NXT Review – 05.05.26

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NXT will be joining the CW/Netflix airwaves from The Performance Center in Orlando, FL. The announcing team for tonight’s show are Vic Joseph and Booker T on match calls and analysis, Mike Rome on ring introductions, and someone new (!) on backstage interviews and breaking news segments. Let’s watch some wrestling!

Then, Now, Forever…..TOGETHER

Here are some highlights from last week‘s show to start this week’s show. HOW CONVENIENT THAT IS. Some debuts are highlighted specifically: Lizzy Rain, Tate Wilder, Tristan Angels, Kam Hendrix, THE FORMER IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION WHO IS NOT EVIL ANYMORE, and Mason Rook.

Here’s NXT Men’s Champion Tony D’Angelo attacking Tavion Heights backstage just to indicate WE ARE IN CHAOTIC TIMES!

Jaida Parker vs Kali Armstrong

There are many verbals before the bell rings, and then they continue loudly after it sounds. Parker grabs an armdrag after some go behinds-reverses. Armstrong escapes but misses an elbow drop, and Parker goes right to a side headlock. Armstrong escapes that, but Parker works some chain wrestling to yank Armstrong into a back suplex that gets two. Parker dumps Armstrong to the floor and then gets caught trying a sliding dropkick. Parker reverses an irish whip and sends Armstrong into the apron. Parker tosses Armstrong back in and catches her with a big kick to the face from the apron. They hit each other with simultaneous lariats and we go to commercials.

Parker gets whipped into a corner when the show returns, but she gets a big boot up when Armstrong charges. Armstrong drops Parker neck-first over the top rope and then crushes Parker with a springboard cross-body. Armstrong starts firing off jabs before a couple of kicks and some knee drops send Parker bailing to a corner. Armstrong celebrates forever before driving a shoulder into Parker’s mid-section. Armstrong puts the boots to Parker and then imitates her signature walk. Parker trips up Armstrong and then nails her with some back-body drops. Parker slaps Armstrong in a corner and crushes Armstrong with her signature butt-drop. They start slugging it out mid-ring and Armstrong goes to Parker’s eyes. Armstrong yanks Parker into a snap powerslam and then mashes her with the Kali Connection. Armstrong covers and gets three.

I thought this was a weirdly segemented match because it was mostly all Parker prior to commercials, and basically all Armstrong in the second act. They don’t often agent matches that way but it was a nice stylistic change from the normal match formula. I think that’s a fairly seismic win for Kali on her official debut match, quite frankly. I thought both ladies worked pretty well together and I sense there’s more to this feud down the road. 3*

Winner – Kali Armstrong (Kali Connection)

Here’s NXT General Manager Robert Stone berating a fired-up Tony D’Angelo for his attack on Tavion Heights. D’Angelo says he’s not waiting around for challengers or spend his time looking over his shoulder. D’Angelo wants Heights tonight, and Stone makes that match on the spot.

Here’s a look at Jackson Drake and Jasper Troy having verbals last week and setting up tonight’s confrontation. We go to commercials.

Here’s Birthright in a locker room complaining about last week’s shenanigans from Sean Legacy and Tate Wilder. Here’s Fit Finlay in to give the group a pep talk and he’s got William Regal on the phone. Regal has sent Charles Dempsey back to the Snakepit for more training and the others will be in a six man tag match next week.

Here’s a look at THE FORMER IWGP CHAMPION WHO IS NOT EVIL ANYMORE and his feeling that now is his time to strike. He’s coming for the NXT Men’s title and didn’t present Tony D’Angelo with presents, he presented him with a proclamation. He promises to meet D’Angelo for the title as it is written in the rising sun. ALL HAIL NARAKU which is the new name of this person per the NXT Name Generator and WWE’S Legal Department. Now, a quick translate search tells me that Naraku = Abyss in English and if that means we get Monster’s Ball in NXT, I am WITH IT.

Jasper Troy vs Jackson Drake

NXT Tag Team Champions Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes are out with Drake. Troy manhandles Drake after the bell and sends him flying into a corner. Troy starts throwing bombs and shoulders into Drake’s mid-section. Troy yanks Drake up but he slips off and starts throwing roundhouse kicks at Troy’s hamstring. Troy bodies Drake to the floor and then gets distracted by some Baylor and Smokes antics on the apron. A recovered Drake flies in to hit a super Meteora on Troy and we go to commercials.

Troy is pummeling Drake when the show returns and Drake turns a missed cross-body attempt into a tornado DDT. Drake ascends but Troy nips up. Drake jumps into a Troy chokeslam and then gets nailed by a running senton. Troy drops Smokes and then tosses Baylor into the ring. Here’s Myka Lockwood out to yank Troy up for a powerslam before running him back in. Drake ascends and hits a 450 splash before covering and getting three.

There wasn’t a whole lot to this overall. Troy did his usual clubbering and Drake seemed to try to avoid it as best he could. The heels used their numbers advantage and a surprise helper to take out an unsuspecting but large babyface. Pretty standard stuff although I’m not sure why we needed a commercial break tucked in there. 2*

Winner – Jackson Drake (450 splash after Lockwood interference)

THE NXT SPOTLIGHT PRESENTED BY PROGRESSIVE is on Tristan Angels who says he’s here to bring REAL CLASS to the brand despite his sheep-farmer upbringing. Angels says his name is synonymous with success and he has a sixth sense while NXT Men’s North American champion Myles Borne doesn’t even have all five of his. Angels puts the stink-mouth on Kam Hendrix, Shiloh Hill, and Hank & Tank. Angels says Mr. England has officially arrived. We go to commercials.

NXT ORIGINS is on WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley and her time in NXT UK and then Black-and-Gold NXT. I like these retrospectives.

Here’s Zaria out for a chat. Zaria mentions there’s a change in the air and things feel different. Zaria says she’s standing in the middle of the women’s division with no one holding her back and this is how it always needed to be. Zaria mentions that she’s got a clear path now to the title that divided her and Sol Ruca and it’s the Women’s North American championship. Here’s NXT Women’s North American Champion Tatum Paxley out to talk about how the title shattered Ruca and Zaria’s friendship but then points out it had nothing to do with her. Paxley says she knows Zaria is trying to figure things out but if she comes for the title Paxley has done a lot of stuff to keep it and will keep doing so. Here’s Lizzy Rain out to chat about wanting to join in on this bit of fun. Rain wants a piece of the title, and here’s Nikkita Lyons out to mock Rain and saying the new flavor of the month is in need of touching grass. Lyons says she’s not done when Paxley interrupts. Fisticuffs break out and Zaria crushes Paxley with an F5 before tossing her belt down on top of her.

Here’s The Vanity Project running into Romeo Moreno and making fun of him for being the “painting guy” (Here’s a plug for you to go read Phred’s weekly Evolve recaps to keep up with who a lot of these folks are.) Noam Dar joins the scene and Drake tells Baylor and Smokes he used to be a big deal like ten years ago. Dar brushes that cheek off and tells Drake he’s cleared and ready to face Drake next week. Here’s Myka Lockwood to mention that the Project are with her and they’ll see Dar next week. The Project leave and Moreno puts over Dar and says he watched NXT UK all the time when he was in Spain.

Here’s Tony D’Angelo walking a hallway before being jumped from behind by Kam Hendrix. Hendrix dents the wall with D’Angelo before pummeling him with rights. Security flies in and a bunch of people start yelling as we go to commercials.

Here’s Robert Stone grabbing a headset to tell someone that D’Angelo-Heights is now off and he’s kicked Kam Hendrix out of the building. We’re moving up the mixed tag match because WE ARE IN CHAOTIC TIMES.

AAA Mixed Tag Team Champions Mr. Iguana and NXT Women’s Champion Lola Vice vs The Culling (Izzi Dame and Niko Vance)

This is non-title and it’s Vance and Iguana to start. Iguana gets trucked but manages to slap on a submission when Vance yanks him up. Vice hands La Yesca to Mr Iguana and there’s some Yesca-slap offense prior to a cross-body that gets one. Vance ejects Yesca out to Spears while Dame tags in. Vice tags in and goes to work on Dame in a corner. Vice misses a running boot and gets clobbered by a Dame lariat. Dame rams Vice into a corner and then yanks her up for a slam that gets two. Dame hits a shoulder charge in a corner but runs into a Vice high boot when she tries it again. Vice grabs a quick roll up for two. Vice hits some slaps and an armdrag prior to dropping Dame to the floor with a reverse thrust kick. Iguana tags in and sends Vance to the floor with a running rana. Iguana ascends as he tags Vice. They both hit flying tackles on their respective opponents as we go to commercials.

Vance and Iguana are slugging it out when the show returns. Vance hits a powerslam and a flying headbutt that gets two. Vance and Iguana start headbutting each other and Dame flies around to yank Vice off the apron to smash her on the steps. Vince yanks Iguana up for a front slam that gets two. Vance gets pulled into a DDT when he takes forever to decide what to do after pulling Iguana up. Vice and Dame tag in and Vice goes to work with her martial arts stuff. Dame gets dropped in a corner but Vance charges in to prevent further damage. Vice smashes him with low kicks and Iguana flies in with a dropkick that sends Vance down in a corner. Vice and Iguana hit Hip Attacks and Vice covers Dame for two. Dame starts firing off elbows and walks right into a roundhouse from Vice. Vance breaks up the cover at two and he and Iguana skirmish for a minute. Dame uses the distraction to smash Vice with a running back elbow that gets two. Vice pulls Dame into an armbar and Vance gets pulled into an armbar by Iguana when he tries to interfere. The men spill to the outside where Vance slams Iguana, and Vice gets rolled up for two. Vice misses a backfist before Dame hits a running knee and covers Vice for three.

I thought this was solid despite the obvious comedy elements. Dame’s offense is still really punchy-kicky but she’s getting there in terms of not looking like she’s step-counting anymore. Vance is just a body to me, but he’s usually solid when he’s out there. Iguana is a pro and bumped like a madman as usual, and Vice did what Vice does. It all worked here though, at least for me. Dame should be in line for a women’s title match now, and I suppose the Culling could make a claim for a mixed tag title match if they wanted to. 3.25*

Winners – The Culling (Dame running knee on Vice)

Here’s Myles Borne arguing with Tavion Heights about Kam Hendrix’s attack on Tony D’Angelo. Robert Stone charges in and says D’Angelo still wants the fight if Heights does, and it will be our main event. Stone leaves that scene and is immediately accosted by a furious Zaria. Stone has made a tag match for next week that will be her and Nikkita Lyons vs Lizzy Rain and Tatum Paxley, and Zaria wants no part of any more tag matches. Stone says if she wants a North American title shot, Zaria WILL be doing the tag match. Stone leaves and Zaria is left to stew.

Here’s Hank & Tank making their entrance prior to commercials.

Here’s Jaida Parker destroying things in the women’s locker room while yelling a lot. Here’s SHOOTER NATTIE in to call Parker soft.

Hank & Tank vs Darkstate (Osiris Griffin and Cutler James)

Dion Lennox and Saquon Shugars are at ringside with James and Griffin. It will be Tank and James to start. James fires up some right hands to start but Tank shakes it off and grabs James into a crucifix that gets one. Hank tags in and he trucks James before grabbing a headlock. Hank clubbers away but James shakes it off and tags in Griffin. Griffin slams Hank but runs into two high boots when he tries it again. Hank escapes and tags in Tank, and the two of them duck a Griffin charge before splashing him simultaneously. Griffin holds Tank up forever before crushing him with a vertical suplex. James tags in and smashes Tank with a short-arm clothesline that gets one. Hank gets a tag and he bulldogs James before Tank crushes James with a senton. James dumps Hank to the floor and and then crushes Tank with a lariat off the apron. Lennox grabs a chair and Shugars stops him from wading in with it. Lennox goes nuclear as James and Griffin come out to try to settle things down. We go to commercials.

James and Tank are battling it out when the show returns. James works a rear chinlock and then bullies Tank to the Darkstate commercial. Griffin tags in and James whips him into a prone Tank. Griffin sends Tank to James who mashes him with a tilt-a-whirl rib-breaker over his knee, and Griffin’s subsequent cover gets two. Griffin slams Tank after some mocking, so Tank fires up to try to escape the corner. Griffin sends him back in to the corner but Tank uses every braincell he has and slips away to tag Hank in. Hank mashes James with a lariat, a back elbow, and a flying forearm. Hank hits a suplex and a standing back senton. Hank sends Griffin to the floor and then trucks him over the announce table. Hank spears James down and then he and Tank combine on a double spear on James. Griffin breaks up the cover at two. Griffin and Hank get dumped, and James smashes Hank with a backbreaker. Griffin tags in and yanks Tank up on his shoulders before dropping him with Wasteland and a Vader Bomb that gets two. James tags in and he and Griffin combine on a side-slam/DDT thing that Tank kicks out of at two. James and Tank start slugging it out and Griffin and Hank get tags. Hank sends Griffin and James to the floor and James manages to pull Hank into a backdrop on the apron. Tank charges out for a tope but he gets caught and dropped by James and Griffin. They run Hank back in and combine on a lofted back drop powerbomb on Hank that gets three.

I think Darkstate is actually reaching a point of watchability for me and it only took like a year and a half for that to happen. I like Griffin and James as a team, and I’m actually glad to see James get to work a full match instead of being “Oh, the guy on the floor who used to cut very awkward promos”. I feel like Hank & Tank are drifting at this point but given the state of men’s tag team wrestling throughout the company, they could be a show away from being champs again, who knows. Darkstate against Baylor and Smokes would not be something I’d really like to see all that much, but I think that’s where we’re going. 3*

Winners – Darkstate (lofted back drop powerbomb on Hank)

Here’s Lola Vice getting some stink-mouth from Kelani Jordan about being the only one to ever tap out Vice. Here’s Kendal Grey to interrupt and ask Jordan who she thinks she is with talking about a title shot. They bicker, and Vice leaves after telling Jordan to deal with Grey before approaching her again.

Booker and Vic are having some technical difficulties. LIVE TELEVISION AT IT’S FINEST as a PA runs in to try to give them the proper headsets. Here’s NEW NXT Reporter Emily Agard (She comes from Sportsnet in Canada, so welcome to the team!) and her first assignment is to meet up with Keanu Carver. Carver doesn’t know who she is, and doesn’t want to talk in front of the the camera. Agard tells Carver that she’s got to come back with something, and asks what motivates Carver. Carver says it’s money because he’s got a family to feed. Carver says he doesn’t need clips and popularity, he just needs to take care of his people. Carver mentions that he’s talked to Shawn Michaels and he says that he told Michaels to give him a chance or cut him because he can’t wait around. Carver says he’s the same person he’s always been, but he’s not going to listen to authority. Agard wants one thing on the record, and asks how Carver knew about the kanji that symbolized WAR on the proclamations Naraku was giving to Tony D’Angelo. Carver mentions that he did go to college and when he went to class, he listened. Carver says he’s smart as shit, for real, and that’s all that Agard gets. Carver exits.

This was easily the best thing they’ve done with Carver since debuting him without a lot of context other than “He doesn’t like Booker and it’s about stuff that happened in LFG”. Now, the “feed my family” thing is currently being done to greater effect on the main roster in the Reigns-Fatu feud, but at least there’s some meat on Carver’s bones at this point. Weirdly, this is very babyface material and Carver has pretty much been working as a bully heel, so I’m interested to see where any of this goes from here. Welcome to the new reporter, anyway.

Booker and Joseph have solved their tech issues and Booker mentions that he might have misjudged Carver previously. After previewing the main event, we go to commercials.

Here’s some social media footage from Shiloh Hill who mentions that Shawn Michaels talked about throwing a stick of dynamite into the locker room to see who comes pouring out while Hill has been specifically warned about bringing explosives into the building. Hill talks about Tristan Angels having a crazy accent while trying to roast someone, and then Hill crowd-sources insults for British people and shepherds.

Joseph runs down next week’s card including the in-ring debut of NARAKU.

NXT Men’s Champion Tony D’Angelo vs Tavion Heights

Joseph’s theory about the broken headsets is that Booker turned down Danhausen’s request to be his tag partner at Backlash and was subsequently CURSED. Booker denies this and just wants to talk about the match. They lock up to start and Heights dumps D’Angelo down. (This might be the best amateur wrestling pairing on the men’s NXT roster at this point. I think maybe the Creeds and Gable would have some claim if there was ever a full stack ranking but these two are the top dogs in NXT, I’d wager.) D’Angelo reverses and dumps Heights down. Heights escapes and rolls D’Angelo through to a fireman’s carry position, and then drops him directly on his face. There’s a bear-hug lockup next and D’Angelo yanks Heights up for a full slam. Heights fires up but D’Angelo cuts off the flurry with a lariat. D’Angelo hits a rolling neckbreaker and then a flying forearm that gets two. Heights bullies D’Angelo into a corner and then drives in a knee. Heights hits a gutwrench side suplex and then ascends. Heights mugs for the crowd and a recovered D’Angelo flies over to send Heights into the barricade. We go to commercials.

Heights eats a bunch of elbows from D’Angelo when the show returns. Heights cuts that off with a slingshot gutwrench suplex that gets two. Heights hits a huge lariat and covers D’Angelo for two. Heights ascends for a huge splash that gets two. Heights slugs D’Angelo in the back before popping him with a right. D’Angelo fires up and hits a series of Germans, but when he tries for a spear Heights slips it and lifts a knee. Heights hits an overhead belly-to-belly toss and yanks D’Angelo over for a cradle suplex that gets two. Heights gets pulled into a Fisherman’s suplex that gets two. They start slugging it out and after some rope running D’Angelo crushes Heights with a spear. Heights responds with an immediate belly-to-belly. Here’s Kam Hendrix on the apron and Heights brings him in before walloping him with a lariat that send him to the floor. NXT Men’s North American champion Myles Borne flies out and over the top rope to land on Hendrix. After the distraction, Heights turns right into a D’Angelo Dead to Rights chokeslam and that gets three.

I think that when you look at what’s passing for the upper card on the men’s side, it has to be concerning. Obviously we know that there have been a LOT of graduations that gutted the roster in general, but this men’s title scene is really being patched together right now as best as they can with what’s available. I like Tavion Heights but he never wins any big matches and is still kind of awkward in terms of his insane desire to go as fast as he can while visibly trying to slow himself down. D’Angelo is going to be remembered as the Champ After Everyone Left and that’s probably not fair to him but we are where we are. 3.25*

Winner – Tony D’Angelo (Dead to Rights chokeslam)

Post-match sees D’Angelo offer Heights a hand before being attacked by Mason Rook who drives D’Angelo directly into Heights from a fireman’s carry position. Rook announces his name and that he’s arrived in NXT as we’ve apparently figured out he’s not actually a fan. The credits roll and we’re out.

I thought tonight was just okay. The wrestling was solid and the storylines, such as they are, were advanced a bit for some clearly mapped-out matches. I think everyone is working hard through the current upheaval in the brand and so I’m willing to give a lot of grace to a roster in a huge transition. I feel like the top of the women’s card is working itself out decently, but the men’s side is still very muddled and not really laden with a lot of talent that’s going to draw eyes at the moment. We’ll see where things go from here.

Thanks for reading and commenting. Enjoy your Wednesday.