Results
- Leon Slater def. Stacks (TNA X-Division Championship) (10:52)
- Jasper Troy def. Zachary Wentz (WWE Speed #1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Final) (2:04)
- Axiom def. Sean Legacy (WWE Speed #1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Final) (2:57)
- Bronco Nima & Lucien Price def. Hank Walker & Tank Ledger (3:36)
- Jacy Jayne & Lainey Reid def. Tatum Paxley & Izzi Dame (10:11)
Tatum Paxley goes face-to-face with Halloween Havoc opponent Jacy Jayne
This week’s episode of NXT, a go-home show before Saturday’s Halloween Havoc event, took place inside the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
Before this week’s lineup got started, we got a recap of some of the Havoc storylines that were first set up last week: Ricky Saints announced an NXT title matchup against rival Trick Williams, DarkState and The Hardys will off in a tag title rematch, and The Culling’s Tatum Paxley earned a women’s title shot against Jacy Jayne by winning a battle royal.
Inside the PC, things got started with an appearance from women’s championship #1 contender Paxley, alongside Izzi Dame, Shawn Spears and Niko Vance of The Culling. Dame, while visibly upset last week that she wasn’t the one who won the title shot, was hugging and praising Paxley here.
Paxley thanked the fans for sticking with her during ups and downs in her career, and mentioned the excitement for her first-ever PLE appearance (excluding her appearance at Evolution earlier this year).
As Paxley was telling Dame about how they will run through the division together, incumbent champ Jayne, alongside the newest version of Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid, replacing Jazmyn Nyx) interrupted. Jayne said Paxley doesn’t have “a chance in hell” beating her this weekend at Havoc.
Jayne tried to stir the pot, saying Paxley should’ve let Dame win the battle royal last week, as she would’ve at least had a chance in a title matchup. Paxley responded with a really strong babyface promo, talking about how even though people keep doubting her, she has only improved over the years. The crowd was behind Paxley quite strongly here.
Dame and the other Fatal Influence members started to go back and forth. Near the end of the trash talk, it was teased that we could see a tag or singles match between these groups tonight. A brawl broke out, and The Culling nearly isolated champ Jayne for a move, but her Fatal Influence helpers dragged her out of the ring to end the fight. Solid segment which helped showcase the rough dynamics in both factions, and put a solid spotlight on Paxley, who a lot of people seemingly would like to take the gold.
Leon Slater’s X-Division reign continues inside NXT ring, new match gets added to Havoc
TNA’s X-Division Championship was on the line in the first matchup of the night, as Leon “The Youngest in Charge” Slater put his title up against Stacks. This match was confirmed last week, as Stacks leveraged his relationship with Arianna Grace, daughter of TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella, to score himself a title shot. Grace was ringside for this one, and Je’Von Evans was in the corner of Slater.
Worth noting: Stacks hasn’t been seen with the NXT Heritage Cup in ages – not a good sign regarding that title’s future. Slater sent Stacks to the outside just a couple of minutes into the match, then followed him over the top with a crossbody just before a commercial break.
Stacks regained control just before the show came back, tripping up Slater as he attempted a top rope move, causing the champ to instead land stomach-first onto the ropes. Stacks had a creative move after the show returned, suplexing Slater onto the top rope, causing him to come falling onto the mat back-first. Stacks got a near fall with a gutbuster at the eight-minute mark of the match.
After reversing a move from Stacks into a roll-up attempt, Slater started to get back into the match with his Utopia slam. Grace got onto the ring apron, likely attempting to distract the referee. Slater hit the ropes, causing Grace to fall off the apron and to the floor. But, instead of having a hard landing, Grace was caught by Evans, who was at ringside.
Evans holding Grace distracted Stacks, making him roll to ringside briefly. Slater took over once Stacks rolled back into the ring: Crossbody off the top, a Trick Williams-esque leg lariat, his famous massive dive over the corner ringpost to the outside, then a Swanton 450 off the top for the clean pinfall win in nearly 11 minutes. Somewhat of a by-the-numbers Slater showcase, but that’s far from an insult considering how impressive the average performance from the TNA star is.
After the match, both Evans and Slater brainstormed about how they could get onto the Halloween Havoc. Evans had an idea: They’re so great against eachother, imagine how good they would be as a team? But who would they face?
It didn’t take long to figure out who they’d fight, as AAA’s La Parka and Mr. Iguana made their way onto the stage. Viral sensation Mr. Iguana said he already talked to NXT General Manager Ava about the tag match, making it official for this weekend.
Jasper Troy advances in Speed tournament
The semi-final round of the WWE Speed men’s #1 contender’s tournament kicked off next, with TNA’s Zachary Wentz meeting NXT’s Jasper Troy in a three-minute time limit bout. This was Troy’s first appearance on NXT TV since mid-August, when he faced off against Ricky Saints.
Wentz and Troy played up their size difference in this matchup, with The Rascalz’ Wentz spending the first minute trying to chop down the much larger Troy with shots. Troy was sent out of the ring by Wentz then hit with a dive over the ropes.
Wentz brought Troy back into the ring for a Swanton Bomb, earning him a two-count. Wentz came running off the ropes with a move but ran right into Troy, who floored him. Troy followed up with a Black Hole Slam, earning him the pinfall win in two minutes. The great thing about WWE Speed is that you can see wrestlers work fast-paced matches. The bad thing about WWE Speed is that it can be a little jarring to see prominent names like Wentz lose in just two minutes.
Backstage, Kelani Jordan found her gear on the floor outside the women’s locker room. Members of the NXT roster had thrown her stuff out, holding a grudge about her representing Team TNA at Showdown earlier this month.
Jordynne Grace attempted to console Jordan about the harsh treatment from her colleagues, but Jordan shut her down. Jordan was still mad about Grace’s refereeing during the women’s Showdown match, causing issues between them.
Sol Ruca relinquishes titles following injury, Zaria vs. Blake Monroe added to Halloween Havoc
A DarkState promo was interrupted by an incoming signal from The Hardys, who were speaking from the Hardy Compound. After showing numerous callbacks to their past “Delete” matches, The Hardy Boys walked into the Lake of Reincarnation and came out as their alter egos, “Broken” Matt Hardy and Brother Nero. They announced that their title bout against DarkState at Halloween Havoc will be a “Broken Rules” match, mentioning that there will be no rules in the bout.
Sol Ruca, who was submitted with a Figure Four by Charlotte Flair on Smackdown, was seen backstage getting around with crutches and a brace on her left knee. After a break, she appeared in the ring to address fans.
Ruca said that she was injured on Friday’s episode of Smackdown, making her not cleared to defend her North American Championship against Blake Monroe at Halloween Havoc.
Ruca mentioned that she plans to relinquish her North American and Speed titles, as there are many other women on the roster who deserve to fight over the belts while she’s on the sidelines.
Blake Monroe came to the ring and attempted to seize on this recent change: Since she was the #1 contender for the North American title and Ruca is now injured, shouldn’t she just be given the title?
Zaria defended Ruca, saying that Monroe shouldn’t be given a “handout” due to Ruca’s injury. Surprisingly, a dejected Ruca didn’t seem that against Monroe getting the belt. Zaria proposed that she face Monroe in the North American title “in Sol’s honor.”
NXT General Manager called the idea “unconventional,” but liked it. In the end, she deferred to Ruca as to what should be done. Ruca agreed, and it became official. Monroe vs. Zaria is on the card for this weekend.
An irate Monroe got in the face of Ava. Zaria spun her around and connected with an F5, then held the North American title over her to end the segment. A bummer if Ruca’s injury is legit, ending what has been a really strong year for her.
Smackdown’s Axiom earns Speed victory
The second Speed semi-final match of the night saw EVOLVE’s Sean Legacy take on Smackdown talent and just recent NXT wrestler Axiom.
Legacy got a two-count just a minute into the match with a Falcon Arrow. He came off the top to try for a 450 Splash, but Axiom caught him on the way down with a submission attempt.
Axiom eventually lost the submission and instead came running off the ropes to hit a Spanish Fly just as we hit the one-minute warning of the bout. Legacy got a near fall with a solid superkick. The fight went into the corner, where Axiom scored a super-Spanish Fly for the pinfall win with just three seconds to spare. This match going down to the wire was fun to watch.
The semi-finals of the Speed tournament between Jasper Troy and Axiom will take place next week.
OTM makes in-ring return with big win
The tag division’s sole showcase of the week was next, with the duo of Hank & Tank taking on OTM’s Bronco Nima and Lucien Price. OTM made their first NXT TV appearance in months last week, attacking Hank & Tank and setting up this match.
Hank & Tank got the jump on OTM during their entrance, hitting dual tope suicidas before the match officially got started.
OTM scored a double-team Alabama Slam finisher onto Tank Ledger for the pinfall win in just three-and-a-half minutes. This was a surprisingly fast win, especially considering Hank & Tank were tag champs not too long ago.
A pinfall win didn’t send enough of a message, OTM thought, so for good measure they scored a double chokeslam to Ledger through the commentary at ringside afterward.
Backstage, Lash Legend was dismissive of an idea by Wren Sinclair, who wanted to launch her own women’s-focused portion of the No Quarter Catch Crew (“Wren-QCC”). Kendal Grey, who won the EVOLVE Women’s Championship last week, stood up for Sinclair, telling Legend to cut out the attitude.
Tatum Paxley stands tall ahead of title match
The final match of the night saw Tatum Paxley and Izzi Dame team up against Jacy Jayne and Lainey Reid, serving as a preview for this weekend’s Paxley and Jayne match.
Dame got a hot tag after the show returned from a break, ending a lengthy period of isolation for Paxley in the ring. Dame came off the middle rope with a double Codebreaker to both Jayne and Reid.
Dame scored a chokeslam to NXT Women’s Champion Jayne, but it wasn’t enough to end the match just yet. Jayne reversed a move from Dame into a DDT. Paxley got back into the match, trading strikes with Jayne as Dame and Reid fought to the outside.
Fallon Henley got in the ring apron to briefly distract Paxley. While Dame knocked Henley off the ring apron, her brief appearance was enough for Jayne to regain control of the match, scoring her Rolling Encore forearm for the pinfall win in 10 minutes.
Fatal Influence attempted a three-on-one beatdown after the match against the #1 contender. Paxley fought off the heels and scored her Psycho Trap finisher to Jayne, sending the trio retreating. Jayne scored the pinfall win, but Paxley arguably has the momentum heading into this weekend.
Contract signing between Saints and Williams turns violent
The final segment of the week saw NXT Champion Ricky Saints and Trick Williams face off in a contract signing for their matchup this weekend at Halloween Havoc.
Williams said that he is still the only person who can put NXT on his back, and abandoning Saints at Showdown two weeks back was proof of that. But, he clarified, he’s not loyal to NXT or TNA, or any other brand. Trick Williams is loyal to Trick Williams.
Saints said that Williams has “lost the plot” because he thinks he his bigger than NXT. Williams pushed back: “It must be hard for you to admit, somebody like you who has been grinding, what, decades on the indies? Look at me, Ricky. Do I look like I belong on the indies? Hell no! Dammit, I look Hollywood.”
Saints said Williams wouldn’t make it grinding the way he has: “Your ass would’ve folded like the shirt I’ve got on.” Saints said that he is the face of NXT then mentioned that he will prevail at Halloween Havoc.
The main event of Saturday’s card got in each other’s faces, causing security to get in-between them. Williams dropped Saints with a sucker punch, then a kick to the body. After clearing out security, Williams attempted to pick up Saints. Instead, Saints lifted Williams up with an F5, putting him through a table in the ring. Saints raised his belt over a hurt Williams as this week’s NXT came to a close.
