NXT Lined Up Three Men for Grayson Waller. The Vanity Project Still Owns the Room.

NXT went back to its Tuesday slot after a week of main roster guests and a head-to-head night against AEW. With the big names gone, this episode from the Performance Center had to answer a simple question: who is NXT about now?

The answer came in a rush. Three men stepped toward Grayson Waller’s NXT Championship. Kelani Jordan got a title rematch booked for next week. The Vanity Project kept the NXT Tag Team titles the way they usually do, with help. And the show closed on a three-group brawl that included a stable most fans didn’t expect to see in NXT.

Our take: NXT spent this show filling its waiting room. That is the right move after the call-ups. The question is which of these stories gets to go first.

“NXT spent this show filling its waiting room.”

— GONEdii Gazette G.

Waller beat CM Punk and inherited a line

Waller came out to Punk’s music to gloat about last week’s win, a schoolboy roll-up that came off a Kevin Owens distraction. He called himself the new best in the world and asked who was next.

He got three answers in one night. Shiloh Hill called out the tights grab from the Punk match and challenged him. Mason Rook returned and crushed Waller in the corner while Hill watched from the ring. Later, Zilla Fatu came out in his John Cena Classic jacket and said he wants to walk into that tournament as NXT Champion.

Waller has held the title for 72 days on WCN’s champions board, since NXT Heatwave on August 30. That is a long enough run that NXT needs a credible next challenger, and this show produced three. Hill has the clearest grievance. Rook has unfinished business, since he never got his title match. Fatu has the momentum and the Cena Classic invitation. Nothing is official yet, so the smart bet is a multi-man setup before any one of them gets a clean shot.

The Vanity Project is the brand’s heel engine

The Vanity Project wiped out Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno backstage before their tag title match. Dar and Moreno had won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic last week, and Cena had just invited both of them into his Classic. NXT General Manager Robert Stone ruled they weren’t medically cleared, but made the champions defend anyway. The surprise challengers were Hank Walker and Tank Ledger, the team Dar and Moreno beat in the Dusty Classic final.

Hank and Tank jumped the champions before the bell and controlled most of the match. Then Dar and Moreno ran down looking for revenge, Myka Lockwood shoved Walker off the turnbuckle, and Brad Baylor stole the pin on Ledger. Official NXT posts called it a retain. No title change.

That makes 72 days for Baylor and Ricky Smokes on WCN’s board, also since Heatwave. Their stablemate Jackson Drake has held the North American title for the same 72 days. One group holds two of NXT’s men’s titles, and both reigns lean on outside help. That works as a heel story, but it has a shelf life. The finish set up a three-team fight between the Vanity Project, Dar and Moreno, and Hank and Tank. Dar and Moreno are 2-0 in matches WCN has logged this year. The tag titles need to move to someone soon, or the champions start to feel like a wall instead of a story.

The women’s title finally has a real rematch

Cena’s backstage invite to Kelani Jordan was the show’s warmest moment. Then Jordan walked to the ring and turned straight back into the smug champion, talking about beating Paige and being held to a higher standard. Kendal Grey interrupted and asked for the rematch she never got. Stone made it official for next week.

That match has history behind it. Jordan took the NXT Women’s title from Grey at Heatwave, and she has now held it for 72 days. Grey’s return turns a champion with no clear next opponent into a fresh title defense. It also keeps Wren Sinclair, Grey’s best friend, close to the title scene, even though Sinclair lost to Izzi Dame earlier in the night.

Izzi Dame and Zaria are the next women’s feud

Dame beat Sinclair with a running knee after a solid back-and-forth match. She is 3-0 in the matches WCN has logged for her this year. Right after the bell, Women’s North American Champion Zaria speared her and left her laying.

Zaria has held that title for 154 days on WCN’s champions board, the longest current NXT reign on our board. Dame has the unbeaten run to justify a shot. That is a clean build, and it doesn’t need a gimmick.

The undercard did its job

EK Prosper beat Kam Hendrix with a top-rope moonsault, and Hendrix trashed ringside afterward. Later, Hendrix sucker-punched Tony D’Angelo backstage while Myles Borne watched and laughed. Hendrix is turning a loss into a feud with a bigger name, which is the right use of him. Lizzy Rain beat Chantel Monroe with Thunderstruck after Monroe got caught using the ropes, which evens up their series after Monroe’s cheap win in October.

What this NXT means going forward

Rising: Mason Rook, back with a clear target. Izzi Dame, unbeaten in WCN’s logs and now in Zaria’s sights. Kendal Grey, who walked back into a title match on night one.

Falling: Hank and Tank, who had the champions beaten and still left without the belts. Kam Hendrix, now stuck on a loss and a tantrum. The Vanity Project as a fresh act, since the cheating finish is starting to repeat.

Watch next: Jordan vs. Grey for the NXT Women’s title next Tuesday, which Stone made official on the show. Also watch for a contender setup for Waller’s title, a Zaria vs. Dame title match, and what the arrival of Los Perros del Mal means for the faction fight with DarkState and BirthRight.

Fans on X mostly called this a good, solid NXT, and the biggest reactions went to two surprises. Mason Rook’s return got an excited response. Los Perros del Mal crashing the closing brawl drew even more. Many fans on X and in the comments on WWE’s official YouTube clips loved seeing three stables in one ring, and liked Zilla Fatu sliding out and watching. The clearest complaint was the tag title finish. Several fans liked the match but called the ending a cheap one and said they’re tired of Vanity Project interference, which matches our take. The other sore spot was a backstage scene where Chantel Monroe mocked Thea Hail’s hair loss. Several fans called it uncomfortable and in poor taste. Kendal Grey’s return got warm support in the YouTube comments. The overall reaction was positive but small, so treat this as a read of public comments, not a poll.