WWE NXT Preview (Sept. 29, 2026): Champ in Check

NXT emanates live from the Performance Center in Orlando once again tonight, with just a little over a month until Halloween Havoc. Two huge title matches are on the docket, plus the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic marches on. Be sure to tune in to the action on the CW starting at 8 PM ET, and follow along with all the action right here on Cageside!

Mason Rook gets his shot

It’s safe to say that 2026 has been a transitional year for WWE’s developmental brand. The promotion of many high-profile stars (which continued on Raw last night) has created major roster turnover in NXT and opened opportunities for newcomers to establish themselves on Tuesday nights. The person, though, who has perhaps parlayed one of those opportunities into the biggest prize is someone who was returning to NXT after spending a couple of years on the main roster.

After returning to NXT over the summer, the Aussie Icon Grayson Waller quickly worked his way to the top of the men’s division, culminating in an NXT Championship victory last month at Heatwave. Waller, borderline intolerable before winning the gold, became undeniable afterward, with no fewer than a half-dozen competitors lining up to be the first to challenge the new champ. After a two-week mini-tournament featuring those contenders, Mason Rook prevailed, outlasting Saquon Shugars and Tony D’Angelo in a triple-threat match to become the #1 contender.

Rook will get that shot at Waller on this week’s show.

I’ll be the first to admit that Mason Rook has underwhelmed me during his brief time in NXT. I’ve found him to be fine in the ring, but nothing about his personality or energy screamed star to me.

That was, until his show-closing promo last week.

Going toe-to-toe with Waller, Mason Rook showed that he could hang with the veteran, dropping some pretty deep cuts on Grayson and visibly knocking the NXT Champ off of his game. Grayson Waller’s reign with the silver brand’s top prize is probably not meant to be a long one, with a likely end goal of putting over a new star. The question isn’t necessarily if that’ll happen, but when. Was Mason’s promo last week enough proof that he’s able to carry the brand’s top prize? Or is tonight’s match just being used as a booking mechanism to set up an NXT Title match at Halloween Havoc next month? We should get some answers tonight!

Can Thea beat Zaria again?

The other title match on tonight’s show features a dominant Women’s North American Champion defending her title against the woman who’s had her number in recent weeks, and happens to be a former champion herself.

Thea Hail elevated her status in an incredibly competitive NXT women’s division a few weeks ago by making Zaria tap out to a Kimura Lock after an in-ring brawl. The following week, when Zaria and NXT Women’s Champion Kelani Jordan tried to determine who was the more dominant champion between them, Thea Hail and new AAA Reina de Reinas Champion, La Catalina joined the party, which led to a tag team match between the four ladies last week.

Despite being the only participant in the match without a championship, Thea asserted herself well, sliding out of Zaria’s F-5 attempt and rolling the champ up for an upset victory. Later that night, the NXT GM “set in Stone” a North American Championship match between the two for tonight’s show. After her first title reign began in controversy and ended just three weeks later, will Thea become the first two-time Women’s NA Champion in NXT history? Plus, Izzi Dame has been lurking around Zaria and Thea in recent weeks. Her involvement in the title match seems likely, but will she factor into the outcome?

Dusty Classic continues!

The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic kicked off with a bang last week with two high octane first round matches.

In the first one, Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar outlasted Rayo and Bravo of Los Americanos to advance to the quarterfinals. Then, later in the evening, the Creed Brothers continued the roll they’ve been on since returning to NXT, knocking off Harley Riggins and Jax Presley from Evolve.

The action will continue this week with two more first-round matches, featuring stars from Evolve and AAA, as well as two pairs of former NXT Tag Team Champions.

Fraxiom returns to Tuesday nights when they take on Osiris Griffin and Cutler James of DarkState. After making a big impact in some AAA events leading up to TripleMania, Nathan Frazer and Axiom return to where it all began by competing in their second Dusty Cup. In their first go-round, Fraxiom lost in the semifinals of the 2024 Dusty Cup to eventual winners Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker. This time, they look to advance to a quarterfinal showdown with Dar and Moreno by knocking off two-thirds of DarkState. Will the third member, Dion Lennox, be around to take advantage of that damn numbers game, or will he be too busy lobbing cheap insults and brawling with Cruz Montana? When the dust settles, will Fraxiom’s winning pedigree be enough to propel them into the next round?

In the other first-round match tonight, Uriah Connors and Stacks of Birth Right look to put their group of nepo-babies in the win column for once as they take on the hodgepodge team of AAA’s Mini Vikingo and Evolve’s Chazz “Starboy” Hall. A quick scan of the Cagematch database shows that Mini Vikingo and Hall have never teamed up before, so it would appear that they are just there to put on a show but eventually fall to a faction that could really use a win right now. After picking up some momentum in 6-man tag team action last week, is a Birth Right win this week a foregone conclusion? Or will Vikingo and Hall find a way to advance and send the crew of second-generation stars back to the drawing board for more answers? We’ll find out tonight!

Quick Hits

All this and more on the CW tonight as the road to Halloween Havoc continues! Let us know what you’re most excited for on tonight’s show in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with the live coverage here on Cageside tonight, starting at 8 PM Eastern!