SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT TV REPORT
JULY 8, 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]
-The show opened with NXT Tag Team Champions Hank & Tank walking through the parking lot. Also seen were Joe Hendry & Mike Santana. Ava was flanked by Robert Stone and Stevie Turner.
(1) RICKY SAINTS vs. BRAD BAYLOR & RICKY SMOKES & JACKSON DRAKE (w/Ethan Page) – Gauntlet Match
Baylor started the match hot, but was quickly overcome by Saints, who hit a great missile dropkick from the top. Baylor mounted a comeback with a backbreaker for a two-count. Ethan Page was talking up The Vanity Project at the announce desk. Baylor hit a nice neckbreaker for a near-fall, then missed a kneedrop. Saints launched him with a back body drop and hit a tornado DDT for the pin at 3:10.
Next victim was Ricky Smokes, the second half of Swipe Right. After a brief flurry by Smokes, Saints sent Smokes sailing with an overhead throw and shortly disposed of him with a rollup at 5:50.
Last but not least was Jackson Drake, who took advantage of a weary Saints and grounded him with a bow and arrow submission. Drake looked very sharp here. He got a number of near-falls. Saints dropped him from high in the air, but only got two out of it. Drake waited in the corner for Saints to charge, then moved out of the way. Saints recovered to nail the Roshambo for the final pin at 9.24.
WINNER: Ricky Saints at 9:24, giving him the right to name the stipulation for his North American title match.
Saints grabbed the mic and told Page it would be a falls-count-anywhere match at The Great American Bash.
(Miller’s Take: This went pretty much the way I expected it to go with Saints coming out on top. The Vanity Project made a good showing for themselves in defeat. The upcoming North American title match is going to be a showstopper.)
-In the women’s locker room, Sol Ruca and Zaria were psyched about their upcoming tag team title match at Evolution when Lainey Reid asked Ruca if she would even have anything left after facing her. Kelani Jordan and Lola Vice stood up to confront her. Kelani asked what she had even done, to which Reid said she’d show her. Kelani accepted the challenge. [c]
-”Earlier today”, Jordynne Grace was shown lifting the entire gym when the went to a split-screen with the silly magic sound effects to show Blake Monroe calling her. Grace asked where she was, and she said she was preparing for a glamour workout, which involved pedicures, manicures, massages, etc. She coaxed Grace into joining her in the most sickeningly over-the-top, cartoonish manner. Grace was shown leaving the gym and then arriving somewhere, where she got out and exclaimed, “Ew, you’ve got to be kidding me.” A graphic said, “to be continued..” I can barely contain my excitement. Ugh. This is awful.
(2) CHARLIE DEMPSEY vs. TAVION HEIGHTS
If Tavion Heights wins, he gains his freedom from New Quarter Catch Crew. NQCC came to the ring together and Wren Sinclair remained at ringside. Heights was still wearing a face guard from the training injury with Charlie Dempsey. Good mat-based wrestling from the start. Basic stuff, but very well-executed. Dempsey ripped off the mask and slapped Heights, who became infuriated and began demolishing Dempsey. [c]
Back from the break, Heights followed two deep hiptosses with an overhead throw. Both men took it to the outside. Dempsey dropped Tavion’s leg between the ring and the ring steps and stomped it repeatedly. He applied a half crab in the ring, then a calf-crusher variation. Dempsey locked in a submission. As he struggled to free himself, Sinclair threw in the towel to end the match.
WINNER: Charlie Dempsey at 6:02
(Miller’s Take: Well, I didn’t expect it to end that way. Per the stipulation, Heights isn’t allowed to challenge Dempsey again, but I somehow don’t see this being the last of this situation. Good match, if a bit on the short side.)
-In the back, Hank and Tank were ranting about their upcoming match with The Culling. Je’Von Evans joined their little pep rally until Jasper Troy hit him like an 18-wheeler hitting a deer. The tag champs pulled him back while security stepped in to see if Evans was still breathing.
(3) MIKE SANTANA & JOE HENDRY vs. TYSON DUPONT & TYRIEK IGWE (w/Wes Lee)
Hendry started the match against Igwe. After a brief exchange, both teams tagged out. Santana took control of Dupont, and Hendry stepped in to show off his strength by tossing the very large Dupont over his head. He and Santana eyeballed each other cautiously. [c]
Back from the break, The High Ryze had taken over on Hendry. Natalya and Maxxine Dupree were shown walking in the building. Hendry got the hot tag to his partner, who began cleaning house. Santana did a flip dive to the outside and barely grazed Dupont. Hendry hit a much more solid dive onto Igwe on the floor. While the referee was distracted, Trick Williams came out to ringside and threw Hendry into the ring steps. Santana took out Lee, who was standing on the ring apron, then hit a discus clothesline on Dupont for the pin. After the match, Williams, Lee, and The High Ryze decimated the TNA wrestlers.
WINNERS: Mike Santana & Joe Hendry at 5:54.
(Miller’s Take: This was fine for what it was, which was NXT asserting their dominance over the TNA boys.)
-They recapped Yoshiki Inamura punching his ticket to The Great American Bash. The Great Muta, Naomichi Marufuji, Ulka Sasaki, Iyo Sky, and Kaito Kiyomiya encouraged their fellow countryman to beat Oba Femi for the NXT title.
-Inamura was seen walking in the back with Josh Briggs. [c]
-A Darkstate video segment aired. They were shown invading TNA Impact to beat the stuffing out of Matt Cardona. They also implied that they were the ones who attacked Hank & Tank two weeks ago.
-Inamura and Briggs made their way to the ring, followed by NXT Champion Oba Femi. Inamura called Femi his greatest challenge, but said he was ready. He claimed he would not be able to beat Femi. No, just kidding. Of course, he predicted victory. Femi said he wasn’t worthy enough to take the title from him. Briggs stepped up and told Femi that Inamura would do the same thing to him he did to Jasper Troy.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of “PWT Talks NXT” with Kelly Wells and Nate Lindberg, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
[HOUR TWO]
Briggs said he’d do anything possible to make sure Inamura wins the title. Inamura tried to step in between them, but Briggs pushed him aside and slugged Femi, who fought back. Femi dispatched of Briggs, but was scooped up and slammed hard by Inamura before security ran out to break it up.
-On a much less interesting note, Jordynne Grace joined Blake Monroe in a salon. She immediately wanted to leave, but Monroe convinced her “muscle muffin” to stay. They were shown wearing matching bathrobes, getting massages, and having makeup applied. Grace said the plan was for them to beat Fatal Influence at The Bash, then she’d beat Jacy Jayne at Evolution. She admitted to Monroe that being pampered was kind of nice and thanked her for it.
-Kelani Jordan made her way to the ring before they cut to commercial break. [c]
(4) KELANI JORDAN vs. LAINEY REID
Reid jumped the gun and charged Jordan before the bell. She showed off some fancy moves, but Jordan answered in kind. Reid changed the color of the match with a dragon screw legwhip. She continued working over Jordan’s leg. Kelani mounted a comeback, but continued selling the leg while doing so.
Reid climbed the ropes to attempt a superplex, but Jordan fought her off and hit a beautiful split-legged moonsault from a standing position on the second turnbuckle for the win. After the match, Thea Hail ran out and attacked Reid, fighting her all the way to the back.
WINNER: Kelani Jordan at 5:06
(Miller’s Take: Quick, but tidy little match. Reid showed off some great skill and ring psychology. Jordan did a great job selling the leg throughout the match and was her usual, spectacular self.)
-Je’Von Evans was recovering in the trainer’s room when Jasper Troy ran in and mauled him for a second time. [c]
-The Progressive NXT Spotlight was on…..the former D’Angelo Family. Tony, Luca, and Stacks all appeared at a table, looking confused. Adriana Rizzo appeared and sat them all down to talk. She said it was apparent there was no going back, so she did what she had to do and went to Ava to arrange a triple threat match for one final battle. The three men bickered and argued about how they don’t trust each other.
-Jasper Troy came to the ring and said he was done with Je’Von Evans. He demanded that Ava make a triple threat match for the NXT title at The Great American Bash. Evans, ribs taped heavily, ran out to attack Troy. He superkicked him out of the ring, then dove over the top rope onto him and about 54 security members.
-A giggly Tatum Paxley joined The Culling in the dark abyss. Spears and Vance talked about winning the tag team titles, while Dame predicted victory at Evolution.
(5) HANK & TANK (c) vs. SHAWN SPEARS & NIKO VANCE (w/Izzi Dame & Tatum Paxley) – NXT Tag Team Championship match
The champs attacked their challengers before the bell. They were fired up and laid into The Culling for the first minute before the heel duo took control. Ivy Nile was shown entering the building. Lots of double-teaming on both sides. On the outside, Vance pounced Tank, sending him sailing over the announce desk and into Booker T. [c]
Back from the break, Tank got the hot tag to Hank or vice-versa, who really knows which is which? With the referee distracted, Dame booted Tank in the head. Spears hit an impaler DDT, but only got two out of it. Spears looked stunned as Sol Ruca ran out to attack Dame. At the same time, Zaria hoisted Paxley over her shoulder and carried her to the back like a child having a tantrum. The champs made a Hank & Tank sandwich of Spears. One double-team move later and the champs were still the champs.
WINNERS: Hank & Tank at 7:02 to retain the tag team titles.
(Miller’s Take: This surprised me. I totally expected the Hank & Tank reign to end with this match, but it was not to be. The match itself was perfectly fine, but nothing out of the ordinary.)
-The announcers ran down the card for The Great American Bash before Ava was shown walking to the ring for the Evolution summit. [c]
-The announcers mentioned that Kale Dixon was supposed to have a match tonight, but showed video footage from eariler in the day to explain why it happened. Dr. Uriah Connors was taking Dixon’s blood pressure when Andre Chase approached him to ask if he was ready. Dixon was in the midst of a full-blown panic attack and begged Chase to let him off the hook. He did so and said they’d figure it out.
-Ava was standing at a podium in the middle of the ring. She spoke of the first Evolution back in 2018. She said Iyo Sky was in the finals of the Mae Young Classic and now she’s the World champion. She mentioned the name Nikki Bella to some scattered boos. She announced the six women representing NXT at the battle royal would be Jaida Parker, Lola Vice, Kelani Jordan, Lash Legend, Izzi Dame, and Tatum Paxley. Fatal Influence came out to interrupt. Jacy Jayne ran her mouth for a minute before being interrupted by Jordynne Grace, who was interrupted by Lash Legend, who was interrupted by Stephanie Vaquer to a huge pop from the crowd. She said it was amazing to be back.
Natalya and Maxxine Dupree came out for a few words. Ivy Nile, Zelina Vega, and Lola Vice walked to ringside. Jaida Parker was in the crowd with a mic and told them to look around at the stacked WWE women’s division. US Champion Giulia was standing behind her. A mini battle royal broke out to end the show.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Well, it took me two days to watch this show due to unforeseen circumstances and Murphy’s Law, and I really didn’t miss a whole lot. It’s always good to see Kelani Jordan back in action, but I still don’t see enough of Sol Ruca for my taste. It was cool seeing Stephanie Vaquer back in NXT for an appearance. Hank & Tank are, miraculously, still tag team champions. The Troy-Evans interaction was fun to watch. The less of Blake Monroe I see, the better my opinion of the show will be. Nothing against the performer, but the gimmick absolutely reeks. See you all next week!
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