With an apparent “NXT” rebrand on the horizon, it looks like what’s old is new again.
Bryan Alvarez reported on Wednesday’s “Wrestling Observer Live” that the upcoming “NXT” Halloween Havoc event is now being branded as an “NXT” TakeOver. According to Fightful Select, “NXT” TakeOver: Halloween Havoc is scheduled for Saturday, October 22nd, and will be a WWE premium live event.
Last year’s Halloween Havoc was a special episode of “NXT’s” weekly broadcast, featuring Tommaso Ciampa defending the “NXT” Championship against the current champion Bron Breakker. It was also the event where “NXT” women’s tag team division stalwarts Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne began their first reign with the brand’s Women’s Tag Team Titles.
TakeOver was the classic designation for “NXT” network specials, which used the branding from 2014 until 2021. It went away when NXT moved into its “2.0” era, which saw a more colorful logo, as well as more colorful characters in the locker room. While “NXT” is still being run by WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, the promotion of Paul “Triple H” Levesque to Chief Content Officer has led to something of a revival of the executive’s former vision of the developmental promotion.
Before Triple H’s ascension, “NXT” had been going through an almost spiteful rebrand. After the brand failed to compete with “AEW Dynamite” on Wednesdays, it was moved to Tuesday nights where it became more akin to WWE’s main roster programming. The end of this week’s episode featured the “NXT” logo turning gold, suggesting a return to tradition for the once black and gold brand.