PARKS’S TAKE: Thoughts on TNA Bound for Glory and NXT Halloween Havoc incluiding Ethan Page, JBL, Joe Hendry, Trick Williams

While AEW and WWE special events get most of the attention, TNA and NXT ran PPVs/PLEs this past weekend that went under the radar of many. Here are my thoughts on both.

TNA Bound for Glory

One of the more fun storylines developed lately on TV paid off on the pre-show when a remade Heather Reckless (now “Heather by Elegance”) teamed up with her mentor, Ash by Elegance, to take on Xia Brookside and NXT’s Brinley Reece. The heels won but it was about Reckless’s new look and character getting over as a heel with the audience. Kazarian winning the Call Your Shot Gauntlet was a great tease for the PPV itself, since he was going to be the special ref in the main event and could theoretically cash in during the match.

Two incredibly strong matches on the show were the X Division Title Match in which Mike Bailey retained against El Hijo del Vikingo, and Masha Slamovich winning the Knockouts Title over Jordynne Grace. Both were up to or beyond the standards of a WWE or AEW PPV match. Even the Full Metal Mayhem main event had enough carnage to satisfy. Also worth noting was John Layfield coming out once again to ensure Nic Nemeth would retain his TNA Title, defeating Joe Hendry. An added layer to this story is that Nemeth didn’t seem to realize/want Layfield’s assistance. And Mike Santana, who has been pushed on TV with video packages, got a big win over Moose.

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NXT Halloween Havoc

Tony D’Angelo has now beaten Oba Femi twice, stalling Femi’s momentum somewhat. It seemed like he was going to get a rocket push, yet D’Angelo has bested him despite feeling a little stale as a character. Perhaps this is a way to get Femi away from the North American Title scene and into the NXT Title picture as new champ Trick Williams will need a heel challenger – although that may first go to Ridge Holland, who downed Andre Chase in an Ambulance Match then attacked Williams after his title victory.

I really loved Ethan Page as champion, offering something different than we’ve seen in that role. I think he proved himself and should land on his feet despite losing. Bully Ray’s involvement in the post-match is eye-rolling but with NXT taping at ECW’s old stomping grounds coming up, it does make sense from that perspective. How NXT juggles the new women’s stars in Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, and Zaria will be interesting to watch over the course of the next few months. I don’t think Fallon Henley’s North American Title victory over Kelani Jordan was an indictment of Jordan in that role as much as it was getting the title on a heel for Zaria to chase.

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RECOMMENDED NEXT: TNA BOUND FOR GLORY RESULTS (10/26): Nemeth vs. Hendry, Grace vs. Slamovich, ABC vs. Hardys vs. The System

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