NXT emanates from the Performance Center in Orlando again tonight, 9 days after their end-of-summer PLE, Heatwave, and a little less than two months until Halloween Havoc. Three huge matches have been announced, including two title matches and one with huge title implications. 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!
Kelani Jordan faces Jaida Parker
A little over a week after becoming the NXT Women’s Champion, Kelani Jordan will jump out of the frying
pan and into the fire tonight, when she defends her title for the first time against Jaida Parker.
Up until recently, Kelani Jordan’s relationships with championship gold was an odd one. Jordan became the first ever NXT Women’s North American Champion, winning the title in a ladder match a few years ago. Then, in her first chance, she won the TNA Knockouts Championship. Simply put, whenever Kelani’s found herself with a title opportunity, she has always cashed in.
On the other hand, though, Kelani had #1 contenders matches for the NXT Women’s Title her first nine times. (Insert Ferris Bueller gif here.) When Kelani finally won a #1 contenders match last month, beating Kendal Grey at Heatwave almost seemed like a foregone conclusion. After a hard-fought battle, Jordan, in fact, did get over the hump and become the NXT Women’s Champion 9 days ago.
Last week on NXT, with the announcement that Kendal Grey was out for the foreseeable future, Kelani was primed for a new #1 contender. Enter Jaida Parker.
Jaida has been embroiled in a personal rivalry with Nattie in recent months, and may have finally put it behind her after making The Anvil’s baby girl tap out with the Sharpshooter at Heatwave. After winning the rubber match with Nattie, who has served as somewhat of a gatekeeper for years now, is an NXT Title win for Miss Parker in her immediate future? We’ll find out on tonight’s show!
Jackson Drake faces Tavion Heights
Heatwave ended up being a career night for the group known as the Vanity Project.
The Vanity Project duo known as Swipe Right, Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor, became the 20th and 21st men in NXT history to hold the brand’s tag team titles more than once, when they beat Myles Borne and Tavion Heights. Later that evening, Jackson Drake made it a clean sweep for his crew, defeating Borne for the North American Championship.
What happened after that match was perhaps more shocking.
After coming up short in both of his title defenses, Myles Borne took out his frustration on his partner, Heights, laying him out with a Borne Again in the middle of the ring. Last week on NXT, Borne would try to explain away his betrayal in a pre-recorded video by saying he just got Tavion before Tavion could get him. Later in the night, a dejected and confused Heights was in the middle of a backstage interview when Vanity Project strolled up to rub some salt in his wounds. The end result of that confrontation was Heights looking to end Jackson Drake’s reign before it even gets a chance to get started. A North American Title match was scheduled between the two for this week’s show.
The obvious outcome here would be for Borne to return and cost his former friend the match. With Borne looming and the Vanity Project playing that damned numbers game, does Tavion stand any chance to pull off the win?
Six top contenders compete in the Keanu Carver Classic
Much like the weeks leading up to Heatwave, there were a bevvy of competitors making it known they wanted the NXT Championship on last week’s show.
After pulling out a crafty win at Heatwave to become the NXT Champion, Grayson Waller quickly realized that with gold comes a huge target on your back. Cruz Montana, Tony D’Angelo, EK Prosper, Mason Rook, and Saquon Shugars came down to the ring in what has become a signature promo segment of NXT, all looking to be the first to challenge the Aussie Icon for the NXT Title. With Robert Stone struggling to keep things under control, he got some help from an unlikely source.
Keanu Carver has been undergoing a metamorphosis of sorts in recent weeks. He realized that his hotheadedness and fiery temper weren’t getting him any championship opportunities, so he recently started taking a more measured approach. He’s been level-headed, calm, and downright polite to his boss Robert Stone and showing maturity by letting the GM know that he plans on moving into title contention the right way.
With all five of the contenders I mentioned above circling the ringside area, Carver came out, stood by Robert Stone, and showed he might have a future as a wrestling matchmaker in the future. Keanu suggested that Stone book a 6-man tag team match, with the winning team colliding in a triple threat #1 contender’s match the following week. After initially seeming to leave Carver out of the equation, Stone quickly changed course, signing that match for this week.
As of press time, WWE doesn’t appear to have announced who will be teaming up, but with NXT Championship implications, you can be sure the match will be a hot one!
Quick Hits
- Zilla Fatu won his first Tuesday night match last week by knocking off Tristan Angels. Afterwards, Lexis King, who had just given up his now-defunct Speed Title, led Birth Right to the ring and offered Zilla a spot in their crew. Fatu declined the invite, but seemed to put himself in Birth Right’s crosshairs in the process. Can the nympho baby handle the nepo-babies all by himself or is there another Uce ready to debut and help him out?
- Naraku knocked off Shiloh Hill in a physical match on next week’s show with the help of some poison mist-related shenanigans. Has the former IWGP Champion done enough to make us forget that he couldn’t beat a man with one eye a few months ago? Or does he need to find a more convincing way to beat Shiloh for a second time?
- The Creed Brothers made an impactful return to the Performance Center last week, laying out Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno, who were fresh off of their win over Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux. Will Dar and Moreno get a chance to get their hands on Brutus and Julius tonight? Or will the Brothers Creed target another tag team to hit with a Brutus Ball?
- Thea Hail beat Evolve Women’s Champion, Nikkita Lyons, in a non-title match last week, seemingly putting herself in line for a title shot. With Karmen Petrovic appearing to choose her AAA pursuits and Nattie’s NXT run possibly ending at Heatwave, does Lyons have a shot at beating Thea Hail if she’s all by herself?
- Kam Hendrix took a loss to Mason Rook last week. What will his health meter be at tonight, and will it be enough for him to lose another match?
- WWE is presenting AAA Worlds Collide in Chicago at the end of the month, and the NXT insignia appears on the logo for the event. Will any AAA stars make their way to Orlando tonight to set something up for that show?
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!
