WWE NXT Review - October 18, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Rhea Ripley def. Roxanne Perez

This was part of Pick Your Poison with Ripley being the opponent Cora Jade chose for Perez. It was so great to see Ripley back in the ring for the first time on TV since she suffered that injury at the start of the summer and Perez was the perfect opponent for her. They had a strong dynamic and I appreciated that Perez was made to look credible in defeat by lasting as long as she did.

Shinsuke Nakamura def. Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo

Nakamura being Lorenzo's surprise opponent was pretty sweet. I believe Nakamura appeared in NXT once in the buildup to Survivor Series 2019, but otherwise, I don't think he's been on the show at all since he got called up over five-and-a-half years ago. The crowd reacted to him like a total star, which made me long for the days he was in NXT. This was an extended squash for Nakamura and felt like an excuse to get him on the show. Hey, I'm not complaining.

Alba Fyre def. Sonya Deville

Fyre running through Jacy Jane with ease last week was expected since Jane is one of Mandy Rose's lackeys, but Deville is a SmackDown Superstar and I thought we'd get more of a competitive contest between these two. Instead, Fyre won decisively in a matter of minutes. Deville should have felt more important in there, but oh well. Fyre is challenging for the NXT Women's Championship on Saturday, so at least this worked for her.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams def. Wes Lee and Oro Mensah

Hayes, Lee and Mensah are all awesome talents and I'm really looking forward to seeing them in there against each other in the NXT North American Championship Ladder match at Halloween Havoc. That goes for Nathan Frazer as well but not Von Wagner, who sticks out like a sore thumb among that group of high-fliers. This match along with what happened afterward served as a new preview of what to expect come Saturday.

Cameron Grimes and The O.C. (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows) def. Schism (Joe Gacy, Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid)

I loved how it was explained that Gallows and Anderson agreed to team with Grimes because of how much the wealthy Grimes was willing to pay them. It's so believable coming off their return to WWE, which at one point they said they'd never do because of how their last run ended. The former Grizzled Young Veterans are great in the ring, but Schism sucks and needs to end, along with their feud with Grimes. This was entertaining, though.

Julius Creed and Damon Kemp Exchanged Words

This rivalry has been way better than it has had any right to be. The Creed Brothers and especially Kemp have been impressive with their performances on the mic and building interest in their upcoming Ambulance match. I thought this was a very effective final sell for it. There's no doubt Julius is winning (Brutus isn't going anywhere), but the match itself should be good. Ambulance matches haven't been overdone in WWE and the stipulation fits the feud in this case.

Shotzi Was Revealed as the Host of NXT Halloween Havoc; Quincy Elliott def. Xyon Quinn to Become Shotzi's Co-Host at NXT Halloween Havoc

Was a reveal for the host of Halloween Havoc ever advertised for this show? Either way, Shotzi getting the nod again (as she did in 2020) was a pleasant surprise, especially now that she's back to being a babyface. Not only that, but I like the effort made to give Elliott the rub by having him host with her. I'm not sold on Elliott's in-ring work yet, but him and Shotzi should be fun together. As for Hudson, he's pretty much in the water at this point. Props to him for carrying the match to something passable.

Cora Jade def. Raquel Rodriguez by Disqualification

This was the other Pick Your Poison match, and what I liked about it was that Rodriguez and Jade have history as partners from earlier this year. Granted, their alliance didn't last long, but it made the match more meaningful. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to this before Jade goaded Rodriguez into getting herself disqualified. I'm glad Jade won after Perez lost earlier, but it wasn't the most clever finish. I almost thought Ripley would come out to stare down Rodriguez (they first battled at Halloween Havoc two years ago), but that would've taken the focus away from Jade and Perez where it belonged.

NXT Champion Bron Breakker, Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh Brawled on The KO Show Hosted by Kevin Owens

Owens hasn't been on Raw in weeks, so Shawn Michaels apparently made it up to him by having him host The KO Show on NXT. That's cool and all, but can we please get him back in a regular role on Raw doing something of note? Nonetheless, this was solid stuff. Everyone's mic work was satisfactory and they successfully built toward their Triple Threat match on Halloween Havoc. This is probably the most jeopardy Breakker's second title reign has been in to date, so job well done. Austin Theory popping up at the end and teasing a Money in the Bank cash-in at Halloween Havoc was incredibly random, but I'm fine with it so long as he doesn't actually waste the contract on the NXT Championship.

Overall Show

The go-home show for Worlds Collide last month was eventful with all of the cameos from Raw and SmackDown Superstars, but this go-home show blew that one out of the water in that respect. Part of that was likely because NXT ran opposite of AEW Dynamite for the first time since April 2021 and they wanted to attract as much attention to the brand as possible (and also promote Halloween Havoc). All in all, it was a strong episode and one of NXT's best all year, but they obviously can't keep bringing in so many notable names on the regular. The show needs to stand on its own without them, and we'll see if they can do that next week. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode and am excited for Halloween Havoc.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews