Results
- Kali Armstrong def. Zaria (9:53)
- Cutler James & Osiris Griffin def. Sean Legacy & Dorian van Dux (11:36)
- Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes def. Cruz Montana & EK Prosper
- Mason Rook def. Tony D’Angelo & Saquon Shugars (NXT Championship #1 Contenders Triple Threat Match) (14:05)
Kali Armstrong scores singles win, gets attacked by unexpected name
This week’s episode of NXT, live from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, opened with a singles showdown between Lizzy Rain and Kali Armstrong. These two were meeting while both are on the hunt for a shot at women’s North American champ Zaria.
We got a Meiko Satomura name-drop on the broadcast as Vic Joseph talked about some of Rain’s inspirations. Nice. Rain knocked Armstrong down to a knee then came running off the ropes with a Rolling Thunder kick for a two-count early on.
Armstrong connected with a Blue Thunder Bomb then a spinebuster for a two-count after the show returned from a commercial break. Rain went on a comeback run, including a series of “Make It Rain” chops in a corner of the ring. A series of counters ended with Rain scoring a cutter for a two-count.
Rain connected with a hurricanrana out of the corner. She came charging forward with an attempted leaping headbutt, but Armstrong caught her and reversed into a powerslam. Armstrong tried for a Kali Connection shoulder tackle, but instead ran into a headbutt from Rain.
Rain tried to follow up with her Thunderstruck head kick finisher, but Armstrong escaped and came running off the ropes with a Kali Connection for the pinfall win in just under 10 minutes. Fun opener between these two that had an exciting closing sequence.
A post-match segment saw former LFG competitor Skylar Raye attack Armstrong. This is an interesting development, as Rae has pretty much been a background player in NXT over the past year or so. Looks like they’re giving her a shot in a real TV storyline.
Backstage, we saw Grayson Waller on a treadmill. He teased on X that he might run a half-marathon during tonight’s show for the fun of it.
A dust-up in Robert Stone’s office caused EK Prosper & Cruz Montana vs. Vanity Project to get added to tonight’s show.
Van Dux, Legacy find ally in Zilla Fatu
Next up was the duo of Dorian van Dux and Sean Legacy facing DarkState’s Cutler James & Osiris Griffin. DVD and Legacy have been one of the more fun duos on NXT as of late, so I was looking forward to this one.
Van Dux got a hot tag late in the match, delivering a double cutter out of the corner to both DarkState members. A double-team powerbomb to van Dux was avoided, and instead DVD scored a moonsault onto both men. Legacy tagged back into the match and scored a flurry of tope suicidas onto both James and Griffin. Van Dux joined the high-flying party with a springboard moonsault to the floor onto Griffin.
Back in the ring, DVD connected with a top-rope Shooting Star Press to Griffin, but had the follow-up pin attempt stopped by James. DarkState were sent to ringside and both given another pair of dives.
With the referee looking away, DarkState leader Dion Lennox appeared at ringside and wiped out DVD with a lariat. He tossed van Dux back in the ring, allowing James and Griffin to put him away with a double-team powerbomb for the win in 11 minutes.
As someone who was wondering during the match, “Why isn’t Dion Lennox out here?” we now know the answer. This match was fine. I like the high-flying of DVD and Legacy but it felt a little over the top in this one.
Birthright came to the ring for a post-match segment, where they said they wanted to make a point by laying out van Dux and Legacy (what a way to make a statement, attacking a team that just lost). This predictably brought out new Birthright rival Zilla Fatu, who came in for the save.
We got an NXT spotligh video package on Mason Rook, focusing on his pre-WWE wrestling career. With footage from Pro Wrestling NOAH and NORTH Wrestling, Rook told the story about how he’s always wanted to prove doubters wrong in his career.
Myles Borne was never sorry
The segment I was most looking forward to was next: Myles Borne’s public apology to Tavion Heights. The former NQCC duo have been apart in recent weeks after Borne shockingly attacked Heights at Heatwave. Borne said afterward that he only attacked because he was worried Heights was planning on turning against him after their loss that night. He had since walked back his actions and had been trying to regain the trust of Heights.
Borne brought Heights out and said that, while nothing excuses what he had done, he is genuinely sorry. Heights wasn’t buying the apology. “Here you are standing, telling me to trust you, Myles, after you kicked me while I was down.”
He continued: “As much as I want to go back to me and my dog throwing people on their necks, I think that time might’ve passed, Myles.”
Borne said that he had forgiven Heights before and was hoping “you do the same for me that I did for you.” He appealed again for forgiveness. Heights was seemingly coming around to the idea, but still seemed conflicted. Until…
“I forgive you, Myles,” Heights said. “Let’s get this thing rolling again. It’s me and you against the world.”
They hugged… OK, who’s going to turn here? After separating, Borne dropped Heights with a Borne Again! He brought Heights to ringside where he put him through an electronic guardrail.
Back in the ring, Borne wrapped a steel chair around Heights’ left foot then stomped on it! Borne has gone full heel. I went into this segment thinking I would hate it. Frankly, about two-thirds in, I still thought I wasn’t loving it. But, the turn was well executed, Borne betraying Heights only after he had fully convinced him to trust him again. I enjoyed this.
Kendal Grey is still OUT
Former NXT Women’s Champion has been out of the ring for weeks due to a worked injury. Grey suffered a fake ear injury during her title match against Lola Vice, then struggled with vertigo issues as she continued to appear on TV with the ear issue in the weeks that followed. She hasn’t been on NXT programming for a few weeks while not cleared to compete.
Anyway, this long update is the context you need for a pre-taped segment where Grey met with a physician. This professional gave Grey some bad news: While not in concussion protocol, the issues with vertigo she has mean she still can’t compete. This shelving of Grey does genuinely seem like it’s something they’re doing for storyline reasons; I do wonder where it will lead.
Vanity Project take down Montana & Prosper
In a matchup set up earlier on the program, NXT tag champs Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes faced the duo of babyface talents Cruz Montana and EK Prosper.
Montana was isolated by Vanity Project during the break, but found the opening for a hot tag after giving Smokes a pop-up Samoan Drop. Prosper had a fun run of moves, including a blockbuster out of the corner for a near fall.
Baylor dodged a top-rope moonsault from Prosper. He tagged in Smokes, who came leaping through the ropes and into the ring with a spear to Prosper. A huge Shining Wizard from Prosper got him back into the match.
Montana and Prosper tried for a double-team hurricanrana into a powerbomb, but the second half of the combination didn’t really connect. They hit dual dives to the ringside area, and Montana’s landing looked particularly painful.
Jackson Drake was kicked from the ringside area after blatantly interfering in the match. The referee didn’t see what happened, but was confident enough that funky business occurred to kick Drake from ringside.
Anyway, in the ring, a backslide pin attempt from Smokes was attempted on Prosper. Baylor held onto Prosper’s legs from the ring apron, helping his tag partner pick up the pinfall win. It seemed obvious that Montana and Prosper, who aren’t even a proper team, weren’t going to win here against the tag champs. Predictable result, sure, but it was a decent match.
La Catalina shows up in the PC
Before the main event, we saw NXT Women’s Champion Kelani Jordan come to the ring for a segment. Just 24 hours prior, Jordan was in Mexico City as part of Monday Night Raw.
Jordan was here to ask who’s next for her title. “Let’s be real, nobody’s coming for the title … They’re way too intimidated to step up,” she said.
This segment was interrupted by CMLL Reina de Reinas Champion La Catalina! This was a fun surprise cameo, getting Catalina on the show just days after her big win on TripleMania. She cut a quick promo about how she wants to take women’s wrestling in Mexico to the next level, and that Jordan isn’t the only champ making history.
Zaria cut this off and said that she was the only champ in this segment who is unifying titles (albeit unifying some of the least important titles possible). La Catalina clearly watches the product and pointed out that Zaria lost to Thea Hail last week. Zaria called that loss a fluke.
Hail cut off this promo and said that she believes she has a chance against anyone in the ring. Her fired-up speech caused a brawl to kick off between these four. Catalina and Hail cleared the heels out of the ring then celebrated to end the segment.
We have seen many WWE stars go to AAA part-time, but we haven’t really seen any AAA stars become part-time names on WWE programming. Is that what they’re going to do with Catalina?
I think WWE/AAA see Catalina as a huge star, and someone with tons of main roster potential. So, it wouldn’t surprise me if Catalina becomes a frequent name on NXT programming as they try to fast-track her through the WWE system. AAA only requires talent to appear a few times a month for TV tapings, making her more than able to spend a lot of time in NXT going forward. I feel that’s what will happen with her going forward.
We saw a video package from Shiloh Hill where he was testing different mists from Naraku. He went crazy and, with the help of what I can only assume was generative AI, we were able to see his hallucinations of raccoons talking to him.
NXT General Manager Robert Stone announced backstage that he’s bringing back the Dusty Rhodes Classic, a tag team tournament featuring over a dozen teams. A lineup will be revealed later this week and the tourney will kick off next Tuesday. I’ve seen many calling for this to return, as the brand’s tag division is in good shape right now. Good stuff.
Mason Rook books NXT title shot against Grayson Waller
The final match of the night saw Mason Rook, Tony D’Angelo and Saquon Shugars face off in a three-way #1 contenders match. These three got into this opportunity after winning a six-man tag bout together last week. NXT Champ Grayson Waller, who had been running on a treadmill all night, got off to watch this match.
Shugars was absolutely launched during a three-man German Suplex early in this one. That spot looked great. Not long after, a three-man superplex spot took place before the show went into its final break.
Shugars got a near fall on Rook after scoring a springboard leg drop. Shugars was taken out of the fight briefly after eating splashes in the corner from both Rook and D’Angelo. Former champ D’Angelo picked up a near fall after impressively lifting up Rook for a suplex.
Shugars went for a roll-up on D’Angelo but couldn’t get a three due to the referee noticing him putting his feet on the ropes for leverage. The crowd chanted “No DQ,” which they seem to believe is the same as no rope breaks.
We saw a creative spot where D’Angelo gave Shugars a superplex, but Rook caught Shugars mid-air into a powerbomb pin attempt, trying to steal the win off D’Angelo’s move. The fight went to ringside, where a clunky spot involved Shugars double stomping Rook’s back, causing Rook to land with a crossbody on D’Angelo. A lot of the three-man sequences here were fun; this one was not.
Back in the ring, Shugars gave D’Angelo a top-rope frogsplash. A pin attempt was stopped by Tristan Angels, who had a verbal back-and-forth with Shugars backstage earlier in the night. Angels pulled the referee out of the ring to stop the count. Shugars started to fight with Angels, taking him out of the equation for this match. It became a singles bout between Rook and D’Angelo.
D’Angelo tried lifting Rook, but his back gave out. This allowed Rook to score a Blue Thunder Bomb, then come off the top with a huge frogsplash for the pinfall win. He had a quick staredown with champ Waller as this show raced to get off the air.
This match had a good final few minutes but felt like it struggled to get out of first gear for a large portion of the time. Rook was the clear right choice here. There isn’t much interesting in another month or so of D’Angelo going after the top title, and I don’t think Shugars has established his new babyface character enough to be in the brand’s biggest storyline.
I’m hoping Rook getting #1 contender status will finally force NXT to give him a proper spotlight. Prior to this new title shot arc, Rook has pretty much been a background player in NXT. Because he hasn’t had many chances to show the killer that he is, many have counted him out because of his look. I’m high on him and hope this upcoming program can get some more people on his side.
Final thoughts
A lot of this week’s episode of NXT felt good, but I can’t say anything can be elevated into great status. Myles Borne’s turn was well executed, the main event set up not only a solid title program but a midcard feud too, plus we finally have some sort of direction for Kelani Jordan. Just off the newsworthy developments from this week’s card, I’d recommend regular viewers of NXT to give this show a watch. But, if you are someone who cherry-picks from programs and only wants to watch the bigger moments, I’m not sure you need to devote two hours to this one.
Here’s what was announced for next week’s show. Looks like a solid lineup thus far:
- Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Begins
- La Catalina & Thea Hail vs. Kelani Jordan & Zaria
- Zilla Fatu, Sean Legacy & Dorian van Dux vs. Lexis King, Stacks & Uriah Connors
