SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT TV REPORT
DECEMBER 9, 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: Kelly Kincaid
[HOUR ONE]
-The show opened with a recap of this past Saturday’s Deadline.
-The new and now two-time NXT Champion, Oba Femi, strutted his way to the ring as only Femi can do. He gave Ricky Saints his props, but said NXT wasn’t the same without The Ruler on top. He then talked about facing Cody Rhodes this Saturday for the WWE championship. He was interrupted by the former champ. Saints told Femi he was the better man at Deadline. He transitioned from a defeatist attitude to a fired-up promo, challenging Femi to a rematch. Je’Von Evans, the winner of the Iron Survivor Challenge, came out to stake his claim to an NXT title shot. He said he didn’t want to wait until January and asked for his title match tonight.
-Saints tried to talk Evans into waiting until he wins the belt back from Femi, but Evans wasn’t hearing of it. Evans was quite full of himself, and Saints liked the fire he was hearing from the young OG and encouraged him. Femi began to protest, and Evans said he just looked scared. Femi said he’s beaten him in every match between the two and agreed to the title match.
-The Progressive NXT Spotlight was on the history of the feud between Kelani Jordan and Jordynne Grace. [c]
-After the break, a John Cena spot aired, with comments from Cody Rhodes, Steve Austin, Becky Lynch, and CM Punk.
-Tatum Paxley was in a dark area of the Performance Center. She said Izzi Dame got rid of the empathetic version of herself, like she said she would, and now she has nothing to lose. She added that Izzi does have something to lose as she held up what appeared to be dolls of Shawn Spears and Niko Vance. She cackled and said now they’re going to play her game. She said one by one they would go away, and it would be just her and Izzi. She shot a sinister look into the camera that would have made Karen Black proud.
(1) KELANI JORDAN vs. JORDYNNE GRACE
Grace barely emerged from the entrance before Jordan met her on the ramp to begin the fight. Once both women made it into the ring, the referee rang the bell as they continued tearing into each other. Grace missed a Vader bomb, which allowed Jordan to catch her breath and take Grace to the mat. They traded blows on the ring apron before Grace attempted a German suplex to the floor. Jordan held onto the ropes and attempted a sunset flip to the floor, but this time it was Grace who held on. Jordan pulled her feet out from underneath her, which sent Grace crashing knees-first on the apron. Right on cue, the out-of-the-ring spot led to a commercial break. Who’d have ever thunk it? [c]
Back to the match, Grace had Jordan twisted up like a pretzel. She attempted a unique move on the floor, but Jordan escaped and clipped her knee. She tried smacking her in the knee with a chair, but Grace moved out of the way. Back in the ring, they locked legs in an innovative test of strength. Grace folded Jordan in half with a German suplex for a count of two. They both attempted tombstone piledrivers on the floor. Grace grabbed a chair, but the referee wrestled it away from her. Jordan took advantage of the momentary distraction to kick Grace off the ring apron and into the barricade, which gave way. Once Grace was back in the ring, Jordan hit a beautiful 450 splash for the win.
WINNER: Kelani Jordan at 11:36.
(Miller’s Take: Not a bad way to open the show, but Grace has lost any aura of invincibility she once had. Much like Zaria, Grace should be steamrolling over opponents, Road Warrior-style. Kelani Jordan is a supreme talent, though, and needed to pick up this win as much as Grace. I look for Grace to get her heat back in a rematch, as it appears this feud is far from over.)
-In the back, NXT Women’s North American Champion Blake Monroe was warming up in the makeup chair in preparation for her first open challenge match. [c]
-In the women’s locker room, Jordynne Grace was icing the back of her neck as about a dozen other wrestlers were warming up. She lamented not being able to beat a “rookie” in Kelani Jordan. Thea Hail stepped up to give her a pep talk, but Grace dismissed her.
-Blake Monroe entered the ring to see who would step up for her first open challenge. She passed it off as her idea that Ava just went along with before a dozen NXT and Evolve wrestlers tried shoving past some referees to claim the opportunity. As Monroe shrieked for Ava to intervene, Thea Hail jumped in the ring behind Monroe and cinched in a Kimura lock as she turned around. Monroe quickly tapped and rolled out of the ring at the feet of all the other wrestlers. Hail jumped up and down as if she had won a match, but there was no official start to it.
-Kelly Kincaid interviewed Shiloh Hill in the back. He spouted some medical terminology about the effects of nerves, smiled a toothless grin, then talked about smashing Lexis King. He started to leave, but returned to pop in his partial denture, flashed another big grin, then walked away. [c]
(2) LEXIS KING vs. SHILOH HILL
Hill got a nice reception upon making his ring entrance. King rushed Hill before the bell, but he sidestepped him, then bounced his head off the announce desk before rolling him into the ring to start the match. King cut loose with some chops and a knee before getting a two count. The fans started chanting “Shiloh” before King slapped Hill. They double clotheslined each other, then Hill got up, ripped out his partial to hand to the referee, then fired up on King. King looked a bit terrified at Hill’s ferocity, then quickly fell victim to a side suplex into a neckbreaker to wrap up the match.
WINNER: Shiloh Hill at 2:57.
(Miller’s Take: I’m not sure if that reflected how low the powers-that-be are on King or how high they are on Hill, but maybe a bit of both. I really like the removal of the partial as a precursor to a comeback. Jerry Lawler dropped the strap, Hulk Hogan hulked up, and now Shiloh Hill rips out his fake tooth. It wasn’t enough of a match to really gauge Hill’s ability, but the fans are clearly into him. He has a goofy Mick Foley-esque personality that is very endearing and fun to watch.)
-Ethan Page was getting his title belts shined up before they cut to a commercial break. [c]
-Kelly Kincaid was with Oba Femi this time. He dismissed the threat of Je’Von Evans and talked about breaking The American Nightmare this Saturday.
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]
-Ethan Page made his ring entrance. He said other wrestlers are wrapped up with social media, but he’s standing out here with two belts. He spoke of watching John Cena walking away and being forgotten, saying a man with a giant ego would take his place. He continued putting himself over until the lights went out. A lone spotlight shone on Tony D’Angelo standing behind Page. As he turned around, D’Angelo chokeslammed him to the mat without saying a word.
-Sol Ruca and Wren Sinclair, accompanied by Evolve Women’s Champion and Iron Survivor Challenge winner Kendal Grey, were shown making their way through the bowels of the Performance Center prior to their upcoming match. [c]
-Ava was in her office with Dion Lennox, Myles Borne, TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater, and Joe Hendry (someone must have said his name during the commercial break). She said since Je’Von Evans was challenging Oba Femi tonight, she needed a new challenger for New Year’s Evil. She said since the four of them were tied in the Iron Survivor Challenge, they would face each other in a fatal four-way with the winner to challenge the NXT champion at New Year’s Evil. A flustered Ethan Page stormed into the room, ranting about his car being stolen by a lizard and then getting jumped by a guy who’s been on vacation for six months. The other four men laughed at him after faking him out that someone was behind him.
(3) WREN SINCLAIR (w/Kendal Grey) vs. SOL RUCA
They jockeyed for position as Je’Von Evans was shown preparing for his title match. The two women seemed pretty evenly matched in the beginning. The camera picked up Zaria standing in the stands watching. Ruca sheepishly waved at her, but Zaria remained expressionless. Sinclair took advantage of the brief distraction and landed some blistering chops before catching a Sol Snatcher.
WINNER: Sol Ruca at 3:30.
(Miller’s Take: This was all about the strained relationship between Ruca and Zaria, with Sinclair providing the warm body needed to tell the story.)
-After the match Zaria started down the steps, but stopped, gave a dismissive wave, then turned and walked back up the steps and out of sight. Ruca jumped out of the ring and over the barrier to follow her. Just before she disappeared in pursuit of her maybe friend, Fatal Influence’s music hit as they entered the ringside area. [c]
-When they returned from break, Fatal Influence was in the ring with Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair. Keen eyes may have noticed all five women standing in the ring doing absolutely nothing while waiting for their cue. Jacy Jayne first praised Grey for winning the Iron Survivor Challenge, then told her this was as good as it would get. She told her that she would lose at New Year’s Evil, then the fans would move on to the next flavor of the month. She bragged about her accomplishments this past year and called Grey a “bootleg Kurt Angle with a ponytail”.
-Grey admitted her inexperience, but told Jayne nobody expected her to beat Stephanie, either. Sinclair started taking jabs at Fallon Henley, but Henley decked Grey as Reid put Sinclair down. The heel trio began beating down Grey until Sinclair came to her rescue. The numbers game proved to be too much, though, as Fatal Influence wound up standing over the beaten bodies of Grey and Sinclair.
-A video was shown of Hank & Tank’s recent foray into Japan’s Pro Wrestling Noah. After the video, Kelly Kincaid interviewed the duo, who were clad in Japanese-style robes. OTM approached them, and a challenge was made for next week. [c]
-Blake Monroe was complaining to Ava about Thea Hail. She was miffed when Ava told her she’d be defending against Hail next week.
-Outside the Performance Center, Sol Ruca caught up with Zaria and asked her to be in her corner for her match against Bayley at Saturday Night’s Main Event. They appeared to make up and hugged it out before Ruca suggested they grab some sweet treats. Zaria looked relieved.
-Je’Von Evans made his ring entrance, wagging his tongue at the camera and leaving his DNA all over the lens before they cut to a commercial break. [c]
-Footage was shown of Stacks winning the TNA International Championship from Steve Maclin at Final Resolution. Another WWE wrestler wins another TNA title. Imagine that.
(4) OBA FEMI (c) vs. JE’VON EVANS – NXT Championship Match
Mike Rome handled the ring introductions for this impromptu title match. Femi muscled Evans into the corner but ate a superkick as he backed off. Evans connected with a strong knee for a very believable near fall before Femi cleaned his clock. Evans came back with a huge flying kick for another nail-biting near fall. Femi recovered to dismantle Evans and ground him with a rear chinlock variation. Evans escaped and landed a dropkick to Femi’s temple. He tried a springboard outside the ring, but the champ caught him and dropped him. The fight continued outside of the ring, which meant it was time for a split-screen commercial break. [c]
Febreeze, an ostrich peddling insurance, and a red bear trying to hide toilet paper stuck to his backside dominated the right side of the screen, while Femi dominated his challenger on the left. When they returned to full screen, Evans was trying to fight back, but Femi rearranged his spine with a backbreaker. Femi trash-talked Evans as he thumped on him, but Evans maneuvered him to the outside. Femi missed a spear and slid across the announce desk and to the floor. Back in the ring, Evans hit a pair of high splashes for yet another very near fall. Evans knocked Femi back out to the floor and nailed his spectacular Superman dive onto him. Evans came off the ropes again but got punched out of the sky.
Evans hit a series of cutters and went for a pin, but the referee was dragged out of the ring by someone off-camera. The camera panned to reveal that the culprit was Ricky Saints. An enraged Evans attacked Saints but rolled back into the ring to meet a Femi clothesline that turned him inside out. A Fall From Grace later, the match was over.
WINNER: Oba Femi at 13:43 to retain the NXT Championship.
(Miller’s Take: That was a very exciting finish to a somewhat underwhelming show. Je’Von’s near falls on Femi were real nailbiters, and it looked like he may have had The Ruler’s number. Great camera work: not showing who dragged the referee out of the ring, then panning over to show a bitter-looking Saints as the referee leg-puller. Ricky’s demeanor at the beginning of the show leaned towards a possible heel turn, as a face wouldn’t normally discourage a “friend” from taking an opportunity. All-in-all, a PLE caliber main event.)
-After the match, a victorious Femi cautiously passed Saints, who barely took his gaze off Evans, on his way to the back.
FINAL THOUGHTS: We had a strong opening match, some filler in the middle, and the icing on the cake at the end. I’m not letting the BFF moment between Ruca and Zaria cloud my perspective, as I think we witnessed the calm before the storm. I normally don’t carry cash, but if I had a few bucks in my pocket, I’d put it on Zaria costing Ruca her match against Bayley this Saturday with a full-fledged heel turn. I’m looking forward to seeing more out of the surprisingly entertaining Shiloh Hill. They gave us just enough of him tonight to leave us wanting more. His promos are odd, but sincere and engaging. I would love to see the incredibly talented Kendal Grey pull off an upset victory against Jacy Jayne, but as highly as I think of Grey, she still needs to develop her personality, expand her repertoire, and gain some more experience. I would not be surprised to see her at WrestleMania in a few years. Saints needs to turn heel at this point, especially after such a short reign as champion. A feud with Evans might be just what the doctor ordered.
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