By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Hits
NXT Tag Team Champions Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes vs. Chazz “Starboy” Hall and Mini Vikingo in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament quarterfinal match: A hot opening match. The wrestlers worked at a fast pace, and the babyface duo performed plenty of flashy, crowd-pleasing moves. Baylor and Smokes did some classic heel tag team work by making the babyfaces shine while appearing to be on the verge of losing several times, only to emerge victorious.
Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno vs. “Fraxiom” Axiom and Nathan Frazer in a Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament quarterfinal match: Another strong tag team match, and a nice upset win for Dar and Moreno over the main roster team. I must confess that I groaned when they announced that the Dusty Classic tournament was returning. Some recent tournaments were underwhelming, NXT doesn’t have much tag team depth, and the tournament hasn’t helped the television ratings. It was a great call to bring in teams from each brand, and the tournament has been laid out nicely so far with good teams (including some fresh faces) and several strong matches.
La Catalina vs. Kali Armstrong for the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship: A good television match with the champion getting a clean win. I saw a bit of La Catalina in AAA before she started popping up in NXT again. She’s charismatic and likable, but I don’t know anything about her character from watching NXT. For that matter, Armstrong’s lack of mic time and character development on NXT television is an ongoing source of disappointment.
Tristan Angels vs. Saquon Shugars: A soft Hit. The bulk of the match was solid, but there were a couple of off moments late, including the awkward way that Shugars took Angels’ finisher. It was encouraging to see Angels go over clean rather than going overboard to protect Shugars. Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but I’m hopeful that Shugars took a clean pin because he’s main roster bound to be the fifth man in the 946. Either way, Shugars has a lot of charisma, and I hope someone can find the right spot for him.
NXT Misses
Tony D’Angelo vs. Myles Borne for a shot at the NXT Championship at Halloween Havoc: Good work from both wrestlers, but it didn’t feel like there was much fan interest in either man challenging Grayson Waller for the NXT Championship. Worse yet, the finish was a mess, with the referee counting the pin even though Borne clearly got a shoulder up. The post-match angle with a cameraman revealing himself to be Tavion Heights was fine, but it remains to be seen whether Borne or Heights can be elevated by working together when they both need wins.
Wren Sinclair promo: I’ve enjoyed Sinclair as the likable girl-next-door type who felt like a scrappy underdog during most of her matches. She was easy to like because she felt authentic and down-to-earth. What happened? Sinclair won a battle royal last week and followed up with an in-ring promo that sounded like it was coming from a different person. Happy Wren’s Day? (Yeah, I know it’s her social media thing, but I’ll bet the majority of the TV audience had no idea). Sinclair came off self-satisfied. She sounded like she was reciting a monologue rather than being the version of her character that was so likable. On the bright side, Kelani Jordan interrupting with a heel promo followed by Robert Stone rallying the crowd behind Sinclair helped salvage the segment. It seemed like Sinclair was back to normal during her backstage segment with Myles Borne and Kendal Grey. It seems like the majority of Sinclair’s mic time has been while she interacts with others. Is she better in that setting than at delivering standard promos?
Izzi Dame explains her issues with Zaria: Dame did a good job, and her logic was fine, but I’m still baffled by this feud. It seems like they want viewers to feel pity for Zaria, which is awkward given her status as a strong heel. I’ve asked before, but it’s worth asking again: why is The Culling still a thing? The faction never got over, and Dame and Niko Vance don’t benefit in any way from still being billed as members of a failed faction.
(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 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.)
