wrestling / TV Reports
Hall’s WWE NXT Review 10.20.26
Image Credit: WWE
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Date: October 20, 2026
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.
We are a week and a half out from Halloween Havoc and the NXT Title match is already set. That should be enough of a headlining showdown but we have a few more shows to get through first. We’ll be seeing one of those big matches tonight as Cruz Montana faces Dion Lennox to seemingly wrap up their feud. Let’s get to it.
The opening is a bit different this week as we look at Montana vs. Lennox, showing the differences in their backstories and how they got here, setting up their main event. That’s a nice way to change things up a bit.
Here is Tony D’Angelo for a chat. D’Angelo wastes no time in calling out Grayson Waller, who comes out and says they have a lot of similarities. They were even teammates in WarGames. For some reason they’ve never had a match though as something always got in the way. Is D’Angelo running from him?
D’Angelo says if they had faced each other one on one, Waller wouldn’t be NXT Champion. Waller says D’Angelo is the top name on his list, with D’Angelo saying he had no reason to take Waller seriously. Waller calls out D’Angelo for not knowing what he was doing here, even having to show him what a WarGames match was. D’Angelo is glad Waller has finally gotten a little meaner but he’s still someone who hides behind a one liner or a meme.
They’re foundation guys who have been here while the 2.0 guys are stars on Raw and Smackdown. They compare their success with the NXT Title before D’Angelo promises to drag him down like a shark in the water at Halloween Havoc. This was good, as I’m more interested in what they’re doing than I was before so call it a success.
Izzi Dame isn’t happy with a present she was going to give to Zaria (I think?) but Layla Diggs interrupted to ask what this is about. Dame is ready to take Zaria apart piece by piece but first she’ll do that to Diggs tonight.
Birthright cuts off commentary and promises to win the Dusty Classic. They leave and a car pulls into the parking lot.
Chantel Monroe promises a new experience. Hopefully it’s better than her Evolve experience.
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Galeno/El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Birthright
Galeno and Wagner’s AAA Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line. Wagner and Dempsey go to the mat to start, with Wagner actually taking over and working on a leglock. Dempsey wrestles him over for two and they’re back up, with Wagner grabbing a Japanese armdrag. A regular armdrag lets Wagner work on the arm until Dempsey gets up for the tag to King. Galeno knocks him down with a shoulder and Birthright is sent outside. Wagner isn’t having any of the Grace distraction and nails a big running flip dive as we take a break.
We come back with Dempsey pulling Wagner down to crank on the arm, with Wagner getting to the rope. They lock hands and trade forearms with Wagner getting the better of things. Galeno gets the tag and takes over on King, including a running splash for two. It’s already back to Wagner, with Dempsey breaking up the rocking horse. All four are knocked down and Galeno suplexes Dempsey out of a guillotine choke. Wagner’s frog splash hits raised knees but cue Zilla Fatu to go after the rest of Birthright. That means a Wagner Driver and frog splash can finish King at 13:02.
Rating: C+. The Wagner Brothers being protected and treated as a big threat to win the whole tournament is a bit of a surprise, even as they’re the AAA Tag Team Champions. They work well together (shocking I know) and it’s nice to see a fresh team getting a run in this thing. On the other hand Birthright….yeah I’m not sure how far they’re going, but they’ll probably be around for a long time.
Post match Fatu takes out Birthright.
Darkstate looks at a video of Cruz Montana promising to take out Dion Lennox. The team has an idea of how to deal with Montana.
Commentary hypes up Halloween Havoc and Joseph references the Boogeyman. Booker, who had issues with Boogeyman in the past, does not take kindly to this in a nice bit of continuity.
Kam Hendrix shows off his athleticism by catching footballs in tricky ways.
Here is Tavion Heights for a chat. He talks about how Myles Borne lied to him about turning on him at Heatwave and then Pillmanized his ankle. Heights doesn’t make the same mistake twice and he hasn’t started being a problem for Borne. Cue Borne and they quickly brawl into the parking lot, where it’s broken up.
The Vanity Project walks through the back and meets Chantel Monroe, who sees potential in them. The team keeps walking into Robert Stone’s office and Stone yells at them for apparently attacking Mini Vikingo. As a result, Jackson Drake can defend the North American Title against EK Prosper next week instead. Drake’s face suggests his mind has gone on vacation.
Izzi Dame vs. Layla Diggs
Dame shoulders her down without much trouble to start but Diggs cartwheels out of a headlock. They fight over wrist control and Dame sends her shoulder first into the buckle. Dame gets in a boot to the face but gets sent outside, where she cuts off Diggs’ suicide dive. Diggs kicks her right back down though and we take a break.
We come back with Diggs dropping Dame with an elbow and they both get a breather. Back up and Diggs strikes away and a sitout gordbuster plants Dame again. A top rope splash gives Diggs two more but Dame is up with a running crucifix bomb for the same. Dame hits a belly to back cutter for two and gets in a big boot, only to get sidekicked down. Diggs misses a moonsault though and the running knee gives Dame the pin at 10:29.
Rating: C+. This was a good enough performance from Diggs, while Dame got a successful enough win. Dame is on her way to the big match with Zaria and it’s nice to see her looking strong on the way there. Diggs should be fine when she gets back in the groove of things, with the moonsault alone being enough to to carry her somewhere.
Post match here is Zaria to say Dame has gone far enough messing with her. If Dame wants a Women’s North American Title shot, she can have it at Halloween Havoc. Dame agrees….but says it doesn’t have to be a title match.
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Hank & Tank vs. Creed Brothers
Julius easily waistlocks Tank down to start and gets in some head slaps and hands it off to Brutus. That means a Backstabber/fall away slam combination to send Tank into the corner, leaving Brutus to yell a lot. That takes too long and allows Tank to get over for the tag to Hank, who helps beat on Brutus in the corner. A hard whip into the corner has Hank in trouble again and a lifting Pedigree gives Brutus two. The pounding continues and we take an early break.
We come back with Hank hitting a quick clothesline out of the corner and handing it off to Tank. A slingshot splash crushes Brutus but Julius knocks him off the top. The chinlock does on for a bit before Tank avoids a charge in the corner. Tank heads over for the tag but gets caught with a heck of a dropkick to sent him outside. Back in and Tank is able to get the tag off to clean house, including some running clotheslines. A running shoulder has Brutus in trouble on the floor and the powerslam/running neckbreaker combination finishes Julius at 11:02.
Rating: B-. It’s already feeling like NXT is giving up on the Creeds again, as they were brought in as a big return and are already losing clean here. Hank & Tank are already a successful team and winning the tournament would boost them up even further. They’re growing on me a bit too as they’ve gotten to the point where they know how to do their match, which helps quite a bit.
Birthright asks Robert Stone to give them a match with Zilla Fatu, who has been causing problems for them for weeks.
Wren Sinclair and Kendal Grey are ready for Sinclair’s contract signing when Chantel Monroe comes in. Monroe asks if her video was cute and is mostly ignored.
It’s time for the contract signing. Sinclair says she’s ready to take the Women’s Title and wants Kelani Jordan out here to sign the contract. Cue Jordan to say she has a present for Sinclair, which is an attacked Grey. Sinclair runs up to chase Jordan off with no signing ensuing.
Zilla Fatu wants to fight Charlie Dempsey and says let’s do it with Spin The Wheel Make The Deal. Works for Robert Stone.
Sean Legacy says Mini Vikingo will be out for two months. Saquon Shugars seems obsessed with a recent loss and doesn’t want to hear from Legacy. Violence seems teased.
Darkstate goes into the locker room to go after Cruz Montana, who beats both of them up until security cuts him off. Dang these guys can be lame.
Naraku threatens to unleash the black mist at Halloween Havoc. Well that’s just scary.
Lizzy Rain and Shiloh Hill talk about the black mist when Chantel Monroe comes in to ask if anyone has heard of her. Rain is impressed by how many people Monroe has managed to annoy in two hours so they can have a match next week.
Dion Lennox vs. Cruz Montana
The brawl starts fast and Montana hits a running clothesline in the corner. A belly to back suplex gives Lennox two and a spinebuster gets the same. Some running chops put Lennox down though and Montana hits a nice running Cannonball to crush him again. They head outside though, with Montana being sent into the steps. Lennox peels the ring mats back (that’s becoming a thing again) but gets sent into the post as we take a break.
We come back with Montana fighting out of a chinlock and getting in a superkick to leave them both down. The rolling Buck Fifty gives Montana two but Lennox is back with a slingshot Blue Thunder Bomb for the same. Lennox sends him into the corner and talks a lot of trash, including about Montana’s daughter (uh oh), which presses a button on Montana so the big beating is on. Montana beats on Lennox against the announcers’ table and hits a spear through the barricade as it’s a double countout at 9:59.
Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but the stuff at the end with Montana being pushed over the edge being a highlight. That’s what they were trying to do here and Montana is absolutely at his best when things get personal for him, which is exactly what Lennox did here. It was a good example of Lennox playing mind games and I liked the result, though he might get destroyed as a result.
Post match Montana beats on Lennox and Darkstate even more, with Lennox being slammed onto the exposed concrete. Montana takes out some referees and sends Lennox into one of them, which is enough for Montana to get handcuffed by security. Montana’s eyes seem to say he knows he went too far to end the show. This worked well, as Montana snapping and losing the focus and control that got him here is an interesting way to go. If nothing else, it should be a good way to wrap up Darkstate, as Montana very well could destroy them all.
Results
El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr./Galeno b. Birthright – Frog splash to King
Izzi Dame b. Layla Diggs – Running knee
Hank & Tank b. Creed Brothers – Powerslam/running neckbreaker combination to Julius
Cruz Montana vs. Dion Lennox went to a double countout
