By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Hits
Ethan Page vs. Elio LeFleur for the NXT North American Championship: An impressive initial showing for LeFleur. Despite losing the match, debuting in a competitive title match worked out well for LeFleur. It’s not something that should become the norm. In fact, it stood out because it’s something that rarely happens. What more is there to say about Page? He makes everything work with a wide variety of opponents, and he deserves that sweet main roster money.
Sol Ruca and Zaria vs. Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair vs. Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid in a Triple Threat for a shot at the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Titles: They closed the show with a quality three-way tag and another crowd-pleasing win for Ruca and Zaria. It’s just hard to be all that excited about Ruca and Zaria (or any other team) earning a shot at the Knockouts Tag Team Titles.
Jaida Parker and Blake Monroe: The bulk of the Hit goes to Parker for her impressive mic skills. Her promo went a little longer than it should have. Monroe’s interruption would have packed more of a punch had it occurred right after Parker’s promo peaked. Even so, this was a good segment for a feud that looks entertaining on paper.
“Swipe Right” Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor vs. Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors: A good back-and-forth match that felt like it could have gone either way. Ultimately, the right team went over. Dixon and Connors have taken a lot of losses and haven’t connected with the fans as characters yet, so it would have sent the wrong message about the Vanity Project newcomers had Smokes and Baylor lost to them. That said, the teams worked well enough together that I hope to see them run it back, ideally with more time than this brief match was given.
Keanu Carver: He wanted nothing to do with Blake Howard’s sit-down interview, and he shit-talked Booker T. I like this guy. Poor Howard was also shoved while in the hellscape known as the WWE Performance Center parking lot. Apparently, Kelly Kincaid’s character picked a good week to take off.
Sean Legacy vs. Eli Knight in a qualifying match for the six-way ladder match for the vacant NXT Championship: A soft Hit for good ring work. The lack of build for the match was disappointing. Both wrestlers are fairly new to NXT, yet they weren’t given any mic time to give fans a rooting interest or to sell them on why they should or shouldn’t want them to qualify for the ladder match. The post-match attack by Tony D’Angelo didn’t do any favors for Legacy or Knight. Here’s hoping the D’Angelo story will move forward now that his character was hauled off by the security guards who were oddly dressed like ICE agents.
NXT Misses
Shiloh Hill vs. Josh Briggs in a qualifying match for the six-way ladder match for the vacant NXT Championship: A minor Miss. I want to like Hill because he’s unique and has talent, but they’re not making it easy from a creative standpoint. Can we get through a Hill segment or match with no focus on his missing tooth and/or his retainer? Hill has upside, but this tooth thing is more strange than endearing. Meanwhile, it was another loss for Briggs, who just can’t seem to get a sustained push.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time dating back to 1997. He hosts a weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)
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