By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live October 29, 2024 on The CW
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer. The show was about to cut to highlights from Halloween Havoc, but the show cut right to Tatum Paxley pushing a casket to the ring which she said was for Wendy Choo…
Entrances for the opening match took place…
1. Tatum Paxley vs. Wendy Choo in a casket match. Both women wore costumes. Tatum rallied with right hands. Choo came back with a clothesline. Tatum hit Choo with a jump kick. Choo got Tatum in the casket, but Tatum tossed Choo aside and hit her with a cannonball at ringside. Paxley put a trash can over the head and body of Choo. Paxley hit the trash can with Choo in it with a broomstick.
Paxley set up a trash can in the corner. Tatum hit Choo with a crossbody block and modified Burning Hammer. Tatum hurt herself on the trash can when Choo ducked a crossbody attempt. Choo put Paxley in a trash can while she was in the Tree of Woe. Choo hit Tatum with a Shotgun Dropkick.[c]
Paxley and Choo took turns trading Irish Whips. Choo then body slammed Paxley into her doll house. Choo got Paxley in the casket and closed it, but Paxley used Choo’s body pillow to keep it open a bit. Choo unzipped the body pillow and spilled Legos like they were thumbtacks. Choo chokeslammed Paxley on the legos. A Picture in Picture showed William Regal coaching Lexis King before his upcoming Heritage Cup match.
Paxley got her knees up to prevent Choo from closing the casket. Choo hit Paxley with the sleepy elbow drop in the casket. Once the door opened, but women sat up. Both women traded right hands while standing in the casket. Paxley escaped a sleeper hold and sprayed Choo with a Fire Extinguisher. Choo fell through the bad she dragged to ringside. Paxley put Choo in the casket and closed the lid.
Tatum Paxley defeated Wendy Choo in 10:09 to win the casket match.
John’s Thoughts: A hard worked holiday gimmick match. Wendy Choo might be in need for another character reboot with hopefully more promo time. Choo delivers every time she’s in the ring, but crowds don’t have a reason to care about her one way or another. She loses all her matches now. They even pulled the plug on the tag team with Rosemary a few days ago at Bound for Glory. (I wouldn’t mind if they unearth her old Mei Ying gimmick from her run in NXT Black and Gold).
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary. Vic hyped next week’s show at the old ECW Arena. He then sent the show to highlights from Halloween Havoc. Trick Williams was shown walking backstage…[c]
Vic Joseph plugged NXT’s 2300 arena show for next week. Vic then sent the show to clips from this year’s WrestleMania with ringside sound bites. It was noted that you can see these clips on WWE’s YouTube page…
NXT Champion Trick Williams made his entrance. Trick fired up the crowd. He talked about how he walked through the Devil’s Playground, washed his hands with holy water, and beat Ethan Page to retain the title. Trick said he is in pain and Page delivered on his promise. Trick said he didn’t expect Ridge Holland to jump him after the match. Trick noted that he wants to talk to the WWE Hall of Famer himself, Bubba Ray Dudley (a.k.a. Bully Ray).
Bubba Ray Dudley made his entrance to his WWE Dudley Boyz theme. Trick thanked Bubba for having his back at Halloween Havoc. Bubba said he didn’t need the thanks, he just did the right thing. Bubba said the situation was more about Ridge Holland showing disrespect to him, Dave LaGreca, and Busted Open Radio. Bubba said he watched Trick defend his championship and getting his hand raised. He said he noticed the “Whoop dat Trick” chants.
Bubba said he was wondering why not one person came to Trick’s aid, and does Trick know why? Bubba said the NXT Title is why nobody came to help Trick. Bubba said Trick is what everyone aspires to be. He said that title is like a bullseye on Trick’s back. Bubba said he advises Trick to have eyes on the back of his head. Trick said he and Bubba want revenge on Ethan and Ridge. Trick said he’s been on Busted Open Radio, but Sunday was the first time he met Bubba in-person.
Trick proposed a tag team match: Trick and Bubba vs. Ethan Page and Ridge at the 2300 Arena show. EC Dub chants ensued. Bubba said just meeting Trick for 3 minutes got his juices flowing. He said he’s hyped up to lace up the boots again and take it to the extreme. He said he wants to bring up the old school tie dye Dudley attire. Bubba then put on his classic glasses and did the “Get the tables” bit with the crowd. Bubba then turned his hat backwards to complete the Bubba Ray look.
Bubba said it’s not about him though, it’s about Trick. Bubba said he appreciates the offer, but he doesn’t want to take a spot from the young wrestlers in the back. Bubba then walked away with the crowd chanting “You Still Got It”…
Ava was watching the segment alongside Rob Van Dam backstage. RVD said Bubba might not want to be on the show next week, but RVD does. Ava said she’ll figure out what RVD does next week. After RVD left, Kelani Jordan walked up to Ava and asked for a one-on-one rematch for the North American Championship. Nikkita Lyons showed up and said that Jordan needs to fight her way back to the title. Jordan said she’ll even go through Lyons if she has to to get her title back…
Lexis King and William Regal made their entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A fun segment between Bully and Trick. Even in 2024, Bully Ray is one of the best talkers in the business. Like most people, I was weary of TNA a few years ago when they gave Bully another run and run on top in the main event title picture. Bully proved that not only is he in better shape than his Bubba days, but he’s the best in manipulating the crowd to do whatever he wants. Curious to see what is the next step in Bubba rejecting Trick’s offer. I also wouldn’t be surprised or I wouldn’t mind if this somehow leads to Trick feuding with Bully over the NXT title because Bully Ray always turns on everybody.
Vic Joseph plugged Inside the NFL on CW…
Shawn Spears was coaching Brooks Jensen on going after the North American Title. They approached Tony D’Angelo for a talk. Luca Crucifino and Stacks showed up and Tony D told Spears and Jensen that he’ll talk to them later. Luca played a voice message where a person threatened and said he’ll see Tony D next week. Vic Joseph wondered if the person was Nunzio (Little Guido)…
No Quarter Catch Crew made their entrance. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship introductions and rules explanation for the Heritage Cup match…
2. Charlie Dempsey (w/Tavion Heights, Wren Sinclair, Myles Borne) vs. Lexis King (w/William Regal) for the NXT Heritage Cup. Both men traded technical counters and rollup pin attempts. Dempsey worked on King with CQC Clinch moves. King came back with a dropkick and crossbody. Dempsey picked up the first pinfall after a Butterfly Bridge Suplex. [End of Round 1]
Charile Dempsey picked up the pinfall 2:25 in round 1 to go up 1-0.
Dempsey worked on King with Joint Manipulation and pin attempts. King turned the tide with two Monkey Flips. King slipped off the apron and sold injured knees. King was over the top in his selling. Vic used his somber voice to sell it like a legit injury heading into break. [c]
Round 2 picked up from before the “injury” with the referee pausing the match during the break. King rallied with backdrops and a back suplex to finish the round.[end of Round 2]
A picture in picture showed that King was about to forfeit the match due to injury, but then took off a knee brace to head back to the ring. King gave Dempsey double knees for a nearfall. Dempsey then used a Dragon Screw on King’s injured knee. Dempsey then hit King with a series of Gut Wrench Suplexes.
Dempsey got a two count after a Bridged Gutwrench. Dempsey locked in a Half Crab on the injured knee. Both men traded right hands. King crumpled after his injured leg gave out on him. Dempsey hit King with a leg breaker suplex. Regal passed King brass knuckles. King refused to win with the Power of the Punch. King yelled “I’m not like my father!”. Dempsey hit King with a Chop Block and Bridged Butterfly Suplex for the win.
Charlie Dempsey defeated Lexis King via pinfall 2:54 into Round 3 to retain the NXT Heritage Cup (2-0).
Vic hyped up Zaria’s in-ring debut for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Interesting developments as they continue to try to sell that Lexis King has turned over a new leaf. He’s laying it on thick that he’s a good guy now and people are selling it like he’s disingenuous. The oversell of the leg injury felt like he was faking it, but it ended up costing him the match, that and him refusing Regal’s “Power of the Punch”. I wouldn’t mind seeing Regal stick around with King. For one, more Regal on TV is good TV. It’s also fun seeing him get to work on-air with his irl son Charlie Dempsey.
Vic Joseph hyped Jaida Parker vs. Lola Vice in a hardcore match with Dawn Marie as the guest referee for next week…
[Hour Two] Brinley Reece was “already in the ring”. Zaria made her badass entrance. Zaria actually came out to Karrion Kross’s old TNA theme (I believe)…
3. Zaria vs. Brinley Reece. Zaria dominated the early collar and elbow. Zaria took down Reece with a shoulder block. Zaria smiled when Brinley punched her in the face. Zaria twisted Brinley’s arm and then slammed her to the mat. Brinley sold that her left arm was popped out of place. Zaria popped it back into place with a clubbing blow. Zaria hit Brinley with a backbreaker.
Cedric Alexander and Je’von Evans were shown warming up backstage. Reece rolled up Zaria for a two count. Zaria reversed a lariat with a German Suplex and Spear. Zaria hit Brinley with the F5 for the win.
Zaria defeated Brinley Reece via pinfall in 2:50.
Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne, and Jasmine Nyx appeared from the crowd. Henley talked about how Zaria stole their moment from Sunday. Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade showed up and said she’s here to introduce Zaria to the women’s division. Fatal Influence, Jade, and Perez surrounded the ring. Kelani Jordan, Giulia, and Stephanie Vaquer joined Zaria’s side. Perez noted that they still have the numbers advantage. Former TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace joined the faces and helped clear the heels from the ring…
Nikkita Lyons was shown walking backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Awesome showcase for the newcomer in Zaria. NXT has done a great job introducing Zaria to the audience with her cool CGI hype packages. She plays the badass role really well with good power offense. Reminds a bit of how Awesome Kong took the world by storm as a badass. Another surprise with Jordynne Grace making a surprise appearance. I didn’t hear anything online, I wonder if Grace is joining NXT full time? I only wonder because Grace dropping the strap to Masha Slamovich on Saturday felt like a passing-of-the-torch moment. If Grace moves over to NXT full time, WWE can hands down claim that NXT has the best women’s division in all of wrestling. Grace, Zaria, Giulia, Vaquer, Perez? Gawd damn all that talent!
Vic plugged Undertaker’s One Dead Man show tour…
Vic announced Fatal Influence, Cora Jade, and Roxanne Perez vs. Zaria, Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, Kelani Jordan, and Jordynne Grace in a ten person tag for the 2300 show…
Nikkita Lyons got a televised entrance for the next match. Lyons did a nunchaku kata before the bell. Jordan stuck around from the last segment. She was wearing her Spider Gwen ring attire…
4. Kelani Jordan vs. Nikkita Lyons. Jordan hit Lyons with a front dropkick. Jordan did a flip into a back elbow, followed by a basement crossbody for a nearfall. Both women showed off their flexibility by doing the splits. Lyons caught Jordan out of the air and hit her with a catapult. Lyons hit Jordan with another catapult into the 2nd rope. Lyons tossed Jordan across the ring for a nearfall.
Jordan rallied with running axe handle strikes. Jordan hit Lyons with a shortarm Pele Kick. Lyons kicked Jordan to the mat. Adriana Rizzo appeared at the top of the ramp and took off her earrings. The distraction was enough to allow Jordan to dodge a Vader Bomb. Jordan hit Lyons with the One of a Kind moonsault for the win.
Kelani Jordan defeated Nikkita Lyons via pinfall in 4:03.
Adriana Rizzo jumped Lyons and yelled to Jordan that Lyons was the one who attacked her backstage last week to help Oba Femi. Lyons retreated to the back…
A serious Ethan Page was shown walking backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Oba Femi thanking Lyons last week outta nowhere was the giveaway that he sent Lyons to attack Rizzo and keep her out of the Tables, Ladders, and Scares match (even though The Family all ended up getting involved in the match anyway). Mostly due to her fanservice moments, fans do love them some Nikkita and her many GIFs online. Curious to see how she fares as a heel. She was already acting more unlikable before this match on this show, so she was setting the table.
Vic Joseph plugged WWE’s Crown Jewel weekend events…
All Ego Ethan Page made his entrance in a suit and Hawaiian shirt. Before he could get into his promo, Ridge Holland made his entrance. Ridge said everyone is sick and tired of Page. He said he knows Page one the title when he first showed up. Ridge noted that Page has gotten shot after shot, and unfortunately Trick Williams survived Halloween Havoc with the title. Ridge said he’s going to be the man to take the title from Trick.
Ridge said that Trick even sent Bubba Ray after Trick and Bubba was smart in refusing Trick’s offer. Bubba Ray Dudley made his entrance. Bubba said it was time he and Ridge had a talk. Bubba said that before Halloween Havoc, he didn’t know much about Ridge, but in the last 48 hours he learned a lot about Ridge. Bubba said everybody was talking about Ridge Holland all weekend. He said he knows that Holland is one hell of a Rugby Player: Strong, fast, and powerful.
Bubba talked about it being respectable that Ridge shattered his legs and came back after only 8 months. He said that’s where the respect ends. He talked about Ridge disrespecting him, Busted Open, the fans, and Dave Lagreca. Bubba asked “do you know who I am?”. He said he’s one have of the best motha truckin’ tag team to walk God’s green earth. He said he held more championships, than Ridge has wrestled for championships.
Bubba said it’s debatable as to Ridge deserving a NXT Title shot. Bubba said Ethan Page deserves nothing. Bubba walked past Page and said Ridge is going to have to prove himself to get a title shot. Ridge said Bubba is not an active competitor, just a radio host. He said Bubba doesn’t live in Dudleyville anymore. Ridge said that ECW was overrated. Ridge told Bubba to go back to radio and complain about modern stars. Ridge said if Bubba doesn’t go back, LaGreca will need a new cohost with Bubba in the hospital.
Bubba swung at Ridge and was clubbed from behind by Page. Page and Ridge put the boots to Bubba. Trick Williams ran out and helped Bubba clear the heels from the ring. Bubba took the mic and then accepted Trick’s offer to tag team with Trick against Page and Ridge…
The babyface team for next week’s women’s ten person tag were discussing strategy. Rhea Ripley showed up and said she had to see this team for herself. Rhea told the babyface team to blow the roof off ECW Arena…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A solid talking segment. I continue to like seeing how much Ridge Holland has grown on the mic, and he got to share the ring with one of the best talkers in the business. A simple segment to stretch out the Trick and Bully segment from earlier. My guess is they are going to have Trick and Bubba go over next week for the feel-good nostalgia EC Dub pop; but there’s a part of me that wants Bully to turn on Trick and start a Bully vs. Trick feud over the title. Bully had a wonderful world title feud with Josh Alexander in his most recent TNA run and his stellar talking ability wiped away my doubts that he was washed up.
A Jaida Parker promo aired. She talked about Lola can bring her MMA, but she can use anything as a weapon. Jaida said she doesn’t even know Dawn Marie, but if Dawn gets in her way, she’ll beat her down too. She talked about how Jaida Parker don’t play…
Vic ran through the advertised matches for the 2300 Arena show next week…
Nathan Frazer and Axiom made their entrance with 20 minutes left at the top of the hour…
Ava was watching the match on a monitor while Stevie Turner and Robert Stone were bickering. The camera then panned over to the most dangerous place in WWE, the NXT Parking lot. Referees and medics walked past Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan. Morgan was spinning a bat around. The medics then found a bleeding Rhea Ripley on the ground next to a blue car…[c]
A replay aired of Rhea Ripley laid out in the parking lot, presumably by Liv and Raquel. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship introductions for the tag team title match…
5. Nathan Frazer and Axiom vs. Je’von Evans and Cedric Alexander for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Cedric and Axiom started the match with technical chain wrestling. Cedric had his right arm covered in Kinesio Tape, while Axiom had his left arm wrapped up in the same tape. Axiom used a Dragon Screw to take Cedric out of the air into a bow and elbow. Vic noted that Axiom specializes in submission holds with Frazer being the agile one.
Frazer tagged in and asked for Evans to tag in. Frazer ran circles around Evans. Both men landed at a stalemate after dodging each others’ kicks. A “Young OG” chant ensued. Evans gave Frazer right hands. Alexander tagged in and gave Frazer a Knee Plus for a nearfall. Cedric and Evans cut the ring in half, with tags. Cedric advised Evans to slow things down.
Frazer hit Evans with a running axe handle. Axiom tagged himself in after Frazer refused to tag out. Frazer and Axiom bickered. Evans dumped Axiom to ringside and hit Frazer with a Yakuza Kick. Cedric hit Axiom with a Flip Dive heading into break.[c]
Axiom and Frazer cut the ring in half on Alexander back from break. Vic noted that both men got back on the same page during the break with tandem offense. Alexander got a window of opportunity with a Detonation Kick on Axiom. Evans and Frazer tagged in with Evans hiving momentum. Evans hit Frazer with a flip kick and then hit Axiom with a Suicide Dive.
Evans hit Frazer with a slingshot Crossbody Block for a nearfall. Axiom reversed a Jump Kick into a Ankle Lock. Evans superkicked Axiom to force him to DDT Frazer for a nearfall. Frazer hit Evans with a Enzuigiri. Axiom hit Frazer with a Missile Dropkick for a nearfall. Alexander blind tagged in. Evans hit Axiom with a Power bomb. Cedric hit Axiom with a Sitout Power Bomb.
Frazer dropkicked Evans to send him into Cedric to break the pin attempt. Evans hit Axiom with a slingshot springboard RKO for a nearfall. Axiom reversed Evans into a Canadian Destroyer. Cedric rallied with chops on Axiom. Cedric hit Axiom with a kick combination. Wes Lee went to ringside with a chair. Evans and Lee brawled to the back. Cedric hit Axiom with a Lumbar Check.
Cedric hit Frazer with a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Frazer Superplexed Cedric. Axiom and Frazer recovered and hit Cedric with their signature Brainbuster-Golden Ratio Finisher to give Axiom the win.
Axiom and Nathan Frazer defeated Cedric Alexander and Jevon Evans to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Wes Lee and Je’von Evans were brawling backstage. RVD randomly showed up and said he has an idea for next week. RVD then walked away, saying he’ll see everyone next week. Evans and Lee continued to brawl to close the show. Paul Levesque, Lee Fitting, and Shawn Michaels were given their executive producer credits…
John’s Thoughts: A fun tag team match. With the Machine Guns on Smackdown and Axiom and Frazer having a few credible tag title runs, WWE is doing a pretty decent job trying to rehabilitate their tag team divisions. I do hope that they have some progression in their Axiom and Frazer bickering storyline because they felt like they’ve been bickering for almost a year. Evans continues to lose title matches, but they continuously give him solid outs.
Wes Lee costing him the match this time. They ended up leaving the cliffhanger with Stoned RVD teasing something for next week’s 2300 show. They moved past Halloween Havoc fast and used this week’s NXT to do the one-episode build for next week’s ECW themed show. I think they did a solid job with building up next weeks nostalgia card, and WWE doesn’t overdo it with the ECW nostalgia shows.
I’m surprised we didn’t get anything from Paul Heyman, but I will assume we’ll get him appearing next week, hopefully in his trench coat and signature cap. They’ve already advertised RVD, Dawn Marie, Little Guido, and Bubba Ray for what should be a nice NXT-ECW crossover. I hope Bully sticks around for longer than the nostalgia show because I think he can really help carry the young Trick Williams to a solid feud; giving Trick the experience of working with one of the best talkers in the business, past and present. Heck, I wouldn’t mind if Bully found his way back to TNA because I was really looking forward to his feud with PCO where he was trying to unearth the old Quebecer Pierre Carl Ouellet out of the Frankenstein Monster, Perfect Creation One. I do have to head out in a bit so I won’t have my members audio out until tomorrow.
Is it just me, or did Cora Jade look stunning in the outfit she had on tonight? Come on, guys, back me up here!
And is it just me,but doesn’t it seem like NXT has more women than men?Of course I don’t mind it though..