The WWE NXT September 29, 2026 results leave BirthRight and DarkState out of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, Grayson Waller still champion and Cruz Montana responsible for tonight’s most powerful moment. Mason Rook’s medical setback forced a main-event change, but EK Prosper made the most of the opening. Elsewhere, Zaria had to solve Thea Hail’s submission threat, and Robert Stone opened Kelani Jordan’s Halloween Havoc title picture to six brands. Tonight delivered worthwhile wrestling and one exceptional character piece. The frustration is that several stories still demand more explanation than the show gives them, especially Zilla Fatu’s direction and BirthRight’s inability to build lasting momentum.
Here are the full results
- Zaria (c) defeated Thea Hail (NXT Women’s North American Championship)
- Chazz “Starboy” Hall and Mini Vikingo defeated BirthRight (Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic first round)
- Fraxiom defeated DarkState (Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic first round)
- Grayson Waller defeated EK Prosper (NXT Championship Open Challenge)
Breakdowns & Reactions
Opening Tribute and Mason Rook’s Medical Setback
Tonight opened with a memorial graphic honoring Benjamin Satterley, remembered in WWE as Neville. His place in NXT’s history made that acknowledgment particularly meaningful.
WWE announced before tonight’s show that Mason Rook was not medically cleared. Robert Stone said he would be out for the foreseeable future and kept Waller’s defense intact with an open challenge. No diagnosis or return date was disclosed. Rook expressed disappointment on social media but promised to overcome the setback.
The timing hurts. Rook advanced through September 8’s six-man qualifier, beat Tony D’Angelo and Saquon Shugars on September 15, then made the championship match feel personal during last week’s confrontation. That progression finally had a destination.
Waller’s later interview used the withdrawal to insult Rook. Effective heel work, but the replacement match still needed its own reason to matter.
Grade: B+ for the presentation and booking adjustment.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: The opening acknowledged Neville, and Stone ensured the advertised championship defense still happened.
- Didn’t: Rook’s strongest stretch now has no confirmed payoff date.
Zaria vs. Thea Hail: A Title Defense With a Clear Strategy
Thea Hail had already made Zaria submit during their confrontation and pinned her in last week’s tag match. Tonight’s challenge had earned credibility.
Hail attacked the arm and kept searching for the Kimura, forcing Zaria to solve a wrestling problem she could not dismiss with size alone. Zaria answered with heavy strikes and throws, while Hail’s comeback included a tornado DDT outside, a flying crossbody and an exploder. A springboard attempt became a German suplex, but Hail countered the spear into another submission attempt. Zaria escaped the danger, survived the roll-up and finished with the spear and F-5.
Hail knew how to threaten the champion, and Zaria finally found the answer. Keeping Izzi Dame out of the finish let the defense stand on its own. Hail losing was defensible; leaving her without a meaningful follow-up would be the waste.
Grade: B+.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: The arm attack, believable submission danger and decisive finish connected the match to its buildup.
- Didn’t: Hail’s next direction remains unclear after her strongest argument for another title reign.
The Dusty Classic Teams Talk Past the First Round
Fraxiom’s interaction with Noam Dar, Romeo Moreno and the Wagner Brothers gave the bracket some personality. Nathan Frazer looked ahead confidently, while Axiom supplied the restraint. Vanity Project arrived with its own assumptions about reaching the final.
Discussing their paths to the trophy made the tournament feel connected. The familiar backstage staging, however, rarely made the confrontation feel heated.
Grade: B.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: Future opponents developed relationships before their matches.
- Didn’t: The exchange established confidence more effectively than genuine friction.
Myles Borne Explains Why He Turned on Tavion Heights
Myles Borne traced his decision back to losing both championships at Heatwave and reconsidering Ethan Page’s warnings about needing a killer instinct. He framed Tavion Heights as an obstacle and recast the audience’s support as pity.
Borne insisted he was taking responsibility while blaming everyone else. His attack after the September 15 apology now has a clearer motive: he cannot accept sharing the spotlight or confronting his own failures.
Challenging how fans perceive his deafness made the promo personal. The broader audience-blaming was less interesting. Borne is more compelling when his anger stays tied to Heights and the championships he lost.
Grade: A-.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: The Ethan Page connection and resentment over Heatwave gave the turn continuity.
- Didn’t: Generic audience-blaming weakened a more specific, convincing grievance.
Robert Stone Gives Hall and Mini Vikingo His Endorsement
Stone explained that he and Rey Mysterio had brought Chazz Hall and Mini Vikingo together. That supplied the partnership with an origin and emphasized the Evolve–AAA connection.
That introduced them without establishing the history BirthRight already possessed, making the result that followed a substantial booking choice.
Grade: B-.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: The partnership had an explanation before the bell.
- Didn’t: An endorsement could only do so much to establish a brand-new team.
Hall and Mini Vikingo Eliminate BirthRight
Hall and Mini Vikingo made their first match together count. BirthRight initially punished their enthusiasm, intercepting their dives and sending them into the ringside furniture. That gave Lorenzo and Connors a sensible advantage before the challengers accelerated the match with aerial offense and rapid counters.
Hall’s athletic combinations and Mini Vikingo’s timely saves kept the team alive. Lorenzo’s diving elbow could not finish the job, and Mini Vikingo ultimately scored the winning fall on him.
WWE appears to be setting up the tournament’s fairytale underdogs. The cost is BirthRight, whose six-man main-event victory last week barely registered before tonight’s elimination.
An unexpected winner can make a tournament memorable. BirthRight’s collective experience, however, rarely seems to provide an advantage. The group now needs a response stronger than another attack.
Grade: B+.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: Hall and Mini Vikingo supplied energy, timely teamwork and a memorable introduction as a pair.
- Didn’t: BirthRight immediately surrendered the momentum it had just earned.
Zilla Fatu and BirthRight: The Origin Is Clearer Than the Destination
Zilla Fatu intervened after BirthRight attacked the winners, then promised to deal with the faction individually and announced his intention to answer Waller’s challenge.
There is a starting point to this feud beyond everyone’s family connections. Zilla rejected BirthRight’s recruitment attempt on September 1. The group attacked him the following week, and he helped Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux fight them off on September 15. Last week’s six-man match extended those hostilities.
The progression remains thin. Zilla did not cause BirthRight’s elimination. Attacking an already defeated faction gives him a moment without proving much about the difficulty of dismantling it.
His title ambitions are reasonable, but promising two campaigns in one promo divides the focus. BirthRight needs to become a credible obstacle, and Zilla needs a concrete next step.
Grade: C+.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: Zilla’s intervention followed an established conflict and protected the tournament winners.
- Didn’t: BirthRight’s elimination and Zilla’s championship declaration pulled attention in separate directions.
Cruz Montana Reclaims His Story
Cruz Montana delivered my standout segment tonight and, for me, the most emotionally effective NXT Chronicle yet. His account of his upbringing, family and personal struggles gave substance to the man behind the confidence. Fatherhood made those experiences especially immediate.
Most importantly, he reclaimed what Dion Lennox had tried to use against him. Calling his past his superpower made the conflict about ownership of his life and pride in how far he had come.
His emotion explained why Lennox’s comments mattered and gave their eventual fight a personal reason to exist. More of tonight’s character work needed that clarity: what someone values, where an opponent crossed the line and why the response matters.
Grade: A+.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: Vulnerability, conviction and a direct connection to the Lennox conflict.
- Didn’t: Nothing substantial within the segment; the follow-through now needs to match it.
Izzi Dame Keeps Prodding Zaria’s Past
Izzi Dame’s congratulations were followed by Zaria finding a pink dress and images from her past in the locker room. Zaria rejected the version of herself being presented. Later, Stone confirmed that both women would enter next week’s battle royal.
Why do these reminders destabilize Zaria so much? A dress alone cannot carry the rivalry’s emotional stakes. Their shared battle-royal entry at least gives the taunting a place to become physical.
Grade: C+.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: The manipulation continued without undermining Zaria’s championship win.
- Didn’t: The story still needs to explain what the reminders actually mean to her.
Kelani Jordan’s Halloween Havoc Plans Meet Reina Volcan
Kelani Jordan dismissed the competition and presented herself as a champion who would wait for somebody worthy. The crowd’s calls for Wren Sinclair undercut that argument: an audience-backed challenger already exists, even with the suspension complicating her path.
Stone removed the decision from Jordan’s hands. Next week’s 20-woman battle royal will feature talent from NXT, Raw, SmackDown, Evolve, AAA and TNA, with the winner challenging her at Halloween Havoc.
Reina Volcan then attacked Jordan and declared her own entry. After her July 21 in-ring debut and subsequent absence, Volcan returned last week by attacking Kali Armstrong and Skylar Raye. Tonight expanded her targets to the champion.
The writing needs to connect these attacks. Jumping between potential rivalries without developing one risks making Volcan’s presence feel temporary again. The battle royal offers a chance to establish a sustained direction.
Grade: B+.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: Jordan’s arrogance met consequences, and Halloween Havoc gained a defined contender-selection match.
- Didn’t: Volcan’s involvement with Armstrong still needs follow-through alongside her championship ambitions.
Naraku, Saquon Shugars and the Scheduling Problem
Stone’s backstage exchange established Naraku vs. Shiloh Hill for next week and Saquon Shugars vs. Tristan Angels for October 13. Shugars was unhappy about waiting, and Naraku supplied the ominous laughter.
Naraku’s presentation has unquestionably lost urgency since his championship challenges against Tony D’Angelo at Great American Bash and in July’s Street Fight. He did beat Hill on September 1, so this rematch has continuity. It still feels several steps below the danger he previously represented.
That reduced urgency does not prove WWE has abandoned him. Next week needs a meaningful consequence beyond another sinister tease.
Grade: C.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: Two matches received dates, and Naraku–Hill has an established result behind it.
- Didn’t: Naraku’s menace remains largely verbal while his position on the show has diminished.
Fraxiom Eliminate DarkState
DarkState used its size to interrupt Fraxiom’s rhythm, with Cutler James and Osiris Griffin isolating Axiom and making Nathan Frazer’s eventual involvement matter. Frazer’s comeback, the aerial combinations and DarkState’s power counters gave the match a strong contrast in styles.
The closing sequence rewarded coordination: Axiom delivered the avalanche Spanish Fly, took Griffin out of the equation and left Frazer to finish James with the Phoenix Splash.
Fraxiom winning is completely believable despite the bracket shake-up. Their experience together gives them an advantage Hall and Mini Vikingo had to establish from scratch. DarkState can lose to accomplished former champions without looking incompetent.
With Lennox occupied by Cruz and his partners eliminated, DarkState needs a consequential response. Fraxiom advance to a promising quarterfinal against Dar and Moreno.
Grade: A-.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: The contrasting styles, purposeful isolation and coordinated finish made the winning team look excellent.
- Didn’t: DarkState now needs a development that makes this exit matter beyond a broken bracket.
Kendal Grey’s Therapy Sessions Need Better Execution
Kendal Grey’s latest session explored how little identity she has outside wrestling and her instinct to answer every problem by working harder. That is a worthwhile idea for an injured competitor struggling with the loss of control.
The acting still belongs in a Tubi drama. The exchanges feel arranged to explain Grey to the audience, and repeated questioning produces too little movement. She needs more natural delivery and a discovery that changes something.
The comparison with Cruz tonight is unavoidable. His vulnerability clarified his character; Grey’s scenes keep describing the same problem.
Grade: D+.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: An athlete confronting life beyond competition is a useful character premise.
- Didn’t: Stiff execution and repetition are draining the premise of its impact.
The Open Challenge Becomes a Race to the Ring
Waller’s first-to-the-ring condition sent the locker room scrambling. Zilla Fatu and Cruz Montana obstructed each other, allowing EK Prosper to reach the ring and claim the opportunity.
Prosper benefited, but the championship opportunity felt like something won through a traffic jam. After Rook spent weeks earning his shot, the change in standards was hard to ignore.
Grade: C+.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: Prosper emerged from the chaos with a major opportunity.
- Didn’t: The scramble made several contenders look less serious than the championship pursuit warranted.
Grayson Waller vs. EK Prosper: The Replacement Main Event Delivers
Prosper attacked quickly, using dropkicks and dives before Waller slowed him with a cravate and targeted offense. A TKO into the turnbuckles on the apron gave the champion a particularly nasty interruption to Prosper’s momentum.
The challenger kept recovering, eventually putting Waller through the announce table with a moonsault. The follow-up leg drop could not finish the job, and Waller ultimately retained with his rolling cutter.
Prosper supplied the urgency the setup lacked. He wrestled like someone chasing an opportunity he might not get again soon. Waller needed a challenger who could expose his vulnerability and make retaining feel consequential.
Prosper’s performance should improve his standing beyond tonight. He needs a meaningful follow-up to make this more than a good night ending in another loss.
Grade: A-.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: Prosper made the opportunity feel important, and Waller left with a substantial defense.
- Didn’t: Prosper still needs a sustained push to turn a strong losing performance into progress.
Zilla Fatu’s Closing Frustration
Zilla’s backstage frustration kept his missed opportunity alive. The unresolved priorities remained: does he pursue Waller, confront Cruz or concentrate on dismantling BirthRight? He has plenty of opponents, but tonight did little to establish which conflict drives his next move.
Grade: C.
What worked and what didn’t
- Worked: Missing the title opportunity mattered to him.
- Didn’t: More frustration supplied little clarity about what comes next.
WWE NXT September 29: The Road to NXT Halloween Havoc
Kelani Jordan has the clearest route: next week’s battle-royal winner earns her title match at Halloween Havoc. Reina Volcan, Zaria and Izzi Dame already have reasons to collide, while Wren Sinclair’s suspension remains an unresolved complication.
Waller’s next major challenger is less certain after Rook’s withdrawal. Cruz Montana and Dion Lennox, Borne and Heights, and Zilla and BirthRight are active stories; tonight did not turn those rivalries into confirmed Halloween Havoc matches. The next few weeks need to establish those destinations.
Best Match and Segment of the Night
- Best match: Grayson Waller vs. EK Prosper. The challenger gave a replacement main event enough urgency and spectacle to justify its position. Fraxiom vs. DarkState was close behind.
- Best segment: Cruz Montana’s NXT Chronicle. Nothing else tonight gave its subject that much emotional depth or made a conflict feel as personal.
Updated Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Bracket
Four first-round matches are complete. Vanity Project and the Wagner Brothers received byes.
| First-round match | Status after tonight |
| Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno vs. Los Americanos | Dar and Moreno advanced September 22 |
| The Creed Brothers vs. Harley Riggins and Jax Presley | The Creed Brothers advanced September 22 |
| Chazz Hall and Mini Vikingo vs. BirthRight | Hall and Mini Vikingo advanced tonight |
| Fraxiom vs. DarkState | Fraxiom advanced tonight |
| Tokyo Bad Boys (Kento and Takuma) vs. Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux | Pending |
| Hank Walker and Tank Ledger vs. Shido Ash and Viktor Zanov | Pending |
| Quarterfinal | Matchup |
| Left side, upper | NXT Tag Team Champions Vanity Project vs. Chazz Hall and Mini Vikingo |
| Left side, lower | Fraxiom vs. Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno |
| Right side, upper | AAA World Tag Team Champions The Wagner Brothers (El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Galeno) vs. Tokyo Bad Boys or Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux |
| Right side, lower | The Creed Brothers vs. Hank and Tank or Shido Ash and Viktor Zanov |
Each side’s quarterfinal winners meet in the semifinals, followed by the final. Legacy and Van Dux remain the advertised pairing; Van Dux’s status remains a concern following last week’s announced punctured lung.
What Was Announced for Next Week’s WWE NXT
- A 20-woman battle royal featuring NXT, Raw, SmackDown, Evolve, AAA and TNA talent. The winner challenges Kelani Jordan for the NXT Women’s Championship at Halloween Havoc. Reina Volcan, Zaria and Izzi Dame are confirmed entrants.
- Naraku vs. Shiloh Hill.
Next week’s show is October 6. Saquon Shugars vs. Tristan Angels was scheduled for October 13, not next week. The tournament bracket above shows the remaining matchups without assigning unconfirmed broadcast dates.
Final Thoughts
The WWE NXT September 29 results gave the Dusty Classic real movement and Waller a worthwhile defense despite losing the advertised challenger. Cruz Montana supplied the emotional center, while Borne gave his betrayal a more coherent explanation.
The weak points came from stories that still need to advance. BirthRight cannot build credibility if every useful win is immediately erased. Zilla needs a clearer priority, Volcan needs consistent follow-through, and Grey’s therapy scenes need a development worth returning for. Tonight produced enough strong material to make Halloween Havoc interesting. The challenge now is turning those moments into sustained stories.
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I’m the quiet one until the bell rings then I’ve got takes. I live for WWE NXT and TNA, I want every promotion to succeed, and I will absolutely roast the bad decisions on sight (because someone has to). Anime taught me to respect long-term storytelling; wrestling taught me that sometimes the plan is “we panicked” and called it “unpredictable.” The Miz got me into all of this, so yeah I appreciate confidence, commitment, and the art of talking like you’re already the main event. Now I bring that same energy to the page as the main writer for Late Night Crew Wrestling because if you’re not here to be must-see and tell the truth, why are you here?!