NXT Review: 20/10
Grayson Waller and Tony D’Angelo Come Face-to-Face, The Wagner Brothers VS BirthRight: NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (Quarter-Finals)
This week’s edition of NXT kicked off with Tony D’Angelo coming down to the ring to call out Grayson Waller! Grayson and Tony reminisced about being a part of the same team at WarGames all those years ago, whilst Waller admitted that he’s always disliked D’Angelo due to him being chosen for everything, despite The Arrogant Aussie clearly having more talent! Whilst Tony has his eyes set on becoming a 2-time NXT Champion at Halloween Havoc, Grayson firmly believes that the NXT Title on his shoulder is more important than it ever was on either D’Angelo’s, Bron Breakker, or even Carmelo Hayes’! This was another strong promo from Grayson Waller; he’s on an absolute tear right now!
Grade: B-
Izzi Dame was disappointed to see that Zaria had taken down her decorations, whilst Layla Diggs made it clear to Izzi that she still deserves a shot at the NXT Women’s North American Championship! BirthRight then cut a promo from the parking lot, before Chantel Monroe got her first NXT hype package! It was then time for the opening match of the night as The Wagner Brothers took on BirthRight in another Quarter-Final matchup in the 2026 NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic! Due to being the reigning AAA World Tag Team Champions, El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. and Galeno got a bye to the Quarter-Finals, whilst Lexis King and Charlie Dempsey are only in the tournament because Mr. Regal pressured Mr. Stone into making a decision after BirthRight attacked Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux a few weeks ago! This match was alright; it was totally fine, with The Wagner Brothers showing their class throughout! Whilst BirthRight looked like they were in a good place to win at one point, Zilla Fatu’s arrival put a stop to that, taking out Uriah Connors on the outside as The Wagner Brothers took advantage to punch their ticket to next week’s Semi-Finals!
Grade: C+
Tavion Heights Speaks, Izzi Dame VS Layla Diggs
Dion Lennox clearly has a plan up his sleeve regarding Cruz Montana and the rest of DarkState, whilst Kam Hendrix had a video showcasing that he can in fact catch three American Footballs at once! Okay! Anyway, Tavion Heights was back on NXT TV next, as The Olympic Kid talked about how he still tried to trust Myles Borne, even after his actions at NXT Heatwave, and how that definitely came back to bite him! Heights then stated that he’s going to make Borne pay, which led to Myles showing up and starting a brawl with Tavion, that eventually ended in the NXT Parking Lot! I could kind of see these two having an Ambulance Match, but I’m not sure whether we need that at Halloween Havoc or not!
Grade: C
Chantel Monroe was interested in showing off towards The Vanity Project, whilst Mr. Stone informed Jackson Drake that he will have to defend his NXT North American Championship against EK Prosper next week! Layla Diggs was then back to competing on NXT again as she went one-on-one with Izzi Dame! I do like Izzi Dame; I feel like I’ve been more praising of her than the general NXT Universe has been, but I do have to be honest and say that I’m not convinced that she’s ready to lead matches yet! Dame is way more experienced than Diggs, hence why I’m bringing this up, but it didn’t feel like Izzi suited an “in-ring-leader” role! Dame would end up coming away from this match as the victor, before Zaria came down to the ring to challenge her rival to a match for the NXT Women’s North American Championship at Halloween Havoc! Dame accepted the match, but she isn’t interested in winning the Title! These are some next-level mind games that Izzi Dame is currently playing; it’s definitely got me intrigued!
Grade: C+
NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic (Quarter-Finals): Hank and Tank VS The Creed Brothers, NXT Women’s Championship Contract Signing
We then went straight into more in-ring action as Hank and Tank took on The Creed Brothers in the final Quarter-Final matchup of this year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic! Both of these teams have tested success in NXT, with Hank and Tank even winning the NXT Tag Team Championships at Stand and Deliver! Whilst Hank and Tank looked good throughout this match, it felt like only a matter of time before The Creeds came out victorious, given the fact that their story of becoming the first-ever 2-time Dusty Cup Champions is quite interesting! At least that’s what I thought, as in a shocking twist, Hank and Tank took advantage of the referee being distracted to pick up the victory, setting up a Semi-Final clash with The Wagner Brothers next week! I know there have been a couple of upsets during this tournament, but this has to take the cake; this blows the bracket wide open!
Grade: B
BirthRight were complaining once again about being beaten in the Dusty Cup, whilst Charlie Dempsey wants to get his hands on Zilla Fatu! Chantel Monroe was then bragging to the WreNQCC before Wren Sinclair made her way down to the ring to sign the contract ahead of her and Kelani Jordan’s face-off for the NXT Women’s Championship at Halloween Havoc! Wren believes in herself now; she knows she’s good enough to become Champion, which I suppose is why Kelani decided to take things personal by dragging out a beaten-and-bloody Kendal Grey! This looked vicious; Jordan’s been learning from Melo’s new friends!
Grade: B-
Zilla Fatu told Mr. Stone to bring back the Halloween Havoc Wheel for his match with Charlie Dempsey, whilst Saquon Shugars wasn’t having anything of what Sean Legacy said, despite the fact that EK Prosper agreed with Legacy’s points! The rest of DarkState then attempted and failed to take out Cruz Montana in a backstage attack, whilst Naraku is looking to “kill” Shiloh Hill off by using the black mist!
Cruz Montana VS Dion Lennox
And in the Main Event of this week’s edition of NXT, Cruz Montana looked to get payback when he faced Dion Lennox in a feud that’s turned deeply personal! I have to say, the way NXT presents Cruz Montana is absolutely fantastic! His entrance is so cool; they’ve added an underground look before Cruz enters the crowd, and speaking of the crowd, they love this guy! The NXT Universe were so loud behind Montana, like it’s actually insane! Whilst Dion did his best to fight back, he was no match for Cruz’s intensity, although a rematch will likely have to happen due to this match ending in a double count-out, with Montana putting Lennox through the barricade after Dion mentioned his daughter! The one referee could clearly tell that Cruz Montana had lost it, with Montana destroying both referees and security guards before he nailed Dion with a STOMP onto the exposed floor! Now that’s how you do that spot! Security would then floor Cruz to end the segment, and honestly, Mike Santana is awesome!
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