WWE NXT Notes: Two New Tournaments, LA Knight, Jade Cargill, & Undertaker Appears, Halloween Havoc Guest Hosts, More

Oct 10, 2023

Cody Rhodes Big Announcement – 2023 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic & 2023 Men’s Breakout Tournament

Tuesday’s WWE NXT show featured Cody Rhodes revealing that his big mystery announcement was that this year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will be taking place soon while this year’s Men’s Breakout Tournament will take place after the current Women’s Breakout Tournament concludes.

WOW LET'S GO!!!@CodyRhodes has announced that the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is coming back AND a game-changing reveal for tonight's #WWENXT! pic.twitter.com/ln5OiBF3Az
— WWE (@WWE) October 11, 2023

BREAKING: Per @CodyRhodes, after the NXT Women's Breakout Tournament, there will be a Men's NXT Breakout Tournament!#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/dm3flTN3a9
— WWE (@WWE) October 11, 2023

LA Knight Makes Surprise NXT Return & Announced as Special Guest Ref for Dominik Mysterio vs. Ilja Dragunov Match

Tuesday’s NXT show also featured Cody Rhodes announcing that he was made the special guest General Manager by NXT head booker Shawn Michaels, which led to NXT commentator Vic Joseph stating that this meant that Rhodes had the power of the “pencil” and implying he had booking power for the show.

Following an in-ring promo segment between Rhodes, Judgement Day’s Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio, and NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov, Rhodes agreed to book an NXT Championship match between Mysterio and Dragunov but with the stipulation of this being a Special Guest Referee and LA Knight revealed as the referee.

Later in the show, LA Knight made his appearance and officiated the NXT Championship match, which was won by Dragunov.

Shotzi & Scarlett Announced as Co-Hosts for NXT Halloween Havoc 2023

Tuesday’s NXT show also featured the official announcement of Shozti and Scarlett being the official hosts for this year’s NXT Halloween Havoc two-week special, which starts on October 24th.

This announcement was made following Shozti making a surprise appearance on the show and joined the NXT commentary booth as a special guest commentator for the Asuka vs. Roxanne Perez match. Prior to the start of the match, Shotzi revealed that herself and Scarlett were the official hosts for this year’s Halloween Havoc special.

10-Team Battle Royal Match & NXT Championship #1 Contender’s Match Announced for Next Week’s NXT Show

Tuesday’s NXT show also featured two new matches officially announced for the card of the October 17th NXT show.

The first new match announced was a 10-Team Bada Bing Bada Boom Battle Royal.

This match was setup following a backstage segment between Cody Rhodes and NXT Tag Team Champions Tony D’Angelo & Stacks. D’Angelo & Stacks pitched the idea of having a tag team battle royal with the final two teams would then have a regular match to determine the official contender for the NXT Tag Team titles at Halloween Havoc 2023. Rhodes agreed to this idea and made it official for next week’s show.

The Bada Bing Bada Boom Battle Royal? 🤌🤌🤌

The #WWENXT Tag Team Champions @TonyDangeloWWE and @Channing_WWE just gave Special Guest GM @CodyRhodes an interesting proposition… pic.twitter.com/E0oPhKKoZb
— WWE (@WWE) October 11, 2023

The second new match announced was a #1 Contender Triple Threat math for the NXT Championship.

This match was setup following a backstage segment involving Baron Corbin and Rhodes. During their talk, Rhodes stated that while Corbin made some good points for why he should get a NXT title shot at Halloween Havoc 2023, Dijak and Caremlo Hayes and Bron Breakker also made some good points for why they should get that title shot instead. Rhodes then booked a Triple Threat match between Corbin, Dijak, and the winner of the Hayes vs. Breakker match with the winner to officially challenge Ilja Dragunov for the NXT title at Halloween Havoc.

BREAKING: A Triple Threat NXT Championship No. 1 Contenders Match between @BaronCorbinWWE, @DijakWWE and the winner of @Carmelo_WWE/@bronbreakkerwwe will take place NEXT WEEK on #WWENXT! pic.twitter.com/YbtFQH39DR
— WWE (@WWE) October 11, 2023

Lola Vice Advances in 2023 NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament

Tuesday’s WWE NXT show also featured one match for this year’s NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament.

This match involved Lola Vice defeating Dani Palmer to advance to the next round of the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament.

.@lolavicewwe moves on to the next round of the #WWENXT Women's Breakout Tournament!#NXTBreakout pic.twitter.com/miJE68maV0
— WWE (@WWE) October 11, 2023

Vice will face off against the winner of the Karmen Petrovic vs. Jaida Parker in the Semi-Finals Round of this year’s tournament.

Brian Pillman Jr. Given New Ring Name of Lexis King

Tuesday’s NXT show also featured a new vignette for former AEW talent Brian Pillman Jr.

During the vignette, Pillman Jr. renounced his father’s legendary wrestling name and stated that he will now be known going forward under the new ring name of Lexis King.

"I want them to think about me!"#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/Hu7nMizFby
— WWE (@WWE) October 11, 2023

In regards to Pillman Jr’s new ring name, PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that WWE recently had trademarked “Lexis King” and earmarked it for Pillman Jr. The name itself is currently believed to have been requested by Pillman Jr. to pay tribute to both his half-sister Alexis, who passed away in a car accident, and his mother Melanie Pillman, who used to have the last name of King. The King part of the ring name is also believed to also be in tribute to his sister Skylar King.

The Undertaker Makes Surprise Appearance on Tuesday’s NXT Show

Tuesday’s NXT show also featured a surprise appearance by WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker.

WWE initially teased The Undertaker making an appearance during an ad that aired during this past Friday’s SmackDown show featuring The Undertaker’s signature church bell “gong” sound at the close of the ad.

Following the main event match between Carmelo Hayes and Bron Breakker, Breakker launched a post-match attack and stood over a fallen Hayes. Breakker then stated that there was only “one badass” in NXT which led to a gong sound and the lights going off. This led to the “American Badass” theme being played and The Undertaker riding out in a motorcycle to the ring.

OH MY GOD IT'S THE UNDERTAKER!!!#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/0v4UQ329Ou
— WWE (@WWE) October 11, 2023

The Undertaker then confronted Breakker in the ring and after some back-and-forth banter, The Undertaker laid out Breakker with a right hand strike and a chokeslam.