NXT Review: 14/10

Linus O'Howell
Oct 15, 2025
5 min read

Ricky Saints Starts the Show, Josh Briggs VS Matt Cardona

After a recap of NXT Showdown, Ricky Saints came out to start this week’s edition of NXT as the NXT Champion called out Trick Williams following his abandonment of Team NXT last week! Ricky said that he wants to face Trick for the NXT Title at Halloween Havoc, and this led to Williams appearing on the screen, stating that he’s ready to become a 3-time NXT Champion! Honestly, this was a pretty basic segment, but I don’t mind them doing this match, as long as Williams moves to the Main Roster following HH!

Grade: C

Leon Slater and Je’Von Evans weren’t at all happy about DarkState ruining their match at Bound For Glory, but The Hardys made it clear that they’d get revenge for them at NXT Halloween Havoc! Kelani Jordan and Jordynne Grace then got into a war of words in the trainers’ room before Matt Cardona returned to in-ring action on WWE programming as he faced Josh Briggs in the opening match of the night! I thought this was a pretty good match to be honest; both guys are good in-ring workers, and I thought the action flowed nicely! You also had the added boost that the crowd absolutely loves Cardona, but they also can’t stand Briggs, meaning this was a proper “Face VS Heel” dynamic! There were also some pretty good near-falls, with Josh kicking out of both Radio Silence and an Unprettiher, and in the end, it was Briggs who scored a pretty huge win with a big boot! Even though the result wasn’t popular, it was definitely the right one!

Grade: B

El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. VS Lexis King, Blake Monroe VS Zaria, Chase University VS Hank and Tank VS The Culling: NXT Tag Team Championships Number 1 Contender’s Match

Both Hank and Tank, and Chase University were really passionate about becoming Tag Team Champions again before The Culling walked over, with Izzi Dame stating that only Shawn Spears and Niko Vance are experienced enough to dethrone The Hardys! Izzi also said that she’s going to win tonight’s Battle Royal and go on to become NXT Women’s Champion, but Lyra Valkyria questioned Dame as to whether it will be Tatum Paxley instead! Fatal Influence then had a well-put-together video package confirming Lainey Reid as the newest member of the group, before El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. made his NXT in-ring debut against Lexis King! Everything I’ve seen from El Hijo has been strong; he’s very good in the ring, and his entrance theme is genuinely incredible; it’s one of my favourites! Lexis King has also improved a lot over recent months, putting on another positive showing here, but it was all for nothing as Dr. Wagner Jr. eventually scored the win! After the match was over, Ethan Page came out to announce that he’s already agreed with Ava to put his NXT North American Championship on the line against Wagner at Halloween Havoc, but Wagner then confirmed that that match will be a “Day of the Dead” match! I have no idea what that is, but it sounds chaotic!

Grade: B-

Zaria wasn’t at all impressed with Sol Ruca going after another Championship, before Santino Marella made the biased decision to give Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo a shot at Leon Slater and the TNA X-Division Championship! Whilst this was all going on, Trick Williams assaulted Ricky Saints in a vicious backstage assault, before Blake Monroe went one-on-one with Zaria! This was a pretty decent match between two women who should firmly be in Title contention, and by the looks of it, Blake has her eyes fully set on the NXT Women’s North American Championship! Towards the closing stages, Monroe grabbed a steel chair, forcing Sol Ruca to run down to stop things from escalating, but all this did was distract the referee! Then, and I’m not kidding, Blake Monroe stabbed Zaria in the neck with a hair pick, following it up with her Glamour DDT to score the 1,2,3! This was a crazy ending!

Grade: B-

After Ava announced that we will be getting a Men’s Speed Championship Tournament, Chase University, Hank and Tank, and The Culling faced off to determine the Number 1 Contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championships following Halloween Havoc! This was going alright; all three teams were able to get their spots in, and I have to say, the double Frog Splash that Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors hit was absolutely spectacular! Unfortunately for them, this all got ruined as OTM made their NXT returns to destroy all three teams, resulting in the referee calling for the bell! Firstly, there are no rules in a Triple Threat match, so this match being called off was silly! Secondly, the crowd were excited to see the returns of Bronco Nima and Lucien Price, so that’s a good sign! Thirdly, let’s hope they’ve improved!

Grade: C+

NXT Women’s Championship Number 1 Contender’s Battle Royal

After Sol Ruca gave her spot in the Battle Royal to Zaria, Ava calmed down Ricky Saints, and DarkState attacked The Hardys, it was Main Event time as we got ourselves a 20-Woman Battle Royal to determine the next challenger for Jacy Jayne and her NXT Women’s Championship! This match had women from NXT, TNA, and Evolve, and I thought it flowed quite well, even though there weren’t as many notable moments as in other Battle Royals! Karmen Petrovic being the first woman eliminated was certainly a choice, and I did like that we got an interaction between Lash Legend and Mara Sade (even if it led to Mara being eliminated)! Lash Legend and Jaida Parker were both eliminated a lot earlier than I expected too, and Lola Vice was shockingly dumped out by Jessie McKay (of The IInspiration)! However, whilst all of that was quite decent, there was a moment in this match where Blake Monroe attacked Sol Ruca on the outside, and this led to Zaria eliminating herself to check on her Tag Team partner! Are you serious? This was so incredibly dumb, I can’t believe NXT would write this and think it’s a good idea! Anyway, the final 4 eventually came down to Jordynne Grace, Kendal Grey, and The Culling duo of Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley! Izzi was able to show enough power to eliminate Grey, but her run at Jordynne backfired, eliminating both her and Grace in the process, meaning Tatum Paxley is heading to Halloween Havoc! Firstly, Tatum deserves an opportunity like this, so I’m very happy for her! Secondly, this clearly infuriated Izzi Dame, so that just tells you how that dynamic really works! It was also nice to end the show with Lyra Valkyria celebrating with Paxley; their bond is really strong!