Quick Takes on Thunder Rosa in WWE vs. AEW, Mysterio Family Drama, and More

Following an eventual October, both WWE and All Elite Wrestling ended the month on a high note by building to their upcoming events, Full Gear and Survivor Series, respectively.

Perhaps the most exciting development coming out of the week was Thunder Rosa dropping the NWA World Women's Championship to Serena Deeb. It signified that Rosa could be signing full-time with another promotion in the near future, and if so, she's virtually guaranteed to thrive wherever she goes.

It may be a while before fans see Rosa resurface on a major stage, but what is certain is that the ongoing angle involving Seth Rollins, Murphy and the Mysterio clan desperately needs to end. Not only has it been dragging on since May, the storyline reached a new low on Friday's SmackDown and there doesn't appear to be an endgame in sight.

Failing to plan for the future isn't an uncommon practice with WWE, as seen at Hell in a Cell when Tucker turned on Otis and cost him the Money in the Bank briefcase. There was zero follow-up on either Raw or SmackDown this week, indicating that the move was made by the company purely to shock viewers and nothing more.

Otis' long-term singles spotlight is certainly in question along with Eddie Kingston's main event push beyond AEW Full Gear. Both of these things will be discussed in this installment of Quick Takes along with the success of NXT's Halloween Havoc special on Wednesday night, what's next with the Mysterio family drama, where Rosa would be best suited and more.

Where Will Thunder Rosa Wind Up?

An argument can absolutely be made for Thunder Rosa being one of the best female wrestlers in the world today. It was a brilliant move on AEW's part to bring her in throughout August and September to not only proudly represent the NWA, but also allow her to showcase her skills to the world.

Her match with Hikaru Shida for the AEW Women's Championship at All Out was one of the best women's matches in the promotion's short history and she's had a handful of strong showings on Dynamite as well. She hasn't been seen since successfully teaming with Shida against Ivelisse and Diamante on Dynamite two months ago, fueling rumors that she could be headed to the opposition.

WWE has reportedly already snatched up the likes of Melina (who was also a part of the NWA this year) and Eva Marie in recent months. Rosa is obviously a much bigger get because of the momentum she has right now and would be an amazing addition to NXT's women's division.

Of course, whether she would be booked like the star she is on Raw or SmackDown is unknown. She established herself as a major player right off the bat in AEW and thus that would be the better landing spot for her.

It's also entirely possible that she'll stay right where she's at and continue to compete for the NWA if and when the promotion starts running shows again. More than likely, however, she'll soon resurface on AEW programming and be built up to be the face of its women's division, which could use the extra attention and emphasis right now.

Determining How Long Eddie Kingston Can Sustain His Main Event Level Push in AEW

Eddie Kingston has been a revelation for AEW since the summer.

Prior to signing with the promotion in July, he hadn't seen since the NWA was still running shows earlier in the year. He was impressive during his Dynamite debut outing against Cody for the AEW TNT Championship, but on the mic was where he really shined.

It didn't take him long to become a regular on Dynamite and form a faction of his own consisting of The Lucha Brothers, The Butcher and The Blade. He had been serving as the mouthpiece of the group when he was abruptly thrust into an AEW World Championship program with Jon Moxley.

Their initial one-on-one meeting was solid but left the door open for a rematch when Kingston wasn't pinned or submitted. They'll now face off in an I Quit match for the title in the main event of Saturday's Full Gear pay-per-view, and as great of a match as that might be, the outcome isn't in doubt whatsoever.

Although he's a competent wrestler, Kingston's strong suit is on the mic, which is why his current rivalry with Moxley has been so strong. Beyond their rematch, however, it's unlikely he'll be positioned as anything more than a manager on AEW programming—and that's perfectly acceptable.

At this stage of his career, Kingston's true value is helping to elevate the talent of tomorrow such as Rey Fenix, Penta El Zero M, Butcher and Blade. Moxley is primed for a feud with Kenny Omega coming out of Full Gear, so there's no reason to think that this push for Kingston will be long-lasting.

An excellent performance at Full Gear could keep Kingston in the spotlight for a little longer, but ahead of Full Gear, it's difficult for fans to buy into him as a legitimate threat to the title when he didn't do a ton to earn the shot in the first place.

Otis and Tucker Are Stronger Together Than They Will Be Apart

One of the biggest shockers at last Sunday's Hell in a Cell pay-per-view saw Tucker betray Otis and cost him his Money in the Bank briefcase in a match with The Miz. Aside from the two ending up on a separate shows in the 2020 WWE draft, there had been no signs of dissension between the two ahead of the event.

Otis losing the contract was completely understandable seeing as how he had no business winning it in the first place. The Tucker turn was unnecessary, however, as the two are better together than they are apart.

Nothing is stopping them from reuniting down the road like every other tag team that has ever existed, but WWE should have followed the same formula with Heavy Machinery that they did with The New Day by putting them on separate shows without formally breaking them up.

That's only if WWE was determined to make them singles stars, but unlike New Day, neither Otis nor Tucker have a terribly bright future on their own. Otis has had an outstanding 2020, but that was partly due to his relationship with Mandy Rose and tag team with Tucker. Without them, he's bound to flounder on Friday Night SmackDown.

Tucker may be even worse off on Raw. As a generic heel, nothing stands out as special about him and thus he'd be lucky to escape WWE main event purgatory anytime soon.

At a time when WWE's tag team scene on both brands is weaker than it's been in many years, it's bizarre the company would put the effort into destroying Heavy Machinery and kicking off a feud between them that nobody asked for. The lack of follow-up on Raw and SmackDown this week indicates WWE doesn't have anything major in store for either of them as singles stars.

NXT Delivers One of Its Best Shows All Year with Halloween Havoc

It's been challenging for every wrestling company to produce compelling pay-per-views without full crowds during the pandemic era, but NXT managed to have one of its strongest shows all year on Wednesday night in the form of the returning Halloween Havoc.

It had been almost exactly two decades from when the last installment of the event was held by WCW. The longtime October staple was brought back under the NXT banner this week and was every bit as fun and exciting as it once was.

Halloween Havoc 2020 was highlighted by two terrific title matches: Johnny Gargano capturing the NXT North American Championship and the shocking return of Pete Dunne. The two hours were jam-packed with entertaining action and memorable moments, with all of the Halloween elements being a nice touch.

It's no secret that the weekly NXT product has been slightly stagnant for the better part of 2020, and that could definitely be due to the lack of a rowdy crowd. That said, the black-and-gold brand has been back on the ascent since the critically acclaimed TakeOver 31 event in early October, and Halloween Havoc was the perfect way to keep that momentum alive.

NXT advertised almost the entire card for Halloween Havoc in advance and ended up beating AEW Dynamite in the ratings as a result. That was also the case for The Great American Bash earlier this year, proving that with a bit more effort and better planning, NXT could potentially get the best of its competition numberswise more often.

It's Time to Move On from the Mysterio Family Saga on SmackDown

Needless to say, the rivalry pitting the Mysterio family, Seth Rollins and Murphy against each other should have ended after SummerSlam when Rollins decisively defeated Dominik. They had another two matches that were both won by Rollins, meaning there was no more story to tell.

Despite that, WWE has continued to shove the storyline down the throats of fans by creating an on-screen relationship between Murphy and Rey's 18-year-old daughter Aalyah. The worst part about it is that there doesn't appear to be an endgame in sight.

Aalyah professed her love for Murphy on Friday's SmackDown, and the former cruiserweight champion didn't deny it. It could be revealed that Murphy has been using her this entire time, but more matches between Murphy and the Mysterios are not the answer.

Meanwhile, Rollins' role in the rivalry has been totally played out. He's beaten Rey and Dominik on multiple occasions as well as Murphy last week, so it's high time he moved on to something else entirely, especially with how stacked the SmackDown roster is at the moment.

SmackDown has been superior to Raw for weeks now as far its consistent quality goes, but the one thing that would make it infinitely better would be if the show dropped this angle before it does more damage to everyone involved or at the very least get to the payoff—assuming there is one—sooner rather than later.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.