The John Report: WWE NXT 10/07/25 Review (NXT-TNA Showdown)
This week’s WWE NXT featured the NXT-TNA Showdown episode with four big matches, including classic Survivor Series elimination matches.
It’s the NXT-TNA Showdown episode that was set up a few weeks ago and pushed heavily last week. I didn’t watch this live because I was at a friend’s house watching my Toronto Blue Jays blow a 6-1 lead to lose 9-6 to the New York Yankees. The series is still going on, so hopefully my Jays find a way to win.
They were at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando for this week’s show. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport, and check out my NXT TV review archive. Let’s get to it.
A video package aired about the NXT-TNA brands facing off for this “once in a lifetime showdown” named Showdown. There were clips shown of the history of the brands, including some recent title changes involving talent on both brands.
There was some pre-show walking shown of some of the wrestlers competing on the show.
The Hardy Boyz duo of Matt and Jeff Hardy made their entrance as the TNA Tag Team Champions. TNA President Carlos Silva was at ringside. WWE & TNA Hall of Famers The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray & D-Von Dudley) were at ringside since they face The Hardys at Bound For Glory on Sunday, October 12th.
The commentary team was Vic Joseph and Booker T. Vic was doing some Hardy hand gestures, so Booker told him to stop. The ring announcer was Mike Rome, and TNA’s ring announcer McKenzie Mitchell (Vic’s wife), who used to work on NXT as an interviewer, was also there.
Darkstate was up next as the NXT Tag Team Champions. All four Darkstate guys went into the ring to attack the Hardys, but the Hardys fought them off and cleared the ring. The referee, Adrian Butler, ejected Saquon Shugars and Cutler James from the ringside.
Winners Take All For TNA & NXT Tag Team Championships: The Hardy Boyz – Matt & Jeff Hardy vs. Darkstate – Dion Lennox & Osiris Griffin
The Hardys hit a double team elbow on Dion. Matt wrenched on Dion’s left arm. Jeff tagged in to jump off Matt’s back and hit a clothesline on Dion. Griffin tagged in, Dion knocked him down and Griffin missed a leg drop, but they tried to sell it anyway. That’s not a move you should miss. Griffin hit a body slam and missed a leg drop, so Matt tagged in. Matt kicked Griffin in the head. Griffin caught Matt on his shoulders, but Dion made the tag and he clotheslined Matt. They went on a break as the action was shown here on Netflix. Jeff tagged in and Darkstate managed to isolate him from his brother. Darkstate did a high-low attack on the apron to put Jeff down.
Dion was in control of Jeff with a chinlock. Griffin tagged in to work over Jeff with some choking against the ropes. Dion hit a DDT on Jeff. Griffin and Dion and made some quick tags to work over Jeff some more. Jeff broke free with a kick, along with the Whisper in the Wind cross body block off the top on both opponents. Matt got the hot tag and hit the Side Effect on Dion, followed by a DDT on Griffin. Matt sent Dion’s head into the turnbuckles, Jeff hit a Stunner and Matt hit a neckbreaker for two because Griffin made the save. Darkstate hit a double team Powerbomb for two because Jeff made the save. Dion got the tag, Griffin put Matt on his shoulders, Matt punched Griffin a few times, so then there was a stumble and they had to improvise. Matt punched Dioin and hit a Twist of Fate on Griffin. Dion jumped off the top with nothing. Matt kicked him, and Matt hit a Twist of Fate. Jeff tagged in and hit a Swanton Bomb off the top for the pinfall win after 11 minutes. The Hardys are the new NXT Tag Team Champions in addition to holding the TNA Tag Team Titles. The fans popped big for the title change.
Winners by pinfall AND NEW NXT Tag Team Champions and TNA Tag Team Champions
Analysis: *** It was a solid match with some sloppy moments. It wasn’t some epic tag team title match or anything like that. I guess you could blame Griffin for a few of the sloppy moments, but it happens, and people will learn from it. They followed the tag team formula with Jeff as the face in peril, and then Matt got the hot tag, which led to the finish. The Hardys’ win made sense to continue their legacy in pro wrestling as arguably the best team in the history of the business.
The Hardy Boyz made history.
We've got ourselves new NXT Tag Team Champions! 👊@ThisIsTNApic.twitter.com/n4AtIEZxpK
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) October 8, 2025
The Hardys celebrated with the TNA and NXT Tag Team Titles. They stared down Team 3D/Dudley Boyz at ringside.
Analysis: I’m happy for The Hardys. I’ve always been a fan of them, and I am glad that they are doing well, especially Jeff, who has had a lot of problems over the years. I hope the Hardys get a final run on the WWE main roster, and I think we’ll see that happen in the next year or two.
A commercial aired for WWE Crown Jewel this Saturday, October 11th.
(Commercial)
The special referee for the next match was Jordynne Grace in referee gear. She’s a TNA Knockout legend and signed with NXT this year.
The IInspiration duo of TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions Cassie Lee and Jessie McKay made their entrance to their IIconics music when they were known as Peyton Royce and Billie Kaye. Mara Sade, who used to be Jakara Jackson in WWE, was next. TNA Knockouts Champion Kelani Jordan was next.
Team NXT was next with Lola Vice up first. Jaida Parker was next, followed by NXT North American Champion Sol Ruca and the NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne was last. The four women on the NXT team were wearing “Team NXT” shirts over their gear.
Women’s Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match: Team TNA – Kelani Jordan, Cassie Lee, Jessie McKay & Mara Sade vs. Team NXT – Jacy Jayne, Jaida Parker, Sol Ruca & Lola Vice
It’s a Survivor Series elimination-style match. In case you need a refresher on those rules, here they are.
* Eliminations can occur by pinfall, submission, countout, or disqualification.
* Match ends when all 4 members of the opposing team have been eliminated.
Jordan and Jayne started with some mat wrestling. Jayne hit a running hurricanrana. Vice tagged in, and Jayne complained about it. Lee and McKay each tagged in, kicked Vice and they did an iconic pose. Sade tagged in with a dropkick on Vice. Parker tagged in with a double team elbow on Sade for two. Sade hit a roundhouse kick on Parker, along with a running forearm for a two count. Lee and McKay stopped a suplex attempt, so then all eight women got into the ring and they had a brawl. The TNA team cleared the ring as Lee and McKay hit cross body blocks. Jayne hit a dive onto Lee and McKay. Sade hit a cross body block on Jayne on the floor. Jordan hit a moonsault onto some NXT girls and barely touched some of them, but they sold them anyway. Ruca hit a moonsault over the top onto TNA girls on the floor. They went on a break for some fans as the action continued. I’ll take a break too.
Lee and McKay were in control of Ruca by sending her into the ring post. The fans were doing the wave. Sade hit a knee drop on Ruca’s head. Lee and McKay each made tags, so Ruca hit them with a double DDT. Jayne tagged in with clotheslines, a neckbreaker, a superkick, an enziguri kick and another superkick. Jayne hit a cannonball on Jordan against the turnbuckle. Jayne hit a senton splash on Jordan for a two count. Jordan tried a rollup for two, plus a Stunner after that. Parker worked over Sade with knees and a blockbuster. Parker worked over Lee with shoulder tackles. McKay tried to save her partner, but Parker set up Lee and McKay against the turnbuckle. Parker hit a hip drop on both IInsipration ladies and some high-stepping after that. Sade hit a reverse X-Factor on Parker. Sade went for a moonsault and over-jumped, so she only hit Parker with her hands. Oops. Parker hit a Falcon Arrow on Sade for two because Jordan hit a top rope splash. Ruca hit a dropkick. The women all went into the ring to hit a move and then bump to the floor. Parker hit Hipnotic on Lee out of the ring. Sade rolled up and sat on top of Parker for the first pin.
Jaida Parker has been eliminated for Team NXT
Sade was celebrating, so Ruca jumped off the ropes with a Soul Snatcher for the pinfall.
Mara Sade has been eliminated for Team TNA
The TNA team took control during the break for some fans. The trio of Jordan, McKay, and Lee worked over Jayne for a few minutes. McKay was in the ring with Jayne, who hit an elbow and Jayne sent McKay out of the ring. Jayne kicked McKay and Vice got the hot tag. Vice hit a couple of spin kicks, along with kicks to the legs of her opponents. Vice did her running hip attack while Booker was getting excited. Vice hit a belly-to-back suplex. Vice avoided a kick by Lee and Vice hit a spinning back first on Lee to pin her.
Cassie Lee has been eliminated for Team TNA
McKay tried to roll up Vice for the pin, but Vice got out of it and applied a rear-naked choke sleeper, and McKay tapped out before Jordan could make the save.
Jessie McKay has been eliminated for Team TNA
Jordan was the only woman left on TNA’s team against Vice and Ruca. Jordan superkicked Jayne. Jordan hit the One of a Kind moonsault off the top for two, but Grace was distracted by McKay and Lee attacking Vice and Ruca on the floor. Grace counted it and it was just a two count. Jordan complained to Grace about being slow with the count. Jayne sent Jordan out of the ring and Jayne kicked Jordan. Vice was legal, Jordan shoved Vice into Jayne and Jordan hit an Angle Slam on Vice for the pinfall.
Lola Vice has been eliminated for Team NXT
Ruca hit a running backpack slam on Jordan for a two count. Jordan countered Ruca with a hurricanrana for a two count. Jordan hit a sitout DDT on Ruca for two. Jordan and Ruca went to the top rope, which led to Jordan hitting a Spanish Fly on Ruca. Jordan went for a 450 Splash, but Sol got the knees up. Sol jumped off the ropes with a Soul Snatcher and Jayne made the tag while Sol was on the ropes. Jayne covered Jordan for the win. It went 23 minutes. Sol didn’t like that Jacy made the tag.
Kelani Jordan has been eliminated for Team TNA
Winners: Team NXT – Jacy Jayne & Sol Ruca survive
Analysis: ***1/4 Pretty good match, but I wouldn’t say it was great. It’s a long match since it’s a Survivor Series match, so that’s good for the talent to show what they can do. I didn’t like how it was booked for the TNA women since Jordan was the last one on the team, and she’s an NXT wrestler. I would have had Cassie or Jessie last longer in the match so that TNA looked better because they looked like they were not on the same level as the NXT women. There weren’t many issues with Jayne and her teammates, except when Vice was sent into her and was pinned right after her. I think from a creative standpoint, it could have been booked better and been a more entertaining match.
The Mustafa Ali-Ethan Page match was next, so they were shown walking backstage.
(Commercial)
The NXT GM Ava was backstage with TNA’s Matt Cardona, who said he was sorry for getting involved in the Borne/Briggs match, but he wanted to get involved. Ava said that Matt is the king of self-promotion, so he’s not sorry at all. Matt said that he just wants to get involved. Josh Briggs walked in and Matt hid behind a door, so Briggs said he wanted a match with Matt Cardona. Ava said they’ll make it happen. They shot it so it was like Briggs didn’t see Cardona in the room.
Analysis: It’s cool that Matt Cardona will be back in a WWE ring next week. I think they should re-sign him. It’s been five years since he was let go, and I think he deserves another shot.
NXT North American Championship: Ethan Page vs. Mustafa Ali
Ali was supposed to get a shot at the NXT North American Title in 2023, but he was released and never got the title shot. Page is the heel champion, while the fans were behind Ali.
They exchanged some moves as Ali got a rollup for two. Ali did a backslide for two. Ali kicked Page, followed by a neckbreaker. Ali hit a standing moonsault for two. The action spilled to the floor where Ali sent Page into the ring apron. Page went into the ring, then he left the ring and wanted to leave, but Ali stopped him. Ali countered Page on the floor and hit a DDT. Ali went to the turnbuckle, but Page tripped him up. Page swung Ali’s body around so that Ali’s head/neck hit the ring post. They went on a break for some fans as the action continued. Page was in control for the next few minutes with chinlocks and a huge lariat that saw Ali hit a flip bump. Ali came back with a basement dropkick.
Page set up Ali on the top turnbuckle, but Ali blocked it with a headbutt. Ali hit a Sunset Flip Powerbomb. Ali went up top again, so Page hit the ropes to crotch Ali on the top rope. Page stood on the middle turnbuckle and slammed Ali face-first onto the top turnbuckle. Page hit a running boot to the face for a two count. Great flip bump by Ali on that. Ali and Page each hit running kicks. Ali charged, Page avoided it and sent Ali hard into the middle turnbuckle for two count. Excellent bump by Ali there. Ali did the clap on the ears of Page and Ali jumped off the turnbuckle with a Tornado DDT for two. Ali went for Order 450, Page avoided it and Page hit a kick to the face. Ali hit an elbow, Page wanted a Powerbomb and Ali countered it with a hurricanrana for two. Ali hit a superkick. Ali jumped off the ropes with a move, but Page punched him. Ali countered a Page move and hit a bridging pin for two. Ali hit a running hurricanrana to send Page out of the ring. Allin hit a suicide dive that sent Page and Ali both tumbling over the commentary table! The fans chanted, “Holy Shit” after that. Awesome move by Ali. Ali went up top, but his foot was caught on a microphone cord, so Page shoved Ali off the top and Ali went crashing onto the floor. Page put Ali back into the ring and hit Twisted Grin for the pinfall win. It went 14 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Ethan Page
Analysis: **** It was an excellent match between two talented veterans. A “banger” as some people might say. They were slower-paced early on, but then the part after the break was on another level, with some outstanding nearfalls throughout the match. That bump that Ali took after Page shoved him off the top was crazy, and it looked vicious also, so it was smart to go to the finish after that. Page was aggressive as the heel champion, while Ali was exciting to watch as the challenger. I expected Page to win, and I don’t mind that result, but Ali deserves a lot of credit for putting up a fight. That was a lot of fun to watch.
El Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr., who is the AAA Latin American Champion, was interviewed by Sarah Schreiber. Wagner denied Ethan Page’s claim that he cheated to win at Worlds Collide. Wagner said he was coming for the North American Title. Lexis King walked in thinking it was Tavion Heights. Wagner denied it and left. Tavion Heights walked up to King asking why did you say his name? King wondered how he did that.
Analysis: That was more of the same, with Lexis King being a dumbass character.
A commercial aired for John Cena’s final WWE match at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13th, and it’s in Washington, DC.
(Commercial)
The women from Team NXT were in the locker room. Jacy Jayne said she’d see them around. Zaria walked in to talk to Sol Ruca, so the other girls left. Ruca claimed that she was going to be a tag team champion with Zaria. Blake Monroe walked in, saying that Sol is greedy and Zaria will never get what she wants as long as Sol keeps using her. Zaria said that she knows Blake cares about Sol’s titles. Blake said she only cared about the Women’s NXT North American Title. Blake said we’ll see how long this friendship lasts.
Analysis: I think Blake Monroe certainly could be the next Women’s NXT North American Champion.
Next week on NXT:
* Josh Briggs vs. Matt Cardona
* El Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Lexis King
It was main event time as Team TNA made their entrance first, and they entered from the crowd rather than the traditional entrance area. It was TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater, TNA International Champion Frankie Kazarian, Moose, and Mike Santana, who was the captain of the team.
(Commercial)
A commercial aired for NXT Halloween Havoc on October 25th.
The special referee is TNA’s Joe Hendry, who might be an NXT superstar sooner or later.
The NXT team was next, featuring the popular phenom Je’Von Evans, Myles Borne was next as another babyface on the team, the heel TNA World Champion Trick Williams followed them, and NXT Champion Ricky Saints was last. Team NXT was wearing NXT jerseys.
Men’s Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match: Team TNA – Ricky Saints, Trick Williams, Je’Von Evans & Myles Borne vs. Team NXT – Mike Santana, Moose, Frankie Kazarian & Leon Slater
Here are the rules again for the Survivor Series-style Elimination match.
* Eliminations can occur by pinfall, submission, countout or disqualification.
* Match ends when all 4 members of the opposing team have been eliminated.
The match started with about 25 minutes left in the show, so they had lots of time. Trick and Kaz exchanged punches, which led to Trick hitting a dropkick. Borne tagged in with an atomic drop and a neckbreaker. Kaz tackled Borne into the turnbuckle, so then all eight guys went into the ring to fight. Borne sent Kaz over the top to the floor. Borne hit a running somersault dive over the top to knock everybody down on the floor, even though he didn’t touch some of them. Borne hit a German Suplex on Kaz and a powerslam on Moose. Borne hit a neckbreaker on Kaz across the knee. Kaz dropkicked Borne on the back of his head. Kaz hit a slingshot Cutter on Borne to eliminate him in under three minutes. Booker called Borne the weak link on the team.
Myles Borne has been eliminated for Team NXT
They went to a commercial for some fans as the match continued. Ricky ran over Mike with a shoulder tackle. Mike came back with a hurricanrana. Ricky hit a Slingblade on Mike. Evans tagged in with a punch to Mike’s ribs. Mike hit a belly-to-back suplex on Evans. Mike chopped Evans hard a few times. Moose tagged in and Evans unloaded on Moose with chops. The powerhouse Moose hit a dropkick to knock Evans down. Kaz was back in with a suplex on Evans for two. Kaz sent Evans into the turnbuckle.
Kaz hit a springboard leg drop on Evans for a two count. Kaz tried a rollup on Evans with his feet on the ropes, but Hendry saw it and stopped counting. Trick got the tag and hit jumping side kicks. Trick tried a move, but Slater avoided it. Trick kicked Slater and Slater hit a side kick. Trick hit a Book End and a spinning kick to the head for a two count. Trick chopped Slater in the chest a few times and they were loud. Slater came back with some chops. Slater countered Trick and hit a spin kick to the head. Slater hit a cartwheel into a cutter on Trick for a two count. There were big moves by a few guys Mike hit Ricky with a Cutter. Trick tagged out to avoid Mike, who he faces at Bound for Glory on October 12. Evans tagged in with a jumping kick on Slater. Evans hit a hurricanrana on Moose. Evans hit a suicide dive. Evans hit a dive over the top on Mike. Moose caught a leaping Evans, so Evans gave Moose a hurricanrana on the floor. Evans kicked Kaz. Evans went for a springboard move, but Slater rolled him up with a ROLLUP OF DEATH~! and used his body for more leverage for the win.
Je’Von Evans has been eliminated for Team NXT
Analysis: Good elimination because Slater is against Evans at Bound for Glory this Sunday, October 12th, so it shows that Slater can beat him.
They went to a break for some fans for a few minutes. Kaz worked over Trick, and then Moose tagged in with chops and a body slam. Slater hit a running splash on Trick for two. Kaz tagged in to work over Trick, but Trick came back with a punch. Kaz hit a jumping kick on Trick for two.
The match continued with TNA having a 4-2 advantage. Trick avoided a charging Moose and dumped Kaz to the floor. Kaz pulled Ricky off the apron and Trick felt like he was alone. Trick hit a spin kick on Moose and hit a neckbreaker. Ricky made the tag and Trick wasn’t happy. Ricky hit a forearm on Slater, followed by a running kick. Ricky hit a sitout slam for a two count. Slater picked up Ricky and hit a spinning slam. Ricky wanted to tag out, but Trick left the apron to the floor and Trick left. Ricky yelled at Trick about it.
Trick Williams has been eliminated for Team NXT
Kaz rolled up Ricky for two. Kaz clotheslined Ricky. Trick went to the back. Kaz hit a spinning slam on Ricky for two. Kaz applied a Crossface Chickenwing, Ricky kicked himself off the ropes, and covered Kaz for the win.
Frankie Kazarian has been eliminated for Team TNA
Slater hit a top rope Frog Splash on Ricky for two. Slater hit a running kick to Ricky’s face. Slater went for the Swanton 450, but Ricky got the knees up and got an inside cradle for two.
Leon Slater has been eliminated for Team TNA
Moose battled with Ricky and Moose hit a dropkick to knock Ricky off the turnbuckle to the floor. Moose charged, Ricky kicked him, Moose hit a uranage slam and a senton splash for two. Moose went for a power move, but Ricky countered with a DDT for two because Mike broke up the pin. Mike tagged in and kicked Ricky in the face. Mike chopped Ricky, followed by a spinning slam into the mat for two. Mike went for a power move, Ricky avoided that and Ricky hit a superkick. Mike charged, Ricky avoided him and Ricky wanted a DDT, but Mike avoided it. Moose went for a Spear, Ricky moved and Moose hit Mike. Ricky covered Mike for two. Moose was in the ring illegally and hit a Popup Powerbomb. Santana hit the Spin the Block discus lariat for the pinfall win after 23 minutes.
Winners: Team TNA – Mike Santana & Moose survive
Analysis: ***1/2 I thought it was a very good Survivor Series-style elimination tag team match. The big story was Trick Williams walking out on his team without being pinned or submitted, so it shows that he’s a selfish guy who only cares about himself, and not the NXT team. TNA getting the win made sense since they lost two matches earlier, so a win here meant they tied 2-2 and it also makes TNA look strong since they won the main event match. Santana is likely beating Trick for the TNA World Title at Bound for Glory. It was the right call to have Santana win for that reason. I don’t think Starks is going to look bad for losing here since he eliminated a few guys in the match.
The NXT GM, Ava, and Director of Authority, Santino Marella, spoke about the show. They spoke about some of the big matches. Ava said next week she wanted to do a battle royal for the next NXT Women’s Title contender, and she wanted TNA women involved. Santino agreed with that and they shook hands. End show.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Ethan Page and Mustafa Ali
- Team TNA Men
- Team NXT Women, Hardy Boyz
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The Scoreboard
This week: 7.75 out of 10
Last week: 7.25
2025 Average: 7.33
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Final Thoughts on WWE NXT
It felt like a better NXT episode than usual because it was wrestling-heavy and most of the matches were very entertaining. I thought the Ethan Page/Mustafa Ali match was the best of the night, while the Men’s Survivor Series elimination match was more interesting than what the women did. I think the booking hurt the women’s match more than the wrestlers did. With that said, it was fun to see Survivor Series elimination matches again, with the NXT women and TNA men picking up the big wins.
The NXT brand won two matches and the TNA brand won two matches, so it’s a stalemate in terms of who won Showdown. I think they could have made it more interesting by booking five matches and having one side win more matches so that the story can continue that way. Instead, they booked a tie, and now the fighting between NXT and TNA will likely stop just like that. Congrats to the Hardys winning the NXT Tag Team Titles, too.
The next NXT PLE is Halloween Havoc on October 25th, and there’s nothing officially announced for it. They’ll only have two NXT episodes to build it up.
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Thanks for reading. My contact info is below.
John Canton
Email [email protected]
Twitter/X @johnreport