WWE’s developmental brand, NXT, ushered in a new era on its new home, the CW Network, at Allstate Arena on Oct. 1, 2024. The event featured appearances from wrestlers who primarily appear on WWE’s main brands, Raw and SmackDown, as well as their partner promotion, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

The show began with Senior Vice President of Talent, Creative, Shawn Michaels and Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque welcoming fans into a new era on NXT. They also presented new designs of the NXT Women’s Championship and the NXT Championship.

NXT Women’s Championship: Roxanne Perez (c) def. Giulia

One month to the day of her WWE debut, Giulia set her sights on the NXT Women’s Championship. But to win it, she had a tall task ahead of her as she faced one of the most dominant champions in history: Roxanne Perez. 

The match drew a split crowd in support of both women. In the closing moments, Perez attempted to strike Giulia with the championship belt, distracting the referee long enough for a hooded individual to attack Giulia. Perez then hit Giulia with her finisher, Pop Rox, to remain champion. The hooded individual was then revealed to be Perez’s former tag team partner turned rival, Chicago native Cora Jade, who had been recovering from an ACL tear since January.

The decision for Perez to retain was a controversial one, but this was only Giulia’s second match in WWE and the finish protected her in defeat. She will likely beat Perez in a future rematch. But for now, Perez remains the face of the women’s division on NXT.

Sreet Fight: Wes Lee def. Zachary Wentz

Once running buddies as members of The Rascalz in TNA and now bitter enemies following Lee’s defection from the group at The Great American Bash, Lee and Wentz were set to put the finishing touches on a deeply personal feud. 

The match was riddled with violence as the two men were hellbent on destroying each other with kendo sticks, tables and steel chairs. In perhaps the most brutal spot in the match, Wentz performed a Coast to Coast on Lee through a garbage can.

Ultimately, Lee finished off Wentz with a Kardiac Kick to win the match, end their feud, and close the book on Lee and Wentz’s friendship. The match was a testament to Wentz’s success as a singles star in TNA and solidified Lee’s new villainous character in NXT.

MizTV with NXT North American Champion Oba Femi and Tony D’Angelo

Raw wrestler The Miz hosted a special edition of his talk show, MizTV, to hype the fans for the rematch between Femi and Chicago native D’Angelo.

In this segment, D’Angelo reflected on his shattered confidence and fear after coming up short against Femi at No Mercy on Sept. 1, “I used this fear as motivation to do the unthinkable. And next week, I’m gonna stand toe-to-toe with Oba, I’m gonna dethrone the Ruler of NXT and become the new NXT North American Champion.”

“Miz, you’ve been in the game for a very long time, long enough to know when a man really believes what he’s saying and when he doesn’t,” Femi said. “And I can tell you this, Tony doesn’t believe a single word he’s saying.”

“You sit there and talk about me like you know me. You sit there and talk about me like you know where I’m from,” D’Angelo said. “I grew up 20 minutes from this building. I grew up in the streets in Chicago… I got friends who believe and motivate me to become the man I am today.”

One week later on NXT, D’Angelo defeated Femi to end Femi’s record 273-day title reign. Femi had arguably the best North American title reign of all time, but now is the time for Femi to enter the NXT Championship picture.

Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne and Fallon Henley) def. Jaida Parker and Lola Vice

The unlikely duo of Parker and Vice looked to put their differences aside and join forces against a common enemy in Fatal Influence as NXT Women’s North American Champion, Kelani Jordan, watched the match closely, commentating.

The match was riddled with interference from Fatal Influence member Jazmyn Nyx, which Parker and Vice were able to overcome. However, Parker ultimately walked out on Vice toward the end of the match, allowing Jayne and Henley to take advantage and claim victory.

After the match, Fatal Influence cut a promo boasting over their victory, announcing that Jordan was now in their crosshairs, “Our next stop is the NXT Women’s North American Championship.”

“You guys can call me out and honestly, we can go right now,” Jordan said to cheers from the crowd. “But I didn’t exactly come to Chicago alone.”

Jordan found friends in WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, SmackDown wrestlers Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill, as the two trios brawled.

This match proved Fatal Influence can perform well as a cohesive unit. Championships will likely occur for the group in the not-too-distant future.

NXT Championship: Trick Williams def. “All Ego” Ethan Page (c)

NXT’s Whoop That Era came to an untimely end on July 7 at Heatwave, ushering in the Era of Ego. Page did not pin or submit Williams to win the title in a fatal four-way match, setting the stage for a rematch, which was refereed by Raw wrestler and Chicago native CM Punk.

The crowd was completely in Williams’ corner, with “Whoop That Trick” and “Ethan Sucks” chants dominating the majority of the match.

Ultimately, Williams hit Page with a Trick Shot to regain the title he never actually lost. Page tried to mend his bruised ego by attacking Punk afterwards, only to be met with Punk’s finisher, Go To Sleep. This marked the first time the NXT Championship changed hands in Allstate Arena.

After finding tag team success in TNA, Page was grossly underutilized in All Elite Wrestling. WWE gave Page the chance to shine as a singles star, which he did over his 86-day title reign. A call up to Raw or SmackDown is presumably iminent for Page. However, this match established Williams as the face of NXT for the foreseeable future.

After the show went off the air, Punk celebrated with Williams before announcing free Lou Malnati’s pizza would be available in the parking lot.

“I don’t wanna cut the champ’s celebration short, but I gotta tell you a little secret,” Punk said. “On your way out, ladies and gentlemen, get yourselves some Lou Malnati’s pizza… on us!”

The decision to have Perez, Lee and Fatal Influence, all villainous characters, win the first three matches of the night made the NXT Championship match extremely predictable. There was no universe in which fan favorite Williams was not walking out of Allstate Arena with the gold. However, predictable does not mean bad as the show fired on all cylinders to launch a new era. Given NXT showcases the future stars of WWE, it is safe to say that the future is very bright.

NXT airs every Tuesday at 8e/7c on the CW Network.