Wes Lee defended the NXT North American Championship against Carmelo Hayes tonight on NXT. Carmelo gave it his all but in the end it was not enough. Wes connected with a Michinoku Driver to put Hayes away and retain the title.
After the match, a jail cell was shown on the screen with the door opening. Dijak appeared behind Lee and attacked the North American Champion. Dijak hit Wes with the Feast Your Eyes as the show went off the air.
Dijak was called up to the main roster in the short-lived faction known as RETRIBUTION. The group debuted during the pandemic and never connected with the audience. Dijak’s name in the group was T-Bar and he was stuck with that name even after the group disbanded. Tonight was Dijak’s first appearance in NXT in over two years.
Dominik Dijakovic and former WWE Superstar Keith Lee had an epic rivalry in NXT back in the day. Keith Lee had a bizarre main roster run in which his name was changed to “Bearcat Lee” before he exited the promotion. He’s now signed with All Elite Wrestling and recently was a tag champion with former Hit Row member Swerve Strickland. Dijakovic spoke about his rivalry with Keith Lee on WWE’s The Bump.
The pressure is to never have a good match or to top a match or anything. It just naturally happens. There’s a lot of chemistry there. It works out, because he’s a big guy, and I am as well, so that correlates between the two of us.
For me, the pressure is always the championship platform. I mean, I’ve been talking about the NXT North American Championship for over a year now. So, anytime that comes into play, that’s my focus and where I put the pressure on myself.
The WWE NXT roster is set to grow soon as two signings to the company will likely be making their TV debuts in the near future.
In July 2021, WWE began their Next in Line program, which has see the promotion focus on signing collegiate athletes that they can mold in their own style of wrestling.
Despite a belief that the NIL program means WWE won’t be signing indie wrestlers anymore, NXT head Shawn Michaels has said that this isn’t the case at all.
The Debuts
AJ Amrhein and Isaac Odugbesan are the next rookies in line to join NXT, according to the Wrestling Observer. Both are signings from WWE’s Next in Line program and signed with the company earlier this year.
Amrhein tried out for WWE at the WrestleMania 38 tryouts in April, while Odugbesan was part of the Summerslam 2022 tryouts from Nashville back in July.
AJ Amrhein
A fitness instructor from Scottsburg, Indiana, Amrhein was a member of the acrobatics and tumbling team at Baylor University. In 2020, Amrhein was awarded Baylor’s ‘Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year’ award and is a three-time national champion with The Bears.
Amrhein made her in-ring debut at an NXT live event on September 24 from Citrus Park, LF. She teamed with Arianna Grace and Kiana James in a losing effort against Fallon Henley, Thea Hail, and Valentina Feroz.
Last month, Amrhein changed her social media profiles to Dani Palmer, which is likely to be her ring name in WWE.
AJ Amrhein is a fitness guru and member of the acrobatics & tumbling team at Baylor University. She was the 2020 Baylor Female Scholar Athlete of the Year and she’s looking to build her résumé to include: @WWE Superstar. pic.twitter.com/uNhZA7IZWN
WWE NXT will soon see the debut of the promotion’s newest match stipulation: the Iron Survival Challenge
On this week’s WWE NXT, Shawn Michaels appeared to announce the new match, adding that NXT is a brand focused on “innovation.”
The match will have its debut on December 10, at WWE NXT’s newest event ‘NXT Deadl1ne.’
The Rules
With a brand new match type debuting, comes brand new rules for fans to learn.
In his announcement, Michaels confirmed that there will be two Iron Survivor Challenge, one men’s and one women’s match.
The 25-minute match will see five Superstars compete, with two opponents starting, with a new entrant entering every five minutes.
Every fall a Superstar earns grants them a point, and forces the pinned Superstar into a penalty box for 90 seconds.
The person with the most falls at the end of the match will be the winner.
The victors of the men’s and women’s matches will earn an NXT Championship match and NXT Women’s Championship match respectively.
NXT Deadl1ne
Little is known about NXT’s newest Premium event, but the timing of the show has been notable.
The event will be held on the same day as Ring of Honor’s Final Battle Pay-Per-View, the third major event for ROH since Tony Khan’s purchase in March.
ROH Final Battle will have a special start time of 4 pm Eastern and is expected to finish before NXT Deadl1ne kicks off in the evening.
Fans haven’t seen Sasha Banks on WWE programming in close to half a year, but WWE may have found the next generation’s answer to ‘The Boss.’
Banks, alongside Naomi, was suspended following their walkout during the May 16, episode of Monday Night Raw over creative differences.
In recent months, it has been rumored that both will return to WWE now that Vince McMahon has retired.
The Next Sasha Banks
Before coming to WWE’s main roster, Banks made a name for herself in NXT, and Cora Jade is doing just that today.
Jade signed with NXT last year and was initially pushed as a babyface, before turning heel on her former-friend Roxanne Perez.
Speaking with Give Me Sport, Wrestle Votes stated that many in WWE believe Jade could be the next Banks.
“She has the same thing Sasha has, she’s talented she’s got this unique look about her, she’s super young, and she’s pretty decent in the ring, right? The potential of her becoming a big deal is high and WWE sees that.”
It was added that “everybody loves Cora” and that WWE’s Head of Creative and Head of Talent Triple H is of the opinion that she could be the next Sasha Banks.
The Future of Cora Jade
Jade’s brief NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship reign with Perez marks her only title held in WWE so far.
There has been no word on when WWE plans on bringing her up permanently to the main roster, as she is still at the beginning of her wrestling career.
Damian Priest passed on the opportunity to be managed by Scarlett during both star’s tenures as part of the WWE NXT brand.
After making his name in Ring of Honor as Punishment Martinez, Priest joined WWE in 2018 and captured the NXT North American Championship in August 2020.
The Archer of Infamy has had similar success on the main roster, becoming the WWE United States Champion at Summerslam 2021.
Manager
Priest can nowadays be seen alongside his fellow Judgment Day members but WWE once planned for him to be managed by Scarlett.
Fightful Select reports that when NXT jumped to the USA Network in late 2019, plans were made to introduce Scarlett to TV.
The plan for the ‘Smokeshow’ to manage Priest dated as far back as September that year, and sources said that some in WWE thought the act was going to make it to TV up until the week it was nixed.
Priest reportedly felt the idea was not a good fit for him and passed on the spot.
Had he gone ahead with the plan, Priest and Scarlett would have been on NXT as a unit within the first few weeks of NXT on the USA Network.
Scarlett and Kross
After Priest passed on the idea, Scarlett’s character was put on the back burner, as Kross had not signed with WWE at that time.
Once WWE knew for sure he would be signing, plans were put in place for the real-life couple to be paired on-screen.
Those that spoke to Fightful said that everything worked out better for all involved.
Kross and Scarlett were released in November 2021 but returned to WWE in July this year.
WWE is expected to be making regular cuts to NXT moving forward.
Earlier this week, WWE released names such as Bodhi Hayward, Sloane Jacobs, Erica Yan, Damaris Griffin, and Ru Feng from their developmental brand.
This isn’t something completely new, as regularly releasing talent is something that has been going on since Vince McMahon was still running operations.
However, under the Triple H regime, that practice will continue. Wrestling Observer Radio‘s Dave Meltzer shared a report on the situation recently.
WWE is planning on continuing to release NXT talent regularly if they feel they are not progressing the way the company wants.
Talent can expect to be let go anywhere from the six-month to one-year mark if progression expectations are not being met. Also, anyone who isn’t put on TV after two years can also expect to be let go.
Of course, Bodhi Hayward’s situation, in particular, was a bit different. Subsequent reports have since suggested that Hayward was actually a handful to deal with, which added to the company’s decision to let him go in the end.
While WWE will continue its efforts to search the globe for more potential stars, it seems they also have set a hard rule on how long they’re waiting to sit on a talent’s potential before cutting ties.
Bodhi Hayward was well-liked by fans and in the middle of a popular storyline, but that wasn’t enough to keep his job with WWE NXT.
Hayward was one of five Superstars released from the developmental brand this week, alongside Sloane Jacobs, Erica Yan, Ru Feng, and Damaris Griffin.
It has been reported that unlike previous years of ‘budget cuts,’ the releases this week were down to WWE not seeing enough improvement.
Trouble Backstage
Hayward’s release was the most surprising of the five, given that he was part of the Chase U stable at the time.
It was reported not long after that Hayward’s release was down to issues WWE had with him and not due to a lack of improvement.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer shared more details about Hayward’s backstage issues.
With Bodhi Hayward, it was more than that [not showing enough progress.] They didn’t like the work ethic. They didn’t like that he was late to shows and didn’t show up to shows. The primary reason for everyone [else] was lack of progression. But for him it was a little bit more than that. It had to be enough to overcome the fact that he was actually in a storyline that was a long-term storyline, and that the crowd liked him.
Speaking about future prospects for Hayward, Meltzer said that there are options for the former NXT Superstar.
“He does have friends. He might be able to get hooked up some place. He has a good look. He’s got that going for him. People naturally liked him. So it took a lot for him to get cut. He would be the kind of guy they would want to keep. He did get injured, which didn’t help.”
What’s Next?
After his release, Hayward shared a video saying that he is “hurt” and “embarrassed” to be release.
Speaking about the video, Meltzer acknowledged that there is a big difference between promising big things and delivering.
“There are so many guys when they get cut from WWE, they do the big speech. ‘I’m going to come back and this and that.’ And there are guys who do. But seven or eight out of ten, you never hear from them again. They don’t do indies. Remember Dan Matha? ‘Oh yeah you’ll be seeing me! You’ll be seeing me!’ I never saw him again.”
While not confirmed, it is believed Hayward is dealing with a 30-day non compete clause, as is customary for releases from NXT.
Bodhi Hayward has made it clear that he isn’t pleased to lose his job with WWE NXT this week.
Hayward was released yesterday and was one of five to be cut, alongside Sloane Jacobs, Ru Feng, Damaris Griffin, and Erica Yan.
Prior to his release, Hayward had been a regular feature on NXT TV as part of Andre Chase’s Chase University.
Embarrassed
Hayward’s release from WWE was certainly surprising, though it has been reported that he was a handful to work with backstage.
Taking to social media, Hayward addressed his release, saying:
“What up Brodies, it’s your boy, Bodhi Hayward … Brady Booker. Here to tell you that I was just released from the WWE. I’m hurt. I’m embarrassed. And Brodies, I’m just down bad.
For the last 18 months, Andre Chase University and wrestling has been my whole life. I’m no stranger to adversity. Adversity has been something that has come up my whole life, and I’ve found a way to get on top.
I will do it again. I’m Brady Booker, and I’m here to stay.”
Brodhi Hayward.
There is no word on what kind of non-compete clause is in effect, though if previous releases are anything to go by, Hayward and the others can’t wrestle for 30 days.
Out of the five Superstars released, Hayward was by far the most surprising, given he had been a regular on TV as part of Chase U.
Hayward’s antics with the group had proven to be popular, and he had regularly appeared alongside Thea Hail.
On last night’s WWE NXT, Duke Hudson, who attacked Hayward in his final appearance before Bodhi’s release, tried to become the newest student of Chase U.
Another WWE Superstar is set to undergo a name change, but this is one that most fans will appreciate.
WWE has a penchant for shortening wrestler names, a practice that appears to be on its way out since Triple H took over as the head of creative. We’ve also seen countless NXT stars saddled with cringeworthy generic monikers that are straight out of the Superstar Name Generator 3000.
Over the past several weeks, WWE has run vignettes on NXT television depicting a shadowy figure burning a Retribution mask and letting fans know that his ‘second coming’ is imminent.
The Return of Donovan Dijak
T-BAR of the defunct Retribution faction is now listed as Donovan Dijak on WWE’s internal roster, according to a report at PWInsider. Dijak used this name early in his wrestling career, including in Ring of Honor. He wrestled as Chris Dijak and Dominik Dijakovic in NXT before he was repackaged for the short-lived Retribution angle.
Triple H is said to be a strong proponent of Donovan Dijak, so he should fare well upon his return to WWE’s developmental brand. His most recent match for WWE took place on the September 5th edition of Main Event.
Dijak’s Superstar Profile at the WWE website still lists him as T-Bar, but expect to see that change in the coming weeks when he officially returns as his old persona.
WWE has released 5 wrestlers from the NXT developmental brand. The following people are no longer with the company as of Tuesday morning, according to PWInsider:
Bodhi Hayward
Sloane Jacobs
Erica Yan
Damaris Griffin
Ru Feng
Bodhi Hayward (Brady Booker) had recently been featured as part of the Chase U faction. Sloan Jacobs competed in the recent 2022 Women’s Breakout Tournament.
All of today’s released performers have appeared on recent episodes of the NXT Level Up digital series.
We will update this article if there are any more WWE releases.
Scrypt’s arrival on WWE NXT is far different than the traditional introduction, and whoever they are, they may have Bray Wyatt to thank.
Wyatt returned to WWE at Extreme Rules 2022, 15 months after his controversial release under the previous regime.
Prior to Wyatt’s return, WWE used cryptic videos fans found by scanning QR codes that were produced by recent WWE hiring Rob Fee.
The videos, as well as Wyatt’s return, proved to be a hit with fans, and PW Insider reports that WWE is interested in using similar unique promotional methods.
Their report added that WWE Head of Creative and Talent Relations Triple H is far more open to unique marketing ideas than his predecessor Vince McMahon.
Debut or Return?
While the Scrypts character is debuting, it is possible that this is someone fans have seen before.
Some fans have pointed out that the voice for Scrypts has been modulated, which may mean WWE are deliberately trying to disguise a familiar voice.
WWE is looking to introduce NXT brands globally as soon as 2023. During Saturday night’s NXT Halloween Havoc post-show media scrum, Shawn Michaels talked about moving the brand outside of the Performance Center as well as plans to expand globally.
NXT has had 3 different iterations over the last 13 months. The decision was made to move their USA network show from Wednesday to Tuesday nights. It also added a new logo and went to a more developmental style brand. It was renamed NXT 2.0.
Present day, the current iteration of the NXT brand is a hybrid between 2.0 and the black and gold era. Excitement is high, which is why Shawn Michaels says that the next step for the brand is moving globally.
Michaels, who serves as WWE’s Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative, is hopeful that they will be hosting Premium Live Events outside of the Performance Center.
“From an NXT standpoint, we’ve been getting out live events here in Florida and we certainly look forward to getting out of Orlando in 2023.” Michaels said.
“From an NXT standpoint, getting out for Premium live events. Hopefully, that means getting out for live events as well outside of Florida. Those are decisions that come from people above me. We certainly want to do it and we’re excited to do it, but we’re going to start with Premium Live Events and see how that goes first. “
NXT Mexico and Japan
Moving NXT outside of Florida in 2023 looks to be a lock. Moving the brand outside of the United States is a larger goal and also looks to be on the horizon sooner rather than later.
According to Fightful, WWE trademarked the term NXT Global back September. The United Kingdom version of the brand was added in 2018 and will be repackaged as part of NXT Europe.
It would make sense for NXT to move to other regions of the World. Michaels says that talks of NXT Japan and NXT Mexico have surfaced.
“I know there’s been talks of NXT Japan and NXT Mexico. As I understand it those announcements could be coming down the road in 2023, so this company continues to grow and expand.”
– Shawn Michaels
Michaels joked that he “knows a guy” who is very interested in NXT and its expansion, so he doesn’t think fans will have to wait long before some big announcements are made.
Dominik Dijakovic is likely on his way back to WWE NXT according to a vignette played at last night’s Halloween Havoc.
Dijakovic was part of the gold brand from 2017 to 2020 where he unsuccessfully challenged for both the NXT Championship and NXT North American Championship.
In 2020, Dijakovic was called-up to WWE’s main roster as ‘T-Bar,’ part of the ‘Retribution’ stable.
The stable had limited success and was dismantled in early 2021.
Back to NXT?
During last night’s WWE NXT Halloween Havoc event, a vignette aired of a mask being burned in a fire.
Upon closer inspection, it appears to be T-Bar’s mask that was burned, which fans have taken as sign of the character being scrapped.
The fact that the segment aired during Halloween Havoc has also led fans to believe Dijakovic is returning to the gold brand.
Earlier this month, T-Bar wiped all images from his Twitter account, and his profile picture is just black.
After the Halloween Havoc vignette, T-Bar shared a quote from 1995 thriller ‘Se7en.’
Retribution were booked strongly at the start, interfering in several matches, but quickly slipped down the card when they were given names and masks fans ridiculed.
Shane Thorne, who portrayed Slapjack, was repackaged as a Crocodile Dundee-esque character shortly before his release in November 2021.
Reckoning, aka Mia Yim, was also released last November, and has since joined Impact Wrestling, but left the promotion recently.
Mace has kept his name following the end of Retribution but is now part of the Maximum Male Models.
Mustafa Ali, the group’s leader, recently turned face and has teased involvement in the United States Championship scene.
NXT presents Halloween Havoc this Saturday, October 22, live on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network elsewhere. Here’s your match-by-match preview of the premiere live event (PLE) and the history of Halloween Havoc.
Halloween Havoc first aired in 1989 when World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was still associated with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and would remain as such through the next event in 1990. The 1989 event featured Ric Flair teaming with Sting defeat The Great Muta and Terry Funk in a Thunderdome match with the late Bruno Sammartino as special guest referee.
From 1991 through 2000, Halloween Havoc was a staple pay-per-view (PPV) for WCW. Maybe the most memorable match from the 90s was Eddie Guerrero taking on a young luchador named Rey Misterio, Jr. in a Title vs. Mask match (1997) as Guerrero was the reigning WCW Cruiserweight Champion. The match is actually the first match you play in WWE 2K22’s Showcase mode that focuses on the career of the now Rey Mysterio.
However, after the purchase of WCW by Vince McMahon, Halloween Havoc was basically retired for two decades before NXT resurrected the show in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year it will be airing for the third consecutive year, now seemingly a staple PLE for WWE’s developmental brand.
Interestingly, while this will be the third straight year with the event, it will also be the third consecutive one that sees NXT in a vastly different place than a year prior. 2020 was still largely the NXT fans had come to expect; 2021’s event was the first PLE after the sudden and stark shift to 2.0. Now, NXT is a fusion of the two in its Black & Gold & White iteration.
Now, let’s move to the preview of this Saturday’s show.
Halloween Havoc 2022 Hosts: Shotzi and Quincy Elliott
As she did with the initial show under the NXT banner, Shotz will be the host of this weekend’s PLE as announced on this week’s episode. As she was speaking, she was interrupted by Xyon Quinn about being her co-host, who was then interrupted by Quincy Elliott. Shotzi said since they were going to have a match anyway, the winner would be her co-host. Elliott ended up defeating Quinn with a Banzai drop.
NXT has been gradually giving Elliott more television time and being placed as co-host seems to indicate that creative is happy with his development. While green in the ring, it is inarguable that Elliott knows his character and has mic skills that he can display as co-host with Shotzi, herself a bundle of energy.
Apollo Crews vs. Grayson Waller (Singles Match)
This feud finds its genesis in a match between the two on the August 30 episode of NXT. Waller attacked the left eye of Crews twice during the match, including when Crews had Waller set for his finisher, to escape with the victory and injure Crews.
NXT has aired a few vignettes from Crews in the six weeks since in the vigilante style that has become his signature. They included Crews narrating the vignettes while showing off his eye injury and, as shown above, a measure of payback on Waller.
During Waller’s match with Oro Mensah to qualify for the North American Championship ladder match, Waller was surprised by the “Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal” wheel that he used to set Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade in a “Weapons Wild” match. He then lost to Mensah and has been frantic in backstage interviews with McKenzie Mitchell. In fact, he was even interrupted on this week’s show by Chucky!
Crews’ character has been a bit stagnant since a return that garnered hope for a better push. With Waller clearly a part of the future of NXT and WWE, it makes sense for him to win here, but it’s also very possible the heel receives his comeuppance at the hands of Crews…and possibly a Chucky appearance?
Julius Creed vs. Damon Kemp (Ambulance Match, Brutus Creed’s NXT Career at Stake)
Quite possibly the longest story told heading into the PLE, this feud arose after Damon Kemp was revealed to be the one sowing dissension within Diamond Mine, coyly having the others blame Roderick Strong, before he sidelined Strong and turned on The Creed Brothers in the NXT Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way elimination match at Worlds Collide.
Kemp then purposely lost by disqualification to Brutus Creed in a singles match on NXT, whipping him with a chair upwards of 20 times. Julius, the elder brother, then challenged Kemp to a match, but Kemp would only agree if Brutus’ career were on the line. Brutus accepted before Julius could say anything, and the ambulance match was set.
In the weeks that followed the turn, NXT aired video of Kemp providing his justification for his actions, and his bland face act has turned into a better heel act. He deftly countered Julius’ barb that Kemp “isn’t even the best athlete in his family” (as the brother of Gable Stevenson) by laughing and asking Julius what he’s going to do when the second-best athlete in Kemp’s family defeats him.
Expect shenanigans from Brutus and possibly a miraculous return for Strong during the match. It seems highly unlikely that Brutus will be forced to leave NXT – many view Julius as the Montez Ford of the tag team – which may lead to a Triple H-Shawn Michaels finish from their unsanctioned match at SummerSlam 2002 where Michaels won with a jackknife cover, but Triple H laid him out immediately after the match.
In this case, Julius may shut the ambulance doors on Kemp only for them to shoot open for Kemp to launch an attack as Julius (and possibly Brutus) stand in victory.
Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade (Weapons Wild Match)
Another feud that was initiated by a turn, Perez and Jade have been essentially connected to each other since Perez’s debut in April and her eventual win the Women’s Breakout Tournament. She challenged for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship with her best friend, Jade, who had her own issues with Toxic Attraction at the time.
They won the Tag Team Championship, but Jade turned on Perez as Perez fought Mandy Rose for the NXT Women’s Championship. Since then, the two have been either at each other’s throats or thwarting the other’s attempts at moving up the card.
They meet Saturday in what will likely be a feud ender between the two for now. The story heading into Saturday is that Perez has been trying to find that “killer instinct” and be more aggressive, using weapons like Jade’s black kendo stick. Her hesitation has cost her over the past few months, but her recent losses to Meiko Satomura and Rhea Ripley have forced Perez to bring out more physicality.
Jade has played the part of the weasel heel, always seeking to find the path of least resistance. On NXT, she went for her kendo stick almost immediately when she realized her offense was having no effect on Raquel Rodriguez. Unfortunately for Jade, Rodriguez caught the kendo stick and beat her with it so while Jade won the match, she suffered, including being attacked from behind by Perez.
The winner of this match my indicate the winner of the Women’s Championship match. If Rose is set to retain, then it’s likely the face (Perez) wins. If Fyre is set to vanquish Rose, then it’s likely the heel (Jade) will win.
Carmelo Hayes (w/ Trick Williams) vs. Wes Lee vs. Oro Mensah vs. Von Wagner (w/Mr. Stone) vs. Nathan Frazer ( North American Championship Ladder Match)
The North American Championship ladder match has become one of NXT’s marquee matches, especially now that it seems like War Games has shifted to Rawand SmackDown. After all, the title was first awarded in a ladder match as Adam Cole became the inaugural champion at TakeOver: New Orleans in 2018 in a six-man ladder match.
The ladder match stems from Solo Sikoa having to relinquish the title a week after defeating the “A-Champ” Carmelo Hayes in a surprise appearance after helping Roman Reigns defeat Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle. In pre-recorded segment, Shawn Michaels forced Sikoa to vacate the championship and gave Hayes a bye from qualifying as the former champion, making him the first to qualify for the match.
Ensuing weeks would see qualifiers that were won by Wes Lee, Oro Mensah, and Von Wagner. The last spot was determined by the winner of the best-of-three series between Axiom and Nathan Frazer, with many calling their final match one of the best television matches of the year. Frazer qualified to round out the field.
This match may be the most chaotic on Saturday with all of the moving parts plus the speed and skills of those involved. Hayes winning again could be seen as a lateral move as he should be challenging for the NXT Men’s Championship or moved to Monday or Friday nights. Lee, Mensah, or Frazer winning could immensely boost their status if they follow the same playbook as Hayes, while Wagner winning would legitimize his push.
However, the North American Championship has traditionally (well, about as traditionally as four years can be) been held by those who have a faster, fluid style, so Wagner winning would both be a surprise and a shift. Sure, Keith Lee won it, too, but he’s cruiserweight in a heavyweight’s body.
NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose vs. Alba Fyre
Speaking of women who have had their long-running issues with Toxic Attraction, Fyre has been targeting Rose for months, basically since her re-debut as Alba Fyre. Fyre has both been hampered by and has hampered Toxic Attraction. She finally receives her first one-on-one title match with Rose since her defeat to Rose in February when she was still Kay Lee Ray.
Rose has held the Women’s Championship for almost a calendar year as she defeated the then Raquel Gonzalez on October 26, 2021 at last year’s Halloween Havoc. Since then, she and Toxic Attraction have basically run the women’s division, though the tag team division has seen a recent rise outside of the stable. Rose, for her part, has retained her title without the help of her cronies on many occasions.
Fyre saw a name and gimmick change that has turned out well as she has seemingly embodied the Alby Fyre character, made even more menacing by the red bat with the flaming tip. Since her loss to Rose in February, Fyre has not lost a singles match with her only losses coming in multi-women and tag team matches.
Next Tuesday’s episode of NXT falls one day short of 365 days for Rose. Should she retain on Saturday, it wouldn’t be surprising to see her lose the title in a shocking way like Hayes to Sikoa. However, Fyre is a former NXT UK Women’s Champion and has the in-ring, promo, and character skills to be the Women’s Champion. Will Rose surpass a year, or will she be stopped just short by Fyre – or a mystery opponent on Tuesday?
NXT Champion Bron Breakker vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh
Bron Breakker has won the Men’s Championship twice since the start of 2022, most recently winning it (and still holding it) on April 4 when the title was inexplicably defended on Raw as he defeated Dolph Ziggler. Breakker’s second run has been a mix with great matches against Gunther and Cameron Grimes mixed in with esoteric feuds against Joe Gacy and JD McDonagh, who unsuccessfully challenged Breakker in a singles match for the title.
Dragunov made a surprise debut in NXT on September 20, interrupting Breakker and McDonagh. Dragunov had issues with both men as the NXT UK Men’s Championship was unified with Breakker’s title though Dragunov never lost the former title. He had to relinquish it due to injury – suffered at hands of McDonagh when he was still Jordan Devlin.
The triple threat match was set, but things escalated between the three over the past two weeks. Last week, Dragunov hit his Torpedo finisher on Breakker because McDonagh dodged, and then Breakker drilled Dragunov with a crushing spear to end the show. This week’s edition of “The K.O. Show” saw things devolve quickly even after Kevin Owens warned the two faces they were playing right into McDonah’s mind games. The show ended with Dragunov standing tall with the Men’s Championship…only to be interrupted by Austin Theory.
Vic Joseph and the NXT Twitter account are heavily pushing the scenario that Theory may cash in his Money in the Bank contract this Saturday before, during, or after the triple threat match. If so, that would seem like a step down for Theory, though his character does seem like one who would, like Jade, look for the path of least resistance.
Should Theory’s appearance have been just a one-off to try and boost views for Saturday’s PLE, then Breakker or Dragunov should emerge victorious. Then again, with how Owens laid out that the two are doing exactly what McDonagh wants, the door is open to have McDonagh be the unlikely one to end Breakker’s second reign.
With six matches for Saturday’s Halloween Havoc, the show should be a tidy few hours with action-packed matches. Remember to watch Halloween Havoc this Saturday, October 22, at 8 pm ET on peacock.
WWE NXT Champion Bron Breakker plans to showcase his wrestling ability at Halloween Havoc on Oct. 22.
Breakker will defend his title against Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh in a triple-threat match at Halloween Havoc. The champion already successfully retained the WWE NXT Championship against McDonagh at NXT Heatwave on Aug.16. However, McDonagh earned a second opportunity to compete for the title by defeating Tyler Bate on the Sep. 20 episode of NXT.
Dragunov inserted himself into contending for the title because he had vacated the now-defunct NXT United Kingdom Championship. Since he never lost the title in a match, Breakker decided to defend the title against McDonagh and Dragunov.
Both opponents have more ring experience than Breakker, but the champion plans to display some new moves this Saturday. In an interview with past “Get to Know” series guest The Black Announce Table Podcast, Breakker teased that fans will be surprised by what he does in his title match.
“I got some stuff up my sleeve for Halloween Havoc, let’s say that. I got some new things; I’m going to break out,” said Breakker. The champion continued, “…I would like to do some stuff that’s uh, we’ll say legacy moves. You guys are just going to have to watch the show and see.” He added that he is still early in his wrestling career and continuously attempting to improve.
(via WWE)
Bron Breakker Praises Halloween Havoc Opponents
Although they will be his opponents at Halloween Havoc, Breakker shared his admiration for McDonagh and Dragunov. In the interview, the champion revealed that he’s followed Dragunov for years.
“…Ilja is tough. He’s a really great competitor. I’ve known about him for years. I mean, I know how tough he is. I actually got to watch him and Gunther; I want to say it was Takeover 36. I’m not positive of that, but I got to watch him live, and he’s an animal, so it’s going to be a battle,” said Breakker.
The WWE NXT Champion credited McDonagh for making him a better sports entertainer.
“JD McDonagh has made me better. He’s made me a better sports entertainer, you know, just made me sharper. I think he’s a great performer. Both of them are great, so I’m excited. We’re going to tear the freaking house down, and I can’t wait,” said Breakker.
Breakker seems ready to defend his title at Halloween Havoc successfully. He will have his hands full against two opponents looking to win their first WWE NXT Championship. While preparing for McDonagh and Dragunov, Breakker may also have to worry about 2022 Money in the Bank Winner Austin Theory cashing in on him.
Fightful reports that WWE filed a trademark for the term ‘NXT Deadline’ on October 15.
The trademark reads as follows.
“NXT DEADLINE trademark registration is intended to cover the categories of entertainment services, namely, a show about professional wrestling; entertainment services, namely, the production and exhibition of professional wrestling events rendered live and through broadcast media including television and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; providing wrestling news and information through broadcast media including television and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; providing information in the fields of sports and entertainment through broadcast media including television and distributed via various platforms across multiple forms of transmission media; providing a website in the field of sports entertainment information.”
WWE has not commented publicly on plans for NXT Deadline or how the show will differ from the main NXT two-hour weekly show.
The NXT Brand
There’s no word on when NXT Deadline will arrive on our screens, but the project is just the latest endeavor of the NXT brand.
In 2017, WWE started its NXT UK brand, which ended in August to make way for NXT Europe.
Kevin Owens is headed to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida for tonight’s episode of NXT. Owen posted a video on Twitter announcing that it was Shawn Michaels who extended the invite.
According to KO, Michaels wants him to oversee the in-ring meeting between Bron Breakker, Ilja Dragunov, and JD McDonagh. These three men will compete for Breakker’s NXT Championship this weekend at Halloween Havoc.
You can watch Kevin Owens’ message about attending tonight’s NXT right here:
Owens, a former NXT Champion, is not the only main roster Superstar appearing on NXT. The show will also feature Rhea Ripley, Raquel Rodriquez, Sonya Deville Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson in action.
Here’s a preview for the show:
Cora Jade vs. Raquel Rodriguez
Roxanne Perez vs. Rhea Ripley
The Schism (Joe Gacy, Rip Fowler, and Jagger Reid) vs. Cameron Grimes, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
Alba Fyre vs. Sonya Deville
Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo vs. an opponent of Tony D’Angelo’s choosing
“I just can’t see anything in the wrestling business that he has a hand in that’s not going to be successful. And I’m obviously biased and partial to the man, but I would go to war for him seven days a week.”
Since being appointed Head of Talent, Triple H has brought several prominent stars back, including Johnny Gargano, Karrion Kross, Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt.
The couple has been dating for at least the past 2 years. They started going out when Sabbatelli was still under a development contract in WWE.
Tino Sabbatelli was signed to a WWE contract from 2014 to 2020. He had a brief stint in AEW after his WWE release. WWE brought him back after this but he was released once again in 2021.
Mandy Rose on the other hand has been part of the WWE roster since 2015. She made her main roster debut in 2017 and joined Paige and Sonya Deville in a faction.
After 4 years on the main roster, Rose returned to the NXT brand in 2021. She formed a faction with Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne dubbed as Toxic Attraction.
Mandy defeated Raquel González at Halloween Havoc in October last year to win the NXT women’s championship. This is her first title in the company.
WWE unveiled a new logo for NXT during this week’s episode of the show and signaled the brand’s return to its Black and Gold roots. Like many other people, Bayley also felt good to see the show reverting back to a more familiar aesthetic.
The former Women’s Champion recently had an interview with In The Kliq. When asked about the new logo, she noted that she doesn’t know what it exactly means. Though according to the former NXT star, she is proud of the talent there regardless:
“I don’t know exactly what that means for a change. They just changed the logo back. It just felt good to see that again. But the whole roster there is killing it.” said Bayley, “I’m so proud of all the girls. I’ve been able to spend so much time there during my rehab and gotten to know a lot of the guys, gotten to know a lot of the girls. Watch them train, watch how hard they work.
So I don’t think it really matters what it’s called, whether it’s called 2.0 and it has some paint splashed on it, or whether it’s old black and gold. What they’re doing in the ring doesn’t change. They’re just making everyone proud that came from there and they’re just gonna continue to do so.”
NXT Black and Gold is back. WWE celebrated the one-year anniversary of the NXT 2.0 brand this week and presented a solid show. It kicked off with a cage match and ended with Solo Sikoa winning the North American Championship.
Though this wasn’t the end of the night as the commentators noted that there was one more thing in store for the fans.
This announcement was followed by a voiceover from the new head of the brand Shawn Michaels, who noted how the show is constantly evolving:
“NXT has been and always will be developing superstars of tomorrow. We will always reflect and acknowledge the past. NXT is constantly evolving with a focus on the future. Superstars develop and move on, but our message to our passionate fans will never change – We Are NXT.”
The message was accompanied by a graphic that started with the logo of NXT 2.0 but slowly changed into a Black and Gold design, shedding the 2.0 branding:
With Triple H now the in charge of WWE creative, we can safely assume that this is a hint that the show he built will be returning to its roots.
WWE has not provided a lot of details so it’s hard to say how this transition will happen. One thing is for sure that fans will accept this change with open hands.
AEW star Adam Cole, a former NXT Champion, immediately took notice of the NXT rebrand and posted the following on social media:
NXT star Yulisa Leon has confirmed that she has suffered a knee injury and that she will be out of action for the foreseeable future.
This week’s episode of the development show featured a backstage segment starring Sanga, Valentina Feroz and Leon.
Leon was seen walking out of the medical area. She told her friends that she is going to be out of action with an injury for 9 months, saying that ‘it’s torn.’
The NXT star was wearing a knee brace, so it’s clear that she has suffered some sort of knee injury, but it’s not known what ligament is torn.
Sanga said that they need to turn this negative into a positive and that now would be Valentina’s time to showcase her skills.
Robert Stone and Wagner then walked in and Stone noted that they all looked depressed. Sanga told him to watch their language and Wagner got into his face. Stone talked him down, and the two walked off.
Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz were gaining momentum as a tag team on both NXT and NXT Level Up before the injury. There is no word on where Yulisa suffered the injury but we’ll keep you posted on her recovery.
The rebranding of NXT last year was surrounded by many wild speculations. One such rumor was that Bruce Prichard was heading the brand and he was writing the shows.
Among other things, he also addressed the rumors about his involvement with NXT. Prichard claimed that he has never written an episode of the development show ever.
“I do have to say, because it’s something people, even internally, have come to me with and made comments about…that I was writing NXT. I never said a word. You know what else I never did? I never wrote one NXT show in the history of my existence.”
– Bruce Prichard
Prichard also commented on Shawn Michaels’ leading the brand. He said that HBK has done a tremendous job of grabbing NXT by the horns.
Apart from this, the wrestling veteran commented on the management change in WWE. He called it an exciting time and explained that he chooses to love his life.
WWE rebranded the development brand to NXT 2.0 in September last year. Shawn Michaels took over the duties of Triple H in the absence of The Game, and he has since received a new title in WWE.
WWE has announced not one but two NXT title unification matches for the upcoming Worlds Collide event on September 4.
It all started when multiple NXT UK stars made their presence felt at the NXT 2.0 brand during the Heatwave special last week.
The show saw NXT UK champion Tyler Bate confronting the NXT Champion Bron Breakker after the main event. The two have been taking shots at each other since then.
This week’s episode of the development brand then saw Breakker issuing a challenge to Bate. The title unification match was made official after Tyler, who referred to himself “the last ‘NXT UK’ Champion” agreed to the bout at Worlds Collide.
Tensions had also been brewing between the NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose, Blair Davenport and the NXT UK women’s Champion Meiko Satomura.
This Tuesday’s episode of the show featured a segment between Rose and Davenport. Satomura interrupted this segment. A triple threat match to unify both the women’s championships was then announced for the upcoming show.
This comes after WWE officially confirmed the end of NXT UK. They have announced a new NXT Europe brand to replace the previous show. It’s set to launch sometime in 2023.
After uneasiness over the future of NXT UK for several weeks, WWE finally confirmed that the territory will be rebranded as NXT Europe earlier this week.
This announcement, unfortunately, was followed by the release of over a dozen names associated with the brand. This included talents such as Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews among others.
Fightful Select provided more details on this announcement. They noted that many UK talents knew that a change was coming, but they were unaware of the gravity of it.
As far as the releases go, it wasn’t all about WWE cutting talents they didn’t want. Several names were released because they didn’t want to move to US. There were others who didn’t think it made financial sense to continue with the promotion.
Many UK-based promoters are hopeful that the reinvigorated free agents market will help the UK indie scene that was affected by NXT UK’s formation.
Flash Morgan Webster had been out of action due to an injury since last year. It’s been said that he signed a long-term deal with the promotion only months before his release.
WWE has confirmed that the NXT Europe brand will be launching sometime in 2023. Though they haven’t provided much details beyond that.
