WWE NXT Review - October 15, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Oba Femi Confronted NXT North American Champion Tony D'Angelo

It was a cool moment to see D'Angelo back in the Performance Center as the new North American champ. Of course, we've seen him win gold before, so the question now is how long this reign will last. It was confirmed here that he and Femi will have a title rematch at Halloween Havoc and that, per the roulette wheel, it will be a TLS (Tables, Ladders and Scares) match. This was a good, brief back-and-forth between the two on the mic to set it up.

Stephanie Vaquer def. Wren Sinclair

Although Giulia has had more of an "aura" about her in NXT presentation-wise, Vaquer had the better in-ring debut here. Her offense looked smooth and physical, not to mention Sinclair was a quality opponent for her. This was exactly what it needed to be. Post-match, Vaquer and Giulia challenged Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade to a tag team match at Halloween Havoc. I was hoping for a Fatal 4-Way with the NXT Women's Championship on the line, but I understand they may not want to rush into that.

Lexis King def. Oro Mensah in a Gentlemen's Duel

They ran down the rules of the Gentlemen's Duel earlier on, but I didn't care enough to keep track. I honestly don't even remember why the stipulation was necessary for this match or how it came about. The match was fine, but I'm not sure what this was supposed to accomplish. King's wins and losses are so inconsistent that I don't have a ton of confidence he's going to get a sustained push going forward.

Nikkita Lyons def. Lola Vice

This marked Lyons' in-ring return on NXT TV and it showed. By that I mean, the ring rust was evident. Granted, I've never been the biggest fan of Lyons to begin with and it feels like the NXT women's division has passed her by in the time he's been gone with back-to-back injuries, but we'll see how this run goes. I will say that I wasn't overly impressed with this match, though. Jaida Parker cost Vice the win to further that feud.

Ridge Holland def. Riley Osborne

This was a rematch from a few weeks back and Osborne showed more fire by taking the fight to Holland out of the gate. They had a nice sprint and I thought Osborne was made to look credible before eating defeat. In predictable fashion, Andre Chase returned afterward to make the save. Holland has exceeded expectations so far as a heel, so it'd a bummer for him to lose to Chase when they likely meet at Halloween Havoc.

Brooks Jensen def. Ashante "Thee" Adonis

Adonis and Karmen Petrovic having a romance storyline is one thing, but I still have yet to get into the stuff with Jensen. Shawn Spears having a follower/protégé is cool, but Jensen is as boring as they come. There was nothing technically wrong with this match, but it felt like filler. The best thing I can say about it is that it was kept on the shorter side and didn't waste too much time.

Ethan Page def. Je'Von Evans and Wes Lee in an NXT Championship No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat Match

Based on what we saw to start the show last week, I assumed that point Lee would be getting the next shot at the NXT title, but I have no issue with it being Page again instead. They haven't had the strongest chemistry in their previous encounters, but adding the Devil's Playground stipulation (whatever that's supposed to mean) should make it more interesting. This was a fun Triple Threat and Page stealing the win from Evans protected the latter in defeat.

Overall Show

This was a significant step back from the last two weeks, which was expected considering those shows took place on the road and were basically treated like mini television specials. Half of these matches were meaningless, but there was some solid storyline progression and build for Halloween Havoc. Speaking of which, next week's episode is the go-home show, so they'll need to announce at least another two or three matches for a complete card.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews