By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida, at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live February 24, 2026, on The CW Network
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer…
Interim GM Robert Stone checked in from the crow’s nest to hype the advertised matches on this week’s show…
Entrances for the opening match took place…
1. “DarkState” Osiris Griffin and Saquon Shugars (w/Cutler James, Dion Lennox) vs. “The Vanity Project” Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor (w/Jackson Drake) for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Griffin and Smokes started the match. Smokes and Baylor ran into Griffin like a brick wall. Baylor tagged in and went for a crossbody, which was no sold. Smokes was caught out of the air and tossed into Baylor. Shugars tagged in and hit Smokes with a clothesline for a one count. Griffin tagged in. Shugars hit Smokes with an assisted legdrop into a sidewalk slam for a two count for Griffin.
Vanity Project tried to swarm Griffin with punches but were separated. Griffin and Shugars hit Baylor with an assisted neckbreaker after a jawbreaker for a two count. Shugars hit Baylor with a wrecking ball kick. Shugars hit Baylor with a catapult. Griffin caught Baylor out of the air and tossed him into Shugar’s boot. DarkState dumped Vanity Project to ringside.[c]
Back from break, Vanity Project cut the ring in half on Shugars. Vic noted the looming fear of Tony D’Angelo hanging for DarkState. Shugars backdropped Smokes and managed to tag in Osiris for the hot tag. Griffin caught both Vanity Project members with a crossbody. Griffin chokeslammed Baylor and tossed Smokes into Baylor for a two count on Baylor. Smokes caught Griffin with a Gamengiri. Smokes got a jackknife two count on Griffin.
Shugars tagged in and hit Baylor with a Shotgun Dropkick. DarkState hit Baylor with a Dropkick Doomsday Device. Drake put Baylor’s foot on the bottom rope for the break. While the referees were keeping apart Dion and Cutler from Jackson Drake, Tony D’Angelo gave Shugars a Spinebuster on the apron. Tony D tossed Baylor in the ring for the pinfall on Shugars.
The Vanity Project defeated DarkState via pinfall in 11:51 to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions.
John’s Thoughts: Interesting dynamic here. Vanity Project are the chicken heels, so DarkState were the fan favorite de facto babyfaces for the night. The crowd seemed fine with that, and I think Saquon and Osiris filled in well in that role. We actually haven’t seen this configuration of DarkState much as it was originally Osiris and Dion doing the tag team work. While their template, The Shield, were protected, DarkState seems to be booked 50-50 at best. Again, I would reboot the stable if they have big plans for them. On top of that, they are telling the story that one man Tony D is going to steamroll them? That won’t do them any favors. I like Vanity Project as chicken heel champs and they might be able to have a fun run with the titles, notably with their annoying character works which serves them well as heels.
Sarah Schrieber interviewed Myles Borne about what he did to Ethan Page last week. Borne talked about how Page didn’t believe he would go that far with his leg. Borne talked about how no one believed in him when he joined WWE or even joined college football. Borne said he’s not going to be just known as the deaf kid, but as the new North American Champion.
Keanu Carver made his entrance…[c]
Sean Legacy made his entrance…
2. Keanu Carver vs. Sean Legacy. Carver was dumped to ringside and hit with a wrecking ball kick, but he no sold the offense. Carver blocked a Suicide Dive with a right hook. Carver dumped Legacy to ringside. Carver hit Legacy with Snake Eyes on the apron. Carver put the boots to Legacy. Carver hit Legacy with a gutbuster. Carver tossed Legacy with a press slam. Legacy tried to rally back, but to no avail.
Carver tried to spear Legacy through the crow’s nest again, but Legacy caught Carver with a superkick. Legacy hit Carver with a 450 for a two count. . Legacy hit Carver with a Slingshot Dropkick. Carver tossed Legacy across the ring. Carver hit Legacy with the Monty Brown Pounce. Carver hit Legacy with a modified Jackhammer for the victory.
Keanu Carver defeated Sean Legacy via pinfall in 4:14.
John’s Thoughts: A good and dominant showing for Keanu Carver. I really like the gritty offense he shows on top of the speed he has around it. He’s definitely on the path to being a future NXT Champion if he continues to look this good. I wouldn’t have sacrificed the also promising Sean Legacy to boost Carver, but it gives Carver a strong win and Legacy can always bounce back as a plucky babyface whenever it’s his time.
Wren Sinclair was chatting with Kendal Grey in the women’s locker room. Grey was hyping up Wren for her being in the Speed tournament. Kelani Jordan showed up to gloat about beating Lola Vice and making her tap out. Lola Vice showed up and a pull apart happened…
Jasper Troy made his entrance…[c]
Eli Knight was already in the ring. Elio LeFleur got a televised entrance (his theme makes me want to play the best game of 2025, the French made Expedition 33)…
3. Jasper Troy vs. Eli Knight vs. Elio LeFleur in a 7 minute time limit match for the WWE Speed Championship. Troy Press slammed LeFleur onto Knight at ringside. LeFleur and Knight used dropkicks to dump Troy to ringside. Troy caught both opponents out of the air at ringside. Eli and Elio teamed up to send Troy into the steel steps. Knight hit Elio with a dropkick and a kickoff dropkick for a two count.
Elio hit Eli with a Capoeria kick and a Super Final Cut. Elio hit Eli with a Triangle moonsault. Troy recovered and slammed Elio on the apron. Troy tossed Eli on Elio. Troy reversed Elio’s rana and tossed him into Eli. Elio and Eli swarmed Troy with kicks and dives. Eli surprised Elio with a Leg Lariat when Elio thought they were on the same page. Troy dumped Eli to ringside. Elio hit Troy with a Power Bomb. Elio hit Eli with a DDT on the apron.
Elio hit Troy with a 450 for a good nearfall at the 5 minute mark. Elio reversed a Black Hole Slam and hit Troy with a rana. Eli hit Troy with a moonsault and bounced away. Elio picked up the pinfall on Troy.
Elio LeFleur defeated Jasper Troy and Eli Knight via pinfall in 5:49 to become the new WWE Speed Champion.
Vic hyped NXT Champion Joe Hendry appearing after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: They didn’t get much out of Jasper Troy as the big man speed champion (again, reboot him as his NXT run has been more L’s than dubs. Which is not great for a monster). Good match though with the two speedsters against the monster. Eli Knight has something unique and I would start protecting this guy, and maybe imprint a personality on him. Elio though, he’s also special. He has been impressive in his WWE matches so far. Who knew that the French could Lucha? (WWE also has the most European Luchadors when you take the Americanos into account).
Ricky Saints and Ethan Page were chatting while a medic was checking on Ethan’s injured leg. Vanity Project showed up and thanked Page for being their mentor and being draped in gold. Saints said that he’ll beat Joe Hendry and everyone in the room will be draped in gold…
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary. They sent the show to a “NXT Chronicle” segment on Joe Hendry. Hendry talked about how he’s not an overnight success, and this is a lifelong journey. He talked about how he loved WWE as a kid, but the dream felt impossible so he leaned into Judo and music. He talked about touring Europe as a musician. He talked about meeting Robbie Brookside for training and even got a WWE tryout one year into wrestling.
He talked about how he then became a British champion in Judo at an older age than most people did. He talked about how he then wrestled people like Cody Rhodes, Kurt Angle, and Drew McIntyre in Europe. He said he got over with his diss videos and personality too. He then talked about COVID stopping things. He said he bleached his hair and bulked up and returned as a new man. He talked about making it to the top of TNA. He said he believed in Joe Hendry and hopes the world believes in him. A “to be continued” graphic aired…
Separate shots of Za Ruca and Fatal Influence were shown as they were walking backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Better late than never. That video would have been great to push out there while Joe Hendry was on a prolonged title quest, but last week’s mic work from Joe justified it here. Joe Hendry has a really great backstory and displaying it does elevate him from just being a meme. I personally am really happy for the guy because I’ve been following him from the ground level, where he threw pokeballs at Mr. Anderson, and telling Drew McIntyre that he’s Drew I’m A dee I’m a da, like Drew is blue in a blue world, where everything is Drew to him. “Inside and outside!” Drew his house and a Drew little window and a Drew Corvette, and I’ll stop talking about everything being Drew to him. And myself. And everybody around me. Ok… I’ll stop singing the song. Again, I’m a huge karaoke Mark! I joked to former Dot Net Staffer Haydn Gleed for not introducing Joe Hendry to me sooner. Haydn! you’re always a Dot Net Brotha to me! My Welsh brotha from another motha.
A Damien Priest NXT spotlight video aired. He talked about how NXT taught him how to learn how to keep his composure and learn working in media. Him becoming WWE World Champion aired, as well as him facing Bad Bunny…
DarkState were walking backstage and throwing a fit. The camera panned to Lola Vice who walked over to Robert Stone. Vice demanded an Underground match against Jordan. Robert Stone granted the match for Vengeance Day…
[Hour Two] Sol Ruca and Zaria made their entrance. Fatal Influence made their entrance. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship match introductions. Before the bell, Zaria speared Sol. Zaria then planted Sol with an F5. Jacy was shocked…
4. Jacy Jayne (w/Fallon Henley, Lainey Reid) vs. Sol Ruca (w/Zaria). Jayne hit Sol with a Rolling Encore for the victory.
Jacy Jayne defeated Sol Ruca via pinfall in 0:05 to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.
Zaria dragged Sol to ringside and then F5’d her on top of the announce table. Zaria yelled at Sol and called her a bitch…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Finally! Thank God! They pulled the trigger after what felt like an eternity on this breakup. They did it in fine fashion too. I was assuming they were going to pull the trigger during the match, so the pre-match heel turn kept me on my heels as a viewer. Jayne even got a boost from this with the 5 second win. Like a thief in the night, Jayne gets to run away with vindication for her jealousy. Sol’s definitely already a made woman. What I’m excited for is seeing what Zaria can do as a monster heel after she showed so much promise with the Mad Max esque apocalypse vignettes and initial rollout.
Tatum Paxley was in the crowd for a promo. She talked about finding friendship her entire life, but was left lonly. She then talked about how she then started listening to the crowd who wanted her, not a watered down version of herself. She said the fans made her feel real love. She said they accepted every part of her. She said when she beats Izzi Dame for the North American championship, it won’t be Tatum’s but all of ours. Izzi appeared at a different part of the crowd. Fans and security held both women apart…
Blake Monroe made her entrance. Thea Hail made her entrance…
5. Blake Monroe vs. Thea Hail in a 3 Minute Speed Tournament Match. Both women went for quick pin attempts early on. Hail hit Monroe with the World’s Smallest Slam and a kick for a two count. Hail dumped Blake to ringside with a dropkick. While the referee was distracted with Hail, Jaida Parker showed up and hit Monroe with Hip Notic. Hail hit Monroe with a Blockbuster for the win.
Thea Hail defeated Blake Monroe via pinfall in 1:07 to advance in the WWE Speed Tournament.
The next part of the Joe Hendry chronicle aired. He talked about how his entrance theme blew up on Social Media once he returned to TNA. He talked about his theme going viral and number 1 on Itunes in the UK. He talked about then getting the most viewed video on Twitter for his NXT debut. He then talked about facing Randy Orton while he was TNA Champion.
A video of a young Joe Hendry aired where he talked about wanting to make it to the Performance Center. He said he’s not just a smile and a song, he’s the NXT Champion and he believes in Joe Hendry…[c]
John’s Thoughts: They speedran his story, but it was effective. Now Joe Hendry is more than just the meme. He’s a protagonist. We saw a bit of it last week, but I would like them to continue to show Joe Hendry’s range past the teleportation meme. I’m curious why they didn’t have Ricky Saints pick up the title though, as this would have been good content to lead to Joe Hendry winning the championship (Like when TNA aired this story while he was chasing Dolph Ziggler for the title?).
Both wrestlers were already in the ring…
6. Uriah Connors (w/Lexis King, Ariana Grace, Stacks) vs. Kale Dixon (w/Andre Chase). Both men started off with quick chain wrestling. Dixon hit Uriah with a huracanrana. Kale blocked a Dive with a right hook. Uriah blocked a splash and rolled up Kale for a two count. Uriah hit Kale with a hook kick for a two count. Tavion Heights and Charlie Dempsey were watching from backstage. Kale hit Uriah with a side slam for a two count.
Kale swatted Uriah out of the air. Uriah hit Kale with a Stundog Millionaire and Stunner for a two count. Kale caught Connors with a Superkick and hit him with a Fosbury Flop. Kale hit Uriah with a Corkscrew Splash for a two count. Uriah begged for mercy. Kale hit Uriah with a roundhouse. Uriah blocked a Moonsault with boots. Uriah hit Kale with a Shining Wizard for the victory.
Uriah Connors defeated Kale Dixon via pinfall in 4:25.
John’s Thoughts: Odd for them to just rush this segment on TV but I like them finally giving up on that failed version of Chase U. Both men are really talented. We know Uriah has the pedigree and talent, but Kale Dixon has looked good from what little we really see of him in the ring.
A replay aired of Zaria betraying Sol Ruca…
Fatal Influence were gloating backstage. Zaria approached them and said they owe her. Zaria demanded a match next week or else she’ll do to Jayne what she did to Sol…[c]
Ricky Saints was hanging with the Vanity Project backstage. Ricky was talking crap about Joe Hendry’s documentary. Ricky then hyped up his “experience” for next week. After Ricky left, Jackson told his crew that they will help Ethan Page defend his title this week. Hank Walker, Tank Ledger, and Shiloh Hill showed up to goof around. All six men ended up throwing hands…
Vic and Booker checked in on commentary. They sent the show to a Myles Borne hype package. A replay aired of Myles Borne defeating Ethan Page while Page wasn’t champion last year. The hype package aired for the Page vs. Bourne match…
Ethan Page made his entrance…[c]
Sarah Schreiber interviewed Robert Stone. Stone touted two championships being crowned this week. Robert then ran through next week’s advertised segments. Izzi Dame interrupted and told Stone that Tatum needs to be punished for what she did…
Vic Joseph ran through some of next week’s advertised segments…
Myles Borne made his entrance. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring introductions. Page forced Rome to call him the “Greatest” North American Champion…
7. “All Ego” Ethan Page vs. Myles Borne for the NXT North American Championship. Borne gave Page right hands early on. Vic noted that Borne’s mother was fighting cancer and is in the crowd. Page was selling his injured ankle. Borne focused his offense on Page’s injured ankle. Page got the advantage once he slowed down the pace. Page hit Borne with a neckbreaker. Borne came back with an Angle Slam. Page recovered and hit Borne with an Ego’s Edge on the announce table.[c]
Page was dominating back from break, while he was also still hobbling from his ankle injury. Borne rallied back with clotheslines. Borne hit Page with a Twisting Fisherman Suplex for a two count. Borne hit Page with an Eye of the Hurricane for a two count. Page came back with a Power Slam for a two count. Borne got a close nearfall after a Jackknife Pin. Page hit Borne with an Ego’s Edge for a nearfall.
Both men traded fatigued strikes. Page and Borne brawled to the top rope. Page managed to hit Borne with a Superplex. Borne kicked out at two. Page and Borne traded Boo Yay punches. Page gave Borne a throat punch. Borne kiped up into a dropkick. Page came back with a Code Breaker. Borne hit Page with Bourne Again. While the referee was distracted Vanity Project ran out and Drake hit Borne with the Evolve Championship.
Hank, Tank, and Hill ran out to run off Vanity Project. Ricky Saints tried to get involved but was run off by Joe Hendry. Borne shoved Page into the exposed turnbuckle. Borne hit Page with Borne Again (Zig Zag) for the victory.
Myles Borne defeated Ethan Page via pinfall in 13:41 to become the new NXT North American Champion.
Myles Borne celebrated his title win with his mom to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: A fine enough match, but I feel like Borne’s title victory was diminished a bit with all of the moving pieces at the end of the match to help him win the title. Didn’t quite feed into an “overcoming the odds” story. I would have given the tenure record to Page because it doesn’t quite feel like Borne has connected with the fans yet. So far, he feels a bit forced and hasn’t found a wrestling character yet. They’ve made him more “edgy” but it feels like forced edge.
On the bright side, is maybe they can finally find his character while he’s champion. As for Page, they took the NXT and AAA belts off him. Call up, finally? Page is the Swiss Army Knife of WWE in that he can fill any role. The main roster could definitely use that. The Vision may be down three members, so he can fit in well there? Overall, a decent episode of NXT. This was the one that was supposed to happen in the larger arena (but was moved back to the PC due to issues with the venue), and was also meaningful with all the title changes.
Be the first to comment