Powell’s NXT Hit List: NXT Showdown with The Hardys vs. Dark State for the TNA and NXT Tag Team Titles, TNA vs. NXT elimination matches, Mustafa Ali’s performance should leave WWE officials with seller’s remorse

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

NXT Showdown Hits

Ethan Page vs. Mustafa Ali for the NXT North American Championship: Ali worked like a guy who wanted to make his former employers regret releasing him from his contract, even if the person who made that call is long gone. The hard work of both wrestlers made this heel vs. heel match click. Vic Joseph and Booker T set the table for the finish during the entrances by talking about Ali potentially being cursed. It felt that way when Booker’s headset cord got wrapped around the boot of Ali, which distracted Ali long enough for Page to shove him off the top rope to the floor right before he pinned him.

NXT Tag Team Champions “Dark State” Dion Lennox and Osiris Griffin vs. TNA Tag Team Champions Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy in a winners take all match: It was a wise move for WWE to announce that this match would open the show. The possibility of ever-popular Hardys winning the NXT Tag Team Titles for the first time was a great hook on a night when the show was opposed by AEW’s Title Tuesday edition of Dynamite. Matt handled the awkward spot where Griffin stumbled while holding him up on his shoulders for a Doomsday Device like the pro that he is. He never flinched. He went after both opponents with punches as if nothing had gone wrong. Some fans question what TNA is getting out of this working relationship with WWE. The Hardys winning the NXT Tag Team Titles was nice, but having Bully Ray and Devon in the crowd while Vic Joseph promoted the last Hardys vs. Team 3D match for Sunday’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view was certainly a perk of the partnership.

“Team TNA” Mike Santana, Frankie Kazarian, Moose, and Leon Slater vs. “Team NXT” Ricky Saints, Trick Williams, Je’Von Evans, and Myles Borne in a Survivor Series elimination match with Joe Hendry as special referee: This match was laid out nicely, and it was evident that a lot of thought was put into the eliminations. Trick walking out on the match put heat on him while making Saints look sympathetic as the last man standing for Team NXT. Saints got a chance to shine by eliminating Kazarian and Slater before he was finally eliminated by Santana. The elimination that surprised me most was Slater pinning Evans, as I thought they would actually do the opposite by having Evans pin the X Division Champion heading into their title match at Bound For Glory. Will Evans even things up by beating Slater for the title on Sunday?

NXT Showdown Misses

“Team NXT” Jacy Jayne, Jaida Parker, Sol Ruca, and Lola Vice vs. “Team TNA” Kelani Jordan, Cassie Lee, Jessica McKay, and Mara Sade in a Survivor Series elimination match with Jordynne Grace as special referee: A minor Miss. It was weak to have Team TNA consist of a current NXT wrestler, two former WWE wrestlers, and a recently released NXT wrestler. Even ring announcer McKenzie Mitchell was thrown off at one point, as she started to announce Team NXT as the winners after Jordan eliminated Vice. In fairness, I suspect that Ash by Elegance and Masha Slamovich were pencilled in for the match before they went on hiatus for different reasons. Sure, Ash is also a former WWE wrestler, but she reinvented herself in TNA. There was some sloppiness during the match. Sade overshooting the moonsault was rough. Jordan’s bump from the 450 splash onto the knees of Ruca looked weak. It wasn’t all bad, but the match had a lot working against it. If nothing else, the right team went over given the circumstances. I get the storyline reason for having Grace as the special referee, but the creative team punted on some interesting storyline possibilities of having the longtime face of the Knockouts Division representing Team NXT, or even if joining Team TNA one last time.

(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time dating back to 1997. He hosts a weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)