WWE Insiders Blame NXT Match For Ruining PLE

WWE insiders have pointed to the Naraku versus Shiloh Hill match as the reason NXT Halloween Havoc left a negative impression on the 2026 PLE schedule. According to Dave Meltzer on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, some people within WWE told him that the contest ruined the entire show.

Meltzer himself criticized the match and shared that the basic comment from those sources was "Yeah, Naraku and Shiloh Hill ruined the entire show." The feud started in August when Naraku cost Shiloh Hill a shot at the NXT North American Championship.

It soon centered on the use of mist after Naraku attacked Hill with several different variants in the following weeks. Both wrestlers sprayed each other with orange mist on their way to the ring at Halloween Havoc. This triggered psychedelic trip segments featuring Naraku and Hill that aired throughout the PLE and became its most polarizing element.

The pair eventually regained their senses inside the ring for a short match that Shiloh Hill won by countering Naraku's mist with his own and then delivering a neck breaker variation.