NXT Review – 10.14.25

Catch up on the WWE/Impact doings here: Smackdown | Bound For Glory | Crown Jewel | Raw

NXT comes to us on the CW in America and Netflix for the rest of the world from the Performance Center in Orlando, FL. The presenters of tonight’s show are the usual suspects – Vic Joseph and Booker T on match calls, Mike Rome on ring introductions, and no one apparently on backstage interviews and news updates.

Then, Now, Forever…TOGETHER

Highlights from NXT-TNA Showdown open the show. Arrivals are next and they include: Lola Vice, Jaida Parker, and Zaria and Sol Ruca.

Here’s NXT Men’s Champion Ricky Saints to chat about the Men’s Elimination Tag match and mention that Trick Williams folds under pressure. Saints says Trick thinks he’s above it all after claiming he built NXT, but that’s delusional and crazy. Saints wants Trick to prove him wrong about all that because Saints wants to fight Trick at Halloween Havoc for the title. Here’s Trick Williams on the video board to respond (Trick calls him “Pretty Ricky” and my head went to an entirely different thing.) by mentioning that Saints hates Trick because everything came natural for Trick while Saints had to grind his whole life. Trick says they’re going to do the match on his time, not Saints’s time. Saints says he doesn’t want to talk about it, and re-emphasizes the Havoc challenge.

Here’s Je’von Evans and TNA X Division Champion Leon Slater to talk about the ruined finish of their title match at Bound For Glory due to “goofy ass Darkstate”. Here’s the NXT Tag Team and TNA World Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz to put over Slater and Evans for tearing the house down at BFG. The Hardyz rematch with Darkstate is at Halloween Havoc and they promise to avenge Evans and Slater for Darkstate being jerks.

Matt Cardona makes his entrance as we go to commercials.

The NXT Anonymous X account catches a quick conversation between TNA Knockouts Champion Kelani Jordan and Jordynne Grace where Jordan accuses Grace of not calling things down the middle during the Women’s Elimination Tag at Showdown. Grace says she’ll see Jordan after the upcoming Number One Contender’s battle royale.

Matt Cardona vs Josh Briggs

You can watch this match here.

Cardona starts with some forearms and kicks to Briggs who slumps in a corner. Briggs fights back with some elbows and kicks. Cardona hits a shotgun dropkick that sends Briggs to the floor. Once back in the ring Cardona mounts the second rope to drop bombs on a dazed Briggs. Briggs manages to trip Cardona up before stomping him in the back. (The crowd: “Matt, you can stay, Briggs, GO AWAY” and Joseph calls them “unique” which I think WWE speak for “we know Briggs kind of sucks but we’re pushing him anyway so shut up”.) Briggs hits a flying clothesline and covers Cardona for two. Briggs works Cardona over in a corner and then frames him up. Cardona dumps Briggs to the floor and hits a tope con hilo as we go to commercials.

Briggs has a rear chinlock on Cardona when we return but Cardona fights out of it only to eat a big boot from Briggs. Briggs cover gets two. Cardona counters a chokeslam attempt into a DDT and then hits a flying lariat. Cardona hits a facebuster and then starts working over Briggs in a corner. Cardona hits a running boot to Briggs’s face and then drags him to the center of the ring for an Unprettier. Cardona covers and gets two. Briggs bails to the floor but Cardona kicks him again anyway. Briggs recovers with a backbreaker and a chokeslam and covers for two. Briggs pulls off his neck chain but the ref catches him with it. Cardona hits Radio Silence and covers for a LONG two.

Cardona comes off the second rope and Briggs catches him with a powerbomb. Cardona is unphased and wants another Unprettier but Briggs escapes that and a subsequent DDT attempt. Briggs hits a huge boot to Cardona’s head and covers for three.

Listen, whether we like it or not, they’re giving Briggs everything they can right now in what I’m assuming is a “prove yourself or ELSE” scenario since he’s been in dev for four years plus at this point. Cardona being an over credible job guy in NXT wouldn’t be a bad use of him. Briggs once again cut things off but he’s selling a bit more than he was so I won’t harp on it too much. 2*

Winner – Josh Briggs (high boot)

Here’s Hank & Tank chatting with Chase U and Lyra Valkyria. Valkyria wants to know if anyone’s seen Tatum Paxley who helpfully charges into the scene with The Culling in tow. Izzi Dame says there’s no need for a hug and says that Shawn Spears and Niko Vance should be the ones to challenge the Hardys. Dame also vows to win the battle royale and Valkyria questions why Paxley couldn’t win it. This will apparently lead to a three way tag match later to determine challengers for the Hardys or Darkstate, I guess.

AAA Latin American Champion El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jr makes his entrance as we go to commercials.

THE NXT SPOTLIGHT PRESENTED BY PROGRESSIVE is on Fatal Influence. It appears that Lainey Reid has become a full-fledged member. They say that no matter who wins the battle royale, it won’t matter because that person has no chance to defeat Jacy Jayne.

Lexis King vs El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jr.

You can watch this match here.

Wagner does some mat wrestling to start and rolls King over for a quick two. King kicks his way out of a wristlock and then steps on Wagner’s back after some rope running. Wagner responds with the same back walk but catches a right from King after he fakes wanting a handshake. Wagner gains control and smacks King with some chops. King rakes the eyes to break that up. King hits some chops, does an inexplicable rope walk, and then smacks Wagner in the chest. Wagner runs the ropes and snaps off a rana and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on King. Wagner hits a moonsault after King bails to the floor as we go to commercials.

Wagner is in control when the show returns but King dumps him to the floor over the top rope in response. King starts working over Wagner’s right knee by running him into the ring steps and then bouncing the knee off the apron. King runs Wagner back into the ring to continue working over the leg. King hits a Hidden Blade and covers Wagner for two. King snaps off a Dragon Screw leg whip and continues to work Wagner’s knee while kicking him in the head. Wagner has had enough and he fires up with a big slap and running knee lift. Wagner snaps off a powerbomb and covers King for two.

King responds with a superkick and another Dragon Screw. King ascends but misses his senton attempt. Wagner hits a Shining Wizard and a Michinoku Driver. Wagner covers and gets three.

The finish kind of came out of nowhere but everything else was decent for a Lexis King match. Wagner’s selling is kind of…goofy…but it works and he’s a solid technico who always manages to grab a crowd. 2.5*

Winner – El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jr (Michinoku Driver)

Post-match sees Wagner grab a mic to call out NXT Men’s North American Champion Ethan Page. Page mentions that people come from all over to get a look at him and he’s okay with Wagner challenging him for the NA title at Halloween Havoc. Wagner says the match will be a Dia De Los Muertos match in which anything goes.

Zaria and Sol Ruca get the Maybelline Plug of the Week segment. Zaria seems put out that Ruca is in the battle royale and leaves in a huff after promising to handle Blake Monroe by herself. We go to commercials.

When we return NXT GM Ava and TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella are putting over Leon Slater and Je’von Evans match at BFG. Evans and Slater want to tag up at Halloween Havoc but here’s Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo and Arianna Grace to interrupt. Stacks wants an X Division title shot so Grace whispers in Santino’s ear and the match is made. (Santino calls Stacks his “future son-in-law” so that’s a whole thing, I guess. MAYBE NXT WILL HAVE ANOTHER WEDDING SEGMENT!) There’s a huge crash in the background and it’s Trick Williams standing over a fallen Ricky Saints as Ava calls for medical.

Blake Monroe vs Zaria

You can watch this match here.

Zaria whips Monroe halfway across the ring and flexes as we get underway. Monroe clips Zaria’s knee and then hits a running shotgun dropkick. Monroe works over Zaria’s knee in the corner. Zaria fights back with a running splash and after a brief Monroe flurry Zaria lifts Monroe while mounted on the second rope. Monroe bails and they slug it out on the floor before both ascending to the apron. Monroe snaps Zaria’s neck over the top turnbuckle as we go to commercials.

Monroe puts Zaria in a sleeper as the show returns. Zaria breaks out but misses a charge as Monroe stomps her in the back of the head. Monroe covers and gets two before returning to the sleeper. Zaria dumps Monroe on her back and both are down. (Book and Joseph have been arguing the entire match about whether or not Sol Ruca is using Zaria and it’s getting kind of annoying since they are calling almost none of the match.) Zaria fires up after a brief Monroe flurry and buries Monroe with a lariat. Zaria hits a pump kick and then crushes Monroe with a spear but elects to scream at the crowd rather than cover. A Zaria headbutt leaves both competitors dazed as Monroe tumbles to the floor.

Monroe finds a chair and heads back in but here’s Sol Ruca to snatch it away from her. Monroe pulls out a hair pick while the ref barks at Ruca and she uses it to apparently stab Zaria in the neck. Monroe hits the Beauty Shot DDT and pins Zaria for three.

Hmm. I’m not sure Blake Monroe is leveling up at all currently but they are going to keep trying with her, it appears. Zaria is fine for a hoss worker but she needs to vary up her moveset from time to time. I know they’re telling a long-form story of Ruca and Zaria breaking up and this is part of it but using Zaria this way doesn’t help her in the slightest because Ruca is clearly going to be a thing on the main roster and I’m not sure Zaria is. We’ll see how it plays out. 2*

Winner – Blake Monroe (Beauty Shot DDT)

Ava makes the announcement of a Men’s Speed tournament with the winner facing the current champion El Grande Americano. The tournament will start next week and will have Axiom facing Sean Legacy and Zach Wentz facing Jasper Troy.

Hank and Tank make their entrance as we go to commercials.

Hank & Tank vs Chase U (Uriah Connors and Kale Dixon) vs The Culling (Niko Vance and Shawn Spears)

It’s Tank, Vance and Connors to start. There’s a bunch of roll-ups that get two counts until Vance takes over with right hands. Spears tags in and hits a Codebreaker on Tank. Hank tags in and hits a Black Hole slam on Spears that sends him to the floor. Hank and Tank hit HONK HONK on the Culling guys before getting wiped out as the Chase U guys hit simultaneous tope suicidas. The Culling recover and Spears dumps Hank back in. Vance pounds away on Hank and then drops him with a neckbreaker. Vance’s cover is broken up by Dixon at two.

Vance and Dixon square off in a corner and Vance mounts him on the top turnbuckle. Dixon fights his way out of it and Vance walks into Hank and Tank who dump him over the top rope to the floor. Hank and Tank wipe out Spears with a double leg sweep before being crushed by simultaneous frog splashes from the Chase U guys. Here’s a returning OTM to start smashing everyone as the referee calls for the bell.

Boy did I hate almost all of this. No psychology whatsoever in the match, just a bunch of moves, and then that shit finish. Just the laziest way ever to book a return but this tag division has been in shambles for awhile. Let’s hope there’s some clarity soon. I’ve never done this rating before. DUD

No winners – Match ended when OTM interfered

The ongoing saga of Zaria and Sol Ruca continues as Zaria emerges from medical. Ruca promises that they’re going to beat Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss for the tag titles and then offers her spot in the battle royale to Zaria. They hug it out and we go to commercials.

A raging Ricky Saints is looking for Trick Williams with Ava chasing behind. Ava tells Saints that Trick has left the PC but there’s a contract signing set for next week. Saints promises to hold it together until then.

Joseph runs down the current Havoc card and it looks to be a solid set of matches. We begin the entrances for the battle royale with Jordynne Grace, Lash Legend, Lei-Ying Li, Xia Brookside, Victoria Crawford, and Jaida Parker before going to commercials.

Darkstate has laid out the Hardys when the show returns. Joseph also announces Stacks vs Leon Slater for the X Division title for next week, as well as Hank and Tank facing OTM. The men’s Speed tournament will also commence on next week’s show.

Women’s Number One Contender Battle Royale

You can watch this match here. I will not, for obvious reasons, be able to call all of this action.

Tatum Paxley is almost first out at the hands of Lash Legend, but she manages to hold on and rejoin the chaos in the ring. The Iinspiration dump Karmen Petrovic out and hit their iconic pose. (You may not know this about me but The Iiconics were one of my favorite modern comedy acts and I still love them to this day.) Arianna Grace and Victoria Crawford strike a deal while on the apron and immediately get knocked to the floor by Jordynne Grace. Kali Armstrong eliminates Lei-Ying Li with a big right hand. Wren Sinclair eliminates herself by running from the Iinspiration team.

Kendal Grey dumps Jessie McKay as Lash Legend reunites with her old Meta Four pal Mara Sade. Zaria immediately dropkicks Legend which dumps Sade to the floor. Kali Armstrong eliminats Xia Brookside after a tussle. Lash Legend eliminates Jaida Parker with a pump kick to continue their ongoing feud. Parker’s anger at being eliminated leads her to start whaling on the also-eliminated Xia Brookside so Security comes out to break that up. As that is happening the entire remaining contingent gang up on Legend and toss her over the top rope onto the Security pile. Parker laughs hysterically as we go to commercials.

Izzi Dame eliminates Kali Armstrong and Thea Hail when the show returns. Hail had elminated Heather By Elegance during the break. Blake Monroe charges out and attacks Sol Ruca at ringside as Zaria is hanging Izzi Dame in a corner. Zaria eliminates herself to check on Ruca as Monroe scampers away. Cassie Lee manages to dump Lola Vice out as she was tangling with Kelani Jordan. Kendal Grey dumps Lee after a short scuffle along the ropes. Jordynne Grace and Kelani Jordan tangle on the apron and Jordan manages to land a handstand on the floor before trying and failing to make it back in as Grace kicks her down and out.

Your final four are Jordynne Grace, Kendal Grey, Tatum Paxley and Izzi Dame. Paxley and Dame dump both Grey and Grace over the top rope, but both skin the cat to re-enter. Dame manages to eventually dump Grey out. Paxley is holding Grace in a headlock while on the apron so Dame thinks about trying to eliminate both of them but when she charges she manages to clothesline Grace to the floor while tumbling out herself. Tatum Paxley is your new number one contender for the NXT Women’s Championship.

I don’t really know how to rate battle royales but this was at least fun as hell for the most part. Everyone worked really hard and they booked it in such a way to keep some storyline stuff going, which I appreciated. I’d probably go 3.5* or so for the whole thing but obviously your mileage can and will vary on that.

Post-match sees a wildly frustrated Izzi Dame on the floor staring in disbelief at Paxley. Fatal Influence come out to chirp at Paxley but Lyra Valkyria sprints out around them and goes to the ring with a very happy Paxley. The credits roll and we’re out.

I had a good time with tonight’s episode, the horrendous three-way tag match notwithstanding. The Havoc build worked well for the most part although some of the logic with Trick and Saints is a bit head-scratching. Like I get wanting to beat a guy’s ass for walking out on a tag match but maybe have a non-title man vs man match and see who’s best, and THEN move on to a title shot. I know that timeline doesn’t work but it is what it is, I guess. Trick is owed a lot of receipts at this point. I assume Blake Monroe and Sol Ruca will be added to the card. The battle royale main event was fun, as I mentioned, and Paxley winning was a nice surprise. She’ll be a wildly popular underdog against Jacy Jayne at Havoc. Good effort all around. Thumbs up from me.

Thanks for reading and commenting and please make sure to go read all of our writers recaps, it’s a good thing to do. Have a good rest of the week and I’ll see you all for Smackdown.