By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live May 6, 2025, on The CW Network
[Hour One] Separate shots of Jordynne Grace, Giulia, Je’Von Evans, NQCC, The Culling, Wes Lee and crew, and Zachary Wentz were shown as they were arriving at the Performance Center…
Vic Joseph, Booker T, and Corey Graves were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer…
The babyface team made their entrance first. Of course “Say his name and he appears”. A replay of last week’s TNA Impact aired where Trick Williams attacked Joe Hendry from behind to close the show. Hank and Tank joined Hendry in his signature Zoolander turn. DarkState were out next…
1. Hank Walker, Tank Ledger, and TNA World Champion Joe Hendry vs. “DarkState” Osiris Griffin, Dion Lennox, and Cutler James (w/Saquon Shugars). Hank and Tank swarmed Cutler with quick holds. Hendry tagged in and hit Cutler with a delayed vertical suplex. Cutler got control after hitting Hank with a forward elbow. Dion couldn’t lift up Hank and instead settled for a back elbow. Tank tagged in. Hank and Tank hit Dion with Stinger Splashes and their Honk Honk Splash.
Hendry hit Cutler and Dion with Fallaway Slams. Hendry almost gave Hank a Fallaway Slam when Osiris shoved him at Joe. Joe, Hank, and Tank did the Zoolander turn heading into break.[c]
Both teams were pretty even during the break. Hank had a flurry of offense and went to the top rope. Shugars shoved Hank off the top rope after Dion distracted the referee. The heels cut the ring in half on Hank for a few minutes. Griffin showed off good strength by doing a running power slam on Hank. Hank managed to sidestep all three opponents to bring in Tank for the hot tag. Tank hit Dion with a high backdrop.
Tank hit Osiris and Cutler with a cannonball. Tank hit Dion with a Bubba Bomb for a nearfall. Osiris tossed Hank into the ring post. Hendry gave James a Fallaway Slam and did his stomp stomp clap. Trick Williams ran in and ragged Joe to ringside (with the referee just allowing this to happen). Dion chop blocked Tank. Dion hit Tank with their Pop Up Shield Bomb for the victory.
“DarkState” Osiris Griffin, Dion Lennox, and Cutler James defeated Tank Ledger, Hank Walker, and Joe Hendry via pinfall in 11:42.
Thea Hail and Karmen Petrovic were chatting about Karmen getting rid of the distraction in Ashante the Adonis. Jaida Parker showed up and called Hail a yapping chihuahua. Jaida said Ashante wasn’t the only thing holding Karmen back. She said Karmen is soft. Karmen said that Jaida choked at her title opportunity.
Various Evolve and LFG wrestlers were shown warming up backstage (including veteran NXT wrestler Timothy Thatcher…
Kelani Jordan made her entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A fun, hectic trios match with a buttass finish. The referee watched Trick give Joe hands and had to just “let it happen”? Ugh. If they were going to go with that route, they should have found a way not to make the referee look like a dope. I assume Joe is going to return the favor by costing Trick the battle royal later on to set up something for TNA Impact. As for DarkState, they are starting to click the more TV time they are given. They are copycat Shield, but the wrestling world needs a Shield these days. What I do like that the Shield did back in the day was create a pseudo Trios division that doesn’t cannibalize their tag team division (unlike in AEW where that is a mess). Now what NXT needs to also do is give Saquon Shugars the mic more because that guy can really go on the mic and boost up the DarkState.
A drone shot of LA was shown to hype up Money in the Bank and World’s Collide in Inglewood, CA (I plan to at least attend World’s Collide that weekend)…
NQCC were hyping each other up backstage. Charlie Dempsey stood up and said that it’s not about individual glory, it’s about getting NQCC closer to the NXT Championship. Heights was hyped about this. Wren asked Myles if he was up for it. Myles gave a half-assed agree…
The commentators checked in on commentary. Poor Kelani had to go through the commercial break and segment waiting for her match. Zaria and Sol Ruca made their entrance to Karrion Kross’s old TNA theme…
2. Zaria (w/Sol Ruca) vs. Kelani Jordan. Jordan started the match quick, but it was slowed down once Zaria got shoves on Jordan. Jordan rallied back with right arms. Jordan hit Zaria with a Gamengiri. Zaria blocked a diving huracanrana. Zaria blocked a Sunset Flip. Jordan got a Sunset Flip for a two count. Jordan slipped out of the corner and gave Zaria a chop to the back. Zaria came right back with a gutbuster.
Jordan used a boot to dump Zaria to ringside. Jordan hit a draping twist leg drop. Zaria ducked to ringside to avoid One of a Kind. Jordan hit Zaria with a diving hurancanrana at ringside heading into the break.[c]
Zaria choked Jordan when sitting on the top rope. Jordan tossed Zaria off the top rope. A picture in picture showed Ethan Page doing bicep curls backstage. Jordan landed on her feet after a German Suplex and then nailed Zaria with a flip into an elbow. Jordan hit Zaria with a Tornado DDT for a nearfall. Zaria dodged a 450 and hit Jordan with a Spear. Jordan kicked out at two. Jordan hit Zaria with a short-arm leg drop for a nearfall.
Jordan hit Zaria with short-arm boots. Zaria came back with a choke. Both women traded standing switches. Jordan rolled up Zaria for a two count. Jordan dumped Zaria to ringside. Jordan grazed Zaria with an Asai Moonsault. Jordan fell into Sol’s arms which distracted her. This allowed Zaria to spear Jordan through the barricade. Zaria hit Jordan with an F5 for the victory.
Zaria defeated Kelani Jordan via pinfall in 11:23.
Sol and Zaria hugged after the match…
Vic Joseph ran through PR for WWE Crown Jewel in Australia…
John’s Thoughts: Even though I can’t wait until Zaria turns on Sol, this opposites tag team is growing on me. They’ve invested this much TV into it, might as well get something from the union. A good match with Jordan looking like her usual awesome plucky self, with Zaria being a great power wrestler.
Tony D’Angelo was in the locker room. Wes Lee, Tyson Dupont, and Tyriek Igwe mocked Tony D for having his family turn on him. Tony D pointed out Wes betraying his family. Wes said he’d do it again. Wes said it smells like Tony D is less confident without The Family. Tony D said Wes had all talent, no instincts. Tony D challenged Wes to a fight, but Wes refused, saying he has a battle royal to compete in…
Trick Williams made his entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Trick Williams might be in need of a theme change. Even if the crowd is going to chant Whoop Dat Trick in a Hustle and Flow sense, it would help to separate the positive association with his theme from the statement. This is similar to Seth Rollins needing to not have a call and response theme too.
Lola Vice and Stephanie Vaquer were chatting in Spanglish backstage. Vice was giving Vaquer props for being champion. Lola stood up saying she’s waiting for her opportunity at the title. Giulia showed up and said “see you at Battleground” to Stephanie…
Various NXT, LFG, and Evolve wrestlers were already in the ring. All Ego Ethan Page got a televised entrance. The lights went out and former WWE wrestler Elias made his entrance. He’s going by his TNA Elijah name. The crowd didn’t get the memo though as they were chanting “Walk with Elias”. Elias did one of his custom themes to a great reaction. The former Elias Sampson got a “welcome home” chant…
3. A 25-Man Battle Royal for a shot at the NXT Championship at NXT Battleground. A LFG wrestler and Lexis King were eliminated immediately. Walking and punching ensued. Vic wondered if we will get Elias’s relatives showing up? Dempsey was eliminated next. Yoshiki Inamura eliminated Brad Baylor. Trick skinned the cat when Ashante tried to eliminate him. Ashante dished out superkicks. Shiloh Hill skinned the cat. Trick dumped Ashante to ringside to eliminate him.[c]
Vic Joseph compared Evolve to a developmental territory like the old WWE-FCW. Wes and Wentz, during the break, hit one of their opponents with one of their old MSK combos. Tyson Dupont broke up the reunion. Booker T said he was betting on All Ego winning. Where is Elias? Josh Briggs teased hitting Inamura with a boot, but hit Dupont with a boot to eliminate him. Imanura and Briggs hugged it out.
Page hit Thatcher with a high spin kick and then dumped him to ringside to eliminate him. Niko Vance took a bullet for Shawn Spears and ate a lariat from Shiloh Hill to eliminate himself. Trick used a Yakuza Kick to eliminate Hill. Evans skinned the cat after getting tossed by Heights.
[Hour Two] Briggs and Inamura tried to double team eliminate Trick, but Trick held on to the ropes. Jensen dove on Igwe and eliminated Igwe and himself. Graves said it looked like Mil Mascaras eliminating himself. Holland eliminated Heights. Briggs choke slammed Holland on Inamura’s leg. Holland skinned the cat. Briggs and Holland traded hands on the apron. Inaura accidentally eliminated Briggs with a Sumo palm strike.
Wes and Wentz butted heads. Various wrestlers tried to break them apart. Eventually Ego would eliminate Wentz.[c]
Shawty Zayda Steel was standing at ringside to support her crew. Walking and punching ensued during the break. Wes used quick strikes to dominate for a stretch during break. Trick used a Trick Shot to knee Wes off the apron. Wes hit the announce table and sold it like he got shot. Inamura and Holland had a Fighting Spirit Strong Style exchange in the center of the ring. Holland and Inamura struggled to get the other man to flinch.
Trick broke up that exchange by eliminating Holand and Inamura. “Say his name and he appears! I believe in Joe Hendry! Clap clap!”. TNA World Champion Joe Hendry made his entrance. Hendry’s “best friend” Elijah used the distraction to eliminate Trick. Spears eliminated Elijah. Sean Legacy hit Spears with a missile dropkick. Evans hit Legacy with a German Suplex. Evans skinned the cat to avoid elimination.
Legacy hit Evans with a superkick and followed up with a Gamengiri. Evans caught Legacy with a cutter and dropkick to eliminate him after Page held down the top rope. Spears, Evans, Ego, and Randy Orton’s Deaf Clone (Borne) were the final four. Borne hit Evans and Spears with Randy Orton Power Slams. Borne hit Page with a Belly to Belly. A “Baby Randy” chant ensued. Spears dropped Borne with a superkick. Evans used his core strength for a good Skin the Cat spot.
Evans caught Page and Spears with a Slingshot Dropkick. Evans hit Borne with a springboard RKO. Spears and Ego blocked a double RKO and eliminated Evans. Spears and Page tried to eliminate each other. Myles Borne snuck in from behind and dumped both of them to ringside to win the match.
Myles Borne won the 25-man Battle Royal in 23:01 to become the number one contender to the NXT Championship.
Wren and Tavion celebrated with Borne in the ring. Dempsey clapped from ringside…
John’s Thoughts: I always get afraid of these being a 10 minute walk and punch brawl that means nothing, but they gave this match time and two segments. A bit too many “skin the cat” moments, but this is HBK’s promotion, and that was one of HBK’s signature moves. It was a productive battle royal with lots of good stories coming out of it. It looks like Yoshiki Inamura might be sticking around a little longer to feud with Briggs. Sean Legacy and Shiloh Hill got a chance to shine. Trick was utilized well to jettison him off to TNA. I like the surprise of Baby Randy Orton, Myles Borne, pulling off the upset. He’s been a background player, mostly the butt of deaf jokes, so it’ll be cool to see what he does now that he has a main event level match on a spotlight show.
Sarah Schreiber interviewed Jordynne Grace. Grace talked about how she has a long overdue singles match for the NXT Women’s Championship. Izzi Dame showed up and showed off being taller than Grace. The even taller Lash Legend showed up to overshadow Grace too. Grace said she sees how this is and she’ll see both women down the road…
Jaida Parker made her entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Friendly rib, having the shorter Grace stand next to two of the taller women on the WWE roster. I don’t see height ever being a problem with Grace, especially since he’s extremely jacked and ripped like a beast.
Karmen Petrovic was finishing her entrance…
4. Karmen Petrovic vs. Jaida Parker. Karmen hit Jaida with a Rolling Sobat and Leg Lariat. Petrovic used a dive to rump Jaida to ringside. Jaida came back with a Judas Effect and Fold for a nearfall. Jaida hit Petrovic with her signature draping Banzai Drop. Jaida hit Karmen with a Moss Covered three handled Family Gradunza, which led to Graves giving a shout out to Perry Saturn. Petrovic hit Jaida with holds and a sliding kick.
Petrovic hit Jaida with a diving Sling Blade for a nearfall. Jaida dodged an overhead Kiryu Kick and hit Karmen with Hip-notic for the victory.
Jaida Parker defeated Karmen Petrovic via pinfall in 4:09.
Parker hit Petrovic wiht a Gourd Buster. Parker was about to go for Hip Notic, but Thea Hail took the move instead after checking on Petrovic. Petrovic used a kick to send Jaida into retreat…
A teaser aired of Pat McAfee appearing on the Stephanie’s Places show. McAfee joked about how he appeared on a lot of WWE shows from the crowd, but they called him “Indianapolis Colts” because they didn’t want to name the lowly punter…
NXT GM Ava was telling Joe Hendry that this feud with Trick across two shows needs to stop. Ava said he spoke with Santino Marella and they agreed for Joe Hendry vs. Trick Williams for the TNA Championship at NXT Battleground…[c]
John’s Thoughts: My guard is up on a potential TNA title change at Battleground. As I’ve been mentioning on my TNA written reviews, TNA has a big show in New York for Slammiversary in a huge arena that they have to fill and have a satisfying event at. It makes total sense for Mike Santana to dethrone a dastardly heel at that show. My biggest push was for Frankie Kazarian, who’s had one hell of a year as a heel, to pick up the belt at the Los Angeles show two weeks ago. TNA decided otherwise. Joe Hendry vs. Mike Santana could be good, but it’ll be weird having two man of the people babyfaces going against each other. My potential scenario here is that evil NXT wrestler steals the TNA belt, and it’s up to their new number one protagonist Mike Santana to save TNA at the New York show. My guard is also up on Elias hitting Joe Hendry with a guitar to the head at NXT Battleground too, because that makes sense.
A Out Tha Mud vignette aired for Bronco Nima and Lucien Price where they talked about being in the mud and how they are coming after the NXT Tag Team division…
John’s Thoughts: I REALLY like the concept of Out tha Mud, given that was a creed that I was raised by throughout my life. It’s a really positive message and a good pathos. They are missing a good centerpiece. The two men I think represent Out Tha Mud really well, are actually in TNA in Mike Santana and Sydney Akeem (OTM’s former leader Scrypts-Reggie).
Wes Lee and his goons were walking backstage, with Wes Lee teasing hiring someone to help him. The camera panned over to Yoshiki Inamura apologizing to Josh Briggs backstage. Insmura said he’s going back to Japan today. Inamura handed back his biker vest and bid Briggs farewell before leaving. Brooks Jensen showed up and said he knows that feeling exactly. Jensen said that Briggs may think that his tag partners are the problem, but the problem may be Briggs…
The show cut to NQCC excited for Borne winning the match. Charlie Dempsey acted like he’s challenging Oba Femi for the title. Oba Femi showed up and congratulated Myles Borne for winning the battle royal. Dempsey claimed he was in the match. Borne said he’s still in the match, but he would like to see what Charlie can do against Oba next week. Borne brought up Dempsey claiming he can whoop Oba’s ass. Borne said if Dempsey can beat Oba, then It’ll be a triple threat match at Battleground. Oba cut in and said “nah nah nah, I’m done with triple threats”…
John’s Thoughts: Hire Oba Femi to the booking committee. After WrestleMania weekend, we are all done with triple threats. The lamp-shading line also tells me that somebody, or some bodies, are tired of all of WWE’s unnecessary multi person matches…
Giulia made her entrance…[c]
The show cut to Chase U where Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors saying that they don’t like the Chase U Polo shirt. They handed Andre Chase new clothes to try on. Chase put on the long sleeve track shirt. Dixon and Connors liked how it looked. Chase then walked out in another track suit. Chase liked the new look…
John’s Thoughts: They’re still going with the Bobby Knight look, but I do like the upgraded tracksuit for Andre Chase. The cartoony shirt he had before made him kinda look like Thing Number 1 and Thing Number 2…
Tony D’Angelo vs. Wes Lee was advertised for next week…
Jordynne Grace made her entrance with about 15 minutes left at the top of the hour…
5. Jordynne Grace vs. Giulia for a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT Battleground. Giulia dominated early on with stiff forearms. Grace rallied back with her own set of hands. Grace hit Giulia with a Inverted gut-wrench suplex. Grace hit Giulia with a delayed Big Ending for a nearfall. The PIP showed Stephanie Vaquer watching the match on a monitor backstage. The commentators sold Giulia being planted on the back of her neck after that gut-wrench. Grace worked on Giulia with short-arm strikes.
Giulia came back with an STO for a nearfall. Giulia dropped Grace with a Standing Shotgun Dropkick for a nearfall. Grace tripped Giulia on the apron. Giulia tripped Grace off the apron. Giulia did a matrix dodge. Giulia tripped Grace off the 2nd rope. Giulia hit Grace with a reverse Tower of London at ringside.[c]
During the break, Giulia worked on Grace with methodical offense. Back from break, Giulia had Grace in a chin Cravate. Grace flipped out of the corner and hit Giulia with a spinebuster. Giulia broke the pin with a Guillotine Choke. Grace deadlifted Giulia to a vertical base. Giulia hit Giulia with a back toss. Giulia and Grace traded Strong Style strikes in the center of the ring.
Grace crumpled Giulia with a slap. Grace hit Giulia with two body slams and a Michinoku Driver for a great nearfall. Grace slapped Giulia on the top rope. Grace hit Giulia with a Delayed Vertical Suplex into a Jackhammer for a nearfall (That move is so badass, it should have won). Giulia reversed a Grace Driver into a Spike DDT.
Giulia hit Grace with a Modified Drill Claw for a nearfall. A “women’s Wrestling” chant ensued. Giulia put Grace in a Side Octopus (shout out to Grace’s Husband, The Octopus Jonathan Gresham)Grace hit Giulia with a Tombstone Fallaway Slam. After trading some hands, Grace hit Giulia with a Grace Driver for the victory.
Jordynne Grace defeated Giulia via pinfall in 12:44 to become the new number one contender to the NXT Women’s Championship.
NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer made her entrance to stand face-to-face with her Battleground challenger. The show closed after the Executive Producer graphics aired…
John’s Thoughts: Wonderful match that would have been even more amazing if this was the Stand and Deliver main event (instead of that convoluted fatal four way which was “okay”). Listen to Oba. Let’s tone down on these triple threats and four ways. This might have been the best Giulia has looked in WWE. Weather it’s the time off, or turning heel, Giulia is looking like her old self. Dot Net’s own Will Pruitt always calls Mercedes Mone as one of the best big match performers in the world, but I would throw Jordynne Grace into the discussion as well.
Even though Grace hasn’t been on the big stage, she has traveled the world and have carried many greats around the world to even greater singles matches. I’m hyped for battleground! Singles matches! Even the Bourne vs. Oba match has me intrigued to see how Baby Randy steps up to the plate. Trick vs. Hendry should also be fun and I totally expect that to end with Hendry’s head through a Guitar (maybe not, but it makes sense).
So the Randy Orton cosplay wins!