NXT Review: 13/10
NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (Quarter-Finals): The Vanity Project VS Chazz “Starboy” Hall and Mini Vikingo
This week’s edition of NXT kicked off with the first Quarter-Final matchup of this year’s NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic as The Vanity Project took on the rising duo of Chazz “Starboy” Hall and Mini Vikingo! Hall and Vikingo shocked everyone when they defeated BirthRight in the first round, and I have to say that they looked incredible in this match! Like, genuinely, both of these guys are insane! The Vanity Project are also great; that’s why they currently reign as 2-time NXT Tag Team Champions, and all in all, this was an excellent way to start the show! As much as Starboy and Vikingo have been rolling as a duo, the numbers game would eventually prove too much for them to overcome, with Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes doing a good job to come away victorious! A part of me wants to see The Vanity Project win the whole thing, simply as that would feel quite unique!
Grade: A-
Saquon Shugars VS Tristan Angels, Wren Sinclair Returns to NXT
Saquon Shugars was in the middle of an interview with Blake Howard before Grayson Waller tried to get into his head, before Mr. Stone gifted Kali Armstrong a shot at La Catalina’s AAA Reina de Reinas Championship! Before then, though, the focus turned to Saquon Shugars going one-on-one with Tristan Angels! I like Tristan Angels, but it’s fair to say that he hasn’t exactly been used that well since his feud with Shiloh Hill! Saquon Shugars also continues to be someone that I find hard to get a true read on; he was definitely the most interesting member of DarkState, but that’s not exactly a high bar, whilst I’m yet to really be given a reason to care about this guy! I did like that Angels’ temper tantrum earlier in the match played into the finish, with him dropping The Shugarman perfectly onto a chair on the outside, but the actual finisher that Tristan delivered in the ring didn’t land right at all! A shame!
Grade: C
Tony D’Angelo will remind Myles Borne who he truly is tonight, whilst Izzi Dame explained to Niko Vance why she keeps trying to break Zaria. Apparently, it’s because Izzi likes broken things (or something like that, anyway)! Anyway, Wren Sinclair then made her official return to NXT TV next as she came down to the ring to cut a passionate promo about how nobody would’ve believed a few months ago that she was capable of competing for the NXT Women’s Championship, least of all her! However, Kendal Grey has always believed in her, whilst Wren realised that she has to start doing things for herself in order to succeed, as nobody else will! This brought out Kelani Jordan to call Sinclair’s win last week “void”, stating that she refuses to defend her NXT Women’s Championship against “the fake Lady Shani”! In fact, Lani even said she’d face “the real” Lady Shani at NXT Halloween Havoc, or perhaps someone from TNA! However, this is when Mr. Stone came down to the ring to let the NXT Universe decide what they wanted to happen, with them unanimously in support of the leader of the WreNQCC! Firstly, why is Kelani Jordan blonde now?! Secondly, Jordan-Sinclair at Halloween Havoc should be great!
Grade: B-
AAA Reina de Reinas Championship: La Catalina VS Kali Armstrong, FRAXIOM VS Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno: NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (Quarter-Finals)
Cruz Montana told Lizzy Rain to keep her head up in a backstage interaction before he got a phone call from his Mom! Dion Lennox would then attack Montana from behind, sending a message to Cruz’s Mom in the process! Kali Armstrong would then find herself in the biggest spot of her career to date as she challenged La Catalina for the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship! Kali Armstrong is another wrestler I still don’t know where I stand with; there are certain things she does that feel impactful, but her actual character isn’t good at all! Sadly, for the second time tonight, the finish wasn’t executed well at all, with Catalina sending Armstrong onto the exposed floor (that Kali had ripped earlier in the match), yet it didn’t land as impactful at all! La Catalina would then deliver her Shining Wizard to successfully retain her Title, and yeah, the finishes to certain matches on this show were just off!
Grade: C
Wren Sinclair hasn’t been impressed with Myles Borne’s actions recently, whilst Kendal Grey is officially cleared to return to in-ring action! That Grey Heel turn is going to be epic! EK Prosper then did a good job of restoring some confidence in both Chazz “Starboy” Hall and Mini Vikingo, whilst The Vanity Project want to beat them again; this time in 6-Man Tag Team action next week! It was then time for the penultimate match of the night as FRAXIOM took on Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno in the second Quarter-Final of the 2026 NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic! These two teams faced each other back in June in what was sort of a random match at the time, but one that had a significant ending as FRAXIOM convinced Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno to remain as a Tag Team moving forward! That’s actually quite ironic after today, but before we get to the finish, we need to talk about this match, as it was also really good! Whilst I don’t think it was quite as good as the opener, the near-falls in this match were better, with Dar and Moreno pulling out their best FRAXIOM impression with multiple late kick-outs! Noam Dar, in particular, looked like a man possessed in this match, with his spinning elbow to Frazer completely knocking the man from Jersey out! In the end, Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno were able to score the upset victory, and I’ll be honest when I say that this felt a little bit like the passing of the torch from the Greatest Tag Team in NXT History!
Grade: B+
NXT Championship Number 1 Contender’s Match: Myles Borne VS Tony D’Angelo
After BirthRight got all cocky in front of The Wagner Brothers, it was Main Event time on this week’s edition of NXT as Myles Borne and Tony D’Angelo clashed for the right to challenge Grayson Waller for the NXT Championship at Halloween Havoc! It’s interesting to think that both Myles and Tony left NXT Stand and Deliver earlier this year as singles Champions, and yet neither of them have really had a particularly stellar year! Whilst Tony D’Angelo never got his rematch for the NXT Title, do we really need to see him in another NXT PLE Main Event? On the other hand, Myles Borne has just turned Heel, so him challenging Grayson Waller wouldn’t make a ton of sense! For some reason, Myles freaked out when he looked back at the cameraman, a moment that opened the door for D’Angelo to hit Forget About It to earn his way back to an NXT Title opportunity! As expected, that cameraman turned out to be Tavion Heights, who put Myles Borne through the announce table to close the show! I very much hope that Kelani Jordan VS Wren Sinclair Main Event’s Halloween Havoc, mostly because we know that Tony D is never leaving NXT at this point!
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