NXT Review – 05.12.26

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NXT continues to stabilize in the post-Wrestlemania and post-Stand & Deliver world, and the show comes to the CW/Netflix airwaves tonight 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 Emily Agard on backstage interviews and breaking news segments. Let’s watch some wrestling!

Then, Now, Forever…..TOGETHER

NXT Women’s North American Champion Tatum Paxley and Lizzy Rain vs Nikkita Lyons and Zaria

Zaria and Rain start and Zaria trucks Rain down off a test of strength. Rain nips up and smashes Zaria with a headbutt and a rana. Zaria recovers with a clothesline but then walks into a Rain roundhouse. Paxley tags in and drops Zaria head-first onto her knee before covering and getting two. Paxley gets dumped off and Lyons gets a blind tag that Zaria doesn’t want. Lyons eat a Paxley round house and then Paxley pulls Lyons into a crucifix that gets two. Lyons fires up with a right and a scoop slam before standing on Paxley. Lyons misses her split drop attemt and then gets into verbals with Zaria. Rain and Paxley fire off dropkicks that sends Zaria to the floor, and then they hit a double clothesline to send Lyons out as well. Paxley and Rain hit between the ropes dropkicks and we take a commercial break.

Lyons and Paxley are slugging it out when the show returns. Lyons yanks Paxley into a butterfly sit-down powerbomb that gets two. Paxley gets tossed into the heel corner and Zaria tags in. Zaria tries an F5 and Paxley slips out of it and slips a charge as Zaria tumbles to the floor. Paxley makes the long crawl to tag in Rain as Lyons tags in as well. Rain hits a fall-away slam and some chops. Zaria charges in and eats a Rain cutter, and then Rain blasts Lyons with an elbow. Lyons fires up with a right and Paxley tags in. Paxley hits a superkick and turns around into a Lyons roundhouse kick. Zaria refuses a tag and leaves Lyons on her own. Paxley hits a rolling kick and tags in Rain. Rain hits her Thunderstruck lofted kick on Lyons and covers her for three.

Zaria said last week she didn’t want to do tag matches anymore and here’s your proof! I thought Lyons did well here and I’ve been critical of the Big Kat in the past. It feels weird to say this but Zaria without the utter focus of being either around Sol Ruca or fighting Sol Ruca has really kind of shown that she’s got work to do to be thought of differently. I thought Paxley was fine here, she’s leveled up a bunch lately. Lizzy Rain’s gimmick feels like a David McLane fever dream come to life but she’s over like rover with the PC crowd, so what do I know. 2.75*

Winners – Paxley/Rain (Rain Thunderstruck on Lyons)

Here’s Kendal Grey chatting with injured WWE Women’s Speed Champion Wren Sinclair. Sinclair doesn’t want to be a distraction and have them end up like “Sol and Zaria”. Grey assures her that she won’t be a distraction and that Sinclair is the only reason Grey made it to NXT. Here’s NXT Women’s Champion Lola Vice in to say she thinks her proposed match with Grey would be a good idea, and some bickering starts. Sinclair breaks that up and reminds Grey to stay focused on Kelani Jordan, who she’ll battle in a bit. Grey and Sinclair leave.

NARAKU will debut after commercials!

Penta, Bayley, and Grayson Waller have been added to the NXT live events this weekend!

Lince Dorado vs NARAKU

Naraku goes to work on Dorado’s arm immediately but Dorado does some acrobatics to escape. Naraku pulls Dorado into a side headlock and then Naraku trucks Dorado down after some rope running. Naraku chops away and then gets caught by a Dorado springboard splash that gets two. Naraku stomps on Dorado’s head and then yanks him into an Exploder. Naraku smashes Dorado around and then hits a lofted face-bomb. Naraku smashes Dorado with a short-arm clothesline before a chop battle breaks out. Naraku slams Dorado and then starts dropping elbows. Naraku works a rear chinlock and then Dorado snaps off an enziguri after breaking out. Dorado hits a dropkick and a high boot before firing off some forearms. Dorado hits a stunner but runs into a couple of Naraku kicks and a Fisherman’s suplex. Naraku hits another Fisherman’s and then crushes Dorado with the Abyss (the former Everything is EVIL finisher) for three.

For a run-through debut, this was decent. Naraku looked solid but didn’t sell too much beyond “this guy is annoying” levels. Dorado bumped around and did the honors like a good pro would. 2.5*

Winner – NARAKU (Abyss)

Here’s EK Prosper, Sean Legacy and Tate Wilder warming up in the locker room, and Prosper is grateful for the help tonight. Legacy tells Wilder to make sure he picks his spot, and Wilder assures him he’ll be picking his spot tonight. Dorian Van Dux joins the scene and mentions how much he’s looking forward to next week and being cleared to return. Legacy and Van Dux dap it up as everyone leaves for entrances.

Birthright make their entrance as we go to commercials.

EARLIER TODAY Shooter Nattie is making some talking head comments for LFG when she’s interrupted by Jaida Parker. Parker is mad about Nattie calling her soft last week and some verbals ensue. Parker is shuffled off the set but promises to meet Nattie at her car, which seems pretty ominous to me.

EK Prosper, Tate Wilder, and Sean Legacy vs Birthright (Uriah Connors, Stacks Lorenzo, and Charles Dempsey)

WWE Men’s Speed Champion Lexis King and Arianna Grace are at ringside with Birthright, and it’s Lorenzo and Wilder to start. Wilder works a reverse wristlock but eats an elbow as Lorenzo reverses. Wilder hits an armdrag and a dropkick that gets two. Lorenzo hits a double thrust and Dempsey tags in. Wilder smashes Dempsey around and Legacy tags in. Legacy and Dempsey hit a bunch of wristlock reversals and Dempsey trips off a rope run. Legacy hits a double stomp and a standing dropkick that gets two. Prosper tags in and hits a double stomp from the top rope on Dempsey’s back. Dempsey pulls Prosper in for an uppercut but eats a Prosper dropkick in response. Prosper slams Dempsey and hits a springboard moonsault that gets two. Dempsey recovers with a high knee and Connors tags in. Connors waffles Prosper with a dropkick and then goes to the apron. Connors trips Prosper but runs into a couple of Prosper dropkicks. The last one sends Connors to the floor and everyone comes over to bark at each other as we go to commercials.

Lorenzo and Connors are smashing Legacy around when the show returns. Lorenzo hits a double stomp and covers Legacy for two. Connors gets caught by a Legacy enziguri and snap powerslam as we reset with both guys down. Wilder and Dempsey get tags and Wilder runs wild for a bit on Dempsey before hitting Lorenzo and Connors with a double clothesline. Wilder sends Connors and Stacks out and pulls Dempsey into a short brainbuster that gets two. Connors charges in and he and Prosper go at it before everyone starts charging in. Lorenzo sends Legacy out before getting caught with a Wilder sling blade. Wilder and Dempsey start slugging it out before Wilder drops Dempsey with a suplex. Wilder ascends and a recovered Dempsey flies up to grab him and pull Wilder into a double underhook superplex. Dempsey’s cover is broken up by Prosper at two. Connors yanks Prosper into an apron neckbreaker. Wilder yanks Connors into a cutter and his cover is broken up by Lorenzo at two. Wilder dumps Lorenzo and Connors and then hits them both with a tope con hilo. Wilder dumps Dempsey and hits a frog splash on him that gets two. Wilder keeps ignoring tag requests and attempts before missing a moonsault attempt on Dempsey. Lorenzo and Connors combine on stereo kicks to Wilder’s head and Connors covers Wilder for three.

So the story in the second act became Wilder’s attempt to finish off the match on his own while ignoring pleas from Legacy and Prosper to tag out. I suspect storytelling is afoot! This was modern tag wrestling in a nutshell and we’ve been over it before. Everyone got their stuff in though, and all the highspots were met with the appropriate responses from the crowd, so here we are. 3*

Winners – Birthright (Connors/Lorenzo stereo kicks to Wilder’s head)

Here’s Tatum Paxley and Lizzy Rain discussing their win tonight, and Paxley is feeling generous enough to offer Rain a shot at her title next week. Here’s Shiloh Hill to join the scene and chat about Tristan Angels, who Rain apparently knows from her time in England. Rain doesn’t think much of Angels and Paxley wonders who Mr. NXT would be since Angels is calling himself “Mr. England”. Here’s Tristan Angels in to make fun of Hill’s suggestion that he could be Mr. NXT. Angels makes his in-ring debut next week and he’s going to show Hill specifically that he’s in a class of his own.

Mason Rook will sign his NXT contract after commercials.

THE NXT FOCUS PRESENTED BY PROGRESSIVE is on The Culling celebrating their mixed-tag victory last week. Niko Vance puts over Izzi Dame’s ability to lead the group. Vance is asked to stay behind as Shawn Spears leaves, and Dame mentions that if Lola Vice is watching Kendal Grey vs Kelani Jordan, then she’ll be watching Vice.

Here’s NXT GM Robert Stone out in the ring with security on the apron. Stone welcomes Mason Rook who snatches Stone’s microphone away. Rook says he’s traveled all across Europe and gone to Japan, and everywhere he’s gone he’s turned heads. Rook says it’s hard to not notice a flying human tank, and he’s been viral over the last few weeks. That’s not enough for him as he’s the best super-heavyweight, and the best any-weight. Rook says if you try and stop a tank, you get crushed. Here’s NXT Men’s Champion Tony D’Angelo out to say he’s just here for a chat. D’Angelo says Rook has his attention but attacking him twice was a bad idea because he’s not going to make a name for himself at D’Angelo’s expense. Here’s Kam Hendrix out to attack D’Angelo again from behind and Rook dives into the pile with a moonsault. Rook climbs back into the ring and signs Stone’s contract.

Here’s Noam Dar chatting with Romeo Moreno who’s watching an old Dar match on his iPad. Dar says it’s been a year since he’s been in the ring and he’s not even sure he’s that guy anymore. Moreno urges him on as we go to commercials.

Here’s Emily Agard with Bronco Nima and Lucien Price at a cookout and she wants to know something about Nima from Price that no one knows. Nima mentions that Price lost his mother at an early age, and Price takes care of his little brother now in her honor. Price’s little brother JJ is glad to have OTM in his life. Price tells Agard that people wouldn’t know that Nima is a great artist. Their goal is to win the NXT tag team titles and it’s now time to eat the food.

Jackson Drake vs Noam Dar

Drake comes out on Myka Lockwood‘s shoulders, and is also accompanied by NXT Tag Team Champions Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes. Dar ducks a Drake punch along the ropes and trucks Drake down. Dar catches Drake’s ankle off some rope running and wants an ankle lock, but Drake escapes it. Drake eats some Dar strikes and Dar’s cover gets two. Drake starts firing off some rights and goes to the apron. Dar trips Drake up and mashes him with a high boot that sends Drake to the floor. We go to commercials.

Dar gets crotched by Drake in a corner when the show returns. Drake ascends and hits a superplex before covering Dar and getting two. Drake hits a springboard cutter and that gets two. Drake fires off right hands but Dar fires off one in response. Drake puts the stink-mouth on Dar and they slug it out. Drake gets caught in a release German and then Dar fires up with some forearms. Dar hits another release German, a running forearm and a Northern Lights suplex. Dar lines up Drake but misses an elbow. Drake counters and hoists Dar up for a double knee gutbuster that gets two. Dar grabs a quick roll up for two. Dar hits some kicks and drops Drake into an armbar. Drake shifts his weight and covers Dar for two. Drake and Dar start slugging it out and Dar catches Drake with a soccer-style kick off some rope running. Drake goes to the floor and Dar gives chase before running into Lockwood. Dar smashes Baylor and Smokes down, and then drives Drake back in. Lockwood holds Dar and Drake smashes him with a running knee. Drake ascends and his 450 splash hits. Drake covers Dar and gets three.

A plucky babyface loses to a group of cheating heels is a story as old as time and that’s the one they told here. I thought Dar looked solid in his return. Drake and his crew did what they do so well, and the addition of Lockwood to the group gives them another dimension that we haven’t seen as wrestling fans for quite some time. I was fine with all of this. 3.25*

Winner – Jackson Drake (450 splash)

Post-match sees the lights go out and here’s Darkstate as we go to commercials.

Here’s NXT Men’s North American Champion Myles Borne running into old pal Tavion Heights backstage. Borne gives Heights the impression that he and Heights will be teaming next week, but it’s actually Borne and Tony D’Angelo who will be teaming next week. Heights is pretty unhappy and tells Borne he hopes D’Angelo will have Borne’s back the way Heights would have.

Darkstate are still in the ring and Dion Lennox tells the Vanity kids that control is what matters and Darkstate is here to collect the titles. Saquon Shugars mentions that the “In-Betweeners” don’t have a chance against Osiris Griffin and Cutler James. Smokes is disgusted that Darkstate think because they beat Hank & Tank that somehow they’re number one contenders now. Baylor mentions that they’re the reason why Lennox and Shugars have been beefing for the last few weeks. James says they’re owed a rematch and Stone has already approved it for next week. It’s not going to be Griffin and James though, it’s going to be Shugars and Lennox going after Baylor and Smokes. The Project attack and all of them are rebuffed and sent back to the floor.

Here’s Robert Stone congratulating Naraku on his victory, and then running into his office to confront Kam Hendrix and Mason Rook who will be Myles Borne and Tony D’Angelo’s opponents next week. Here’s Tate Wilder in to thank Stone for his debut and he wants another match for next week. Here’s Keanu Carver in to complain about having to talk to people all the time, and Stone suggests Wilder as an opponent for Carver. Wilder reluctantly accepts and leaves. Kelani Jordan is making her way to the ring as we go to commercials.

Joseph runs down next week’s card when the show returns.

Blake Howard is with Kali Armstrong who wants to scope out the scene in NXT before making her next move. Armstrong says she’ll be watching the Kendal Grey-Kelani Jordan match because she’s planning on running through NXT just like she ran through Evolve. Grey and Wren Sinclair side into scene as Grey reminds Armstrong she didn’t run through everybody. Sinclair gives Armstrong the gas face as she and Grey leave.

Kendal Grey vs Kelani Jordan

Sinclair, who is on crutches, is out with Grey. There’s some verbals prior to the bell and a lock up after it rings. Grey grabs a side headlock and they exchange hair pulls before Grey snaps Jordan over in an armbar attempt. Jordan fires off a knee and clubbers away from behind. Jordan fires off some chops but Grey responds in kind along the ropes. They run the ropes and Jordan snaps off a dropkick that drops Grey. Jordan puts the boots to Grey and then misses a charge. Grey flies in and catches Jordan’s kick attempt before dumping her down. Grey hits a dropkick and Jordan bails to the apron. Jordan hits a kick to Grey’s head and they battle along the ropes. Grey goes in for a double stomp and that gets two. There’s an exchange of roll ups for two and Grey wants the ankle lock, but Jordan sends Grey to the floor and nails her with a springboard moonsault. Jordan and Sinclair have words and then Grey hits a roundhouse kick that sends Jordan back to the floor. Grey ascends and smashes Jordan with a cross-body from the top rope to the floor as we go to commercials.

They hit simultaneous facebusters as the show returns. Jordan gets dumped to the floor and when she returns Grey trucks her and hits an overhead release suplex. Grey pulls the straps down and yanks Jordan into a couple of half-and-half suplexes. Grey charges and grabs a roll up on Jordan for two. Jordan fires up with a boot and a clubbering right before ascending and smashing Grey with a flying forearm. Jordan crushes Grey with a powerbomb that gets two. Jordan drags Grey to a corner and ascends but Grey springs up and slaps on an ankle lock. Jordan grabs an inside cradle and that gets two while Grey has not released the hold. Grey still has the ankle lock and Jordan pulls Grey into the turnbuckles to break it. Jordan tries to prevent an armbar and rolls Grey over for one. Jordan drops some knees and they meet in the middle with stereo lariats. Jordan fires up with some kicks but walks right into a Grey snap powerslam that gets two. We see in an inset that Izzi Dame is attacking Lola Vice backstage. Grey and Jordan end up on the second rope and Jordan snaps off a Spanish Fly that gets two. Jordan ascends and Grey catches her as Dame and Vice fight their way out from the back. Vice shoves Dame into Sinclair’s injured knee and the distraction from that allows Jordan to smash Grey down and crush her with the split-legged moonsault. Jordan covers Grey and gets three.

The indication that we’re going down another “tag partners and friends who eventually split because one achieves more and the other is jealous” road is not my favorite. I assume Shawn has more in mind than that but when Grey and Sinclair deliberately reference the Ruca-Zaria storyline and then go out and basically do a finish right from that playbook, I get squirrely. Let’s assume there’s more to this than a direct copy coming. I liked this a bunch up until the convoluted and overbooked finish, but we’ll still be generous and call this the MOTN. 3.5*

Post-match sees Vice come out to check on Sinclair and she gets into it immediately with Grey. Dame flies in with a boot to Vice’s head before grabbing Vice’s belt and posing over top of her. The credits roll and we’re out.

Shawn is going all out right now to make some new names and give the idea that everyone is on equal footing at the moment. He’s booking for the first time without a can’t-miss project on the show (as much as I like Kendal Grey, she still needs reps like tonight) and there’s a chaotic nature to the whole thing that gives it a vibe of unpredictability. I’m good with them having to work a lot harder to get some of these folks into the consciousness of the fanbase rather than it just being “Yeah, here’s Rick Steiner’s son who looks like a brick shithouse and is a freak athlete” which needs almost no explanation. Anyway, I was good with tonight and while not everything is working perfectly, we’re getting there with this new crew slowly but surely.

Thanks for reading and commenting. Enjoy your Wednesday.