By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live April 8, 2025 on The CW Network
[Hour One] Kelly Kincaid interviewed Stephanie Vaquer backstage and asked her for her decision on her Stand and Deliver title defense opponent. Stephanie told Kelly that she’ll decide her opponent after the opening match. The camera followed Stephanie, who made her entrance to the Performance Center crowd…
Vic Joseph, Corey Graves, and Booker T were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer. Kelly Kincaid and Sarah Schreiber were the backstage correspondents…
Jordynne Grace made her entrance first, followed by Jaida Parker…
1. Jordynne Grace vs. Jaida Parker. Both women brawled with rough ground and pound, with Grace dominating and spilling the brawl to ringside. Grace dominated with strikes and holds at ringside. Both women teased spike piledrivers on the apron. Jaida backdropped Grace into the ring. Parker went for Hip-notic but had to adjust to a Blockbuster for a nearfall.
Grace tackled Parker into the corner. Parker tripped Grace into draping position to hit Grace with her signature draping Banzai Drop. The show went to break.[c]
Back from break, Parker was giving Grace slaps while Grace was seated on the top rope. Parker met Grace on the top rope. Grace escaped, but Parker blocked a Sunset Flip. Parker battered Grace into the top buckle and went for a Pile Driver. Grace deadlift reversed Parker into Pile Driver position, and performed a backdrop.
Grace dominated a forearm exchange and rallied. Parker quickly escaped a backslide and used her hip to check Grace in the cheek. Grace recovered and put Parker in an Electric Chair for Snake Eyes. Grace hit Parker with an Argentine TKO for a nearfall. A “This is Awesome” chant ensued. Grace put Parker in a Dragon Sleeper which Parker escaped with knees and a gourd buster. Grace caused Parker to crash and burn off Hip notic.
Grace botched a Suicide Dive and Parker did her best to break her fall. Parker provoked Vaquer at ringside with a slap. Vaquer accidentally hit Grace with a right hand slap. The referee called for the bell after Parker and Vaquer started brawling.
Jordynne Grace vs. Jaida Parker ended in an apparent no-contest in 10:04.
A brawl between the women ensued. Giulia ran out, sporting a nice crop top and blue hair, ran out and dumped Grace and Parker to ringside. Vaquer tried to chum it up with Giulia, but Giulia quickly laid her out with a Northern Lights Bomb. Giulia stood tall in the end holding up the NXT Women’s Championship…
John’s Thoughts: That suicide spot looked scary, but it seemed like Grace landed flat on her front side, so hopefully it was just a really high basic front bump. As for the match, good while it lasted with Parker continuing to show that she can hang in there with the best of them even though she came into WWE as a NIL type. I liked the return of Giulia as she looked badass in cleaning house. What I don’t like is that it looks like this might lead to them over-saturating the Women’s title match into a four way with all the women in the ring. Why couldn’t we just go with Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jordynne Grace, and give those women 25 minutes to tear the roof off the place? I also don’t see why NXT creative feels the need to shoehorn Jaida Parker into the main event scene? Let her carry or be a part of a separate story. I think she has the charisma and talent to elevate that side-story to a main-level feud if given the opportunity.
The announcers sent the show to a highlight package from last week’s Shawn Spears vs. Ricky Saints main event match…
Hank and Tank were chatting backstage. Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes showed up to trash talk Hank and Tank…
Back at the arena, Nathan Frazer and Axiom made their motion blur entrance…[c]
The show cut to The Culling in a dark room. Jensen, Vance, and Dame heavily apologized for Spears losing the title last week. Spears said it’s okay and he’s appreciative that he won a championship in WWE. He said that title brought them together, but The Culling isn’t about Spears’s success, it’s about the rest of them. Spears told Dame to do well in her North American Championship qualifier. Spears also told Vance and Jensen to take down Hank and Tank…
The Swipe Right tag team of Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes made their entrance. A picture-in-picture highlight package aired of Swipe Right’s Evolve highlights. Corey Graces said these two guys annoy him and talking to them is like talking to an internet meme. Joseph said that Baylor looks like an Evil Matt Damon…
2. NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer and Axiom vs. “Swipe Right” Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes in a non-title match. Swipe Right dominated Frazer early on, but Frazer came back with kicks. Axiom tagged in. Fraxiom swarmed Baylor with kicks Fraxiom hit both Swipe Right members with two consecutive suicide dives. Axiom peppered Baylor with stiff strikes. Smokes caught Axiom with a spear after he blind tagged in.
Baylor hit Axiom with a Slingshot X Factor for a nearfall. Axiom got a window of opportunity on Smokes after a Spanish Fly. Frazer tagged in and cleaned house. Frazer hit both opponents with his signature Moonsault Scorpion Death Drop. Frazer got a two count on Smokes with a Standing Shooting Star Press. Axiom tagged in and ate a boot from Smokes. Swipe Right hit Frazer with a Magic Killer.
Axiom crotched Smokes by tossing Baylor into him. Axiom hit Smokes with a Super Spanish Fly. Frazer hit Smokes with a Phoenix Splash. Axiom kept Baylor at bay with a Golden Ratio Superkick. Frazer picked up the pinfall on Smokes.
NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer and Axiom defeated “Swipe Right” Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes in a non-title match via pinfall in 5:00.
John’s Thoughts: A very fast and fun tag match. The short nature of the match made the fast pace really work. The Swipe Right duo are a bit rough in terms of acting, but I think they can lean into that to make get them heat as a couple of posers. What little we saw of their in-ring against arguably WWE’s best tag team at the moment, they looked pretty good. What does NXT have in store for Fraxiom though? They tore through every tag team on the NXT roster seemingly. Fraxiom vs. The Hardy Boyz would have been great, but it looks like the Hardys are tied up until a week after Stand and Deliver.
The Fatal Influence trio were chatting backstage. All three argued over which of them would be put in a qualifying match for the Vacant North American title. Jazmyn Nyx stood up and said that she’s going to be in the qualifying match. Nyx walked off…[c]
Fatal Influence made their entrance with Nyx in her ring gear. Sol Ruca and Zaria made their entrance to Sol Ruca’s entrance theme…
3. Sol Ruca (w/Zaria) vs. Jazmyn Nyx (w/Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne) for a spot in the NXT Women’s North American Championship ladder match at NXT Stand and Deliver. Rica did a backflip over Nyx and hit Nyx with an X Factor. Sol hit Nyx with a suplex and double knees for a two count. Nyx reversed a slingshot with double boots. Nyx hit SOl with a springboard knee. Vic noted that Fatal Influence have been wrestling on TNA.
Nyx got a two count after a Perfect Plex. Nyx transitioned the move into a Muta Lock taht showed off Nyx’s flexibility. Nyx hit Ruca with a PK for a nearfall. Sol turned the tables with running holds. Sol hit Nyx with a modified Backpack Stunner. Henley got on the apron for the distraction, which allowed Nyx to hit Sol with a Pele Kick for a nearfall. Sol hit Nyx with a springboard kick and Sol Snatcher for the victory.
Sol Ruca defeated Jazmyn Nyx via pinfall in 5:03 to qualify for the NXT Women’s North American Championship ladder match at NXT Stand and Deliver.
John’s Thoughts: A good short match that allowed the developmental wrestlers to look good and not expose their inexperience (though Sol has developed into a good worker with arguably the hottest finisher in the wrestling business). The finish was predictable given that it would have been a travesty to keep Sol Ruca out of a high spot match. She’s the new Kofi Kingston in that you look forward to whatever innovative move she can bring to a high spot match.
Sarah Schreiber interviewed Je’Von Evans backstage. Evans cut off Sarah and talked about how he told Trick and Oba they should get on the same page against Dark State. Evans then said after he got big timed by both Oba and Trick. Evans said he’ll leave Stand and Deliver with the NXT Championship. Evans thanked Sarah for the interview…
Hank and Tank made their entrance…[c]
A unseen interviewer asked Giulia at the parking lot why she attacked her friend Stephanie Vaquer. Giulia said at Stand and Deliver “No friends… rematch”…
John’s Thoughts: As much as I wanted to see Vaquer vs. Grace in a singles match, I wouldn’t mind if we get Giulia vs. Vaquer in a rematch (+10 minutes compared to their last match)
Brooks Jensen and Niko Vance made their entrance. Jensen’s haircut and beard makes him look like the 2nd coming of Curtis Axel…
4. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger vs. “The Culling” Brooks Jensen and Niko Vance. Hank and Tank dominated early on before Vance dragged Hank to ringside and Jensen hitting Tank with a spinning heel kick. The Culling cut the ring in half on Tank. Shawn Spears was shown watching the match backstage. Hank tagged in after hitting Thank hit Jensen with a Jawbreaker. Hank caught Vance with a Yakuza Kick and hit Jensen with a flying axe handle for a nearfall.
Vance tossed Tank into the barricade. Jensen got a two count on Hank after a rollup. Hank hit Jensen with a Bossman Slam. Jensen dodged Hank’s Swanton Bomb. Vance tagged in. Vance hit Hank with a Burning Hammer while Jensen gave Hank a knee drop. Vance picked up the pinfall win on Hank.
The Culling defeated Hank Walker and Tank Ledger via pinfall in 3:22.
The show cut to the parking lot where NXT North American Champion Ricky Saints arrived in a white SUV…[c]
[Houe Two] New NXT North American Champion Ricky Saints made his entrance. Vic Joseph noted that Ricky Saints has beaten Ethan Page’s record for winning a championship soon after his debut. Saints said the first time he stepped foot in NXT he told everybody he was here to turn the place upside down. He said he told everyone the Revolution will be televised and you will get an absolute superstar.
He said he’s a man of his word and he’s standing here as the new NXT North American Champion. Saints said while he would like to keep the celebration going, he has a bitter taste in his mouth from All Ego Ethan Page. He said he understands because his ego would be shattered if someone showed up and took his quick title win accolade. Ricky asked Page to come out.
Instead, NXT Heritage Cup Champion Lexis King (former AEW Star Brian Pillman Jr) made his entrance. King bragged about having the “prestigious” Heritage Cup Championship. For some reason, King did the Goldmember “I love gold” line in the Goldmember voice. Eddy Thorpe made his entrance, talking about how he’s starving to get what he deserves. He said he had his eyes set on the wrong place because Saints holds the title that represents the land of his Native American people, land which was stolen from them.
Wes Lee made his entrance flanked by Tyriek Igwe and Tyson Dupont. Lee bragged about the NA title being at its peak when he had the NA Title. King said to let Wes cook. King then talked about Wes is just trying to relive the glory days. Thorpe called King “another greedy white man” not content with what he already has. Saints started to stir the pot and tell them all to figure things out. Speaking of greedy white men, All Ego Ethan Page showed up from behind and surprised Saints with the Twisted Grin (Twist of Fate).
King, Page, Thorpe, and Lee did a tug o war with the NA Title and all brawled. Wes Lee laid out Page, King, and Thorpe with a Flip Dive…
John’s Thoughts: Mixed thoughts on the segment. On one hand, the wrestlers that showed up to confront Ricky Saints were all solid and it sets up a strong rogue’s gallery for Ricky Saints to fight through. On the other hand, I hope this doesn’t lead to a multi-person match at Stand and Deliver as WWE is going a bit overboard this WrestleMania season by killing off and diluting their marquee singles matches by turning them into multi-person matches. Side note, with King randomly dropping the Austin Powers Goldmember line and telling the crowd to “let him cook”, this might have been low key the best mic work I’ve seen Pillman Jr. do in his career. He isn’t the greedy white man trying to colonize on all the black and brown people in the ring. He’s that wholesome white dude who is just trying his best to fit in with the brothers at the cookout.
The show cut to backstage with NXT GM Ava hanging out with her assistants Stevie Turner and Robert Stone. Stephanie Vaquer entered the room. Ava asked Vaquer who she wants to face at Stand and Deliver. Vaquer said “all of them”…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Ugh. Is it just me or is WWE going a bit overboard this WrestleMania season with the multi-person matches to get everyone on the show. Again, as much as I am a huge fan of Jaida Parker, it feels like they are shoehorning her into this match to no benefit. Can’t we have marquee singles matches on a PPV anymore? I hope the men’s NA title isn’t a four way with the 5 men we just saw in the ring. That said, I did like the segment with the 5 men in the ring. Just give me Ricky Saints vs. All Ego in the end. Please?
Sarah Schreiber interviewed Trick Williams who was wearing a “Crash Out Trick” shirt (Is “crashing out” really something you brag about?). Trick talked about how he’s gonna whoop both Oba’s and Je’von’s asses at Stand and Deliver…
Yoshiki Inamura made his entrance with Josh Briggs. Wes tried to blindside Inamura with a suicide dive, but Inamura caught Wes out the air and slammed him on the apron…
5. Wes Lee (w/Tyson Dupont, Tyriek Igwe) vs. Yoshiki Inamura (w/Josh Briggs). Inamura worked on Lee wiht stiff strikes. Wes raked Inamura’s face on the top rope. Inamura rolled away from a 450 and hit Wes with a backdrop. Inamura went E Honda on Wes and hit him with Sumo palm strikes. Wes tried to knee out of a suplex, but Inamura hooked the leg and hit Lee with a Northern Lights for a nearfall.
Lee used a drop toehold to send Inamura into the turnbuckle. Lee hit Briggs with a suicide dive when Briggs went to check on Inamura. Inamura caught Lee out of the air and hit him with a Helicopter Body Slam. Igwe got on the apron, but Briggs pulled him down. That caused the ropes to shake, causing Inamura to fall off the top rope. Wes Lee caught the recovering Inamura with a Kardiak Kick for the victory.
Wes Lee defeated Yoshiki Inamura via pinfall in 3:54.
The replay showed that Igwe pulling the ropes tripped up Inamura…
John’s Thoughts: The finish was a bit wonky but the announcers did their best to clean things up with the replay also doing a good job to fix it. I’m happy they gave Wes a win, because the guy tends to be way too giving in putting people over, to the point where he deserves a little something something too. I continue to want to see more of Inamura who wrestles a unique style we don’t usually see. It’s not even Japanese Strong Style, the guy has a really fun “Sumo” style that we don’t see all too often.
Oba Femi cut a promo about DarkState backstage, talking about people being on edge about their unpredictability. Oba said they hit Oba with their best shot and couldn’t take him down. He said once he’s done with Dark State, he’ll give Evans and Trick the same fate too, defeat at the hands of Oba Femi…
An ad aired for WWE Evolve…[c]
The Culling (sans Shawn Spears) made their entrance. No Quarter Catch Crew made their entrance…
6. Izzi Dame (w/Brooks Jensen, Niko Vance) vs. Wren Sinclair (w/Charlie Dempsey, Tavion Heights, Myles Borne) to qualify for the NXT Women’s North American Championship ladder match at Stand and Deliver. Wren got a two count after a crossbody. Wren got another few kickouts Wren put Dame in an Octopus Hold. Dame floored Wren with a Yakuza Kick, body slam, and basement dropkick. Dame worked on Wren with methodical offense.
Wren recovered and rallied back. Wren hit Dame with a facebuster for a two count. Dame caught Wren out of the air. Wren got a close nearfall after a crucifix bomb. Dame hit Wren with a Sky High for the victory.
Izzi Dame defeated Wren Sinclair via pinfall in 4:27 to qualify for the NXT Women’s North American Championship ladder match at NXT Stand and Deliver.
A preview aired for the latest episode of Stephanie’s Places, where Stephanie interviewed Rhea Ripley…
John’s Thoughts: The last couple of pin attempts were weird with the bell ringer and referee seeming a bit off on their timing. Decent match and good bounce back from the Culling members picking up two wins on this week’s show. On the other side, It’s a bit of a crime that they can’t find television time for the talented and charming Wren Sinclair. Can we get more Wren on my TV please!?! She’s great!
All the losers to the qualifying matches were in Ava’s office, begging for a “last chance” match to get into the NA ladder match. Ava said there is not going to be a last chance match, but she has another idea in mind…
Vic Joseph hyped upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thought: Happy they aren’t going with the tired “last chance” concept that WWE turned into a formula. Makes actually qualifying for the match mean more. I actually don’t mind this as the “get everybody on the show” match if this leads to the losers having a number one contender match at Stand and Deliver instead. Meanwhile, Roxanne Perez is still looming in NXT despite seemingly being called up.
Andre Chase gave Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors some pointers on their match film study, but then walked away out of depression..
The latest team to inspire Hank and Tank are the WWE Tag Team Champions the Street Profits. Dawkins kept yelling for Hank and Tank to lock in. They were hyping up Hank and Tank for a number one contenders match next week…
The commentary team ran through advertised segments for next week’s show…
Je’Von Evans made his entrance. Evans’s entrance was quickly cut off by Trick Williams making his entrance. Trick’s entrance was quickly cut off by the NXT Champion Oba Femi making his entrance…[c]
The show cut back with 15 minutes left at the top of the hour. DarkState made their entrance, all in ring gear. DarkState roughed up their opponents. The match started when Oba and Lennox were in the ring…
7. Oba Femi, Je’von Evans, and Trick Williams vs. “DarkState” Dion Lennox, Cutler James, and Saquon Shugars (w/Osiris Griffin). Dark State dominated all three opponents with quick tags and power offense. Cutler put Trick in a Sleeper and gave him a backbreaker. Shugars tagged in, but was backdropped by Trick. Trick hit Shugars with a Suplex for a two count. Shugars fought out of a Front Chancery and pressured Trick to the corner with chops.
Trick turned the tables and chopped back. Trick agreed to tag in Je’von who hit Shugars with a huracanrana and spinebuster. Shugars came back with a knee. Evans came back with a sweep and double stomp. Evans caught Cutler with a superkick. Evans hit Shugars with a huracanrana. Trick, Oba, and Evans dumped DarkState to ringside. Griffin got on the apron, leading to both teams jawing with each other.[c]
During the break, Vic noted that DarkState are being compared to renegade factions in WWE’s past. Back from break, Evans caught Shugars with a slingshot crossbody for a nearfall. Griffin got on the apron for the distraction, which allowed DarkState to get the advantage and cut the ring in half on Evans. Vic hyped up Lennox being a top prospect in College and the NFL. Evans took his time to fend off all three opponents.
Oba shoved away Trick’s hand and tagged himself in for the hot tag sequence, where he cleaned house with slams. Oba then tossed Shugars into Trick. Oba hit Lennox with a Power Bomb. Trick and Oba then started to trade hands with Evans trying to keep the peace. Trick and Oba spilled to ringside. Evans hit Lennox with a frog splash for a nearfall. Shugars pulled the ropes to trip Evans off the springboard.
Shugars leapt off the top rope and hit Evans with a Super Shield Bomb Uranage for the victory.
DarkState defeated Je’von Evans, Oba Femi, and Trick Williams via pinfall in 13:30.
Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo appeared on the big screen and challenged DarkState to a match next week in the most dangerous place in WWE, the Performance Center Parking Lot. The show closed…
John’s Thoughts: While I would have had them go over stronger, it makes total sense to have DarkState go over. It helps that they beat the top power ranked guys in NXT with the three singles guys being protected since they are beefing with each other. They are replicating the Shield formula with DarkState, but they are also starting to shine on their on somewhat. I do like that they don’t wrestle in riot gear like the Shield, which would have made them come off as imitation cosplayers.
We see that Lennox has upside and Shugars looks like he’s seasoned and an entire package; but Cutler James looked good from what we saw of him in the ring. He may need a bit more practice on the mic, but he has a good look and was solid when he was on offense. Will we finally get the Stacks turn next week? Or will they continue to drag that out? We’ll see. Solid NXT episode as they are now more focused than ever in building towards Stand and Deliver.
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