By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Taped June 24, 2025, in Orlando, Florida, at the WWE Performance Center
Aired July 1, 2025, on The CW Network
Highlights from last week’s NXT show aired…
Vic Joseph, Booker T, and Corey Graves were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer…
TNA World Champion Trick Williams made his entrance. Trick dapped it up with the commentary team to commentate the next match. High Ryze were out first. Say his name and he appears! I believe in Joe Hendry! Clap Clap! Out next was Joe Hendry…
1. Joe Hendry vs. Wes Lee (w/Tyson Dupont, Tyriek Igwe). Wes and Joe started the match with some chain wrestling. Joe dominated the extended wristlock. Wes used some judo rolls to avoid clotheslines. Joe came right back with a shoulder tackle. Wes flipped out of a suplex, gave Joe a kick, and dumped him to ringside with a huracanrana. Wes hit Joe with a Wrecking Ball Kick. Joe turned Wes inside out with a clothesline.[c]
Wes was dominating back from break. Wes hit Joe with a Phoenix Splash for a good nearfall. Hendry reversed a Tornado DDT into a nice suplex. Joe rallied with right hands and a stiff clothesline. Joe did his signature Fallaway Slam into his Zoolander turn. Wes escaped a Standing Ovation and crumpled Joe with a punch to the gut. Joe lifted Wes up into a modified version of the Standing Ovation for a nearfall.
Tyson put Wes’s foot on the bottom rope. Tyson and Tyriek got up on the apron. Mike Santana ran out to take care of Tyson and Tyriek. Back in the ring, Joe hit Wes with the Standing Ovation for the win.
Joe Hendry defeated Wes Lee via pinfall in 6:29 of on-air time.
Santana joined Joe in the ring and sized up Trick from a distance…
John’s Thoughts: Reason I’m timing the matches minus the commercials is due to living in the west coast I usually use a VPN to fool the computer into thinking I’m in a different time zone (since NXT is on tape delay here). I noticed WWE just uploaded the whole episode on their international netflix due to it being taped. Anyways, solid showcase of Joe to the NXT crowd that doesn’t see a lot of him in terms of stories. It would be cool if they allowed him to do one of his music videos or rock concerts to reintroduce him fully and make viewers care. Happy they put Santana in the TNA Slammiversary match, but not sure why it had to be a triple threat?
Backstage Zaria and Sol Ruca were trying to warn Tatum Paxley about being corrupted by Izzi Dame. Dame showed up and yelled and Sol and Zaria. Dame then changed to a “sincere” tone an thanked Tatum for trusting her. Zaria said if Tatum is not going to see through Izzi, she’s done. Zaria walked off. Dame offered to team up with Tatum to counter Zaria and Sol Ruca. Tatum liked the idea…
Luca Crucifino was shown walking backstage…[c]
Luca Crucifino made his entrance to the old Tony D’Angelo theme. Luca called Tony D out to set things straight. Tony D’Angelo made his entrance and laugh about how it’s Luca calling him out now. Tony D brought up Luca screwing him over last week. Luca said Tony D punched him. Tony D brought up the accidental punch before.
Luca said he gave Tony D all the respect in the world, and now he has to listen to him. Luca talked about how he was loyal by leaving college early just to join the Family. He brought up how he threw away job opportunities to join Tony in WWE. Luca said Tony knows that Luca hasn’t done anything to ever doubt Tony, and that’s Loyalty. Channing Stacks Lorenzo made his entrance.
Stacks was about to thank Luca, but then yelled at him to stop. Luca then decked Tony D with a right hand. Stacks was excited and thought Luca was on his side. Luca then decked Stacks. Luca then proclaimed that he’s not aligned with Tony D or Stacks. He’s aligned with Luca Crucifino…
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Oba Femi about who he would like to face between Inamura and Troy. Oba said he understands why the fans like Inamura, but Inamura needs to prove he is worthy. Inamura showed up saying he’ll show Oba tenacity and grit. He said he’ll prove he’s up to the biggest test. Oba told Josh Briggs to tell his boy to be ready. Oba said while other titles are changing hand, Oba has been a constant for a long time. Inamura said Oba would not have to wait long and “I’ll see you at The Bash”…
Lexis King made his entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: I’m still not sold on this current mafia storyline, mostly because it involves a lot of melodrama along with Luca fumbling and bumbling a lot to accidentally punch Tony D. That said this was the best segment of this oddball feud. Luca showed a lot of solid poise and good mic skills. I did chuckle at them kayfabing him a bit by talking about how he left a Law School Degree to join the mafia. That said I’m looking forward to see what Luca can do now that he’s broken free of the Tony D gimmick (I hope he doesn’t just becomes another David Otunga where he’s a “wrestling lawyer”).
Several Florida Gators Football players were shown in the front row…
Myles Bourne made his entrance with his own random rock entrance theme…
2. Myles Borne vs. Lexis King. King dominated the early chain wrestling. Borne came back with a suplex and gator roll. Borne then did a Florida Gator chomp. King dropkicked Borne on the top rope. King then hit Borne with a superplex for a nearfall. King gave Borne a clothesline and Hesitation Dropkick for a nearfall. Borne rallied with foreaerms. Both men traded ugly looking strikes.
King teased a flying move, but then slapped Borne disrespectfully. Borne fired up and rallied with right hands. Borne hit King with a Uppercut and Belly to Belly. Borne hit King with an Angle Slam for a nearfall. King raked Borne in the eyes and hit him with a Superkick. Borne hit King with an Orton Style Dropkick. Borne then hit King with a Zig Zag for the win.
Myles Borne defeated Lexis King via pinfall in 4:40.
John’s Thoughts: Is it just me or has WWE’s music department been using a bit more buttrock than usual. Just hire Downstait back then. Kidding aside, this was an okay match. It did look a bit ugly in the middle with some strikes missing the mark, but it made Borne look gritty. He has a great background story, and now it’s time to put him in a longer pro wrestling story.
A DarkState promo aired where they gave their thoughts on all the things happening in NXT. Dion Lennox teased that she’s going to appear somewhere nobody expects…
Thea Hail made her entrance (and yes, to buttrock!)…[c]
Lainey Reid made her entrance (not to buttrock though, but to banjo music)…
3. Thea Hail vs. Lainey Reid. Reid got a cheap shot in. Hail fired back with ground and pound and gave Reid a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Reid reversed a senton into a wheelbarrow snake eyes. Reid choked Hail in the corner with a boot. Reid worked on Hail with methodical offense. Reid hit Hail with a nice looking Implant Buster style shoulderbreaker.
Hail recovered and rallied with axe handle strikes. Hail hit Reid with a Blockbuster for a nearfall. Reid came back with a high kick. Reid pulled the ropes to block a Kimura. Reid then tried to steal the win but the ref saw both feet on the ropes for leverage. Hail rolled up Reid for a nearfall. Reid hit Hail with a running strike. Reid then used her hand on the bottom rope to get a leverage win over Hail, which the referee didn’t see.
Lainey Reid defeated Thea Hail via pinfall in 4:23.
John’s Thoughts: Decent match with a nice variation on the leverage heel win. I would like to see more from Lainey Reid in terms of character development. So far she’s just the latest NIL wrestler with a similar backstory. My guess with Hail is that they are going to have her being screwed out of wins for a stretch until she hits a breaking point.
Wren Sinclair, Charlie Dempsey, and Tavion Heights were chatting positively backstage about Je’von Evans and Tavion looking good. Dempsey then said it looks like Tavion needs to stick in NQCC a little longer. Tavion asked Dempsey for the same stipulation that he gave Myles that if Tavion can beat Dempsey, he can leave NQCC. Dempsey said he’ll do it and if Tavion loses he better not ask again to leave NQCC…
Sol Ruca and Zaria made their entrance…[c]
A Jasper Troy promo aired where he hyped up how he’s going to go through Inamura to face Oba Femi at the Great American Bash…
The Culling and Tatum Paxley made their entrance…
4. Sol Ruca and Zaria vs. Tatum Paxley and Izzi Dame (w/Shawn Spears, Niko Vance). Sol tried to convince Tatum to not trust Izzi. Izzi butted in. Sol and Zaria took down both opponents after Zaria used Sol as a battering ram. Sol and Tatum traded standing switches. Dame tagged in and hit Sol with a body slam after tandem offense. Dame and Tatum then cut the ring in half on Sol with quick tags.
Sol got a jackknife nearfall on Tatum. Sol tagged in Zaria. They hit Tatum with a double hip toss and double elbow drop for a nearfall. Tatum used a judo roll to tag in Dame. Dame and Zaria sized each other up. Dame took down Zaria with a running big boot for a nearfall. Zaria and Dame traded forearms. Zaria floored Dame with a Yakuza Kick.
Tatum hit Zaria with a diving crossbody for a nearfall. Sol tagged in and hit Tatum with a nice Slingshot X Factor. Zaria put Tatum on her shoulders. Sol jumped off Tatum’s back and Zaria press slammed Tatum on Dame at ringside.[c]
Tatum took down Zaria with a Shotgun Dropkick and crossbody in the corner. Izzi and Tatum then cut the ring in half on Zaria. Zaria managed to block Tatum’s crossbody with knees to bring in Sol for the hot tag. Zaria tagged back in for double team offense. Sol did a Handstand twist over Zaria for a nearfall. Paxley ran off Zaria’s back and hit Sol with a knee.
Dame hit Zaria with a Codebreraker, but Tatum wasn’t in the corner. Zaria tried to give Dame a spear, but Tatum pushed Dame aside to cause Zaria to accidentally spear Sol. Tatum dragged Zaria to ringside. Dame hit Sol with a sitout Uranage for the win.
Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley defeated Sol Ruca and Zaria via pinfall in 9:50 of on-air time.
Vic noted that Izzi has just pinned the North American Champion…
NXT GM Ava had Ethan Page, Ricky Saints, and Vanity Project. Ava said they all need to settle their differences. Ricky said he just wants his rematch with Page. Page said he brought Vanity Project to protect Saints from himself. Page said he’s only going to defend the title on his own terms. Page claimed to be a fighting champion and he’ll give Saints a title shot if he can run through the Vanity Project gauntlet.
Evolve Champion Jackson Drake started to cough to mock Ricky’s injured throat. Saints said if he can beat Vanity Project, he should be able to pick the stipulation of the NA Title rematch. Ava liked the idea and booked the gauntlet…
The show cut to a Chase U skit. He said Kale and Uriah’s words got to him last week. He said he got Kale a singles match next week. Uriah and Kale liked that. Chase said he’s also going to try to be a bit less abrasive. He said he and Uriah will have Kale’s back next week…
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Joe Hendry and Mike Santana. Santana talked about how he and Joe are here to defend TNA from people like Trick and High Ryze. Kincaid said Ava just booked Joe and Mike in a match against High Ryze next week. Joe said they may be different people, but they have the common goal of bringing the TNA title back to TNA. Mike said he believes Joe is a cornball, but Joe reps TNA to the max. Mike said he’ll be the one that brings the title back to TNA. Joe said Mike is looking at the man who will bring the title back…
Inamura was shown warming up backstage with Josh Briggs. Inamura told Briggs to stay in the back because he has this handled. Briggs was taken a bit aback, but then hyped up Inamura…
Jasper Troy made his entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: While I still prefer that the Slammiversary TNA title match be a singles match, I do like it better if they play up the “every man for himself” aspect between Santana and Joe (right in time for Squid Game 3). I wonder if the plan with the triple threat is to save the more definitive conclusion to the story being at Bound for Glory (TNA’s biggest show of the year).
The Culling were all praising Tatum Paxley backstage. Ava showed up and said it looks like Tatum is fitting in well with her new friends. Ava then awarded Dame with a North American Title Shot at The Bash. Hank and Tank stormed in and claimed that they were attacked by Shawn Spears due to Spears leaving his black steel chair (Isn’t Spear’s chair white? If there’s a random wooden table lying next to fallen people, do we just assume D-Von Dudley left it there? I kid). Security guards held them back. Tatum proposed that Hank and Tank put their titles on the line against Spears and Vance if they want to get at them. Hank and Tank agreed, but were still fired up…
Yoshiki Inamura made his entrance…
5. Jasper Troy vs. Yoshiki Inamura for a future shot at the NXT Championship. Troy hit Inamura with a body slam and jumping elbow drop. Corey Graves compared Jasper Troy to former TNA wrestler Abyss. Inamura got out of a cravate and then put Troy in a reverse cravate. Troy powered out. Inamura showed fighting spirit by no selling shots to the chest. Inamura hit Troy with a back suplex and elbow drop for a nearfall.
Inamura then put Troy in a side headlock. Graves was putting over how though Sumo training is. Inamura then challenged Troy to a Sumo match. Inamura got the initial sumo shove. Troy came back with a sidewalk slam. Inamura dumped Troy to ringside and dared Troy to come at him.[c]
Back from break, Troy hit Inamura with a series of running splashes for a nearfall. Troy hit Inamura with a World’s Strongest Slam for a nearfall. Inamura wiggled enough to avoid an abdominal stretch. Inamura got Troy to a knee with chops and rapid forearms. Troy caught a running Inamura with a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall. Inamura blocked a splash with knees.
Inamura pressured Troy into the corner with sumo palms. Inamura then body slammed the huge Troy. Inamura then hit Troy with a Helicopter Body Slam. Inamura hit Troy with his Charged Up Frog Splash for the win.
Yoshiki Inamura defeated Jasper Troy via pinfall in 7:50 of on-air time.
Oba Femi faced off with Yoshiki Inamura on the ramp. Je’von Evans blindsided Jasper Troy with a slingshot cutter…
Jordynne Grace was shown walking backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Slow to start, but a fun big man fight. The match was particularly fun when Yoshiki Inamura was on offense because he wrestles a style we don’t usually see on American pro wrestling, sumo. This was good for Inamura and he looks like he can give Oba a challenge. As for Troy, he is taking a handful of losses early in his career, even though he’s going against the top of the card. They even had Inamura kick out of the Black Hole Slam and hit him with that body slam. I wonder if the plan is to have him eat his losses while he’s green, and then repackage him. Only reason I thought that was Corey Graves randomly comparing Troy’s overall act to Abyss, due to the Black Hole Slam. I wonder if there’s a plan to have him work backstage with WWE Producer Joseph Park to cultivate a version of the Abyss character (WWE is randomly all about Abyss out of nowhere with that 2K DLC that just came out.
The following matches were advertised for next week: Hank and Tank vs. The Culling for the NXT Tag Titles, Ricky Saints vs. Vanity Project in a Gauntlet Match, Joe Hendry and Santana vs. High Ryze, and Tavion Heights vs. Charlie Dempsey (Heights gets to leave NQCC if he wins)…
Jordynne Grace made her entrance with a mic. She said she wanted to be completely honest, getting to this point is the hardest thing she had to do. She said last week reminded her that she thrived under pressure. She said the bigger the battle, the bigger the win. She said she’s going to walk into the historic Evolution, which is historic for women’s wrestling. She said she’s not watching from the sidelines, but she’s a part of it.
She said she’s going to make history with the best women in the world. She said to be honest, she has to be something she’s doesn’t like being, vulnerable. She said she’s been asking herself if she’s good enough to be here. She asked if she really belongs in WWE. Grace said a lot of people know her journey. She said she grew up not saying she was born to be a WWE star, but she did every thing she had to do to get here.
Grace said she became someone WWE couldn’t ignore. She then said she’ll beat Jacy Jayne. Fatal Influence made their entrance. Jayne asked Grace if she is done after telling a sob story. Jayne said Evolution is going to be the highlight of Grace’s career. Jayne said Grace may be able to benchpress more than her, but she can’t carry. Jayne said all Grace can keep doing is flexing her muscles and hope that a championship will just magically fall in her eyes; but that championship won’t be the NXT Women’s Championship.
Jayne said that people keep calling her the most vulnerable champion in history, but she’s at her peak and will keep winning. Jayne said just like Blake Monroe, Grace thinks she can just walk in here and take over, but Fatal Influence is here to put her in her place. Grace told Jayne to shut up. Grace tried to hype up herself, but Jayne hit Grace with a forearm. Fatal Influence had the advantage with Henley and Jayne double teaming Grace.
Jazmyn Nyx ducked to ringside. Blake Monroe ran out to help Grace clear the heels from the ring. NXT GM Ava then got to the ramp and booked Fallon Henley and Jacy Jayne vs. Blake Monroe and Jordynne Grace for the Great American Bash. Jayne and Henley then stormed the ring, but were easily dominated by Grace and Monroe. Vic Joseph closed the show…
John’s Thoughts: A good promo to help hype Grace going after the Women’s Championship. I think the good thing to add was Grace showing possible doubt in herself by becoming vulnerable to the crowd. A good usage of Pathos to get the crowd behind Grace (who’s reactions have been a bit lighter than they once were). Jacy Jayne has been doing good mic work as champ, but that isn’t wiping away people thinking she’s a transitional champion (they are out right lampshading that as a part of her current character).
A solid edition of NXT. Where the last two weeks of NXT were dedicated to set up the Evolution PLE, this week’s show was the dash to build towards the Great American Bash show coming out. They also did a better job this week with the NXT-TNA sync and they are making sure to have Joe Hendry and Mike Santana consistently on the Wednesday show to develop them in front of an unfamiliar audience.
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