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NXT TV REPORT
NOVEMBER 4, 2025
ORLANDO, FLA. AT THE WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON THE CW
REPORT BY DAVID MILLER, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Backstage Correspondent: Sarah Schreiber
[HOUR ONE]
-New AAA Mixed Tag Team Champions Ethan Page & Chelsea Green, with Alba Fyre scanning for possible assassins lurking in the background, were shown walking through the parking lot.
(1) THE CULLING (Tatum Paxley & Izzi Dame) & LOLA VICE vs. FATAL INFLUENCE (Jacy Jayne & Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid)
Booker T ranted incoherently before the bell rang. Jayne and Paxley immediately tore into each other. There were lots of quick tags with all the women getting in their shots. After taking out Fatal Influence, Paxley and Vice engaged in stereo hip-swiveling. Tatum tried to get Izzi to join in, but she begged off before they cut to a split-screen commercial break. [c]
Applebees, Swiffer, Jack Daniels, and Vicks dominated the large right screen while the women continued to tangle on the microscreen on the left. Back to full-screen, Vice took a crushing cannonball from Jayne, followed by a hard knee to the cheekbone. Paxley took the hot tag and proceeded to singlehandedly dismantle Fatal Influence. Henley captured her in beautiful flying bodyscissors before the match began to pick up the pace, with every woman getting in high impact moves. Dame shoved Paxley out of the way of a Rolling Encore by Jayne, taking the bullet for her partner and eating the pin.
WINNERS: Fatal Influence at 10:56.
(Miller’s Take: Very good opening match with lots of stiff shots. All six ladies were on their A-game and delivered a very exciting 10 minutes of action. I was surprised to see Dame put herself in harms way to protect Paxley. Interesting development there.)
-The NXT Progressive Spotlight, otherwise known as an ordinary segment, showed El Grande Kaiser and Ahueva Chingones walking into the locker room, rambling in Spanish. When they started fiddling with Josh Briggs’s bag, Briggs stepped up to confront them. Of course, a match was made for later on tonight. [c]
-A replay was shown of Kelani Jordan caving in Jordynne Grace’s face with the TNA Knockouts belt last week. An X post showed the battered left side of Grace’s face. She was banged up pretty good. Lei Ying Lee posted on social media that Jordan brought shame to the TNA title with her heinous actions, and vowed to take back the honor.
-In the back, Wren Sinclair was gushing over Evolve Women’s Champion Kendal Grey’s victory over Lash Legend last week. She also welcomed her as an official member of the WrenQCC, which apparently also included Karmen Petrovic and Tyra Mae Steele, as they were at the table with them. Kelani Jordan walked up and belittled Grey, then told her to watch the monitor for what she has to say.
-TNA Knockouts Champion Kelani Jordan, with a scowl on her face, entered the ring. She said she did all she could to keep the belt last week. She admitted to being out of character, then accentuated the point by telling the crowd to shut up while a champion is talking. She bemoaned the fact that Dominik Mysterio and Cody Rhodes can use nefarious means to win and still get cheered when she gets booed for doing the same thing. She said she wasn’t going to be a champion like Trick Williams, trashing the organization and wearing the belt upside down.
-She went into full whine mode about how great she is and how unfairly she’s been treated. She said all everyone cares about is girls with fat asses and catchphrases when they should be caring about her. She went full heel mode by belittling the fans and said she was staying at home for Gold Rush because nobody has earned a shot at her. She said Lei Ying Lee can call her whatever she wants, but she can call her champion. She dramatically dropped the mic and left the ring. No more little sister of the locker room. [c]
-It was Sarah Schreiber’s turn to be backstage correspondent this week, as she interviewed OTM. They said they don’t have to yell anymore because their silence shakes the room. They were interrupted by the high-pitched voices of Chase U, who challenged them. Andre Chase walked up and reigned in his lapdogs, then asked them if they thought pissing off OTM was a good idea? OTM went one way while Chase ushered his pair of Scrappy-Doos the other direction.
(2) JOSH BRIGGS vs. EL GRANDE AMERICANO (w/Los Americanos)
Briggs, looking like a Siamese twin with Papa Shango’s smoking skull on his shoulder, entered the ring first. American was accompanied by his nacho libre underlings. The fans loudly chanted “ole” before Briggs knocked the Speed champ on his narrow backside. American came back with his speed (no pun intended) to befuddle his much larger opponent. Jasper Troy was shown setting up residence among the fans in the crowd, presumably to scout his future opponent. [c]
Back from the break, Briggs was bulldozing Americano, despite the champ’s attempts to fight back. Eventually, Americano began chopping the skin off Briggs. Tavion Heights came out and distracted the referee while Los Americanos gave Briggs a double backstabber on the floor. Once tossed back into the ring, he quickly submitted to the champion.
WINNER: El Grande American by submission at 10:55.
(Miller’s Take: This was pretty decent, but nothing to write home about. The fans were obviously on the side of Americano. Throwaway match, honestly.)
Kelani Jordan walked up to Wren Sinclair and Kendal Grey and asked if they saw her. Grey blew her off and led Sinclair away with her. Ava was standing near her, and told her she heard what she said about not defending the title, but that was not her decision to make. Kelani fired back at Ava that it wasn’t her decision, either, because she’s the GM of NXT, not TNA. At this point, Tyra Mae Steele interjected, asking Jordan what had gotten into her and that she used to look up to her. Jordan said she still could, but as long as she’s in the room, even a gold medalist will be second best. A fed-up Ava made a match between the two for later in the evening.
-As NXT Champion Ricky Saints was walking backstage, Myles Borne asked him to save a piece of Trick Williams for him after their last man standing match. [c]
-A recap was shown of Ethan Page & Chelsea Green winning the AAA Mixed Tag Team titles from Mr. Iguana & La Hiedra in Mexico this past weekend.
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]
-Booker T continued to rant and rave incoherently before Vic Joseph mediated a split-screen face-off between Ricky Saints and Trick Williams. Trick downplayed Ricky’s star power as insults were traded between the two. It didn’t take long for both of them to get frustrated enough to get up and leave their respective interview positions in search of each other for another round of mayhem. The cameras showed them finding each other in the back. Williams picked up a pipe and swung it at Saints, who ducked under the audible “whoosh”. After a brief scuffle, Trick picked up another pipe and hit a home run on Ricky’s gut. He stood over the fallen champ and taunted him.
-Zaria and Sol Ruca came to the ring before the commercial break. [c]
(3) ZARIA (w/Sol Ruca) vs. WREN SINCLAIR (w/Kendal Grey) – Speed Tournament Match
Ruca wasn’t as exuberantly supportive of Zaria as usual before the match, offering only a slight smile and quick pat on the back before the bell rang. As is customary with Speed matches, the two women started fast and furious with both women getting equal offense the first minute. Sinclair took over during the second minute, but Zaria fired up entering the last minute. Sinclair sneaked in an armbar, but Zaria freed herself and nailed a spear and an F5 for the win.
WINNER: Zaria at 2:30 to advance.
(Miller’s Take: The announcers noted the tempered chemistry between Ruca and Zaria after the match, as Zaria was fired up and Ruca was tentatively supportive, but seemed anxious and uncomfortable. The outcome was what it should have been, as Sinclair has not been presented as anything more than enhancement talent lately, and this adds to the Ruca/Zaria storyline. Will Zaria lose the title match and further disappoint Ruca or will she win it for her friend and then not want to give it up? Time will tell.)
-Je’Von Evans was shown warming up for his upcoming match.
-Kelani Jordan, complete with newfound heel disdain, made her ring entrance. [c]
(4) KELANI JORDAN vs. TYRA MAE STEELE
Steele displayed her power early with a strong takedown. Kelani fancied her way out of an armbar for a reversal, but Steele showed her agility by cartwheeling her way out of an armbar. Steele stretched Jordan with a painful looking submission, but Jordan’s experience and bad attitude took over. Steele fired up and dropped the TNA champ with some powerful clotheslines and what Joseph described as a reverse Angle slam. Jordan soon dispatched her inexperienced opponent with a split-legged moonsault for the relatively easy win.
WINNER: Kelani Jordan at 4:53.
(Miller’s Take: This wasn’t much more than an opportunity to showcase Jordan’s new attitude. Steele was a bit clunky in a couple of spots, but still looked pretty good.)
-After the match, Santino Marella appeared onscreen and told Jordan he heard what she said earlier and while it’s true that Ava has no authority over TNA, he does, and she will defend her title at Gold Rush in a triple threat match against Lei Ying Lee and Jordynne Grace, which he pronounced as “Grah-chae”. Jordan pouted.
-In the back, Sol Ruca was lobbying for a North American title rematch against Blake Monroe at Gold Rush, but Ava told her the doctor said she has about another month before she will be medically cleared. Fatal Influence rudely interrupted, with Jayne asking for a rematch against Paxley. Henley and Zaria bickered over who was going to win the Speed title. Ava said she knew this was the part where everyone argues, but she needs to call Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce to discuss who from NXT would be involved in the tournament to decided who would face John Cena in his final match, so all of the ladies present could see themselves out.
-Je’Von Evans slobbered into the camera lens before making his ring entrance. [c]
(5) JE’VON EVANS vs. SAQUON SHUGARS (w/DarkState)
Evans performed one of his gravity-defying leaps over the top rope onto all members of DarkState before the bell rang. He rolled Shugars into the ring and got a two count immediately after the referee called for the bell. Shugars countered a springboard hurricanrana into an inverted atomic drop to stop the momentum of Evans. He continued working on the young OG for about a minute before Evans hit a beautiful backwards leap over the top into a Frankensteiner, then successfully delivered his springboard hurricanrana. A DarkState distraction led to Evans being bounced off the ring apron onto the barricade before they cut to a few words from their sponsors. [c]
Back from the break, Shugars was still taking the fight to Evans, who earned a short respite with a double kick to the chin. Shugars went back on the attack, but then started disrespecting Evans with some boot rakes to the face. The smile disappeared from Je’Von’s face as he came to life. Shugars was pulled out of the ring by one of his stablemates to gather his senses, but Evans leaped over the top. He overshot his mark and basically slid off the top of Saquon’s head enroute to crashing to the floor. All of DarkState got involved, but Evans ducked all of their big moves on the floor, re-entered the ring, and pinned Shugars.
WINNER: Je’Von Evans at 13.34.
(Miller’s Take: Just like any match involving Evans, this was damn good. An argument could be made that DarkState looked like doofuses when they couldn’t pull off a win with all four of them out there, but Evans was ducking and evading them at the end, making it like trying to hold onto a stick of half-melted butter.)
-North American Champion Blake Monroe was in Ava’s office talking excitedly about Gold Rush. She wasn’t so excited when Ava told her she could be facing Sol Ruca for the title. She left as Ava gave her a sour look. [c]
-In the back, Tatum Paxley was blaming herself for the tag team loss earlier. Izzi reminded her that her impulsiveness in handing out title shots is what got them in that situation in the first place. She reassured her that she cared about her, but advised her to be more selective when it comes to the championship. Paxley agreed, but said there’s one more thing she needs to do next week to feel completely satisfied and rushed off, leaving her stablemates confused and worried.
-The ring had a bright red carpet covering the mat, and the ropes had been taken down. New AAA Mixed Tag Team Champions Ethan Page & Chelsea Green, with the forever present Alba Fyre, stood in front of a giant white cake emblazoned with red maple leaves. I can already tell this is going to be silly. My money is on Joe Hendry popping out of that cake. Page talked about what great Canadians they are…blah, blah, blah. Green talked of becoming a double champion like her partner by winning back the U.S. title soon. Page said they plan on defending the tag titles against everyone.
-Green started to say she wished Joe was here, and Page abruptly cut her off and told her not to say his name. He shushed her when she started to say his name again, and pointed at the cake. They picked up a couple of pinata sticks and told Alba to say his name. She shouted, “Joe Hendry”, as Page and Green prepared to whack him as he popped out of the cake. His music hit, but Hendry came down the entrance ramp. He said sometimes the straightforward approach is the best, and he wanted a shot at the mixed tag team titles. Green pointed out he needed a partner. He said he was going to keep it a secret until Gold Rush, but if they want to know who she is, all they have to do is say her name.
-A reworked version of Hendry’s song played, with the lyrics changed to, “Say her name and she appears, I believe in Thea.” With that, a smiling Thea Hail popped out of the cake and threw pies in the faces of Fyre and Green while Hendry thumped on Page. She climbed out of the cake and jumped off it with a flying press to Fyre and Green. Hail, who was dressed in white pants and a blue shirt, just like Hendry, handed Joe a pie to slam in the face of Page, who was comically stumbling around after a devastating blow to the head with one of the cardboard decorations the ring was adorned with. They celebrated in the ring as Vic Joseph ran down next week’s card. They did the Joe Hendry pose as the pie-covered tag champs and their bodyguard stumbled to the back.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was a very entertaining show. Tatum Paxley has made The Culling relevant and interesting to watch. Tatum and Izzi practically ARE The Culling, as Spears just stands around looking like a proud papa, and I have to admit that I wouldn’t recognize Vance if I saw him on the street. Kelani Jordan’s new heel attitude actuall fits her well. She’s one of those people who can be either really loved or really hated. The Zaruca story continues to unfold, but it remains to be seen who is going to turn heel when this finally blows up. As for the final segment, Thea Hail is a perfect partner for Hendry, with her manic enthusiasm and over-the-top expressions and body language. I’m looking forward to Gold Rush. See you all for Evolve!
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