WWE LFG Review – 07.13.25

Hey folks! I am digging out of a long weekend of watching wrestling and have “Then, Now, Forever” deliriously playing over and over in my head. There was an episode of LFG, a show Mike Mears does not believe exists, that somehow was on last night, and that show needs to be reviewed. Neither sleep nor rain nor snow will stop me from delivering this review to you, so here we go!

Season 2, Episode 4, “Good vs. Evil”

We are TAPED from somewhere clearly not the site of Evolution. Remember when Rick Rude pulled double duty on two shows and everyone was like woah, time travel? Yeah, well, it’s Charlotte Flair pulling double duty tonight.

Tonight, we will be finding our inner heel versus inner babyface to impress our special guest, the aforementioned Mike Mears Charlotte Flair. Haze Jameson will be locking up with Sirena Linton in at least one of the matchups.

Last week, our rookies were tasked with adding something new to their character, with Elijah Holyfield and Sirena Linton standing above the rest. Tonight, we’ll be finding out if we truly are a heel or face, and what better person to help us do it than someone who thought they were a face the last three years when, bruh, you were totally not a face. Charlotte comes out and is her lovely, not-in-character self, looking more like Madusa than I swear I’ve ever seen her. Charlotte calls for authenticity from the recruits, a lesson she finally took to heart herself just last night at Evolution.

The trainers preach character development, and Charlotte asks them to cut a promo for her. Zena tries a harder edge and wants to be taken seriously. Shiloh goes for dem evil eyes. Haze is a party girl who plays hard but hits the hardest. I adore this woman. Tatyanna calls everyone the prey who stand before her. Sirena wants everyone to pay for her demons. Harlem does this because this is a business and refuses to be mediocre. I forgot Trill London was there. BJ sings a song for Charlotte, and it’s kind of endearing, to be honest. It wasn’t really a promo, though.

The coaches book Harlem Lewis versus Shiloh Hill tonight (should be good,) BJ Ray will be facing Trill London, Tatyanna Dumas will lock up with Zena Sterling, and Sirena Linton will face Haze Jameson in a matchup made after my own heart.

Harlem cuts a hell of a promo on Shiloh before his match, and I still don’t know why he’s on this show and not NXT. Their match begins after the break.

HARLEM LEWIS VS. SHILOH HILL

Shiloh’s clearly playing face here, which I’m not sure is actually where his true self lies. Harlem’s clearly a born heel, though, so this makes sense for this match. Harlem walks to the ring with some great intensity. They lock up, and Harlem quickly goes on the attack. Shiloh gets a slam and quick one count before working the arm. Harlem with strikes and kicks in the corner, but gets taken down by Shiloh. Charlotte can’t tell who the face and who the heel is from their work, with Bubba describing the action as “two aggressive guys” right now. Harlem’s definitely acting far more heelish, though. Double clothesline spot gets both guys down, and they get up and have a scream-off before getting stiff as hell with one another. Shiloh with a big clothesline, then a neckbreaker. Double-arm DDT into a slam gets the easy three for Shiloh.

WINNER: SHILOH HILL

MATCH RATING: B+. Really good stuff from both guys, which is expected as they’re probably the two most polished men left at this level. Nice and hard-hitting.

Harlem: A- On a show about character, Harlem knows exactly who he is. He’s got the look and moveset to be a factor right now on NXT, as long as they keep it short and simple.

Shiloh: A – Almost the same can be said for Shiloh, except we’ve seen him do the little things in the ring for much longer. No matter who wins this season, this is a guy who deserved a bigger stage after this season.

Harlem feels their next match will be better, and Shiloh respects Harlem bringing the fire while calling him a puppy. Alrighty then.

Trill London is here to be a future legend, and is clearly still very early in his learning process cutting a promo, which is a jarring difference from the first two dudes. He hits the ring in his hockey mask.

TRILL LONDON VS BJ RAY

BJ seems to be channeling Manscout Jake Manning with his outfit. This may have some bowling show tendencies. Trill with a couple of armdrags to start, and a sweeeet dropkick. Some really nice air on that. They go to the outside, where BJ rams Trill into the apron. Trill hits the air about six inches from the steps as Bubba complains they’ve been outside for too long. BJ with more kicks and punches, with Taker calling this his best performance thus far. He may be right. Trill fights back, but gets caught in a leapfrog and turned into a stun gun. BJ locks the sleeper in, with Trill eventually hitting the comeback. Trill with some unique offense in his comeback which impresses the judges and, I have to say, he’s showing more than I thought. Trill misses a crossbody off the top, though, and BJ hooks the tights for the win.

WINNER: BJ RAY

MATCH RATING: B – Far better than I was expecting here, as BJ absolutely found his inner heel and Trill, while green as hell, has clearly been working on some offense which quickly differentiated him from other high flyers. A nice surprise.

BJ: B – I agree with Taker in saying this was his best performance throughout both seasons he’s been on the show. He looked confident and commanding throughout, and the yips were kept to a minimum.

Trill: B+ I really wasn’t expecting much, but he far overdelivered, both selling well and in trying to be innovative. The steps spot outside wasn’t great, but that’s showbiz.

BJ, in a John Cena cap, knows he’ll get the point. Trill is going to show out every time he’s in the ring, but is still coming off way too humble on his early promos.

After the break, Zena claims Tatyanna has no idea what she’s doing in the ring, and that it could be dangerous. Was that heeling or genuine concern?

ZENA STERLING VS. TATYANNA DUMAS

Zena comes out as her regular bubbly self, so I guess she’s still playing face. Tatyanna looks great, but really needs to move past “and then the bell rang” here. Lock up from both, and Tatyanna grabs the headlock, hits a shoulder block, and talks some trash. Bubba immediately notices that Tatyanna forgot to lace her boots. Oh dear. Tatyanna continues to talk trash while her right boot is literally almost falling off. The judges have zero clue what is happening here, but I think it’s one person here really, really sucking. Tatyanna’s totally blown up and pretty much has one shoe on. After a moment of complete bewilderment, Tatyanna hits a pretty bad-looking forearm for the three count.

WINNER: TATYANNA DUMAS

MATCH RATING: F- Oh no no no no. This was a mess and a half.

Zena: N/A – I mean, what could she do here? Her opponent was in no shape to be in the ring.

Tatyanna: F – Probably the most embarrassing performance of any wrestler on this show so far. Just inexcusable, and I see why Zena said what she said before the match.

After the match, Tatyanna tried to claim Zena intentionally tried to hurt her, and that she’s injured, and I’m like, where? Tie your damn shoes, lady.

Haze is ready to roll in front of the crowd, while Sirena is La Diablita and is ready to get wild, crazy, and psycho tonight. Vamos, baby, it’s about to get spicy.

SIRENA LINTON VS HAZE JAMESON

I have no clue how this will roll, but it’s in front of the full NXT crowd, and Bubba and Booker get a special intro from the Blake Monroe balcony. Sirena, in the same fire red as last week, looks like a more badass Chelsea Green. Love her, but she’s going to be expected to carry an even less-experienced wrestler here. Haze looks great in all white, with “Bubba” spray painted on her top. Haze goes for the handshake and gets SPAT on. Oh, it’s getting real. Sirena goes on in the attack, but Haze is a pissed party girl who hits two rather slow arm drag takeovers. Haze with a tentative rollup for two, then goes back to the armdrags. Haze meets boot in the corner, and Sirena goes to work on the leg. Bubba remarks on Haze needing to kick out stronger, as Sirena gets a leg lock in. This woman has learned to work out of absolute nowhere, and it’s wonderful to watch. Haze with hard sell on the leg, but hits the gritty comeback. Haze with a kind of weak crossbody off the second rope for two, continuing to sell the leg. Haze then goes for the charge, but gets stacked up by Sirena, with her feet on the ropes, for three.

WINNER: SIRENA LINTON

MATCH RATING: C+. There was an obviously inexperienced worker in there, but the match was laid out well, and both ladies had strong presence throughout.

Haze: C+ It’s a mixed bag. Her execution very much needs work, as things looked either tentative, slow, or lacking energy throughout. HOWEVER, her presence in the ring was always strong, and it didn’t stop her from telling the story she needed to tell. She was a strong underdog face here, and reps should really help.

Sirena: A – It really is amazing to watch her develop when she was pretty much in Haze’s place at this point last season. Sirena is a capital H heel, and the future looks seriously bright here as she gains experience and work. The little things are clicking. Her carry job here was impressive.

Bubba gives Haze some solid advice as to upping her level of physicality. Sirena hits the back and cuts another great psycho promo. This woman’s got it in spades.

After the break, Alicia Taylor notices some tension among the Future Greats, which Taker attributes to the wrestlers being in the zone. Charlotte liked Zena’s babyface fire, but Sirena ultimately won Charlotte over with her heel act, and wins the point for her team for the second week in a row. I guess we’re not asking everyone else tonight, which is fine by me. As for the men, Charlotte calls Trill extremely likable, and asks him to find more which makes him lovable. She calls BJ entertaining, but turns and gives her point to Shiloh. Charlotte wants to see more of the loose cannon from Harlem, but found Shiloh more creative and different from the rest. Harlem agrees he could do more.

For those who care, this puts Team Booker in the lead by one over Team Taker. We now have solo leaderboards, with Sirena being the lone wrestler with more than one point.

NEXT WEEK, we will talking about how to use your size to your advantage. No idea who the special guest will be however.

OVERALL RATING: B – A fun show, with solid performances by Harlem, Shiloh, Trill, and Haze, another star-making performance from Sirena, and whatever the hell that was from Tatyanna. Sorry, Kat. It’s not working out for your woman right now, but there’s room on Team Haze for you.

See y’all on Wednesday for Evolve!