51 years since the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and the winds of "WWE NXT" have turned gloomy for many on the roster. Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic winners Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno had their hopes brought up by John Cena, before they were slammed into the rocks by Vanity Project, costing them their WWE NXT Tag Title Match. You can read all about it over on the WWE NXT 11/10/2026 Live Blog.Now, it's time for the Wrestling Inc. Staff to break down everything that worked, and everything that very much didn't from the show. For every high point, like the candid nature of the John Cena Classic invitations, there were also lows, like the ending to the WWE NXT Tag Team Title Match. As always, if you need to keep the conversation going, the comments section will be open as always.Let's get into all the good and the bad from Tuesday's show.
"NXT" has been all in on its pre-recorded video promos for Kam Hendrix in recent weeks, even if they aren't exactly wrestling-related, and even though John Cena basically brushed him off last week, Hendrix was featured in a backstage promo with the "Never Seen 17," and that's not something to scoff at. It's obvious WWE has plans for Hendrix, but they're certainly not moving very fast.The "Lights, Kam, Action" thing isn't too bad of a gimmick, and the talent has toned down all the goofy movement during his entrance a bit. He's also not too shabby in the ring. I feel like he's so close to figuring out his character, but with all the hate he gets on social media, which I'm certain the powers that be in "NXT" have got to be aware of, things need to be figured out a little faster.Tonight, Hendrix lost to EK Prosper. In no world am I saying that Hendrix should have won clean against Prosper, who's been given a lot of great opportunities lately, including a shot at the NXT Championship, but he could have stolen a victory. Or, better yet, he could have been booked against someone else and actually scored a televised victory. The goal of this entire match, however, was seemingly just for Hendrix to crash out after the fact, which is a weird juxtaposition compared to his previous "cool guy at the basketball court" vignettes.After the match, he started wrecking the ringside area and throwing chairs in the ring. Later on, he confronted Tony D'Angelo during a backstage interview, then beat him down, just because D'Angelo was there existing in the background. Problem is, D'Angelo is feuding with Myles Borne, so Hendrix would just be an afterthought for the former "Don of 'NXT.'"I thought there was a direction for Hendrix, but I just remain confused. Maybe WWE just wants to give the social media trolls more fuel to get him and "NXT" overall trending.Written by Daisy Ruth
He's big. He's bad. He'll bodyslam your dad. Oh, and he's back.With WWE citing him as out of action for the "foreseeable future," we didn't expect Mason Rook to return for several months. Much to our pleasant surprise, he resurfaced tonight, just six weeks after his announced hiatus. Even better, he picked up right where he left off: with NXT Champion Grayson Waller.Rook attacked Waller from behind, making it clear that his championship pursuit hadn't stopped just because his momentum briefly did. I'm hoping this leads "NXT" General Manager Robert Stone to re-officialize the title match between the two. After all, Rook had already proven himself as a worthy contender with his big back-to-back wins in September. With his surging popularity, it seemed that he was poised to be Waller's potential successor, too.Backed by his charisma and impressive athleticism, Rook exploded onto the "NXT" scene in the spring of 2026 and became a quick favorite. He even got a co-sign from John Cena, the most decorated world champion in WWE history. If that doesn't set up someone for success, I don't know what will.There is one potential obstacle lying in Rook's path to NXT gold, and his name is Shiloh Hill. When Waller called for his next challenger, the "WWE LFG" season two winner answered it, only to be told he was "not ready" for it. I'd argue that Hill is more than ready, though, as he just defeated former number one contender Naraku and cemented himself as "Mr. NXT" earlier this year.Hill vs. Rook isn't a match I would have predicted a few months ago (and it still hasn't been made official yet). It's definitely one I'd be interested in seeing, however.Written by Ella Jay
When Zilla Fatu said he'd be out in the main event segment to call out NXT Champion Grayson Waller, I thought I'd be hating "too many dudes in the NXT title picture" once again. Instead, I'm left confused by the finish of the show, and why three different factions are now feuding, and why Fatu, of all people, seemed to be the catalyst behind it.In all seriousness, I'm assuming Fatu doesn't have much, or anything, to do with whatever Survivor Series-like shenanigans are going on between DarkState, BirthRight, and Los Perros del Mal from AAA. Fatu's segment was just a really weird way to get there. It made some kind of sense at the beginning. I thought maybe Dion Lennox was going to try and insert himself into the NXT Championship picture, too, despite his loss to Cruz Montana last week. Even if he wasn't, a feud between Fatu and Lennox seemed pretty solid to me.Then, Lexis King and the rest of BirthRight came out, and that's where things started to get confusing. The stable already wrapped up their feud with Fatu after the star handled them at Halloween Havoc in his match against Charlie Dempsey. King then went after DarkState on the mic, with Fatu caught in the middle, saying he couldn't remember the last time the faction was relevant, and they run "NXT" now.The lights in the Performance Center went down again after Karmen Petrovic was seen in the crowd, and Perros del Mal came out as well. The popular AAA faction has yet to be seen in "NXT," and while I think it's pretty cool, I don't know how much of the "NXT" audience is aware of them. The AAA group didn't get to say a word before a brawl between the factions began, as Fatu slipped out of the ring, seemingly as confused as I am.In looking at Fatu's Cagematch page, I noticed he competed in what's labeled as a "Series Series Elimination match" at a recent "NXT" live event. None of his teammates or opponents, however, were involved in this segment tonight. That furthered my thought about "NXT" doing something Survivor Series-related to end the month of November, but they'd only have a week of build before a potential elimination match between the three factions ahead of the main roster premium live event. While I'm sure this will all be answered next week, or heck, even on "NXT's" social media in the coming days, this felt like a really odd way to end the episode, and a weird position for Fatu to be in.Written by Daisy Ruth
I'm normally not always the biggest fan of telling storylines or doing certain professional wrestling segments backstage, but I'm willing to make an exception for The John Cena Classic invitations backstage from John Cena himself for Noam Dar, Romeo Moreno, and NXT Women's Champion Kelani Jordan.Doing these invitations for The John Cena Classic backstage makes them feel much more natural to me instead of doing every single one inside the ring or doing something much more boring than just having them simply be announced in an uninspired way. This rang especially true for Jordan's invitation in the makeup chair, which was a fun little moment I ended up really enjoying in the video because we were able to see Jordan's authentic emotions play out in an unexpected moment (whether it was actually pre-planned or not). I also liked the inclusion of John Cena himself presenting the invitations, bringing that little extra something to these brief backstages where it was needed.Written by Olivia Quinlan
Vanity Project's Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes were scheduled to defend their Tag titles this week and sought to throw a wrench in that by attacking their number one contenders, 2026 Dusty Cup winners Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar. But, given that Robert Stone was not playing the part of fool this week, he decided the fit and ready-to-go runners-up Hank and Tank would get the shot this week, thus foiling Vanity Project's dastardly plan.The two teams, and the circumstance in which the match was booked, went together exceptionally well to create a match that believably could have ended with either team winning. Hank and Tank overwhelmed the champions for much of the bout, and the stage was being set for the champions to either steal the retention through nefarious means, or the challengers were going to push through and complete their smash-and-grab.Either of those would have been perfectly fine. But then the chosen solution was the third and much worse scenario, wherein the supposedly injured number one contenders who could not challenge for the titles ran down to the ring to prevent interference through interference, causing the referee to turn away from the match long enough for Myka Lockwood to interfere and allow Baylor and Smokes to retain. It was a mess that didn't really need to be a mess. And it was a mess that ruined an otherwise really fun match.It's also just an annoyingly overused trope that leaves one wondering how wrestlers routinely manage to walk past those in charge of the show to very clearly go and muddle up a match. It takes away from the actual in-ring aspect of the match, which is especially egregious when it is actually an enjoyable match on its own.Wrestling affords a manner of ways for a heel to beat the babyface without actually beating them clean, without having to add a plethora of other people to the affair. The booker of this show should know that, considering he made use of a multitude of them during his own career.Written by Max Everett
I've been waiting over two months to see the Kelani Jordan vs. Kendal Grey rematch. Thankfully, "NXT" General Manager Robert Stone finally put that wait to an end by confirming their next NXT Women's Championship faceoff for next week.Jordan and Grey are arguably the greatest in-ring talents in the "NXT" women's division, and potentially across the brand as a whole. They proved that when they put on the best match of the entire "NXT" Heatwave premium live event (4.5 out of 5 stars, per Dave Meltzer).Grey's technical prowess and strength provide a nice contrast to Jordan's athleticism and high-flying abilities, so honestly, who wouldn't be excited about a rematch between them?The timing of this clash is particularly intriguing, too, given that it falls just before "NXT" TLC and the John Cena Classic. Given that Jordan was the first female invited to the John Cena Classic, I imagine that WWE would want her to live up to that honor by heading into the special event with the NXT Women's Championship still strapped around her waist. So will next week's title match result in a non-finish? Maybe. Regardless, Jordan and Grey will likely outdo themselves in the action leading up to it, and for that, I'm stoked.Written by Ella Jay
