Several competitors from WWE LFG, WWE Evolve and recent signees from around the world invaded NXT to fill the void in the brand’s male division. Last week’s biggest talking points came from NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo’s three attackers: Tavion Heights, EVIL and U.K. indy-standout Will Kroos.
Tonight, D’Angelo opened the show by enacting revenge on Heights in the middle of the Performance Center. “These guys don’t wanna wait, I’m not waiting either,” D’Angelo said before a pull-apart brawl in the Performance Center.
Jaida Parker vs Kali Armstrong
Vic Joseph calls out Orlando’s lively atmosphere as fresh faces like Armstrong come into the mix. The competitors are evenly matched through chain wrestling, and Joseph compares their collegiate backgrounds – Louisiana State University and University of Southern California respectively. Armstrong gains control with a springboard crossbody, Parker comes back with a corner hip drop, and the former connects with the Kali Connection for victory.
Winner: Kali Armstrong
D’Angelo tells General Manager Robert Stone that he’s still a hunter and demands a match with Heights tonight. After Stone accepts, a package highlights Jasper Troy versus Jackson Drake – pitting together WWE LFG and WWE Evolve standouts.
In the back, Birthright complains about the return and debut of Sean Legacy and Tate Wilder last week. Fit Finlay appears with William Regal on the phone, and the latter announces that Charlie Dempsey is training across the pond. Plus, he’s pulled together a six-man tag team match next week.
An English-translated vignette introduces the former EVIL. He vows to capture D’Angelo’s NXT Championship, revealing that his war-painted gifts were proclamations. EVIL, under the new name Naraku, debuts next week.
Jasper Troy vs Jackson Drake
Drake, donning maroon trunks and kickpads, tries chopping down Troy with yes-esque leg kicks. With distraction from Vanity Project, he connects with a meteora to gain control through picture-in-picture. He flips over Troy with a corner moonsault, but the big man hits an equally impressive kip-up. Troy attempts a Kane out-of-the-ring flipout before attacking Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor at ringside, where Drake’s date Myka Lockwood appears. The WWE LFG competitor bodyslams Troy, allowing Drake to hit a 450 Splash for victory. In Booker T’s “shucky ducky quack quack” moment of the night, Lockwood aligns herself with the NXT Tag Team Champions.
Winner: Jackson Drake
“Mr. England” Tristan Angels introduces himself as a seventh-generation sheep farmer in a vignette. The 22-year-old sophisticate puts over his sheep-sheering and ass-kicking, rubbing in his six senses opposed to Myles Borne’s five.
The next NXT Origins package chronicles the “The Eradicator” Rhea Ripley, who learned to embrace her real personality through wrestling in the black-and-gold era.
From one Aussie to another, Zaria interrupts the package to enter the ring. Now alone, she calls the Women’s North American Championship the catalyst for her split from Sol Ruca. The title-holder Tatum Paxley, newcomer Lizzy Rain and Nikkita Lyons appear consecutively. Lyon isn’t done with Rain, who defeated her last week, but Zaria rightfully drops all three for crashing her segment.
The Vanity Project meet WWE Evolve’s Romeo Moreno, the former Zozaya, in the back. Noam Dar returns, eyeing Jackson Drake for a tune-up match next week with Myka Lockwood in his corner. The Spanish-native Moreno congratulates Dar, calling himself a fan of his back in Madrid.
Before break, Kam Hendrix attacks Tony D’Angelo in the hallway, and the Shawn Michaels-encouraged chaos continues. Robert Stone cancels D’Angelo versus Heights, kicks out Hendrix, and moves up the following match.
Lola Vice and Mr. Iguana vs The Culling
Corporate synergy comes into play with AAA Mixed Tag Team Champions Vice and Iguana, along with La Yesca of course. They hit dual seated sentons ringside before picture-in-picture. “X-Factor” Niko Vance comes back with intense headbutts, cheered on by Booker T as his recently-crowned Reality of Wrestling Champion. The AAA champions hit stereo hip attacks, Vice delivers a spinning heel kick, and Vance restrains the referee’s hand. Vice and Iguana cinch arm triangles, but the brute Vance powerbombs him ringside. Dame capitalizes with a running knee strike, giving The Culling a win for once.
Winners: The Culling
Myles Borne tries consoling Heights about his canceled match against D’Angelo, but a frantic Robert Stone announces it’s still on. Zaria appears, and Stone schedules her and Lyons versus Paxley and Rain for next week – forcing the former to accept for contention in the Women’s North American Championship picture.
Jaida Parker crashes out in the locker room, and Monday Night Raw’s Nattie tells her she’s gotten soft.
Hank and Tank vs DarkState
Vic Joseph insinuates Hank and Tank have lost their identity and have gotten complacent, and their trajectory is evident. DarkState sends them ringside, where Dion Lennox attempts to interfere with a steel chair, and Saquon Shugars intercepts the play again. Osiris Griffin and Cutler James retain control through picture-in-picture, two of four men in DarkState deceptively big. Hank Walker makes a comeback with a pounce to Griffin over the announce desk, but DarkState recuperates with a double-team for a two-count. The action spills outside as DarkState catches Tank Ledger’s dive, slamming him into Walker. They follow with an assisted powerbomb to Walker for victory as Lennox stares into Shugars.
Winners: DarkState
Kehlani Jordan goads Lola Vice after her loss, and Kendal Grey comes to the champion’s side. Grey looks to avenge Wren Sinclair, and Jordan asks if she prioritizes friendships or championships.
Vic Joseph and Booker T’s mics and headsets stop working, and in frame, a stagehand hecticly tries fixing it. Cameras cut to new reporter Emily Agard, who chatted with Keanu Carver in a parking lot earlier today. After demanding the cameras to cut, Carver says football and wrestling were vehicles for money. “Give me a chance, or cut me,” Carver recalled saying to Shawn Michaels. “If this stops feeding my family, I gotta find something that will work out.” Agard questions how he knew about Naraku’s symbol of war, and Carver says he’s “smart as sh–, for real.” The reluctance to be interviewed by WWE personnel and his subsequent stuttering say otherwise.
In a social media post, Shiloh Hill reflects on defeating Ricky Saints last week. “HBK said he wanted to throw a stick of dynamite in the locker room… I have been warned specifically not to bring explosives in there again.”
Tavion Heights vs Tony D’Angelo
Joseph blames their headset malfunction on Danhausen. The freestyle wrestlers trade throws, and D’Angelo shoves Heights off the top rope to ringside before picture-in-picture. Heights gains control by sidestepping D’Angelo’s spear, sending the champion through the ropes. The latter comes back with suplexes, hitting Forget About It for a two-count. They exchange right hands, D’Angelo hits a spear, and Heights connects with a belly-to-belly suplex. Kam Hendrix returns, taken out by a picturesque dive by Myles Borne, leading to Dead To Rights from D’Angelo for victory.
Winner: Tony D’Angelo
Will Kroos blindsides D’Angelo again, backpacking the champion into Heights. Joseph doesn’t know him, but this week, Orlando knows his chant. “He’s big, he’s bad, he’ll bodyslam your dad,” as John Cena tweeted last week. “My name is Mason Rook, and I’ve arrived in NXT,” he says.
