By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Hits
Joe Hendry and Myles Borne vs. Ricky Saints and Ethan Page: Hendry beat Saints at Vengeance Day, and Borne beat Page twice over the last two weeks. In other words, the heel duo had to win. There was tension between Saints and Page during the match. It was hysterical to watch them gleefully put that aside and obnoxiously celebrate together after Page stole the win for his team.
Tony D’Angelo promo: I was down on D’Angelo’s character shift last week because his mic work seemed dry compared to his previous persona. He bounced back nicely this week while moving on from DarkState and shifting his focus to the NXT Championship. D’Angelo showed good fire and had the live crowd with him as he vowed to be the next NXT Champion.
Sol Ruca vs. Lainey Reid: The match was laid out to showcase Reid’s in-ring skills before she took the loss. She was impressive, and the match was entertaining, which is why it landed in this section. But this is a WWE product. If the creative team wants to get Reid over, she’ll need to be more than Sidekick No. 2 for Jacy Jayne. Fallon Henley was really good in her babyface role, but she became a generic supporting heel when Fatal Influence was formed. This isn’t a knock on Jayne, who has thrived as the faction leader. But with Jayne firmly established, it’s time to develop real characters for her stablemates.
Tatum Paxley and Izzi Dame: A soft Hit. The live crowd seemed ready to move on from this feud. I would have been with the fans had the plan been to stretch it out until Stand & Deliver, but announcing the likely feud-ending steel cage match for next week works for me.
NXT tag team tournament: Finally, the tag teams get to do more than work big multi-team matches designed to do little more than get them all on the show.
Wren Sinclair vs. Thea Hail in a tournament final for a shot at the WWE Women’s Speed Championship: A soft Hit because there’s only so much enthusiasm I can muster up for Speed matches.
NXT Misses
Eli Knight vs. Sean Legacy vs. Jasper Troy in a Triple Threat: The double pin finish was a groaner. It didn’t help Knight or Legacy to win in this fashion, and Troy’s monster status took a hit when Keanu Carver manhandled him well before he took the double pin loss.
Lexis King and Uriah Connors vs. Charlie Dempsey and Tavion Heights: The match was fine, but the formation of the Birthright faction feels backwards. Dempey strikes me as the person who should have started and led the group rather than being the last person to join. It’s also absurd that they rolled out William Regal and Fit Finlay, yet Dempsey and Connors don’t use their famous fathers’ last names.
Kendal Grey: The gag with Grey shoving cake in her mouth and getting it all over her face left me wondering if David McLane has secretly taken over NXT creative.
(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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