wrestling / TV Reports
Cook’s WWE NXT Review 9.15.26
Image Credit: WWE
Loading...Hey kids! Steve Cook here with you for the latest edition of WWE NXT on the CW! We’ll figure out who the first challenger for Grayson Waller’s NXT Championship run will be when Tony D’Angelo, Mason Rook & Saquon Shugars take part in a triple threat match. Or maybe it’ll end up being a schmozz and Grayson will defend in a four-way. They wouldn’t do that again so soon, right? We’ll also see the return of Lizzy Rain to action and a lot more.
If you already subscribe to the 411MANIA Wrestling Newsletter, earlier today you received some of my thoughts on Penta losing his World Championship match, Sami Zayn winning his Undisputed WWE Championship match & Ilja Dragunov possibly heading to AEW. If you don’t already subscribe, do so right now! Yes, before we get to the show because if you’re like me you won’t remember to do this a minute from now.
Cook’s WWE NXT Review 9.15.26
Then. Now. Forever. Together!
We’re in Orlando! Tony D’Angelo is WALKING! Mason Rook is WALKING! Saquon Shugars is WALKING! Vic Joseph & Booker T are our hosts.
Kali Armstrong vs. Lizzy Rain: Two different types of personalities here. Kali slams Lizzy right away. Hip toss by Kali, another slam on Lizzy. Elbow by Kali, Lizzy slips out of the slam and drives her into the ropes. Lizzy with a springboard elbow, strike in the corner and a fisherwoman’s suplex gets two. Lizzy works Kali’s arm & shoulder some. Kali briefly fights back before eating a couple of kicks for two. Lizzy with a shot in the corner, Kali reverses the Irish whip and Lizzy crashes into the corner. Shoulderblock by Kali, Lizzy moves and Kali flies outside. Rain with a dive! Kali sells as we go to Non-Stop NXT.
Lizzy tosses Kali in the ring and goes up top, but Kali knocks her onto the top turnbuckle and lands some punches to the ribs. Running powerslam by Kali gets two. She’s got some stones using that on a British gal. Kali with some punches in the corner, talks to the ref a little, knees Lizzy and smacks her down off the ropes. Kali misses in the corner but ends up hitting a second rope clothesline for two. Kali with some dancing punches for two. Kali with the ABDOMINAL STRETCH on Lizzy. Lizzy reverses, but Kali kip tosses her over.
Back full screen and Lizzy hits some strikes before being whipped off the ropes and slammed down. Spinebuster by Kali gets a two count. Kali with some punches and boots, Lizzy fights back, reverses a powerbomb into a backslide for two. Kali with some more dancing punches, but it’s Lizzy with the kick. Lizzy hits a big suplex and makes it rain in the corner! Kali tries to fight back, reversals lead to a cutter that gets a two count. Lizzy runs into a knee in the corner. Kali up top, Lizzy follows, she hits a super rana. Lizzy runs into a powerslam, then Kali speeds up and runs into a Lizzy headbutt! Kali blocks Lizzy’s finish, speeds up and hits the Kali Konnection for three!
Winner: Kali Armstrong (9:53 via pinfall)
Match Rating: **3/4
I’ve been impressed with both Kali & Lizzy since they arrived in NXT, and they continued to do all the right things here. I know Lizzy is an experienced wrestler & Kali is an accomplished athlete, working together should help each of them move up the ranks. The ending stretch was particularly good.
We go back to the ring and there’s Skylar Raye? She doesn’t even work here! Actually, she might. I’m having a tough time keeping track these days. She scraps with Kali before referees and officials break it up.
Grayson Waller is running on a treadmill.
Sean Legacy & Dorian Van Dux talk about the tag team division, which leads to BirthRight coming in and telling them to stay out of their way. Legacy & DVD aren’t afraid, but right now they have a match to go win.
Cruz Montana & Robert Stone talk about the events from last week. EK Prosper shows up and apologizes, which impresses Cruz since he’s taking accountability. The Vanity Project shows up and talks smack about them asking for title shots. Cruz points out that the toughest person in their crew is Myka and he was winning tag titles all over the world before they were in the business. Robert Stone makes the tag team match for later tonight!
Sean Legacy & Dorian Van Dux vs. DarkState (Osiris Griffin & Cutler James w/Dion Lennox): James attacks Legacy right away with suplexes. James dominates until Legacy gets a kick in the corner and a palm strike. Low dropkick by Legacy. James gets arm dragged and Sliced Breaded. DVD tags in, Griffin tags in as well and clotheslines both Legacy & DVD from behind. Griffin slams DVD. DVD fights back with chops. DVD clotheslines Griffin down. Legacy tags in, more kicks, double back suplex and kicks and moonsaults to Griffin get a two count. Griffin gets a double suplex and tags James in. He immediately gets sent outside along with Griffin to catch Legacy & DVD on dives so they can suplex & slam them to the ground.
We go to Non-Stop NXT & Cutler rolls DVD into the ring and kicks him down in the corner. Tag to Griffin, who chokes DVD on the ropes. Tag to Legacy, who dives into a powerslam. Tag to Cutler, he hits a couple of slams for nearfalls. Hard whip into the corner, Griffin tags in so he can do some kicks until Legacy punches back. Griffin hits a Vader Bomb for two and stands on Legacy’s neck on the ropes. Tag to James, they hit a double team move for two.
Legacy keeps reaching for the tag, they go outside and both DarkState members awkwardly get shrugged off. DVD with some springboard moves, he hits a double OG Cutter for two. James tosses DVD off the ropes. DVD hits a double moonsault & Legacy tags in. Legacy dives onto both guys multiple times on opposite sides of the ring. This guy’s doing a lot. DVD joins in and hits an Asai moonsault on James. DVD up top, shooting star press gets two. Griffin misses a charge and ends up outside, and we get more dives from Legacy & DVD. Dion Lennox finally appears and smacks DVD down. Back in the ring, DarkState hits a double powerbomb for three.
Winners: DarkState (11:35 via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
I gotta give these guys credit for the work, but the sheer amount of dives in this match was ludicrous. I understand that they’re trying to stand out and get noticed, and doing all of the things will win over the NXT crowd, but they didn’t exactly leave much on the table. I know that some of these guys have been on the LFG show where the veterans tell them to slow down and not do so much, and it doesn’t seem like they learned a lot from the experience.
Then after the match, BrithRight enter the ring after Lexis yells at Booker. They promise to keep putting people into the ground like they did Zilla until they get championships & attention, and they beat Legacy & DVD down. Zilla Fatu’s music hits, and he hits everybody for a while. Zilla hits a big spinning forearm on Charlie and BirthRight has been cleared from the ring.
Mason Rook talks about how he’s one match away from an NXT Championship match. He’s always loved proving people wrong wherever he’s gone. He got injured on a tour of NOAH, finished the tour and got a contract with WWE after a tryout. You can call him an underdog but he’s in the mix for the NXT Championship.
Skylar Raye talks to Robert Stone about how she made an impact by coming back, then Myles Borne is assured by Stone that he has all the time he needs for his apology.
Medical suggests that Zaria take it easy for a few weeks, and Izzi Dame wonders how Zaria could have been injured by Thea Hail. Izzi asks if people are born wicked or if it’s thrust upon them, and Zaria storms off.
Myles Borne is in the ring, and he asks Tavion Heights to come out so he can apologize to him man to man. Vic is proud of Myles for this since he knew he messed up. Booker is going to wait and see. Myles appreciates Tavion coming out here. They’ve been through a lot, brothers fight. Tavion says Myles crossed a line. Myles agrees, he was emotional over losing the North American Championship. He was afraid that Tavion would attack him first because of how much Tavion cared about the titles. Tavion appreciates the apology, but his back is still sore from where he was stabbed. He lost his first championship and had no one to turn to. Tavion thinks that time might have passed. Myles was in the same shoes after the Great American Bash. Tavion forced him to defend the North American title against him and called him a bad brother. Myles forgave Tavion before, then they won the Tag Team title together. When they’re together, no one can stop them. He’s not proud of what he did, but Tavion should do the same thing he did for him and they can start fresh. Tavion might have been too focused on his situation and placed some seeds of doubt. This is the most success they’ve ever had. Myles says they need to learn how to handle their success. He can’t take back what he did, but he loves Tavion like a brother and is sorry. Tavion forgives Myles. its them against the world, and Myles is his dog for life!
Or until Myles gives him the Zig Zag and punches him down before tossing him outside. Myles then tosses Tavion through the LED screened barricade. Myles gets a chair and places it on Tavion’s ankle for the Pillmanizer! Man, what a sucker Tavion is! Myles was decent enough trying to act like a good guy, and the post-match beatdown made him look like a dick, but I still think Tavion looked like more of a dumbass for believing Myles.
We’re at Evolve Health & Wellness with Kendal Grey & Wren Sinclair. Kendal tells the doctor she’s anxious and has had some dizzy moments, but she’s fine. Kendal doesn’t have a concussion, but her body is sending mixed signals and affecting her vertigo. The doctor doesn’t have a timeline and says Kendal needs to rest. Wren says that’s what happens when Kendal tried to take care of Kelani, Kendal got hurt & Wren got suspended. The doctor says Kendal needs to take a mental health break. Well that’s an interesting way to give Kendal some time off. I suspect if it was actually a mental health break they wouldn’t be filming it for television. OK, some wrestlers & companies would absolutely do that.
The Vanity Project (Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes w/Myka Lockwood) vs. Cruz Montana & EK Prosper: Baylor & Prosper start, Baylor is dominant early until Prosper trips him. EK slides under a leap frog and hits a dropkick. Baylor with a big strike, misses in the corner and EK hits another dropkick for two. Cruz & Smokes tag in. Cruz takes over on Smokes, hits some big chops in the corners. Smokes runs into another chop, slips out of a siuplex, up and over in the corner, Cruz hits a cutter for two. EK tags in, slams Smokes. Cruz hits a moonsault off of EK’s back. Baylor & Smokes are sent outside twice, that’s where they are when we go Non-Stop NXT.
EK rolls Baylor into the ring and works him over. Cruz does the same to Smokes. Baylor suplexes Cruz into the ropes and punches and kicks away on him. Baylor chokes him on the ropes. Big boot from Smokes gets two. Splash in the corner, tag to Baylor, they both stomp Cruz down in the corner. Baylor does his Rick Rude impression, then Cruz fights back.
The two maintain advantage after a brief rally from Cruz. Dropkick/spine buster combo gets two. Cruz fights out of a Smokes chinlock. Smokes knocks EK off the apron, so Cruz rolls him up for two. Cruz hits a DVD on Smokes. Baylor & EK tag in. Springboard moonsault on Baylor, Drive By on Smokes. EK up top, hits a blockbuster for two. EK misses a top rope move and gets dropkicked and kneed. Smokes hits a slingshot spear for two. After a rollup, EK hits a shining wizard on Smokes. Cruz & EK follow Smokes up, Baylor breaks it up. Prosper ranas Smokes off the top, Cruz covers for two. Cruz & EK hit a couple of dives! Here’s Jackson Drake at ringside to attack Cruz. He’s yelled at by the official. Back in the ring, EK gets the upperhand, but a backslide by Baylor with some help from Smokes gets the three count!
Winners: The Vanity Project (11:51 via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/4
This is kind of what I was talking about earlier with Legacy/DVD & DarkState. They basically did everything in the NXT book, so these guys couldn’t really follow it. I also got annoyed by the referee in this match, who did a whole lot of nothing while both Baylor & Smokes were in the ring forever with Cruz. It was like watching Rick Knox during a Young Bucks match out there.
Emily Agard tries to ask a question before Saquon Shugars cuts her off to talk about his history with Tony. He makes a fat joke and says that Mason will learn the same thing everyone else has. Tristian Angels appears and wonders why he bothers showering and washing his hair when all the other top contenders around here, including Saquon, are slobs. Saquon says Tristian can turn on the telly and watch him later tonight.
Grayson Waller is still running on the treadmill. Apparently he’s trying to do a half-marathon during the show, I missed this earlier. Kelani Jordan is WALKING! We’ll hear from her next!
Kelani Jordan is here and she can’t wait for Vic to plug a Chinese fast-food joint before putting herself over for all the hard work she’s done lately. She doesn’t want to please the fans, she puts her money where her mouth is. When she successfully defended her title, another woman wanted to make it about herself. How did it work out for Wren? She got suspended while Kelani debuted on Raw in Mexico City! Kelani wants to know who’s next. Everybody’s too intimidated to go for the title, so it’s not going anywhere. She’s the standard, and no one does it like Lani.
La Catalina is here! The new AAA Reina de Reinas Champion makes her way to the ring. Catalina congratulates Kelani, it’s hard to rise to the top. Kelani isn’t the only woman to rise to the top lately, she won the Reina de Reinas Championship. Now she’s here to take women’s wrestling all over the world to the next level. Here comes Zaria! They can talk about standards all they want, but when it comes to dominant champions it’s Zaria. She doesn’t see them unifying titles! Last week was a fluke, there was a lot happening. Thea Hail says they should shut up and it’s time to talk about her since she can hang with anyone in that ring. Everyone knows she can go, she might be the youngest in the ring, but she’s proved that Thea Hail is championship material. She tapped out the Women’s North American Champion and she just needs to do it during a match!
The four go at it. Zaria & Kelani end up on the ropes for hip attacks, and Catalina & Thea celebrate. This should cover a couple weeks of television for these four.
Tony D’Angelo says that people don’t change, including him. Saquon & DarkState took out his crew back in the day, he’s still a vicious little brat. Mason attacked him the first time he showed up! When Mason used him to get the win last week he knew nothing had changed there. Tony calls himself the toughest SOB in NXT and the once & future NXT Champion.
Shiloh Hill posted a video to social media continuing his mist education. Red burns but doesn’t last too long. The green stung and gave him blurry vision for a couple of days. The orange is supposed to affect your vision and cause you to hallucinate. Hill mists himself and says he feels pretty normal while he talks to raccoons. Apparently he doesn’t feel anything. I don’t spend any time on TikTok but this seems like something people on there would be doing.
Emily asks Robert Stone what he has in mind for the tag team division. He’s bringing back the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, there will be 14 teams in total from all the WWE brands. The tournament starts next week! The Creed Brothers show up and say they’ll win the tournament just like they did in 2022.
Next Week: Dusty Rhodes Classic Begins! Catalina & Thea vs. Kelani & Zaria! Legacy, Zilla & DVD vs. BirthRight!
NXT Championship #1 Contender Triple Threat Match: Saquon wants them to start fighting, so they clothesline him over the top rope. Saquon keeps getting knocked off the apron as Rook & Tony go back & forth. Tony with a big spear, then he dives onto Rook on the outside. Saquon runs into a punch from Tony, ranas him in the ring. Tony throws Saquon into a sliding dropkick on Rook. Neckbreaker by Saquon gets a two count on Tony. Rook with a headbutt on Tony, he runs over Saquon with a shoulderblock, then powerslams him. Bodyslam for Tony, one for Saquon, one for Tony, one for Saquon on top of Tony and a senton gets two. Shugars misses Rook in the corner, Tony suplexes Saquon a couple of times. Rook blocks the double suplex, but Tony suplexes him while he’s suplexing Saquon. Rook punches Tony and drops him. Rook goes up top, Shugars meets him, which leads to the Tower of Doom spot. Grayson is getting off the treadmill.
Tony knocks Rook off the apron and focuses on Shugars, sending him into the ringpost. Tony looks under the ring, finds a chair. Saquon knocks Tony down before he can use it, props the chair up and tries to suplex Tony onto it. Shugars is placed on it and Rook kicks him down. Back in the ring, Tony with a sleeper hold. Saquon puts Tony in one like it’s Funk/Douglas/Sabu. Rook drives everyone into the corner, snap mares Tony. A crossbody gets two.
Back full screen, Tony sends Rook into Saquon’s elbow. Saquon gets a sunset flip for two. Saquon stomps Rook and hits Tony in the corner, then clotheslines Tony down. Tony goes outside, Rook on the ropes, Saquon kicks Tony down and legdrops Rook for two. Shugars misses Tony in the corner, gets smashed by Rook & Tony. Tony rolls through a Rook slam for two. Tony jackhammers Rook for two. Tony misses Shugars and gets backslid, Saquon had his feet on the ropes and the ref saw it. Saquon dropkicks Tony, but then gets suplexed into the corner. Tony joins Shugars up top, suplexes him into a Mason powerbomb for two. Rook & Tony exchange punches. Tony with a knee to the jaw, he Cactus clotheslines Rook over the top rope. Saquon dropkicks Tony while he’s holding Mason, Mason bounces off the chair. Mason knocks Shugars off the turnbuckle, then cannonballs Tony in the corner. Shugars with a tornado DDT on Rook. Reverse frog splash by Shugars! Tristian Angels is here to talk to the referee, and Shugars dives on him. This leaves Rook & Tony. tony’s back gives out, Mason hits a Blue Thunder Bomb! Rook up top, Big splash! Mason Rook is the #1 contender!
Winner: Mason Rook (14:05 via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
I think Mason was the best option out of the folks in this match for the next match with Waller. Even if Tony D probably deserves a shot, we’ve seen that before and could use a little time off. Shugars probably isn’t ready for it just yet, we’re still getting used to what exactly he’s supposed to be. Rook is big, bad and bodyslams dads, that’s easy enough to understand. I will say that the NXT fans were right, the referee shouldn’t be enforcing rope breaks in a no disqualification match. I also wonder why all triple threat matches have to be no DQ. I wonder a lot of things.
Grayson Waller quickly runs out with just enough time to yell at Rook before our event comes to an end. So long for now!
If you’d like to chime in with your own thoughts on tonight’s show, feel free to join your fellow 411 Maniacs down in the comment section! As the legendary Larry Csonka always said: Have fun and don’t be a dick. When I’m not here you can catch me on social media from time to time. To be honest, e-mail is a better option and you can reach me at [email protected]. I’ll be more likely to respond there.
