NXT Review – 09.09.25

Let’s catch up on WWE things, shall we: LFG | Impact | Smackdown | Raw

NXT comes to us from the beautiful Performance Center in Orlando, FL. The presenters of tonight’s show are mostly the usual suspects – Vic Joseph and Booker T on match calls, Mike Rome on ring introductions, and apparently once again no one on backstage interviews and news updates.

Then, Now, Forever….TOGETHER

Walk-ins: Sol Ruca and Zaria, The Culling, and Fatal Influence. Everyone seems DETERMINED.

Here’s Je’von Evans with a mic calling out Josh Briggs, who was apparently fully ready to go. NXT GM Ava follows closely behind with a referee, but they aren’t in time to stop Evans from crushing Briggs with a tope con hilo. Briggs comes back with a couple of rights but Evans immediately hits a springboard moonsault to put a stop to that. Evans dumps Briggs in and I guess we’re going.

Je’von Evans vs Josh Briggs

Evans hits a Pele kick and ascends. Evans lands a frog splash and covers for two. Evans drags a dazed Briggs to a corner and chops away. Briggs fires up with some offense and lands a big right that drops Evans. Briggs stomps away at Evans before dragging him to a corner to work Evans over. (Crowd: “Briggs you suck!” Again, the PC crowd doesn’t hold back when it comes to Josh Briggs.) Briggs hoists Evans but he slips off and snaps off a right hand to break up Briggs momentum. They run the ropes and Briggs hits a cross-body that gets two.

Briggs snaps off a Bossman Slam and that gets two. Briggs grabs a rear chinlock as Joseph openly acknowledges that the crowd doesn’t want to see Briggs. Evans begins to right the ship as he is able to hit a rana that drops Briggs. Evans then hits a rope-assisted rana and a big dropkick, but he doesn’t follow up with a cover. Briggs dumps a charging Evans to the apron but when he goes for the big boot Evans slips it and Briggs crotches himself on the top rope. Briggs yanks Evans to the floor and on the way down Evans face strikes the ring apron.

Briggs bounces Evans face off the announce desk and then goes for a chokeslam. Evans manages to land on his feet on the announce desk and then he leaps to the ring apron. Evans hits a back kick on Briggs and then runs the length of the ring to smash Briggs on to the announce desk with a tope suicida. Evans celebrates on top of the announce desk as we go to picture-in-picture commercials.

During PIP Evans chops away at a dazed Briggs. Briggs fires up with a forearm that drops Evans. They go back inside the ring and Briggs hits a double sledge. Briggs runs Evans hard into a corner, drops an elbow, and then covers for two. Briggs goes to the designated hold of PIP time, the rear chinlock. Briggs tries another cover and gets two. (Off a chinlock? Come on, man.)

Back to full screen with Evans firing up and hoisting Briggs on his shoulders. Briggs slips off so Evans wallops him with a Superman punch. Evans starts whaling away but Briggs manages to fight him off momentarily. Briggs slips an Evans charge as Evans ends up on the apron. Evans smashes Briggs with a forearm but Briggs manages to catch Evans during a springboard and runs him throat-first into the second rope. Briggs drops a big fist and covers Evans for two.

A frustrated Briggs clubbers away and puts the badmouth on Evans. This fires Evans up as he hits Briggs with a superkick and another Superman punch. Evans hits a springboard cross-body and covers Briggs for two. Evans tries a reverse springboard but Briggs catches him and hoists Evans for an overhead slam. Evans catches Briggs with his boots and then sets Briggs up for THE PUNT. Evans covers for two. Evans sets up in a corner but Briggs meets his charge with a massive lariat. Evans comes back immediately with a spinning heel kick that staggers Briggs. Evans ascends and goes coast-to-coast with a swanton that barely connects but Briggs sells anyway.

Briggs is on the floor and when Evans approaches he runs Evans face-first into the ring post. Briggs tosses Evans back inside and grabs a chair. As Briggs beefs with the referee Evans manages a superkick to Briggs. Briggs pulls his neck chain off as Evans ascends. With the ref disposing of the chair, he does not see Briggs wallop Evans with his fist that’s wrapped in the chain. Briggs covers for three.

Je’von is on a losing streak here and while I’m sure he can be re-heated quickly, he’s being given some booking right now that feels like a test. Briggs once again cut off almost every Evans revival quickly, but he did sell more tonight. This was a definitive styles clash but Evans managed to make working with the big lug at least watchable. 2.75*

Winner – Josh Briggs (punch with a chain wrapped around his fist)

In Ava’s office NXT Men’s Champion Oba Femi and Ricky Saints are arguing. Ava says they can talk it out next week at Homecoming on the Grayson Waller Effect. TNA Men’s World Champion Trick Williams enters as Femi insults him under his breath. Trick says he’s going to ignore that and asks Ava if everything is good for his chat with DIY coming up shortly, which she gives approval to. Trick insults Saints and tells Femi they aren’t done yet.

DIY roam the halls as we go to commercials.

Back live with DIY mid-ring with microphones. Ciampa mentions that tonight is the tenth anniversary of his first DIY match with Gargano as his partner. Gargano says he meant it when he said he was NXT for life. As Ciampa starts to talk about Trick Williams his music hits and out walks the TNA Men’s world champion. Trick says DIY got the better of him last week two-on-one but they forgot to mention that they’re actually jealous of Trick. Gargano invites Trick into the ring to show him what the DIY era of NXT was really like and Trick says he will because this time, he’s not alone.

Here’s Carmelo Hayes to join the proceedings and get a fairly sizable pop from the crowd. Melo quiets the crowd as he eyes up Gargano and Ciampa. Melo turns to Trick and says since he’s left Trick’s said a lot of true things but also some things that aren’t true. Melo says Trick calls NXT his house but it’s guys like Gargano and Ciampa who built that house. Melo says he gave the house renovations, and that Trick is actually just squatting right now. Hayes says he came to remind Trick that rent is due. Melo says he’s been gone for a year and a half and he’s saying what he’s been wanting to say. Melo tells Trick to really consider who he’s in the ring with and what they’ve accomplished.

Trick shrugs it off and admits he’s been talking trash and it wasn’t right. Trick defiantly tells Melo that this is still his house, though. Ciampa asks for clarification on who the “big brother” is in the Trick-Melo tete-a-tete. This fires up Melo who reminds Gargano and Ciampa of their shared singles history where they attempted to kill each other on more than one occasion. Gargano acknowledges this history and then challenges Trick and Melo to a tag match at Homecoming. We go to commercials without an answer.

NXT Women’s Speed Championship Tournament: Lainey Reid vs Faby Apache

Again, Speed tournament matches have a three minute time limit. They cut inset promos prior to the match and both, shockingly, promise to win. Natalya is in the front row to observe Apache prior to their meeting at Worlds Collide. (Side note: I will not be reviewing Worlds Collide, I think someone else will be doing it due to my weekend commitments with Smackdown and Collision.)

Apache hits a charging Reid with a dropkick. Apache runs the ropes and comes off to wallop Reid with a rana. Reid bails to the floor so Apache quickly follows with a rolling tackle. Apache runs Reid back in but runs into a Reid kick when she advances. A quick test of strength ends with Reid leapfrogging Apache and snapping off a sunset flip that gets two. Apache sneaks in a backslide that gets two before Reid rolls Apache over for two.

Apache goes behind and yanks Reid to the mat by her hair. Apache misses a charge after Reid staggers to a corner. Reid charges and eats a big boot from Apache. Apache covers for two. Reid snaps off a superkick and covers for two. Apache reverses a go-behind and launches Reid into a bridging German suplex that gets two. Nattie jumps the barrier as Apache ascends. The distraction causes Apache to miss her dive and a recovered Reid waffles Apache with a running knee. Reid covers and gets three. Lainey Reid will face Candice LeRae in the finals of the tournament to see who takes on Sol Ruca at No Mercy.

Reid looked okay within the Speed framework and reps like this with someone like Apache are really good for her development because it’s not just another NIL PC athlete. Apache is a true pro and I hope she whoops Nattie on Friday night. 2.25*

Winner – Lainey Reid (running knee strike)

Sol Ruca and Zaria chat backstage and Zaria says in all seriousness, she really needs a victory tonight and Ruca assures her they’ll win. Hank and Tank enter and they all hype each other up prior to their matches. (This was a cute segment but maybe highlighted what could be an interesting result if Sol and Zaria don’t win later.)

Here’s a pre-taped promo from Blake Monroe that promises she’s not done with Jordynne Grace after last week‘s attack. Monroe says Grace ruined everything but the Glamour can bleed and still be the star of the show. Monroe shows a closet filled with black clothing and shoes and says that Grace didn’t break her, she awakened Monroe. Monroe says she’ll see Grace in Hell.

NXT Tag Team Championship: Darkstate (C) vs Hank & Tank

Saquon Shugars and Cutler James will be at ringside. It’s Griffin and Tank to start things off with Hank and Lennox on the apron.

Tank wipes out Lennox and flies past a confused Griffin. Hank tags Tank as he hits a reverse springboard cross-body on Griffin. They hit an immediate HONK HONK and their Power & Glory tribute finisher but Lennox breaks up the cover at two. Lennox dumps Tank but immediately eats a Hank high boot. Hank slugs Griffin but Griffin reverses an irish whip attempt and launches Hank into a top turnbuckle. Lennox tags in and he and Griffin hit Hank with a double-team side slam before Lennox’s cover gets two as Tank breaks it up. A Pier Six breaks out and Hank dumps Lennox to the floor. Hank whips Tank into Griffin and he goes to the floor as well. Hank and Tank hit simultaneous tope suicidas on Griffin and Lennox as we go to commercials.

Lennox is working over Tank when we return but he runs into a Tank high boot and a right hand to break that up. Tank catches Lennox in a weird looking like half-crucifix and that gets two. Lennox shrugs that off and waffles Tank with a big spinebuster and that gets two. Griffin tags in and he and Lennox again hit the double-team side slam. Griffin’s cover gets two. Griffin grabs a rear chinlock but Tank fights out of it. Griffin calmly snatches Tank up and hits a powerslam and his subsequent cover gets two.

Griffin pie-faces a frustrated Tank and talks trash. Tank fires off some right hands and Griffin and Tank hold on for dear life so neither can make a tag. They finally break apart and Hank and Lennox charge in after tags. Hank wipes out Lennox with two sledges and a body slam. Hank hits a splash on Lennox and then bulldogs Griffin on top of a prone Lennox. Hank hits a weird looking Flatliner and covers for two.

Hank mounts Lennox in the corner as a recovered Tank tags in. Hank hits Lennox with a second rope back superplex before Tank hits Lennox with a swanton. Tank covers for two. Hank tags in but Darkstate prevents another HONK HONK. Cutler James confronts Hank on the floor and says “Joe Hendry is not coming today…” and well…

Joe Hendry bursts out of the NXT Roost‘s bottom half like the Kool Aid Man to chase James. As Hendry climbs into the ring the ref confronts him and turns his back on the action. Hank rolls up Lennox but Griffin sneaks over and changes the roll up to put Lennox on top. Lennox gets the three count and Darkstate retain.

I was not expecting a title change here and we obviously didn’t get one. How we got there was weird, though, because I’m not sure what the overall plan for the Joe Hendry thing is at this point. He’s literally always just lurking around in the PC? Very strange and I hope his ceiling isn’t “comedy appearance guy”. H&T worked their normal astounding pace and Darkstate kept up with them, but this was not anything worth going out of your way to see again. 2.5*

Winners AND STILL NXT Tag Team Champions – Darkstate (Lennox roll-up on Hank)

THE NXT FOCUS PRESENTED BY PROGRESSIVE is on previous Flag matches in WWE ahead of tonight’s Tavion Heights-Ethan Page meeting. Tavion Heights makes his entrance as we go to commercials.

NXT Anonymous returns to show us LAST WEEK Ethan Page had a word with Myles Borne about continually getting punked out by Lexis King. Back live with Lexis King chatting in the locker room with Charles Dempsey about his advice that went in “one of Borne’s bad ears and out the other one”. Borne enters with a chair and turns the lights off. When they come back on King is on the floor grabbing his back and Borne tells him he’s not done with King just yet.

Flag Match: Tavion Heights vs NXT Men’s North American Champion Ethan Page

This is non-title, for the record, and there are no DQ’s or count-outs. The object is to retrieve a mounted flag and wave it PROUDLY. (I’m not sure what happens if you just sort of wave it derisively. Hmm.) Page is representing Canada, Heights the USA.

Prior to the bell Page tosses his shirt at Heights and immediately goes for the flag. Heights puts a stop to that as the bell sounds. Page gets an advantage and climbs but Heights again yanks him off and starts firing off rights. Page bails to the floor and then yanks Heights out with him. Page runs Heights back-first into the apron and tries for the flag. Heights yanks Page down and onto the apron. Heights circles around the ring but doesn’t go for his flag. Instead, Heights charges and tackles Page through the ropes and onto the floor. (Page lands right on the top of his neck and head here, this was a wildly dangerous spot.)

Page appears to be okay so Heights fires up some kicks and punches. Heights runs Page into the ring and hits Page with a slingblade. Heights goes for his flag but Page recovers to confront Heights on the top rope. Heights dumps Page to the floor but Page maintains a grip on Heights wrist. Page yanks Heights down and his knee meets Heights right in the face. Page hoists Heights over his shoulders but Heights slips off and kicks Page from the second rope. Page prevents another flag attempt but Heights pounds on Page’s head to prevent his attempt at a powerbomb.

They slug it out on the top rope in Heights flag corner and Page grabs Heights by the hair to send them both tumbling to the mat. They each make it to a knee and start slugging it out. Heights gets the advantage but Page reverses an irish whip and wallops Heights with a roundhouse kick. Heights flies off the ropes with a big shoulder tackle that flattens Page. Page chooses to charge Heights instead of going for his flag and this goes badly as Heights slips it and sends Page shoulder-first into a ring post.

Heights ascends but Page recovers to send him flying to the floor after Heights head smashes into the apron. Page rams Heights into the ring steps and goes for his flag. Page sends a charging Heights to the mat but in doing so crotches himself on the top rope. Page goes for it again and this time Heights flies in and crushes Page with an overhead suplex. Heights ascends and grabs his flag to win the match.

Kind of a sprint as they didn’t even bother with commercials during this. It was fine for what it was and give Ethan Page credit, he took an incredibly scary bump and still managed to keep the match going as the veteran. Heights needs to slow down because he did a lot of this match at a ridiculous pace. Jingoism aside, there wasn’t a whole lot to this but the crowd ate it up and the good guy won, so I guess it’s okay. 2*

Winner – Tavion Heights (retrieved his flag)

Post-match sees Heights ascend to pull down the Canadian flag which he then drapes over the fallen Page. Suddenly Tyler Breeze makes an appearance to take a selfie with the still-downed Page. (I love Tyler Breeze, for the record, so this pleased me a WHOLE bunch. Homecoming is going to be fun.) We go to commercials.

Here’s the second Lola Vice promo about her background and history, you can read about the first one she did in last week’s show. Vice goes to her dad’s dojo to work out with him. Apparently the entire Loureda family has black belts. She promises to win the title at No Mercy.

Fatal Influence were watching and Jacy Jayne says it’s going to be funny when Vice loses in front of her family and friends. Jayne asks Henley and Nyx if they’re ready for the main event and both agree they are. Jayne hypes up the idea of everyone in the group holding gold at the same time and then gives Nyx a make-up tip. (Gotta get that sweet Maybelline mon every week, guys.)

After a preview of Homecoming, which looks like it’s going to be great nostalgic fun, Zaria and Sol Ruca make their entrance as we go to commercials.

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Contender Elimination Match: Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley vs Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx vs NXT Women’s North American/Women’s Speed Champion Sol Ruca and Zaria

NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne is at ringside for the Fatal crew. We’re starting this match with 26 minutes to go in the show so strap in, kids. Paxley, Nyx, and Zaria start.

Nyx and Paxley work over Zaria with kicks and send her to the floor. Paxley breaks the alliance and she and Nyx roll each other up for two counts. Zaria charges back in and wipes both out with clotheslines. Zaria hits a pump kick on Nyx and a back body drop on Paxley. Nyx slips a charge but Zaria hits her with a big boot when Nyx turns back. Zaria yanks up Nyx in a rear chinlock as she’s standing on the second rope. Dame has tagged in while Paxley wipes out Nyx with a running splash. Dame hits Zaria with a big spear as Nyx tags in Henley. Henley charges over and leaps on Dame’s back to put her in a sleeper.

Dame drops Henley in the corner on top of Zaria. Dame kicks Henley and wants a powerbomb but Henley rotates and rolls through when Dame tries it. Henley hits her jumping leg scissor move and covers Dame for two. Dame leaps up and wallops Henley with a back fist that sends her to the floor. Dame and Zaria square off as Niko Vance and Shawn Spears have wandered to ringside. Dame and Zaria slug it out and then hit each other with simultaneous headbutts. They exchange pump kicks and then predictably run the ropes and hit each other with simultaneous clotheslines.

A recovered Henley wipes out Dame and Zaria with a top rope cross-body and tags in Nyx. They wipe out Dame with double-team offense and then Nyx catches Zaria with a reverse springboard clothesline. Nyx covers Zaria for two. Dame wipes out Nyx with a forearm and she tags in Henley. Henley tries a cross-body that Dame catches as Zaria finally tags in Ruca. Dame turns into a Ruca springboard dropkick that also takes out Henley. Paxley and Nyx tag in so Ruca snatches up Nyx and uses her as a battering ram to knock Paxley down. Ruca dumps Nyx on top of Paxley and then surfs on both of their backs.

Ruca hits a dropkick that nails both opponents but Nyx ends up in her corner and Henley tags in. Ruca dumps Paxley out and wants to run the ropes but Henley grabs Ruca by the ankle and yanks her out to the floor. Henley smacks Ruca down and then sprints in to hit Niko Vance with a cross-body for some reason (Vance was just sort of wandering over to check on Paxley, he wasn’t doing anything to provoke this.) Dame gets pissed and boots Henley down as Zaria wipes out Shawn Spears on the apron with a pump kick and rolling tackle. A Nyx baseball slide rocks Dame but Paxley avenges her by walloping Nyx with an enziguri. The Culling gather and Ruca hits a top rope moonsault on all of them while landing gracefully on her feet. Ruca and Zaria start the wave with the crowd as we go to commercials.

Back live with Ruca, Henley and Dame all on their backs mid-ring as the crowd continues doing the wave. They all start slugging it out and it ends with Ruca roundhouse kicking Dame from the apron. Nyx prevents Ruca from doing a springboard and sends her tumbling in. Zaria charges over and eats a Jacy Jayne superkick after Nyx ducked. They run Zaria into the ring steps as Henley slips a Dame charge. Nyx tags in as Henley wallops Dame with a blockbuster.

Henley and Nyx double-team Ruca and drop her directly on to a prone Dame. Nyx covers Ruca for two and then gets two with a cover of Dame. Nyx hits a running kick on Dame and then hits a fisherman’s suplex on Ruca that gets two. Ruca fires up with a roundhouse kick to Nyx before leaping on to the apron. Ruca wallops Nyx with a right hand and ascends. Nyx recovers with a couple of roundhouses to slow Ruca down before she ascends to the second rope. A recovered Dame charges over but instead of a Tower of Doom Ruca shakes it off and uses Dame’s hold of Nyx to hit a top rope blockbuster and all three are down.

All three make tags and Zaria gains the immediate advantage. Zaria yanks Henley over with a German into her corner where Nyx tags in. Zaria hits a German on Paxley and then catches Nyx when she tries a reverse springboard. Zaria hits a spinning backdrop on Nyx as Joseph talks about THIS DIVISION. Zaria yanks Paxley over her head in a facebreaker but Dame breaks the cover up at two. Ruca charges in and she and Zaria hit simultaneous spears on Paxley and Dame. Henley and Nyx fly in and Henley pushes Zaria into Paxley which moves Zaria into position for Ruca’s Sol Snatcher. Henley clotheslines a stunned Ruca over the top rope and Nyx covers Zaria for three. Zaria and Sol Ruca are ELIMINATED.

Winners of the first elimination – Fatal Influence (Nyx covers Zaria after an inadvertent Sol Snatcher to Zaria)

So now it’s Henley and Nyx versus Dame and Paxley. Dame flies off the second rope and catches Nyx with a codebreaker and Paxley’s cover only gets two. Henley prevents Dame from running the ropes by yanking her out to the floor. Paxley goes behind and rolls up Nyx for two. Nyx pushes Paxley off right into a huge right hand from Jayne. Nyx covers Paxley and gets two.

Henley tags in and her and Nyx hit a double-team move that includes a Nyx Pele kick to Paxley’s head. Dame breaks up Henley’s cover at two. Nyx jumps on Dame and they tumble out to the floor. Dame’s had enough of that and snatches Nyx up to slam her on the apron. Henley sneaks around and does her shitty “swing on the post while double kicking my opponent” move that she clearly loves doing. Henley ascends and a recovered Paxley flies up to nail her with an enziguri. Paxley ascends but her 450 attempt is slipped by Henley. Dame tags in as Henley gets tangled up with Paxley. Dame flies in an wallops Henley with a kick as Paxley flips Henley over on her head. Dame hits a sit-out powerbomb and covers Henley for three. Tatum Paxley and Izzi Dame will challenge Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair for the WWE Women’s Tag Titles.

Well, that was a hell of a deal. Three way matches are super tough to agent but setting up the first fall in such a clever way gave me a lot of hope for another good finish, and that’s what we got. The Culling crew actually cheated way less than Fatal did as the men were barely involved in anything but cheering their teammates on, and I liked that too. Obviously the crowd was way into it, and that elevated everything as well. There were some awkward moments but nothing stood out as too egregious and I was into this by the end. I’m feeling generous so here we go. 4*

Winners and NEW Number One Contenders to the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship – Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley (Dame sit-out powerbomb on Henley)

Post-match sees Jayne grab a mic to berate Henley and Nyx while the Culling crew celebrates in the aisle. As this is happening some SUV’s pull into the NXT Parking Lot. (I like to give these long-standing NXT places the bold treatment because they’re just a huge part of the fabric of this show, and the Roost and the Parking Lot fit that bill.) We go to commercials.

Jayne is still yelling when we come back and she’s focusing on the fact that Fatal won’t be doing anything at Homecoming. (Oh, I bet you’re wrong based on those SUV’s, Jacy.) Henley looks dumbfounded when Jayne says she’s been carrying the group on her back. Jayne says unlike every other woman in the WWE she doesn’t need anyone or the fans, because all she ever needed was herself. Jayne claims to be the greatest NXT women’s champion of all time.

Stephanie Vaquer enters to thunderous pops. Vaquer gives Jayne props for beating her for the title but she reminds Jayne that she was a double champion and she did that for herself. Jayne mentions that there’s three of them and only one Vaquer, so Vaquer asks Jayne if she knows what time it is.

WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton makes her entrance as the crowd is going apeshit. (Booker: “I GOTTA POP MY NECK, MAN!”). Stratton points out her status as champion and runs down the list of names she’s beaten, including Henley. Stratton tells Jayne she really doubts her claim of being the greatest women’s champ of all time. Jayne says that Stratton and Vaquer are like the “super seniors that have already graduated but can’t stop hanging around high school”. Stratton says she’s not sure how Mami is going to feel about being called that.

Here’s Rhea Ripley as the roof might have actually come off the PC. (Like, legit, Rhea is a goddamn STAR at this point. Just SO incredibly over as a performer.) The three main roster titans stand together as a suddenly shook Jayne is claiming she didn’t mean it. Ripley tells Jayne there’s no way she’s the best women’s champion and she challenges Fatal for a six-women tag at Full Sail. A quick skirmish sees the main roster ladies stand tall. Joseph runs down the Homecoming card:

DIY vs Trick Melo Game
Grayson Waller will host Oba Femi and Ricky Saints
Tyler Breeze vs Ethan Page for the Men’s NA Title (!)
Rhea Ripley/Tiffany Stratton/Stephanie Vaquer vs Fatal Influence

The credits roll and we’re out.

I had a good time with this show tonight. The focus was mostly in-ring as the backstage stuff was kept to a minimum. The main event was wildly entertaining and the only thing I didn’t really enjoy was the Flag match. I’m still not loving Josh Briggs but they are clearly running with him right now so we’ll see how all of this unfolds. Ethan Page is kind of treading water right now and I’m wondering if Tavion Heights will cost him next week, although I can’t see them putting the NA title on what is probably a one-off with Breeze. The Lola Vice vignettes have been a lot of fun. Obviously they sent the crowd home wildly happy with the appearance of the women’s alumnae.

Thanks for reading and commenting. Enjoy your day.