Our WWE NXT results for tonight include Kelani Jordan defending the NXT Women’s North American Championship against Wren Sinclair, ‘The Grayson Waller Effect’ returns to NXT for a special interview with the NXT Tag Team Champions Axiom and Nathan Frazer. TNA’s Rosemary returns to team with Wendy Choo, plus a press conference for NXT’s impending debut on the CW Network and more! Here’s our review and grades for the show, live from Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida.
NXT Card
Per WWE.com:
- Press Conferences for the CW premiere take place on NXT
- ‘The Grayson Waller Effect’ comes to NXT with Special Guests Nathan Frazer and Axiom
- Kelani Jordan defends the NXT Women’s North American Championship against Wren Sinclair
- Karmen Petrovic and Brinley Reece team up to take on Rosemary and Wendy Choo
- Riley Osborne looks for payback against Ridge Holland
- Hank Walker and Tank Ledger battle The O.C. in a rematch
WWE NXT Results
Press conferences are taking place throughout the night to hype NXT’s debut on The CW.
NXT Women’s North American Championship Match: Kelani Jordan (c) vs. Wren Sinclair w/NQCC
Jordan and Sinclair trade shots. Jordan exacts some revenge by slapping Sinclair in the face as retribution for her sneak attack last week. Sinclair and Jordan exchange pin attempts. After the fight spills out of the ring. Jordan lands a dive. After a break, Sinclair is in firm control, working over Jordan. Jordan fires up and hits her finish for the win.
Winner and STILL NXT Women’s North American Champion, Kelani Jordan!
Grade: C
Jordan and Sinclar wrestled a solid match, with Sinclair shockingly controlling much of it. There isn’t much to say here since there wasn’t much of a story heading into this. Having Sinclair challenge Jordan was a bit out of left field, but having a newer talent challenge here and there is a good thing. Exposure is always going to be a good thing. That said, having the lead-up be a 10-second interaction and a slap is weak. What’s next for either of these superstars is just as unclear before this match as it was after.
Backstage, CM tells Trick Williams that he isn’t going to play favorites when he referees the championship match next week. If Ethan Page is the better man that night, Punk will raise his hand, just like he will Williams.
Read More: CM Punk Lays Down The Law for Upcoming Championship Match
Backstage, Lexis King tells Oro Mensah they should be better men. King pitches that they shouldn’t give in to their violent urges and should keep their match professional.
‘The Grayson Waller Effect’ Returns!
Austin Theory and Grayson Waller are in the ring, dumping on the NXT Universe. Waller introduces their guests tonight, NXT Tag Team Champions Axiom and Nathan Frazer. The champions join A-Town Down Under in the ring. Waller and Theory joke about Axiom breaking up after they lose to them. Axiom tells Waller and Theory they end tag teams.
The Wolfe Dogs, MSK, Chase U, and A-Town Down Under are next. Frazer asks Waller why the show is called ‘The Grayson Waller Effect’ and doesn’t include Theory’s name at all. Theory takes a moment and asks Waller why it isn’t. Waller tries to explain. Waller ends up decking Frazer to start a brawl and end the conversation. Theory and Waller leave the tag champs lying.
Grade: D
Why is this match happening? Did this interview segment really build any interest in the tag title match in St. Louis? No. Not at all. Frazer and Axiom parroted the same talking points everyone has for Waller and Theory. Waller and Theory have been dancing around their split for entirely too long. At this point, why would anyone care when they finally split? If the goal is to load up that second NXT show on The CW, is this the match that will make people tune in? I don’t think so. Go all in. Put Axiom and Frazer in the ring with one of the World or WWE Tag Team Champions. That would do more for the show and Axiom and Frazer.
Gallows and Anderson vs. Hank and Tank
Anderson and Gallows spend most of the match working over Tank and Hank. Tank manages to tag in Hank. Hank lands a flurry of offense. Anderson manages to superplex Hank. Anderson spinebusters Hank on top of Tank. Tank kicks out. Gallows gets sent over the top. Hank and Tank hit their finish on Anderson for the win.
Winners- Hank and Tank
Grade: C
It was a surprise the last time Hank and Tank defeated Gallows and Anderson. This time? Still a surprise. This was a quick match that got the point across. The OC are clearly in NXT to help the younger generation. It would be very WWE for Gallows and Anderson to get their win back here, but they made the right choice. Your mileage may vary depending on whether you buy into Hank and Tank as a tag team, but having them get the rub from the OC is a nice start to a career as a team.
Oro Mensah vs. Lexis King
Mensah and King lock up and exchange pin attempts. King takes control and works over Mensah’s back. Mensah fires up and lights King up with a flurry of chops. Springboard moonsault by Mensah. Mensah can’t keep King down for a three count. King takes Mensah down and pins him with his feet on the ropes. Before the referee counts to three, King shockingly changes his mind and breaks up his own pin. Mensah takes advantage and pins King with his feet on the ropes for the win.
Winner- Oro Mensah
Grade: B-
King meant what he said earlier. So much so that King cost himself the match. This was a fun but short contest. Mensah and King have good chemistry, and it is not hard to buy into the fact that they can’t stand each other. Mensah is getting to shine here, and it’s not certain if that was the goal here, but that’s what’s being achieved.
Ridge Holland vs. Riley Osborn w/Thea Hail
Osborn catches Holland off-guard with a dive while he’s making his way to the ring. Osborn lands a few strikes. Holland cuts Osborn off and lands a clubbing blow. Osborn fires up and lands a corkscrew splash. Holland tosses Osborn over the top. Holland tries to throw Osborn into the barricade.
Read More: NXT North American Title Match Set For 10/8 WWE NXT
Osborn reverses it and sends Holland through the barricade. After a series of reversals, Holland lands the Redeemer for the win. After the match, Holland attacks Osborn. Holland tries to hit Osborn with a broken piece of the barricade. Osborn boots Holland in the gut, and both men fight. Referees break up the brawl.
Winner- Ridge Holland
Grade: B
This was effective. Holland has been on a mission to end what Osborn loves (Chase U). This match had to be intense, and it delivered in a relatively short time. Osborn couldn’t wait to get his hands on Holland, so he didn’t. Osborn fought like hell to try to make a mark on Holland. Holland overpowered and outthought the rookie, which is exactly how this match should have gone. Despite the loss, Osborn saved face by having a strong showing after the match. Sometimes, you win when you lose; this is one of those cases.
Karmen Petrovic and Brinley Reece vs. Rosemary and Wendy Choo
Petrovic and Reece double team Choo early. A clothesline from Pretovic leads to a near fall. Choo tags in Rosemary, and both women eat kicks from Petrovic. Wendy cheapshots Reece, which allows Rosemary to flatten her with a low crossbody. Choo and Rosemary take turns working over Reece. Ashante “Thee” Adonis walks to ringside with a rose during the match. Adonis hands the rose to a woman in the crowd. Petrovic hops off the apron and questions Adonis. Back in the ring, Rosemary pins Reece.
Winners- Rosemary and Wendy Choo
Grade: C
This match needed to be longer. We have seen a lot of Petrovic but not so much of Reece. It would have been good to see her be featured here as an extended showcase beyond watching her eat the pin. Rosemary and Wendy Choo are a fun combination we should see more of (perhaps on the main roster). These four superstars weren’t given a lot to do here, and to put it bluntly, this match was more about the eventual interaction between Petrovic and Adonis than the match in the ring. Giving Adonis stuff to do on TV is a good thing, but it could have been done without distracting from the match at hand.
Je’Von Evans and Cedric Alexander vs. A-Town Down Under
Evans and Alexander clear the ring early and land dives. After a break, Waller and Theory worked on Alexander. Evans gets the tag and clears the ring. Waller takes over on Evans. Alexander makes the save. Evans goes up top. Axiom and Frazer run down to ringside. Axiom pulls Frazer off the apron as he is trying to attack Waller and Theory. In the process, Frazer shakes the ropes, causing Evans to fall off the top. Waller lands a front flip unprettier. Theory follows that with A-Town Down for the win. After the match, Axiom and Frazer argue.
Winners- A-Town Down Under
Grade: B
Evans and Alexander work very well as a tag team. Alexander can fly, but he is deceptively strong and balances out Evans’s extreme bounciness. Theory and Waller’s tag team is on borrowed time at this point, but they can bring it in the ring. Their hateable faces make it so easy to cheer whoever is in the ring with them. Tonight was no different.
Roxanne Perez and Giulia Press Conference
The first question asked to Giulia is whether she thinks she can surpass Roxanne’s reign as women’s champion. Giulia’s answer is Japanese. Funaki is here to translate: Giulia says Perez is great, but her time is up. Giulia is here to be the woman’s champion, and it’s time Pere passes the torch to her. The next question is to Perez, and she’s asked how this is different than any other match.
Perez says she was a Giulia fan before anyone else. Perez notes that Giulia came to NXT looking for her, not the other way around. Giulia doesn’t have a chance. While Guilia is speaking, someone cuts in to ask a question. Stephanie Vaquer appears on the screen and asks what either woman will do, knowing that after their match, she will be waiting for whoever wins. Perez and Giulia go face-to-face.
Grade: D
This was a bad segment from top to bottom. The selling point of Roxanne Perez’s defense against Giulia isn’t their ability to talk people into the building. Everyone wants to see this match happen between the ropes, not on the mic. Whoever thought it was a good idea to lead into this highly important title match with what was essentially a promo battle was a wild miscalculation. None of the barbs landed. The NXT Universe isn’t familiar enough with Giulia to pop for any of her catchphrases. This was a mess. Adding in Stephanie Vaquer at the close was a nice touch, as it lays the groundwork for what comes next for whoever walks away with the championship. This may have done more damage than good, considering nothing that preceded her virtual debut landed.
WWE NXT Review
Grade: C
It’s hard not to walk away from this episode of NXT a little confused. Sure, there were a few solid matches, but the inordinate amount of backstage/press conference segments took away from the show overall. The biggest issue with tonight was the baffling decisions made regarding most of the current NXT Storylines, with the most egregious being the press conference segment between Roxanne Perez and Giulia. Next week, NXT finally debuts on The CW. Hopefully, they focus more on the action next week instead of so much talking.
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