NXT Review – 06.02.26

By Niz on 3 June 2026

NXT is back and all up in your area code on the CW/Netflix airwaves from The Performance Center in Orlando, FL. Tonight’s show will be brought to our ears by the announcing team of Vic Joseph and Booker T on match calls and analysis, Mike Rome on ring introductions, and Emily Agard on interviews and breaking news. Let’s watch some wrestling!

Then, Now, Forever….TOGETHER

Remember when walking through the NXT Parking Lot was just an invitation to get your ass whipped? NOT ANYMORE SON. Safely arriving to work today: NXT Men’s Champion Tony D’Angelo, followed later by his opponent for tonight’s big title match, Kam Hendrix.

Zaria vs Lizzy Rain

Zaria charges at the bell and drives Rain to a corner for some shoulder tackles. Rain lifts a boot when Zaria charges, and then Rain flies out with a dropkick. Zaria dumps Rain to the apron and eats a kick to the head when she charges. Rain misses a top rope move but Rain manages to rana her over. Rain chops Zaria in a corner but this fires Zaria up enough to walk right into a Rain enziguri. Rain chops away before Zaria blasts her down with a pump kick. Zaria clubbers away and they battle along the ropes. Zaria dumps Rain on her back and then puts the boots to her. Zaria whips Rain from corner to corner and here’s NXT Women’s North American Champion Tatum Paxley out to join commentary. Rain grabs a backslide for two and then mashes a charging Zaria with a high boot. Rain ascends and Zaria just murders her with a right that sends Rain to the floor. Zaria shows Paxley Rain’s pain-filled visage as we go to commercials.

Rain is mashing Zaria with headbutts when the show returns, and then she plants Zaria with a top rope rana. Zaria launches a spear at Rain and both are down. They start slugging it out and Rain ends that flurry with a couple of clotheslines and a springboard back elbow. Rain plants Zaria with a DDT and covers for two. Rain hoists Zaria up but Zaria slips off and waffles a charging Rain with a headbutt. Rain shakes that off and grabs a small package for two. Zaria hits a lofted knee and a discus lariat before covering and getting two. Rain fires up with a right and then mashes her with a cutter. Rain hoist Zaria up for a fall away backdrop that gets two. Rain hits a roundhouse kick but her springboard goes wrong as Zaria catches Rain for a release German. Zaria crushes Rain with another spear and the F5 finishes things.

I think both of these people are good enough workers, you know? They have the basics, they worked a fine match here. There was some psychology, some selling, a good back and forth where the babyface had control before the heel won with a big barrage of power offense. The crowd was kind of into it although it wasn’t at a fever pitch. The problem here was heat because once Zaria starts wrestling, she doesn’t give off any kind of heel mannerisms. She just wrestles. Rain tried to play fired up babyface here and Zaria just keeps chugging along from sequence to sequence. There’s just not a lot of oomph to her presentation other than “Road Warrior-inspired heel hoss”. I need more from her. 2.75*

Winner – Zaria (F5)

Post-match sees Zaria glaring at Paxley as we watch the highlights of the finishing sequence courtesy of BURGER KING’S YOUR WAY REPLAY. Zaria hoists Rain up again and Paxley calls her off by saying that Zaria can face her next week. Paxley protects Rain as Zaria eyes her up.

NXT Men’s Champion Myles Borne and Tavion Heights (Friends, you have to seek out this sequence for Heights’s robe alone. It’s interesting.) run into Dorian van Dux and Sean Legacy backstage and congratulate them on their match from last week. Borne suggests running it back but Heights says they should consider joining forces as a tag team like he and Borne used to be. Heights and Borne are about to tag up again and Heights seems put out when Borne reminds him it’s only for tonight as he’s got a title to defend. Legacy and van Dux consider Heights’s suggestion and leave the scene as we see Shawn Spears and Niko Vance in conversation behind them. They are joined by Izzi Dame who wants to forget about everything that happened last week because the Culling doesn’t make excuses. Dame wants Vance and Spears to finish things tonight so they can all just move on.

Saquon Shugars attacks Cutler James during Darkstate’s entrance and the upcoming tag match might be in jeopardy as we go to commercials.

Back from commercials, Vic Joseph reminds everyone of the Triplemania dates in September, before mentioning that the next NXT PLE will be the Great American Bash on Sunday June 28th, airing on the CW. Joseph calls Booker “Mr. Great American Bash” and he’s pretty happy about that moniker. Joseph announces that Darkstate is out of the tag match and it has been cancelled, so we’re going to have a different tag match RIGHT NOW.

OTM (Bronco Nima and Lucien Price) vs The Culling (Shawn Spears and Niko Vance)

The fight starts in the aisle before the bell even sounds. Spears gets tossed in and he and Nima start battling along the ropes. Nima yanks Spears up for a choke and then mashes him with a back elbow. Price tags in and he and Nima waffle Spears in a corner. Price slaps Spears on the chest who fires up with a low dropkick. Vance tags in and starts kicking Price in a corner. Price fires up with some rights but Vance cuts that off with a knee. Vance clubbers away and then Price reverses an irish whip. Vance slugs away in a corner and Price finally fires up with a big lariat to send him to the floor. Spears gets pounded off the apron while Price and Vance continue battling on the floor. Vance whips Price into a corner post shoulder-first as we go to commercials.

Nima snaps Spears over with a suplex as the show returns. We see Noam Dar coaching up Romeo Moreno in an inset while all this is happening. Vance misses a charge and Price drops him backfirst on the apron. Spears gets mashed by Nima on the floor, and when he and Spears charge into the ring they both get dropped by Price. Price goes from corner to corner with running splashes and then he yanks up Spears and just tosses him at a charging Vance. Vance eats a big knee lift and Price covers for two. Vance fires up and crushes Price with a running back-forearm. Vance hoists up Price and a tagged in Spears hits Price with a tackle. Spears covers for two. Spears has been busted open somehow and gets pushed towards Vance. Price flies in with a superkick that takes out Vance (Replays showed this missed pretty badly but Vance sold it anyway, good man.). Price and Nima hit their double-team rock-a-bye backdrop suplex on Spears and that finishes things.

I legit have no idea what we’re going to do with a Shawn Spears singles run but I think it’s coming. Spears is 45, though, and maybe this is Last Chance Saloon for him as a performer in developmental, you know? Anyway, I thought this was fine in terms of thinking of it as a two-week exercise of OTM getting jumped last week, the match being postponed, and then OTM gets revenge and wins the match. That’s all good stuff. Functionally, this was a little dry for me, but your mileage may vary. I will say that OTM look more confident and polished at this point than they have at any point during their run. I wonder if anyone is paying attention, though. 3*

Winners – OTM (double-team finisher on Spears)

Post-match sees Vance and Dame standing over Spears as OTM head to the back. Joseph questions whether or not we’re seeing the Culling fracture in real time.

Here’s SHERIFF OF JUSTICE Tate Wilder in the locker room and he’s joined by EK Prosper. Prosper tells Wilder he’s got another shot tonight to go out and do his thing but he needs to SLOW DOWN. Wilder says he appreciates that but he’s going to do things his way. It turns out that Kam Hendrix is nearby and eavesdropping, and he turns to say that Wilder is just reckless. Hendrix and Wilder bicker as Hendrix insults Wilder. Wilder shakes it off and leaves, and Hendrix tells Prosper it’s his lucky night because he gets to tell his grandkids he was in the building the night Kam Hendrix won his first NXT title. Prosper gives Hendrix the gas face as he leaves.

Myka Lockwood carries Jackson Drake on her shoulders as he makes his entrance flanked by NXT Tag Team Champions Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes.

Tate Wilder vs Jackson Drake

Wilder starts with an armdrag, and then grabs a wristlock. Drake escapes and nips up for a Rick Rude hip swivel. Drake wades into a Wilder gunshot chop and then gets yanked down with a sling blade after some rope running. Drake bails to the floor and Wilder comes flying in over the ring steps to crush Baylor, Smokes, and Drake with a rolling tackle. We go to commercials.

Wilder crushes Drake with a spear when the show returns, and both guys are down. They go to the apron and start slugging it out. Drake hits a rope-assisted Pele kick and then spears Wilder through the ropes. Drake takes a hell of a fall to the floor, but he ascends and misses a 450. Wilder hits a TKO and covers Drake for two. Wilder positions Drake and ascends but Drake crashes into the ropes and crotches Wilder on a top turnbuckle. Drake ascends and they fight it out before Wilder slips down to mash Drake with a powerbomb. Wilder ascends for a UFO splash that gets two. Smokes jumps up on the apron and Wilder dumps him down, and Baylor follows suit on another side of the ring. Wilder brings Baylor into the ring while Wilder flips Drake onto Smokes. Wilder wants a rana on Lockwood but she catches him and mashes him back-first into a ring post. Drake ascends and his 450 splash finishes things.

I’m entertained by the Vanity Project and I’m not ashamed of it. I like heels who do heel shit and win. Jackson Drake is one of those guys that even with 20 more pounds is probably a can’t miss-prospect for the main, but he’s skinny as are Baylor and Smokes. Skinny is not a quality many main roster guys have at this point, although he might fit right in with the Smackdown mid-card. ANYWAY, I enjoyed this and Tate looked pretty good I thought. No issues with this match for me other than I think everyone needs to work on their selling a bit. 3.5*

Winner – Jackson Drake (450 splash)

Here’s Emily Agard with NXT GM Robert Stone who is excited about the Bash being on the CW. Here’s Osiris Griffin charging in to complain about “Quon” attacking Cutler James and wondering what Stone is going to do about it. Griffin says Stone isn’t canceling the match because Dion Lennox will take James’s place. Here’s Jasper Troy wandering in only to get chastised by the agitated Griffin. They bicker and Dion Lennox charges in with a chair to start beating Troy’s ass. Agard and Stone flee while yelling for medical and Lennox tears up the interview room they were just in.

Highlights are shown of last week’s Lola Vice-Izzi Dame title match that saw the champion retain. Vice will join us live after the public is shown some goods and products they might need to purchase.

NXT Women’s Champion and AAA Mixed Tag Team Champion Lola Vice joins us as I suddenly realize that her entrance theme has a fair amount of “A Little Bit Alexis” to it. Vice calls herself the complete package after successfully defending against Izzi Dame last week. Vice says she continues to prove everyone wrong because she won the title after four years of hard work and no excuses. Vice wants to know who’s next but that person needs to step up. Here’s Kelani Jordan out to question if it’s finally time for Vice to give her a shot. Jordan says Vice went to AAA and showed out and then came back and won the title. Jordan says their stories aren’t that different but the rules are changed for her. Jordan talks about her time as TNA Knockouts champion and Vice kicking her out of the NXT locker room. Jordan says she’s done asking, she’s demanding a match now before running down her record. Here’s Kendal Grey out with WWE Women’s Speed Champion Wren Sinclair limping in on her crutch. Grey says she’s not going to stand there and run down her record before doing just that by reminding Jordan and Vice that she pinned both of them during Iron Survivor. Jordan tells Grey she just needs one shot to get it done but Grey hasn’t won a big one yet. Vice says Jordan and Grey should meet next week for the number one contender-ship and both agree it’s a good idea. Vice goes to leave and Jordan tries snatching her belt away. Vice lets a backfist fly but it ends up crushing Grey to the mat. Sinclair limps over to check on Grey and Jordan tosses the belt back to Vice before leaving.

THE NXT SPOTLIGHT PRESENTED BY PROGRESSIVE is on Tristan Angels and Shiloh Hill competing for Mr. NXT next week. The categories will be: Attire, Talent, and Public Speaking. NO SWIMSUIT? FOR SHAME, SHAWN. We’ll have three very special Guest Judges and I’ve got a shiny nickel that says Sad John Wrestling will be one of them.

Here’s Shiloh Hill with his good friend NXT Womens’ North American Champion Tatum Paxley. Hill asks Paxley if he went over the top with last week’s shenanigans and Paxley assures him he didn’t. Paxley knows Hill is going to win Mr. NXT but she may not be able to watch too much because of her title match next week. Hill has some “raccoon business” to attend to so he leaves, and Paxley gets mashed by Zaria who F5’s her onto a production cart. Hill charges back into scene to send Zaria packing and screams for Medical. They’re having a busy week, Shiloh! We go to commercials.

Here’s NXT Men’s Champion Tony D’Angelo warming up while being approached by Mason Rook. D’Angelo and Rook talk over tonight’s match and how D’Angelo knows that Rook will be coming out to join the proceedings at some point because of being grumpy with Kam Hendrix getting the title match over him. NARAKU is watching this unfold in the background. Here’s Robert Stone in to tell Rook that he’s got NARAKU next week and D’Angelo says if Rook wins, he gets to cut the line. Stone warns Rook not to interfere in the title match and Rook agrees.

WWE Men’s Speed Championship: Lexis King (C) vs Romeo Moreno

Moreno is accompanied by Noam Dar, while King is flanked by Arianna Grace, Stacks Lorenzo, and Uriah Connors. There’s a five minute time limit as Mike Rome informs us during intros.

King fakes wanting a handshake and they start slugging it out. Moreno grabs a roll up after some rope running and gets two. Moreno snaps off a dropkick and a release German. Moreno hits a springboard dropkick and that gets two. Moreno grabs a La Magistral for two, and then clubbers away at King’s back. King eats a back elbow but he kicks Moreno down during a springboard and then crushes Moreno with a double stomp. King hits a running shotgun dropkick and covers for two. King kicks Moreno in the back and fires off an uppercut. A chop battle breaks out and King wants a single leg crab, but Moreno kicks out of it. Moreno runs into a King kick, but he fires up and yanks King into an overhead suplex. Moreno hoists King up for a rolling backdrop that gets two. Moreno pulls King into the Rings of Saturn but King rolls it over and gets two. King bails to the floor and Moreno flies off the top turnbuckle to crush Lorenzo and Connors. Moreno dumps King back in and ascends. Moreno gets caught by King who slaps on a single-leg crab. Moreno breaks out and grabs an inside cradle for two. Moreno kicks King and misses a springboard moonsault. King flies in with a back elbow and then wallops Moreno with the Coronation, and that ends things.

I like Moreno because his pace is more deliberate than a lot of younger guys who just go at the highest speed they can go all the time LOOKING AT YOU NATHAN FRAZER. I thought this was pretty good for the Speed format, knowing that no one is going to sell in these types of matches due to the time constraints. Maybe I’m in a generous mood tonight and you all will tell me how wrong I am in comments, but I thought this was solid for the story it was trying to tell. 2.5*

Winner AND STILL WWE Men’s Speed Champion – Lexis King (Coronation)

Here’s Jaida Parker chatting with Evolve Women’s Champion Wendy Choo when Shooter Nattie happens by. Choo skeedaddles away and Parker is glad Nattie finally stopped for a chat. They bicker over Parker being called soft and mediocre and Parker wants to take it outside. Nattie says she’s not afraid of Parker and sees right through all of Parker’s bluster. Nattie calls Parker soft again and leaves while Nikkita Lyons puts the stink-mouth on Parker in the background. It’s time to be informed about some products and services!

Here’s EK Prosper consoling a hurting Tate Wilder before Keanu Carver comes in to put the stink-mouth on Wilder. Wilder tells Carver they can run it back whenever he wants and Prosper tells Carver to be careful because Wilder is on the right path. Carver tells Prosper he can get it too before leaving. Here’s Kendal Grey holding an enormous bag of ice to her jaw while Wren Sinclair has her knee propped up on a table. Sinclair says she’s getting in the way of Grey getting back to being in title contention. Sinclair tells Grey she has to face Jordan on her own so that Grey doesn’t have to worry about her.

Darkstate (Dion Lennox and Osiris Griffin) vs NXT Men’s North American Champion Myles Borne and Tavion Heights

Fare thee well, NQCC. Heights botches his jump onto the turnbuckles during intros and it cracked me up, I’m not going to lie. It’s Lennox and Borne to start and Lennox trucks Borne down. Borne fires up with a side headlock and Lennox tries to roll him over to no avail. Borne starts firing off some uppercuts before tagging in Heights. Lennox tags in Griffin during a backslide attempt and Griffin charges in to cover Heights for one. Heights smashes Griffin in a corner and then slips a Griffin charge off an irish whip. Heights tags Borne back in as Griffin lifts a knee. Lennox gets a tag and walks into a double-team hip toss. Borne drives Lennox into Griffin who grabs a tag. Griffin goozles Borne, but he slips out and mashes Griffin with a dropkick and a lariat. Griffin ends up on the floor and Lennox shoves Heights away from the fallen Griffin. Heights takes that poorly and yanks Lennox up for an overhead toss to the floor. We go to commercials.

Lennox grabs a cover on Borne for two when the show returns. Lennox puts on a single crab and drags Borne to the Darkstate corner to tag in Griffin. Griffin slams Borne down and then yanks him up. Borne lifts a high boot and wants a tag but Griffin holds him off before hitting a backbreaker. Lennox tags in and continues assaulting Borne. Lennox stomps on Borne’s back and then launches Borne into a Griffin powerslam. Borne kicks out at two and Lennox tags back in. Lennox again keeps Borne from tagging but Borne hits a backdrop and finally tags in Heights. Heights runs wild and snaps off a sling blade and an overhead belly-to-belly. Griffin gets a tag and Heights hoists him up for a face drop and an overhead toss. Lennox grabs Griffin’s foot to stop further tossing and Griffin uses that to waffle Heights down with a headbutt. Griffin pushes Heights shoulder-first into a post and then hoists Heights up for a Lennox Doomsday Device that finishes things.

I thought Lennox and Griffin looked solid tonight and Lennox specifically had a more maniacal energy about himself that worked for me. Borne and Heights were game but Heights has slipped down the pecking order and I’m not sure what’s happened to cause that. They do have improvement goals, and maybe he’s not hitting his? It’s hard to tell. Anyway, this was more of a showcase for Darkstate’s harder edge and in that regard, it worked pretty well. Nothing you’re going to have to worry about on Wednesday morning or anything but it was fine in a vacuum. 3*

Winners – Darkstate (Doomsday Device on Heights)

Post-match sees Heights and Borne bicker while Saquon Shugars holds a bat in the NXT Roost while chattering at Lennox and Griffin.

Joseph runs down next week’s card as it stands. Kam Hendrix makes his entrance for the main event and it’s time to see some commercials.

NXT Men’s Championship: Tony D’Angelo (C) vs Kam Hendrix

Mike Rome does in-ring intros and we’re off. Hendrix hits the Showtime Kick at the bell and covers D’Angelo for two. Hendrix hits a neckbreaker and covers for two. Hendrix hits a DDT and covers for two. NARAKU is watching the match impassively while in the crowd. Hendrix goes to ground and pound before yanking D’Angelo up for more punishment. Hendrix runs into a D’Angelo spinebuster and Hendrix bails to the floor. D’Angelo yanks Hendrix in from the apron and then mashes him with a lariat. D’Angelo whips Hendrix to a corner and charges in with a lariat and some chops. D’Angelo hits a couple of overhead toss suplexes and sends Hendrix to the floor with another lariat. Hendrix rises near the title belt and NARAKU rises to eye him up. We go to commercials.

NARAKU is now standing guard over the belt when the show returns. D’Angelo gets a roll up for two, and Hendrix fires up with a reverse thrust kick and a toss slam that gets two. Hendrix bullies D’Angelo around and D’Angelo has had enough. They slug it out and D’Angelo snaps off some Germans before yanking Hendrix into another spinebuster. D’Angelo hits the Fuhgettaboutit suplex and gets a two count. D’Angelo trucks Hendrix in a corner and then runs into a Hendrix knee when he tries it again. Hendrix uses the ropes for leverage during his cover that gets two, and gets admonished by the ref afterwards. D’Angelo hits a toss slam and covers Hendrix for two. D’Angelo yanks Hendrix up but Hendrix hits another Showtime Kick and a powerbomb. Hendrix covers for two and we reset with both guys down. They slug it out after rising and Hendrix walks into a D’Angelo powerbomb that gets two. Hendrix bails to the apron and D’Angelo gets snapped over the top rope by his neck. Hendrix finds a chair and is prevented from using it by Mason Rook. Hendrix turns right into a D’Angelo back body drop on the announce table. D’Angelo runs Hendrix back in, hits the Dead to Rights powerbomb, and that finishes things.

I thought this was decent but I had some issues with D’Angelo here in terms of how he brushed off a lot of Hendrix’s offense. Kam is a big powerful kid and D’Angelo really didn’t give his offense a lot of respect. We got a little overbooked here with NARAKU and Rook interjecting themselves in various ways, but in terms of how it was all laid out it really didn’t detract from the match. Maybe Tony was having a bad day, who can tell. I’m assuming that Hendrix will cost Rook next week and we’ll get D’Angelo-NARAKU at GAB while Hendrix battles Rook, but I guess we’ll see. 3.25*

Winner AND STILL NXT Men’s Champion – Tony D’Angelo (Dead To Rights)

Post-match sees NARAKU hand the title belt back to D’Angelo while bowing. NARAKU and Rook is now official for the number one contendership on next week’s NXT. The credits roll and we’re out.

This was a busy show tonight. There were a lot of moving parts and it feels more like things are settled with this current cast without the threats of more call ups coming. Shawn is getting his ducks in a row and while we’re still settling in for whatever is to come, he’s at least trying to re-assemble his tiers of performers and feuds. I think we’ll be in for a good show by the time the Bash arrives and I’m getting excited to see some new blood on the bigger PLE shows that are coming over the summer. We’ll get there, friends.

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