By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida, at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live September 2, 2025, on The CW Network
[Hour One] Vic Joseph narrated arrival shots of Ricky Saints, Oba Femi, Hank Walker, Tank Ledger, all four members of DarkState. Booker T joined Joseph on commentary… Ring announcer Mike Rome delivered the introductions for the opening match while both wrestlers made their entrances…
1. Jaida Parker vs. Lash Legend. Legend drove Parker into the corner and threw a knee to her abdomen. Parker put Legend in the other corner and threw shoulder blocks to her abdomen. A shot aired of Je’Von Evans walking in the parking lot of doom.
Later, Parker draped Legend over the middle rope. Parker set up for her usual move, but Legend grabbed her by the throat and ended up chokeslamming her before covering her for a two count. [C]
Parker hit a kneeling Legend with a neckbreaker, which led to a near fall. Legend came back with a backbreaker for a near fall of her own. A short time later, Parker set up for a Samoan Drop, but Legend escaped and fled to the floor. Parker followed and was caught with a pump kick.
Parker hit the Lash Extension on the broadcast table and then tossed Parker back inside the ring. Parker hit another Lash Extension and scored the pin.
Lash Legend defeated Jaida Parker in 11:35.
Legend was making her exit when Parker attacked her. Parker used a hip attack to put Legend through a ringside barricade…
Powell’s POV: A decent match. I’m happy it wasn’t as simple as Legend going over. Parker’s post-match attack means this feud is just getting started. For those reading live, my apologies for the late start. I was not expecting to cover the show tonight. I’ll do my best to catch up during some of the commercial breaks.
Backstage, Blake Monroe interrupted Arianna Grace flirting with Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo. Monroe griped about Jordynne Grace. Arianna told Monroe that she’s not related to Jordynne.
Jordynne Grace entered the room. Some of the other wrestlers in the room got between Jordynne and Monroe, including Evolve Women’s Champion Kali Armstrong, who was pushed by Jordynne. Armstrong took offense and also blamed Jordynne for ruining her NXT debut. Armstrong told Jordynne that she now has a problem with her… [C]
Je’Von Evans made his entrance for an in-ring promo. Evans said he normally comes out and says something positive, but he didn’t think he could do that. Evans expressed disappointment over failing to beat Oma Femi to win the NXT Championship at the NXT Heatwave event.
Evans said he even called his sister before the match to tell her that he was going to become the youngest NXT Champion. He said he thought he won the match at one point because he got a three count, but Oba’s foot was under the ropes.
Evans apologized to the fans for letting them down. A “No!” chant broke out, followed by a “We Still Love You” chant. Evans thanked the fans, then spoke about how he had ignored everyone, including the WWE Performance Center coaches for a week. A motorcycle was shown arriving on the big screen. “Come on, there’s no way,” Evans told the fans.
The Undertaker’s gong played. The fans popped huge. Josh Briggs came out in biker gear and asked, “Were you expecting someone else?” Briggs said Evans is everything he hates about the NXT roster. Briggs took issue with Evans getting so many title matches at his young age.
Briggs said Evans should have put his finger in Oba’s face and demanded a rematch. He said Ricky Saints became the No. 1 contender because Evans didn’t demand the rematch. Evans remained respectful while saying Briggs was trying to Big Bro him. The live crowd was all over Briggs.
Briggs told Evans that he’s good, but he’s not good enough. Evans asked if Briggs thinks he knows him. Briggs dropped Evans with a big boot. Briggs told Evans he needs to learn when to stay down. Briggs grabbed a chair from ringside, set it up in the ring, and chokeslammed Evans onto it…
Xia Brookside and Candice LeRae were featured in brief promo videos to get up their WWE Speed tournament match… [C]
Powell’s POV: Evans did a great job of getting over the agony of defeat after coming up short at NXT Heatwave. It’s a nice change from the main roster, as John Cena barely even acknowledged losing the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes. The Undertaker tease was fun, and Briggs had strong heat throughout his promo to the point that it was hard to hear him over the crowd chants.
Hank Walker and Tank Ledger spoke with Oba Femi and Ricky Saints while standing between the NXT Champion and his next challenger. Hank and Tank acknowledged the tension between Oba and Saints, then said this was their chance to get revenge on DarkState.
Saints smiled as he watched the overzealous Hank and Tank leave the room. Oba asked if they were his friends. Saints said no, then told Oba that he better be locked in. Oba told Saints to worry about himself…
Entrances took place for the WWE Speed tournament match…
2. Xia Brookside vs. Candice LeRae in an opening round tournament match for a shot at the WWE Speed Women’s Championship. Joseph reminded viewers that the tournament winner will challenge Sol Ruca for the WWE Women’s Speed Championship at the No Mercy premium live event. Late in the match, LeRae hit a tornado DDT. LeRae hit a springboard moonsault and scored the pin…
Candice LeRae beat Xia Brookside in 2:36 to advance to the second round of the tournament for a shot at the WWE Speed Women’s Championship.
Powell’s POV: I just don’t care about WWE Speed matches or the WWE Speed championships.
The updated brackets showed that LeRae will face the winner of next week’s Lainey Reid vs. Faby Apache match…
Josh Briggs entered a locker room where a group of wrestlers were talking. Briggs said they didn’t have the balls to say anything. Wes Lee, Tyson Dupont, and Tyriek Igwe left the room. Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors confronted Briggs. Andre Chase got involved. Dixon and Connors implied that Chase would teach Briggs some respect later in the show… [C]
NXT General Manager Ava spoke with Sol Ruca, Zaria, Tatum Paxley, and Izzi Dame in her office when “Fatal Influence” Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Jazmyn Nyx arrived. Ava said she spoke with the main roster general managers because she wants an NXT team to get a WWE Women’s Tag Team Title shot. After some bickering between the teams, Ava booked them in a Triple Threat match for a shot at the titles for next week’s show…
A DarkState video package aired. Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin, Cutler James, and Saquon Shugars spoke about their backgrounds and frustrations. Lennox recalled being told that he wasn’t championship material. He held up an NXT Tag Team Title and asked what he had in his hand…
TNA World Champion Trick Williams was shown walking backstage while Joseph said he would appear after a break… [C]
TNA World Champion Trick Williams made his entrance for an in-ring promo. Williams recalled saying the previous week that he’s the hottest and greatest NXT superstar who has ever lived. He said he was surprised that none of the former NXT favorites responded.
Trick said it’s either because they know what he said is true or that they no longer care about NXT. Trick said he doesn’t blame them one bit if they don’t care about NXT. He said that when he gets his main roster contract, the NXT fans would never see him again. All of your favorites that you love, they don’t love you,” Trick said.
[Hour Two] “DIY” Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa made their entrance and played to the crowd. A “welcome home” chant broke out. Gargano said he and Ciampa love the NXT fans. He said they heard that the NXT Homecoming show was in two weeks, but they decided to stop by early. Gargano said today was the ten-year anniversary of their NXT debut.
Gargano and Ciampa entered the ring while mocking Trick for claiming to be the greatest NXT wrestler of all time. Ciampa played up how great Gargano’s former partner must have been. Gargano said he was okay, but he got a little grumpy when the logo appeared at the bottom of the screen.
Ciampa ripped Trick’s shades off his face. Trick told him not to put his hands on him again. Trick said Ciampa couldn’t even beat his girlfriend (Lash Legend). Eventually, Ciampa shoved Trick, who tried to hit him with the TNA Title belt, but Ciampa ducked, and Gargano dropped Trick with a superkick. DIY hit Trick with Meet in the Middle and left him lying…
Powell’s POV: While it’s fun to see main roster wrestlers with NXT history make surprise appearances, I’m not a fan of DIY being heels on the main roster, yet acting like cutesy babyfaces in NXT. I get that the fans are going to cheer most wrestlers when they come back from the main roster, but it would be nice if they were booked to at least try to turn the fans against them. Obviously, we can expect to see more main roster wrestler appearances with the NXT Homecoming themed show from Full Sail University coming up on September 16.
Ava checked on Je’Von Evans inside the trainer’s room. The trainer told Ava that Evans would be okay. Ava told Evans that she would give him a match against Josh Briggs next week if he promised not to interfere in Briggs’ match during this show…
A highlight package aired on Evolve Women’s Champion Kali Armstrong… [C]
Backstage, Ava stood between NXT North American Champion Ethan Page and Tavion Heights. After the wrestlers bickered, Ava booked them in a flag match for next week’s show…
3. Evolve Women’s Champion Kali Armstrong vs. Jordynne Grace in a non-title match. Both entrances were televised. Joseph noted that Armstrong beat Natalya this summer. A graphic listed Josh Briggs vs. Andre Chase as the next match. Grace controlled the majority of the early offense, but Armstrong caught her with an elbow and then threw her into the middle turnbuckle. [C]
Armstrong ran the ropes for a move and was hit by a back fist. Grace followed up with the Juggernaut Driver and got the three count.
Jordynne Grace defeated Evolve Women’s Champion Kali Armstrong in a non-title match in 7:50.
After the match, Blake Monroe made her entrance and fought Grace at ringside. Grace ran Monroe into the ring steps. Monroe stood up and was tackled by Grace. Security guards pulled them apart. Monroe had blood coming from her mouth. She got some on her hands, looked at it, and started shaking…
Powell’s POV: There’s no shame in a character losing to Grace, but watching the Evolve Women’s Champion lose on NXT didn’t exactly inspire me to start watching the Evolve show weekly.
A Lola Vice vignette aired. She said she learned at a young age that everyone has a sob story, so the question was whether she would make excuses or make her dreams come true. She was shown visiting her childhood bedroom in Miami. She spoke about her love of her culture. Vice said being Latina is one thing, but being a Miami Latina is another. She spoke of growing up loud, together, passionate, and close with her family. Vice said wait until you meet her father. She said there’s a reason she puts so much pressure on herself. A “to be continued” graphic closed the video…
Powell’s POV: Being a bald white guy is one thing, but being a bald white guy from the Twin Cities is another. No? Okay, I’ll shut up.
4. Josh Briggs vs. Andre Chase (Uriah Connors, Kale Dixon). Neither entrance was televised. Briggs ran Chase’s back into the ring post before a picture-in-picture break. [C] Joseph said Briggs looked like the “American Lame Ass” when he came out earlier.
Chase stood on the middle rope and threw punches at Briggs before knocking him off the middle rope. Briggs avoided a Chase move and then put him down with a Boss Man Slam. Chase came back with a Stunner. Chase hit a top rope crossbody block for a near fall. The crowd fired up and chanted “NXT.”
Chase superkicked a kneeling Briggs twice. Briggs fired up and blocked a third kick. Briggs chokeslammed Chase, Briggs followed up with a big boot and got the pin…
Josh Briggs defeated Andre Chase in 5:40.
After the match, Briggs attacked Dixon and ran him into the barricade. Connors jumped off the ring steps, but Briggs caught him and chokeslammed him through the broadcast table…
Powell’s POV: That was fun. The live crowd got up for Chase’s hope spots, but obviously, the right guy went over, given the push that Briggs is getting.
Trick Williams was shown heading toward the exit when a cameraman asked him about being attacked by DIY. Williams asked if DIY thought he would let that slide. He said he would see them next week…
Joseph listed the following matches for next week’s show: Ethan Page vs. Tavion Heights in a flag match, Sol Ruca and Zaria vs. Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx vs. Tatum Paxley and Izzi Dame in a Triple Threat for a future shot at the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles, and Je’Von Evans vs. Josh Briggs…
Ricky Saints made his entrance for the main event… [C] A video package aired on the TKO promoted boxing match between Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford for September 13 on Netflix…
Joseph spotlighted the intense look that Blake Monroe had after she saw her own blood…
NXT Champion Oba Femi made his entrance for the main event while Hank Walker and Tank Ledger were in the ring with Ricky Saints. The DarkState entrance followed…
5. Oba Femi, Ricky Saints, Hank Walker, and Tank Ledger vs. “DarkState” Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin, Cutler James, and Saquon Shugars in an eight-man tag match. The referee somehow managed to keep eight wrestlers apart before calling for the opening bell.
Oba was getting the better of James when he looked at Saints and then struck Ricky’s pose. Saints smiled. The babyfaces all charged at James simultaneously in a Hank and Tank “Honk Honk” spot before a PIP break. [C]
Walker was isolated by DarkState. Walker waved to his partner before Osiris whipped him into the corner, where Ledger spiraled out over the top turnbuckle to save his partner. Walker tagged out moments later.
Saints went on the offensive when Femi tagged himself into the match, which upset Saints. After some bickering, Femi tossed Shugars at Saints, who caught him, yet fell down. Saints and Femi fought to the back.
Walker and Ledger hit their Honk Honk spot on Shugars, but he was able to tag out. DarkState set up Walker for their finisher, but Ledger saved his partner. James grabbed Walker by the throat and told him that no one would save him now.
Walker said Joe Hendry’s name. Hendry’s entrance theme played. Hendry appeared on the ring apron. James charged Hendry, who dropped off the apron. Hank and Tank hit James with their finisher, and Walker got the pin.
Oba Femi, Ricky Saints, Hank Walker, and Tank Ledger defeated “DarkState” Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin, Cutler James, and Saquon Shugars in 12:00 in an eight-man tag match.
Hank and Tank celebrated their win with Hendry. Highlights aired of the end of the match. Joseph ran through some of the advertised matches for next week’s show. Hendry’s music played, and he was swaying his arms with Hank and Tank while the fans did the same.
“Oba and Ricky?” Joseph asked. “They’re doing what? Get a camera back there, let’s go.” They cut backstage where Oba and Saints were brawling while security struggled to pull them apart to close the show…
Powell’s POV: They surprised me with the outcome, as it looked like Hank and Tank were screwed once Oba and Saints brawled to the back. Joe Hendry helping out the former NXT Tag Team Champions made for a fun end to the show, but it didn’t do DarkState any favors. That said, James, who took the pin, has been portrayed as a bit of a goof, so perhaps they are planning to replace him in the faction.
Overall, this was an average edition of NXT. There were some minor developments, and it was an easy watch, but nothing says fine if you saw it, fine if you missed it quite like a meaningless eight-man tag. I will be back shortly with our weekly same-night audio review of NXT. Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons). Let me know what you thought of the show by grading it below.
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They need to replace Cutler James with Jasper Troy.
John Moore has proposed this several times. I have mixed feelings. I like Troy a lot and I wish they would do more to protect him. I’m fine with him being in DarkState if the creative team will then get serious about pushing the faction. If not, then I hope they don’t bother adding Troy.
I’m tiring of Hendry. He’s worth having around, but I dont see him having anywhere near the upside that wwe/everyone else does. Happy for the man himself, though.
The whole thing with people saying his name and he just magically appears is getting ridiculous to me.
Agree 100%