WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from October 11

With Halloween Havoc rapidly approaching, WWE NXT had some work to do in further building the key stories for the show on October 22.

Pretty Deadly remain NXT tag team champions, but new challengers are on the horizon. Edris Enofé and Malik Blade, Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen, and The Dyad flanked by Joe Gacy would compete for the No. 1 contendership.

Nathan Frazer and Axiom would complete their thrilling best-of-three series, with the winner going on to compete in the NXT North American Championship ladder match.

Bron Breakker demanded to open the show, so he could shut up Javier Bernal one-on-one, while Alba Fyre planned to take down the first member of Toxic Attraction by fighting Jacy Jayne.

Amid rapidly approaching collisions between heated rivals, this show promised a little of everything to NXT fans.

Bron Breakker vs. Javier Bernal

JD McDonagh whispered into the ear of Javier Bernal on his way to the ring before heading to commentary.

No plan worked, though, as Bron Breakker didn't break a sweat before planting Big Body Javy with a military press powerslam.

This was exactly what it needed to be. Breakker dominated the match and got himself a clear win, and McDonagh continued to get in the head of his Halloween Havoc opponents.

At this point, nothing more is needed to sell the match, though McDonagh and Ilja Dragunov do need to do something bigger to come off as legitimate threats to dethrone the NXT champion.

Result

Breakker def. Bernal by pinfall.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Vic Joseph introduced his new partner on commentary, Booker T.
• After the match, Dragunov arrived. McDonagh headbutted The Czar and then sent him into Breakker.
• Later in the night, Dragunov was poised to leave, but Grayson Waller got in his face, which motivated The Czar to challenge him to a match later.
  

Ladder Match Qualifier: Nathan Frazer vs. Axiom

In the final act of their best-of-three series, Axiom and Nathan Frazer went move for move.

They traded superkicks, but The Superhero caught his rival with a knee strike to the face. Axiom went for his finisher, but Frazer stacked him up for a surprise three.

While it is difficult to say which of the trio of matches was the best, Axiom and Frazer certainly never missed together. This was a wild and energetic end to one of the best things NXT has booked in months.

It was all about putting over the talent of two great stars, and the brand can benefit from this kind of simple booking more. Pair up two stars for friendly competition and see how high they can fly.

Frazer barely took the win but came out as a star. He has brought himself to another level, and it would not be surprising for him to capitalize on this by capturing the NXT North American Championship.

Result

Frazer def. Axiom to win the best-of-three series and qualify for the NXT North American Championship ladder match.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

• Axiom barely made it back into the ring before sliding into a missile dropkick. Then, when Frazer dived onto him, he reversed into a series of submission holds.
• Frazer caught Axiom with a superplex, but he countered into a sleeper.

Indi Hartwell vs. Valentina Feroz

Valentina Feroz was fired up in this fast-moving match, but she could not put her veteran opponent away. Indi Hartwell sealed the win with a second rope lifting superplex.

This was a decent sprint in which Hartwell gave a lot of room for her opponent to show what she can do. While it was too short to be good, at least it looks like Feroz can compete on her own while Yulisa Leon is out injured.

The match was overshadowed by the booking around it, though. Sanga was watching and was then convinced to leave by Veer Mahaan, before Pretty Deadly interrupted Hartwell's celebration just to talk about the match to come.

Result

Hartwell def. Feroz by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• Before the match, Sanga promised to be in the corner of Feroz, and Hartwell warned Feroz that she owned the NXT ring.
• Mahaan whispered to Sanga during the match and convinced him to leave.
  

No. 1 Contender: Briggs and Jensen vs. Enofé and Blade vs. The Dyad

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen had some impressive fresh offense to showcase in this match, but that made them a target. When Malik Blade and Edris Enofé started rolling, Joe Gacy got involved. Cameron Grimes took him out, allowing Blade to steal a three-count.

The feud between Grimes and The Schism played a key role and allowed Blade and Enofé to pick up the biggest win of their young careers. They now have a chance to show what they can do at Halloween Havoc against Pretty Deadly.

The match was fun, especially for the wild energy Briggs and Jensen brought despite not factoring into the decision.

These three teams showed why they all deserve a spot in this tag team division and that of Raw and SmackDown in the long term.

Result

Blade and Enofé def. The Dyad, and Briggs and Jensen by pinfall to become the new No. 1 contenders to the NXT Tag Team Championships.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Pretty Deadly watched from the stage in gear that made them look like Americans watching the NFL.
  
• Briggs laid out everyone with clothelines and then let Jensen do some high-flying, walking the top rope before a somersault plancha.
  
• In the closing stretch, all six men got in the ring until Blade and Enofé took the ring. Blade jumped onto The Dyad, while Enofé jumped onto Briggs and Jensen outside.
  
• In the parking lot, The Dyad warned Grimes that he had made a mistake and challenged him to a three-on-one handicap match to pay for his sins. Grimes told McKenzie Mitchell he would have help from two men outside of NXT.
  

Alba Fyre vs. Jacy Jayne (w/ Gigi Dolin)

Gigi Dolin tried to keep Jacy Jayne in this match, but Alba Fyre still put the latter away with a Gory Bomb.

Sonya Deville appeared in the crowd and attacked Fyre, helping Toxic Attraction powerbomb her through the announce table.

It would have been nice to see more time given to a match like this with a storyline, but what we got was still solid. Jayne looked like one of the better women in NXT before Fyre put her away, which is certainly a credit to how much her opponent gave her.

The surprise appearance of Deville was a welcome wrinkle in the Toxic Attraction story. Her history with Mandy Rose explains her appearance, but it will be interesting to see how much she helps the group going forward. She needed a reset like this.

Result

Fyre def. Jayne by pinfall.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• In a pre-taped video, Fyre warned Toxic Attraction that she was serious about dethroning Rose, no matter what it took.
• Jayne responded in an interview just before the match, promising a surprise for the title contender.
• Fyre took out Dolin with a suicide dive, but Dolin's distraction nearly got Fyre rolled up.
• Deville challenged Fyre to fight her next week and promised to make sure she did not make it to Halloween Havoc.
  

Wes Lee vs. Channing 'Stacks' Lorenzo

Wes Lee found himself threatened by Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo, who wanted to hurt him.

Lee fought through the pain and planted Stacks with a corkscrew senton for the win.

This was supposed to be a showcase for Stacks, but he struggled to carry the action. He has talent but is still smoothing out the edges of his offense as a solo act.

Lee needed this win, and he won fairly quickly. He is a talented wrestler but still missing something to bring him to the next level. He might get there if he does win the NXT North American Championship.

Result

Lee def. Stacks by pinfall.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments

• Stacks went after the knee of Lee until his rival tripped on a run, setting him up to get planted with a spin-out neckbreaker for a near-fall.
• Afterward, Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes attacked Lee, but Oro Mensah made the save and helped Lee run them off.
• Backstage, Tony D'Angelo blamed Stacks for his injury and told him he would have a match next week against a mystery opponent.
• Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark talked about their mutual respect as a team.

Kiana James vs. Thea Hail (w/ Chase U)

Mr. Stone interrupted the match to warn Thea Hail against embarrassing him. While he got press-slammed for his trouble, the distraction allowed Kiana James to immediately put her away with the 401K.

Given James' struggles in the ring, it's probably best to keep her matches short for the moment. She picked up a win against NXT's youngest star while Hail was protected by the distraction to set up a likely rematch.

Until James improves in the ring and as an actor, her whole presence will remain a parody at best and a mockery at worst. She is not a serious competitor even in NXT despite picking up the occasional win.

Result

James def. Hail by pinfall.

Grade

D

Notable Moments

• Before the match, James explained her business plan to buy out Chase U for the valuable land underneath the institution.
• Von Wagner questioned Stone backstage and told him to focus on the ladder match.
• McKenzie Mitchell told Cora Jade that Roxanne Perez was going to SmackDown to find an opponent for Jade. Jade said she was going to Raw.
  

Ilja Dragunov vs. Grayson Waller

Grayson Waller got distracted by the Halloween Havoc wheel starting to spin on its own. This allowed Ilja Dragunov to take over and win with the running back uppercut.

Afterward, Bron Breakker speared Dragunov while a smiling JD McDonagh watched in the crowd.

Unsurprisingly, Dragunov pushed Waller to one of the best performances of his career. It could have been better with more time, but the two men told a story worthy of the main event.

It was a good way to continue pushing Waller as a serious competitor and show Dragunov as a dangerous opponent for the NXT champion.

Overall, this was good business. Not something to write home about, but it certainly helped build Halloween Havoc's main event.

Result

Dragunov def. Waller by pinfall.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• In a pretaped video, Apollo Crews warned Waller about their upcoming match.
• Waller went for a strike to the eye against Dragunov and then planted him with a springboard elbow drop.
• Waller ran into the ring for his cutter but jumped into a pair of German suplexes.