By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Hits
Ricky Saints and Trick Williams contract signing for the NXT Championship match at Halloween Havoc: Williams’ gloating promo at the contract signing table was fun. Saints showed good fire with his rebuttal. It was surprising to see Saints put Trick through the contract signing table rather than using the final segment to put heat on the heel challenger going into their title match, but they’ve done a good job overall of making the title match feel significant.
NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne and Lainey Reid vs. Tatum Paxley and Izzi Dame: It was a good night for Paxley, who toned down the crazy and left her silly dolls at home heading into her NXT Women’s Championship match at Halloween Havoc. She came off well during the verbal exchange with Fatal Influence early in the show. And while it was initially baffling to see Jayne pin Paxley to win the tag match, it actually worked out okay to have her follow that loss by fighting off all three Fatal Influence members afterward.
Leon Slater vs. Stacks for the TNA X Division Title: Slater was showcased during his win over Stacks, who is still trying to find his place following his long run with Tony D’Angelo. Being paired with his real-life fiancée, Arianna Grace, is a big change from the D’Angelo Family, but that might be just what Stacks needs to make fans see him in a new light. Meanwhile, Slater and Je’Von Evans should be seeking revenge on DarkState for interfering in their X Division Title match at Bound For Glory, not clowning around with Mr. Iguana and La Parka.
“OTM” Bronco Nima and Lucien Price vs. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger: A decisive win for OTM in their return match. This could actually be good for both teams if the goal was to reestablish Hank and Tank as underdogs despite their recent run with the NXT Tag Team Titles.
Jasper Troy vs. Zachary Wentz in a first-round tournament match for a shot at the WWE Speed Championship: A soft Hit. No, I haven’t warmed up to having the Speed titles in NXT. I was intrigued by the idea of Jada Parker winning the Women’s Speed Championship because she could bring something different to the matches by destroying her opponents in short order. It didn’t happen with Parker, but they could take that approach with Troy. The odds seem slim, given that fellow heel El Grande Americano holds the men’s Speed Championship, but hopefully they will surprise me. Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see where Wentz and his fellow Racalz land, as he stated recently that their deals are up at the end of the year. Furthermore, longtime friend and former Rascalz member Wes Lee is a free agent after being cut by NXT.
Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy announce Broken Rules for the NXT Tag Team Title match at Halloween Havoc: An in the middle. I’ve had my fill of the Broken Universe, but perhaps I’m in the minority. The regular Hardys are mega over everywhere they go, but the Broken gimmick works for the Halloween-themed event.
NXT Misses
Sol Ruca, Zaria, and Blake Monroe: This was an awkward segment with some rough acting. Hopefully, Zaria defending the championship on behalf of Ruca is a sign that Ruca won’t be sidelined for long. Either way, it wouldn’t surprise me if Zaria drops the title to Monroe on Saturday.
Axiom vs. Sean Legacy in a first-round tournament match for a shot at the WWE Speed Championship: I like both of these wrestlers, and their match was fine while it lasted. But do you know what would have made it better? More time. This Miss is all about the Speed format.
(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.)
The Speed stuff is just weird. Maybe they could move it to Evolve? Just seems to be taking up important real estate on NXT, that currently has far too many good wrestlers and not enough time.
Tatum was outstanding. Really makes me want to root for her. Give credit to Jacy too, she has actually been a great champ.
Trick has outgrown NXT, he should move up. I like Saints but NXT is the right spot for him (see: Adam Cole).
Im Def on the Mr Iguana train! But the new La Parka is FAR too skinny!
NXT is the best 2 hours of wrestling every week.