NXT Review – 07.07.26

Get busy readin’ or get busy….well, just get busy readin’. Evolve | Main Event | Impact | Smackdown | AAA | Raw

Also, I’m really enjoying our good friend Kat’s NXT 2.0 reviews and I think you will too.

NXT is live on the CW and Netflix from the Performance Center in Orlando, FL. Tonight’s announcing team consists of Vic Joseph and Booker T on match calls and analysis, Mike Rome on ring introductions, and Emily Agard on interviews and news segments. We’re on the Road to Heatwave, so let’s see where we get to tonight. Let’s watch some wrestling!

Then, Now, Forever….TOGETHER

Here’s Kali Armstrong (Happy birthday week, Kali!) mid-ring with a microphone. Armstrong says they don’t call her the Difference Maker for no reason. Armstrong saw Kendal Grey win the title at the Bash, and she was thinking “There’s my target!”. Armstrong says she’s heard “chicks crying” about not getting opportunities and others crying over losing. Armstrong says everyone was talking about her after her attack on Grey last week, and it’s a matter of when, not if in terms of her running THIS DIVISION. Armstrong mentions having something for either Grey or Nattie, no matter who wins tonight.

Here’s Lola Vice out to say that Armstrong jumping Grey doesn’t automatically make her up next, because Vice hasn’t gotten her rematch yet. Armstrong says it’s not about Vice, it’s about her. Here’s Kelani Jordan out to say that Vice lost at the Bash, womp womp, and Armstrong is a back-jumper so neither one of them is “entitled”. Jordan points out she beat Tatum Paxley last week but no one is talking about her. Jordan says she’s been owed this shot for three years. Vice and Jordan start throwing hands and then Armstrong lays waste to both with a double lariat and double shoulder tackle.

Here’s Nattie entering the locker room to chat with Evolve Women’s Champion Nikkita Lyons, Karmen Petrovic, and Layla Diggs. Nattie will be facing Kendal Grey for the NXT Women’s title later. Here’s NXT Women’s Champion Kendal Grey and WWE Women’s Speed Champion Wren Sinclair entering while presumably discussing cake-eating strategies.

Darkstate and OTM make entrances prior to the big fatal four-way number one contender’s match. We go to commercials.

NXT Tag Team Championship Four-Way Number One Contenders Match: Darkstate (Osiris Griffin and Cutler James) vs OTM (Bronco Nima and Lucien Price) vs Sean Legacy and Dorian van Dux vs Birthright (Uriah Connors and Stacks Lorenzo)

Arianna Grace, Charles Dempsey, and WWE Men’s Speed Champion Lexis King are out with Connors and Lorenzo as we have managed to get a LOT of people on television in the first fifteen minutes of this show. Nima and Griffin take turns slamming Legacy and Connors down before facing off. They do the hoss face off for a second before Legacy and Connors fly back in with high boots. (This is weird because there’s one member of each team in the ring and one on the apron instead of the normal “two guys fighting with six on the apron and wacky tags happen somehow” formula they usually use for these matches. Anyway, I’ll try to keep up.) Connors snaps off a dropkick and Stacks tags in. Legacy gets hoisted up by Nima as Griffin wrecks both Birthright guys. Nima tosses Stacks into a corner but turns into a superkick from Legacy. DvD tags in and grabs a cover on Stacks for two. James and DvD face off before Nima rises up to start wrecking everyone. Price tags in and wastes DvD with a knee lift before catching a charging Stacks and slamming him on a prone DvD. James breaks up Price’s cover at two. Price and James crash into each other with high boots. James hits a lofted forearm on DvD and then blasts Connors with an uppercut. James works over Legacy in a corner and Griffin tags in. Griffin’s cover of Legacy is broken up by Stacks who tags in Connors (Again, this is TOO many people in at once to make this match work.) Stacks and Connors dump a bunch of people before clubbering away at a helpless Legacy. We go to commercials.

Stacks is pounding on Legacy when the show returns. Griffin flies in to wreck Stacks with a shoulder tackle and James tags in. James and Griffin hit a double-team backbreaker on Legacy before hurling him at Stacks in a corner. Price charges in to dump Griffin and blast James with a superkick. Stacks tries a springboard move and gets hammered by Price in the back. Legacy snaps off a DDT on James and everyone is down. There are four tags and DvD runs wild for a bit before Nima cuts it off with an airplane spin into a backbreaker. Nima wrecks Connors and then hammers DvD with a right hand. Stacks grabs a tag as Connors snaps off a cutter on Nima. Stacks hits a splash for two as DvD breaks up the count. Griffin flies in and Nima and Price wreck him and James with lariats. Stacks and Connors hit a double team backbreaker on DvD and he barely kicks out at two. Connors mounts DvD in a corner but DvD fights his way out of it as Stacks tumbles to the floor. There’s a double moonsault from Legacy and DvD, and Connors follows up with a swanton. Griffin hits a tope con hilo on the pile and everyone is down. Saquon Shugars enters with a bat but here’s Dion Lennox flying out to prevent him from entering onto the floor. Back in the ring OTM drop Connors before jumping out to fight with the other Birthright guys to the back. Back in the ring DvD hits a flying headbutt and Legacy crushes Connors with a 450 that ends things.

I did not care for this format, as you may have surmised. That being said, I think everyone worked really hard here and the crowd was into it, so my feelings have to be tossed aside a bit when considering all this. Legacy and DvD have some familiarity with the Vanity Project goons, so that title match should be solid. I thought maybe OTM might be the sneaky choice here given Nima’s inclusion in the big Los Perros del Mal return in AAA, but apparently not. Technically this was fine, a bunch of high spots and almost no selling until it was required, and everyone hopefully got their stuff in. 2.5*

Winners and NEW Number One Contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championships – Dorian van Dux and Sean Legacy (Legacy 450 splash on Connors)

THE NXT SPOTLIGHT PRESENTED BY PROGRESSIVE is on Jaida Parker who had to make some choices after tapping out to Nattie’s Sharpshooter. Parker mentions it was never about her being soft, it was about Nattie trying to “revive her stale-ass career” by coming to NXT. Parker says congratulations on beating her because Nattie snuck her way into relevance with this title match tonight. Parker says she has to put Nattie down and will see her soon.

Here’s Tank Leisure and Keanu Carver heading to the ring as we go to commercials.

Here’s Emily Agard with a bat-wielding Saquon Shugars. Shugars mentions that he’s playing chess while Darkstate is playing Hungry Hungry Hippos. Shugars says things aren’t over but he has no friends in the locker room to help him fight. Shugars says when he finds some allies it won’t get any sweeter than that.

Tank Ledger vs Keanu Carver

Carver yanks Tank up at the bell and clubbers away in a corner. Tank reverses and smashes Carver around. Tank runs into a Carver boot but he fires up with a springboard elbow in response. Tank drives Carver to the floor with a lariat and then mashes him with a tope suicida. Tank dumps Carver back in and runs right into a lofted slam. Carver bashes Tank along the ropes and then blasts him with forearms. Carver covers and gets two. Carver yanks Tank up for more clubbering and then mashes him with a lariat. Carver torques on Tank’s neck but Carver fires up with some rights. Carver cuts that off and drops Tank with a powerbomb that gets two. Tank fires up and pounds away with rights before hitting a kneelift and a clothesline. Tank ascends for a swanton and covers Carver for two. Tank tries for a full nelson but Carver is too big and prevents it. Tank snaps off a Saito suplex but Carver no-sells it and drops Tank with a dropkick. Carver hits a one-armed Alabama Slam and that finishes things.

I think that’s the result that should have happened here based on both guys places in the hierarchy, so no issues there. Carver might be dealing with a knee because he buckled on his powerbomb, so we’ll have to keep an eye on that. Tank is a good opponent for stuff like this because he’s got enough of a singles moveset to be fun and look credible while having zero chance to win. 2.5*

Winner – Keanu Carver (one-armed Alabama Slam)

We go to commercials after replays of Carver’s win and subsequent boasting while heading to the back.

Here’s a pre-taped promo from NARAKU who mentions that Tony D’Angelo expected him to walk away after the Bash, but that’s a big negatory, Ghost Rider. NARAKU wonders how far D’Angelo will go to keep his title because NARAKU plans to find out. D’Angelo might have researched his career but NARAKU has places in him that D’Angelo has only dreamed of. NARAKU promises to see D’Angelo again.

Here’s SHERIFF OF JUSTICE Tate Wilder and Kam Hendrix reacting to the NARAKU piece. Hendrix is getting knee rehab while Wilder is holding some sort of fancy back-scratcher, or perhaps, BUTT-SCRATCHER. Wilder thinks he might be ready for NARAKU, but Hendrix, who’s now at 72.8% readiness, says he might want to re-think that. Hendrix talks some smack about Mason Rook, who helpfully appears immediately to rebut. Wilder intervenes as Hendrix retreats, and Wilder tells Rook there’s a time and place with Hendrix.

Here’s Nattie boasting to Nikkita Lyons and Karmen Petrovic about what a legend she is and how she deserves this title match. (I beg to differ. Go away and never come back.) Nattie wants Petrovic and Lyons to second Layla Diggs in her big four-way contenders match later. Diggs says she’d rather do it on her own and leaves, so Nattie makes sure that Petrovic and Lyons will be there for her.

NXT Women’s North American Championship Fatal Four-way Number One Contenders Match: Lizzy Rain vs Izzi Dame vs Thea Hail vs Layla Diggs

Dame smashes Hail and Diggs into a corner and Rain leaps on Dame’s back in response. Dame drops Rain onto the pile and then tosses Diggs to an opposite corner. Dame fires off a shoulder and then invites Diggs to suck it (RUDE, Izzi.) before trucking Hail in the opposite corner. Everyone fires up to smash Dame around. There’s a series of covers between Diggs, Hail, and Rain before Rain and Hail stalemate over a backslide. Diggs helps them out by flipping them both over and getting two. Rain and Hail dump Diggs to the apron where Dame flies in from behind to drop Diggs face-first. Dame flies in to drop Hail and Rain with lariats. Hail grabs a roll-up on Dame for one. Dame gets blasted by a right from Rain as Hail ducks it, and Rain then dumps Hail to the floor. Diggs flies in to grab a quick roll-up on Rain for two. Rain chops away at Diggs but Dame flies in to yank Rain up. Rain slips off of that and nails Dame with a springboard elbow. Rain chops away at Diggs and Dame in a corner, before Hail flies back in. Diggs nails Hail and Rain with a double Pele kick and then yanks Dame up for a gourdbuster. Rain yanks Diggs into a roll-up for two and then mashes Dame with a between-the-ropes dropkick. Diggs hits a rope-assisted tope on Dame and Rain before Hail ascends for a Coffin Drop on the other three. We go to commercials.

Dame waffles Rain with a superplex when the show returns. Hail and Diggs ascend with Hail targeting Dame while Diggs eyes up Rain. They hit splashes and the ref counts two for both covers. We reset with Diggs and Hail slugging it out. Hail hits a reverse thrust kick and a standing moonsault on Diggs for two with Dame breaking up the cover. Hail runs wild for a sequence before trying a springboard that Dame catches. Hail breaks out of that and ascends for a cross-body on Rain and Diggs. Hail hits a muted springboard Coffin Drop and senses Dame coming in to break up the cover. Dame hits a senton on Rain and Diggs and covers them both for two. Hail leaps on Dame to try to lock in the Kimura but Diggs flies in from behind with a dropkick to put them both down. Rain blasts Diggs with a roundhouse kick and then yanks Hail and Dame into simultaneous cutters. Diggs fires up with a Pele kick on Rain. Diggs ascends but leaps right into a Rain cutter that gets two with Hail breaking up the cover. Dame blasts Hail with a dropkick and then eats a back elbow from Rain. Dame shakes that off and murders Rain with a high boot. Dame hits a lofted powerbomb and covers Rain for two with Diggs breaking things up. Dame chokeslams Diggs and covers her for two as Hail breaks things up. Everyone is down with Hail and Dame making it up first for fisticuffs. Dame nails Hail with a knee and a leaping Codebreaker. Dame runs right into a Rain flying forearm, and then Rain gets mashed by a Diggs Shining Wizard. Hail slaps the Kimura on Diggs who immediately runs Hail into a corner to break it up. Diggs misses a charge and Hail turns right into a Dame high boot that gets two. (This match feels entirely too long at this point, but whatever. The crowd is predictably calling it awesome but friends, long match does not equal “awesome”. It just equals long, some times.) Dame and Rain slug it out and Rain wins the skirmish with a huge headbutt. Rain gets cut off by Hail who grabs a crucifix for two. Hail grabs another roll up for two. Rain hits Thunderstruck on Hail but turns right into a huge high boot from Dame. Dame and Rain topple out of the ring as Diggs ascends. Diggs hits a huge moonsault on Hail and that ends things.

I had a feeling Diggs was winning this when it was announced because Shawn is trying to put some new faces out in front of the crowd right now. This went entirely too long but everyone busted their asses and there wasn’t really any majorly awkward sequences. As we all know, the more bodies in there the more chances there are for botches, and this was relatively clean. It was just TOO long. 3*

Winner and NEW Number One Contender for the NXT Women’s North American Championship – Layla Diggs (Moonsault)

Here’s a look at Reina Volcan who made her mark debuting at the end of last week‘s show. Volcan promises to be a FORCE OF NATURE. We go to commercials.

Booker is excited for Heatwave and that it’s happening in Texas. Joseph is distracted by Tavion Heights who’s grabbed a mic mid-ring. Heights says he’s been a bad brother but he’s man enough to admit when he’s wrong. Heights admits he can be cocky and arrogant but that’s because he knows he can be great. Heights says NXT has humbled him and he hasn’t reached the heights he’s wanted to. Heights saw Myles Borne rise and win championships while he stewed over being left behind. Here’s Jackson Drake with NXT Tag Team Champions Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor and Myka Lockwood in tow. Drake wants an apology for Heights screwing him over in the number one contender’s match, while Baylor and Smokes bark about how lame Dorian van Dux and Sean Legacy are. (I mean, if the shoe fits…) Drake says Heights fumbled the bag against Borne and thinks Heights will have a tough time climbing back up the ladder considering his biggest win was a fluke. Heights says if Drake wants a rematch they can run it back whenever he wants. Heights smashes Drake in the face and gets immediately overwhelmed by the numbers. Predictably, this brings out NXT Men’s North American Champion Myles Borne out to help. He and Heights dispose of the Vanity troop and hug it out.

Here’s Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar chatting while Sean Legacy and Dorian van Dux enter. Moreno puts Legacy and van Dux over but Dar says they’ve known each other for years while he and Moreno have only tagged once. Legacy says everyone has to slow their roll about potential matches because they actually have to win the titles next week.

Shiloh Hill makes an entrance as we go to commercials.

Niko Vance vs Shiloh Hill

Izzi Dame is out with Vance. Hill snaps off an immediate tilt-a-whirl slam for two just after the bell. Vance fires up with some rights and a clothesline. Vance ascends but misses a second-rope headbutt. Hill ascends for a flying clothesline that gets two. Hill yanks up Vance who elbows his way down. Vance smashes Hill in a corner and Hill reverses to smash Vance around. Hill waffles Vance with a clothesline and gets two. Vance gets trucked and Hill ascends. Vance rises and crotches Hill over the top turnbuckle. Vance drops some elbows and then yanks Hill up for a helicopter slam. Vance hits a second rope diving headbutt and covers Hill for two. (I REALLY wish they’d stop letting people do diving headbutts. Like just outlaw it and let’s all move on. PLEASE.) Vance hits an X-Plex and covers Hill for two. Hill pulls Vance into a DDT and crawls to get his teefs back. Vance runs into a back body drop and eats a big forearm after some rope-running. Hill drops Vance with a high boot and a lofted forearm. Hill hits his front flip finisher for two, and here’s a glove-wearing Tristan Angels out to snatch up Hill’s bridge-plate. Vance uses that distraction to plant Hill with a Saito suplex and a huge running forearm (Think Will Ospreay’s Hidden Blade here.) that ends things.

Hmm. So Shawn likes to tie stories together when booking sometimes, and that’s what he did here. Now, I think Shiloh is over enough to let a distraction finish pin not hurt him too much, but I’m still really not a fan of how all of this unfolded. The crowd is fully behind Hill and were kind of blown out at how lame this finish came off, so here we are. Technically, this was a decent short hoss-fight but it never really got going enough to get good. 2*

Winner – Niko Vance (running forearm)

Post-match sees Vance posing with Dame mid-ring when Shawn Spears looms up from behind with a chair. Spears wallops Vance with a chair shot and then puts the stink-mouth on him and Dame.

Joseph announces a triple-threat number one contenders match next week between Lola Vice, Kelani Jordan, and Kali Armstrong with the winner presumably getting that match at Heatwave. (I’ll predict Kelani Jordan wins this match right now.) The tag titles will be defended next week, as well as the Women’s North American championship being decided. NARAKU will destroy Tate Wilder, as well.

Nattie makes her entrance as we go to commercials.

NXT Women’s Championship: Kendal Grey (C) vs Nattie Neidhart

Wren Sinclair is out with Grey, while Nattie has Nikkita Lyons and Karmen Petrovic with her. Mike Rome does in-ring intros and we’re off. There’s some grappling to start and Nattie grabs a side headlock. Grey grabs a leg scissors, Nattie escapes, and we reset. Nattie shoots the half and tries for a submission, but Grey escapes. Nattie dumps Grey and then slaps her, so Grey fires up with a takedown and roll-over for two. Grey eats a back elbow before pie-facing Nattie. Nattie dumps Grey to the floor, but Grey leaps up and slides back in. Nattie tosses Grey down but runs right into Grey’s ankle lock. Nattie yells a lot and then rolls Grey over and down to the floor. Grey glares at Petrovic and Lyons before turning right into a Nattie forearm. Sinclair flies over to start pounding on Lyons and Petrovic before Lola Vice charges out to even up the numbers. Everyone fights to the back as we go to commercials.

Nattie smashes Grey in the back and grabs an abdominal stretch. Grey breaks out with some elbows but turns right into a Nattie lariat that gets two. Grey fires up but Nattie cuts off the flurry with rights. Grey continues to fire off rights before getting dumped to the apron. Grey ascends and nails Nattie with a missile dropkick before dropping the straps. Grey hits some suplexes and tries for a running knee, but Nattie shoves her off and slaps on a cobra clutch. Nattie shoves Grey down and covers her for two. Nattie goes for a Sharpshooter but gets yanked into a Grey inside cradle that gets two. Grey grabs the ankle lock and Nattie immediately escapes. Nattie grabs a sleeper with a body scissors accompanying. Grey tries to roll out but can’t, and Nattie wants to transition to an armbar. Grey rolls her over and gets two, and then Grey tries for her own armbar. Nattie rolls Grey over and gets two. Grey fires off a huge back elbow and ascends but Nattie slips the missile dropkick. Nattie puts on the Sharpshooter and Grey can’t make the ropes. Grey finally manages to get to the ropes and a roll-up exchange happens. Grey fires off Shades of Grey and that ends things quickly.

I think this worked for Grey in that she had a grappler in there with her so she didn’t have to worry about being in position all the time for moves. They could just stay in touch with each other and Nattie could guide her through the sequences she wanted. Now, the finish was abrupt as hell so maybe they went too long with some of the grappling stuff, but overall I thought this was solid for Grey’s first defense of the title. No major complaints here other than I just don’t care AT ALL about Nattie Neidhart at this point. 3.5*

Winner AND STILL NXT Women’s Champion – Kendal Grey (Shades of Grey)

Post-match sees Jaida Parker emerge to stare down Nattie. Nikkita Lyons and Karmen Petrovic re-emerge and get immediately dropped by Parker right hands. Parker tells Nattie it’s not over and the b-word gets tossed around. Lola Vice, Kali Armstrong, and Kelani Jordan jump on to the apron to stare down Grey as we go to credits.

For me, it was just sort of a show until the main event. Now, again, I don’t give two craps about Nattie at this point but the main delivered decently enough while the rest of the show was just there to keep some stories moving along. I thought the women’s NA triple threat was decent but it just went too long for me. The opening tag match was weirdly constructed, but I will give Shawn credit for trying with some new folks in Legacy, van Dux, and Layla Diggs. We’re starting to get there with this crew but Shawn and Matt Bloom still have some cooking to do.

Thanks for reading and commenting. Y’all are the best, as always. Also, start watching Evolve on Wednesday nights on Tubi – it’s a fun hour and you get to see some of these folks work there as well. Our Friend Phred does a terrific job in covering it, too.