SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT TV REPORT
JULY 1, 2025
ORLANDO, FLA. AT THE WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON THE CW
REPORT BY DAVID MILLER, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Backstage Correspondent(s): Kelly Kincaid
[HOUR ONE]
-A recap aired of last week’s highlights.
-TNA World Champion Trick Williams made his ring entrance. You’d think he was a babyface for the reception he got from the crowd and the announce team, who welcomed him with open arms.
(1) WES LEE (w/Tyson Dupont & Tyriek Igwe) vs. JOE HENDRY
Williams boasted as Hendry and Lee traded headlocks and basic takedowns. Lee tried to out-quick Hendry. After he knocked him outside the ring, he hit a baseball slide, but Hendry turned him inside out with a vicious clothesline. He glared at Trick as they cut to commercial break. [c]
Back from the break, Igwe grabbed Hendry’s leg, distracting him long enough for Lee to take control with a dive. He hit a twisting splash for a two-count that popped the crowd. Lee went for a satellite DDT, but Hendry hung on and dropped him. He fired up with a series of fists and went for the Standing Ovation, but Lee slipped free. Hendry put Lee down hard, but High Ryze put Lee’s foot on the ropes to break the count. Mike Santana ran out to even the odds and started thumping on Dupont and Igwe. Hendry hit the Standing Ovation for the popular win.
WINNER: Joe Hendry at 9.28.
(Miller’s Take: Good, exciting opening match that got the crowd jump-started. Things got a bit convoluted at the end, but it all played into the story. Lee and Hendry work well together, and it was exactly what it should have been.)
-In the back, Sol Ruca and Zaria tried talking some sense into Tatum Paxley, but Izzi Dame came in and acted all innocent and sweet to Paxley. Zaria gave up and walked off. Dame easily wooed Paxley as Ruca shook her head in disbelief. [c]
-Luca Crusifino made his ring entrance as the announcers questioned his trustworthiness. Luca asked Tony D’Angelo to come out, which he promptly did, with an attitude. The Don told Luca he screwed him out of the Heritage Cup. Luca said he turned down big law firms to be at his side in WWE. As he claimed his loyalty, Stacks came out and thanked Luca for helping him win the title. As Stacks entered the ring, Luca slugged D’Angelo. He then decked Stacks and said his loyalty was to himself.
-Kelly Kincaid interviewed NXT Champion Oba Femi. Yoshiki Inamura and Josh Briggs interrupted him. Inamura told him he’d see him at the Bash.
Lexis King made his ring entrance before they cut to a commercial break. [C]
(2) LEXIS KING vs. MYLES BORNE
King jawed with the two Florida Gators seated at ringside that he badmouthed last week. Borne asserted himself early, but King showed some fancy footwork in an attempt to embarrass him. Borne locked in a front facelock and gator-rolled with him. King dropkicked Borne as he was perched on the top turnbuckle, then climbed up himself and hit a superplex.
King nailed a dropkick right to the chops of Borne as he was seated in the corner. He faked another dropkick as Borne covered up, then slapped the taste out of his mouth. Borne came back with an Olympic slam for two. He hit a standing dropkick that almost took King’s head off. He followed that up with a zigzag variation for the win.
WINNER: Myles Borne at 4:36
(Miller’s Take: This was short, but man, was it hard-hitting. That was the best I’ve seen out of King in a long time. They could have easily gone 5 more minutes, and I wouldn’t have complained.)
-A Darkstate video aired. They acted menacing and said a bunch of stuff.
-Thea Hail made a very hyperactive ring entrance before they cut to a break. [c]
(3) THEA HAIL vs. LAINEY REID
Thea looked intense and immediately went on the attack. Reid counted a Hail offensive move by dropping her with a snake eyes on the turnbuckle. That changed the color of the match. Reid grounded Hail, then lifted her into a shoulder breaker that looked really stiff. Hail fired up and dropped her opponent with a pair of axhandle smashes.
Graves pointed out that Hail needed to channel her energy and focus. Reid tried putting her feet on the ropes for a leverage pin, but the referee caught it. Moments later, she managed to secure the pin on Hail while hanging onto the ropes.
WINNER: Lainey Reid at 4:22
(Miller’s Take: Short, but good. I always love Hail’s intensity. I haven’t really seen enough of Reid to assess her just yet, but she looked fine here.)
-The remaining members of No Quarter Catch Crew were talking in the back. Tavion Heights told Charlie Dempsey he wanted that match against him for his departure from the team. Dempsey agreed but said it would be the last time. The two men shook hands.
-Zaria and Sol Ruca made their visually exciting ring entrance. [c]
-Jasper Troy cut a promo on how he’s going to go through Inamura to get to Oba Femi.
[HOUR TWO]
(4) ZARIA & SOL RUCA vs. IZZI DAME & TATUM PAXLEY (w/Shawn Spears & Niko Vance)
Ruca started the match by trying to talk sense into Paxley. Zaria pushed past Ruca to challenge her, but Dame came in the ring and everything exploded. Dame & Paxley took over on Ruca briefly, but Zaria tagged in and showed off her teamwork with Ruca. The two power wrestlers squared off and traded forearms, fists, and headbutts.
Paxley flew off the top onto Zaria with a cross body for two. Zaria womanhandled Paxley, followed by a couple of X Factors by Ruca. Zaria lifted Paxley onto her shoulders as Ruca surfed on her back before diving onto Dame on the outside. Zaria then pressed Paxley over her head and tossed her onto Dame like a sack of potatoes. [c]
Back from the break, Zaria was getting worked over by Dame and Paxley. Tatum hit a flying press on Zaria in the corner as Dame grabbed her feet and head to pull her into Zaria. Paxley hit an impressive flip kick for a two-count. She hit a stiff kick to the side of Zaria’s head for another near-fall. Zaria tried powering up, but Paxley turned it into a DDT.
Ruca finally took the hot tag and cleaned house with a series of indescribably athletic offensive moves. With Dame laid out, Ruca climbed the turnbuckle and grasped Zaria’s hands to do an incredible assisted handstand into a press for two on Paxley. The action really picked up here. Paxley pushed Dame out of the way of a charging Zaria, who speared her own partner. Dame hit a sit-out powerbomb on Ruca for the pin. The Culling lifted Paxley onto their shoulders as Zaria looked heartbroken.
WINNERS: Izzi Dame & Tatum Paxley at 13:15
(Miller’s Take: This was really good. I’m glad Sol Ruca wore her North American title belt to the ring. Maybe the powers-that-be in NXT saw that and remembered that she was North American champion and will actually book some title defenses. They crammed a lot of intense action and storyline into this 13 minutes. It actually went by way too quickly for my taste. I want to see more.)
-Ava was in the back with Ricky Saints, Ethan Page, and The Vanity Project. Page told Saints he’d have to run a gauntlet through The Vanity Project to earn a North American title shot. Saints said if he wins, he gets to name the stipulation for his title match. Ava thought that was a wonderful idea. [c]
-The Progressive NXT Spotlight was, regrettably, another Chase U skit. Chase apologized for his tough love approach and said maybe he could learn a new way. He said he got Dixon a match next week. They hugged. I cried. It was a heartwarming moment. Just kidding. Ugh.
-Kelly Kincaid interviewed Joe Hendry and Mike Santana. They were cordial to each other but disagreed over who would be the one to bring the TNA title back home.
-In the locker room, Briggs was psyching up Inamura. He started to go to the ring with him, but Inamura stopped him and said he had this.
-Jasper Troy made his way to the ring. He looked angry…and big. [c]
-In the back, Tatum Paxley was elated as The Culling kissed her backside. Hank & Tank walked up, infuriated at being attacked last week. A shoutfest ensued, and Paxley claimed her new friends would never resort to something as nefarious as a sneak attack. She then challenged them to put the tag team titles on the line against The Culling next week. Ava was standing there with security trying to gain control of the situation and agreed to it.
(5) JASPER TROY vs. YOSHIKI INAMURA – #1 Contender to the NXT Championship
Inamura took it to Troy for a moment, but Troy quickly overpowered him. The announcers compared Troy to Abyss as they locked horns mid-ring. Troy hit Inamura with everything he had, but Inamura shook it off and flattened his rather large foe. Oba Femi was shown watching the match in the back.
Inamura settled in with a wrenching side headlock. Graves talked up Inamura’s sumo background as he dropped into a sumo stance. He exploded into Troy and nearly toppled him. He then clotheslined Troy over the top rope and nearly went over with him. [c]
Back from the break, Troy was smooshing Inamura with a few 340-pound splashes, followed by a near-fall. The announcers salivated at the prospect of another Femi vs. Troy match. A wounded Inamura fired back with about three dozen forearms. He charged Troy, who caught him with a black hole slam. Inamura put his knees up on Troy’s next splash. He muscled up Troy and spun him around before slamming him hard. He hit a high and long flying splash onto Troy for the victory.
WINNER: Yoshiki Inamura at 11:40 to become the #1 contender.
(Miller’s Take: This was everything I thought it would be, but I must admit to being a bit surprised at Inamura going over. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Inamura, but after the hellacious battle Troy had with Femi, I was really hoping to see Part 2. I’ll gladly take Inamura, though.)
After the match, Oba Femi walked out to face Inamura. As they faced off, Je’Von Evans came out, climbed to the top turnbuckle, and dove off to drop Jasper Troy in retaliation for thumping him last week.
-Jordynne Grace was shown walking in the back. [c]
-The announcers ran down next week’s card, including Hendry & Santana vs. High Ryze, and Hank & Tank losing, I mean defending the tag team titles against The Culling.
-Jordynne Grace made her way to the ring. She said getting to this point was the hardest thing she’s ever done, but she thrives under pressure. She talked of walking into Evolution to challenge Jacy Jayne and put over the WWE women’s locker room. She questioned whether she was actually good enough to be in WWE. She said she became someone they couldn’t ignore, and she’d remind herself who she is at Evolution.
Fatal Influence interrupted. Jayne got in her face and said she’s at the top of her game, despite everyone calling her the most beatable champion of all time. Grace finally said she should just do everyone a favor and shut up. The trio then attacked Grace. Blake Monroe’s music hit as she ran to the ring. Monroe and Grace cleared the ring of the heel trio.
Ava came out and told a ranting Jacy Jayne to calm down. She announced that Fallon Henley & Jacy Jayne would face Jordynne Grace & Blake Monroe at The Great American Bash. Jayne and Henley rushed the ring but were quickly dispatched by Grace and Monroe as the show went off the air.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Better than last week. The in-ring action was pretty darn good and very hard-hitting. My money is definitely on The Culling next week, as I think they’ve gotten about all they can out of the Hank & Tank experiment and the Shawn Spears-led group seems to be picking up steam with their acquisition/brainwashing of Tatum Paxley. I liked Crusifino basically standing up for himself and telling D’Angelo and Stacks both where they can stick it. I was hoping for some mention of the women’s tag team from NXT that would face Raquel Rodriguez & Roxanne Perez in the Fatal Four-Way at Evolution, but I guess we’ll have to wait another week for that announcement. Great action and decent storyline advancement this week. See you all tomorrow for Evolve!
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