On August 18th, Shiloh Hill was in a Top Contender Match against Jackson Drake for the NXT North American Championship. Hill, the WWE LFG Season Two winner, was seconds away from winning the match when suddenly Naraku came out of nowhere and blinded Hill with the use of the red mist, allowing Drake to seal the win. Over the past few weeks, Naraku has been seen using the green, orange, and blue mists, with Hill taking the opportunity from each attack to learn and vlog about the different colored mists and what effects they have. Naraku has mocked the WWE LFG Season Two winner’s reliance on logic, believing that Hill’s “science experiments” cannot prepare him for true shadow and pain. He has given Hill a choice to back away or experience every color of torment. Naraku challenged the WWE LFG Season Two winner to a match at Halloween Havoc, promising to use a mist never seen before: the black mist.
Through Hill’s vlogs, we learned the red mist burns the skin like the scorching sun and disorients opponents. The green mist closes the victim’s vision, blurring it into a thick, blinding haze. For the orange mist, it seeps directly into the mind, causing haunting psychological visions. Finally, the blue mist drains the victim's energy until they are too physically weak to move. Apparently, the black mist causes extensive and long-lasting blindness, something Naraku is definitely excited to use against Hill. The WWE LFG Season Two winner spoke to Lizzy Rain on the October 20th episode of NXT, where he stated he only has little time to prepare for the black mist, learn about it, and try to find a way to counter it.
So far, since debuting in NXT, Naraku has feuded with former NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo, where Naraku lost at the Great American Bash and again during a Street Fight Match on July 21st. The WWE LFG Season Two winner feuded with Tristan Angels when Hill was named the first-ever Mr. NXT during the Mr. NXT pageant. Angels would break Hill’s Essix Flipper, crushing the fake tooth that covers the gap in Hill’s front teeth, which eventually led to a match between the two at the Great American Bash, culminating in Hill winning. With both men in their second feud in NXT, the story of the different poison mist could lead to Naraku as the most dangerous man on the brand.
There is no way for Hill to counter the black mist unless he dodges the spray from Naraku. Even if the WWE LFG Season Two winner comes out wearing some sort of mask, he still needs to protect his eyes, and if he can’t see, then he won’t be able to square off at Halloween Havoc. Hill may even need to find a medical face shield that you would see a dentist use because Naraku will be smart and wait till the right time to spray the mist. The WWE LFG Season Two winner must find some scientific way to defend his eyes, as if he doesn’t, we may not see him for a long time.
Since debuting on NXT, both men have nearly identical records. Naraku is 4-3-1 while Hill is 5-5-1. I certainly see the WWE LFG Season Two winner playing a huge role in the NXT landscape in the near future, but not now. Naraku’s momentum shifted when he lost to D’Angelo twice for the NXT Championship, and that needs to change. He needs to be taken seriously as a main event player and a threat to the entire NXT Men’s Division. I am predicting that Naraku successfully sprays the black mist into Hill’s eyes, blinding him for the next few weeks, potentially returning for a Men’s Iron Survivor Qualifying Match.
