NXT emanates live from the Performance Center in Orlando tonight, with just 3 shows left until Halloween Havoc. The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic continues with two exciting matches, and the NXT Champion will learn who his next #1 contender is. Tune in to the action on the CW starting at 8 PM ET, and follow along right here on Cageside!
Grayson Waller awaits Halloween Havoc opponent
When he steps into the ring to defend the NXT Championship at Halloween Havoc, Grayson Waller will have been champ for over 2 months. Over that span, the Aussie Icon
has had people from across the locker room taking aim at his title, with Myles Borne and Tony D’Angelo the latest to eye it. Mason Rook was lined up for a championship match after winning a mini-tournament, but he was forced out of action, allegedly due to a severe injury. Forced to defend his title that night anyway, Waller was pushed to the limit by EK Prosper but still escaped the Performance Center with the gold.
Then last week, Myles Borne looked to move on from his personal rivalry with Tavion Heights to pursue NXT’s top prize, but the man from whom Waller won the title at Heatwave believed himself to be next in line.
Tony D’Angelo came up short in the mini-tournament that initially earned Mason Rook a title shot, and has been floundering a bit since losing the NXT Title in a Fatal 4-Way at the end of August. Tony has also never gotten a rematch for the title, and he’s now one step away from earning one. If last week is any indication, Myles may head into tonight’s match with the momentum. After Waller suggested the #1 contender’s match last week, Borne dug in his pocket and pulled out a roll of quarters that he used to strike Tony D right in the chin.
Can Borne parlay that momentum into a win tonight and a title match at Halloween Havoc? Or will the former NXT Champion catapult himself right back to the top of the NXT pecking order and earn his rematch in less than three weeks?
Dusty Rhodes Quarterfinals Begin
The return of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic a few weeks ago breathed new life into the NXT tag team division, and the first round delivered incredible action. The NXT Tag Team Champions, the Vanity Project, earned their spot in the quarterfinals by virtue of a first-round bye, but they will get their first taste of Dusty Cup action tonight when they take on the unlikely duo of AAA’s Mini Vikingo and Evolve’s Chazz “Starboy” Hall. That duo advanced to the round of 8 after defeating the Birth Right duo of Stacks and Uriah Connors. Will Vikingo and Hall’s Cinderella run continue and propel them into the semifinals? Or will Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes show everyone why they’re the top tag team in NXT with a win?
Sparks are sure to fly in tonight’s other quarterfinal match as Fraxiom takes on Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno. Nathan Frazer and Axiom returned to Tuesday nights for the Dusty Cup after rattling off one of the best runs any NXT tag team has had this decade. They advanced to the quarterfinals by knocking off the DarkState duo of Osiris Griffin and Cutler James. Looking across the ring from the former champs will be the relatively new tag team of Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno. Noam and Romeo kicked off the Dusty Cup action three weeks ago when they beat Los Americanos in the first round. Will the team with the coolest entrance in NXT right now keep winning by knocking off one of the most accomplished tag teams left in the bracket? Or will Fraxiom remind everyone what they’re capable of and stamp their ticket to the Dusty Cup semifinals?
Find out tonight when the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic quarterfinals get underway!
Is Wren Sinclair’s suspension over?
It has been a few weeks since NXT General Manager Robert Stone suspended Wren Sinclair for striking a referee. The founding member of the WrenQCC had just gone on a rampage against Kelani Jordan after the NXT Women’s Champion injured her bestie, Kendal Grey, at Heatwave. Wren viciously attacked Kelani with a kendo stick, but went a little too far.
Wren made her return to NXT last week, although nobody really knew she was there until the end of the night.
A 6-brand, 20-woman battle royal was on the docket to determine Kelani Jordan’s #1 contender for Halloween Havoc. It looked like Kali Armstrong had outlasted the field, but just as she had made her way up into the corner to yell at Jordan, who was watching from the PC perch, the woman we all thought was AAA’s Lady Shani slid back into the ring, threw Armstrong out, and was declared the winner herself. You could hear a few of the Performance Center faithful chanting ‘Wren!’, and we found out why when the battle royal winner removed her mask to reveal that it was actually Wren Sinclair. Kelani Jordan has since seemed to file a complaint with GM Stone via Twitter, so this situation will likely be addressed tonight.
Will Wren Sinclair’s suspension be lifted, clearing the way for her to challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship at Halloween Havoc? Or will Kelani Jordan convince her boss to have her face the real Lady Shani at Havoc instead?
Quick Hits
- Zilla Fatu was hoping to finally put Birth Right behind him after he took care of the head nepo-baby, Lexis King, last week. Unfortunately for the Main One, he fell victim to a four-on-one attack after the bell rang, which culminated in his hand being viciously sandwiched between the two steel ring steps. Will Fatu be in any condition to get some revenge on Birth Right? Are there any other nympho-babies the faction can look to add to their ranks if Fatu’s going to miss time?
- Shiloh Hill’s match with Naraku ended abruptly last week when Naraku’s mist….. well, missed… his intended target and instead landed on the referee, Derek Sanders. Although it initially looked like Naraku was disqualified, WWE’s official website lists the match as a no-contest. This, of course, makes it likely that another match between these two is in the cards. Will it happen this week, or is Halloween Havoc more likely?
- Saquon Shugars and Tristan Angels will end their war of words tonight when they go head-to-head in the ring. After coming up just short of becoming the #1 contender a few weeks ago, the Shuga Man looks to get back in the win column. Is Tristan Angels the ideal opponent for him to do that? Or will the British shepherd start to establish himself in the NXT men’s division?
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!
