WWE NXT Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights After TNA Showdown
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE NXT on October 14.
Last week's NXT vs. TNA showdown didn't change much for either brand, but Trick Williams is no longer the TNA champion after losing the title to Mike Santana at Bound for Glory.
Tuesday's show was designed to move forward from the TNA invasion, but the partnership between the two brands will continue. For now, NXT is preparing for Halloween Havoc on October 25.
Here's a look at what WWE advertised for Tuesday's show:
- Battle Royal to determine No. 1 contender for NXT women's title
- Josh Briggs vs. Matt Cardona
- Zaria vs. Blake Monroe
- Lexis King vs. Dr. Wagner Jr.
Let's take a look at everything that went down on this week's NXT.
Ricky Saints Wants Competition
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After a quick recap of last week's NXT vs. TNA showdown, Ricky Saints made his way to the ring. He said he is tired of having to wait for a challenger and called out Trick Williams for a title match at Halloween Havoc.
Trick appeared on the big screen and said it's not his fault Ricky couldn't get the job done last week, which is ironic seeing as Williams just lost the TNA title a few days ago.
This was a pretty quick segment that was over in a few minutes. It was fine for what it was and set up a title bout, but it would have made more sense for Williams to earn a title shot in some way.
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Saints' line about cocoa butter was funny.
- The Hardys had a backstage segment with Leon Slater and Je'Von Evans.
Matt Cardona vs. Josh Briggs
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Last time in action: Briggs lost to Myles Borne (NXT, Sept. 30), Zack Ryder lost to Bobby Lashley (Raw, March 9, 2020)
For the first time in over five years, Matt Cardona stepped into a WWE ring to take on Briggs, who was looking to send Cardona back to TNA with a few new bruises.
Cardona came out of the gate hot with punches and kicks that sent Briggs to the corner, but the big man quickly countered and had the former Ryder reeling after a few stiff shots.
The crowd was clearly on Cardona's side. It chanted his name as he hit a dropkick from the middle rope to send Briggs out of the ring. As we went to a break, the internet champion had the upper hand.
Briggs had taken control during the commercial and got a near-fall when we came back. When Cardona regained the upper hand, he hit the Unprettier for a close two-count.
Briggs moves well for a big man, and Cardona is a versatile performer, so they made everything they did look good. This match followed a pretty standard formula, but the second half really picked up.
After surviving some of Cardona's biggest shots, Briggs nailed him with a huge running boot for the win.
Result: Briggs defeated Cardona
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- WWE missed a golden opportunity to have his old Ryder theme play before using his current music.
- Briggs feels like he just needs one thing to be taken seriously. Maybe a new look or better entrance music. He just needs something to freshen him up a bit.
- The way Briggs took the back body drop over the top rope was perfect. It's one of those spots that looks simple but is easy to mess up.
Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Lexis King
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Last time in action: Wagner won a Fatal 4-Way (Worlds Collide), King lost to Borne (NXT, Sept. 23)
The AAA Latin-American champion was in action on this week's show when Dr. Wagner Jr. took on NXT's King. After Tavion Heights used Wagner's mask to trick King recently, King has been suspecting it's Heights every time he sees Wagner.
They started with an exchange of takedowns and counters. Wagner outwrestled King and almost pinned him a minute into the match. King got a little frustrated and resorted to some dirty tactics, but the AAA star didn't let up.
King took control during the break and began focusing on Wagner's knee to weaken him.
This match was weird because it felt like it was about to pick up steam at several points, but never did. They were stuck in second gear. Wagner got the win and called out Ethan Page when it was over.
Page came out and hyped their match at Halloween Havoc. Wagner revealed it would be a Day of the Dead match, which means anything goes.
Result: Wagner defeated King
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Fatal Influence had a video with Lainey Reid officially joining the group. It feels a little mean to keep calling Jazmyn Nyx the weak link of Fatal Influence when she is not there to defend herself.
- King has used 2025 to get himself into much better shape. You can see how much better he moves around the ring compared to a year ago.
- King walking on the top rope just to hop down and slap Wagner instead of doing something exciting was a great way to troll the crowd.
- Wagner had already started moving out of the way when King went for a swanton.
Zaria vs. Blake Monroe
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Last time in action: Zaria and Sol Ruca defeated The Green Regime (SmackDown, October 3), Monroe lost to Jordynne Grace (No Mercy)
Zaria told Ruca that she wanted to take on Monroe by herself during a backstage segment. There was a little bit of tension between the tag team partners, and the announcers made sure to point that out.
Zaria kept overpowering Monroe during the first few minutes. The Glamour eventually found a way to counter her strength and take control, so she started focusing on Zaria's leg to soften her up.
From that point forward, this felt like an even matchup. Zaria had the power advantage, but Monroe was willing to bend the rules more and used that to her advantage whenever she could.
Monroe got a chair from under the ring, but Ruca showed up and took it from her. While the ref was dealing with that, Monroe used a hair pick to hit Zaria in the neck before hitting her finisher for the pin and the win.
The way this match ended was predictable when it comes to Monroe cheating, but the way she did it was strange. Using such a small weapon that nobody would be able to identify without the announcers calling it out was a weird decision.
Zaria should feel like a monster, but she hasn't felt like a threat to anyone in a long time. It's time for her and Ruca's partnership to end so she can be the dominant badass we all know she is.
Result: Monroe defeated Zaria
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
- Arianna Grace got her dad to give Stacks an X-Division Championship match during a backstage segment. During the same segment, Williams attacked Saints and left him laid out.
- It was cool to get to see Zaria's entrance as a solo act for once. She is such an intimidating figure.
Hank and Tank vs. The Culling vs. Chase U
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Last time in action: DarkState defeated Hank and Tank (NXT, Sept. 9), Slater and Evans defeated The Culling (NXT, Sept. 30), DarkState defeated Chase U (NXT, Sept. 26)
The next match was a triple threat tag bout with three teams who all lost their last matches on TV, so everyone was looking to get a win and pick up some momentum.
Hank and Tank, Shawn Spears and Niko Vance, and Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors were the competitors. One member from each team was designated as the legal representative at all times, so numerous near-falls were broken up during the first few minutes.
The match came to an abrupt end with Bronco Nima and Lucien Price attacked everyone. The crowd seemed happy to see them, but it was weak ending to a match that was just getting going.
Result: No Contest
Grade: C-
Notable Moments and Observations
- Booker T seemed very concerned with how few students Chase U seems to have these days.
- Hank and Tank have a lot of support from the crowd, but it's hard to tell if it's because fans actually like them as performers or just find them funny.
- Dixon looks like he has been hitting the gym. He has put on a little bit of muscle recently.
- Ruca gave Zaria her spot in the Battle Royal as a way to apologize for getting involved in her match with Monroe.
Women's Battle Royal
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A Battle Royal to find the next No. 1 contender for Jayne's NXT Championship closed this week's show. Competitors from both NXT and TNA were involved.
A total of 20 women were involved in this bout. As soon as the bell rang, everyone started brawling and it was every woman for herself. Some duos tried to work together, but like always, they eventually had to fend for themselves.
Eliminations happened at random intervals, so the ring started clearing out after a few minutes. There didn't seem to be one person dominating the action, which made the ending a little less predictable.
By the time we went to a break, the field had been cut in half. Most teams were split thanks to one partner being eliminated, so nobody had an advantage over anyone else.
This match had isolated moments that were entertaining, but for the most part, it was too chaotic for anyone to stand out from the pack until it got down to only a few participants left.
Battle Royals always have an element of fun to them, so this was enjoyable even if it didn't steal the show. The final four were Kendal Grey, Jordynne Grace, Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley.
Dame took out Grey, and then she took out herself and Grace at the same time to give Paxley the win.
Result: Paxley won
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- It's always weird when a former WWE star who is now with TNA under a different name shows up. They acknowledged Victoria Crawford's history with WWE but never called her Alicia Fox.
- We got a Meta Four reunion with Lash Legend and Mara Sade in this match.
- We saw the Hardys after being attacked by DarkState backstage.
- Karmen Petrovic was in this bout. It feels like it has been months since her name has even been mentioned on NXT.
- Grace and Crawford had a funny moment on the apron before they were eliminated by Grace.
- Zaria eliminated herself to go help Ruca after she was attacked by Monroe, but she could have just stepped between the ropes and then back out so it didn't count as an elimination. This was an unforced elimination that was solely her fault.
- The way Kelani Jordan tried to eliminate Grace was stupid because it would have eliminated herself too. Her handstand was impressive, but it didn't save her.
The Final Word
7 of 7There is no sugarcoating it. This was one of the weaker episodes of NXT in quite some time for several reasons.
The opening match between Briggs and Cardona was the best thing on the show, and it wasn't even a standout performance for either man, so that tells you a lot.
The Battle Royal that ended the show had some fun moments, but everything that came between those two bouts was mediocre at best.
The tag match not having a winner was disappointing, Wagner vs. King didn't live up to its potential, and the same can be said about Monroe and Zaria.
WWE did some legwork to build up Halloween Havoc on the 25th, but most of what we got on the show felt rushed or unimportant.
Grade: C
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