— This week’s episode of WWE NXT on The CW Network kicked off with Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo challenging Leon Slater for the TNA X-Division Title.
Slater was joined at ringside by Je’Von Evans to counter Arianna Grace, who accompanied Stacks. In the end, Slater sealed the victory with his signature Swanton 450 splash to retain the championship.
This marked Slater’s first successful title defense since TNA Bound For Glory 2025, where his match against Evans ended in a no contest after DarkState (Saquon Shugars, Osiris Griffin, Dion Lennox & Cutler James) interfered.
— WWE NXT Women’s North American and WWE Women’s Speed Champion Sol Ruca appeared on this week’s episode of WWE NXT on crutches, accompanied by her tag team partner ZARIA.
In the ring with NXT General Manager Ava, Ruca announced that she suffered an injury during a recent WWE SmackDown tag team match against WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss. As a result, she is not medically cleared to defend her North American Title against Blake Monroe at Halloween Havoc.
Monroe interrupted the announcement, arguing that she should be declared champion since Ruca can’t compete. ZARIA stepped in, volunteering to defend the title on Sol’s behalf. Ava left the decision to Ruca, who agreed.
ZARIA then laid Monroe out with her finisher before taking the North American Title from Ruca’s hands and holding it high over the fallen challenger.
— Axiom and Jasper Troy are set to clash in the finals of the mini-tournament to determine the next challenger for El Grande Americano’s WWE Men’s Speed Championship.
The opening-round matches took place on this week’s edition of NXT on The CW Network. Jasper Troy advanced by defeating TNA’s Zachary Wentz with just under a minute left in their three-minute contest. Later that night, Axiom picked up a win over Sean Legacy, scoring the victory with only seconds to spare.
Los Americanos (Bravo Americano & Rayo Americano) were in attendance for both bouts, keeping a close eye on the competition on behalf of El Grande.
Axiom and Troy will face off on the October 28th episode of NXT to decide who earns a shot at the WWE Men’s Speed Championship.
— A promo video from DarkState (Saquon Shugars, Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin & Cutler James) on WWE NXT was abruptly interrupted by a special message from the NXT Tag Team and TNA World Tag Team Champions, The Hardys (Matt & Jeff Hardy).
In the video, Matt and Jeff were shown approaching the legendary Lake of Reincarnation — only to emerge moments later as their iconic alter egos, Broken Matt and Brother Nero. The transformation set the stage for a major announcement: at NXT Halloween Havoc, The Broken Hardys will defend the NXT Tag Team Championships against DarkState in a Broken Rules Match.
The cinematic segment also featured Reby Hardy, Señor Benjamin, and the Hardy children — including King Maxel, who famously appeared with the family during their TNA Wrestling days.
OH. MY. GOD.
DarkState have awoken Broken Matt Hardy and Brother Nero, and we’re getting a Broken Rules Match at Halloween Havoc!! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Zmsrp3uXbe
— WWE (@WWE) October 22, 2025
— And finally, you can check out the updated lineup for Saturday night’s WWE NXT: Halloween Havoc pay-per-view event below:
* NXT Championship Match: Trick Williams vs. Ricky Saints
* NXT Women’s Championship Match: Jacy Jayne vs. Tatum Paxley
* NXT North American Championship Day of the Dead Match: Ethan Page vs. Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr.
* NXT Tag Team Broken Rules Championship Match: The Hardys vs. DarkState
* NXT Women’s North American Championship Match: Zaria vs. Sol Ruca
* Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater vs. Mr. Iguana and La Parka
