NXT emanates from the Performance Center in Orlando once again tonight with a little less than two months until Halloween Havoc. Three matches have been announced, including one to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Championship. Be sure to tune in to the action on the CW starting at 8 PM ET, and follow along with all the action right here on Cageside!
Will Tony D get the first crack at Grayson?
Less than two months after returning to NXT and less than three weeks after winning the NXT Championship at Heatwave, Grayson Waller will learn
who his first #1 contender will be on tonight’s show.
Thanks to a little help from Keanu Carver, NXT GM Robert Stone set up a 6-man tag team match on last week’s episode, where the winners would advance and compete in a triple threat match this week to ultimately decide the #1 contender. Saquon Shugars, Mason Rook, and former NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo came out on top in that one, beating Carver, EK Prosper, and Cruz Montana when Rook tagged himself in and pinned Prosper. With tensions already bubbling over immediately after the bell rang, it’s clear that the winning trio getting along had a one-week shelf life.
On the surface, Tony D’Angelo seems like the most obvious choice to come out on top tonight. As one of the lone holdovers from the great roster purge of 2026, Tony became the de facto leader of the developmental brand when the rest of the brand’s top stars were dispersed to Raw and SmackDown. The former Don became a Grand Slam Champion at Stand & Deliver when he made it to the top of the NXT mountain and won the NXT Championship. His title reign hadn’t even reached its fifth month when Grayson Waller ended it last month at Heatwave. Now, Tony D has carved out a path to win it back just a few short weeks after losing it, but it’s not going to be easy.
Saquon Shugars finally seems to have put his feud with his former faction, DarkState, behind him after beating Dion Lennox in a Weaponized Cage match a few weeks back. With a little bit of momentum on his side, is it the Shuga Man’s time to elevate himself into main event territory and gain a shot at NXT’s top prize? Time will tell, but besides a former NXT Champion, there will be another rather sizable obstacle standing in Saquon’s way.
Mason Rook made a splash (literally) this past Spring by debuting in NXT and immediately attacking Tony D on multiple occasions shortly after D’Angelo won the NXT Title. He would spend most of the summer waiting for the Kam Hendrix Health Meter to be high enough to compete, and when it finally was, Rook emerged from that rivalry in the win column. In an effort to show that he belongs in the title picture, the Big, Bad Bodyslammer of Dads stole the pinfall from Tony D last week, showing the former champ that his path back to the title won’t be an easy one.
Who will walk out of the Performance Center tonight, lined up to face Grayson Waller? Plus, what’s next for Prosper, Carver, and Montana, the three guys who came up short in last week’s play-in match? Carver and Cruz brawled as the show went off the air last week. Could a showdown between the two be in the cards tonight?
Will Myles Borne apologize?
On a night with five different championships changing hands, no one came out worse than Myles Borne, who lost not one, but two titles at Heatwave. After losing the NXT Tag Team Titles to Swipe Right, the third member of the Vanity Project, Jackson Drake, took the North American Championship off of Borne. After weeks of speculation that Tavion could fly right off the deep end if he lost the first title he’d held in his WWE career, it was Borne who snapped post-match, leaving his partner laid out in the ring after a Borne Again.
In an attempt to explain his actions in a cell phone video two weeks ago, Myles claimed he had to get Tavion before Tavion got him. When Heights was asked for his reaction backstage, Vanity Project rolled up to rub salt in his wounds, which led to Jackson Drake agreeing to defend his newly won North American Title against Tavion last week. In what feels like emotional manipulation in hindsight, Borne made another video questioning whether he had made a mistake by attacking his partner and friend. Heights watched the video just seconds before heading out for his title match and clearly struggled to compartmentalize. Drake picked up the win, and Tavion’s downward spiral continued.
Later in the night, Myles showed up late for work and hoped to talk to Tavion, but Heights had already left the building. Hank and Tank, who have served as unofficial couples counselors for the former NQCC in recent weeks, urged Myles to talk face-to-face with his (former?) partner.
Borne is scheduled for some ring time tonight to address his longtime buddy. Will this end in reconciliation? Or is the Myles/Tavion relationship heading down the same path Zaruca went down not too long ago? We should get some answers tonight.
What’s next for Wren?
With her Speed Title gone and now defunct, and her best friend also titleless and on the shelf indefinitely with an injury, Wren Sinclair showed us an aggressive streak last week that she hadn’t let out much previously. After new NXT Women’s Champion Kelani Jordan notched her first successful title defense over Jaida Parker, Wren slid in the back door and left ‘Lani laid out.
Before laying into Jordan with a series of kendo stick strikes, Sinclair inadvertently knocked out NXT referee Vicky D’Errico. In response to Wren’s crashout, GM Stone informed her that he was suspending her, effective immediately.
With a larger chunk of the spotlight available as Kendal presumably takes some time off, Wren, sporting a shirt with the word ‘Sidekick’ crossed out, seems to be primed for a big opportunity. Will Wren convince Stone to reinstate her after letting cooler heads prevail? If and when she comes back, will she be next in line to face Kelani Jordan?
Quick Hits
- After prevailing in her rivalry with Nattie, Jaida Parker couldn’t parlay her momentum into the NXT Women’s Title last week, falling short against Kelani Jordan. Will Miss Parker be looking for another shot at gold? Or will another veteran leave main roster catering and jump Jaida in the Performance Center tonight?
- The suddenly really deep NXT tag team division will be featured again this week as Cutler James and Osiris Griffin of DarkState take on Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux. After the Creed Brothers returned to the winner’s circle in their NXT return match last week, who else will pick up momentum with sights set on the Vanity Project’s tag gold?
- Zilla Fatu has declined invitations to join Birth Right in back-to-back weeks now, earning a brutal beatdown last week at the urging of Birth Right daddies, William Regal and Finlay. Will the third time be the charm for Umanga’s son joining the group of nepo-babies? Or will the nympho baby continue to insist on flying solo?
- With Myles Borne and Tavion Heights caught up in their own drama, will Jackson Drake come face-to-face with any new challengers this week? If so, will he once again seek refuge by climbing onto Myka Lockwood’s massive shoulders?
- Thea Hail and Izzi Dame returned to Tuesday nights last week and took aim at Zaria and her North American Championship. After triggering the champ by mentioning her former partner, who moved up to Raw earlier this year, Thea locked in a Kimura lock and made Zaria tap. Is that enough for Thea to earn a proper title match, or would she prefer to challenge Nikkita for the Evolve Women’s Title instead?
- Kali Armstrong and Lizzy Rain will square off tonight after a backstage altercation last week. Which relative newcomer will pick up a win and slide a little further up the NXT depth chart?
All this and more on the CW tonight as the road to Halloween Havoc continues! Let us know what you’re most excited for on tonight’s show in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with the live coverage here on Cageside tonight, starting at 8 PM Eastern!
