WWE NXT Review - October 31, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Nikki Cross def. Mercedes Martinez

I haven't heard anything about WWE signing Martinez (which is a shame considering all of the other talent NXT has since picked up from the first two installments of the Mae Young Classic), but it's cool she can still be brought in to have competitive matches on NXT TV such as this one. This was a pretty good match, and after Cross scored the win, she was confronted by Candice LeRae, who then had an intense face-off in the ring with Aleister Black. This was a successful segment all around.

The Street Profits def. The Mighty

These two teams have clashed on a handful of occasions over the past few months and all of their past encounters seemed to blend together (as well as who won), but this had way more energy and an urgency about it, which I liked a lot. The crowd was behind The Street Profits throughout and it was a really nice match on the whole. I'd say I'd hope that it isn't long before The Street Profits enter the NXT Tag Team Championship picture, but they recently won the EVOLVE Tag Team Championship, so they might be busy with those for a while. It'll be interesting to see if they bring the belts to NXT TV eventually.

Matt Riddle def. Luke Menzies

Fans have been highly anticipating Riddle's NXT debut for months, and he definitely did not disappoint in his first-ever outing on the black-and-yellow brand. Even those who weren't familiar with him beforehand had to have been impressed by his offense, charisma and unique style. I've seen a few matches of his in person (and even met him earlier this year at an independent wrestling show) and he never ceases to entertain an audience. The crowd ate up everything he did and I'm looking forward to his future in NXT.

Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch def. Raul Mendoza and Humberto Carillo

Lorcan and Burch have been back up and running for weeks and this was another enjoyable showing from them. I love how hard-hitting they are and how they always make their opponents look credible in defeat, including Mendoza and Carillo here. Speaking of whom, Mendoza and Carillo have terrific chemistry as partners and I hope they continue to team going forward. As for Lorcan and Burch, I'm curious who their first feud will be with. The Mighty, maybe?

Undisputed Era, War Raiders, NXT North American Champion Ricochet and WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne Brawled

Undisputed Era's Adam Cole and Bobby Fish vs. War Raiders was originally advertised as the main event of this show, but their brawl prevented it from coming to fruition. They took their fight all around the arena and Ricochet and Dunne joined in on the chaos, too. NXT General Manager William Regal then made the expected announcement that War Raiders, Ricochet and Dunne will battle Undisputed Era in a WarGames match at TakeOver, which I can not wait for.

Overall Show

The build to TakeOver: WarGames II has been fun to follow over the past few months and now we have three matches official for the card: the aforementioned four-on-four WarGames match, Tomasso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream for the NXT Championship, and Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano. This edition of NXT TV did an excellent job of setting in stone the lineup for the event in addition to delivering a solid show with Riddle debuting, a hot brawl closing out the night, the tag team division getting some shine, and Cross and Martinez contesting a very well-wrestled match.