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NXT TV REPORT
JULY 29, 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 the NXT roster and staff silently standing in the ring and on the floor. Fans in attendance were also standing. A large banner behind them showed a picture of Hulk Hogan and read, “In memory of Hulk Hogan, 1953-2025”. A voice said, “NXT would like to pay our respect to a true icon. A ten-bell salute to honor the life and and career of Terry Bollea, globally known as “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan.” The camera panned the crowd and talent as the bell rang ten times.
-They aired the same video tribute to Hogan that was shown at the beginning of Raw last night. After the video, there was polite and respectful applause. [c]
-A video recap of NXT from Houston last week aired.
-Jaida Parker made her ring entrance to an enthusiastic chant of “Miss Parker”. Fatal Influence were shown walking toward the entrance ramp. Jacy Jayne said this was a big night for Fatal Influence and told Jazmyn Nyx this was her chance to prove she’s a baddie. Nyx told her she had this. They made their usual ring entrance.
(1) JAIDA PARKER vs. JAZMYN NYX (w/Jacy Jayne & Fallon Henley)
Parker backed Nyx into the corner and slapped her. Nyx came back with some stiff kicks and attempted an early pin. Loud “Miss Parker” chants during the match. Nyx began to dominate and locked in a unique bridge submission move. The two women slugged it out mid-ring. Parker took it to Nyx with some blistering chops, followed by her jumping hip attack in the corner. She high-stepped and hit Hipnotic for the easy pin. Nyx was berated by Jayne after the match.
WINNER: Jaida Parker at 4:11.
(Miller’s Take: Nothing special here, other than the crowd’s enthusiastic response to Parker and the lack of interference from Fatal Influence. With Jayne’s enlarged head after winning the NXT and TNA titles, how long will it be before Nyx and Henley get tired of being talked down to and abandon her?)
-Je’Von Evans was shown walking in the back. He chatted with some LFG guys, made fun of High Ryze for letting Trick Williams wear “that goofy-ass outfit” and not having his back against the Dead Man, and listened in as Andre Chase told his charges it was time to step up and overcome. He said The Undertaker told him last week to go after the big dogs, and that’s what he was about ready to do. [c]
-Je’Von Evans slobbered into the camera as he made his way to the ring. He seemed reinvigorated by the advice he was given by The Undertaker last week. He said he wanted to follow that advice and he was here in the ring now. Trick Williams music hit. He came to the ring and put himself over. Evans reminded Trick that he was chokeslammed to hell by Taker last week. He acknowledged that, but still told Evans not to try him.
-Evans told Trick he wasn’t even talking about him, he was talking about Oba Femi. Trick, channeling his inner Dusty Rhodes, said that Femi looked at him last week with lust in his eyes and told Jacy Jayne that he was coming to the top right next to her, taking over both brands.
-The High Ryze came out, with Wes Lee telling Trick not to let that young whippersnapper get under his skin. He said Undertaker gave the right advice to the wrong person. Evans took a swing at Lee, but was quickly overcome by the four heels. They held him as Lee hit a stiff cardiac kick. Lee said he was going to go to Ava and make it official. [c]
-Kale Dixon and Uriah Connor were standing outside the men’s locker room, chairs in hand, talking about going in and taking out the tag team champions so they could get a title match. Connors peeked in first to make sure they were in there, which they were. They couldn’t make up their minds on when to rush in. They ran in and Hank & Tank shielded themselves with their belts while Kale and Dixon held the chairs like they were going to hit them. The champs yelled at them, asking what they were doing. Dison yelled back, “We were gonna beat you with these chairs to get a tag team title match.” Hank yelled that they didn’t have to do that…all they have to do is ask.
-The four men calmed down and all seemed relieved. Tank said they’d make it official next week and said, “No chairs, man!”. The four men breathed a collective sigh of relief and shook hands as Andre Chase came in. Dixon explained to an astonished Chase that they were about to beat them with chairs to get a title match, but it turns out all they had to do was ask. Chase was beside himself and tried to apologize, but Hank & Tank were cool with everything. I know I’ve given Chase U a hard time lately, but that was one of the funniest segments I think I’ve ever seen.
(2) CHARLIE DEMPSEY vs. TAVION HEIGHTS
Wren Sinclair accompanied both men to ringside. They recapped Bubba Ray Dudley facilitating the match. The two men started out with chain wrestling and reversals. A smiling Joe Hendry very briefly appeared on my screen. That was either a production mistake or a subliminal message. Heights grounded Dempsey with a side headlock. A “Tavion” chant broke out. Both men collided with each other before they cut to commercial. [c]
Back from the break, Dempsey had control, but Heights powered out and dumped Dempsey. They began brawling on the floor. Heights hit the steps hard as Dempsey moved out of the way. Charlie went to work on Tavion’s injured leg, locking in a half crab. Sinclair went to look for a towel under the ring, but couldn’t find one. Heights broke free from the hold and hit a Death Valley Driver. He followed that up with a crushing belly-to-belly for the three-count. Dempsey reluctantly accepted a handshake from Heights after the match.
WINNER: Tavion Heights at 10:13 to win his freedom from New Quarter Catch Crew.
(Miller’s Take: Good, solid technical match, as you would expect from these two. Not a surprising outcome, but I am happily surprised that Dempsey didn’t turn on him and attack him after the match. NQCC is down to Dempsey and Sinclair now, so it’ll be interesting to see if they add new members or simply disband.)
-In the back, Trick Williams was talking to High Ryze about becoming a double champion. Lee asked him to hook up his team with a TNA Tag Team title match. TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella walked up. He reminded Williams that he was the authority, but tonight he was there to win the North American title.
-Blake Monroe was shown sashaying her way to the entrance ramp before they cut to commercial. [c]
-Blake Monroe came to the ring, Bewitched graphics and all. She admonished Booker T for botching her name last week. She addressed why she turned on Jordynne Grace, saying she was bland and not good enough. She called her an extra, and showed an old picture of a young and different-looking Grace. She said you can’t have a champion that looks like this, and showed another picture of Grace before her remarkable body transformation.
-Monroe acknowledged that Grace doesn’t look like that anymore, but said she knows that she sees that picture when she looks in the mirror, and that’s not championship material, it’s gym membership material. Ouch. She put herself and her looks over.
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]
-She was interrupted by Lola Vice, who marvelled at how she could be so beautiful, but so ugly inside. She talked about star power being flying across the world to represent WWE and AAA and making viral moments like dancing with Nikki Bella at Evolution.
-Vice was interrupted by Jaida Parker, who came out and put both women in their place. Monroe called Parker JG Junior. Grace’s music hit and Moroe looked panicked. Kelani Jordan came out and said, “My bad, I guess I’m not the Jordan you’re looking for.” I smell a four-way. Right on cue, a Moroe headbutt to Jordan set off a brawl, with Vice and Jordan getting the better of Parker and Monroe, who both rolled to the outside. Monroe grabbed onto Parker to pull herself to her feet but Parker disgustedly shoved her off.
-Tatum Paxley was excitedly going on to Izzi Dame about pinning Zaria last week and said she wanted a North American title match against Sol Ruca. Dame was telling her to slow down, she didn’t pin the champion and it doesn’t work that way. Shawn Spear and Niko Vance walked up and thanked Paxley for her efforts in getting their team a win. Spears said he talked to Ava and got her a North American title match next week. Dame looked less than thrilled, but assured her they would all be in her corner. Paxley jumped up and down and gushed about how much she loved her new family as they walked off. The camera panned over to Luca Crusifino, who solemnly said no family lasts forever.
-Lash Legend spoke about Fatal Influence and talked about eliminating Nikki Bella and Nia Jax at Evolution. She warned Fallon Henley as she continued walking toward the entrance. [c]
-Ethan Page was shown warming up for his match against Santino Marella.
(3) LASH LEGEND vs. FALLON HENLEY (w/Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx)
The members of Fatal Influence were already standing in the ring as Legend entered. Henley tried showing off a bit, but Legend responded by clobbering her in the ropes. Again with the Joe Hendry subliminal message. Legend picked up Henley and bounced her neck off the top rope repeatedly.
Henley finally took control while her cohorts gyrated at ringside. She hit a beautiful bulldog, but couldn’t follow up. Legend tossed her overhead and then knocked her out of the ring. Outside the ring, Legend decked Nyx and delivered a pump kick to Jayne. She was then glommed from behind by Nia Jax, who then threw her back into the ring. Henley hit a legdrop across the back of her neck to score the pin. After the match, Jax squished Legend with an AnNIAlator.
WINNER: Fallon Henley at 4:12.
(Miller’s Take: I didn’t see that coming at all. It’s always exciting to see main roster talent come down to NXT, and I like how they’re using Legend’s boasting about eliminating Nia Jax at Evolution to create this inter-brand storyline.) [c]
-Josh Briggs was in the back complaining about Yoshiki Inamura blowing his chance last week. Inamura came in and the two got into a shoving match. Stacks told Inamura that family doesn’t last forever, and Inamura responded by nearly slapping Stacks’s head off his shoulders. He told Stacks he’d show him what honor is all about next week.
(4) JE’VON EVANS vs. WES LEE (w/Tyson Dupont & Tyriek Igwe)
TNA World Champion Trick Williams had his feet kicked up on the announcers desk for this one. As The High Ryze made their way to the ring, Evans flew through the ropes to tackle Lee. He threw a dazed Lee into ring and the referee called for the bell. Lee took over briefly on an overzealous Evans, but missed a standing shooting star press. Evans chopped the skin off Lee a couple of times.
Lee went to work with some kidney punches, then rammed his head into the second turnbuckle. Evans went to the top rope but got distracted by Igwe, allowing Lee to dump him over onto the floor. Lee dove over the top for a flip senton, but overshot and missed Evans, who went down anyway. That did not look good. [c]
Back from the break, Lee was firmly in control of the match. Evans hit a Jimmy Uso-like slap to Lee’s face that sounded like a firecracker going off. Then he did it a second time. They began trading explosive offense. Lee tried going to the top, but Evans tripped him, hanging him upside down in the corner. Evans hit a spectacular flipping coast-to-coast and then a splash for only a two-count.
Dupont and Igwe both tried grabbing at Evans’s leg, but he kicked them off. Lee slid to the outside, but slid back in as Evans sailed over the top, taking down Dupont and Igwe. Back in the ring, Lee hit a cardiac kick and covered Evans, but when he hooked the legs, Evans got his foot on the ropes. He hit Lee with a cutter and then a breathtaking springboard cutter off the top turnbuckle for the win.
WINNER: Je’Von Evans at 13.04
(Miller’s Take: That was one hell of a match. I really think Wes Lee and Je’Von Evans could wrestle a 10-hour Iron Man match and make it exciting. This really woke up the crowd and got them excited. 13 minutes of raw electricity.)
-After the match, Oba Femi stood in the balcony and pointed down at Evans and Trick Williams. Knowing WWE, I see another triple threat match coming up. [c]
-Progressive’s NXT Focus was on…drum roll, please…Vic Joseph conducting a sit-down interview with Myles Borne. He asked Borne if Lexis King’s comments about him faking a hearing loss have bothered him. Borne said King is just stirring stuff up and explained the nature of his hearing loss. He said he was born with Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension and he had to be flown immediately to another hospital, flatlining twice on the way there. The doctors only gave him a 15 percent chance to live. He said his family put him on a ventilator to keep him alive, but the ventilator caused him to lose 90 percent of his bilateral hearing.
-He said he taught himself to read lips as a child. He jokingly pretended to not hear Joseph, then admitted he uses humor to deal with it. He said there would always be someone like a Lexis King, but you can’t let those people win.
– Robert Stone told Ava that Ricky has a bruised sternum, but nothing is broken and he should be back in no time. Stevie Turner said Jordynne Grace should be thankful that her strong neck kept her from suffering a serious spinal injury. Lexis King came in and complained about the interview he just saw with Borne, claiming that he can really hear and he’s just putting on a show. Ava put him in a match against Borne next week.
-The announcers ran down next week’s card, including Blake Monroe vs. Kelani Jordan, Sol Ruca defending the North American title against Tatum Paxley, and Chase U challenging for the NXT Tag Team titles.
-TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella made his way to the ring. Joseph pointed out this was his first WWE match since 2014. [c]
-A scene from Unreal on Netflix was shown involving Charlotte Flair.
-”During the break”, an unhappy-looking Fatal Influence were leaving the building. An unseen female asked Jacy Jayne how she would assess Fatal Influence’s performance tonight. Jacy started to speak, but Fallon said she held up her end. Jazmyn told her Nia Jax was the only reason she won. Jax commandeered the camera and cut a brief promo on Lash Legend.
(5) ETHAN PAGE (c) vs. SANTINO MARELLA – NXT North American Title Match
The referee held up the newly Canadian-looking title belt before the match. Marella immediately outwrestled Page, tying him up in knots and frustrating the champ. For the third time tonight, a brief glimpse of a smiling Joe Hendry appeared for a split-second. Page finally turned the tables and took over. Santino looks to be in great shape.
Marella hit a sunset flip, but was met with a boot to the face when he got to his feet. Santino gave Page an airplane spin, then dropped Page before losing his own balance. Marella hit a stunner, followed by a diving headbutt for a two-count. A “you still got it” chant started, followed by “we want cobra”. Page climbed the turnbuckle and launched himself into Marella’s upturned knees.
Marella showed off some great offense against the champ as the announcers pondered a miracle happening. The cobra came out out, but as he went to strike, Page pulled the referee in front of him. Page thumbed Santino in the eye as he was pushing the referee out of the way. A Twisted Grin later, Page retained.
WINNER: Ethan Page at 7:02 to retain the NXT North American Title.
(Miller’s Take: No big surprise here. Marella showed some flashes of brilliance, but had about as much of a chance at winning the title as I would have at getting a date with Stephanie Vaquer.)
-A solitary Tony D’Angelo was sitting at a restaurant table. The waiter handed him a glass of wine and called him Don. He said things have changed and he didn’t have to call him “Don” anymore, Tony D is fine. As he took his silverware out of his napkin, a door was heard opening. Tony looked over his shoulder and the lights appeared to go out. The scene abruptly ended.
FINAL THOUGHTS: As far as wrestling goes, the Lee vs. Evans match was the saving grace of this show. I barely even remember the other matches at this point. I know I’ve given Evans a hard time about his promos, but he’s getting better. I actually laughed out loud at the Chase U segment. Connors convincing Dixon that attacking champions with chairs to get title shots is just the way it works was hilarious, yet so true, as it really seems like that’s the way it goes. Three times during the broadcast, a brief glimpse of a smiling Joe Hendry appeared onscreen. Once and I thought it was a technical glitch, especially since it wasn’t acknowledged by the announcers. Twice and I wondered. Three times? Subliminal messaging. Hendry must have watched some old footage of the Bray Wyatt subliminal messages and decided to give it a whirl. I’m much less offended by fans chanting naughty words than I am by the network’s insufferable insistence on muting the broadcast while it’s happening. Finally, I liked what will be the final pre-show tribute to the late Hulk Hogan. Say what you will about Terry Bollea, but Hulk Hogan put wrestling on the map. I was never a Hulkamaniac, but I can’t deny his importance to this spectacle I love so much. See you tomorrow night for Evolve!
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