WWE NXT Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights After Halloween Havoc 2026

In a one-off return of the Wednesday night wrestling war, WWE NXT will go head-to-head with the Blood and Guts edition of AEW Dynamite and boast a stacked card featuring several top-tier talent from Raw and SmackDown.

Following his successful defense of the NXT Championship against Tony D'Angelo at Halloween Havoc 2026, Grayson Waller will put his gold up for grabs against SmackDown star CM Punk. WWE has already confirmed that Punk's archrival Kevin Owens will be barred from the building ahead of his No Holds Barred bout with Punk on Friday's SmackDown.

John Cena is also set to make his first appearance on the brand in over three years to announce more competitors in the upcoming John Cena Classic, while Cody Rhodes will honor the winners of the 2026 Dusty Rhodes Classic.

In other action, Kelani Jordan will defend her NXT Women's Championship in an open challenge, The Vanity Project will take on Chad Gable, Dragon Lee and Rey Fenix in six-man tag team action, and Cruz Montana and Dion Lennox will settle their score in an Unsanctioned match.

Here are the complete results, grades and reaction for the post-Halloween Havoc edition of WWE NXT as it airs live on The CW.

Chad Gable, Dragon Lee and Rey Fenix vs. The Vanity Project

Last Time in Action : Ethan Page def. Chad Gable (Raw, Nov. 2); The Vision def. Dragon Lee, Je'Von Evans and Penta (Raw, Nov. 2); Rey Fenix def. Ricky Saints (SmackDown, Oct. 30); Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno def. The Vanity Project (NXT, Oct. 27); Jackson Drake def. EK Prosper (NXT, Oct. 27).

Gable, Lee and Fenix have all been intertwined as of late in the Intercontinental Championship picture, so they had an established alliance coming into this contest.

Once the pace picked up in this match, Fenix and Lee took to the skies to wipe out Vanity Project at ringside. That allowed Gable to hit a Chaos Theory on Drake in the ring, only for the rest of Vanity Project to make the save.

Vanity Project were in control coming out of the commercial break. Drake hit a Lethal Injection on Gable for a two count soon after. After a belly-to-belly suplex from Gable to Brad Baylor, Gable made the hot tag to Fenix, who ran rampant on all three male members of Vanity Project.

After the babyfaces took turns unleashing offense on Vanity Project, Gable nailed a beautiful double German suplex. Gable and Fenix locked in submissions on Drake and Ricky Smokes while Lee pinned Baylor following an Operation Dragon.

Dragon Lee, Rey Fenix and Chad Gable defeated The Vanity Project.

As random of a match as it was, this was a blast. All six stars worked really well together and had a heck of a sprint that was all action from start to finish.

Vanity Project are obviously the NXT regulars here, but they're so great in their roles that this loss will hardly hurt them. There's also no shame in them losing to three of the very best wrestlers the main roster has to offer at the moment.

The show could have easily kicked off with John Cena's appearance or the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals, so it was refreshing that they went with this instead. It was the type of exciting affair that NXT was once synonymous with at one point in time.

NXT Women's Championship: Kelani Jordan vs. Paige

Last Time in Action : Kelani Jordan def. Wren Sinclair (Halloween Havoc, Oct. 31); Paige def. Nikki Bella (SmackDown, Oct. 30).

This was an open challenge. Paige received a warm welcome back from the NXT faithful, complete with chants of "Who's house? Paige's house!" Jordan gained the upper hand with a splash on Paige early on, but coming out of the commercial, the women laid each other out with dueling clotheslines.

They then traded strikes before Paige connected with a flurry of clotheslines and a classic Paige Turner. Jordan's 450 Splash was unsuccessful, though Paige came close to capturing the title with a Ram-Paige.

Jordan secured a crossface in the center of the ring before planting Paige with a DDT. Paige got the knees up for the cross-legged moonsault, but because Paige hesitated while going for her second Ram-Paige, Jordan capitalized with an inside cradle for the win.

Kelani Jordan defeated Paige to retain the NXT Women's Championship.

It looked like Iyo Sky would be answering the open challenge following the backstage interaction she and Jordan had last week, so Paige coming out instead was a pleasant surprise, especially given her own history with the NXT Women's Championship.

It was cool for the commentators to acknowledge that Paige was never beaten for the NXT Women's Championship when she had to relinquish it upon getting called up to the main roster in 2014. It's wild to think she hadn't been back on the brand since then until now.

Paige hasn't been overly protected since returning to WWE earlier this year, but it was a big deal for Jordan to beat her, nonetheless. She needed to cheated to retain her title against Wren Sinclair at Halloween Havoc but was able to score a clean win over the first-ever NXT Women's champion here.

Dusty Classic Finals: Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno vs. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger

Last Time in Action: Hank Walker and Tank Ledger def. El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Galeno del Mal (NXT, Oct. 27); Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno def. The Vanity Project (NXT, Oct. 27).

Cody Rhodes sat in on commentary. Hank and Tank dominated the early goings and did what they could to level Dar and Moreno whenever possible.

Hank and Tank went for their finisher in the opening minutes, but Dar and Moreno were wisely able to avoid it. Dar and Moreno's simultaneous submissions were countered into powerful slams by Hank and Tank prior to the commercial break.

Moreno hit a double crossbody to Hank and Tank on the outside. After Moreno was sent spiraling into the commentary table, Hank and Tank hit top rope dives on Dar but only got a two count.

There wasn't a dull moment in the final few minutes as Dar nearly forced Walker to tap out before he was saved by Ledger. A pair of Cross Rhodes along with a high-low combination from Dar and Moreno earned the duo the victory.

Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno defeated Hank Walker and Tank Ledger to win the Dusty Rhodes Classic.

Post-match, Rhodes presented Dar and Moreno with the Dusty Classic trophy and informed them that they'll challenge Vanity Project for the NXT Tag Team Championship on next week's show. That's a quick turnaround, but it's the right call considering Dar and Moreno beat Vanity Project in a non-title bout just last week.

Neither team received a televised entrance, as that time went to televising Rhodes' entrance instead. It wasn't surprising in the slightest, but that didn't exactly put over the finals of this tournament as being important.

This year's Dusty Classic was the boost the tag team division desperately needed. The question is whether it can sustain this momentum going forward, but the pieces are there for it to be fun to follow again. Vanity Project vs. Dar and Moreno next week should be as entertaining as their last encounter was.

Unsanctioned Match: Cruz Montana vs. Dion Lennox

Last Time in Action: Cruz Montana vs. Dion Lennox ended in a double count-out (NXT, Oct. 20).

UFC's Michael Chandler served as the special guest referee. Santana went right after Lennox while Lennox was walking to the ring, which effectively established that this has been a blood feud between these two.

The first half largely consisted of them brawling around ringside. Montana attempted to hit a powerbomb through a table, and although he couldn't connect, he did put Lennox through part of a platform with a suplex soon after.

Montana was gearing up for a powerbomb on the exposed floor when Chandler appeared to talk him out of, resulting in Montana being swept off his feet post-commercial break. Lennox shoving Chandler out of the way while laying a beating on Montana gave Montana an opening and led to Montana diving over the top rope onto Lennox.

Before Montana could hit a stomp on Lennox on the exposed floor, DarkState emerged to attack Santana. The 946, a faction Santana just joined on Monday's Raw, evened the odds put Montana back in control so Montana could put down Lennox with a Spin the Block and emerge victorious.

Cruz Montana defeated Dion Lennox in an Unsanctioned match

Montana's usual entrance music didn't play when he won, presumably because he won't be using it as long as he's with The 946. Speaking of whom, the whole group posed in the ring after the match. It was an awesome visual.

This could have been even better had it not been interrupted by the commercial break and had they been allowed to push the envelope a little bit more, but for a WWE Street Fight, it was what it needed to be. The important thing is that Montana went over and can now firmly focus on his main roster future.

It wasn't that monumental seeing Jaida Parker and OTM back in NXT after only just getting called up a few months ago, but Royce Keys making his NXT TV debut here was cool. The 946 feel like a legitimate threat to The Bloodline heading into WarGames. Here's hoping WWE doesn't squander what they have with them.

John Cena Extends an Invitation for the John Cena Classic

You can tell John Cena loves the energy from the WWE Performance Center crowd based on how hyped he is to be here. The crowd sang his song word for word as he made his entrance, making the moment even more special.

After saying he missed the fans, Cena introduced the latest entrant in the John Cena Classic: Zilla Fatu. Per usual, the fans in attendance treated Fatu like a total star as he embraced Cena in the center of the ring.

Cena recounted his history with the Samoans of WWE history including Rikishi, The Rock, Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa and even Fatu's father Umaga. Fatu was visibly emotional while Cena took the time to praise him and offer him a spot in the Cena Classic.

Fatu told Cena that he appreciated him for the opportunity and that Raw isn't ready for what he's going to bring to the table.

This was exactly what it needed to be. Cena kept his promo short and sweet while also emphasizing that Fatu is the future of WWE (provided the company can creatively get it right with him, and there's no reason to think they won't).

We still have no idea what this Cena Classic is going to consist of exactly, but so far, we know that Cody Rhodes and Fatu are going to be a part of it and that's enough to make it feel fresh. Hopefully the rest of the field is as promising.

Coming out of the commercial break, Cena was confronted backstage by Kam Hendrix, who demanded a chance to join the Cena Classic. Instead, Cena told Hendrix that he'll be facing EK Prosper next week, and that a win would go a long way in proving himself worthy of following in Fatu's footsteps into the Cena Classic.

NXT Championship: Grayson Waller vs. CM Punk

Last Time in Action: Grayson Waller def. Tony D'Angelo (Halloween Havoc, Oct. 31). CM Punk lost the men's Money in the Bank Ladder match (Money in the Bank, Oct. 10).

Waller scored the early advantage on Punk by hitting him under the jaw and keeping control with a rest hold. Punk caught him off right before the break by pulling him into the ring apron and raining punches down upon him.

As the referee was checking in on Punk at ringside, Waller cut him off and stayed on top of Punk for several more minutes.

A little later on, Punk bested Waller after engaging in dueling suplex attempts and went on to hit his signature spots, including the running knee in the corner and the top rope elbow drop. He continued to rally momentum with a superplex off the top rope.

Punk closed in on the win with his patented GTS when Kevin Owens crashed ringside and distracted Punk long enough for him to be rolled up by Waller for the three count.

Grayson Waller defeated CM Punk to retain the NXT Championship.

It's a shame this was only just announced over the weekend at Halloween Havoc because these two could have a very entertaining war of words. That was honestly more appealing than the match itself, which was rather underwhelming for the time given.

It makes sense that Owens would make his presence felt and further his feud with Punk ahead of their No Holds Barred match on SmackDown this Friday, but WWE already announced earlier in the evening that Owens was banned from the building. Having him come out anyway was a waste and too predictable.

This wasn't the "biggest main event ever" NXT billed it as, but it was definitely a significant endorsement of Waller that he was able to get a pinfall win over Punk here. It's much better than having this end in a disqualification.

Needless to say, this show was way more about WWE trying to pop a better rating against AEW on their own night. Whether they were successful remains to be seen, but there's no denying they went all out by bringing in as many big guns as they could.

The card has promise on paper and, in a vacuum, the two hours were entertaining. Punk vs. Waller wasn't the barn burner it could have been for a variety of reasons, but Punk being in an NXT ring at all was an attraction.

It was a thumbs-up episode, but more could have been done to spotlight the current crop of competitors. Grayson Waller winning along with Zilla Fatu being endorsed by John Cena were the top two highlights, but very few (if any) NXT storylines progressed. Perhaps that's being saved for next week.

There were plenty of quality matches to make the show worthwhile, and it felt more special than the typical Tuesday night NXT, but it's clear the brand will need to replenish the pot sooner rather than later in light of all the main roster call-ups.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant , and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.