By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida, at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live October 20, 2026, on The CW Network
[Hour One] A trailer-style teaser opened up the show to hype up the Cruz Montana vs. Dion Lennox match. Arrival shots were then shown of Cruz Montana and Dion Lennox…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer…
Number One Contender to the NXT Championship, Tony D’Angelo, made his entrance. Tony D said he always says what he has to say face to face like a man. Tony called out NXT Champion Grayson Waller. Grayson Waller made his entrance. Waller said he always knew he’d go against Tony D when he came back to NXT. Waller noted that he and Tony were signed to WWE at around the same time, debut on NXT at the same time, and were both on the NXT War Games team to beat the Black and Gold team.
Waller asked Tony if he was running from him. Tony brought up that Waller doesn’t know if he’ll have the championship if the Heatwave match was one on one. Waller said he wants the satisification of winning the title one on one. Waller said he came to NXT to be undeniable, and that was easy when he got the title. Waller said he also had past demons, one of them being Tony D’Angelo. Tony noted that they both were unknowns when they debuted, but they’re big stars now.
D’Angelo noted that he never liked Waller. D’Angelo said Waller looked down on him for being an athlete with street smarts while Waller was an indie guy who’s just looking for big moments. Waller said he resents that D’Angelo was chosen. He said he resented having to teach D’Angelo what War Games was because he didn’t know what it was. Waller said it didn’t matter that Waller was better on the mic and better in the ring because he was chose.
Waller said that put a chip on his shoulder and he likes that it got him the title. Tony D called Waller a hypocrite. Tony D said Waller got meaner and in good shape. Tony D said Waller is a troll who hides behind one liners and shirt memes. Waller said that’s a personality and Tony left his in his old fedora hat. Waller said he already won the mental war months ago. Waller said he’s going to take Tony to Halloween Havoc and let him drown himself in the waters he put himself in.
D’Angelo talked about 2.0 making so many greats on the main roster and he likes NXT. D’Angelo said he and Waller are foundation guys, but when you get down to it it’s down to them going against each other one on one. Waller said that’s a beautiful story. Waller noted that Tony D did something Brock Lesnar couldn’t do, beat Oba Femi twice. Waller said that won’t matter because he’ll make the title better than anyone else who’s had it.
Tony said he held the title already and cemented his legacy. Tony said if you take away his accolades in NXT, he’s still a Division I champion who will rip Waller’s head off and beat him with it. Tony said he’s going to drag Waller through hell. He told Waller to grab his trunks and swim in the waters when a shark is in there. The segment ended…
John’s Thoughts: A good promo exchange. Waller had the upper hand here and came off a bit more sympathetic given him coming off as a having a harder path to stardom. Waller even brought up my criticism of Tony D that I gave him last week where he’s a bit of a generic character now. While Waller was more sympathetic, Tony D didn’t get left in the dust as he proved why he’s such a talented pro wrestler. Some wrestlers would crumble under this pressure, but Tony D was poised and was able to push back against Waller in a credible way.
Izzi Dame was chatting with Layla Diggs and Skylar Rae who told Dame that Izzi was getting a bit extra with her obcession with Zaria recently. Izzi said she’s going to expose Zaria and pick her piece by piece…
Layla Diggs vs. Izzi Dame was hyped for later in the show. Vic also hyped the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Vic was cut off by a Birth Right promo. A few of the Birth Right members hyped up their upcoming match. Stacks wasn’t with them (I believe he got injured over the weekend at a live event)…[c]
A vignette aired for new wrestler Chantel Monroe. She called her a showstopping diva…
Entrances for the next match took place. Vic noted that Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo was injured at a live event over the weekend and isn’t medically cleared. Booker ranted about how Stacks doesn’t have a Birth Right anyway (oof)…
1. “Birth Right” Lexis King and Charlie Dempsey (w/Ariana Grace, Uriah Connors) vs. El Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr. and Galeno in a Quarter-final Match of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Dempsey dominated Wagner early on with technical chain wrestling. Galeno and Lexis King tagged in. Galeno no-sold chest chops. Galeno caught King out of the air. Galeno showed off agility to avoid King’s offense, leading to a shoulder tackle. Wagner tagged in. Galeno hip tossed Wagner on King for a two count. Wagner gave King a Mafia Kick. Galeno tagged in and gave King a running Senton for a nearfall.
King ducked to ringside. Ariana Grace got in the way to prevent a dive. Wager used Galeno as leverage to go over Grace and hit the three Birth Right members with a Flip Dive.[c]
Back from break, Charlie Dempsey was working on Wagner with joint manipulation to cut the ring in half on Wagner. Wagner hit Dempsey with a back suplex for a window of opportunity. Galeno tagged in and cleaned house. Galeno hit rapid clotheslines on Dempsey. Galeno hit King with a swinging body slam and multi-run Standing Splash for a nearfall on King. Wagner tagged in. Galeno backdroped Wagner into a dropkick on King. Dempsey ran in to break up Wagner’s pin at two.
Wagner put King in a submission, but Dempsey blind tagged in. Dempsey put Wagner in a Octopus Hold. Galeno broke the hold and all four men took each other out with running strikes to leave all four men on the mat to recover. Lexis gave Wager a Superkick before a Dempsey German Suplex for a nearfall. Wagner went to the top rope and did the Eddie Guerrero shimmy. King got the knees up to block a Frog Splash.
Zilla Fatu walked out to take out Uriah Connors with a right hand. Ariana Grace got in Zilla’s face to jaw with him. In the ring, the distraction allowed Wagner gave King an Exploder and Michinoku Driver. Galeno tagged in and gave King a Splash for the victory.
Galeno and El Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr defeated Lexis King and Charlie Dempsey via pinfall in 13:13 to advance to the Semi-finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Zilla Fatu ran in the ring to clear most of Birth Right from the ring. Zilla went for a Samoan Spike on Dempsey but Dempsey kicked Zilla’s hand away. Zilla ended up hitting Dempsey with a pop up Samoan Drop to stand tall to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic continues to put on consistently good matches week-to-week (and I hope this isn’t just a flash in the pan either, and that they continue to put on great tag team match following the classic). I like that NXT doesn’t do what Raw and Smackdown do with the AAA wrestlers, and that they actually pick up wins over the main WWE contracted talent. I’ve been impressed by this Wagner and Galeno tag team. I’ve seen a lot of Hijo Wagner’s work before the WWE acquisition, but I’ve actually been more impressed by his brother, Galeno.
DarkState were backstage. Osiris Griffin and Cutler James were watching Cruz Montana’s promo from last week where he threatened Dion Lennox. Dion Lennox got up and said they’ll be casualties later on. Cutler asked what that meant? Dion talked about a plan to bring Cruz’s demons back to light. Dion dragged Cutler and Osiris away to tell them his plan…
Tavion Heights was shown walking backstage…[c]
Vic Joseph hyped WWE Main Event on Rumble (ugh… Again, I hate that toxic cesspool of a streaming platform)…
Vic and Booker plugged NXT Halloween Havoc…
A sponsored segment aired to spotlight Kam Hendrix. Kam Hendrix was in the middle of an outdoor football field. Kam said he was going to do an exhibition. He ended up catching three footballs without dropping them. he then blindfolded himself and caught passes. Kam said he’s the future, lights, Kam, Action…
Tavion Heights made his entrance in street clothes for a promo. Heights recapped how his day one, homeboy, and tag partner ended up backstabbing him by pilmanizing him with a chair in the ring. Heights said he believed in Myles. Heights said Myles stabbed him in the back and twisted the knife. Heights said that was his own mistake. Heights said he needed a front row seat to watch Miles fall under pressure going after the NXT title. Heights said he watched it in 4K behind a camera.
Heights called Miles a backstabbing, bum-ass bitch. Myles Borne ran out and punched Heights in the back. Both men ended up brawling to the parking lot, where they were pulled apart…
Chantel Monroe approached Vanity Project and asked if they saw her video earlier. Horny Ricky Smokes put on a deep voice and said “I loved it”. Myka Lockwood cut in and told Smokes to lock in as they have to go chat with Robert Stone. Vanity Project entered Stone’s GM office. Stone told them that Mini Vikingo wasn’t cleared and their scheduled match isn’t happening later on. All of Vanity Project started sarcastically acting worried. Stone said as a make-good, Jackson Drake will defend his North American title against EK Prosper next week…[c]
Entrances for the next match took place…
2. Izzi Dame vs. Layla Diggs. Izzi dominated early on using her strength advantage to toss Layla around. Layla came back with uppercuts on Izzi’s elbow joint. Layla hit Izzi with a shoulder tackle. Layla hit Izzi with a splits armdrag and got a two count. Izzi came back with a Yakuza Kick to take out Layla. Layla pulled down the top rope to dump Izzi to ringside. Izzi blocked a Suicide Dive with a forearm.
Layla used a handstand to avoid being tripped on the apron. Layla hit an impressive Standing Shooting Star press to pivot and take down Izzi (similar to The Rascalz’s Hot Fire Flame). The show cut to commercial.[c]
[Hour Two] Back from break, Layla took down Izzi, but sold an arm injury. Layla followed up by hitting Izzi with a enzuigiri. Diggs hit Izzi with a splits Suplex. Diggs hit Izzi with a Frog Splash for a two count. Izzi yanked Layla off the top rope and gave her a Sling Blade into a Crucifix Bomb for a nearfall. Izzi and Diggs traded Boo-Yay right forearms. Izzi hit Diggs with a backbreaker and inside-out inverted Suplex for a nearfall.
Layla rolled up Izzi for a two count. Izzi avoided a Crescent Kick and took out Layla with a Yakuza Kick. Layla blocked a dive with a side crescent kick. Izzi avoided a moonsault and hit Layla with a Knee Plus for the victory.
Izzi Dame defeated Layla Diggs via pinfall in 10:34.
Zaria made her entrance. Zaria talked about Izzi digging up her past with videos and photos, and she’s confused why? Zaria said this is not the way to get a North American Title Shot. Zaria said she’s done with the mind games and she’ll give Izzi a title shot at Halloween Havoc. Izzi said she’ll gladly accept the match, but Zaria doesn’t have to put the title on the line. Dame called her princess and walked off. Vic was confused as to why Dame refused a title shot…
Hank and Tank vs. The Creed Brothers was hyped for after the break. Vic then hyped the Agent of Shadows mini series featuring WWE talent…[c]
John’s Thoughts: The match was actually well worked. Diggs is still a bit green, but she hung in there with Izzi and showed great athleticism. She just needs to try not to overdo being creative and try to be a bit more clean with her offense. I continue to praise the in-ring improvement of Izzi Dame compared to where she was for a while. She’s had a string of really good matches. Where this match struggled is both women don’t have characters that people can care about yet. Diggs is a blank slate after Natalya stopped showing up on NXT. Izzi’s character is dead because she’s still living off the dead Shawn Spears faction. Izzi Dame refusing the title shot in favor of a grudge match actually intrigued me and was very nuanced. Only problem, is it’s sadly attached to this dud character that Izzi is playing (it would have been more effective if Izzi reinvented herself a bit). It’s also weird that Zaria has been presented as a heel recently and they have her cast as the babyface of this feud without any real character development. It was just a jarring pivot.
Entrances for the next Dusty Classic match took place…
3. “The Creed Brothers” Julius Creed and Brutus Creed vs. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger in a Quarter-final match of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Tank and Julius had a stalemate during the opening Collar and Elbow. Julius Creed went for a Standing Switch, but Tank started to gyrate his hips (Thankfully, unlike Montez Ford, I’m sure Julius Creed won’t sue Tank. Send Afroman to save Tez!). Brutus tagged in. The Creeds hit Tank with an impressive Backstabber into a Fallaway Slam. Hank tagged in and dragged Brutus to his corner. Hank and Tank used quick tags to cut the ring in half on Brutus for a bit.
Brutus whipped Hank into the corner and hit him with a Underhook slam heading into break.[c]
Back from break, The Creed Brothers were cutting the ring in half on Hank. Hank got a Knee Plus on Brutus and brought in Tank for the hot tag. Tank took out Brutus and dragged Julius in the ring. Julius hit the top rope to knock Tank off the top rope. Julius dragged Tank to his corner with knees to the gut. The Creeds used quick tags to cut the ring in half on Tank. Hank got a window of opportunity after dumping Julius and Brutus to ringside.
Brutus cut the tag off at the pass with an impressive Basement Dropkick that dumped Tank to ringside from the ring. Tank managed to avoid both Creeds to bring in Hank who hit Julius with draping hip attacks. Hank dumped Brutus to ringside. Hank hit Julius with a Flying Jalepeno. Hank hit Brutus with a Pounce. Hank hit Julius with a Bossman Slam. Brutus pulled Hank to ringside to save Brutus from the Honk Honk. Hank and Tank hit Brutus with the Honk Honk. Hank and Tank hit Julius with a High Low Power Slam for the victory.
Tank Ledger and Hank Walker defeated Julius Creed and Brutus Creed via pinfall in 11:04 to advance to the Quarter-finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
John’s Thoughts: Solid powerhouse style match between two cornerstones of NXT 2.0 in terms of them being in NXT since those days, developing into solid tag teams. A bit methodical, and I can see some people not liking that style. I liked it as I like powerhouse wrestling and I also like variety as to make sure the tag division doesn’t get homogeneous. I agree that this was an upset as I thought they were setting up The Creeds as a heel tag team for the finals (maybe that’s Vanity Project now? But I can also see Noam and Romeo continuing their Cinderella story). Curious as to what’s next for the Creeds? Back to the main roster? Or more character development in NXT?
Birth Right were yelling at GM Robert Stone backstage, saying that they should have won by disqualification due to Zilla getting involved. Charlie Dempsey asked for a match against Zilla. Stone said he doesn’t know if Zilla is medically cleared. The camera then followed Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair who were chatting. Chantel Monroe passed by and asked Kendal and Wren if they saw her video? They said they did. Wren mockingly said the video was “something”. Chantel walked away and Kendal wished Wren well in her upcoming contract signing…[c]
Wren Sinclair made her entrance holding the contract for her NXT title match. She said she can’t stand by while Kelani Jordan is running around like nobody can stand up to her. Wren said Kelani is good, but at Halloween Havoc the Standout going to Stand Down. Wren told Kelani to come out to sign this contract. NXT Women’s Champion Kelani Jordan made her entrance (Grats for her wedding over the weekend with Carmelo Hayes).
Kelani told Wren to look at her latest good work. Kelani dragged out Kendal Grey and beat her down a bit. Kelani went to the back. Wren checked on Kendal, who had a black eye and was bleeding a bit (I’m watching via Netflix and they didn’t blur it out this time)…
In the GM office, Zilla Fatu said he’s cleared to face Charlie Dempsey. Robert Stone said he’ll check with the doctors. Zilla asked Stone to bring back “Spin the Wheel, Make the Deel” to pick their stipulation. Zilla said he wants to run the fade and up the score just like his Bloodline would, “Hello”…
Sean Legacy, Chazz Hall, Noam Dar, EK Prosper, and Romeo Moreno were hanging out backstage. Legacy said Dorian Van Dux is out two months. The camera panned over to Saquon Shugars obsessing over his recent loss. Legacy told Shugars that he’s his own worst enemy by extending himself too far and making his own glass ceiling. EK said Legacy is spitting facts. Shugars warned Legacy if he keeps trying to give advice, he’ll get a handicap spot alongside DVD…
Emily Agard was waiting in front of the men’s locker room for Cruz Montana to interview him. Cutler James and Osiris Griffin showed up and said they’ll help Emily get that interview. Griffin and James stormed the locker room and tried to jump Cruz, but Cruz the upper hand. Developmental wrestlers held Cruz back heading into break…[c]
Vic hyped up Tavion Heights being interviewed by Bully Ray Dudley after the show on their radio network…
Vic and Booker then checked in on commentary. Booker noted how the Cruz and Dion feud is personal due to Dion talking crap about somebody’s momma…
A Naraku promo aired where he talked about how Shiloh Hill avoided the mist, but not for long. Naraku then wondered what mist he’ll use next. Naraku explained the properties of each mist. He said the red mist burns your skin like the blistering sun, the green messes with your vision, the orange seeps into your mind to give you haunting visions, the blue drains your energy. Naraku said he has a more dangerous color that Shiloh doesn’t know from his science experiments. Naraku said he has a black mist…
Lizzy Rain and Shiloh Hill were sitting down watching the promo on a TV. Hill said he only has less than two weeks to figure out the black mist. He said he hasn’t even figured out the orange mist, which caused his t-shirt to start talking to him last time. Chantel Monroe showed up and asked Hill and Rain if they saw her video. Rain got up and said that Monroe was annoying everyone backstage. Rain challenged Monroe to get in the ring with her next week…
John’s Thoughts: I wonder what they’re going for with this Chantel Monroe going around and wondering if people saw her video? Reminds me a bit of how Dolph Ziggler made his re-debut in WWE by running around backstage and annoying them, introducing himself saying “hi, I’m Dolph Ziggler”. WWE quickly moved away from that dud of an introduction.
Vic hyped the Semi Finals of The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and Jackson Drake vs. EK Prosper for the North American Title for next week’s show…
Dion Lennox made his entrance. Cruz Montana had the camera follow him as he made his entrance through the crowd. Vic wondered if Griffin and Cutler’s failed beatdown was Dion’s “plan”?…
4. Cruz Montana vs. Dion Lennox. Both men traded right hands early in the match. Dion managed to give Cruz a back suplex for a two count. Cruz sent Dion into the corner and gave him a few running chops to the chest. Dion blocked a chop with a boot, but Cruz followed through and gave Dion a running chop. Cruz got a two count off a running Senton. Cruz hit Dion with a hesitation Cannonball. Cruz gave Dion a Sitout Powerbomb for a good nearfall.
Dion managed to reverse Cruz at ringside with Snake Eyes on the steel steps. Dion then exposed the concrete floor by pulling away the mat at ringside. Cruz avoided a power slam into the concrete by sending Dion into the ringpost. The show went to commercial as they usually do after the ringpost spot.[c]
Back from break, Cruz took out Dion with a Superkick. Cruz went to the mat to lay down and recover. Cruz hit Dion with a Superkick. Montana caught Dion with the Rolling Buck 50 for a nearfall. Dion reversed Cruz and hit him with a flying lariat. Dion hit Cruz with a rebound Power Bomb for a nearfall. Dion got in Cruz’s face and called him a failure. He then said that Cruz’s daughter, Ariana, will know that Cruz is Dion’s bitch. This fired up Cruz who dragged Dion to ringside and pummeled him with overhead strikes on the announce table. Cruz speared Dion through the LED barricade. The referee counted to ten for the double countout.
Cruz Montana vs. Dion Lennox ended in a double count-out draw in 9:52.
Cutler and Osiris helped Dion to his feet and he yelled to Cruz that “you’re my bitch”. Cruz escaped the refs and took out Osiris and Cutler. Cruz then dragged Dion to the concrete and then body slammed him into the concrete. Cruz then curb stomped Dion’s face into the concrete. Cruz tried to smash Dion’s head with the steel steps, but Cutler James got in the way and used his back to take the bullet for Dion Lennox. Dion crawled to the steps to prop himself up.
Armored Security (or cops) ran out and slammed Cruz to the floor, setting up to handcuff him. The camera then showed Dion with an accomplished smirk. The show closed with Cruz pinned to the floor and Vic Joseph wondering if Dion Lennox succeeded in his plan to take Cruz Montana back to a dark place…
John’s Thoughts: Awesome storytelling alongside Dion Lennox showing immense growth and finally clicking and living up to WWE’s presumed high expectations. It helps that Cruz Montana is great in elevating his opponents to new heights. This is psychological warfare and mind games done right. When Dion talked about the “dark place” thing earlier, I was a bit afraid we were going to repeat the old Chris Jericho “CM Drunk” storyline to connect to Cruz’s past addiction struggles. Instead, I loved that Dion decided to catch Cruz in a vulnerable spot, and then unleash on talking crap about his daughter.
I expected them to have a wonk finish to set up a presumed Halloween Havoc match, but this was very clever and nuanced. Cruz Montana was great in his crash out! Hey, if somebody bum-ass BS about my momma, daddy, or family like that, I’d find a way to drag them into a corner and whoop they ass with unbridled fury too (I have my tricks to avoid ponk ass lawsuits. I kid, I kid. Am I?)! They did decide to go the cop route. So are they having a match at Havoc? Or are they going to save it for a NXT episode after if Cruz is going to be taken to kayfabe jail? Really fun episode of NXT this week. The Dusty Classic is providing consistent quality wrestling and this show ended on a fun and and enthralling note.
