Tatum Paxley VS Wendy Choo: Casket Match
Following Halloween Havoc, NXT kicked off this week with Tatum Paxley taking on Wendy Choo in a Casket Match! This was a fun way to start the show, we saw some innovative spots, and Wendy Choo just seems to work really well in these type of matches! Some of the best moments included Tatum putting a pillow in place so she wouldn’t get trapped in, Paxley getting thrown into a doll’s house, both women landing in the Casket (something I haven’t seen before), and my personal favourite, Wendy Choo using Lego to harm her opponent! This genuinely made me so happy! Anyway, we then got a crazy spot which saw Choo go flying through her own bed, and in the end, it was PAX who locked Wendy in the Casket to pick up the victory! This was fun, simple as that!
Grade: B
Trick Williams Promo, Charlie Dempsey VS Lexis King: NXT Heritage Cup, ZARIA VS Brinley Reece
Trick Williams was out next as the NXT Champion had some things to say regarding what went down at Halloween Havoc. Trick said he was thankful to be holding the NXT Title around his waist, but he wasn’t happy with Ridge Holland’s post-match actions! Williams then invited Bubba Ray Dudley out who had a great point about how Trick had no one to help him because he holds what everyone else wants! Trick Willy then asked Bubba Rey if he’d be his Tag Team partner next week against Ethan Page and Ridge Holland, but despite getting pretty excited, Bubba said he couldn’t take anyone else’s spot so he declined! This was actually a pretty good segment, do more things like this please!
Grade: B-
Ava told Rob Van Dam that she’d find a spot for him on NXT next week before Kelani Jordan and Nikkita Lyons got into a war of words! Shawn Spears then showed his interest in becoming NXT North American Champion as Tony D’Angelo took a rather interesting phone call before it was time for Charlie Dempsey to put his NXT Heritage Cup on the line against Lexis King! Round 1 was pretty comfortable for Charlie Dempsey, and he scored the first fall with about 30 seconds left in the First Round! Round 2 then saw Lexis King land nastily which resulted in the referee having to pause the match to see if Lexis could continue, but obviously, The King fought on. However, in Round 3, Mr. Regal offered King some brass knuckles, but Lexis refused which allowed Dempsey to hit his Suplex to score the second and decisive fall! The story of this was that if he doesn’t cheat, Lexis King has no chance of winning anything. That’s actually a story I quite like, but what on earth was Regal doing?!
Grade: C+
Lola Vice was this week’s NXT Focus as she talked about what she’s going to do to Jaida Parker next week before ZARIA made her anticipated NXT in-ring debut against Brinley Reece. This was the literal definition of a squash match, I’m not even sure Brinley got two moves in, but her selling of ZARIA trying to dislocate her arm was pretty impressive! In the end, ZARIA picked up the easy win with an F5-type move, and to be fair, I thought she looked quite good here! However, the more interesting part came after the match as Fatal Influence as well as Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade surrounded the ring, only for Kelani Jordan, Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, and the returning Jordynne Grace to come to the aid of ZARIA as a big brawl got underway! This was all done to set up an exciting 10-Women Tag Team match for next week, but honestly, a few years ago and this would’ve taken place in WAR GAMES!
Grade: B-
Kelani Jordan VS Nikkita Lyons, Ridge Holland Interrupts Ethan Page
Following the big brawl, Kelani Jordan stayed in the ring as it was time for her to go one-on-one with Nikkita Lyons! Both women were dressed up for Halloween (Kelani as Spider-Gwen, Nikkita as a Pirate), and this was actually a pretty even contest. I’d say Lyons maybe had the edge a bit more due to her size and power game, but I thought they both did alright. Interestingly, Nikkita would’ve had this match won had it not been for the distraction by Adrianna Rizzo, and this ultimately allowed Jordan to score the win her "One of a Kind” Split-Legged Moonsault before Lyons and Rizzo brawled to the back!
Grade: B-
Ethan Page was out next as All Ego was very angry at what happened at Halloween Havoc, but he could barely say anything before Ridge Holland interrupted him! Ridge said that nobody wants to see Ethan fight for the NXT Championship again, and soon, it’ll be him that holds aloft the NXT Title! Bubba Rey Dudley then arrived to talk trash on both Holland and Page, and after some more disrespect by Ridge Holland, Bubba Rey floored him! However, this allowed All Ego to drop Dudley from behind, but Trick Williams then appeared to make the save before Bubba agreed to team with Trick next week! This was another good segment involving Bubba Rey Dudley, he’s flying right now!
Grade: B-
NXT Tag Team Championships: Axiom and Nathan Frazer VS Je’Von Evans and Cedric Alexander
Rhea Ripley hyped up the Babyface Women of NXT before Jaida Parker cut a video promo of her own. Rhea Ripley was then found to be destroyed at the hands of Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez before it was Main Event time as Axiom and Nathan Frazer put their NXT Tag Team Championships on the line against the duo of Je’Von Evans and Cedric Alexander! This match was so fast-paced, it was insane! This whole show was really good, but nothing came close to this! I’ve officially ran out of superlatives to praise Axiom and Nathan Frazer because they’re simply too good! Another guy that is simply too good is Je’Von Evans, he’s incredibly talented for someone so young, like he’s got such a bright future! The one Cutter Je’Von hit in particular was absolutely insane, and he managed to hit another one onto Axiom after initially breaking a pinfall up! In fact, Evans and Alexander had a great chance to win, but Je’Von got distracted by Wes Lee as the two brawled to the back which left Cedric to fight the Tag Team Champions on his own! However, Alexander did that brilliantly to the point where I thought he had won (they got me again), but in the end, Axiom and Frazer were able to retain following a Brainbuster/Golden Ratio combination, and yeah, this is so worth the watch!
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