WWE NXT Review: Results, Analysis, and Grades for October 5

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:31 p.m. ET

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Source: WWE.com

Find out everything that happened on Wednesday’s episode of WWE NXT. The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic kicks off, plus more!

Previously on WWE NXT, William Regal made the announcement that the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic would be returning. Over the past week, all sixteen teams in the tournament were announced. WWE posted the bracket earlier today, so all the first round matches are set. More on that in a moment.

Getting back to last week’s episode, the first team announced for the Dusty Classic was Tye Dillinger and Bobby Roode. The Perfect Ten was coming off a victory over Angelo Dawkins, and he was approached by Roode. The Glorious One requested Dillinger as his partner, and the alliance was formed. How will they coexist once the matches get under way?

Samoa Joe also continues to loom over NXT with the specter of destruction. As long as Shinsuke Nakamura is sidelined, Joe has vowed to wreak havoc on the entire roster until he’s given a chance to regain the NXT Championship. Last week he attacked the debuting Ealy Twins ahead of their match against The Revival. Will Joe continue to disrupt NXT’s proceedings?

What’s in store for tonight’s episode? As mentioned above, the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will kick off. The only match announced for tonight features NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival taking on Andrade “Cien” Almas and Cedric Alexander. Who will advance to round two?

Please continue reading for all the results from Wednesday’s episode of WWE NXT.

Bollywood Boyz vs. Authors of Pain (w/ Paul Ellering)

Result: Authors of Pain defeated Bollywood Boyz via pinfall

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Major props to Harv Sihra for starting the match off like he did. Not many people would take the fight to the Authors of Pain like that.I don’t think Rezar knew what hit him when those slaps connected.

But that’s about all that can be said about the Sihra brothers. When you’re announced as being at “a combined weight of 303 pounds,” and Akam and Rezar each weigh about three bills, it’s an uphill battle.

Hopefully, the Bollywood Boyz continue to make appearances every now and then. They seem like a lot of fun, and that kind of charisma plays well in Full Sail. Seeing them every few tapings might be a good thing for them and NXT in general.

We found out this week that the Authors of Pain have named their finishing maneuver. The lariat-assisted Russian leg sweep is known as “The Last Chapter.” Keeping with the literary theme is nice. I hope the double team rebound powerbomb is called “Final Revision” or something like that. What can I say, I like puns.

So the Authors are the first team to advance to round two of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They move on to face the winner of No Way Jose & Rich Swann vs. Tony Nese & Drew Gulak.

Source: WWE.com

Rich Swann vs. Patrick Clark

Result: Rich Swann defeated Patrick Clark via pinfall

Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars

Let’s address the elephant in the room: Clark’s new gimmick. I have no idea what he’s going for. Commentary made a bunch of Prince jokes, so maybe that with no purple?

The big issue I have with it isn’t the content, but the context. The character would work wonders if we could for a moment believe that it suited Clark’s personality. From what we’ve seen from him, it absolutely does not. And that makes the character less genuine, and a swing and a miss.

The match itself was good, but it highlights that Clark doesn’t have the “acting chops” necessary to make this character work. If he’s going for flamboyant, it needs to permeate through the in-ring action. Instead, it looked like a guy goofing off on his way to the ring, then getting serious like always and wrestling like he always would.

Swann carries the match, though, and his charisma is off the charts. He’s perfect for the NXT style crowd – small and intimate, with high energy. He should continue to have good success on Raw, but the difference in crowd type may hinder him a bit early on. Spending the time working with NXT will work wonders for him, where he can be himself and interact with the crowd.

Source: WWE.com

Peyton Royce (w/ Billie Kay) vs. Danielle Kamela

Result: Peyton Royce defeated Danielle Kamela via pinfall

Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars

According to Tom Phillips, Kamela has trained with WWE Hall of Famers, is a former broadcaster for Fox, and a former cheerleader with the Arizona Cardinals. Welcome to NXT, you jack of all trades!

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Peyton Royce is still working the Poison Ivy gimmick, and she’s officially aligned with Billie Kay. Following last week’s backstage segment, the two Aussie superstars appear to have united to take the NXT Women’s division by storm.

Keeping Royce and Kay in an alliance should benefit both superstars. They broke into NXT at right around the same time, and they have somewhat similar styles. And now that they have more unique looks, I’m not constantly confusing the two of them anymore, so that’s a plus. Women’s factions formed on something other than “We’re catty shrews” is always welcome, too.

The match was nothing special, although Royce’s fisherman’s suplex to put Kamela away was crazy good. Kamela didn’t have the chance to show too much, but the match didn’t fall apart. It did get bogged down a bit in the middle when Royce held onto a chinlock for what seemed like an eternity.

Bobby Roode and Tye Dillinger Backstage

Roode immediately interrupts Dillinger regarding their first round match. When Dillinger finally speaks, he’s distracted by Roode apparently turning into a televangelist. Roode tells Dillinger he’s expecting big things from him next week. Dillinger tries to speak again, but Roode pulls him away. DISSENSION ALREADY, FOLKS.

Dan Matha “Debuts”

Before Matha’s opponent can be introduced, Samoa Joe comes to the ring and issues a very one sided beat down. Matha never had a chance, as Joe annihilated him.

Joe took to the mic to address William Regal, asking how much more need to fall before Joe gets what he wants. As he leaves the ring, Joe says Regal has one week, or he’ll escalate things further.

The Samoa Joe Reign of Terror 2016 is pretty good for a variety of reasons. He’s making himself continue to look better and better every week. And he’s further elevating an already pretty strong championship, since the NXT Championship is his whole momentum. Here’s a guy who’s won tons of championships, but the NXT Title is the one that’s really pushed him off the cliffs of sanity.

Side note: How did Eva Marie get popped for a Wellness Policy violation before Dan Matha? His back looks like James Joyce’s Ulysses written in Braille. A case of backne usually comes partly from PEDs, right?

No Way Jose and Rich Swann Backstage

Jose says he chose Swann as his partner for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic because he knows about “hard times.” Life tried to keep Swann down, but he said NO WAY. Swann says he picked Jose because everyone takes him lightly. But Swann knows about his fire and ability, and has one question for the Dusty Classic field – can you handle this? And the two exit stage left chanting their catchphrases.

Andrade “Cien” Almas & Cedric Alexander vs. The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder)

Result: The Revival defeated Andrade “Cien” Almas & Cedric Alexander via pinfall

Rating: 2.9 out of 5 stars

Interesting analysis early on from Corey Graves: Almas and Alexander not entering together puts them at a disadvantage. He says entering together shows you’re on the same page, and he definitely has a point.

In the early goings, Almas and Alexander worked together exceedingly well. Some impressive double team maneuvers based on their agility looked terrific.

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The visual of Alexander leaping over Almas in the ropes for his tope to the outside was more than a little symbolic, I think. I mean, Almas is stalled in the ring, and Cedric goes flying past him? Even if I’m reading too far into things (as I am prone to doing), it’s pretty heavy-handed symbolism.

But The Revival did what they always do, and just outsmart their opponents. A blind tag turned the tide as Almas was isolated. It’s amazing to me that Dash and Dawson are such good villains but rarely outright cheat. Rules get bent, but not broken, and that’s important to keep them a credible threat. Too much cheating makes you look weak, but working within the rules makes you look like a genius.

The hot tag to Alexander was Jason Jordan-esque. Big crowd pop, high energy – I was looking for Chad Gable in the ring. Again, though, The Revival just outsmart and outlast. The Shatter Machine looked tremendous, and Cedric sold it like a million bucks.

And, hey, I’ve been calling it for a few weeks now – Almas didn’t really appreciate Cedric taking a pin and beat him down. Thirty seconds of an attack following a match was the absolute best Almas has looked in the ring, though.

Besides, if we’re getting Almas vs. Alexander again in the future, I’m 100-percent in for it. Full heel Almas? Yes, please.

What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE NXT?

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