Tony D’Angelo Starts the Show, Stephanie Vaquer VS Wren Sinclair
After Vic Joseph welcomed us back to a new-look NXT Performance Center Arena, Tony D’Angelo kicked off the show to celebrate becoming the brand-new NXT North American Champion! Tony D thanked all his Family for their continued help and support before he raised a toast in the direction of the former Champion, Oba Femi. This is when Oba arrived to make it clear that he’s getting a rematch at NXT Halloween Havoc, and this time, D’Angelo’s Family won’t be there to help him! Femi then left the ring and spun the HH Wheel to reveal that their match will be contested with a “Tables, Ladders, and Scares” stipulation! This was a very quick segment, but it achieved what it needed to do!
Grade: C+
Oro Mensah talked about his upcoming “Gentleman’s Duel” with Lexis King before The King arrived to say that this match was going to be a fair fight! Stephanie Vaquer then arrived to make her NXT in-ring debut against Wren Sinclair! This was a very technical bout, with both Stephanie and Wren trying to make one another tap out! This was my first look at Stephanie Vaquer, and she looked pretty decent, even though I could tell that there was a lot more to come! Also, Wren Sinclair deserves a lot of praise because she’s doing great work right now, but of course, in the end, it was Vaquer who picked up the win with her finishing manoeuvre! After the match, Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade attacked Stephanie Vaquer before Giulia ran down to make the save! The segment then ended with the good guys challenging Perez and Jade to a Tag Team match at NXT Halloween Havoc!
Grade: C+
Gentleman’s Duel: Lexis King VS Oro Mensah, Lola Vice VS Nikkita Lyons
Kelani Jordan and Trick Williams were praising one another for being great Champions as Fatal Influence lurked in the shadows! Ashante “Thee” Adonis then apologised to Brinley Reece and Kamen Petrovic for “costing” them their Tag match a few weeks ago before Shawn Spears came over cause he wasn’t impressed with how Adonis was talking. It was then time for me to get excited as Lexis King and Oro Mensah clashed in a “Gentleman’s Duel”! What this basically meant is there were quite a few rules, but I’d argue the only one that played into the contest was the fact that you weren’t allowed to throw your opponent over the top rope. Now, both guys came close to doing this which would’ve seen them get disqualified, but Lexis being smart and Oro getting lucky saw neither of those moments happen! The match itself was okay, it got better, but it wasn’t a classic either. In the end, it was The King who scored the win after a nice pinning combination!
Grade: C+
Je’Von Evans was talking with Cedric Alexander before Axiom and Nathan Frazer came over to congratulate Je’Von on his performance last week. The same could not be said however for Wes Lee, as The Kardiak Kid threw shots at Evans and said he’d never be on his level! Meta-Four then cut a video promo where they said they’re going to take out Damage CTRL next week before Nikkita Lyons arrived (following her own video package) to make her in-ring return against Lola Vice! Both women are fast strikers so that was a lot of what we saw in this match. However, that’s not a bad thing, and you could tell that both women were trying to prove a point as to them being the superior talent. Interestingly, the crowd were a lot more behind Nikkita here than they were Lola, and after some interference from Jaida Parker (which Lyons saw by the way), Nikkita Lyons hit a diving splash to pick up the victory!
Grade: C+
Ridge Holland VS Riley Osbourne, Ashante “Thee” Adonis VS Brooks Jensen
Ava really liked the idea of Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer teaming up to take on Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade at NXT Halloween Havoc, but she didn’t seem nearly as keen to give Fatal Influence a shot at the NXT Women’s North American Championship. However, Ava did say that if Fatal Influence can beat Giulia and Stephanie next week, they’ve got their shot at the Gold! Sorry Jacy, Jazmyn, and Fallon, you’re not winning next week! Ridge Holland was then looking to complete the decimation of Chase University when he once again faced Riley Osbourne! This was totally fine, Riley was very quick out of the gates which he needed to be, and the one DDT he hit on the outside was absolutely superb! However, it was a DDT from Ridge that ended the match before Holland looked to end Osbourne with a Redeemer through the announce table! However, this is when Andre Chase made his return to make the save as Thea Hail was absolutely ecstatic!
Grade: C+
Tatum Paxley was explaining to Byron Saxton about why she attacked Wendy Choo last week before OTM just arrived and Saxton decided to interview them instead! Tatum was rightly not very happy about this, but Jaida Parker didn’t seem to care for a second! Ashante “Thee” Adonis was out next as it was time for him to go one-on-one with Brooks Jensen. This was probably the weakest thing on the show, that doesn’t mean it was bad, but it just didn’t do much for me. I actually like what Brooks Jensen’s been doing recently, but I’m not at all convinced by Ashante “Thee” Adonis. Interestingly, Karmen Petrovic made her way down to ringside to drop petals from the rose Adonis gave her earlier, and this mixed with Shawn Spears distracted Ashante enough for Jensen to win with a DDT! I don’t get what Petrovic was doing here at all!
Grade: C
NXT Championship Number 1 Contender’s Match: Ethan Page VS Wes Lee VS Je’Von Evans
After Lexis King thanked No Quarter Catch Crew and Luca Crusifino asked for a match with Oba Femi, it was Main Event time as Ethan Page, Wes Lee, and Je’Von Evans fought for the opportunity to face Trick Williams for the NXT Championship at NXT Halloween Havoc! This match was honestly amazing, I had so much fun with it, like I genuinely thought it was superb! Je’Von Evans was absolutely incredible here, that guy’s going to be a World Champion one day, I feel pretty confident in saying that! Also, Wes Lee has been back to his best recently, and his best usually means he becomes Superman and kicks out of everything! Well, that’s exactly what happened, and the near-fall of Lee kicking out of Evans’ stunning Cutter was just brilliant! Ethan Page’s facial expressions were also great here because he was just happy to sit in the corner and watch his two opponents beat each other up! Funnily enough, that played into the finish as after Je’Von Evans nailed Wes Lee with another finisher which was surely going to be enough for him to get the win, All Ego rolled up The Young O.G. to once again steal a victory! After the match, Ethan Page called out Trick Williams which is when the wheel was spun to reveal that Williams and Page will meet in a “Devil’s Playground Match” at Halloween Havoc!
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