WWE just threw a major curveball at the September 29, 2026 episode of NXT. Mason Rook has not been medically cleared to compete tonight, meaning his scheduled NXT Championship match against Grayson Waller is officially off.
WWE announced the change in a video posted to Twitter ahead of the show. Rook was supposed to challenge Waller for the NXT Championship after earning the title shot in a Triple Threat match, but that match will no longer happen as advertised.
The bigger twist is that Waller isn’t getting the night off. WWE also confirmed that Grayson Waller will still defend the NXT Championship tonight, meaning someone else is stepping into Rook’s spot. WWE did not reveal who Waller will face in the announcement, leaving the replacement challenger as one of the biggest questions heading into the show.
The rest of the September 29 NXT lineup is still stacked. Zaria is scheduled to defend the NXT Women’s North American Championship against Thea Hail, while the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic continues with Fraxiom facing DarkState and BirthRight battling Mini Vikingo and Chazz “Starboy” Hall. Myles Borne is also set to appear following his attack on Tavion Heights.
But the biggest change is now sitting right at the top of the show. Mason Rook is out, Grayson Waller is still defending, and WWE is keeping the identity of his new challenger under wraps for now. As a reminder, Ringside News will have live play-by-play coverage of tonight’s show in our WWE NXT results hub when the action begins at 8 PM ET on The CW.
Who do you think WWE should put against Grayson Waller now that Mason Rook has been pulled from the NXT Championship match? Let us know your thoughts and feedback in the comments.
