Reviews

The John Report: WWE NXT 10/04/22 Review

By John Canton • Published 5th October 2022

This week’s WWE NXT featured the men’s Tag Team Titles defended in the main event along with a women’s tag team match to earn a title shot.

The last two weeks of NXT were taped episodes, so it’s back to a live episode this week. As usual, I’ll go summary style for the matches on most of the show and play-by-play for the main event.

This episode is taking place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport. My WWE NXT Review archive is here. Let’s get to it.

The colorful graphics for NXT are gone for now. The white/gold color scheme is the dominant color setup, which is good.

The commentary team was Wade Barrett joined by Byron Saxton & Sudu Shah. Vic Joseph got married to Mckenzie Mitchell last Friday, so they aren’t there this week. Wade joked that Vic was “stuck in immigration.” They also moved the commentary table on the right side of the ring just like where it is for Raw and Smackdown.

Pretty Deadly’s State Of The Commonwealth Address

The Pretty Deadly duo of Elton Prince and Kit Wilson were in the ring with their NXT Tag Team Titles. They bragged about how they have already beaten everyone. They ripped on Briggs & Jensen, Enofe & Blade and The Creed Brothers. When they mentioned The Dyad, they skipped them because they creeped them out. They said that since there are no tag teams in sight, they should be rewarded the Tag Team Championships forever…yes boy.

The Brawling Brutes duo of Ridge Holland and Butch appeared. Holland noted that Pretty Deadly was harsh about what happened to Sheamus on Smackdown, so Holland and Ridge showed up for a fight. Holland wanted Pretty Deadly to prove how great they are because it’s Tuesday and that’s…Fight Night. They got into a bit of a brawl with PD bailing to the floor.

Analysis: It’s always good to see The Brawling Brutes on any show. The segment with Pretty Deadly going on and on with their “address” was too over the top for my liking, but I get that’s what they are as annoying heels.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams made their entrance for Melo’s match up next.

(Commercial)

They showed Toxic Attraction arriving earlier in the day. Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin were attacked by Alba Fyre with her bat, then Fyre went into the truck, which drove away. A graphic said that Jayne/Dolin vs. Lyons/Stark with the winners getting a title shot.

Analysis: That means they changed the six-woman tag team match that was advertised for several days to a regular tag team match instead. It was supposed to Mandy Rose with Jayne/Dolin vs. Alba Fyre and Lyons/Stark. I don’t know what happened with Mandy, but I hope she’s not injured. When WWE sent out an email about the show about an hour before showtime, the six-woman tag team match was still being advertised. Card subject to change, I guess.

Oro Mensah vs. Carmelo Hayes (w/Trick Williams)

Oro showed off his athleticism with a headscissors takedown followed by an overhead suplex. When Hayes was on the floor, Oro jumped over the top and dove on top of him. Hayes came back with a leap over the top with a DDT on the apron leading to a two count. Hayes got a springboard clothesline for a two count. Oro made the big comeback with a bunch of moves including a forearm and a German Suplex. Oro went for a spin kick, Hayes moved and Oro hit Williams on the apron. Hayes hit the Codebreaker, then he went up top and hit the leg drop to the back of the head for the pinfall win after five minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Carmelo Hayes

Analysis: **3/4 A competitive match with some big moves from both guys, but Hayes took advantage of the situation when Oro missed the corner attack and Hayes hit a couple of moves.

Post match, Carmelo Hayes said that he was going to stick around to see who else was going to qualify for the NXT North American Ladder Match. Andre Chase made his entrance with his Chase U supporters.

(Commercial)

They showed Brutus Creed getting looked at by a trainer earlier in the day. A doctor said that he won’t clear Brutus. Duke Hudson showed up to trash Brutus and Julius Creed, so that led to Julius-Duke exchanging words to set up a match for later.

NXT North American Championship Qualifying Match: Von Wagner (w/Mr. Stone) vs. Andre Chase (w/Bodhi Hayward & Thea Hale)

Wagner was in control early with a clothesline on Chase. After Wagner missed a corner attack, Chase hit two dropkicks to the knees. Chase hit the Russian legsweep followed by the “CHASE U” stomping routine with the crowd chanting along. Stone tried to get involved, but Hayward and Hale took care of him with Thea giving Stone a body slam on the floor. Chase was watching what was going on, Wagner tried a move, but Chase got a rollup for two. Wagner with a slam off the shoulders for the pinfall win after about five minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Von Wagner

Analysis: *1/2 A shorter match that was just decent overall. Chase isn’t pushed that much while they continue to try to push Wagner with wins like this. I’m not surprised by that match result.

Von Wagner joins Carmelo Hayes, Oro Mensah, Wes Lee and one more person in the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match at Halloween Havoc.

Wes Lee attacked Hayes at ringside, but it was quickly broken up by referees.

Nathan Frazer was shown watching a TV backstage. Sanga was there talking to him to wish him good luck in his match next week. Veer Mahaan walked into the screen to stare at Sanga. They didn’t say a word as the scene cut away.

Lash Legend did a promo about her match on the way to the ring.

(Commercial)

Grayson Waller was shown telling a guy to park his car. This show really loves the quick vignettes.

Wendy Choo vs. Lash Legend

Lash hit Choo with a pillow before the bell. At least Choo didn’t sell the devastating pillow. Choo kicked Lash out of the ring, then Choo tried a dive onto Lash on the floor, but Lash caught her and hit a backbreaker. Back in the ring, Lash hit an elbow to the back for a two count. Choo hit a running dropkick and a handspring into a corner splash. After Choo avoided a kick, Choo hit a backwards splash off the top for the pinfall win after about four minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Wendy Choo

Analysis: ** Choo was impressive with some of her moves as usual. Lash looks okay on offense, but still needs to sell better and in a more realistic way at times.

Wes Lee was interviewed backstage saying that he gave Carmelo Hayes a receipt. Lee said that at Halloween Havoc, he wants to get the title, but he wants to get his hands on Hayes. Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo interrupted telling Lee that his consequences have actions with Lee saying he didn’t hurt Tony D’Angelo on purpose. Lee was frustrated.

Analysis: It was a random bump that Tony took going into the turnbuckle that hurt his knee. It’s not like Lee did anything, so that’s why Lee was frustrated by what Stacks said.

The Gallus trio did a promo saying they are suspended for attacking security, but they added that they will be back soon enough. They said that the Gallus boys will be on top.

Toxic Attraction’s Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne made their entrance for a match. I guess there’s no Mandy Rose this week.

This Friday on Smackdown: Roman Reigns and Logan Paul are there while GUNTHER defends the Intercontinental Title against Sheamus.

(Commercial)

They showed Kayden Carter and Katana Chance talking about their success as NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions. Carter said she wanted to do this since she was a kid while Chance said five years ago when she did her tryout, she fell in love with this. They talked about being best friends and wanting the best for eachother.

Nikkita Lyons & Zoey Stark vs. Toxic Attraction – Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne

The winners of this match get an NXT Women’s Tag Team Title match.

Jayne and Stark did a routine of moves going for nearfalls. After Dolin (wearing tape on the ribs to sell the Fyre attack earlier) tagged in, Stark hit a springboard cross body block and Dolin fell down before she was touched, so that looked bad. Wait until the contact to fall. Lyons kicked Jayne out of the ring and then Stark hit a missile dropkick on Dolin leading to the commercial break picture-in-picture action.

(Commercial)

Dolin was in control against Lyons. They showed Carter & Chance watching the match. After Jayne tagged in, there was a double kick spot by Lyons/Jayne knocking them both down. Stark hit a running elbow on Dolin along with a sliding knee for two. Lyons tagged in for a double team superkick/German Suplex spot. Stark and Jayne did a double clothesline spot as all four women were down. Dolin did an STO trip on Lyons followed by Jayne hitting a neckbreaker for two. I heard Jayne say “kick” and Lyons hit a spin kick right after that. After Stark tagged in, Jayne hit her with a forearm. Lyons tripped up Jayne leading to a kick on the floor. Stark hit her flip into a knee to the face of Dolin and Lyons tagged in with a split-legged leg drop on Dolin for the pinfall win after 11 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Nikkita Lyons & Zoey Stark

Analysis: **3/4 It ended up being a solid match from two teams that worked well together for the most part. Lyons is impressive with her power moves while Stark is technically sound. Jayne continues to impress in these matches while Dolin is sloppy at times, but she has good charisma for sure. It made sense to put over Stark/Lyons here instead of going with Dolin/Jayne again.

A video aired about Ilja Dragunov talking about how he’s never feared pain. Dragunov talked about how hard it was to give up the NXT UK Title due to an ankle injury. Dragunov talked about the pain of watching Worlds Collide knowing it should have been him against Bron Breakker (instead of Tyler Bate). Dragunov said that Bron Breakker is a great champion that is stepping into the ring with a machine (referring to himself) while JD McDonagh knows that Dragunov will stop at nothing to be victorious. Dragunov said he’ll suffer and endure pain, but at Halloween Havoc he’ll become champion again. Dragunov ended it saying “long live the Czar.”

Analysis: That was well produced and all of his comments made a lot of sense from his perspective.

Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez were shown walking backstage separately for a talk show segment up next.

(Commercial)

Grayson Waller Effect with Cora Jade & Roxanne Perez

Grayson Waller was in the ring with a table and some fake trees behind him. They had a separate screen in the lower left corner. Waller introduced his guests – Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez.

It was mentioned by Waller that Jade and Perez will have a match at Halloween Havoc. They exchanged words, Waller didn’t like that they interrupted him and Perez interrupted Waller again. Jade mocked Perez because she looked like she was going to cry. Perez said that they wanted to break into WWE together and rise to the top together. Perez said they wanted to be what the Four Horsewomen were to them (they are only 21). Perez said she’ll do it by herself. Jade said that she’ll beat Perez again and everyone will realize Perez is about hype, but doesn’t have enough talent. Perez said for a year, Jade put on a nice girl act and then Cora blamed Perez as well as the fans. Waller said he has two huge scoops.

Waller said in two weeks time they have to play Pick Your Poison and the whole WWE roster is fair game as their opponent. Jade said she had a few people in mind, Perez said she did too. Waller told them their match at Halloween Havoc is a “Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal” match. Waller said that they should spin it now. Waller spun the wheel by the entrance. It landed on “Weapons Wild Match” which is another way of saying Street Fight type match without using that name.

Jade and Perez got into a fight in the ring, so the security (wrestlers that haven’t debuted on TV yet) tried to separate them.

Apollo Crews grabbed Waller at ringside and pulled him under the ring. Moments later, Waller crawled out from under the ring with some blood (or red marks at least) coming out of his eyes so it was payback for Waller going after Apollo’s eyes in the past.

Analysis: I like Waller’s promos in general, but the talk show is so annoying even for a heel like him. I understand being obnoxious. This just felt like too much of it to me. Some of the dialogue from Perez and Jade was okay although it was mostly generic. I think Jade is the better talker between the two women while Perez is better in the ring at this point. Both of them have very bright futures, of course. As for the Waller-Crews thing, they continue to have the story with the eyes.

Julius Creed got a hug from Ivy Nile ahead of his match while Brutus paced in the background.

(Commercial)

Joe Gacy and his Schism group was shown talking to somebody in a red sweater with Gacy telling that person that they need to be better. We did not see who it was.

Julius Creed vs. Duke Hudson

Creed ran the ropes with a forearm to the face, an overhead suplex into a slam and a tackle that was like a spinebuster. Creed with a clothesline for the pinfall win in under one minute.

Winner by pinfall: Julius Creed

Analysis: 1/2* It was just a squash match to put over Julius in a dominant way. This was bad for Duke, who hasn’t been used much for a while.

After the match, Brutus Creed went out to ringside and beat up Duke with punches. Damon Kemp appeared on the platform in the back part of the arena. Brutus wanted to beat Kemp’s ass. Kemp said it is time for Julius to get his shot at Kemp. Julius said he was his brother’s keeper, then Kemp said that Brutus is Kemp’s bitch, so that pissed off the Creed Brothers. Kemp wanted to make a deal before agreeing to a match. Kemp said he has a lot of things he wants to accomplish here in NXT. Kemp said that if he beats Julius at Halloween Havoc then Brutus is gone from NXT. Brutus: “He accepts.” Julius said when the circumstance calls for it, there is nobody colder than him. Julius said it’s not going to be good enough to beat him, pin him or submit him. Julius told Kemp it’s going to be an Ambulance Match. Kemp agreed to it and told Julius to tell Roderick Strong to make room for him. Julius said he’ll be waiting for him.

Analysis: That was a good promo exchange. Julius is such a talented overall performer already and he’s going to get better too. Kemp has improved a lot with his promos too. It’s an interesting stipulation that Julius has to wrestle for the future of Brutus and it’s an Ambulance Match as well.

JD McDonagh was shown watching TV screens as he talked about Bron Breakker and Ilja Dragunov as guys that use their bodies as a weapon, but they are lacking brain cells. JD said that he’ll let them tear eachother apart because the smartest man will win.

Analysis: I think it’s most likely that Breakker wins, but JD is skilled as an in-ring performer. I would be happy if Dragunov won too.

Hank Walker was shown with his security buddies. Quincy Elliott showed up to warn Hank to watch out for Xyon Quinn.

(Commercial)

A promo aired about Axiom and Nathan Frazer having their third match in their trilogy series with the winner earning a spot in the NXT North American Title Ladder Match at Halloween Havoc. Axiom said he gets to write the final chapter in this story.

Analysis: I think Frazer will win the third match, but they are both very talented and athletic. I enjoyed the first two matches. They will probably get more time for their third match.

Hank Walker vs. Xyon Quinn

Walker is a new signee to NXT saying he just signed a contract recently. Walker was a security guard who was actually signed legitimately, but this is the story. Walker was wrestling in a buttoned-up shirt and jeans. Walker was popular with the crowd. Quinn hit Walker with a spinebuster to take control early. Walker fired up by taking off his shirt and got a Thesz Press takedown. Walker hit a corner splash. Quinn kicked the knee and hit a running forearm for the pinfall win after about two minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Xyon Quinn

Analysis: 1/2* A quick match to put over the more experienced Quinn while telling the story that Walker isn’t experienced enough yet.

After the match, Quinn teased doing another move, so Quincy Elliott showed up for the save. Elliott smacked Walker on the ass and then Quincy did some dance moves.

Analysis: Perhaps it will lead to Quincy and Hank as a tag team.

Cameron Grimes talked to the person in the red hooded sweatshirt. Grimes was trashing Joe Gacy, so The Dyad team attacked Grimes and Gacy hit Grimes with a trash can to the back. Gacy credited the red-hooded person and welcomed them to The Schism’s tree.

Analysis: It was all a plan by The Schism to lure Grimes and do a cheap attack. Well played.

Ridge Holland Butch were shown in the locker room. They were interrupted by Jensen/Riggs and Enofe/Blade leading to all the teams arguing. Ridge told Jensen/Riggs to be aggressive, then told Enofe/Blade to be serious. Butch said it was “fight night” and Holland/Butch left saying they put on “banger after banger” as they left.

The Brawling Brutes team of Butch and Ridge Holland made their entrance.

(Commercial)

NXT Champion Bron Breakker was interviewed about his Halloween Havoc match. Javier Bernal interrupted saying he’s a future NXT Champion, so they exchanged words and Bron said he was requesting a match against Javy next week.

Next week on NXT:

* Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer in the third match in their Best of 3 series for a spot in the NXT North American Title Ladder Match at Halloween Havoc.

* Wes Lee vs. Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo.

* Bron Breakker vs. Javier Bernal.

Pretty Deadly was in the ring for the main event.

NXT Tag Team Championships: Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) vs. The Brawling Brutes (Ridge Holland & Butch)

It’s the main event, so I’ll go play-by-play for it. Holland gave the white-haired Prince a hiptoss takedown. Wilson tagged in with a jawbreaker on Holland, who came back with a suplex. Butch tagged in with a dropkick leading to Holland doing a double underhook slam on Wilson. Butch snapped the fingers of Wilson. After a bit of a referee distraction, Wilson knocked down Butch and Prince tagged in for some stomps on Butch. They did a spot where Butch knocked Prince out of the ring. Butch and Holland beat on Wilson with repeated forearms to the chest (like Sheamus does). Butch hit a running knee on Wilson to knock him off the apron to the floor. That led to a picture-in-picture break.

(Commercial)

Wilson was in control of Butch with an arm submission, so Butch grabbed Wilson’s nose to break free. Wilson tackled Butch into the turnbuckle and Prince tagged in with a running uppercut. Butch broke free to bring in Holland, who hit multiple shoulder tackles on Prince. Wilson ran into the ring so Ridge hit him with a powerslam. Holland with a headbutt to the chest of Prince and Holland slammed Prince onto Wilson. Prince got two boots to the face, then two uppercuts and Holland came back with a hard clothesline. Wilson tagged in, Butch had Wilson on his back, then Butch tagged in and hit a sunset flip Powerbomb off the top rope for a two count. Prince got involved, so Butch hit him with a moonsault onto Prince on the floor. Back in the ring, Butch hit a German Suplex on Prince and clothesline on Wilson. Prince avoided another attack, then Prince launched Wilson in the air leading to a double knee attack on Butch. Holland broke up the pin attempt. PD hit double uppercuts on Butch, double kicks on Holland, then Butch hit a running kick on Prince. Wilson bounced off the ropes with a big clothesline on Butch for a two count. Holland went into the ring to clothesline Prince out of the ring. Butch applied an armbreaker on Wilson, but Prince put Wilson on top of Butch for a two count. Butch snapped a finger and hit the Bitter End slam. The referee moved into position, so then Prince put Wilson’s foot on the bottom rope for just a two count. Prince tried taking a shot at the referee, who ducked it and Holland knocked Prince out of the ring. Butch hit a knee on Wilson. The Brutes did a double team move with Butch kicking Wilson leading to a powerslam by Holland. There was no cover because Imperium’s Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser showed up at ringside. Holland knocked Vinci off the apron. Prince shoved Butch into the ring apron after Butch kicked Kaiser on the floor. Wilson with a chop block to Holland, then Prince tagged in for the Spilt Milk (neckbreaker/spinebuster) combo move for the pinfall win after about 13 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson)

Analysis: ***1/2 This was a great tag team match. The challengers came close to winning a few times although I really didn’t expect a title change in this match. Imperium got involved to cost the Brutes, which isn’t a major surprise. I think as in-ring performers, the team Pretty Deadly team is very talented. Some of their non-wrestling segments are really cheesy, which is part of their gimmick, but I like them more in the ring than I do in some of their segments. The distraction finishes have been a common thing in WWE this week although I understand why it was done in this instance.

The Brawling Brutes and Imperium went brawling to the back. They are in a six-man tag team match at Extreme Rules on Saturday.

Pretty Deadly celebrated in the ring while Enofe/Blade appeared in the entrance area while Riggs/Jensen were on the platform with the idea that there are multiple teams coming after Pretty Deadly’s titles. End show.

Three Stars of the Show

1. Pretty Deadly

2. The Brawling Brutes

3. Carmelo Hayes

The Scoreboard

This week: 6.75 out of 10

Last week: 5.5

Final Thoughts

The show was pretty good although I wouldn’t call it great or anything like that. Better than last week’s weaker episode at least. The main event between Pretty Deadly and Brawling Brutes was easily the best match with Imperium getting involved for the distraction finish.

They are doing a nice job of building some of the matches for Halloween Havoc that are already announced with more to come in the future.

I like the new color scheme. Getting rid of the colorful look was a smart move and now it’s a more consistent white/gold/black scheme in the ring and the graphics. That’s better.

Here’s the lineup for Halloween Havoc on October 22nd so far.