It is best known for being WWE‘s third brand, but tonight, NXT paid tribute to ECW as they took over the famous 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA. The night was filled with cameos from ECW staples like The Dudley Boyz, Dawn Marie, and Rhyno, and was opened by NXT’s first hardcore match between Jaida Parker and Lola Vice. Wes Lee would regret assaulting Rob Van Dam with a steel chair before his match with Je’von Evans, as RVD then headed to ringside to distract Lee and enable Evans to get the win.
NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez was pinned by Zaria, as the Australian shone in a 10-woman tag match between Giulia, Jordynne Grace, Kelani Jordan, Stephanie Vaquer & Zaria and Cora Jade, Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx and Perez. Ridge Holland and Ethan Page defeated Trick Williams and Bubba Ray Dudley. Old-school ECW talent Nunzio challenged Tony D’Angelo in an impromptu match for his NXT North American Title.
Jaida Parker and Lola Vice
A Historic Hardcore Match Kicks Off NXT’s ECW Tribute
After weeks of promotion on all WWE programming, NXT at 2300 began with NXT’s first-ever women’s hardcore match from the Home Of Hardcore itself. The mean-mugging toughness of Jaida Parker faced off against the former MMA competitor, Lola Vice. Parker emerged victorious over Lola Vice in a match so hardcore that it included Jaida hitting her opponent with a brick.
NXT made a confident call in opening the show with this match, as this was a night where all eyes were on NXT going head-to-head in another ratings war with AEW Dynamite. The opening slot is crucial to viewers deciding what show to commit to and this match was superb from bell to bell, stacked with high spots, ladders, and trash cans. Parker won the match during a night on which women felt like the victors all night long, as the 10-woman tag team match was also the main event of the evening.
Je’von Evans
Young OG With A Statement Victory
ECW always prided itself on bringing people fresh acts that made audiences exclaim “I’ve never seen that before”. Je’von Evans is the closest thing to having that level of wow factor in NXT. Combining the air time of Michael Jordan with zeitgeist-powered presentation, Evans had to dig deep to overcome Wes Lee, kicking out of a ruthless Kardiac Kick and impressing Rob Van Dam in the process.
He will have bigger and more significant victories in the future, but Wes Lee is the real deal and a big win over him on an event show is a massive statement of intent. After Oba Femi has been unable to overcome Tony D’Angelo twice, Je’von Evans should be aiming for North American Championship gold. He may have only been on NXT’s roster for 7 months, but he proves himself ready for the top of the card with every passing week.
ECW And NXT’s Relationship
Using The Iconic Brand To Push Tomorrow’s Superstars
It may have flown under the radar as a milestone, but this is the first ECW-branded show since Vince McMahon left WWE. Without the tyrannical overlord involved, NXT used ECW’s aura to make today’s superstars look cooler. Ideas such as using the ECW Arena to be the venue for NXT’s first women’s hardcore match and the world-class job of using the This Is Extreme ECW theme song as an intro to the show were masterstrokes.
Nostalgia is a tricky thing to incorporate when selling the audience on the stars of tomorrow, but everything proved charming enough to work. Trick Williams and The Dudley Boyz putting Ethan Page through a table was fun, especially after D-Von arrived as a surprise guest. RVD providing a distraction while Je’Evon Evans wowed everyone was superior to watching him get involved in the match physically. Nunzio working with Tony D and The Family was fun, and Rhyno goring Robert Stone got one of the pops of the night. Francine in the front row was wonderful to see and Dawn Marie added star power to the women’s hardcore match. ECW and NXT have proven good bedfellows and this sets up future NXT at 2300 shows to feel like events. Mission accomplished all round.
Ridge Holland
More Momentum For The British Brute
Ever since he left Chase U after NXT No Mercy, Ridge Holland has become the most in-form wrestler in NXT. He now has five wins in five matches, following up his Ambulance Match win over Andre Chase at Halloween Havoc with another high-profile win. If momentum creates champions, Holland is someone to pay close attention to.
In his biggest scalp to date, RIdge Holland pinned NXT Champion Trick WIlliams in the night’s high-profile tag team match. Teaming with Ethan Page, there were no shenanigans or foul play. Holland evaded the Trick Shot and rolled up WIlliams to put himself deep in the conversation for an NXT Championship opportunity. Now that NXT Deadline has been announced for December 7th, the smart money is on Holland to be the next challenger for the NXT title.
Losers
Roxanne Perez
A Rare Slump For NXT’s Women’s Champ
In one of the year’s most impressive streaks, Roxanne Perez won every match she was part of from 6th February of this year to October 1st. After losing her tag match with Cora Jade against Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer at Halloween Havoc, the NXT Women’s Champion lost her second straight match in the 10 women’s tag team match, taking the pin from the physically imposing Zaria. This is unchartered territory for a woman only accustomed to winning. It’s not a full-blown crisis for Perez, but it’s definitely cause for concern.
Having debuted in April 2022, taken part in Royal Rumble, and won her only match on Monday Night Raw in 2024, Roxanne Perez’s time in NXT is surely coming to an end. The main event was stacked with premier talent, all of whom are worthy of taking the brand forward into a bright new feature. Either way, this is the closest thing Perez has had to a slump and she’ll be keen to address it quickly.
Trick Williams
A Bad Night At The Office For The Champ
This was a strange week for NXT as both the male and female brand champions were pinned on the same show. Trick Williams and Bubba Ray Dudley might not have been on anyone’s bingo card to happen in 2024, but they were still favorites to defeat the team of Ethan Page and Ridge Holland. This isn’t a disaster of a result for WIlliams by any means, and he ended the night by putting Ethan Page through a table with The Dudley Boyz, but he should be concerned about the threat of Ridge Holland.
The next few months are going to be interesting for Williams. Assuming he can overcome the challenges ahead of him, Trick is one of the frontrunners to represent NXT in the Royal Rumble, a huge moment for whoever is chosen given that it is the first Royal Rumble to be aired on Netflix. In his more immediate future, he should expect to be called out by Ridge on next week’s show.
- Two “holy s@#$” chants in the first match alone. Good work, ladies.
- Roxanne Perez won her NXT Women’s Championship in Philadelphia, PA at NXT Stand & Deliver in April of this year.
- Kelani Jordan stretching with RVD was a whole vibe.
- Wes Lee taking out RVD with a chair before his match felt misguided at best, and dumb as rocks at worst.
- Nunzio’s last match in ECW came in a loss to Evan Bourne in July 2008.
- A nice tribute to ECW original Hat Guy in the front row of this week’s show.
- Bubba Ray Dudley’s last WWE match came in a Dudley Boyz loss to Sami Zayn and Neville on Monday Night Raw on 21st August 2016.
- Trick WIlliams had not been pinned since Pete Dunne did it at The Great American Bash on 6th August.
- Commentator Vic Joseph mentioned Lou Bega in 2024. Mambo Number 5 was released in April 1999.
- Fallon Henley vs Kelani Jordan for the Women’s North American Championship, Adriana Rizzo vs Nikkita Lyons, and the qualifying matches for the Iron Survivor Challenge are scheduled for next week’s NXT.
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