Results
- Izzi Dame def. Sol Ruca (10:36)
- Keanu Carver def. Josh Briggs & Jasper Troy (Triple Threat) (13:04)
- Ethan Page, Ricky Saints, Tony D’Angelo & Joe Hendry def. Dion Lennox, Saquon Shugars, Osiris Griffin & Culter James (15:00)
- Lexis King def. Chazz Hall (WWE Speed Championship Tournament Semi-Final) (2:06)
- Blake Monroe & Jackson Drake def. Tatum Paxley & Shiloh Hill (11:13)
DarkState crashes title dispute, setting up match for later tonight
Tuesday’s NXT TV saw the brand return to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, after hitting the road for their biggest annual card of the year, Stand & Deliver. After a quick recap of last weekend’s top headlines was shown, the show got started with an appearance from the newest NXT Champion, Tony D’Angelo. He ended the reign of Joe Hendry on Saturday in a four-way which also featured Ethan Page and Ricky Saints.
D’Angelo reflected on the long road he had to take to earn the top NXT title, first wrestling for the brand all the way back in 2021. Talking about his past, D’Angelo said he doesn’t regret any of his decisions, as they got him to where he is today.
The champ said that there’s nobody out there who can take the title off him. Showing up to voice a dissenting opinion was former champ Hendry. “You’re the man,” Hendry admitted. “Congrats to you … You were the better man… On one night.”
Hendry started wondering if the result would’ve been the same if Page and Saints weren’t in the match. This promo was cut off by Page, who believed he had an even better case for a one-on-one match against D’Angelo, noting that he had pinned Hendry when he was champ. Up next on the mic was Saints, who, after two straight title losses, arguably had the weakest case for a title opportunity.
D’Angelo got fed up with the chatter from the three contenders and told them to “get in line” for a shot. This was cut off by the embattled DarkState, who hit the ring and attempted to make a statement by attacking the top men’s names. Security swarmed the scene, looking to break up the huge brawl as the show went to commercials. NXT General Manager Andre Stone sent other members of the roster out to try and separate the groups. After some struggle, the army of staff and wrestlers deployed to the ring were finally able to get them separated.
Stone announced after the break that the four wrestlers from Saturday’s main event will team up and face DarkState later in the night. We’ll see how this plays out later on. Worth noting: This tag match is the first TV match for Cutler James since mid-February.
Zaria isn’t done with Sol Ruca
The first match of the night saw Sol Ruca go head-to-head with Izzi Dame. Ruca was hot off her win last weekend against Zaria. Dame has been eyeing the women’s title picture but had to begin racking up some wins, as she hasn’t wrestled on TV since taking back-to-back losses against Tatum Paxley in March. She called for this match at Stand & Deliver.
Ruca connected with an X-Factor early in the match, sending Dame to the ring apron. Ruca dropkicked Dame to the floor, then scored a springboard corkscrew just before the show went to a break.
Dame battled back during the break, but Ruca started to mount a comeback, coming flying off the ropes for a clothesline. A long series of moves from Ruca included a German Suplex then a dropkick off the middle turnbuckle. She went for a pin after scoring a Shining Wizard, but only got a two.
Dame pushed Ruca off the top rope then scored an avalanche Codebreaker for a near fall of her own. A move from Dame was countered into a backslide from Ruca for a close one.
Ruca came running off the ropes for a spear which knocked Dame out of the ring. Ruca tried for a moonsault to the outside, but Shawn Spears pushed Dame out of the way to dodge the move. As Niko Vance had the referee distracted, Zaria emerged from the crowd and dropped Ruca with a spear. Dame rolled Ruca back into the ring then hit a powerbomb for the pinfall win in 10 minutes.
I guess we’re getting more of Ruca and Zaria? I mean, it felt like Stand & Deliver was the right time to leave this, but it seems clear they think there’s more to the program. I wanted Zaria to end this feud on top, as she’s the one who needs more momentum, so at least that’s likely what extending this will do.
Backstage, the Vanity Project presented Blake Monroe with a custom NXT Women’s North American Championship. One thing… Monroe isn’t the champ. NXT GM Robert Stone, fed up with Monroe’s continued belt tactics, said she can start fighting her way back to a title opportunity this week in a mixed tag match across from Paxley.
Keanu Carver prevails in battle of the big men
The three big men of the NXT roster, Josh Briggs, Keanu Carver, and Jasper Troy faced off in a triple threat match in the next bout. This was made after Briggs was the special guest referee for a match between Carver and Troy in New York, a segment which ended with Briggs laying them both out.
Briggs got the jump on Carver and Troy to start this one. The three men took turns controlling the match early on. Briggs had the upper hand before a break, taking them out with a head kick at ringside each.
Carver scored a near fall on Briggs after landing a big powerslam. He Irish Whipped Briggs into Troy, then took out Troy with a Spinebuster for another near fall.
Troy started to mount a comeback by the 10-minute mark. He hit a Black Hole Slam to Briggs, then took out Carver with a big chokeslam (which happened scarily close to where Briggs was placed).
Troy climbed to the top for a move but was tossed to the outside by Briggs, causing quite a hard landing. Troy got back into the match a minute later and dropped Briggs with a massive tackle. He tried to lift up Briggs for a chokeslam, but was pounced out of the ring by Carver, another big bump.
Moments later, Carver came off the ropes for a pounce to Briggs. He followed this up with a Jackhammer for the pinfall victory in 13 minutes.
This was not a good match. A large amount of it worked in a slow, plodding style without anything interesting happening. Some moments felt sloppy. Credit to Troy, the two big bumps to the outside he took were the real “wow” moments of this match. And I like that Carver won, as he seems like the clear star out of this trio. But this was a rough one to watch.
Ethan Page scores tag win in eight-man bout featuring DarkState
The next matchup was the one booked in the opening segment of the night: Tony D’Angelo, Joe Hendry, Ethan Page and Ricky Saints attempted to co-exist as a four-man unit against DarkState. D’Angelo got a start to this match by jumping the heel quartet before the bell.
A major theme throughout the match was the main event team struggling to work together. The heels & faces had their issues on the same team, but we also saw more problems with Page and Saints trying to work as a duo.
Hendry was isolated for a large portion of this match, in part due to Page and Saints choosing not to tag in. 13 minutes into the match, Myles Borne emerged from the crowd and attacked Lennox, causing them both to brawl into the backstage area and limiting DarkState down to three men. The ref didn’t see any of this.
Hendry gave a hot tag to D’Angelo, who swept Page and Saints off the ring apron to prevent them from getting into the contest. Two of the DarkState members were wiped out by a dive at ringside from Hendry. D’Angelo speared Saquon Shugars and gave him a spinebuster. Page quietly tagged himself into the match, knocked D’Angelo out of the ring with a front kick, then gave Shugars a Twisted Grin to get the pinfall win in 15 minutes. Fun finish.
This match felt a little long for the purpose it served. I won’t complain at all about Page & D’Angelo being the next title program, as Page has done some excellent work as of late and could put together something fun in a singles title opportunity. Borne vs. Lennox for the North American title could be fun, too.
In a pre-taped video package, Jaida Parker called out Kelani Jordan for a rematch on next week’s show. She beat Jordan in New York last week, but was attacked backstage later that night.
Chazz Hall makes NXT debut in Speed tournament
The next match saw the latest men’s WWE Speed Tournament begin. With the latest holder of the belt, Elio LeFleur, out due to injury, this tournament will crown the division’s next champ.
Birthright’s Lexis King faced off against Chazz Hall, who was making his NXT debut. Hall is best known for his run on the independent scene as Starboy Charlie – he had his first appearance on EVOLVE last week.
Hall connected with a snappy hurricanrana in the opening minute. He landed a Sliced Bread moments later, then scored a standing Shooting Star Press for a two-count. King climbed to the top rope but was knocked to the outside by a kick from Hall.
Hall hit a dive to the outside. He tried to follow up with a Shooting Star Press in the ring, but King put up his feet to block the move. King then scored his Coronation finisher for the pinfall victory in two minutes. Not much to say about this one, considering how quick it was. They did a good job at debuting Hall, airing a promo from him before the match.
King has advanced to the Speed title match. He’ll face the winner of EK Prosper (formerly Eli Knight) vs. newcomer Dorian van Dux next week.
Backstage, Tony D’Angelo told Robert Stone that he wants Ethan Page.
Blake Monroe gets back win against Tatum Paxley in mixed tag bout
Mixed tag action was next, as the duo of Tatum Paxley and Shiloh Hill faced off with Blake Monroe and Jackson Drake. Paxley was sporting a jeans look this week to match Hill’s usual in-ring attire.
Paxley and Monroe got into a tug-of-war over the women’s North American title before the match got started. Monroe tried to avoid an interaction with Paxley by refusing to take Drake’s tag into the match. But since this was mixed tag rules, she became the legal woman and was dragged into the ring by Paxley after the champ tagged in.
Paxley got a hot tag late in the bout, taking on both Monroe and Drake at the same time. She knocked Drake out of the ring with a dropkick then gave Monroe a spinebuster for a two-count.
The North American champ climbed to the top rope but had her move slightly delayed by Brad Baylor appearing on the apron. This allowed Monroe to dodge the champ’s top rope move.
Paxley tried for the Cemetery Drive finisher, but was distracted once again, this time by Drake, who got into the ring. She dropped Drake with a wheel kick, but Monroe capitalized by catching her with a headbutt then the Glamour Shot DDT for the pinfall win in 11 minutes. We’re getting more of Monroe & Paxley, which I’m fine with since the build to their Stand & Deliver match was only two weeks.
‘Revenge’ two-week special begins next Tuesday
General Manager Robert Stone announced that a two-week NXT Special titled “Revenge” will begin next week, hence why we’re seeing so many rivalries extended this week. He revealed that next week’s show will include Tony D’Angelo defending against Ethan Page, and the week after that will see Sol Ruca and Zaria rematch in a Last Woman Standing bout.
Next week’s show will also feature a concert from Joe Hendry, as well as Jaida Parker vs. Kelani Jordan.
A video package aired on EVOLVE talent Kali Armstrong.
Jacy Jayne wants to make history
This week’s show wrapped up with an appearance from new NXT Women’s Champion Lola Vice, who ended the reign of Jacy Jayne last weekend. Vice talked about her journey over the past few years: While she initially thought she was ready for the NXT title, she now recognizes that she had a lot of work to do since 2022 to earn the big spot.
“The Lola talking to you right now is ready,” she said. “I am undeniable. And this isn’t confidence, this is proof that earning something will always mean more than having it handed to you. I am no longer the girl who came from MMA. I am a WWE superstar.”
This promo was cut off by former champ Jayne. I mean, now that we know the theme for the next two weeks will be “Revenge,” this wasn’t that much of a surprise.
Jayne told Vice to enjoy her win, as it’ll be the last she ever gets off her. Jayne said she’s no stranger to being the former champ, as she lost the title in 2025 only to reclaim it not long after. She made it clear she wants another shot at the title, claiming she will become the first-ever three-time women’s champ.
Intervening on this segment was NXT GM Robert Stone, who came out and booked this rematch for next week. Vice promised she’s going to knock out Jayne again. With the help of her Fatal Influence teammates, Jayne jumped Vice.
Vice was able to send the three women retreating and stood tall to end the segment. So, to summarize:
Next week
- Tony D’Angelo vs. Ethan Page (NXT Championship)
- Lola Vice vs. Jacy Jayne (NXT Women’s Championship)
- Jaida Parker vs. Kelani Jordan
- Joe Hendry concert
Two weeks from now
- Sol Ruca vs. Zaria (Last Woman Standing)
