WWE NXT Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From Oct. 10

The October 10 edition of WWE NXT did not have a special name or huge title matches at stake, but it may still have been the most hyped episode ever.

John Cena appeared at the WWE Performance Center for the first time, standing in the corner of Carmelo Hayes for his match with Bron Breakker. Paul Heyman was in the corner of Breakker.

Cody Rhodes made a "major announcement," opening the show during its commercial-free first 30 minutes.

Asuka returned to the gold brand to challenge Roxanne Perez, who needed to get through The Empress of Tomorrow to face Kiana James.

Butch and Ridge Holland competed alongside Tyler Bate in a Pub Rules match against Gallus. Lola Vice and Dani Palmer faced off in a first-round matchup in the Women's Breakout Tournament.

WWE wanted the world tuning in for this show, even teasing a legendary appearance from The Undertaker. Could the show live up to the hype?

Cody Rhodes Announces Return of Tournaments, Books NXT Title Match

Cody Rhodes announced the return of the Men's Breakout Tournament and Dusty Classic. He then told the NXT Universe that he would be the guest general manager for NXT for Tuesday's show.

Ilja Dragunov arrived to show respect to The American Nightmare. "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley arrived and challenged The Mad Dragon. Rhodes made an NXT Championship match official with guest referee LA Knight.

As far as hype promos, NXT has rarely had one that felt this big. Rhodes in NXT certainly felt larger than life. He played off Dragunov well and kept the pace moving on a packed night.

The actual announcements by Rhodes were not quite as "major" as promised since both tournaments were already expected. However, WWE made up for it by booking a surprise NXT Championship match.

While it is usually better to start with action, especially with no commercials for the first 30 minutes, this segment sold the importance of the night.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Rhodes' entrance was easily the loudest the NXT crowd in the Performance Center has sounded as it sang along to his theme.
• Dragunov got "Happy Birthday" chants without having to say it was his birthday.
  
• The fans also fully committed to booing Dirty Dom to the point that Rhodes had to get everyone to talk through it to avoid running out of time.
  

Roxanne Perez vs. Asuka

Roxanne Perez fought hard against Asuka, but she was simply outmatched.

The Empress of Tomorrow blasted her opponent with a series of kicks, ending with a roundhouse that knocked out The Prodigy. The three-count was academic.

Shotzi took out Kiana James, who tried to lay out Perez afterward.

This felt way too short, even if Asuka is seen as working at a higher level than Perez. The two barely went six minutes. It was a smooth battle but did not have time to reach a top gear.

At least, there was no commercial interruption, allowing them to tell a complete story with what time they had. These two can have a much better match in a year's time when Perez is headed to the main roster.

Shotzi's involvement felt tacked on to keep an unpredictable atmosphere for the start of the match. But she could benefit from another run in NXT if she wants to stick around.

Result

Asuka def. Perez by pinfall.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Shotzi arrived to join commentary and announced that she and Scarlett would be hosting Halloween Havoc Night 1.
• Perez tried to trade roll-up attempts with The Empress, but she got rolled into an Asuka Lock. The Prodigy barely escaped.
• Asuka showed respect to Perez afterward with a short bow.
  

Pub Rules: Brawling Brutes and Tyler Bate vs. Gallus

Butch, Ridge Holland and Tyler Bate worked so well together that The Big Strong Boi looked like a Brawling Brute himself. Gallus could not match up.

Wolfgang and Mark Coffey went down outside. The babyfaces then finished it with a triple powerbomb on Joe Coffey through a table.

This was a pure brawl. It was pure chaos, highlighted by moments of in-sequence offense between the competitors. The only miss by NXT may have been not making this the opener and avoiding the commercial break cutting into their time.

WWE has an opportunity off this win to bring in Bate to The Brawling Brutes. He has waited too long to get his shot on the main roster, and he has chemistry with Butch that even Sheamus and Holland cannot match.

Gallus lost another big match and fell further down the card. Joe, Mark and Wolfgang may need to leave NXT just to regain some credibility. This group is also ready for a bigger spotlight.

Result

Bate, Butch and Holland def. Gallus by pinfall.

Grade

A-

Notable Moments

• Both teams hyped each other backstage before the match. Gallus attacked the faces during their entrance to start the fight fast.
  
• Butch stabbed Joe in the hand with a dart from a board set in the corner.
  
• This bout had the first commercial break of the night about 60 seconds before the 30-minute mark.
• All three faces hits simultaneous Beats of the Bodhrán on the heels. Later, they got all the heels in submissions at the same time, working smoothly together.
• Bate barely saved Butch from a three-count after he took Gallus' team finisher.
  

John Cena Nearly Gives Bron Breakker an Attitude Adjustment

John Cena put over the importance of NXT before Bron Breakker interrupted. The two came to blows.

Breakker went for a Spear, but The Champ evaded it. He went for an Attitude Adjustment, but the former NXT champion ducked outside.

This whole segment was unnecessary on a night with limited space. Cena playing off Breakker gives the rising star a rub that he can carry to the main roster, but it felt added-on with a main event already promised for later.

It was odd to not have Carmelo Hayes involved since the match later was supposed to be Breakker vs. Melo. Instead, Breakker looked weak running away from Cena.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• Cena was genuinely moved by the raucous reaction from the crowd, who even sang his theme.
  
• NXT showed a great vignette on the history of Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria, including footage of them training together in 2018.
• During a backstage interview, Tegan Nox told Valkyria to give her the next NXT Women's Championship match first, but The Valkyrie refused.
• The Family convinced Cody Rhodes to book a Bada Bing, Bada Boom Battle Royal next week to determine the No. 1 contender tag team for Halloween Havoc.

NXT Championship: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Dominik Mysterio (Ref: LA Knight)

LA Knight kept Rhea Ripley, Finn Bálor and JD McDonagh out of the action, allowing Ilja Dragunov to push Dominik Mysterio.

The Mad Dragon won it with an H-Bomb and Torpedo Moscow.

Baron Corbin arrived to challenge Dragunov, but Dijak struck first, laying out The Mad Dragon and calling his shot for the NXT Championship.

Everyone looks better working with Dragunov, but serious credit goes to Dirty Dom for one of the best performances of his career. He went move-for-move with his rival for most of this.

While the overbooking was inevitable, it was kept to the last minute. The rest was a physical battle of two men on the rise in different ways, and it was a great showcase of why Dragunov should be NXT champion for a long time.

Knight's involvement was a bit distracting, though, as he had no reason to get involved. But he played the referee role well and never slowed the action.

Result

Dragunov def. Mysterio by pinfall to retain the NXT Championship.

Grade

A-

Notable Moments

• Just before this match, in an interview with McKenzie Mitchell, Corbin called Dragunov a coward for not giving him a title shot.
• Knight looked out-of-place in this scenario, especially since he did not get to talk for himself before or after.
• Ripley distracted Knight to allow Dirty Dom to rake the eyes and throw Dragunov into the bottom rope.
• Mysterio slapped Dragunov in the face, which set off The Mad Dragon. He beat down the challenger with brutal chops.
• Knight threw out both Bálor and McDonagh. Trick Williams got involved to stop Ripley from attacking Dragunov.
• Corbin confronted Cody Rhodes later, demanding an NXT Championship match. The American Nightmare told him he would need to beat Dijak and the winner of Carmelo Hayes vs. Bron Breakker next week to earn a No. 1 contender shot.
• Nathan Frazer confronted Dirty Dom backstage, making his claim for a title shot.
  

Women's Breakout Tournament: Lola Vice (w/ Elektra Lopez) vs. Dani Palmer

Lola Vice beat down on Dani Palmer throughout this contest, slowing her just enough to open up a window for the victory.

Palmer escaped a choke hold but ran right into a spin kick to seal her defeat.

This was the most traditional NXT match of the night. Two women who are still putting it together did their best with their time. It got more time than expected despite only going four minutes as Vice dominated.

The execution was sloppy, but Vice is clearly readier than Palmer in the ring. She just needs more time to show her true upside.

Result

Vice def. Palmer by pinfall to advance to the semifinals of the Women's Breakout Tournament.

Grade

D+

Notable Moments

• The crowd was all behind Vice, including a "Lola's gonna kill you" chant.
• Jacy Jayne interrupted the Chase U class before announcing that Andre Chase and Duke Hudson would be in the No. 1 Contender match next week.
• Brian Pillman's son explained why he was now taking the last name King in WWE, highlighting his hatred of his father's legacy.
• Many women showed respect to Asuka later. Tiffany Stratton got into it with Fallon Henley after interrupting her interaction with The Empress of Tomorrow.

Carmelo Hayes (w/ John Cena) vs. Bron Breakker (w/ Paul Heyman)

After a competitive match, Bron Breakker had Carmelo Hayes on the ropes. A distraction at ringside sent John Cena and Solo Sikoa brawling to the back, and Melo caught Breakker with Nothin' But Net to win.

Afterward, "The American Badass" Undertaker arrived on a motorbike to confront The Badass. He laid out Breakker with a right hand and chokeslam. The WWE icon warned him that he just met the biggest "badass" in the business and then helped Melo stand tall.

While Breakker and Hayes are the two top guys in NXT, they are only good together. They both have better rivals across the roster. This was solid from both, better than their Stand & Deliver match but not quite a showstopper.

NXT did not give away too much early when it came to Undertaker's surprise arrival, but there were enough whispers going around to expect it. It was a cute moment but probably won't lead to anything as he should remain retired.

The goal was ultimately to highlight the faces of NXT, and they presented themselves well. Cena and Paul Heyman were mostly superfluous but maybe drew more eyes to the match.

Result

Hayes def. Breakker by pinfall to earn a spot in the NXT Championship No. 1 Contender match next week.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Cena talked to Melo and Trick Williams backstage before taking the latter off-screen to discuss his concerns.
  
• Heyman was seen speaking with Ava in a private room. He later gave Breakker a pep talk before the main event.
• Breakker planted Melo with a military press slam for a near-fall. The Badass tried to use the steel steps, but Cena took them away and punched Breakker.
  

Overall Show

What NXT did this week is not sustainable for the brand, but it could be the push needed to get it lasting attention. Cody Rhodes and John Cena put over the gold brand in a big way that should resonate with casual fans.

The best match of the night was Ilja Dragunov vs. Dominik Mysterio, both NXT regulars these days. It showed why The Mad Dragon is the top guy.

The show also featured solid contests including Carmelo Hayes vs. Bron Breakker and The Brawling Brutes vs. Gallus. More importantly, it kept a focus on the future stories of NXT going into Halloween Havoc.

The goal was to deliver a memorable night and bring new eyes to the product. While the final viewership numbers will decide if that was a success, NXT had a very good night by its own standard.

If the rising NXT can keep this momentum moving, WWE could have a true third brand for the future that can create lasting stars for the next generation.

Overall Grade: A-