NXT TV results (7/21): Moore’s review of Tony D’Angelo vs. Naraku in a street fight for the NXT Championship, Reina Volcan vs. Skylar Raye, Nattie vs. Jaida Parker

By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)

NXT TV
Orlando, Florida, at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live July 21, 2026, on The CW Network

[Hour One] GM Robert Stone was talking to a referee and telling him to make sure Tony D’Angelo and Naraku don’t touch before the main event. Right after, Thea Hail and Nattie barged in at separate times to ask the GM for things. Nattie told Stone that she’ll end Jaida Parker tonight. Stone followed Nattie as she left while Thea couldn’t get her request in…

Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer…

Entrances for the opening match took place. Saquon Shugars jumped DarkState before the bell, starting a brawl with all six men. The referee rang the bell after Noam Dar and Cutler James agreed they were ready…

1. “DarkState” Dion Lennox, Cutler James, and Osiris Griffin vs. Saquon Shugars, Noam Dar, and Romeo Moreno. Dar got a two count on James after hitting him with kicks. Osiris and Shugars tagged in. Osiris took down Saquon with a body slam. Cutler and Griffin used quick tags for tandem offense on Shugars. Shugars came back with a Slingshot Chop Block on Griffin. Romeo tagged in and hit Griffin with a double stomp to the back.

Griffin caught Romeo out of the air, but he escaped a hold. Dar blind tagged in and took down Griffin. Romeo and Dar took out Cutler and Griffin with stereo PKs after dumping Dion to ringside. Cutler and Griffin recovered after the face team tried to triple bomb Dion. Cutler and Griffin stood tall heading into break.[c]

Back from break, Dar managed to escape the isolation offense and tag in Saquon Shugars, who cleaned  cleaned house. Shugars hit Griffin and Cutler with a high flying crossbody. Shugars hit Cutler into a Falcon Arrow Cartwheel Dropkick for a nearfall. Dion broke up the pin and traded hands iwth SHugars. Shugars dumped Dion off the apron with a dropkick. Cutler surprised Shugars with a backbreaker and hit Romeo with a Uppercut.

Saquon reversed a Shield Bomb on Dion for a nearfall. Romeo hit Griffin with a Missile Knee Plus. Dar tripped Cutler off the apron. Shugars hit DarkState at ringside with a Flip Dive. Shugars gave Dion a Death Valley Driver through the plywood under the crow’s nest. Romeo rolled up Cutler for a two count. Cutler hit Romeo with a Pump Kick. Cutler and Griffin gave Romeo a Double Blue Thunder Bomb to give Griffin the victory.

DarkState defeated Romeo Moreno, Noam Dar, and Saquon Shugars via pinfall in 9:26.

Vic noted that Shugars and Dion were still brawling at ringside. Referees and the rest of DarkState held both men apart…

Lizzy Rain was ranting in front of the women’s locker room about NXT being more crazy than mosh pits. The rest of the women took turns letting out their frustrations. Before things can get tense, Hail cut in and wished Skylar Raye and Jaida Parker good luck in their upcoming matches to calm down tension…

The Unreal season 3 ad aired, which featured Oba Femi…[c]

John’s Thoughts: A fun opener with everyone looking good. I’m not sold on them extending the Saquon Shugars vs. DarkState feud yet as it feels like it’s dragging along after Shugars got his win on them (The “get their heat” back segment was pretty basic and didn’t really help make me want to see more of their feud). Maybe they find a way to heat that back up? What I liked more was the other two against Dar and Moreno and how NXT is doing a good job revitalizing their tag team division in the past month or so. Romeo taking the pin doesn’t hurt their team as he should be eating pins as the up and coming rookie. Meanwhile, Cutler and Griffin look strong in the end. And hey! Someone won a match with a Blue Thunder Bomb, albeit it took two people to boost the move.

NXT Women’s Champion Kendal Grey and WWE Speed Women’s Champion Wren Sinclair made their entrance for a promo segment. Number One Contender Lola Vice made her entarnce to confront Kendal. Kendal said she’d be fine running it back with Kali or Kelani, but she’s happy Lola won. Lola said she worked too hard to just step aside. She said she knew Kendal will make it to the top, but only when Lola’s done and she’s not done yet.

Lola said she took every challenge to the chin and moved forward. She said she moved through Lyra, Roxanne, Stephanie, Jacy, and finally it was her time. Kendal said she gets that. She said Lola became everything she was supposed to be, and then ran into “me”. Lola said she remembers when Kendal was nervous, overwhelmed, and shy when she won the title. She said that was cute. She pointed out Kendal saying Lola has the look of a champion.

Lola said instead she sees Kendal as a person looking for validation. Kendal said she doesn’t need validation because the title is validation. Kendal said unlike Lola, she didn’t need the years that Lola put in. Lola said Kendal did rise fast, and she’s looking forward to see how fast it all ends for Kendal. Lola talked about a looking like a champion, knowing herself, and knowing her worth. She said in Kendal, she sees someone who is shy, insecure, and vulnerable.

Kendal said you can call her that, but she isn’t weak. She said she’s honest to herself and to the fans. She said she doesn’t think Lola or anyone can beat her at her best. Lola said that Kendal was the best woman that one night. Lola said Kendal beat her in a match, but not in a fight. Kendal said she knows where this is all going and she’s looking forward to it. Lola said she’s going to expose Kendal and on August 4 they’ll meet in The Underground. Kendal agreed to the match.

Lola said when she knocks Kendal Grey out, lil miss pick me girl will need to get picked up from the mat. Kendal said she’s going to whoop Lola’s ass so bad that she’ll go back to shake it (damn, good bars from both women). The segment ended with Vic Joseph pointing out Lola has not lost a Underground match…

John’s Thoughts: Ohhhh, awesome and tense exchange. Especially the final bars where Lola threw out the “pick me girl” salvo only for Kendal to come back with a nice punch by calling out Lola’s proclivity for booty shaking. This was a great babyface vs. babyface with very logical tension between both women. I’m really proud of how far Lola Vice has come along on the mic and she elevated Kendal here; but I’m also happy to see that Kendal is getting more of a chance to show herself to the audience as well as becoming more of a natural promo.

A hype package aired for the upcoming Tony D’Angelo vs. Naraku street fight…

Keanu Carver made his entrance…[c]

Hank and Tank made their entrance…

2. Keanu Carver vs. Hank Walker (w/Tank Ledger). Hank had the initial advantage with strikes. Carver blocked a suplex, but Hank came back with a Muay Thai Knee, elbow to the back, and Big Boot. Carver ate a boot, but returned the fire with a boot to dump Hank to ringside. Tank tossed Hank in the ring. Hank hit Carver with a Bossman Slam for a nearfall. Carver put extra effort in tossing Hank across the ring. Carver gave Hank a gutbuster.

Carver gave Hank elbows and a Northern Lariat. Hank tried to rally back with hands, but Carver came back with a Fallaway Slam. Tank tried to rally Hank to his feet, but Carver tossed Tank into the steel steps. This distraction allowed Hank to hit Carver with a Suicide Dive. Hank tossed Carver in the ring and hit him with a flying shoulder tackle. Carver dodged a diving lariat and hit Hank with a Monty Brown Pounce. Carver hit Hank with a Spinebuster for the win.

Keanu Carver defeated Hank Walker via pinfall in 4:30. 

Carver put the boots to Hank. Tank went for the save, but Carver recovered and power bombed him on the announce table that didn’t break (“I am the Table” moment). EK Prosper ran out and gave Carver a double stomp off the back from the barricade (I thought it was Leon Slater for a bit given the du rag look EK had). EK tossed Keanu back in the ring. Hank and Tank hit Keanu with the Honk Honk and High Low Power Slam. The babyfaces stood tall to end the segment…

John’s Thoughts: Slowly and surely, they’re rebuilding Keanu after his two losses to EK. He got to beat Hank and Tank in good short and sweet matches. Hank looked good as well, as we don’t see him work singles a lot. I liked EK running out for the save and getting the better of Keanu in this case as it was a three on one situation and EK has had Keanu’s number. I hope this all ends with Keanu getting a clean win on EK in the end (and maybe beating EK to a pulp) so Keanu can get his aura of invincibility back.

Nattie and The Dungeon approached Thea Hail backstage. Nattie told Thea what she was doing wasn’t working and she should join her group. Nattie said she can aspire to be a legend like her, or a soft BITCH like Jaida Parker. Hail said she actually likes Jaida Parker more. Petrovic told her crew to leave. After they left, Thea Hail said she hopes Jaida punches Nattie’s teeth in…[c]

Another Unreal Season 3 ad aired, featuring Cody Rhodes…

Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary where they hyped WWE Money in the Bank…

They sent the show to Shiloh Hill meeting Danhausen. Danhausen said he likes that Hill was the master of the web of darkness (Darkweb). Hill told called Tristan Angels “Super obnoxious, really british”. He asked Danhausen if he can get a replacement tooth. Danhausen went through his jar of teeth and told Hill if he had human currency. Hill said he had stolen crypto. Danhausen agreed…

John’s Thoughts: That was cheesy, but well done. Some of the best comedy stuff from Hill and Danhausen was as sharp as usual with his comedy. Loved them going into their reputations, like how Danhausen has his teeth jar and is very nice very evil; but also how Thunder Keck (Shiloh Hill’s real name) is actually involved with shady Dark Web activity and crypto in real life (Thunder Keck as a full YouTube channel where he showcases all his shady hacking and conspiracy theory stuff).

Entrances for the next match took place…

3. Jaida Parker vs. Nattie Neidhart (w/Nikkita Lyons, Karmen Petrovic). Nattie had the initial advantage, but had to stall on the ropes once Parker came back with hands and trash talked. Nattie and Jaida traded slaps. Jaida hit Nattie with a few clotheslines. Jaida set Nattie up and hit her with her signature draping Banzai Drop. Nattie rolled to ringside to avoid Hip Notic. Parker gave Petrovic a baseball slide. This allowed Nattie to take down Jaida with a chop block heading into break.[c]

Back from break, Nattie escaped a Rings of Saturn and hit Jaida with an Anvil Clothesline for a nearfall. Nattie then hyperextended Jaida’s arm over the top rope. Nattie worked on Jaida with methodical offense. Jaida got a moment of respite with a Samoan Drop, while also selling an injured knee. Nattie and Jaida traded right hands. Both women traded rollup counters. Jaida hit Nattie with a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall.

[Hour Two] Jaida went for her signature Banzai Drop again, but Nattie escaped and tossed Jaida into the corner. Nattie hit Jaida with a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Nattie put Jaida in a Sharpshooter. Jaida got to the rope for the break, but Nattie used her five seconds to bend Jaida over the bottom rope. Jaida tossed Nattie’s knee into the steel steps. Jaida slapped her leg to try to bring life back into it.

Jaida chop blocked Nattie in the ring. Vic noted that Nattie might have injured her knee on the steps. Jaida put Nattie in the Hart Sharpshooter and dragged Nattie to the center of the ring. Nikkita Lyons tossed in the white towel for the ref stoppage.

Jaida Parker defeated Nattie Neidhart via white towel ref stoppage in 11:40.

The camera panned over to show that it wasn’t Nikkita, but rather Thea Hail who tossed in the towel. A replay aired where Karmen Petrovic actually stopped Nikkita from throwing in the towel, but Thea ran in, stole the towel, and tossed it in when the referee wasn’t looking…

Another hype package aired for the upcoming Tony D vs. Naraku street fight…

John’s Thoughts: A good match while it lasted with a clever cheap finish to protect Nattie (I actually would have saved that cheap finish for a PLE and hope they don’t over use the white towel finish). Only thing I don’t like about white towel finishes is they always make sure to spotlight the towel throughout the match like it’s Checkov’s Towel. We also have to suspend our disbelief in the finish that Vic and Booker didn’t see Thea Hail running in front of them (but them acting dumb did make the reveal better). Jaida Parker has been a bit stale in this feud and Nattie has been a bit tempered compared to her indie “Nattie” persona (I get that she can’t curse and stuff, but she got one “bitch” in and Kevin Owens has proven that you can still be edgy Kevin Steen in PG WWE). I actually think the person who actually gained most in that win was Thea Hail, who finally got to do something in a story as opposed to be enhancement fodder (she did win her recent match in TNA too).

Izzi Dame and Niko Vance made their entrance with Culling theme…[c]

GM Robert Stone was on the phone backstage. Kelani Jordan caught up with Robert Stone to show him that she was robbed by the referee last week. Stone said it looked borderline and the referee’s decision is final. Kelani said she was screwed over again and walked off. OTM pulled up on Stone. Stone said they get their match against BirthRight next week. Stone then told Bronco Nima that they have to talk since NXT and AAA have an upcoming show on the same day and they need to figure out which show Nima wants to work due to Nima being  a part of the heel Perros Del Mal faction. Lucien Price said they can talk later. Price walked away looking a bit dejected…

John’s Thoughts: Again, I’m not a huge fan of them already trying to break up OTM. Especially after they survived on the roster for years and barely getting time to really get their feet under them due to injuries. I think they’re a great powerhouse tag team. I also continue to think that if Mike Santana is WWE-bound, that OTM is tailored fit for Santana to join given Santana’s real life “Out The Mud” story.

The camera focused on Shawn Spears’s chair on the top of the ramp. Vic noted that this was Spears’s third stint in WWE [developmental] and he’s still looking for a big win (since 2004? damn). While Niko was distracted by Shawn Spears’s chair at the top of the ramp, Spears jumped Niko from behind and was rewarded with the ref ringing the bell (ugh, usually NXT is good at this, but it still annoys me when the referee rewards the person for cheap shotting before the match)…

4. Niko Vance (w/Izzi Dame) vs. Shawn Spears. Niko came back by using his back to pressure Spears into the corner. Spears came back with a Thesz Press. Niko came back with methodical offense. Spears hit Niko with a clothesline. Izzi dragged Niko away to recover. Spears went for a dive, but kinda botched it. Spears recovered and hit Niko with a suplex and elbow at ringside (good recovery). Izzi distracted Spears when he went for a chokeslam. This allowed Niko to power slam Spears at ringside.[c]

Back from break, Vance was dumped to ringside, but landed on his feet. Spears pulled Vance off the top rope and followed up with an Atomic Drop. Spears rallied with chops and an Axe Handle. Spears hit Vance with CQC into a double stomp. Izzi distracted Spears, which allowed Niko to hit him with a headbutt and swinging DDT for  a nearfall. Niko complained about the ref’s count. Spears waved at Niko to bring it, also calling him a bitch.

Spears punched Niko out of the air. Spears brought his signature chair into the ring. Lizzy Ran ran out when Izzi went for the distraction. Spears then did the Eddie Guerrero fake chairshot spot, and it actually worked.

Shawn Spears defeated Niko Vance via DQ in 11:05. 

Niko threw a fit at ringside. Spears was sill using The Culling’s theme…

John’s Thoughts: A night of unorthodox finishes. Again, nobody wins with the Eddie Guerrero fake chairshot finish, but we’re pulling that out now on this random episode of NXT? It did it’s job, I guess. I’m actually looking more forward to the Perfect 10 coming back if that’s where they’re going. Again, they keep bringing up Shawn’s past.

Robert Stone asked Kam Hendrix where his health bar was at? Kam said his health decreased to 67.2%. Myles Borne and Tavion Heights pulled up. Borne asked Stone if he and Tavion can reunite as NQCC and get a shot at the tag titles. Kam cut in and said that Borne needs to defend the title against him first. Borne agreed and asked Stone if they can have that singles match?

Stone said he doesn’t think Kam is medically cleared. Kam took out his phone and said he got a text from the medical staff and his health bar is at 107%. Kam said he can wrestle next week. Stone agreed to give Kam his title shot and if Borne can win, he and Tavion can get their tag title shot…

A quick Reina Volcan vignette aired to hype up her debut…[c]

Vic did an ad read for Zuffa Boxing…

Skylar Raye was “already in the ring”. Reina Volcan came out to cool heavy metal music which also had a Latin choir background…

5. Reina Volcan vs. Skylar Raye. Volcan hit Raye with a strong body slam to start the match. Raye showed a bit of fear in her eyes and ate a shoulder tackle. Volcan hit Raye with an Orton Power Slam for a two count. Raye rallied with right hands. Vic noted that several wrestlers in WWE are very high on Volcan. Volcan slammed Raye and gave her elbows to the lower back. Raye used double boots to escape a butterfly stretch. Raye ducked hooks and rallied with strikes.

Raye hit Volcan with a Tornado DDT. Volcan swatted Raye out of the air with a lariat. Voncan picked up the win with a Torture Rack.

Reina Volcan defeated Skylar Raye via submission in 3:04. 

John’s Thoughts: Simple and effective squash with Raye’s hope spot not hurting Reina. Reina is already money. She already has the look of a thicc goddess. We know she’s a good promo coming off her vignettes. I already see main event potential in her given her look, ability, and presentation. In a way, I wouldn’t mind a clash between her and Jade Cargill down the road. Goddess vs. goddess, earthquake vs. storm. On the other side, I actually think Raye did good work making Reina look good by being cannon fodder with good facial expressions. She gives me that old TNA Taylor Wilde look and she can be a good plucky babyface down the road once she gets her big win.

Robert Stone was randomly eating KFC popcorn chicken for some heavy handed product placement. Shiloh Hill came in and was serious. He said Angels tried to embarrass him and vengeance consumes him. Stone got intimidated and booked Hill and Angels in a match next week. Hill calmed down and took the chicken boxes, saying it’s finger lickin’ good. In the most cheesy commercial way, Stone said “man do I wish I had some KFC popcorn chicken”…

John’s Thoughts: Ugh. That was a bit heavy handed for a product placement spot, even more than the makeup ones they did with the women around a year ago. It’s also jarring trying to have Hill go from sadistic only to go into clownshoes for the product placement.

An SUV pulled up to the parking lot. Vic noted that the SUV might contain who Stone was talking on the phone with all day? The show cut to commercial when the door opened…[c]

The following matches were advertised for next week: Shiloh Hill vs. Tristan Angels, Myles Borne vs. Kam Hendrix for the NXT North American Champion, and Lizzy Rain vs. Izzi Dame…

Naraku made his entrance. Vic noted that this was the first time the NXT Championship will be defended in a Street Fight. NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo made his entrance wearing a chest protector. Mike Rome tried to do the formal in-ring introductions, but the referee called for the bell early due to it being hard to hold back Tony…

6. Tony D’Angelo vs. Naraku in a Street Fight for the NXT Championship. Naraku immediately hit Tony D with red Poison Mist right after the bell. Naraku then tossed Tony D into the LED barricade and steel steps. Naraku then tossed in the usual trash cans, chairs, and kendo sticks. Naraku hit Tony with a chair and set up a few chairs in the center of the ring. Naraku hit Tony D with a Suplex on the set up chairs for a two count.

Tony D managed to backdrop Naraku on a steel chair. Tony got a water bottle from a fan and rinsed his eyes. Tony D recovered and speared Naraku through the barricade.[c]

During the break, Naraku tossed Tony D’Angelo into Shawn Michaels and Matt Bloom, who were at the monitors at Gorilla Position. Also during the break, Tony D broke up Naraku’s kendo stick with a crowbar. Back from break, Naraku dragged a ladder in the ring. Tony D recovered and press slammed the ladder on Naraku. Tony D brought a Slim Jim table into the ring. Vic noted that Tony D couldn’t see his newborn child Vincenzo clearly due to Naraku’s mist.

Naraku reversed an Alabama Slam with a rollup. Tony sent Naraku into a trash can in the corner for a nearfall. Naraku gave Tony D a throat chop and crotched him on the top rope. Naraku used a lariat to dump Tony D to ringside. Tony D used a ladder to jab Naraku in the gut. Naraku reversed Tony D’s power bomb with Into the Abyss at ringside. Naraku gave Tony D a uranage to break the announce table and spill Vic’s candy all over.

Naraku dragged Tony’s dead weight into the ring and got a two count. Naraku loaded up another mist, but Tony D blocked it with his hands. Tony then rubbed the mist in Naraku’s eyes. Tony wailed on Naraku with a Kendo Stick and used it to low blow Naraku. Tony D dragged Naraku to the steel steps set up in the ring and chokeslammed Naraku through the table for the pinfall win.

Tony D’Angelo defeated Naraku via pinfall in 12:03 to retain the NXT Championship. 

While Tony D was celebrating in the ring, Former TNA World Champion Mike Santana made his entrance through the crowd. They allowed him to keep his TNA entrance music. Vic noted that Mike Santana has “crossed the line”. NXT closed with Tony D and Santana posing at each other…

John’s Thoughts: Looks like Mike Santana already made his decision before GTA 6 and LeBron’s latest decision (given that Mike Santana still talks about his time in AEW being a negative and dark time in his life when he does interviews, I’m not surprised WWE was the only real option). Back to the match, a solid WWE PG hardcore match. I’m surprised they rushed to this match on TV as they could have used less time constraints (they could have also scratched a match from this card, so it’s their fault they didn’t have more time allocated).

I don’t think Naraku is hurt too much coming off his two losses. I was already down on Evil over the years as he was established as a forgettable mid-card act, but was a good hand in the ring. I think NXT has done a solid job reinventing Naraku as a top singles act that is dangerous and unpredictable (I mean, this guy will blow your face off with a bomb). The key is the follow up. I wouldn’t mind if they do a similar thing to what they did to put Jackson Drake back on track, and give Naraku a team member or enforcer?  As for the other side, these series of matches did make Tony D’Angelo look more badass and add credibility to him as a world champion.

As for Mike Santana’s debut as a full time presumed member of the WWE roster, I like that they didn’t lay it on too thick when Stone was on the phone backstage, as it did make it more of a surprise. Framing things as surprises helps television shows in the long run as it allows viewers to know that surprises can happen. Happy they allowed Santana to keep his rap entrance music and I hope he doesn’t get Def Rebel’d like many other WWE stars. Unlike them rushing the NXT Championship to comedy wrestler Joe Hendry, I wouldn’t mind NXT rushing the title onto Mike Santana given he’s main roster ready and they need to get what they can from him. What they get in Mike Santana is a top-face-of-the-brand babyface, who bet on himself, and is proven to be a good spokesperson for a brand. NXT needs that and star power now, so now is the best time to hand him the ball to run with it.