Reviewing Toxic Attraction's Big Night at Halloween Havoc

When Mandy Rose formed the evil faction currently known as Toxic Attraction, I and many fans knew that it would be a matter of time before all three women would be elevated, and elevated quickly. For Mandy, her return to NXT was a breath of fresh air; her split from Sonya Deville resulted in Mandy winning their feud, but after that, nothing much happened for her. Mandy was sent back to NXT this past summer; making her return by watching Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne's matches, before finally forming an alliance. After her loss to Sarray, Mandy led her new allies in attacking not only Sarray, but Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter, officially establishing them as a villainous alliance that was not to be messed with.

The Toxic Attraction name came a few weeks later in the now revamped NXT 2.0, and within weeks after that, all three women had their sights set on gold, as they targeted tag champs Zoey Stark and Io Shirai, as well as NXT Women's Champion Raquel Gonzalez. Their opportunities came at the annual Halloween Havoc, which also brought back the "Spin the Wheel, Make a Deal" gimmick that determined what type of matches would take place. For the tag title bout, the wheel determined that a Ladder Match would be the stipulation (with the wheel being spun on the go-home NXT). It was a Triple Threat title match, as Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta were also involved, but even with that, Gigi and Jacy ended up winning, with Gigi knocking Indi off the ladder before grabbing the titles.

I was very happy for this win, even though I saw it coming, mainly because of Gigi. While I'm a fan of both women, I still remember Gigi under her real name, Priscilla Kelly, and watching her make waves all over the independent scene, so seeing her succeed in such a high level in WWE was an absolute treat for this women's wrestling fan.

As for the NXT Women's Championship, the spin of the wheel determined that a Trick or Street Fight would be the stipulation, and to no surprise, it was gritty and violent. I was expecting Gigi and Jacy to come out and assist Mandy, but that didn't happen, though we did see a mysterious masked and hooded villainess attack Raquel with a shovel. That image brought me back to last year and the Ghostface appearances, but this was clearly not that. Mandy capitalized and defeated Raquel to capture the NXT Women's Championship; her first title in her five year tenure in WWE. To say this was long overdue would be an immense understatement, as Mandy Rose got in just a few months back in NXT what she never had in all those years in the main roster: an elevation and a chance.

So to the surprise of absolutely no one, the villainess behind the attack on Raquel that cost her the title was none other than Dakota Kai, Raquel's former ally turned bitter foe. Dakota and Raquel had been partners in villainy for over a year, even after Raquel captured the NXT Women's Championship in April. However, Dakota turned against Raquel this past summer in an attempt to take the title for herself, but she came up short against the now-heroic Raquel. Dakota's appearance was her first since NXT Takeover 36, but even though she cost her former ally the title, her vengeance isn't done.

I see the continuance of the Dakota/Raquel feud going in a very brutal direction. In a word: WarGames! (William Regal says it much better). I could definitely see Raquel and Dakota leading opposing teams in the Women's WarGames match, and afterwards, we should see these two face off in a final grudge match. I say final because chances are, one of these two (if not both of them) will be called up to the main shows in 2022--if it's both, they'll most likely be on separate brands.

One final note: while the Dakota/Raquel feud will keep the now-former champion as a face for just a bit longer (which I am definitely OK with because I am enjoying seeing Raquel as a bad-ass heroine), there is another now-former champion I want to turn heel, and that's Zoey Stark. Zoey actually started as a heel for a cup of coffee before becoming a face and ending up in this partnership with Io Shirai, leading to the tag title run. Despite Io's attitude towards her partner, Io is in face mode, and I think the perfect way to turn Zoey heel is to have her just flat out attack Io. The reason could be anything. She could be tired of Io not liking/respecting her. She could be frustrated over losing the tag titles. Or Zoey could just be flat out bad to the bone and attack Io because she could, with the added bonus of making Zoey a conniving villainess who used Io for her own gain. Zoey has the look to be a killer wrestling villainess in NXT; all she needs is a chance and a push in that direction.

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