WWE 'NXT' Preview/Spoilers 10/21/15: Apollo Crews Leads Direction in Men's Singles Scene

The October 21, 2015 episode of WWE's NXT will air tonight on the WWE Network at 8 p.m. Eastern, and we finally have some direction in the men's singles scene after we spent most of the build up to NXT Takeover: Respect focused on tag teams and the women's division. We've got a full preview for you, so let's get into the details.

The main event of last week's show was a Battle Royal to determine the No. 1 Contender to Finn Balor's NXT Championship. The champ and his friend and tag team partner, Samoa Joe, wanted to face each other for the title in one of those contests of mutual respect, but General Manager William Regal instead decided that almost the entireity of the NXT roster would get in the ring to figure out who would get a shot at the belt.

The final three came down to Joe, Apollo Crews, and Baron Corbin, and the man formerly known as Uhaa Nation emerged victorious to secure a title shot and cement fans' belief that WWE has plans to push him to the moon. Crews and Balor could square off at any point, which is the beauty of NXT. It could happen on a regular Wednesday episode in a few weeks, or it could happen at the next NXT Takeover special, NXT Takeover: London, on December 16.

Either way, the two men need some face-to-face time in the ring. Crews can talk about how he's been on fire since he arrived in NXT a few months ago. Balor can discuss how he's been a fighting champion ever since he won the belt back on July 4 at Beast in the East in Tokyo from Kevin Owens.

NXT has proven that it can craft a story around two faces feuding for the title, most notably in the masterful story they told with Sami Zayn and Adrian Neville last year. It could be more interesting if Balor were to turn heel, as it would freshen up his character a bit, but a face vs. face feud is fine for now.

The Battle Royal last week also set up two other feuds. Baron Corbin and Rhyno had made it all the way to the finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament at NXT Takeover: Respect, but that team has now combusted after Corbin eliminated the Man Beast from the match and declared that he was going solo from here.

We've already seen these two clash in NXT, but there's nothing wrong with seeing it again. Corbin is great at what he does, but many fans would argue he needs more polish, so some work with a veteran such as Rhyno is never a bad thing. Plus, they're going to have another physical match, which is always fun to watch.

The other feud is Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Breeze. Prince Pretty was upset about his elimination from the Battle Royal, and he took it out on Samoa Joe. As Joe stood on the apron and avoided elimination, Breeze yanked him down and cost him a shot at the NXT Championship.

This is an interesting situation, because Breeze could surely use a win over a credible opponent. But the Duke of Delish is seemingly headed up to the main roster of WWE, so it seems foolish to waste Joe's first loss in NXT on someone who won't even be there in a few weeks. On the other hand, Tyler could win and then say he has nothing left to prove in NXT, so he's headed to greener pastures.

Finally, Alexa Bliss is seemingly the next challenger for Bayley's NXT Women's Championship after she confronted the Hugster last week to open the show. This is a smart move, as Bayley needed a fresh challenger after her two Match of the Year candidates with Sasha Banks. Hopefully we see Alexa continue her heelish ways against the champion tonight.

As always, check back with MStars immediately after the show for a full recap of all the action. But for now, let us know your predictions for tonight's show in the comments section below.