Buried under the busy WWE conglomeration week of Smackdown, TNA Against All Odds, AAA’s Worlds Collide, Money in the Bank and Raw, women’s wrestling headliner Mariah May arrived on NXT last Wednesday. Opening tonight’s show, walk-in shots followed Tony D’Angelo and Luca Crusifino, who “The Don” still can’t trust like he’s Metro Boomin. Jasper Troy then blindsided NXT Champion Oba Femi in the infamous parking lot, chokeslamming him onto a car window.
Ethan Page (c) vs Sean Legacy – North American Championship
Evolve’s Legacy finally gets his North American Championship match, pushed back for weeks on end. Despite Jaxson Drake winning the inaugural WWE Evolve Championship, Legacy is clearly the purple-brand stand out with his professional physique and athleticism. Orlando naturally gets behind him, and he scores with a dropkick before picture-in-picture. The always classy crowd chant “E-G-O is A-S-S” until Legacy makes a comeback, getting a close near-fall with a reverse Impaler. Page side slams him onto the top turnbuckle, and Legacy recuperates with a post shot and tope con hilo. The champion escapes a 450 and connects with Twisted Grin for three, continuing to cement himself as an ass-et. Ricky Saints returns, cutting his celebration short and brawling with him to the back.
Winner: Ethan Page
NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne complains to Ava about the surprise debut of the unnamed Mariah May. Lainey Reid wastes no time slapping Jayne – twice, and the champion is goaded into defending tonight. Meanwhile, Women’s North American Champion Sol Ruca plays camerawoman on TikTok, recording the quarrel between Lash Legend, Kehlani Jordan and Wren Sinclair.
The Culling vs Yoshiki Inamura and Josh Briggs
Izzi Dame explains that Brooks Jensen didn’t believe in them in a preceding vignette. Losing to Briggs at Battleground was her final nail, and Dame has her “eye on something” in the following match. Intentional or not, Jensen really wasn’t a good fit. AAA’s Psycho Clown and Octagon Jr. watch on as Pro Wrestling Noah’s Inamura returns from the return of his original excursion. Inamura delivers heavy blows to the opposition, and Dame provides a distraction for Niko Vance to clothesline Briggs. Vance has an aggression Jensen just couldn’t match, but Inamura has his own in a comeback. Briggs attempts a moonsault, but Vance halts it with a brute front slam for three. Answer the Green Goblin mask, Briggs.
Winners: The Culling
Ava chastises Saints for attacking Page, telling him to go home; Saints can’t talk due to his larynx injury. Sarah Schreiber tries speaking to Femi in medical, but instead, cameras turn to Chase University. Andre Chase yells at Kale Dixon and Uriah Conners in his red jumpsuit like he’s Sue Sylvester.
“The Glamour” has arrived in a ‘50s-inspired beauty vignette. “There she is: ‘The Glamour’ is Blake Monroe.”
Lash Legend vs Wren Sinclair
No Quarter Catch Crew looks a little bare without the liberated Myles Borne. Kehlani Jordan joins commentary, and the crew suggests Sinclair could follow Borne’s lead. Legend overpowers the smaller opposition, and Sinclair fights back with fan-favorite support. But a spinning slam from Legend gains the victory, staring down Jordan afterwards.
Winner: Lash Legend
Troy is interviewed backstage about sending NXT Champion Femi into a glass window, and the challenger guarantees that he’ll defend tonight no matter what. Very nice of him.
Lainey Reid vs Jacy Jayne (c) – NXT Women’s Champion
“The Southern Sensation” Reid gets a needed vignette after inserting herself into the NXT Women’s Championship picture last week. She highlights her rodeo and track career and vows to “shock the world.” But nothing is shocking anymore looking at Jayne with the belt. Reid sneaks multiple early near-falls, but Jayne gains the upper hand with a slingshot before picture-in-picture. Reid almost spikes herself on a blockbuster but recuperates with a spinning suplex. Orlando starts to believe after Reid’s knee strike, but distraction from Fatal Influence leads to a rolling forearm from Jayne for three.
Winner: Jacy Jayne
Ava appears on the podium to announce Jayne’s next opponent. Next week, four singles match winners will advance to a fatal four-way on June 24. That winner will face Jayne for the NXT Women’s Championship at Evolution on July 13.
Briggs crashes out in the locker room for losing with Inamura tonight. TNA’s AJ Francis and KC Navarro, First Class, rub the salt in and eye the NXT Tag Team Championships. Another NXT alum, Elijah, strolls in with a guitar strum, and First Class retreat to talk with their buddy Trick Williams.
NQCC calls Borne in backstage, and Charlie Dempsey wishes him luck. Borne says the NQCC shaped him, and Je’Von Evans shows up to congratulate him. Tavion Heights wishes to follow suit, but Dempsey isn’t ears.
Luca Crusifino and Tony D’Angelo vs The High Ryze
In Gorilla, Crusifino insists he can be trusted, and D’Angelo insists that he walk behind him. AAA’s El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Mr. Iguana, the man of the hour, spectate ringside after a Worlds Collide recap. Meanwhile, a special “breaking news” graphic interrupts, as Blake Monroe signs her NXT contract next week. Wes Lee prys dissension into the opposition, but D’Angelo assists Crusifino with an outside dive before break. “Stacks” eventually arrives with a crowbar that Crusfino teases using, and High Ryze take advantage with their double-team finisher on D’Angelo for victory.
Winners: The High Ryze
TNA Champion Trick Williams is interviewed backstage after defending against Elijah at Against All Odds. Williams says other challenger Mike Santana lied to his daughter in defeat, and the champion declares a six-man tag team match next week: Yoshiki Inamura, Josh Briggs and Elijah versus Williams and the “lightskin brothers out of First Class.”
The Evolution eliminator matches are announced: Lash Legend versus Kehlani Jordan, Zaria versus Izzi Dame, Thea Hail versus Jaida Parker and Lola Vice versus Jordynne Grace.
Jasper Troy vs Oba Femi (c) – NXT Championship
The “sink or swim” cliche is fitting for WWE LFG winner Troy, immediately inserted into a championship hoss rivalry. Femi’s ribs are taped from Troy’s chokeslam into a car window, and the challenger manhandles him like no other. “No bread, no water, just meat!” the audience yells with Booker T. Orlando stands in awe after Troy breaks the second turnbuckle with an irish whip before picture-in-picture. He slams the champion onto the apron for a two, but Femi fights back with a big spinebuster. Troy delivers a chokeslam for two to “NXT” chants, Femi powers up with a toss, and the former hits the Black Hole Slam. Double-clotheslined to the outside, Femi tosses him through the barricade and hits Fall From Grace in-ring to a botched pin. The referee balks on the three, and Femi re-hits Fall From Grace to retain.
