NXT – 10.13.26

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Last week on NXT: Wren Sinclair pulled a fast one and became MAYBE the number one contender to Kelani Jordan’s title.

NXT comes to the CW airwaves from The Performance Center in Orlando, FL. The announcing team for tonight’s show includes Vic Joseph and Booker T on match calls and analysis, Mike Rome on ring introductions, and Blake Howard on interviews and news segments. We’re moving forward in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tonight with two second round matches, and we have a number one contender’s match for Grayson Waller’s NXT Men’s Title. Let’s watch some wrestling!

Halloween Havoc is in three weeks? Indeed it is, and here’s a look back at the women’s battle royal from last week. Here’s that dirty cheater and WINNER of said battle royal, Wren Sinclair. Next to arrive are Tony D’Angelo and Myles Borne who will meet in tonight’s main event.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: NXT Tag Team Champions The Vanity Project (Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes) vs Mini Vikingo and Chazz “Starboy” Hall

NXT Men’s North American Champion Jackson Drake and Myka Lockwood are out with Baylor and Smokes. It’s Smokes and Starboy to start and there’s some grappling before Starboy’s dropkick sends Smokes back to his corner. Baylor tags in and dumps Starboy, but Starboy fires out a couple of boots before nailing Baylor with a rana. Smokes gets a tag and Baylor pushes Starboy into a huge Smokes right hand. Smokes goes to work with some kicks and Baylor tags in. Baylor pounds away before Smokes tags back in. Starboy fights off a double team and Vikingo tags in. Vikingo runs wild at the outset and Starboy grabs a blind tag. Starboy and Vikingo run wild on the Project and hit the superhero pose mid-ring. Baylor eats a pair of dropkicks and Lockwood wanders over to distract Vikingo long enough for Baylor to smoke him from behind. We go to commercials.

Baylor eats a Vikingo standing Spanish Fly when the show returns. Starboy and Smokes get tags and Starboy hits a double Pele kick to send Baylor packing. Starboy hits Sliced Bread #2 and a standing Sky Twister Press on Smokes and covers him for two. Starboy hits a back handspring tope on both Smokes and Baylor and Vikingo follows with a 450 on Smokes that gets two. Vikingo ascends and misses his dive. Starboy gets a tag and runs into a Baylor side slam. As Baylor is covering Starboy, Vikingo uses Baylor’s back to launch into a poison rana on Smokes. Everyone is down before Baylor rises up for some kicks to Starboy. Baylor cuts off a skirmish but Starboy’s rana in response gets two. Starboy superkicks Smokes and Vikingo grabs a blind tag. Vikingo ascends and crushes Baylor with a 630 swanton that gets two as Smokes breaks it up. There’s a long acrobatic sequence that’s sloppy as hell, and Smokes gets the knees up on a Starboy top rope leap. Smokes hits a double stomp on Starboy and that ends things.

After being very good for the first 90% of the match, the whole thing fell apart at the end when they went to the finish. Vikingo looked to have maybe hurt his elbow, as well. We’ll see what happens out of that. As expected, the tag champs move on and we’ll see who they draw in the semi-finals. It’s a shame about the end going kerflooey but it happens sometimes. 2.5*

Winners – The Vanity Project (Smokes leaping double stomp on Starboy)

Here’s Blake Howard with a pacing Saquon Shugars who is not happy about having to face Tristan Angels tonight. Here’s NXT Men’s Champion Grayson Waller in for some banter. Waller says Shugars doesn’t have his priorities in line, so Shugars tells him to be concerned about him and watch this match on the monitors. Shugars makes his entrance as we go to commercials.

EARLIER TODAY Kali Sinclair burst into NXT GM Robert Stone‘s office, and Stone offers up a Reina de Reinas title match with La Catalina for her troubles with Wren Sinclair last week. That will happen TONIGHT.

Saquon Shugars vs Tristan Angels

Angels whips his sash at Shugars, and that doesn’t go well for him. Shugars nails Angels with a dropkick and gets a quick two. Angels fires up with some shoulders in a chorner and Shugars fires up with an armdrag. Angels trips Shugars off, so Shugars kicks him directly in the ass. Shugars drops Angels and gives him the Rick Rude hip swivel. Angels eats an Atomic Drop and Shugars follows with a flying between-the-ropes elbow. Shugars hits a legdrop and covers Angels for two. Shugars works an interesting armbar before Angels stomps his way out of it. Angels eats a back body drop and gets dumped to the floor. Shugars hits a between-the-ropes dropkick and Angels starts tossing chairs into the ring. Angels is really frustrated, and we go to commercials.

Angels kicks a charging Shugars down and gets two as the show returns. They start slugging it out and Shugars holds on to the ropes to prevent a neckbreaker. Angels shakes that off and crushes Shugars with a backstabber and a big elbow before covering and getting two. Angels ties up Shugars before slapping on a sleeper. Shugars breaks out and kicks Angels to the floor. Shugars yanks Angels arm over the ropes and then kicks Angels gently into the ring steps. They slug it out again and Shugars wins the skirmish before blasting Angels with a knee. Angels gets caught in a backbreaker and a modified Sister Abigail. Shugars launches Angels to the floor with a pescado, and Angels fires up to drop Shugars onto a ringside chair. Angels hits a running knee and covers Shugars for three.

Angels finisher needs some work, because that leaping knee thing doesn’t have the impact that I think he thinks it should. Either that or Shugars just doesn’t know how to take it. Regardless, again, this was okay for the first part of things and kind of fell apart near the finish. Whenever you agent a chair spot, there needs to be a noise to indicate to the fans that it’s come into play, and I’m not sure anyone knew Shugars actually got bounced off the chair in the finishing sequence. Anyway, I’m a little surprised at this result but we’ll see if it means anything in a couple of weeks. 2*

Winner – Tristan Angels (leaping running knee strike)

THE NXT FOCUS PRESENTED BY PROGRESSIVE is on the main event, with a promo from Tony D’Angelo. D’Angelo says even without his suit, he still decides who walks the walk in NXT and he’ll see if Myles Borne has what it takes TONIGHT. We go to commercials.

Here’s Izzi Dame chatting to Niko Vance about Zaria. Dame says Zaria being broken makes her “interesting”. Dame says Zaria wasn’t prepared to look in the mirror when Dame forced her to. Dame says she’ll find out who the person is under the facepaint.

Here’s Wren Sinclair out for a chat. Sinclair says she didn’t think she’d be standing here a few months ago, but it’s because she overthinks a lot of things. Sinclair says last week she did something the old Wren could never do by taking a risk wearing the Lady Shani costume. Sinclair says when she took the mask off after winning she realized she doesn’t have to back down anymore. Sinclair knows she’s the last person anyone expected to see standing mid-ring but she just had to do the thing she feared. Sinclair watched her friend and herself lose their titles and she couldn’t wait for things to change. Sinclair says Kendal Grey has always believed in her and Sinclair vows to step up for her. Here’s NXT Women’s Champion Kelani Jordan out to say people are getting too comfortable bending the rules and getting away with it, and Sinclair’s victory doesn’t count. Jordan says Sinclair committed identity theft and cannot be standing across the ring from her. Jordan says she refuses to face Sinclair at Havoc. Jordan calls Sinclair a sidekick and says Sinclair didn’t have the balls to step into the battle royal as herself. Here’s Robert Stone out to say that Sinclair’s suspension is lifted but Jordan makes some good points. Stone says he’ll leave it up to the NXT UNIVERSE and they want it, so it’s Sinclair vs Jordan for the title at Havoc. Jordan misses a belt shot, and Sinclair grabs the belt. Sinclair threatens a belt shot as Jordan falls over. Sinclair tosses the title at Jordan and puts the bad-mouth on her from above. We go to commercials.

Here’s Lizzy Rain complaining to Cruz Montana about the results of the battle royal, and Montana puts her over and tells her to keep her chin up. Montana gets a call from his mother as Rain exits and after completing it, here’s Dion Lennox in for an attack. Lennox redials the number Montana was talking to and tells his mother that he’s sending Montana back to the dark places he came from.

AAA Reina de Reinas Championship: La Catalina (C) vs Kali Armstrong

Armstrong trucks Catalina and puts the badmouth on her. Armstrong works an elbow and Catalina rolls out of it. Catalina grabs a roll up for two and dropkicks Armstrong down. Armstrong fires up with some shoulders and a running spear. Armstrong whips Catalina to a corner and then Catalina fires up to send Armstrong to the floor with a Hip Attack. Catalina tries a dive from the apron but Armstrong catches her and dumps Catalina down. Armstrong pulls up a ring mat and exposes the concrete. Armstrong gets run over the ring steps before Catalina nails her with a running senton off the steps. We go to commercials.

Armstrong is in control when the show returns but Catalina fires off a sunset flip for two. Armstrong gets run into a turnbuckle but she manages to dump Catalina to the apron off a charge. Catalina ascends for a missile dropkick and we reset. Catalina hits a high boot and a basement dropkick. Catalina fires off some lariats and nails Armstrong with a Hip Attack. Catalina yanks Armstrong into the Gory Special and covers her for two. Armstrong fires up and a slugfest ensues. Catalina hits a back elbow and Armstrong fires up with a sidewalk slam that gets two. Catalina grabs an inside cradle for two. Catalina hits another Hip Attack but runs into an Armstrong powerslam. Catalina dumps Armstrong to the floor and she lands on the concrete she exposed earlier. Catalina waffles Armstrong with a Baisaku knee and that ends things.

A bit of a styles clash here, but they got through it. Match of the night so far for me, so we’ll see if anything tops this. I thought this was a good lesson for Kali fighting someone who’s not in the PC every day and has her own style. Catalina’s offense is very lucha-centric and she doesn’t sell a lot, so Kali would have needed to get that in her head as well. No major issues here but nothing you need to seek out urgently, either. 3*

Winner AND STILL AAA Reina de Reinas champion – La Catalina (Baisaku knee)

Here’s Wren Sinclair running into Myles Borne backstage. Borne mentions how great putting yourself first feels and Sinclair fires back that what she did was wildly different than what Borne did to Tavion Heights. Borne vows to become the number one contender, and here’s Kendal Grey in to surprise Sinclair as Borne powders out. Grey says she’s finally cleared and wants to know what the plan is for Halloween Havoc. We go to commercials after a look at whatever AGENT OF SHADOWS is going to be.

Here’s EK Prosper giving a pep talk to Mini Vikingo and Starboy Hall, and he cheers them up before the Vanity Project come in for some banter. Prosper wants to know why Myka Lockwood is in the men’s locker room and she says “I GO WHERE THEY GO”. Starboy suggests a trios match for next week and Jackson Drave seems very much up for it.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: FrAxiom (Nathan Frazer and Axiom) vs Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno

Dar starts with Frazer and there’s some acrobatics before Dar grapevines a leg as Frazer scrambles to the ropes. Frazer grabs a cross-face on Dar who flies to the ropes. Dar blows off a handshake and Moreno and Axiom tag in. Moreno gets trucked and Axiom flips Moreno over briefly before Moreno escapes. There’s acrobatics to a stalemate and Axiom slaps Moreno dead in the face before nailing Moreno with a basement dropkick for two. Frazer tags in and Moreno drives him into a corner for a Dar tag. Dar nails Frazer with a dropkick and he and Moreno make a wish on Frazer’s leg. Moreno sends Frazer to the floor and Dar drives Axiom down as well. Moreno accidently nails Dar with a knee and Axiom and Frazer are left standing as we go to commercials.

Dar has Axiom’s leg grapevined when the show returns, but Dar makes the ropes to break it up. They slug it out along the ropes and Dar eats a huge dropkick from Axiom. We reset with both guys down and both make tags. Frazer nails Moreno with a sling blade and then yanks him off the ropes into a Spanish Fly that gets two. Frazer flies out to the floor and Axiom follows him out. Moreno goes face-first into the announce table as Axiom and Frazer slip out of the way. Dar gets his knees up on a Frazer Phoenix Splash attempt and Dar gets two. Dar gets rocked by a double team flurry and Axiom grabs a cover for two. Axiom and Dar slug it out and Dar grabs an armbar. Frazer comes off the top and Dar slaps a triangle on him. Frazer yanks Dar up and Axiom nails Dar with a dropkick. Frazer hits a huge frog splash for two. Axiom nails Dar with a dropkick and covers him for two as a recovered Moreno finally returns to break it up. Moreno dumps Frazer with a German but Axiom flies in to toss Moreno out. Dar nails Axiom with a German and Moreno tags in. Moreno nails Axiom with a springboard boot and ascends, but Axiom springs up with a roundhouse. Axiom hits Moreno with a Spanish Fly and Frazer comes in with a 450. Dar breaks up the cover and eats a Frazer superkick. Axiom hits a tope on Dar and Moreno gets caught by a Frazer superplex. Axiom hits a superkick and covers Moreno for two. Frazer tags in and Moreno pushes him into Axiom. Moreno yanks Axiom into a second rope Falcon Arrow that gets two. Dar clobbers Frazer with an elbow and he and Moreno combine on a high-low on Axiom that ends things.

This was good, but not great. I really like Dar and Moreno as a team, but Dar is kind of dragging them through this as Moreno’s offense continues to be clunky at times. Frazer and Axiom are really just bodies at this point, they can go wherever they’re needed, win or lose, and it doesn’t seem to matter all that much. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but it’s not exactly super-stardom, either. 3.5*

Winners – Dar/Moreno (High/Low on Axiom)

Here’s Blake Howard with AAA World Tag Team Champions El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. and Galeno. Howard asks about the pressure of the Cup and DW3 says there’s pressure coming in as the champions, but they’re here to get it done. Birthright interrupt and Lexis King mentions breaking Zilla Fatu’s hand, and Galeno puts the badmouth on the group before they leave. Tony D’Angelo makes his entrance as we go to commercials.

Joseph runs down next week’s card when the show returns, and it’s time for the main event.

NXT Men’s Championship Number One Contenders Match: Tony D’Angelo vs Myles Borne

Borne gets mashed by a D’Angelo clothesline and body slam that sends him to the floor. D’Angelo goes out and Borne tries to flee. Borne tries to catch D’Angelo coming in but he sees it coming and blasts Borne with a right before covering and getting two. D’Angelo yanks Borne up but Borne drops him with an elbow and covers for two. Borne fires off a rolling powerslam that gets two. Borne hits a running splash but D’Angelo catches a second attempt and fires Borne over his head for a suplex. Borne takes D’Angelo to the floor and smashes D’Angelo around ringside before driving him into the steps. Borne fires D’Angelo back in and nails him with a neckbreaker that gets two. Borne ascends and D’Angelo catches him with a big right. D’Angelo drives Borne into the barricade and bounces his face off the mat. D’Angelo clears the announce table and Borne goes back into the ring. D’Angelo fires off a spinebuster that gets two. Borne goes back out to the floor and D’Angelo follows. D’Angelo drops Borne spine-first off the bottom section of the ring steps and we go to commercials.

They’re slugging it out when the show returns. Borne nails D’Angelo with a dropkick and puts the boots to him. Borne drops a knee on the back of D’Angelo’s head and covers him for two. Borne drives a knee into D’Angelo’s back and gets another two count. Borne fires D’Angelo into a corner a couple of times and covers him for two. Borne pounds away with rights but D’Angelo fires up and starts smashing Borne with rights. D’Angelo yanks Borne into some release Germans and a bulldog. D’Angelo hits a rolling powerslam and covers for two. D’Angelo trucks Borne into a corner and hoists him up but Borne catches him with a right. Borne leaps off the second rope into a D’Angelo spear that gets two. They slug it out and D’Angelo wins the skirmish with a sit-down powerbomb that gets two. D’Angelo misses a charge and Borne catches him with an Angle Slam. Borne eyes up a camera man and walks into D’Angelo’s Dead to Rights which ends things.

D’Angelo is the choice, and I’ll be honest, I’m kind of underwhelmed, while also not being surprised either. I think Waller and D’Angelo will put on a solid affair but I’m kind of over Tony D at this point and just don’t really care who wins all that much. Borne, as you’ll see in a minute, will more than likely be on the Havoc card as well, and we’ll see how this goes for them both moving forward. 3*

Winner AND NEW Number One Contender – Tony D’Angelo (Dead to Rights)

Post-match sees the cameraman that Borne had eyed up reveal himself to be Tavion Heights. Heights kicks the shit out of Borne and sends him to the floor for a powerbomb through the announce table. Heights barks at a prone Borne and indicates his ankle is in good shape.

Here’s Robert Stone ending a phone call to find a paper on his desk. The paper says “Make me the host of Halloween Havoc or YOU ARE CURSED!” YAY!

Kind of an up-and-down effort tonight, but things coalesced around the two main singles titles as we now have those matches set for Halloween Havoc. The two Dusty Cup matches were fine, and the Reina de Reinas match was a little clunky but they got there in the end. All in all, we’ll call it a successful evening and move on for more Havoc build and Dusty Cup action next week.

Thanks for reading.