WWE NXT vs. TNA Showdown Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights

Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE NXT on October 7.

This week's episode was the NXT vs. TNA Showdown special, so we got to see the two brands do battle in two Survivor Series-style elimination matches.

While this angle was initially started as an invasion of sorts, it quickly turned more into a cooperative effort between brands than a fight. Ricky Saints and Jacy Jayne led the NXT teams, while Mike Santana and Kelani Jordan headed the TNA teams.

In addition to the two big elimination matches, we also saw Mustafa Ali challenge Ethan Page for the North American Championship, and The Hardys battled DarkState with the NXT and TNA tag titles on the line.

Let's take a look at what happened on the NXT vs. TNA Showdown episode of NXT.

The Hardys vs. DarkState

Last time in action: DarkState defeated Chase U and Joe Hendry (NXT, Sept. 23), Hardys defeated Nemeths (TNA, Sept. 5)

The first match of the night saw Matt and Jeff Hardy take on two members of DarkState, but before the match could begin, all four of them attacked the Hardys. Matt and Jeff sent them back out of the ring.

Deon Lennox and Osiris Griffin ended up repping DarkState while the other members were booted by the ref, which allowed the Hardys to maintain control.

This was two veterans taking on two up-and-coming Superstars who, despite having already won the NXT tag titles, are still looking for their breakout moment. You could see how hard Griffin and Lennox worked to make sure they looked good against a legendary duo.

Even though you could see a huge difference in experience, this ended up being a solid choice to open the show. The crowd was into it, and both teams brought a lot of energy.

Griffin almost botched an attempt at a finisher from DarkState, but he and Matt recovered and it led into Matt and Jeff pinning Lennox to become the new NXT tag champs.

Result: The Hardys defeated DarkState

Grade: B-

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Notable Moments and Observations

• The video package that opened the show did a better job hyping this episode than most of the buildup thus far.
• The Hardys wore all white gear, which is probably a nightmare to keep clean.
• Lennox has great explosivity. The way he took down Matt with a simple clothesline looked awesome because he had so much intensity behind it.
• It was hard to tell why, but Matt decided to switch to a DDT instead of the Twist of Fate when he was fighting Griffin. It's possible Griffin missed the cue and Matt improvised.

TNA vs. NXT Women's Match

Last time in action: Ruca and Zaria defeated Green Regime (SmackDown, Oct. 3), Parker defeated Lash Legend (NXT, Sept. 30), Vice defeated Fallon Henley (NX, Sept. 30), Jayne defeated Vice (No Mercy), The Iinspiration defeated Elegance Brand (TNA, Sept. 27) Jordan lost a TNA vs. NXT six-person tag (TNA, Sept. 27), Sade lost a Battle Royal (TNA, Sept. 5)

The first Elimination match of the night featured the women in action. Cassie Lee, Jessie McKay, Mara Sade and Kelani Jordan made up Team TNA, while Jacy Jayne, Sol Ruca, Lola Vice and Jaida Parker made up Team NXT. Jordynne Grace was the referee since she has experience with both brands.

Jordan and Jayne started the match since they are the team captains. Here is a rundown of the eliminations in the order they took place:

• Sade eliminated Parker
• Ruca eliminated Sade
• Vice eliminated Lee
• Vice eliminated McKay
• Jordan eliminated Vice
• Jayne eliminated Jordan to win

It took until after the first break for the first elimination to take place. Sade scored the first pin, but she was taken out by Ruca almost immediately after.

The match was given enough time to breathe, but the eliminations were clumped together. This was entertaining at times, but it had a handful of sloppy moments that hurt the overall quality.

Team NXT had a big advantage with Jordan being alone against three of them, but their own issues almost got in the way. Jayne scored the win for Team NXT, but Jordan almost made a successful comeback.

Result: Team NXT defeated Team TNA

Grade: C+

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Notable Moments and Observations

• It's still weird that an NXT talent led Team TNA in what was supposed to be an invasion angle.
• Parker and Vice would be a fun tag team in the women's division. They bring similar energy to their characters.
• Five of the eight women in this bout had a title belt, with Ruca having two.
• It would have been fun if Lee and McKay came out to their old Iiconics entrance.
• Sade's suicide dive almost looked like it was in slow motion, but not in a good way.
• The moonsault from Sade completely missed Parker. It was good they didn't try to go for a pin to sell it.
• Jordan's 450 looked rough.

Mustafa Ali vs. Ethan Page

Last time in action: Page defeated Tavion Heights (NXT, Sept. 27), Ali and The Order 4 defeated The System (TNA, Sept. 27)

When Ali was released by WWE, he had already earned a shot at the North American Championship, and he finally got it two years later when he challenged Page for the belt.

All Ego backed Ali to the corner during their initial lockup, but Ali didn't back down. They had a great exchange of holds and counters that led to Ali almost winning with a backslide.

Page tried to leave the match early, but the challenger pulled him back into the ring. All Ego had the upper hand through most of the break, but Ali started making a comeback when he hit a sunset flip bomb in the corner.

This was a hard-hitting and exciting match that made both men look incredible. In fact, this might be the best match Page has had in months, if not longer. He and Ali worked perfectly to blend their styles for this bout.

After several close two-counts, Page was able to get the win to retain his North American Championship.

Result: Page defeated Ali

Grade: A-

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Notable Moments and Observations

• WWE acknowledging that Ali was released after earning a title shot was surprising, but it gave good continuity to the story and helped them establish the match without much of a story needed.
• Matt Cardona had a hilarious segment backstage with Ava and Josh Briggs.
• Having Ali's old WWE music lead into his current music was great.
• The way Ali's face was swung into the ring post looked brutal.
• The running boot Page hit looked amazing. He turned Ali inside out.
• Ali's suicide dive that sent both men over the announce table was wild, but the bump he took when Page shoved him off the top turnbuckle to the floor was even more nuts.

TNA vs. NXT Men's Match

Last time in action: Saints defeated Oba Femi (No Mercy), Evans defeated Los Garzas (SmackDown, Oct. 3), Borne defeated Briggs (NXT, Sept. 30), Williams and Kazarian lost a six-man (TNA, Sept. 27), Santana defeated Cedric Alexander (TNA, Sept. 27), Slater and Evans defeated The Culling (NXT, Sept. 30), Moose defeated Ridge Holland (TNA, Sept. 27)

Joe Hendry served as the official for the main event. Je'Von Evans, Trick Williams, Myles Borne and Ricky Saints made up Team NXT, and Leon Slater, Moose, Frankie Kazarian and Mike Santana made up Team TNA.

Slater and Evans were preparing to start, but Trick and Kaz tagged themselves in so they could get the action started. Here is the order of eliminations:

• Kazarian eliminated Borne
• Slater eliminated Evans
• Saints eliminated Kazarian
• Saints eliminated Slater
• Santana eliminated Saints

Surprisingly, Borne was eliminated before the first break to give TNA the advantage very early in the match. Even more surprising was Evans being the second man out. When Saints reached for a tag late in the match, Williams left him high and dry by leaving the arena completely.

Much like the women's match earlier in the night, bouts with this many competitors can be hard to manage sometimes. Thankfully, this bout had several experienced veterans who helped it stay on track.

The NXT champion put up a good fight and managed to eliminate two competitors after being ditched by Williams, but Santana and Moose were too much for him. They got the win for Team TNA.

Result: Team TNA defeated Team NXT

Grade: B

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Notable Moments and Observations

• Lexis King had a funny segment backstage with Dr. Wagner Jr. and Heights.
• It's wild that this is the first time Kaz has been in a match on WWE TV. He has had a great career, but he only had a short stint in OVW, so this was his first official match for WWE.
• Having matching jerseys for Team NXT was a nice touch.
• It was kind of cool to hear the announcers mention how Booker T and Kazarian used to be aligned.
• The exchange Slater and Williams had was a lot of fun. Trick was really laying in those chest chops.

The Final Word

The big TNA vs. NXT Showdown ended up being the definition of 50-50 booking, with each brand taking home two wins.

The Hardys won the NXT tag titles, and Team TNA won the men's match. Page retained the NA title against Ali, and Team NXT won for the women.

This felt a little bigger than a normal episode of NXT, but it didn't feel big enough to be the monumental WWE vs. TNA show fans have waited many years to see.

Ali and Page put on the best match of the night by a huge margin. The tag and two elimination bouts all had their upsides, but nothing came close to the North American Championship match.

The partnership with WWE and TNA is going to continue for the foreseeable future, so we should expect to see more events like this periodically.

Grade: B