By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Hits
Tony D’Angelo, Mason Rook, and Saquon Shugars vs. EK Prosper, Cruz Montana, and Keanu Carver in a six-man tag: The winning team of D’Angelo, Rook, and Shugars will meet in a Triple Threat for a shot at the NXT Championship. We’ve seen variations of this formula before. It’s not bad, but one issue is that the fans typically don’t have a strong rooting interest during the six-man tag due to makeshift teams that often include babyfaces and heels teaming together. Shugars took an awesome bump for a Carver shoulder block. Unfortunately, they botched a spot later in the match. Nevertheless, this was an entertaining match with everyone getting moments to shine. They haven’t said when the winner of next week’s Triple Threat will get his title shot. D’Angelo would make the most sense of the three if it’s for a title shot on a PLE, but I doubt they are setting up a match for Halloween Havoc this far out. If it’s a television match, then the odds of Rook or Shugars going over increase since the winner will likely lose to new NXT Champion Grayson Waller.
Julius Creed and Brutus Creed vs. Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno: A hot tag team match. It took some time for the live crowd to get invested, which is understandable since fans have no reason to dislike either team. There was good back-and-forth action down the stretch with several suspenseful moments that pulled in the crowd.
Kelani Jordan vs. Jaida Parker for the NXT Women’s Championship: A good first defense for the new champion. It was surprising to see Parker take a clean loss given the story that her character just got her mojo back. No complaints, though, as it was refreshing to see the new heel champion go over strong, and Parker should have no trouble bouncing back from this setback. The post-match angle with Wren Sinclair seeking vengeance for Kendal Jordan was interesting, particularly when Sinclair punched the referee and showed no remorse. Is Sinclair developing more of an edge as a babyface, or could this be the start of the process that will lead to her eventually turning on Grey?
Myles Borne and Tavion Heights: I’ve watched pro wrestling longer than every active NXT wrestler has been alive. Man, I’m old. Anyway, while I have a notoriously bad memory, I don’t remember seeing a wrestler turn on his partner one week, show remorse the next, and then offer a sincere apology that led to a real reunion. Borne has done two of the three so far. Fists will probably fly next week, but it would actually be fun and unique if Borne apologizes, Heights accepts, and they reunite and have a long run as a tag team. It’s probably leading to a predictable conclusion, but I’ve enjoyed the ride so far. On a side note, Heights had a hit-worthy NXT North American Championship match with Jackson Drake. They never really sold me on Heights going over, though perhaps most of that is because Drake just won the title.
Naraku: A soft Hit. Every mist color has a different painful effect, and apparently he intends to make Shiloh Hill taste the rainbow. It’s a little campy but in a fun comic book way.
NXT Misses
Zaria, Izzi Dame, and Thea Hail: Again? NXT can’t stop having a champion deliver a promo, only to be confronted by multiple challengers. Even if you put that aside, the live crowd was flat for this segment. I’m not putting the bad segment on all on Dame, but her presentation continues to be flawed. She is talented, but she may need a character makeover, because what she’s doing now just isn’t clicking with the audience.
Charlie Dempsey and Zilla Fatu: A minor Miss. I’m all for Dempsey getting more mic time, but he didn’t need it all at once. Dempsey went from getting a few lines here and there to getting an overstuffed monologue. Worse yet, some of what Dempsey said didn’t ring true. I’ve never felt the Arianna Grace, Channing Lorenzo, or Lexis King characters bleed professional wrestling. It doesn’t matter whether that’s a factual statement about who they are behind the scenes. Dempsey was talking about their characters, and he surely lost credibility with viewers when he delivered that line. There’s a lot to like about Fatu, but it was too early for him to start doing callbacks to a past promo with the “hell, more like hell no” line that played to a flat crowd reaction.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time since 1997. He hosts the 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.)
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