakker joins his father in the Halloween Havoc winner's circle

Bron Breakker has done just about everything a top guy can do in NXT. He's won the top title on multiple occasions, jumped up to the main roster for a few moonlite matches, and even found a mentor for life in Tomasso Ciampa, even if he doesn't quite go by that name anymore as a member of the RAW roster. And yet, one thing Breakker hasn't done is secure a win at Halloween Havoc, having lost his first and, to this point, only match at the show to Ciampa in 2021.

On October 22nd, Breakker breaks that streak and joins both his father and uncle in the Halloween Havoc winner's circle.

During their time in WCW, the Steiners found a ton of success at Halloween Havoc, with Breakker's dad amassing a 5-1 record and his uncle, though far less successful, still secured two wins versus four losses – including two losses to his brother Rick. At Halloween Havoc 2022, Breakker joins that club.