By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida, at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live December 9, 2025, on The CW Network
[Hour One] Highlights from the NXT Deadline PLE aired…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer…
NXT Champion Oba Femi made his entrance to start the show. Oba said that true power doesn’t bend, doesn’t break, doesn’t break, but it stands still and watches the world revolve around it. He said he’s true power. Oba said the stars did align for Ricky Saints at No Mercy, and he knocked the ruler off the throne temporarily. Oba said, to be honest, NXT wasn’t the same without The Ruler on top.
Oba said the universe corrected itself and The Ruler regained the title. Oba said he’s champion because this is how it’s supposed to be. Oba said he’s done with Ricky Saints and will stand across the ring from Cody Rhodes at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Oba said Cody won’t see future or potential, but he’ll see the now, ruler, destroyer, Oba Femi. Ricky Saints made his entrance to interrupt Oba’s promo.
Ricky congratuated Oba. Ricky said his bag is lighter because Oba said exactly what he would do. He said he shook his hand because he’s enough of a man to admit that Oba was the better man at Deadline. Ricky said he had thoughts while driving back home that night. Ricky said seeing Oba made him think he’ll never get the title back, but then Ricky remembered exactly who he is, Absolute Ricky Saints.
Ricky said he’s not standing in the back and will be coming to get what’s his. Ricky pointed out how they have one win a piece. Ricky said he’s demanding his rematch at the championship. Je’von Evans made his entrance. Evans said he’s been watching Deadline over and over and over and over again. He talked about surviving the Iron Survivor Challenge. Evans hyped up his title shot at New Years Evil.
Evans then asked, “why wait until January?”. Evans said he’s locked in and ready. Evans asked Oba if he can have the NXT Title match tonight? Ricky asked what’s the rush? Ricky said Je’von is on a roll and shouldn’t rush. Je’von said that if he gets the title then it can be Ricky vs. Je’von for the title. Evans said everyone keeps telling him “are your sure” or “you’re the futre”. Evans said he’s “right now”. Evans said he doesn’t mean to be cocky, but ain’t nobody catching him at age 21.
Evans bragged about killing at Raw, Smackdown, NXT, AAA, and even at house shows. Evans reiterated his challenge to Oba. Ricky quickly, and insecurely, changed his tune, hyping up Evans. Evans told Oba that he has his number. Oba said he’s never been afraid of Evans and he’s always beaten Evans in past matches. Oba said “game on”…
John’s Thoughts: A solid champion promo by Oba Femi who shows he has enough mic presence to back up his physical presence. It’s interesting to see them seemingly be rewriting things on the fly, moving Je’von’s title match to tonight instead of a month from now. Maybe a wonk finish tonight? What this segment also seemingly did was pave the way for a Ricky Saints heel turn with his character looking insecure at points.
Highlights from the Jordynne Grace and Kelani Jordan feud aired…[c]
A clip from the John Cena Last Time is Now interview aired…
Tatum Paxley cut a promo backstage saying the part of her that refused to evolve is now gone due to Izzi. Tatum held up a small Shawn Spears action figure and a giant Niko Vance doll. She tossed down the Spears doll down and said once she gets rid of her problems, her and Izzi will be alone together…
Entrances for the next match took place…
1. Jordynne Grace vs. Kelani Jordan. Kelani jumpped Grace before the bell, but Grace got the advantage. Grace tossed around Kelani with body slams. Grace got a two count after a Michinoku Driver. Grace put Kelani in the corner and hit her with a meteora to the back. Jordan dodged a Vader Bomb and hit Jordynne with a dropkick to the knee. Jordan focused her offense on Jordynne’s knee. Kelani tried to Suplex Grace off the apron, but tripped her when Grace blocked it.[c]
During the break, Booker and Vic were confused in their bickering due to there being two “Jordans” in the match. Kelaani escaped a Vertebreaker attempt with a Chop Block. Kelani tossed Grace into the steel steps. Grace dodged a chair shot and tossed Kelani in the ring. Grace got a two count after a Spinebuster. Grace and Kelani had a slapping match upside down while their legs were tangled.
Grace worked on Kelani with shortarm clotheslines. Grace hit Kelani with a Deadlift German for a two count. Grace slammed Kelani at ringside. The referee took the chair from Grace. This allowed Kelani to kick Grace, who fell through the barricade. Kelani hit Grace with a 450 in the ring for the win.
Kelani Jordan defeated Jordynne Grace via pinfall in 11:26.
Blake Monroe was shown getting her makeup done backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A good win for Jordan with Jordynne costing herself the match making sense due to the high level of hatred in the feud. While it left the Knockouts Title in a “meh” place, I do like that this is a blood feud without a title because we need more feuds without titles or mcguffins. So far so good, with Kelani Jordan as a heel.
Grace was in the locker room ranting about her loss in front of a bunch of developmental wrestlers. Thea Hail showed up to encourage Grace. Grace snapped and said she’s getting advice from some 16 year old. Hail said he’s actually 22, but has been in WWE since 19, so you can say she’s grizzled. Hail ran off to try to answer Blake Monroe’s open challenge…
Blake Monroe made her entrance and talked about how the locker room see her as a role model. She said she’s in a giving mood due to the holidays. Monroe then started the open challenge. A bunch of women wrestlers were making their way to the ring from the ramp. Thea Hail snuck in from behind and put Monroe in the Kimura Lock. Monroe tapped out, but the bell didn’t ring so the match didn’t count. The segment ended…
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Shiloh Hill who said some scientific stuff and said he’s excited to beat up Lexis King. After putting on his tooth guard, Hill ran off…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Eh. I feel like we’ve seen this version of the bait-and-switch enough before. If they are going to do an Open Challenge gimmick, at least save it to where the Open Challenge enhances the storyline. Even if they do it where Blake Monroe as a heel sends out an enhancement tomato can to beat to a pulp.
Lexis King was “already in the ring”. Shiloh Hill made his entrance which had a illuminati and AI motif to it…
2. Shiloh Hill vs. Lexis King. Hill tackled King into the corners and slammed him in the center of the ring. King got a two count after a drop toehold. King worked on Hill with methodical offense. Hill got a moment of respite after a clothesline. Hill took out the tooth guard with a tooth in it and handed it to the ref. Hill rallied and hit King with a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall.
King caught Hill with a Superkick, but Hill jumped for joy. Hill hit King with a pop-up neckbreaker for the win.
Shiloh Hill defeated Lexis King via pinfall in 2:58.
Hill put back in his tooth and jumped for joy again…
Ethan Page was shown backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A simple and effective debut for Shiloh Hill in ring. The guy continues to impress every time we see him. He does things that are off, but the guy naturally comes off as “off”. He’s a intelligent man with sociopathic and masochistic tendencies. That can be a very fun wrestling character. What makes this work is everything he does feels organic, like the guy really is off.
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Oba Femi about his title defense later in the show. Oba talked about how most of his match finishes are predictable, with him as winner. Oba said he hopes Cody Rhodes is watching. He said he’s going to step up to the face of this company, the man that carries WWE. Oba asked Cody who will carry Cody when he gets broken. Oba said he’ll break Je’von Evans and then break The American Nightmare on Saturday…
All Ego Ethan Page made his entrance with his North American and Mixed Tag Championships. Page said it doesn’t matter if you are a superstar, legend, or reptile, you can’t beat him for the championship. Page talked about how he’s old school, while others are distracted with tik toks or social media. Page said they can stay in the back and stare at a champion with belts like Page.
Page said John Cena is having his last match in a few days and will walk away for good. Page said Cena will be a distant memory with a void to be filled. Page said that void can be filled with a man with a giant ego. He talked about winning the NXT Championship in record time. He said he made the North American Championship the most sought after title in WWE, and that’s proven since he’s defended it in multiple companies.
Page said after winning the AAA Mixed Tag Title, a man like that needs a break. Page said the three days important to everyone is the day you were born, die, and discover when Ethan Page is the most important star ever. The lights went out. The video of Tony D’Angelo blurry and walking on the bridge was shown. When the spotlight went back on, Tony D was in the ring. Tony D gave Ethan Page a Uranage. Tony D poured the torn black cloth on Page…
Separate shots of Sol Ruca and Wren Sinclair were shown…[c]
John’s Thoughts: It looked like they were setting up Oba Femi and Tony D going at it due to Tony D being the only other person other than Ricky Saints to get pinfalls on Oba Femi. Now it looks like he’s going to be cryptic and not play his hand out in the open, which should be fun. Again, I’m most intrigued to see if Tony D is going for a different character separate from his Don gimmick? What I do hope is that they don’t repeat this formula too much because it’ll make wrestlers a bit stupid for staying in the ring waiting to eat a Uranage while staring at the same blurry video of him walking on a bridge.
NXT GM Ava had Dion Lennox, Joe Hendry, Myles Borne, and Leon Slater in her office, saying she needs a new New Years Evil number one contender for the NXT Championship. Ava booked the four men in the room in a fatal four way due to them all being tied at Iron Survivor. Ethan Page stormed in the room to rant about Tony D. Myles Borne freaked Page out by saying Tony D was behind him, which pissed off Page…
Wren Sinclair was already in the ring with Kendal Gray. Sol Ruca made her entrance…
3. Sol Ruca vs. Wren Sinclair (w/Kendal Grey). Sol showed off her agility evading Wren’s offense. Wren put Sol in a heel hook, which Sol reversed into a side headlock. Wren got a two count after a small package. Sol hit Wren with an X Factor for a two count. Zaria appeared at the top of the bleechers, which caught Sol’s attention. Wren rolled up Sol a few times for nearfalls. Wren hit Sol with a Whip Kick and Bulldog for a nearfall.
Wren wrenched Sol’s injured leg. Sol escaped and gave Wren a high kick and back elbows. Sol hit Wren with a high time dropkick. Vic noted that Sol Ruca has the most wins in NXT in 2025. Wren hit Sol with a Dragon Suplex. Sol came back with a backstabber boot. Sol hit Wren with the Sol Snatcher for the win.
Sol Ruca defeated Wren Sinclair via pinfall in 3:27.
Zaria teased heading to the ring, but instead headed to the back. Sol chased Zaria to the back…
Back at the ring, Fatal Influence made their entrance…[c]
Back from break, Jacy Jayne confronted Kendal Grey in the ring to congratulate her for winning the Iron Survivor. Jayne said as leader, she’s telling Grey that this is as good as it is going to get for Grey. Jayne said Grey is living high on a dream now, feeling all the love and support. Jayne said Grey’s reality is going to slap her in the face at New Years Evil.
Jayne said Grey’s fall will be catastrophic. Jayne said after New Years Evil, the people will move on to the next flavor of the month. Jayne said Grey might be Evolve Champion, but the NXT Women’s Title is a different level. Jayne said while Grey was making a name for herself, Jayne was taking over 2025. Jayne talked about going from overlooked to proving everyone wrong. She talked about making history by being both NXT Women’s and TNA Knockouts Champion at the same time.
Jayne said she is the rockstar and glue that holds this place together. Jayne said she’s not going to let a bootleg Kurt Angle with a ponytail steal her spotlight. Grey said Jayne is right about the momentum, but Grey has momentum now. Grey said she has a lot to learn, but no one expected her to win iron survivor, and she did. Grey said no one expects her to beat Jayne. Grey talked about Jayne being in the same position against Stephanie Vaquer.
Grey said anything can happen in pro wrestling. Grey said if Jayne wants to treat their match as a joke, go ahead. She said what she likes about being the underdog is seeing the face of the opponent when the underdog bites back. Wren said maybe the Wren-QCC will take both Jayne’s and Fallon’s titles. Fallon teased trash talk, but then clocked Grey in the face. All three Fatal Influence members jumped Grey. Wren tried to save Grey, but also got jumped. Fatal Influence posed to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: I think it’s clear why they rushed the title off of Tatum Paxley to Jayne, to set up a Kendal Grey title quest (though I still think they did things poorly on the Izzi and Tatum end with the lame dolls and crap). Jacy Jayne was really good here and you can tell how much she’s grown from being that person people would overlook to top villain. Kendal Grey is rough on the mic, but she wasn’t ultra-horrible and she has room to improve, that’s what developmental is for. She is already made because she has a great look and is really good in the ring for her limited time in the industry. Only thing I didn’t like about this promo was Jayne putting the “Kurt Angle” tag on Kendal Grey, because that Kurt Angle tag has been more of an albatross than a perk in recent memory.
The cell phone highlight video of Hank Walker and Tank Ledger’s Japanese excursion aired, where they won and lost the GHC Tag Team Championships while in Noah…
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Hank Walker and Tank Ledger who were wearing Yukatas and acting like a couple of weeaboos. Lucien Price and Bronco Nima pulled up to trash talk. Hank and Tank challenged OTM to a match next week…[c]
John’s Thoghts: As a weeb that contains my weebiness, I would actually be happy to see Hank and Tank adopt becoming pro wrestling weeaboos (That’s the gimmick I thought the two MxM Collection guys should have been using all along).
Blake Monroe ran to Ava to cry to her about the failed open challenge. Blake said there are no more open challenges after this. Ava then booked Blake in a match against Thea Hail for next week…
Sol Ruca and Zaria talked in the parking lot. Zaria said she just came out to support her earlier and she wished Sol luck on Saturday. Sol said she hopes Zaria can be there on Saturday. Sol and Zaria hugged it out…
John’s Thought: They are really really dragging this breakup out.
Joe Hendry vs. Leon Slater vs. Myles Borne vs. Dion Lennox and Blake Monroe vs. Thea Hail was announced for next week…
Je’von Evans made his entrance…[c]
A replay aired of Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo becoming the new TNA International Champion at Final Resolution aired…
John’s Thoughts: What? Boooo! Another title? (The NXT undercard vs. TNA feud on TNA TV is also ass too!).
NXT Champion Oba Femi made his entrance. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship match introductions with 12 minutes left at the top of the hour…
4. Oba Femi vs. Je’von Evans for the NXT Championship. Oba used his power early on to pressure Je’von to the corner. Jevon caught Oba with a superkick. Oba blocked Je’von’s springboard cutter. Je’von hit Oba with a Knee Plus for a surprisingly good nearfall. Oba slowed things down with a right hand. Je’von came back with his signature overhead flip kick. Oba came back with a delayed backbreaker on Evans. Vic noted that Oba didn’t arrive tonight for a title defense and this was impromptu.
Evans escaped and dumped Oba to ringside with a dropkick. Je’von went for a springboard, but Oba yanked him out of the air. Je’von reversed a whip into an impressive Asai Moonsault, and shoved Oba into the apron off the reversal. Oba caught Je’von with a clothesline heading into break.[c]
Oba was dominating back from break. Evans gave Oba a huracanrana at ringside. Evans sidestepped Oba to send him over the announce table. Booker crash and burned at ringside avoiding Oba. Evans caught Oba with a Slingshot Frog Splash in the ring. Evans hit Oba with a Frog Splash for a good nearfall with three minutes left at the top of the hour. Both men traded hooks.
Evans hit Oba with a spin kick. Evans hit Oba with a dive to ringside. Oba punched Evans out of the air with a right hook. Oba no-sold a German Suplex. Evans surprised Oba with an RKO outta nowhere. Oba hit Evans with a spinning uppercut. Oba hit Evans with a Shot Put. Evans reversed a Fall From Grace with a RKO.
Evans hit Oba with a springboard cutter. Evans had the visual pinfall, but Ricky pulled the referee away. Evans took out Ricky. Oba turned Evans inside out with a clothesline in the corner. Oba tackled Evans a few times in the corner. Oba hit Evans with a Fall from Grace for the win.
Oba Femi defeated Je’von Evans via pinfall in 13:36 to retain the NXT Championship.
Oba flashed Ricky a snarl as he passed him. The show closed with Ricky flashing a sinister glare at Je’von…
John’s Thoughts: Awesome match that actually benefited with the CW local news time crunch (where NXT is always hurt by that crunch). The time crunch made those nearfalls at the end way more epic and all credit for that goes to how good Je’von Evans is. WWE really hit the jackpot in terms of talent with this guy. I actually liked how they booked things around this match. Simple thing like having Ava book Leon Slater in a number one contenders match, had me wondering if they are trying to cash in on that crazy Evans vs. Slater match for the title on January 6th.
They telegraphed a Evans vs. Saints, zoomer vs. millenial, feud a mile away two weeks ago. This is an example of all things working and coming together nicely. NXT is still in a tough place in terms of their male storyline and talent depth chart, but tonight and Deadline have done a decent job at least patching up the main event picture (I hope after either January 6th, or even Stand and Deliver, they end up revamping their men’s division). Looking forward to Oba vs. Cody on Saturday. As for New Years Evil, are they going to go with their other foreshadow target of Dion Lennox winning? We’ll see. Overall, solid weekly edition of NXT this week.
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