NXT Review – 03.10.26

So many things happening, so many words: Evolve: Succession II | Impact | Smackdown | NXT: Vengeance Day | AAA on Fox | Raw

It’s time for the follow-up show to Vengeance Day and it comes to us on the CW and Netflix from the Performance Center in Orlando, FL. The announce team for tonight’s show are Vic Joseph and Booker T on match calls and analysis, Mike Rome on ring introductions, and Blake Howard on backstage interviews and breaking news segments. Let’s watch some wrestling!

Then, Now, Forever….TOGETHER

Highlights of Vengeance Day open the show. Here’s new NXT Women’s North American Champion Tatum Paxley out to a huge pop and a chant from the crowd. Paxley has a mic and tells the crowd that for the longest time that she’d been doing everything wrong with trying to force a bunch friendships but still feeling alone. Paxley mentions maybe trying to be a “little less Tatum”. Everything coalesced for Paxley at Vengeance Day because of the crowd believing in her and reminding her to keep going. Paxley says she now feels confidence that she belongs. Here’s Izzi Dame out to say that it’s time to remind everyone in the crowd who Paxley used to be. There are very early highlights of Paxley coming to the PC, then trying to join the Diamond Mine, losing in the Breakout tournament, and making a statement about how she would represent WWE if she got the chance to join the company. Dame says no matter what she’s still the same weirdo outcast that she’s been since Day One. Dame says Paxley hasn’t found anything and wonders how Paxley can’t be exhausted from constantly trying to be something she isn’t. Dame says she wants the title back now, and it turns out that Shawn Spears and Niko Vance have been standing on the apron behind Paxley. Dame kicks Paxley down when she turns back, and then powerbombs her. Dame snatches the title belt and holds it aloft before pie-facing Paxley one last time.

Here’s a rueful Ethan Page being confronted by Ricky Saints. Page knows he messed up on Saturday and Saints calls them both “naked” to Page’s chagrin. Saints says that tonight when they beat those two “cornballs” Myles Borne and Joe Hendry they are back in title contention. Page says every dynasty has it’s slump and this is just a hiccup. That’s our main event tonight.

Jasper Troy makes his entrance as we go to commercials.

Jasper Troy vs Sean Legacy vs Eli Knight

Troy tosses Knight and then rams Legacy into a corner. Troy lofts Knight halfway across the ring, and then botches what was supposed to be a double fall-away slam. Instead Troy just chokeslams Knight onto a prone Legacy. Troy continues clubbering the two smaller guys before standing on Legacy in a corner. Troy eats a high boot from Knight and then Knight fires off some rights before being trucked by Troy. Troy snatches Knight up but he slips off as Troy walks into a Legacy superkick. Troy and Knight superkick Troy to the floor and then Knight goes to work on Legacy. Keanu Carver emerges from somewhere and viciously chokeslams a dazed Troy through the announce table. Carver immediately puts the stink-mouth on Booker once again as we go to commercials.

There’s a group of refs out to check on Troy when the show returns. Knight pulls Legacy over and then wallops him with a roundhouse. Knight ascends for another kick that sends Legacy to the floor. Knight ascends again and wallops Legacy with a big cross-body. Knight hits a springboard moonsault and covers for two. Knight goes back up again but Legacy avoids it only to run into a pump kick from Knight. Knight charges and eats a high boot, and then Legacy snaps off a Michinoku Driver that gets two. Legacy hoists Knight but he slips off and there’s some fisticuffs mid-ring. Legacy drops a returning Troy with a kick and then crushes Knight with a standing Spanish Fly. Troy steps back in and rams Legacy into a corner before trucking Knight. Troy hits a chokeslam on Legacy and a big back body drop on Knight. Troy yanks up Knight and rams him into Legacy, and then he snatches them both up for a double Samoan Drop. Troy hits a chokeslam on Knight but Legacy breaks up the cover at two. Knight breaks up a Black Hole Slam attempt with a low dropkick, and then Legacy fires off a Sliced Bread that drops Troy. Legacy ascends for a 450 before Knight crushes Troy with a huge moonsault. Both Legacy and Knight cover Troy at the same time and get a three count. Mike Rome announces both as the winners? Okay sure.

Jasper was a bit off his game in the early going and still was kind of botchy after he got back into things in the second act. In the meantime, Legacy and Knight showed a bunch of quality moves and clearly have spent some time working together at the PC. Knight in particular seems to be their next big high-flyer prospect. Legacy’s stuff is built for babyface work and I assume that’s what he’ll do for awhile. I don’t love the double winner concept but if it leads to a rubber match with Knight and Legacy so be it then. 2.75*

Winners – Sean Legacy and Eli Knight (double pin after a Knight moonsault)

Tatum Paxley is looking for Izzi Dame and runs into Shiloh Hill who is in a backstage maintenance area. Paxley wants to make sure she catches up with Dame before she leaves and Hill gleefully discovers a lug wrench. The two of them leave the scene to presumably get up to no good.

Here’s Birthright backstage with Uriah Connors warming up while TNA Knockouts Champion Arianna Grace talks up successfully defending her title on Impact. Lexis King says Charles Dempsey is too stubborn for his own good, and Connors assures him that his dad made a call and “they’re on their way”. We go to commercials.

Charles Dempsey and Tavion Heights vs Lexis King and Uriah Connors

King and Connors are accompanied by Stacks Lorenzo and Arianna Grace. Connors and Dempsey start and Connors grabs a snap mare before covering for one. Dempsey tosses Connors over and works a double underhook submission. Dempsey transitions to working Connors legs and Heights comes in to toss Connors halfway across the ring. King gets a tag and he runs into a big body slam from Heights. Dempsey grabs a tag and hits a knee lift on King before covering and getting one. King goes to the apron and pulls Dempsey throat-first across the top rope. Dempsey doesn’t realize that Connors made a tag and he leaps on top of Dempsey when Dempsey continues to try to work over King. Connors meets Dempsey’s knee and then Dempsey smashes him with a backbreaker. Heights tags in and he smashes Connors around before hitting an overhead toss and a twisting belly-to-belly that gets two. Dempsey dumps King, Connors dumps Dempsey, and Heights spears Connors all the way to the floor. Everyone fights out on the floor and the the NQCC guys send Connors and King back in. Dempsey looks up and sees William Regal and Fit Finlay standing in the aisle way and immediately turns on Heights with a release German on the floor. Dempsey rolls a dazed Heights back in and King pulls him into the Coronation before covering and getting three.

This was probably overdue but was done in the most ham-fisted way possible. Like Dempsey needed his dad there to somehow realize he’s actually a villain at heart? This was mostly an angle disguised as a match, but at least the work was good. The post-match confirms that Dempsey is now a part of Birthright and probably sets up something for Stand and Deliver. 2.75*

Post-match sees Dempsey look back at Regal and Finlay before re-entering the ring to join Birthright.

The Culling are apparently leaving but as they leave it turns out their SUV is up on blocks. Shiloh Hill runs into NXT Interim GM Robert Stone and tells him he didn’t know which car was the Culling’s so he just took them all apart. Hill hands the lug wrench to Stone and heads back inside as Stone heads out to get screamed at by Vance, Spears, and Dame.

Tony D’Angelo is heading to the ring as we go to commercials.

Here’s Tony D’Angelo out as Joseph proclaims “mission accomplished” about D’Angelo’s stated goal of wiping out Darkstate. D’Angelo has a mic and says he told everyone he came back for two reasons, and Vengeance Day was the culmination of his first reason which was to destroy Darkstate. D’Angelo says he ended things, and now it’s time for reason number two. D’Angelo had time to reflect while he was gone. D’Angelo decided to bury his previous incarnation and prove to everyone that he was the toughest sonofabitch in NXT. The second reason he came back was to win the NXT Men’s Championship. D’Angelo says that he has no issue with Joe Hendry and if it was a year ago he’d offer a sit-down, but now if he has to break Hendry’s face that’s what he’ll do. D’Angelo mentions that this is Hendry’s one warning and he will not be denied. D’Angelo looks straight into the camera and says he will be the next NXT Men’s Champion.

This was good, even with the crowd kind of goobering it up in the background. D’Angelo stuck to his points and laid everything out and clearly stated his mission. I liked it. I wonder if he’s actually done with Darkstate though, since those fellows don’t seem to ever let anything go. I guess we’ll see.

Lola Vice approaches Sol Ruca in the locker room who congratulates her on winning the Underground match. Vice says she knows she’s looking at the next NXT Women’s Champ and it will be her and and Ruca for the title at Stand and Deliver.

Lainey Reid and her stablemates in Fatal Influence make their entrance as we go to commercials.

Here’s Evolve Women’s Champion Kendal Grey, Wren Sinclair and NXT Men’s North American Champion Myles Borne chatting backstage and Borne gets congratulated for winning his title. Borne says thanks but wonders if either one of the ladies knows where his tag partner might be. Sinclair says she knows and they go to a refrigerator where Sinclair says his name, but he’s not in the fridge. NXT Men’s Champion Joe Hendry just comes around the corner instead, and says he had some stuff to deal with and he’s ready to game plan with Borne for their tag match. Sinclair says she’s ready for her Speed match later, and Grey has found the cake that was in the fridge and is eating a huge handful of it. Grey says she doesn’t have a match tonight and takes the cake as she and Sinclair leave.

Sol Ruca vs Lainey Reid

As mentioned NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne and WWE Women’s Speed Champion Fallon Henley are out with Reid. They exchange go-behinds and Reid works a wristlock. Ruca flips out of it and grabs an elbow before transitioning to the wrist. Reid puts on a headscissors and Ruca slips out of that and grabs a headlock. Reid powers out and reverses but Ruca lands on her feet when Reid tries a snap mare. Reid consults with Henley and Jayne before kicking Ruca in the gut after their words. Reid trips up Ruca and slaps on another headlock before trucking Ruca down. Reid snaps off a dropkick but gets caught by Ruca on a charge. Ruca drops Reid face-first on the mat before shooting the half on a cover and getting two. Ruca flies to the corner and monkey flips Reid over but when she tries it again Reid pushes her to the apron. Ruca hits a moonsault on Reid and then runs her back in. Jayne yanks Ruca’s boot and Reid takes advantage with a double stomp (Henley had the ref distracted on the far side). Fatal pose in a corner as we go to commercials.

Reid misses a charge and gets dropkicked by Ruca for her troubles when the show returns. Ruca jams Reid face-first into a turnbuckle and then Ruca dumps Reid to the apron. Reid fires up with kicks and then hits a springboard cutter for two. Ruca snatches Reid up and drops her back-first onto the canvas. Zaria is watching this unfold backstage in an inset. Reid and Ruca slug it out and Ruca fires up with a huge uppercut and a big back elbow. Ruca jams Reid into a corner and then smashes Reid with a release German and a shotgun dropkick. Ruca hits a running knee and covers Reid for two. Ruca goes to the apron but after missing a springboard Ruca runs into a sit-down powerbomb from Reid that gets two. Reid wants a Gory special but Ruca rolls through for a two count. Ruca hits an X-Factor and then snatches Reid up for a reverse back drop that gets two. Ruca pushes Reid to a corner and then Reid slips out and rolls up Ruca for two. Ruca dumps Reid to the apron and Reid comes in to a Ruca superckick. Reid prevents a Sol Snatcher and then hits an awkward crucifix bomb. Reid drops her knee pad but Ruca slips the charge. Ruca pops up and hits the Sol Snatcher. Ruca’s cover gets three.

Reid got a little sloppy towards the end but this was her longest television match in a while and she maybe had some cardio issues, it’s hard to tell. This was a decent back-and-forth singles match with a fairly obvious outcome. Joseph calling Reid’s performance “star-making” is a bit of a stretch but she held her own with someone who’s going to be on the main roster very soon. I’ll take matches like this all day and twice on Sunday over everyone’s beloved clusterfuck tag matches, trust me on that. 3.25*

Winner – Sol Ruca (Sol Snatcher)

Post-match sees Ruca eye up a concerned Jacy Jayne in the aisle.

WWE Men’s Speed Champion Elio LeFleur is with Robert Stone, Sean Legacy, and Eli Knight. There’s some chatter from LeFleur about not wanting to wait to see who might win another tournament, and in walks The Vanity Project. Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes want a tag title match at Stand and Deliver and Jackson Drake assures Baylor and Smokes that Stone will cook up something good. The Project leaves and Stone turns back to LeFleur to chat further about the Speed situation.

Wren Sinclair makes her entrance alongside Kendal Grey. We go to commercials.

THE NXT SPOTLIGHT PRESENTED BY PROGRESSIVE is on Blake Monroe who’s chatting with Blake Howard. Monroe says that Jaida Parker brought out a god-awful side of her but that’s over now, and she’s on to Stand and Deliver. Here’s Tatum Paxley to wonder if anyone has seen Izzi Dame. The Blakes say they haven’t seen her, and Paxley leaves. Monroe tells Howard he’s going to have to do something about his name because it belongs to her. HARF

WWE Women’s Speed Tournament Final: Kendal Grey vs Thea Hail

There’s a three minute time limit here, and the winner here will face Fallon Henley next week in Houston for the title. Hail snapmares Sinclair over, kicks her in the chest, and then wallops her with a standing moonsault. Hail wants the Kimura but Sinclair slips off and trucks Hail down. Sinclair hits a neck snapper and covers Hail for two. Hail fires up with a kick and a rolling neckebreaker that sends Sinclair to the floor. Hail hits a tope suicida and then runs Sinclair back in. Hail ascends and misses her dive, so Sinclair grabs a roll up for two. Hail tries for the Kimura but can’t get it, and Sinclair rolls through for the Final Wrench. Hail taps and Sinclair is on to Houston take on Henley.

Sinclair is a blog favorite around here so I’m sure this result will be pleasing to more than just me. I like Thea and I hope there’s some direction for her other than “plucky opponent who has a cool submission and once scored a fluke win” because as of now, that’s what she is. Sinclair and Henley should be decent in Houston and we’ll see if Wren can join her pal Kendal with a belt of her own. 2*

Winner – Wren Sinclair (The Final Wrench)

Robert Stone has basically the entire men’s tag team division in his office, and he announces a tournament to determine the number one contenders for Stand and Deliver. A fight breaks out when OTM confront Darkstate and we go to commercials.

Blake Howard is with Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Lainey Reid. Jayne says she never thought she’d miss Sarah Schreiber but here we are. Jayne says she has to make the impossible happen to get to Stand and Deliver, and Henley says she can easily beat Wren Sinclair. Sinclair and Kendal Grey come in and Sinclair puts the stink-mouth on Henley before Grey says that if Jayne actually does hold on to the title that it will be Grey who’s across the ring from her at Stand and Deliver. Reid says they don’t have time for this and Fatal leaves en masse.

Tatum Paxley is kicking the crap out of Izzi Dame having apparently finally caught up with her. A group of Security tries to break it up and Robert Stone charges out to say that Dame and Paxley will meet for the title rematch in a STEEL CAGE in Houston next week. Well then.

Ethan Page makes his entrance, as does Ricky Saints. We go to commercials.

Robert Stone is backstage when Blake Howard catches up with him. Stone says he’s got Raw and Smackdown people texting him about Stand and Deliver. Stone runs down the Houston card, and says that both OTM and Darkstate are out of the tournament due to their continuing shenanigans. The Vanity Project wander in to thank Stone for the time off and he mentions that they have a six-man tag in Houston against El Grande Americano Nuevo, Rayo, and Bravo Americano. This is not pleasing to the Project and they leave, and then Stone throws to Vic Joseph. Joseph says that he and Booker were only supposed to be a team for three months and it’s now going on three years, and next week will be Booker T Appreciation Night in Houston. (I guess you can see where that’s going to go with the ongoing Keanu Carver thing, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.)

NXT North American Champion Myles Borne and NXT Men’s Champion Joe Hendry vs Ethan Page and Ricky Saints

Myles Borne sneaks in a thumbs up when Hendry does his turn during his entrance theme and I laughed hard, not going to lie. Hendry and Saints start and shockingly, Saints goes punchy-kicky to start. Page gets a tag and then he and Saints eat Hendry hip-tosses. Borne tags in and he and Hendry combine on a vertical suplex-dropkick on Saints. Borne hits a toss slam on Saints and covers him for two. Saints backs Borne into a corner but he fights his way out. Saints hits a backdrop suplex and tags in Page. Borne fights off a suplex attempt and Borne hits a twisting back suplex for two. Page drives Borne back to the heel corner and Borne slugs his way out again only to run into a big boot from Page. Saints grabs the NA title and fires it all the way across the ring to the floor as Page barks at him. We go to commercials.

Borne is fighting his way out of a Saints headlock when the show returns. Page tags in and Borne smashes them both together. Page misses a charge and Saints yanks Hendry off the apron before Borne can make a tag. Page tosses Borne back to the heel corner and Page and Saints combine on Saints tornado DDT as Hendry breaks up the cover at two. Hendry gets caught with a Confidence Breaker and a Saints dropkick. Saints and Borne slug it out in a neutral corner and Page tags in. Saints hits a superplex and Page follows with a top rope splash on Borne that gets two. Page puts the boots to Borne and then yanks him up. Borne slips off of it and drops an elbow before tagging in Hendry. Hendry runs wild and drops page with a neckbreaker before hitting a fall-away slam on Saints. Hendry drops Page with an Attitude Adjustment and then hits an Olympic Slam on Saints. Hendry covers Saints for two. Hendry kicks Page away but gets caught by a Saints knee lift. They hit each other with simultaneous lariats and both guys are down. Saints calls for the NXT title belt and Page actually gets the belt to Saints. The ref pulls the belt away and Hendry grabs a roll up for two. Page gets a blind tag as Hendry eats a Saints spear. Page and Saints bicker and Borne breaks that up with a dropkick on Saints. Page takes this opportunity to plant Hendry with a Twisted Grin on the title belt. Page covers Hendry and gets three.

I don’t love the result here but someone has to challenge at Stand and Deliver and these two heels are the top ones in the division right now. I’m guessing we’ll see a four way with Hendry, D’Angelo, Saints, and Page, but there’s three and a half weeks til the card so let’s see how it unfolds. This was an actual tag match with psychology, clear tags, and selling (for the most part) so overall I’m okay with it. Borne was okay playing Ricky Morton into the second act, and then we went from there to the finish. I’ll give Shawn some credit, he knows how to book a finish that’s going to be pleasing yet disrupting to the team that wins it. 3.5*

Winners – Page/Saints (Page Twisted Grin on Hendry)

Post-match sees Saints and Page celebrate before Joseph runs down the big Houston card. Page and Saints hit their poses while it slowly dawns on Saints that Page got the pin on Hendry. The credits roll and we’re out.

I can actually say that we had a good episode of NXT tonight! This is a happy development after a string of up-and-down shows and a less-than-impressive PLE. Things are coalescing around the big cards (Houston, NYC, and St. Louis) and everyone worked hard tonight. The backstage stuff was solid, and everything that was done especially for next week’s card in Houston really seemed to work well. I have no major complaints other than just not liking Saints and Page and wishing that ANYONE other than them were in the mix on the heel side for the Men’s title. Thumbs leaning up tonight and we’re on to BOOKER T APPRECIATION NIGHT NOW CAN YOU DIG THAT?!

Thanks for reading and commenting. Have a good week!