By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Houston, Texas, at 713 Music Hall
Aired live March 17, 2026, on The CW Network
[Hour One] Booker T pulling up to the venue in a Cybertruck was shown. Vic reminded viewers that this week’s NXT was “Booker T Appreciation Night”. Arrival shots of Tatum Paxley and The Culling were shown…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer…
Entrances for the opening match took place…
1. Jacy Jayne (w/Lainey Reid, Fallon Henley) vs. Sol Ruca vs. Zaria for the NXT Women’s Championship. A “Za Ruca” chant ensued to start the match. Jacy caught Zaria with a Superkick during the staredown. Jacy got a few jackknife two counts on Sol. Sol came back with a backslide and rollup for a one. Jacy dumped Zaria to ringside with a big boot. Zaria recovered and put Sol in her hangman move in the corner. Jayne dumped Sol to ringside and hit Zaria with a Codebreaker.
Sol broke up Jayne’s pin with a slingshot splash and got a two count on Zaria. Sol did a backflip dive on Reid and Henley (she clipped the top rope, but her skill powered through the move). Jayne, Henley, and Reid laid out Sol and Zaria at ringside (Triple Threats are No DQ).[c]
Back from break, Sol took out all two women with a slingshot crossbody. Los Americanos were shown warming up backstage. After dumping Jayne to ringside, Sol and Zaria traded hands and running strikes. Jayne took down sol and hit Zaria with a neckbreaker. Sol avoided a Spear with a leapfrog, causing Zaria to Spear Jayne. Sol hit Zaria with a Spear.
Zaria crotched Sol on the top rope. Jayne gave Zaria a Lungblower. Zaria hit Sol and Jayne with a German Suplex Tower of Doom for nearfalls on both women. Zaria slammed Sol in the mat while yelling about their former friendship. Jayne sent Zaria and Sol into the corners and hit them both with Cannonballs. Zaria powered up and hit Jayne with an F5. Sol broke up Zaria’s pin. Zaria fended off Sol with headbutts.
Sol reversed an F5 into an X Factor. Sol dumped Zaria to ringside and then hit Jayne with a Sol Snatcher. Zaria dragged Sol to ringside at the two count. Zaria hit Sol with an F5. Lainey and Reid held Zaria back. Zaria hit Henley with an F5 at ringside. While Zaria was dealing with Fatal Influence at ringside, Jayne stole the pin in the ring for the win.
Jacy Jayne defeated Sol Ruca and Zaria via pinfall in 10:47 to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.
Wren Sinclair and Kendal Grey were chatting backstage. “The Birthright” stable walked past them and Wren called out Dempsey for betraying NQCC. Charlie Dempsey pointed out that Wren found a friend to relate with and he just did the same with the Birthright. The Birthright left. Lola Vice showed up and praised Kendal Grey for being a legit badass. She talked about how they might cross paths on the way to Stand and Deliver…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A good match that I would have loved to have given more time to given how we didn’t get to see a lot of the great stuff that all three women can put together. That said, I would not like a triple threat that doesn’t focus on the championship (and instead focus on the Zaria and Sol drama) at Stand and Deliver. I hope that they find a way to scoot Kendal Grey into the picture, because it would be fun to see her have a great match given her in-ring aptitude. Only thing Grey is missing is character development, which NXT does tend to take for granted time to time. What had me scared a bit was last week when they had Kendal Grey use her bare hands to stuff a cake down her own gullet. That was some clownshoes ish that you don’t want in your world title pictures.
“The Absolute” Ricky Saints made his entrance. Ricky said he slips but doesn’t fall, and nothing is going to stop him because the real main event is standing in front of ya’ll. Ricky said even bad traffic didn’t bother him. He said he’s happy he and Ethan were on the same page and they are good pivoters who know how to pivot. Ricky told the crowd to save their “what’s” for Myles Borne.
Ricky said that he and Page will be tag team champions if not for their homies holding the titles. Ricky said Page will become North American champion again, while he’ll become two time NXT Champion. All Ego Ethan Page made his entrance. Page said something might have slipped Ricky’s mind, Page pinned Joe Hendry. Ricky said Page lost to Myles twice, and now he’s back in NA Title contention.
Ricky said he’ll give Page a chance to call out Borne now. Page said he can call out Borne to become two time North American Champion, but he wants to be two time NXT Champion. Ricky said that wasn’t the plan. NXT Champion Joe Hendry made his entrance. Joe hyped up the Houston crowd. Joe said it looks like Ethan Page wants the NXT title more than Ricky Saints at this point. Page said Joe isn’t going to get in between them.
Joe said Ricky can’t beat him, can’t play guitar, and can’t sing. Page said to give Ricky a break! Joe noted that Ricky Saints vs. Ethan Page was at last year’s Stand and Deliver, and that can help decide a number one contender this year. Ricky and Page acted like they were bickering, but then double teamed Joe with right hands. Joe recovered and took down both men with a double clothesline.
Joe hit both men with his signature Fallaway Slams. When Joe did his Zoolander turned he walked right into a spear by Tony D’Angelo. Tony D then laid out Ricky and Ethan with Uranages to stand tall and end the segment…[c]
John’s Thoughts: The expected story flow with Ethan making it clear that he wants to go after the main title while Ricky is trying to keep him at arm’s distance while exploiting him for his own means. As I mentioned last week, I do like their Scorpion and Frog dynamic. What I don’t like is how messy the world title picture is and my fears with the Women’s title picture and past Stand and Delivers have me fearing that WWE is going to try another one of those get-everyone-on-the-show gimmicks again, making too many multi-person matches. Just make it Joe Hendry vs. Tony D and Ethan Page vs. Ricky! They aren’t crunched for time for WrestleMania this year!
Fit Finlay and William Regal were standing backstage with The Birthright. Regal told King and Connors to win the tag team tournament to start their success. Robert Stone showed up. Regal took Stone to the side and said he’s been watching Stone as GM and he’s been doing a good job. Regal said he is going to talk to Shawn Michaels to see if they can make him a permanent GM…
John’s Thoughts: I would have liked to have seen Regal back as a babyface manager, but if he can be a heel that glazes the GM to get what he wants, I wouldn’t mind that if he ends up being a regular character on TV again. The Birthright is a HUGE step down from The Blackpool Combat Club when Regal was a part of it, but as Regal proved during that run in AEW, he is still one of the best promos and characters in the business when you give him TV time.
Vic Joseph hyped up WWE’s WrestleMania pop-up store…
Los Americanos made their entrance…[c]
Vanity Project made their entrance…
2. “The Vanity Project” Jackson Drake, Ricky Smokes, and Brad Baylor vs. “Los Americanos” El Grande Americano, Rayo, and Bravo. Bravo went for Ten Punches in the Corner on Smokes, but Baylor dragged him down. Vanity Project dumped The Americano’s to ringside. They then did some sort of Texas type of dance in the ring. The Americanos then dumped Vanity Project to ringside. Los Americanos hit all three opponents with consecutive dives. The Americanos then did a random dance in the ring.
Rayo hit Smokes with a meteora. Rayo and Smokes traded chest slaps. Baylor tagged in and hit Rayo with Paydirt. Drake tagged in and hit Rayo with a German Suplex for a two count.[c]
Vanity Project cut the ring in half on Rayo back from break. Drake did Eddie Guerrero’s Three Amigos to boos. Rayo broke up the Three Amigos with Pete Dunne’s X Plex. Grande tagged in and cleaned house. Grande hit Swipe Right with a double Blockbuster. Drake broke up Grande’s pin on Baylor. Bravo hit Drake with a Helicopter Spin.
Rayo and Bravo put on cowboy hats. Rayo and Bravo hit Drake and Smokes with ringside dives. Americano hit Baylor with an Air Raid Crash for a two count. Drake hit Rayo and Bravo with a flip dive while jumping off Grande’s back. Drake hit Grande with a Burning Hammer for a nearfall. Smokes and Baylor set up Grande to be hit with Drake’s 450.
Grande broke out of the pin. Grande no sold boots from Drake and hit him with a leg lariat. Rayo pointed out to the ref that Drake was putting his leg on the ropes for leverage. While the ref was distracted Grande loaded his mask. Grande hit Baylor with the loaded mask. Bravo hit Smokes with a Gamengiri. Rayo and Bravo hit a double team tacle on Smokes. Grande hit Smokes wiht a Loaded Flying Jalepeno for the victory.
Los Americanos defeated Vanity Project via pinfall in 12:40.
Interim GM Robert Stone was chatting with Elio LeFleur backstage. Eli Knight and Sean Legacy showed up. Legacy said he’s injured and can’t compete in the tag team tournament. Stone said if Legacy can’t wrestle next week, they need to forfeit their spot in the tournament. Elio stepped up and said he can fill in while Sean is hurt. Stone agreed to allow Elio to fill in. Sol Ruca then showed up and said she’s going to need a few words with Zaria in the ring…
Vic Joseph hyped a Booker T Appreciation segment after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Jason Powell pointed out in his AEW Revolution and Raw reviews this week how much success Luchadores are having in border states. Yes, these three Luchadores are European, but they are still over like hell in Mexico. El Grande in particular has become extremely popular due to how much appreciation he shows to the Mexican culture and language. A fun match that got a good crowd reaction.
[Hour Two] Vic Joseph was in the ring. Vic said tonight was about “checks and championships” as Booker would say. Booker’s family and two students were in the ring. Booker introduced a former King and Houston’s favorite son, Booker T. Booker T got up from the announce desk and entered the ring. Vic talked about meeting Booker on commentary three years ago and how Booker said it’s not about his championships, but for moments for fans across the world.
Vic said Booker also wanted the respect of his peers as a part of his legacy. A Booker T tribute video aired. Vic Joseph talked about being a fan of Booker from his Harlem Heat and US Championship days. Jasper Troy talked about the “5 time” catchphrase. Joe Hendry talked about loving the entertainment and spinneronie. Stone Cold pointed out how people keep bringing up their famous supermarket brawl.
Vic said it’s more than commentary, Booker is a part of the fabric in NXT. HBK talked about Booker being a natural coach and mentor in NXT. Jasper Troy talked about how Booker continues to coach him even after LFG. Stephanie Vaquer talked about how big Booker T made her Devil’s Kiss move around the world. Trick Williams talked about how he was made a bigger star after Booker added spice to his act.
Vic said Booker is the best Broadcast Partner he’s ever had. Miz said that Booker T isn’t appreciated enough in the world. HBK said he adores Booker and his passion. Jimmy and Jey talked about how they appreciated him giving them a start in Reality of Wrestling. Roxanne Perez said she wouldn’t be where she is without Booker…
Back in the arena, Booker soaked in “Booker T” chants. Booker was visually crying. Vic handed Booker an appreciation Plaque. Booker T said the fans made this amazing ride possible. Booker’s speech was quickly cut off by Keanu Carver making his entrance. Carver shoved a referee who tried to stop him. Carver kept telling the crowd to shut up. Keanu said that man doesn’t deserve no celebration, but some guts.
Carver tossed around the security who tried to hold him back. Carver told Booker to step out of his ring before he do something to him. Carver tossed Booker’s two students aside. Jasper Troy then ran to the ring to tackle Carver to the corner. Troy dumped Carver to ringside. Carver was dragged to the back while Troy and Booker stood tall in the ring. The NXT roster then came to the stage to give Booker a standing ovation.
Booker said to cut his music and there needs to be control around here. Booker said what Carver pulled shouldn’t happen in his city. Booker told Stone that somebody needs to do something. The show abruptly cut to commercial…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A fun little tribute segment. I personally would have liked the whole night to have been focused on Booker given how much of a legend and how entertaining Booker T has been. Along with Rock, Booker was always a role model to black wrestling fans back in the 90s and I have to say that was one of the reasons I gravitated to Book once he made his way to WWE. The Carver and Troy stuff was telegraphed over the last few weeks. Carver continues to come off well in NXT as very real and natural. Interested to see what they do with Troy (by the way, why does a happy Jasper Troy look like video game youtuber Mighty Keef? I’m kidding). Maybe a babyface turn is what he needs because his heel run was a bust and burial.
During the break, Booker continued to rant about Keanu Carver ruining his night. Entrances for the speed match happened during the break. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship match introductions. Mike made sure to announce Wren as from “Texas” (no city?)…
3. Fallon Henley (w/Jacy Jayne, Lainey Reid) vs. Wren Sincair (w/Kendal Grey) in a 5 minute time limit match for the WWE Speed Champion. Wren went for rapid pin variations during the opening minute. Vic noted that Fallon Henley has Kinseio Tape on due to getting attacked by Zaria early on. Wren slapped Fallon’s injured arm and hit her with a Butterfly Suplex for a nearfall. Wren ducked a Tiger Feint at ringside and tripped Henley at ringside.
Fallon hit Wren with a face slam. Wren yanked Fallon by the injured shoulder. Fallon’s shoulder gave out during a pumphandle attempt. Both women traded rapid pin attempts. Wren rolled into the Final Wren-Ch for the victory.
Wren Sinclair defeated Fallon Henley via submission in 3:39 to become the new WWE Speed Champion.
Ricky Saints and Ethan Page were arguing to Robert Stone. Ricky said he didn’t like Tony D attacking him and his good friend Ethan. Page proposed Ricky face Tony D next week, which Stone liked. Ricky didn’t like that. Page said Ricky can get the vigilante out of the way. Ricky said he’s okay because his good friend Ethan will be in his corner…
Hank and Tank made their entrance…[c]
An ad aired for NXT Stand and Deliver…
The Birthright made their entrance. They attacked Hank and Tank before the match. The referee rang the bell when both teams were separated and agreed…
4. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger vs. “The Birthright” Uriah Connors and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo (w/Lexis King, Charlie Dempsey, Ariana Grace) in a Tag Team Championship Tournament match. Hank and Tank used quick tags and power moves to dominate Stacks early on. Stacks managed to regain control and work on Hank with methodical offense. Connors tagged in and continued the methodical offense. Hank managed to bring in Tank to clean house. Grace tried to get in the way, but Tank jumped over her and hit King and Connors with a Cannonball at ringside.
Tank slammed Stacks at ringside. Hank tagged in and hit Stacks with a Superplex. Tank jumped over Hank and hit Stacks with a Swanton Bomb. Connors used a Swanton Bomb to break up Tank’s pin. All four men traded fatigued strikes. Hank hit Stacks with a Bossman Slam.
King shoved Stacks away and ate the Honk Honk for Stacks. Hank and Tank hit Stacks with a High Low power slam. Connors rolled up Hank for the pin because he was the legal man.
The Birthright defeated Hank Walker and Tank Ledger via pinfall in 4:33 to advance in the NXT Tag Team Championship Tournament.
Robert Stone was chatting with Joe Hendry backstage. Joe wanted Tony D next week because he already booked Ricky vs. Tony. Joe said he’ll get Tony one way or another. Joe walked off. The camera panned over to the parking lot where Osiris Griffin, Dion Lennox, and Saquon Shugars left Lucien Price and Bronco Nima lying…[c]
John’s Thoughts: NXT creative already seems very wishy washy with this new Birthright faction. Yes, they put more effort in this time than when they tried it in December in TNA, but it also feels like they don’t want to fully invest. Hank and Tank are a great team and can work good longform matches, yet getting sucked into Birthright’s orbit put the in a forgettable mid-TV match. Everyone in the Birthright (other than Ariana Grace I’d argue) is very underdeveloped as a character. Lexis King is no way close to being the face of any faction. The key here is to make William Regal the face as he does have the credibility and respect of the wrestling audience.
Thea Hail was psyching up Tatum Paxley backstage. Tatum said NXT needs more nice people like Thea. After Tatum left, Kelani Jordan told Hail to be more selfish because she used to be like Hail and that led to nowhere. Jaida Parker showed up and told Kelani to shut up. Hail cut in and said that since Kelani got tapped out at Vengeance Day, she’ll get tapped out by her next week…
Jacy Jayne and Lainey Reid were consoling Fallon Henley for her title loss. Fallon acted pissed that they have to take care of Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair next week while Jacy Jayne has the weeks off until Stand and Deliver…
Robert Stone told Myles Borne that he’s booking a gauntlet match next week for a number one contender to his title. The Birthright showed up and said that The Birthright needs to be in this match because it’s their birthright…
John’s Thoughts: Again, William Regal was WAY more effective earlier at sucking up to the babyface authority figure.
Vic Joseph noted that HBK invited her and Sexyy Red agreed to appear at NXT Stand and Deliver…
The Culling made their entrance…[c]
Tony D’Angelo vs. Ricky Saints and The North Amerian Championship “Gauntlet Eliminator” Match were announced for next week…
John’s Thoughts: If this and the tag tournament move forward without any wonky finishes, this would be great as I hope it leads to them not feeling the temptation to get everyone on the card with multi person/group cluster matches. Get everyone on the show with a Battle Royal or something.
Tatum Paxley made her entrance. They also announced Tatum as from “Texas”…
John’s Thoughts: Are they not announcing city names? Feels kinda weak to try to farm hometown pops. Texas is a big state. For example, if they announced someone from “California”, I would be apprehensive to pop. As a Los Angeles person, I wouldn’t want to give my extra pop for someone from Sacramento, San Diego, or San Francisco.
Izzi beat up Tatum before she can enter the cage. The bell rang once Izzi dragged Tatum into the cage…
5. Tatum Paxley vs. Izzi Dame in a Steel Cage Match for the NXT Women’s North American Championship. Tatum gained control in the ring and slammed Izzi several times into the cage while both women were tightroping on the top rope. Both women took each other out after slamming the other woman’s head on the steel cage.[c]
Back from break, Tatum knocked Izzi off the top rope. Tatum went to the top, but was tripped off the top by Izzi, leaving Tatum hanging above the floor. Tatum climbed and straddled the top of the cage with Izzi to trade Yay Boo right hands. Vic noted to Chicago viewers that they can watch NXT after election coverage.
Izzi slipped down and dragged Tatum off the top of the cage with a Superplex. The camera showed Tatum Paxley’s mom in the front row. Tatum recovered and hit Izzi with a Whisper in the Wind for a nearfall. Both women no-sold pump kicks. Tatum no-sold a Code Breaker, but Izzi didn’t relent. Izzi gave Tatum a running knee and Sky High for a good nearfall. Izzi beat down Tatum with many chair shots to the back.
Izzi power bombed Tatum several time against the cage walls. Tatum reversed a power bomb with a Code Red like move on the chair. Tatum used a chair to hit Izzi with a Van Daminator. Tatum hit Izzi with a Cemetery Drive for the victory.
Tatum Paxley defeated Izzi Dame via pinfall in 11:50 in a cage match to retain the NXT Women’s North American Championship.
While Tatum was celebrating on the ramp, a trap door with Blake Monroe opened on the ramp. Blake dragged Tatum into the trap hole and then posed with the title belt to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: While not as epic as their PLE match, this was still a good bout between both of these women; and overall I blame the network television constraints for preventing this from being a top tier PLE quality match. This is also the 2nd week in a row where Vic Joseph had to mention on commentary that NXT was pre-empted on CW (last week due to weather emergencies, and this week in Chicago due to primary elections). I don’t blame the NXT production team for this as they have gotten used to the week-to-week network constraints, so these impromptu ones are understandable.
That said, Tatum and Izzi do have surprisingly good chemistry. Izzi can be hit or miss some times in terms of longer matches, but she’s been consistently a hit when in there with Tatum. Tatum is consistent all across the board when it comes to stepping up in meaningful matches, and her skill in particular is in putting together strong closing acts to her matches. It takes two to tango, and these two women tango well. It just would have been better if they had more time.
That also said, the story of their feud sucked and I hope they move on to separate feuds, due to the lame ass dolls and chainsaws. This week’s NXT was a solid weekly edition. They aren’t trying to do anything too fancy, which is a good thing. Just put on a good wrestling show with steady story and character development. Like Vengeance Day wasn’t a thing, they are doing a decent job building towards Stand and Deliver, but there are a few things that need to be picked up the pace on, like where ever they are going with the main titles.
In Chicago, we won’t be able to watch NXT live because of the local news coverage of the primary election results. They may show it later around 10pm or 11pm CT.
Yeah it’s complete bullshit!For the second straight week!Last week it was preempted by some lame ass weather report talking about hick cities I never heard of.And this week because of some meaningless election shit!They gotta get off this fucking CW station!
Unfortunately that’s the problem of CW not really having any cable or alternate affiliates. CW (owned by Nexstar) unfortnuately doesn’t have a SyFy or TBS they can move the show to for a week. They are also constrained due to network TV.
Yeah it should be on USA Network again or Netflix here in the U.S.The thing that gets me is that they’re airing this other crap on WGN plus as well.They couldn’t just have it there and leave the CW alone??!!
Maybe the best way to watch NXT on time would be to take Stephanie McMahon’s advice, and use a VPN. I have to use a VPN to watch it live in California due to local tape delay (meaning I’m actually paying to watch what I do get for free, but I use VPN for other stuff anyway so I have it by default).
I would recommend using Proton Free VPN as a free VPN to use, because it’s as fast as the paid VPNs and it’s free.
Only downside with the free Proton, is you’ll have to set it up 15 minutes before the show if you want to guarantee it works, as the free version uses a dice roll mechanic to pick a server, meaning you have to dice roll to land on a European, Canadian, or South American server.
Yeah thanks John,but I actually tried that earlier and failed miserably.
If my stupid ass can figure it out, so can you. You and Jason R will be happy to know that Vic Joseph told Chicago fans during NXT that the show will air later tonight due to the election coverage and will stream on the CW app tomorrow. I laughed because I’m not really sure how he thought Chicago fans were hearing him, but he really did say that during the main event.