By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Chicago, Illinois at Allstate Arena
Aired live October 1, 2024 on The CW
[Hour One] NXT started out with a new mumble rap theme…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer…
Senior Vice President of Development Creative, Shawn Michaels made his entrance to open the show. HBK welcomed the Allstate Arena to NXT’s debut on the CW Network. HBK unveiled a podium which had new NXT Championship titles. HBK then was about to do Hunter’s “Are you ready?” bit, but Paul “Triple H” Levesque showed up from behind to do it. Hunter and Shawn then did their combined DX “are you ready” bit…
Entrances for the NXT Women’s Championship match took place. Mike Rome handled the formal in ring championship introductions. The camera also focused on the new Women’s title design…
1. Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia for the NXT Women’s Championship. Both women started out at a stalemate during the chain wrestling. Both women traded quick rollups. Giulia put Perez in a STF. Giulia escaped a crossface with a rollup. The show cut to commercial.[c]
Back from break, Perez was working on Giulia with methodical offense and submissions. Both women traded slaps and pie facing. Giulia rallied with headbutts. Giulia hit Perez with Snapmares and a clothesline. Giulia got a two count off a Hammerlock Belly to Belly. Giulia responded to a Perez forearm with three of her own.
Perez dumped Giulia to ringside with a huracanrana and followed up with a Suicide Dive. Giulia came back with a Superplex into a bridge for a good nearfall. Perez rolled her way into a Crossface. Giulia countered Pop Rocks into a backslide. Perez hit Giulia with Pop Rocks, but Giulia rolled to ringside to avoid the pin. An NXT chant ensued. At ringside, Giulia recovered and hit Perez with a Northern Lights Bomb. Both women beat the countout at ten.
Perez grabbed the Women’s title belt. A hooded woman ran out and gave Giulia a DDT while the referee was distracted. Perez hit Giulia with Pop Rocks for the win.
Roxanne Perez defeated Giulia via pinfall in 12:59 to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.
The hooded woman revealed herself to be Cora Jade, which caused Perez to smile and raise an eyebrow…
Shots of CM Punk, Trick Williams, and Ethan Page arriving to the Allstate Arena at different parts of the day…
Wes Lee vs. Zach Wentz was hyped for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: CM Punk must be happy that his and AJ’s “wrestling-daughters” are back. I’m not the biggest fan of kicking off the CW debut with a wonk finish, but on the bright side it was good to see Cora Jade back from her major injury. Curious to see where they slot Cora, because Perez essentially adopted her character when she left (Cora is a bit more punk rock though). Would like to see them run Perez vs. Giulia back, even as soon as the Halloween Havoc PLE coming up (Though they did push that Stephanie Vaquer was also in the title picture).
The show cut to Axiom and Nathan Frazer simulating their match against A-Town Down Under on the Playstation 5. Both men ended up bickering as usual. Frazer lost his temper and threw the controller on the ground, but then was all smiles and asking for a rematch…
NXT GM Ava was chatting with CM Punk backstage. Lexis King cut in and asked if he could talk to Punk. Punk said he respects King’s dad and is willing to help out King. King said he’s trying to be a different and his own man. King brought up Oro Mensah picking up a dirty win last week. Punk said next time King faces Oro, he can try to win at all costs, or fight against his genes. King thanked Punk for the advice…
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary. Vic sent the show to the Lee vs. Wentz hype package…
Wes Lee made his entrance with a shopping cart filled with weapons…[c]
Zachary Wentz made his entrance. Wes tried to hit Zach with a flip dive, but Wentz dodged it and hit Wes with a Suicide Dive…
2. Zachary Wentz vs. Wes Lee in a Street Fight. Wentz tossed Wes into the steel steps and rammed a shopping cart into him. Wentz dragged out a giant wooden floor board. Wes gave the board a dive to slam it into Wentz. Wes tossed in a bunch of chairs into the ring. NXT Champion Ethan Page was shown taping his hands up via picture-in-picture. Wes worked on Wentz with Kendo Stick strikes.
Wentz came back with a Superkick. Wentz hit Wes with a few hard steel chair shots to the back. Wentz dragged Wes to the apron. Both men spilled over down through the wooden floorboard on chairs at ringside.[c]
Back form break, Wentz hit Wes with a Van Terminator. Wes kicked out at two. Wes came back with a few strikes. Wes hit Wentz with a Shotgun Dropkick into a chair. Wentz then gave Wes a tilt a whirl flapjack on a chair against the ropes. Wentz laid Wes down with a trash can on him. Wentz hit Wes with a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall.
Wentz went for a UFO Cutter, but Wes dumped Wentz to ringside (Wentz overshot the table and hit neck might have clipped the table). Wes dragged Wentz back into the ring on a chair and hit him with a double stomp for a nearfall. Both men wrapped the same chain around their hands and knocked each other out with a right hook. Wentz grabbed a chair and said he didn’t want to do this.
Wentz hesitating caused Wes to hit Wentz with a low blow. Wes hit Wentz witha flurry of chain wrapped punches. Wes wrapped chains around his knees and hit Wentz with a diving meteora for the win.
Wes Lee defeated Zachary Wentz via pinfall to win the Street Fight in 13:35.
Miz was shown heading to the ring from backstage….[c]
John’s Thoughts: Hard worked match to take the intensity to a slight step above your typical WWE-PG hardcore match. Only really scary spot though was that overshot backdrop that missed the table, but Wentz looked fine and worked high spots after the overshoot. Vic framed it as the “death” of MSK. Wentz and Miguel were supposed to be in the NXT Tag Title picture, but with Miguel out for an extended time, I think it’s perfect to have Wes and Zach pull out a rubber match since both men have one win a piece.
[Hour Two] The camera showed a bunch of random “CW Representatives” sitting in the front row…
Miz was already in the ring for MizTV where he soaked in a bunch of boos. Miz then joked about the fans cheering for his catchphrases and hometown mention. NXT welcomed NXT North American Champion Oba Femi to the set first, who came out wearing a nice silken shirt. Miz then welcomed Tony D’Angelo to the set, who made his entrance. Rizzo, Stacks, and Luca walked him to the stage before heading to the back.
Miz asked Tony D about how Tony D admitted he was afraid of Oba Femi. He asked what’s going to be different this time than No Mercy. Tony D said he is usually the man that strikes fear in others, but Oba dominates the sport. Oba then said he’s going to use his fear to overcome and do the impossible. Become new NXT North American Champion. Miz asked Oba for a response. Oba said Miz would know if a person believes what he says due to his eyars in the business.
Oba said he doesn’t think Tony believes what he says. Oba said said Tony has dominated NXT for years, but his career has a ceiling. Oba said Tony can stuff as many people in trunks, toss people off bridges, and have a side hustle; but one thing Tony can’t do is win the North American Title. Tony talked about growing up in the streets of Chicago, which turned the crowd around. He said he has family in the back and crowd, friends who believe and motivate him to be the man he is today.
Oba said they can’t fight for him. Oba said Luca, Rizzo, Stacks, and Chicago can’t fight for Tony. Oba said it’s just him and Tony in the ring next week. Oba said last time they were in the ring he broke Tony and beat him. Oba said we all know Tony can’t beat him. Tony said Oba is just a man. Oba said he’s inevitable. Tony hung his head. Oba said Tony is still broken. Miz closed the show with his Awesome catchphrase…
John’s Thoughts: Some of the best promo work from both men here. I like that Tony D held back on the cheap pop part of his promo until the midpoint of his promo because he showed that he has enough natural mic talent to stop those stupid “What” chants. Oba was strong as usual with his poise, but he also was able to deliver the meta-phrase of the promo by calling out how Tony D’s vocational gimmick has almost a [sports-entertainment] ceiling, while he’s the real deal. Back to Tony for doing a great job countering that with a credible comeback promo to show his credibility, and they are doing a nice little twist on the Rocky 3 thing with Tony continuing to not be afraid to show vulnerability.
A replay aired of Cora Jade costing Giulia the match to open the show…
An interviewer caught up with Cora Jade backstage. Jade talked about how people forgot about her with Giulia and Vaquer in everyone’s mind. Roxanne Perez confronted Jade. Jade bragged about being former friends and how she helped Perez keep the title. Perez said common enemies might bring them back together…
Lola Vice and Jaida Parker made their entrance…[c]
Toxic…er… Fatal Influence made their entrance…
3. Jaida Parker and Lola Vice vs. Jacy Jayne and Fallon Henley (w/Jasmyn Nyx). Parker dominated Jayne early on and tagged in Vice for an Alligator Roll. Henley tagged in. Parker tagged back in and gave Henley a knee. Parker slapped Henley in the corner and then stacked Jayne on top of her. Parker hit both opponents with a draping Banzai Drop. Vice hit both opponents with her “I’m a Latina” hip attack.
Henley used a jawbreaker on Parker for a window of opportunity. Vice cut Jayne off at the pass with a hip attack. This caused Parker and Vice to bicker due to Parker not seeing the assist. Henley shoved Vice into Parker heading into break.[c]
Jayne and Henley cut the ring in half on Vice with quick tags.Vice rallied on Henley with Strikes and a Guillotine choke. Both women took each other out with clotheslines. Nyx caused Parker to not catch the hot tag. Vice accidentally ran into Parker. Parker walked off on Vice. Vice countered a double team slam and hit both opponents with nice Tae Kwon Do spin kicks. Jayne regained control with a clothesline. Henley and Jayne hit Vice with a Stereo Knee and Shinning Wizard to give Henley the win.
Fatal Influence defeated Lola Vice and Jaida Parker via pinfall in 10:50.
Fatal Influence all took mics to call out Kelani Jordan for a shot at the women’s title. Jordan said they can all go right now, but she didn’t come alone. Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair made their entrance to clear out the heels from the ring. The babyfaces stood tall to end the segment…
Vic Joseph hyped a Je’von Evans promo for after the break where he’ll talk about his match against Randy Orton next week…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Makes sense to put heat on the heels, especially since this Fatal Influence team is struggling to get off the ground. It’s the dollar store version of Toxic Attraction (Because back when they were pushing Mandy Rose, they were actually doing a good job putting them all over TV and protecting the hell out of Mandy Rose. And credit to Rose for doing a great job as the centerpiece of that group off her own merit). Interested to see how they handle Parker and Vice. Looks like they might be turning Parker back heel, but I think Vice has actually struggled as a face and it would help her to be the one that turns.
A sponsored promo aired from Je’von Evans. Evans talked about how fun it was to have Randy Orton call him out. Evans said Randy is one of the original G’s. Evans said he’s happy to face one of his idols. The show cut to Orton, talking about how Evans might be the next Randy Orton. Evans talked about how he’s coming for one of his Idols and will have to take Orton down…
Vic Joseph plugged Oba Femi vs. Tony D, Belair, Cargill, and Jordan vs. Fatal Infuence, and Je’von Evans vs. Randy Orton for next week’s NXT….
A Ethan Page vs. Trick Williams hype package aired…
CM Punk made his entrance in sleeveless referee gear…[c]
Trick Williams made his entrance first. NXT Champion Ethan Page was out next. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring Championship match introductions…
A vignette aired for a women’s NXT wrestler. It showed a lady walking down a highway in the middle of the road…
4. “All Ego” Ethan Page vs. Trick Williams for the NXT Championship (w/ CM Punk as Special Guest Referee). Page blamed Punk for slow counting his opening pins. Punk also made sure to not have Trick attack Page during a rope break. Punk also stopped a pin after Page went for a leverage pin. Trick got a two count off a flying clothesline. Page took down Trick for a two count.
Trick dumped Page to ringside with a dropkick. Trick tossed Punk into the LED apron which caused it to static. Page came back by tossing Trick through the barricade heading into the break.[c]
Trick caught Page with a jumping neckbreaker. Trick rallied with crescent kicks and a Flapjack. Trick dumped Page to ringside with a Spinning Boot. Page came back by tossing Trick into the steel steps. Page hit Trick with an Ego’s Edge through the Announce Table. Trick got back in the ring and caught Page with a Switch Knee. Page fell on Trick for a nearfall by Page.
Vic Joseph announced a Sexyy Red performance next week. Both men traded Yay Boo punches. Trick caught Page with a pop up hook and running neckbreaker. Trick hit Page with the Book End for a two count. Page dodged a kick and hit Trick with a Pump Kick for a two count. Punk called Page a son of a bitch and said he’s calling it down the middle. Page hit Trick with a GTS for a good nearfall. Trick escaped a Ego’s Edge and fell into the arms of Punk. Vic and Booker wondered if Punk helped Trick not hit the mat. Trick hit the Trick Shot Knee for the victory.
Trick Williams defeated Ethan Page via pinfall in 12:30 to become the new NXT Champion.
While Trick was celebrating, CM Punk hit Page with the GTS to close the show. The show had to close at the top of the hour quickly (network TV)…
John’s Thoughts: A decent enough television main event, but NXT is going to have to adjust their main events and production now that they don’t have their 7 minute overrun (I’m assuming with it being on Network TV, it’ll be a bit tough to take away time from local news broadcasts). You could tell that they had to rush the finish and even rush that GTS in to close the show due to the tighter cutoff time. WWE’s been doing it on the other two shows, so it’s no huge adjustment. Fun closing segment with Page pulling out the “Smackdown vs. Raw steal-a-finisher” button, which I’m always a fan of.
Going with the popular Trick makes sense. Trick has sorta been sitting in the background, during the month or so Joe Hendry push, and unfortunately he couldn’t go through with his first title defense feud with Noam Dar due to injury. Hopefully they can rebuild him back to being NXT’s top protagonist, which shouldn’t be a problem because they did it in record one-show time once before. Wouldn’t hurt to get Joe Hendry back in the mix whenever he’s free because it doesn’t hurt to have two top babyfaces.
I’d say this was a decent debut on NXT. They did stack the card, and it looked great on paper. In a way, it kinda underperformed, but I only say “kinda” because expectations were higher. What dragged it down a bit for me was we didn’t get that one PLE or Takeover level match on the debut show (Opening dream match had a wonk finish. The women’s tag match had a wonk finish. The main event was almost wonk with whatever they were trying to do with Trick landing on Punk. The street fight it’s hard to wonk, therefore shortcuts). Looking forward to Oba vs. Tony D though. Their exchange was a highlight of this show and it did a good job setting the table for next week’s match.
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