The "WWE NXT" ship sailed on. Halloween Havoc is just on the horizon, and beyond the horizon, Wednesday's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals. Before all that though, there was the pressing matter of Jackson Drake defending the North American Title against EK Prosper. You can read all about it over on the WWE NXT 10/27/2026 Live Blog.For now, it's time for the Wrestling Inc. Staff to deliver those hot-and-ready takes about the night's happenings. There was plenty to love, especially from the Dusty Classic, but there was plenty to hate, like the endless Myles Borne/Tavion Heights feud, which featured what-feels-like its dozenth face-off between the former No Quarter Catch Club Members. The comment section will be ready and waiting, should you feel the need to keep the conversation going.But enough bloviating, let's get to the best and the worst of the pre-Halloween Havoc edition of "WWE NXT."
As a child of the Attitude Era, I have an affinity for wild brawls in pre-recorded segments in areas outside of areas, where the babyface and heel face off and it feels ever-so-slightly ridiculous. I thought that may have been the case here tonight, but instead, NXT Champion Grayson Waller sent his Halloween Havoc challenger, Tony D'Angelo, off on a wild goose chase. A wild goose chase that ultimately ended right back at the WWE Performance Center with just two minutes to spare in the show.I thought we were off to a good start when Waller posted a video that played on the broadcast in the corner during the middle of a match, giving this a major sense of urgency that he was headed to D'Angelo's home. I didn't expect any craziness at the level of, say, AEW's Swerve Strickland and "Hangman" Adam Page, but I at least thought it would be interesting. Seeing the video sent D'Angelo into a rage, and he left the PC to seemingly go defend his family against Waller, but when he showed up, the champion wasn't even there, and it didn't appear like he ever went inside.The story then took us to what I believe was the same restaurant "NXT" filmed the D'Angelo Family segments in, which was a nice touch. That's absolutely where a ridiculous, glass-smashing, pasta-throwing brawl could have taken place that would have been much more interesting. But, no, Waller just left him a paper telling him to "meet where it all began." Even Booker T commented that Waller was just sending D'Angelo on a scavenger hunt at that point."Where it all began" meant the Performance Center, which I thought was pretty lame. Waller cut a promo on D'Angelo in the ring, and the challenger rolled up in his truck, and Waller stormed out to the parking lot for a brawl, with just a minute or two left in the show. It was all very much same old, same old, with security trying to separate them. Not a single meatball or wine glass to be thrown, a complete missed opportunity.It feels like WWE just refuses to go the extra mile anymore, and "NXT" is usually the show that gets to do that. This seemed very half-thought-out, and I hated it because there was an opportunity to make this feel a little more fun and unique, and borderline ridiculous would have been just fine before Halloween Havoc.Written by Daisy Ruth
Shiloh Hill is a deeply weird individual. I almost wonder if he is simply too different for this antiseptic era of wrestling. Too weird to live, too rare to die, and definitely too creative to be stuck in "WWE NXT."As long as he's stuck here, though, I will gladly take as many chemistry lessons in the finer points of Asian Mist. Between Hill's strange personality, and the ADHD editing, Hill is becoming wrestling's answer to Conner O'Malley. NXT has become repetitive with its rivalries. How many run-ins can one show have?It's been a delight to take brief sojourns to Shiloh Hill's cabin, where he rants at us about the various chemical properties of mist. It's the right kind of stupid. Hopefully, he'll start employing those raccoons he always talks about as lab assistants.Written by Ross Berman
This week saw yet another segment wherein Tavion Heights and Myles Borne would meet in the ring for a talk about the turn that has yet to really make sense, only this time there was security between them to ensure anything meaningful was expressly off the table.At this point, anyone who has paid attention to the show in recent weeks will know the story; Borne turned on Heights after losing the North American title because he believed that Heights was going to turn on him.Why did he believe Heights was going to turn on him? Either, as Heights would say, because he is paranoid, or, as he has continuously pointed to, Heights did spend much of the weeks leading into that event teasing that he was going to turn on Borne.It was presented as a misunderstanding at first, so they apologized to one another and looked to reunite, only for Borne to reveal it was all a ruse just to attack him again. Heights and Borne then talked it out, fought it out, talked it out, and yeah, this has been done before. This segment did nothing but advertise the lack of creative material and expose the talent before what will undoubtedly be a good match, at the very least.Since the moment Borne turned on Heights, the feud has played out like a lens into a writers' room that has no idea what to do with a plot point they put into effect. Borne's not really working as a heel; the reasoning for everything falls flat. Heights works as a babyface, but he had been built up as the eventual heel in this program. It is understandably hard to go entirely against the grain of what had been built; that much has shown in recent weeks. One would suggest just going with the grain but given that decision cannot be unmade, surely there's something else in the chamber than getting them in the ring to rehash an already stagnant story.It's frustrating, because if asked a few months ago, it could have been said that this looked to be the beginnings of an all-timer feud. They're both very good in the ring, compelling when played to their strengths, and there was the rather obvious turn on the horizon to catalyze their rise. It feels a little bit stalled, stunted, and incapable of being great now. That's a shame, and this week's segment just continued to be the latest reminder of that.Written by Max Everett
I never expected Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar to make it this far in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, but I'm thrilled for them that they're headed to the final. I'm a big fan of these two as a team, and of Dar as an in-ring competitor, especially, and I don't think he's had the opportunity to shine as much as he could have up to this point in his time in "NXT," thanks to various injuries. Sure, the Dusty Cup isn't going to elevate him to main event status or anything, but I think he deserves some more flowers, and this is certainly one way to get those.Dar and Moreno defeated the reigning NXT Tag Team Champions, Vanity Project's Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes, to move on to challenge Hank & Tank next week. The champions deemed the team so much of a threat that they tried to take out Dar during an "NXT" live event over the weekend. Commentary did a good job of playing that up, and Dar came out for the match with a bandage around his head, so if you didn't see the clip on social media ahead of tonight's show, you were still somewhat in the loop.There were plenty of false finishes throughout this match that had me convinced that Vanity Project was going to walk away with this one. I figured it was a foregone conclusion since they're the champions. I thought it was over with the first Hit It and Quit It on Dar, but Moreno got in there to break up the pin. I thought that Dar would get rolled up off the distraction by Mya Lockwood on the outside, which also wasn't the case. I'm not a major fan of Dar and Moreno's double spinning backfist finisher; they could definitely figure out something more unique, but that's what they hit to get the victory after one heck of a match that was given plenty of time.A victory over the NXT Tag Team Champions in the semi-finals of a tournament that's touted as being so important has got to mean that Dar and Moreno will get a shot at the gold themselves, which is much more meaningful than being presented a trophy by Cody Rhodes. Though, I do hope Dar and Moreno get it all, both the trophy and a shot at the titles, as they really deserve it.Written by Daisy Ruth
Considering that tonight's "NXT" broadcast served as the go-home episode to a premium live event, one would imagine that all the major champions would be involved. Alas, that was not the case as NXT Women's Champion Kelani Jordan failed to appear in physical form.Jordan instead appeared in a backstage segment filmed the night before at "WWE Raw," with a future match between her and IYO SKY teased in it. I'll be the first to admit that a faceoff between Jordan and SKY, two athletic high-fliers, is greatly intriguing and definitely something to look forward to in the former's imminent call-up to WWE's main roster. Most of Tuesday night's content was supposed to promote "NXT" Halloween Havoc, though.Jordan's pre-taped segment failed to promote her upcoming title match against Wren Sinclair. It was mentioned in passing, then dropped in favor of a confrontation between her and SKY. Sinclair, meanwhile, took note of Jordan's absence from "NXT" in another backstage segment, this one filmed in the "NXT" locker room.Other than Sinclair's declaration of bringing the NXT Women's Championship back to the WrenQCC, tonight's title match build-up delivered nothing of substance. Nothing that would make fans view it as a potential must-see, anyway.Written by Ella Jay
Izzi Dame's shift in priorities initially left me confused. After some reassessment, I realized it's actually a breath of fresh air.This year, Dame has primarily focused on winning championships. She even briefly found the NXT Women's North American Title strapped around her waist, too. In recent weeks, however, Dame's desire for gold has taken a backseat to something much more ominous and personal.In Tuesday night's dramatic vignette, Dame made it clear that she's not concerned about titles right now, but rather about exposing the "demons" attached to the current NXT Women's North American Champion, Zaria. How exactly Dame plans to do that in their match at Halloween Havoc has yet to be seen, but I have to admit, it certainly has me intrigued.On a card filled with multiple hardcore and championship stipulations, Zaria vs. Dame now stands out. It's not just another title match. It also hasn't taken on a spooky stipulation just for the sake of the holiday. It's leaning into the Halloween theme to the right extent, with something at stake that we don't quite understand yet.Dame's quest to make Zaria face her "demons" has been quite ambiguous, and at times, puzzling. It's a new direction for both of them, though, and by the end of Halloween Havoc, it could lead to something even greater than gold.Written by Ella Jay
