Halloween Havoc 2021 Will Be WWE NXT 2.0's First Real Test

It has now been more than a month since NXT underwent its revamp and became NXT 2.0. It's probably fair to say that although many fans still aren't sure if they're okay with the drastic changes to the brand, many others have decided they don't like what has happened to NXT. Understandably so as the show and almost everything about it is very different from what it has been for the better part of the last decade.

NXT 2.0 is still finding its feet, of course. Trying to figure out what works and, most importantly of all, which Superstars are going to be the faces of the brand. Some changes at the top were to be expected, but very few fans would have expected to see this many of NXT's mainstays drop down the pecking order, and in some cases disappear entirely.

RELATED: WWE Has To Stop Calling Up NXT Wrestlers In The Middle Of Stories

With each passing week, more and more fans of what NXT used to be will be deciding this new, more colorful version of the brand isn't for them and changing the channel, possibly forever. If you're one of the fans on the verge of doing that, hold off for a little bit longer. NXT 2.0 might be different from the NXT we've loved for the past few years, but it is yet to be tested in the most appropriate way I can think of when it comes to testing the quality of NXT and its roster. By staging a TakeOver.

NXT Is Only As Good As Its TakeOvers

Vince McMahon waded in and demanded change in NXT for a reason. Not only because the show was beaten so badly by AEW Dynamite in the ratings that it moved nights, but because something didn't feel right anymore. Whether it was too much focus on trying to beat AEW rather than letting your product speak for itself will be argued for years to come. Regardless, something about NXT wasn't right, and change was needed.

The one constant that always remained whether NXT's weekly show was good or not was TakeOver. Events held by NXT a handful of times per year. Effectively NXT's PPVs, and even though there have been 36 of them at this point, you'll struggle to find a match on one of them where its competitors didn't knock it out the park, let alone an entire card that wasn't thoroughly enjoyed by almost everyone who watched it.

There has been no mention of when the next TakeOver is going to be. There hasn't even been a mention of whether TakeOvers will continue now NXT is NXT 2.0. With McMahon paying more attention to the formerly black and gold brand, it's entirely possible TakeOvers are replaced with something more like what we get on Raw and SmackDown. Major shows with different names happening every month. Perhaps even themed shows like Hell in a Cell or TLC, although NXT already had its own take on that via WarGames.

Halloween Havoc Will Be The First True Test

Although there has been no hint of an NXT 2.0 TakeOver just yet, the upcoming Halloween Havoc is a promising sign that they will return in the future. The themed episode of NXT is also the perfect place for the revamped brand to show it still has what makes NXT great at its core. It might not be a TakeOver, but its card is looking stacked. Fans will be expecting some top-notch action, from both the brand's new stars and its established ones.

It won't only be the quality of the in-ring action at Halloween Havoc which makes or breaks NXT 2.0 for a lot of fans, but also its results. Whoever wins some of the night's marquee matches will signify what direction certain divisions are headed, and perhaps give a better idea of exactly how serious WWE is about certain stars. Bron Breakker, for example. Should Breakker beat Tommaso Ciampa at Halloween Havoc for the NXT Title, it would be a pretty clear sign that not only Ciampa is being left in the past, but most of the stars who helped make NXT great will be taking a back seat from now on.

The same goes for Mandy Rose and the rest of Toxic Attraction. The group is being pushed hard right now and it seems likely they'll be holding one, two, or maybe even three titles come the end of Halloween Havoc. This isn't to say if NXT's new stars win, the revamped brand is a lost cause you should give up on. The standard of the matches and how you feel once the curtain comes down on this TakeOver dry run is the biggest factor here. If Halloween Havoc is close to a TakeOver standard, it may well convince a lot of disillusioned fans the old NXT is still in there somewhere, regardless of who leaves Halloween Havoc with the gold