WWE NXT Champion Trick Williams looked to continue his Title reign at Halloween Havoc, but it wasn’t going to be an easy feat thanks to facing Ethan Page in a Devil’s Playground match. Williams and Page aren’t big fans of each other already, and they surely won’t be after the violent throwdown that took place tonight, which included smashed tables, slams onto nuts and bolts, and several slams onto stairs that just looked absolutely brutal. Williams would emerge victorious in the end, but then Ridge Holland and Page would start to deliver a beatdown after the match. That’s when Bubba Ray Dudley ran in for the save, knocking both superstars around and clearing the ring for Williams. You can watch that here.
A Battle of Chairs and Pumpkins
Page went right at Williams at the bell, slamming him into the turnbuckle. Page grabbed a chair but Williams evened the odds with a chair of his own, and then Page grabbed a pumpkin but Williams ended up with it after knocking Page down. Williams threw the pumpkin and then threw Page face first into a ladder, and the match then spilled out into the crowd and over the barricade.
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Once back in the ring, Page was looking dominant and keeping the Champion from getting any momentum. He was especially targeting Williams’ back and arm, but Williams bounced back with big punches and back to back kicks that rocked the challenger. Williams went for a knee strike but missed, and Page tried to lock in Ego’s Edge, but Williams countered with the Trick Shot and went for the cover, but didn’t get it since there are no rope breaks in the match (and the referee seemed to be initially confused by this).
Steel Step Brutality
Page then hit Williams with a black bag, and it did some damage, which made sense after Page revealed it was filled with nuts and bolts. Williams brought Page down on top of them, but that was only a primer of what would happen soon after. That’s when Page ran Williams into the steel steps, which is painful enough, but Williams hit them with his face, and you could see he was bleeding from his mouth as a result.
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Page saw the moment and took advantage, hitting an Ego’s Edge from the steps onto the announce table, slamming Williams through it and completely shattering it. After medical officials came out to see if he was okay, Williams pushed them away and got back in the ring, but he then got violently slammed into the steel steps right on his ribs. Page placed Williams on one set of steel steps and then picked up the other set to crush him, but Williams got out of the way in time.
Williams then slammed Page onto those steel steps and went to pick up the other set, but Page hit a low blow kick that knocked Williams down. Page picked up the steps again and went to hit him, but Williams hit the low blow on Page. Williams hit the Trick Shot and that was enough to get the pin and the win, retaining his NXT Championship.
That’s when Ridge Holland jumped into the ring and started attacking Williams. Page got in his face for a minute, but then helped him attack Williams, telling him if he was going to do it to do it right. That’s when Bubba Ray Dudley ran in and knocked Page and Holland back with heavy strikes that knocked them out of the ring, giving Williams a chance to get to his feet. This was the final confrontation between Bubba Ray and Holland, who had collided earlier in the night as well.
What did you think of the match? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!