Jeremy’s WWE NXT Review 10.21.25

Hello everyone, and welcome to our live WWE NXT coverage on 411! Jeremy Thomas here with you as per usual, and we are at the go-home show for NXT Halloween Havoc! WWE presents its latest NXT PLE this weekend and there’s a lot to get ready for. Tonight’s show will feature Ricky Saints and Trick Williams sign the contract for their NXT Championship Match at the PLE, while Sol Ruca provides an update on her status after being apparently injured on last week’s Smackdown.

In addition, Leon Slater will defend the TNA X-Division Championship against Stacks Lorenzo while Hank and Tank will take on OTM. And the WWE Men’s Speed Championship Contenders Tournament kicks off with Axiom taking on Sean Legacy and Jasper Troy battling Zachary Wentz. That’s a lot of stuff and NXT doesn’t always do well with overstuffed episodes; on the flip side their go-home shows are usually great. We’ll see which side wins out!

Here at Thomas HQ, — I’m back up to pace on my Hooptober Viewing Challenge. Over the past week I Lord of Illusions, which is VERY 1990s in good and bad ways and is ultimately a “meh” sort of watch. On the other hand, the 2016 zombie flick The Girl with All the Gifts is an absolute banger of a film with top-notch performances and a nice take on the subgenre. I found the 1945 anthology Dead Of Night perfectly watchable if unremarkable, was left wanting by Tobe Hooper’s 1986 flick Invaders From Mars, and thought the supernatural giallo-esque Scorpion with Two Tails was way too convoluted for its own good. And the new football horror flick HIM is a dud despite strong performances by its two leads.

Outside of Hooptober, I did a rewatch of The Rocky Horror Picture Show for an upcoming episode of the Final Ghouls of Horror. It’s still essentially a perfect film in my book.

Speaking of the Final Ghouls, our latest episode sees Holly, L and I look at Frankenstein-esque horror comedy Patchwork! You can subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, including YouTube.

On the TV side, I’m caught up on Dragula: Titans season two and enjoying it, still on Team Sigourney and Evah — and Abhora, which is a new experience for me!

As a reminder, the GoFundMe for Larry’s kids is still active and if you can make a donation, that would be awesome. Thank you so much to everyone who’s done so thus far.

* TUDUM.

* We start with a recap of Saints calling out Trick for Halloween Havoc and Trick’s response that he would do it on his time, which led to Trick attacking Saints and Ava telling Saints to keep it together throughout the contract signing. We also see DarkState laying out The Hardys and Zaria’s conflicted emotions regarding Sol Ruca, which led to Blake Monroe beating Zaria last week. We see Sol give Zaria her spot in the battle royal and highlights from the match, including Blake attacking Sol and Zaria eliminating herself to save Sol before Tatum won the battle royal.

* We’re starting the night off with The Culling! Tatum is GIDDY, folks. Izzi is playing nice during the entrance, we’ll see how long that lasts.

Tatum gets a mic and the crowd gives her a “YOU DESERVE IT!” chant. Tatum says “Guys… I friggin did it!” She says she outlasted 19 other women and finally gets her one-on-one shot for the NXT Women’s Championship. She says it’s been four years since they’ve seen her at her lowest. She’s lost her friends and been alone, but there’s one that’s been consistent and has always had her back — the fans. She says the fans stood by her side and she’s on her way to her first PLE. And how fitting it is that it’s the scariest night of the year. She says everything’s going right and she couldn’t be happy. She has The Culling, she has her best friend Izzi who cared for her when others tried to use her. She vows to bring singles gold to the Culling, noting that they have her back.

HERE COME FATAL INFLUENCE! Jacy says “Enough of this!” She asks Izzi if she’s gonna tell Tatum, or does she have to? She says she’ll be the bad guy like always and tells Tatum she doesn’t stand a chance in hell on Saturday. She notes that she gets it, Tatum has her best friend and support of the NXT Universe. But deep down, everything is thinking there’s no shot she wins. Jacy may have started out as the most beatable champion, but match after match she’s proven that when it matters most, they can’t beat her.

She asks Tatum what makes this different and calls her a creepy little weirdo, saying she’s not special and barely average. Jacy says Tatum should have let Izzi win because she would at least have a shot. Tatum says Jacy can’t get between them, and that Jacy should know what she’s feeling. It took Jacy so long to get where she is. People expected Jacy to do it again, but people don’t expect Tatum to win. But Tatum kept getting better, just like Jacy, training day in and day out. She says on Saturday, Jacy better bet her ass that it’s her time to become champion.

Fallon calls her Tater Tot and says she’s so riled up, but it’ll make it that much sweeter when she loses. She hopes The Culling don’t leave her when she leaves! Izzi points out that FI kicked out their friend three weeks ago and The Culling will always accept Tatum for who she is.

Jacy says she used to have so much respect for Izzi, a strong, independent, confident woman and in her opinion, the leader of the Culling. But since Izzi came around she’s become more of a babysitter. Izzi says she’s in full control of HER group.

Tatum knows her friends support her and Jacy’s only do when it’s convenient. That leads to a tag match being set up and Fatal Influence brawl but get taken out. Tatum grabs Jacy, but Fallon and Lainey save her.

* Stacks is with Arianna Grace and asks what Santino meant by calling him his “future son-and-law.” Arianna says she may have dropped some hints to Santino. They talk about him winning the title and Arianna calls him “Chan,” which Stacks tells her not to do at work.

They walk by Leon and Ja’Von and they Leon says he wants a tag match for them, but Je’Von tells him to focus on tonight. They commiserate together.

TNA X-Division Championship Match
Leon Slater vs. Stacks Lorenzo

Circle and lockup to start, Slater with a waistlock and Stacks gets to the ropes. Back elbow by Stacks and a wristlock, Slater flips out of it and hits an armdrag, then another. He monkey flips Stacks out of the corner and charges in for another, but Stacks puts him on the top. Slater shoves Stacks back and goes for a sunset flip, but Stacks stomps him to break it.

Stacks beats on Slater in the corner until the ref backs him off. He goes in and manhandles Slater, sends him hard into the opposite turnbuckle. Stacks with a couple Euro uppercuts in the corner and a hard whip across the ring. Stacks charges in but Slater with the foot up. He hits a rana and an enzuigiri. Whip into the ropes, handspring back elbow. Stacks to the outside and Slater leaps onto him! Je’Von gets on commentary and says we’ll be back after the break.

We’re back as Leon gets a pin attempt on Stacks for two, but Stacks quickly hits a front suplex on Slater into the ropes. Big shot by Stacks and a cover for two. Stacks beats Slater down and goes for a back suplex into a slam, cover gets a nearfall.

Stacks is busted open in the mouth a bit. He puts Slater on his shoulder, Slater slides down but gets hit. Big gutbuster gets two-plus.

Stacks picks Slater up but he goes up and over for a sunset flip for two. Slater with the Utopia! Arianna is on the apron, Slater hits the ropes and Grace lands in Je’Von’s arms! Stacks is pissed and out on the floor, Slater comes in and gets nailed. But in the ring, Stacks is distracted and Slater with the high crossbody! Back kick to Stacks and a kick into the ropes. Slater sends Stacks to the floor and then DIVES OVER THE TURNBUCKLE onto Stacks!

Slater rolls Stacks in and goes up top — 450 finishes it!

Winner: Leon Slater (10:51)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Good match. The shenanigans hurt the match more than they helped it, but they weren’t awful and the in-ring stuff was great from Slater, solid from Stacks.

Post-match, Je’Von has a mic and says to give it up to Leon one more time! He wants to get to business and wants to go to Halloween Havoc. So does Slater. He suggests they team up, and Je’Von thinks that’s fire. Je’Von things the Young OG and the Youngest in Charge don’t care if its someone from NXT or TNA or that other —

MR. IGUANA AND LA PARKA ARE HERE! Iguana has a mic and the crowd chants for him. Iguana says they’re planning on having HH without Mr. Iguana, La Parka and Yesca? They spoke with Ava and the match is them vs. Je’Von and Slater. Well, that will be a damn delight.

* We get a vignette with Zachary Wentz talking about his chances in the Speed Tournament and Jasper Troy vowing to destroy Wentz because he only needs a few seconds. Are we not doing “Phrasing” anymore?

WWE Speed Tournament Match
Zachary Wentz vs. Jasper Troy

Los Americanos are watching. Wentz dodges Troy a couple of times, locks in a waistlock but Troy grabs him. Wentz flips through, goes for an armdrag to no avail. Wentz hits a kick and a rana, but Troy doesn’t go down.

Wenzt with repeated kicks and he finally goes down, double stomp to the spine. Wentz crossbodies Troy to the floor and then goes back in to dive onto him — Troy catches him! But Wentz escapes, kicks Troy on the apron and does it again with a corkscrew dive. Back in the ring, Wentz with a Swanton, cover gets two-plus.

Wentz charges but gets thrown to the ropes — Troy runs him over, then gets hit with the Black Hole Slam for three.

Winner: Jasper Troy (2:04)
Rating: N/A
Thoughts: RIP Zachary Wentz.

* Kelani is backstage and sees her clothing on the floor. She says “What the hell?” and Lola and others say Kelani chose TNA. Jordynne dfends her, Kelani says she doesn’t need the help and Jadia tosses something else out. Jordynne tries to give advice and Kelani says Jordynne is jealous of her, pointing out Grace has never been a champion in WWE.

* DarkState talk about their attack of The Hardys. Dion says they thought they were going to move past them, but hell no! Shugars says you don’t just move past them. Cutler says their fun time is over and Osiris says they’re taking the titles back at Bound For Glory —

And Matt Hardy cuts in! They’re at the Hardys Compound and says that DarkState didn’t catch them unawares. Matt says he knew they weren’t going away and in fact knew they’d come. Matt says that they were broken, but that’s where they thrive.

Matt and Jeff walk into the Lake of Reincarnation! Things get trippy and emerge as Broken Matt and Brother Nero as Reby plays the organ. Broken Matt says State of Dark have awoken the Broken Hardys. The match will be a Broken Rules match where anything is possible and anything goes. Matt says DarkState is sentences to DELETION!

* We go back to last Friday and ZaRuca’s Tag Team Championship Match. Blake Monroe distracted Sol, Charlotte chop blocked her and made her tap to the Figure Eight.

* Sol is walking with Zaria using crutches. Zaria asks Sol if she wants to do this, and Sol says yes as we go to break.

* We’re back with Sol and Ava in the ring. Ava says Sol knows how she feels, but she wants to address the NXT Universe. Sol says she got hurt in her match on Smackdown, getting emotional. She doesn’t want to put the blame on anyone, injuries happen and you have to move on. She isn’t cleared to compete and defend the title against Blake, she doesn’t know when she’ll be cleared but she’s not good for Saturday.

Ava says that Sol doesn’t have to do this and Sol says that she doesn’t want to hold up the division. She vows to earn the title back —

AND HERE COMES BLAKE! Blake says she’s so sorry, Sol! How unfortunate. But she tells Sol not to worry about the future of the title because she’s right here. Blake says she was supposed to have the match and thus is the #1 contender. Since Sol can’t defend the title, the champion should be her. She says she came to NXT to make it Glamorous, and she’ll make the NA Title Glamorous.

Zaria says Blake doesn’t deserve to be given a title, especially one Sol busted her ass for. She says this is NXT and they don’t do handouts. Blake tells Zaria to do something for herself but the title needs a champion and who better than her.

Sol doesn’t know when she’ll come back, and Zaria says she doesn’t know! She says “You know what, don’t even worry about it.” She tells Black to shut her mouth and says she can defend the title against Blake at Halloween Havoc in Sol’s place.

Blake tells Ava not to answer and goes off on Zaria. Ava tells Blake to shut up and says it’s unconventional but a great idea. It’s Sol’s choice, and Sol says she fought so hard for the title. But there’s no one she trusts more than Zaria. So she says yes. The match is set and Blake is pissed. She yells at Ava and Zaria grabs Blake, taking her down and posing over her with the title.

* We get vignettes for Axiom and Sean Legacy ahead of their Speed tournament match.

* NXT Anonymous sees Myles pissed that he lost and Tavion Heights is also angry over recent losses. Josh Briggs comes up and says that trying to be successful and popular is a joke. He says he ruined Matt Cardona’s return and says there’s only room for one at the top, and it’s neither Tavion nor Myles; it’s him. “But hey, at least the fans will love you, right?”

Speed Tournament Match
Axiom vs. Sean Legacy

Legacy with a big kick to start and cover for one-plus. Axiom escapes a suplex, shit moves too fast for me to type but Legacy hits a DDT for two. Legacy gets Axiom on his shoulders, Axiom slides off. Half and half suplex from Axiom, kick and cover for two.

Legacy kicks Axiom in the corner, inverted suplex and a cover for two. Springboard splash but Axiom counters into a submission attempt! Legacy pulls Axiom up, into the ropes — Axiom with a Spanish Fly!

Axiom grabs Legcy and they trade shots, Axiom into the ropes but gets pushed back — superkick! Axiom with a big kick, Legacy with a forearm and kick. He goes up top, Axiom with a big kick. TOP ROPE Spanish Fly for three.

Winner: Axiom (2:57)
Rating: N/A
Thoughts: A lot happened in three minutes.

* Ethan Page addresses Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. and says he’s done his research, he knows he has his battle set out for him on Saturday. He says this Saturday they’re fighting for something more important than his mask: the NXT North American Championship. Page says that in his prime, Wagner’s dad couldn’t touch him. He says it’s Wagner’s rules but he’ll be the one leaving Wagner for dead in the desert.

Hank & Tank vs. OTM

The two teams start brawling during OTM’s entrance. Hank and Tank end up in the ring and DIVE onto Price and Nima! Tank rolls Prince in and follows, the bell rings. Prince nails Hank and puts him in the corner charge but Tank dodges and tags in Hank. They take down Price, Hank covers for two.

Price yanks Hank into the bottom rope and chokes him against it, Nima with a cheap shot behind the ref’s back. Nima tags in, stomps at Hank and covers for two. Hank is battered and manhandled in the hostile corner. Price tags in and gets whipped into a splash, he throws Hank into a chest stomp by Nima.

Prince talks shit and grabs Hank, throwing him back into the hostile corner. He charges into a splash and tags in Nima, who hits a bodyshot and whips Price over — Hank dodges! Tank gets the hot tag and runs through OTM, hitting an inverted atomic drop on Nima and then a springboard shoulder block. Cover but Prince breaks it up.

Hank is back in but is taken out with a uranage by Prince. Nima with a tilt-a-whirl slam, double spinebuster, cover gets three.

Winner: OTM (3:35)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: Obvious result is obvious. A dominant win to re-establish OTM, and that’s fine.

OTM toss Tank to the floor into Hank and Nima grabs the ringsteps to hit Hank with them. They clear the booth, grab Tank and put him through the booth.

* Wren is on the phone and tells Charlie she’s glad he’s having fun. Lash is there and she says she wants to make sure Charles has something to look forward to. She wants to give the NQCC a feminine edge. Kendal Grey walks up to Lash and tells her not to run her mouth, and Lash tells her to watch it before walking off.

* Vic runs down the NXT Halloween Havoc card.

Jacy Jayne & Lainey Reid vs. Tatum Paxley & Izzi Dame

Tatum and Lainey start off. Lainey takes control and takes some shots at Tatum, putting her in the corner. Tatum reverses an Irish whip and decks Reid, she whips her across the ring and nails her. Lainey knocks Tatum down, elbow drop misses and Tatum knocks Lainey into Jacy.

Jacy tags in, circles and decks Izzi on the corner. Tatum takes over with punches, Jacy into the ropes and hits a rana. But Tatum comes back and hits a double underhook suplex. Crossbody into the corner, Izzi tags in and wraps Tatum around Jacy! She comes in and covers for two.

Izzi takes Jacy down, lazy step on pin for two. She batters Jacy and goes for a bodyslam, Jacy slips out and goes into the ropes — armdrag into a cover for two and a clothesline immediately after. Jacy pulls Izzi to the hostile corner, Lainey tags in and comes off the ropes INTO a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker!

Tatum tags in, hits a splash and then goes to suplex her — Jacy in for the save. Tatum fights both off and hits a dropkick and wristlock slam. Dropkick attempt through the ropes, Jacy catches her and Lainey with a neckbreaker as we go to break.

We’re back and Tatum tries to make the tag. She kicks Lainey and crawls — Izzi gets the hot tag! She runs over Jacy and hits Lainey with a big boot, puts them both in the corner and splashes them. Double lungblower! She chokeslams Jacy, covers and Jacy kicks out at two-plus.

Izzi sends Jacy into the ropes, she pops up Jacy but Jacy counters into a DDT. Tatum tags in and comes into a superkick. She ducks a kick and hits the a slam but Lainey breaks up the pin. Izzi clotheslines Lainey and knocks her out of the ring.

Jacy and Tatum trade shots, roll-up by Tatum for two and a step-up enzuigiri. Fallon goes to get involved, Izzi takes her out. Lainey pulls Izzi out of the ring, Jacy with a Rolling Encore for three.

Winner: Jacy Jayne & Lainey Reid (10:12)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: Damn good effort. Don’t know that Tatum’s gonna get the win Saturday, but I wouldn’t complain.

Lainey and Fallon take out Izzi on the outside and beat her down. They circle Tatum and Lainey and Fallon pick her up. Jacy goes for a belt shot — Tatum kicks Jacy back! She takes out Lainey and Fallon and hits Tatum with the Psycho Blade! Tatum poses with the title.

* Trick and Ricky WALK separately backstage.

* We’re back and Ava says things got out of hand last week, but she told them to take it easy until they get the contract signed. So let’s make it official. She introduces Trick first, then Ricky.

Trick says like he said last week, he does things on his own time. He waits for his moment and his spotlight, and that’s why he is the main event. He says Ricky’s mad because he’s NXT Champion but Trick is still the main event. He left Ricky hanging at Showdown to prove one thing: there’s only one man who can put NXT on his back and it’s Trick. And it’s not because he loves NXT that much. He owes NXT and TNA nothing. He’s loyal to only Trick Williams. And since he loves Trick Williams and Trick Williams loves him, he’s gonna what’s best for Trick and become a three-time champion.

Ricky tells him to sign the contract. He knows he’s an emotional guy and he doesn’t change, but you can’t say the same for Trick. He’s been focused by the title, but what did it do to Trick? He lost the plot along the way and thought he was bigger than the brand, the people in the back and the title. He says Trick was ready to leave a while ago.

Trick tells Ricky to look at what he’s created. That must be hard for someone like Ricky who ground on the indies. Trick doesn’t belong on the indies. When he looks in Ricky’s eyes, he sees someone cosplaying, doing his best to be a stunt double for Trick. But no one can replace Ricky. At best he’s a stand-in, and he’s going to whoop Ricky’s ass to end the Absolute Era.

Ricky says the things he did on the indies, Trick’s ass would have folded the way Trick’s shirt will. He’s silkier, more stylish, and this is his house, he’s locked in and Trick is locked out.

They go face to face, Trick with a cheap shot. Sucker punch to Ricky, then he grabs Ricky — Ricky puts Trick through the table. He poses with the title over Trick.

Vic runs down the card one more time.

And with that, we’re done for the night!

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

Pretty decent episode of NXT this week to do the hard sell to Halloween Havoc. As usual, the brand is always good at focusing their go-home shows and while they had to deal with the speed bump of Sol's injury, I think it plays in quite well. The matches were largely unremarkable this week but everything else was solid to very good, making for a perfectly watchable show.