SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT TV RESULTS
DECEMBER 16, 2025
WINTER PARK, FLA. AT THE CAPITOL WRESTLING CENTER
LIVE ON CW NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
NXT Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Backstage Correspondent(s): Sarah Schreiber
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
-The show opened with recaps of Saturday Night’s Main Event, where Oba Femi, Je’Von Evans & Leon Slater, Joe Hendry, and Sol Ruca all appeared (they were shown in that order, giving specific attention to the fact that Ruca actually won clean). We then saw last week’s saga with Ricky Saints turning heel by costing Je’Von Evans in his match for the NXT Championship.
-Ava ran up to Evans in the parking lot, where he was waiting for Ricky Saints. She decried this, sarcastically saying “Great start to my night!” That’s her reaction? Our babyface GM is thinking about herself when Evans was cost his biggest match ever last week? Does anyone think about this?
(1) THEA HAIL vs. BLAKE MONROE (c) – NXT Women’s North American Championship
Hail dominated early, targeting Monroe’s left arm with drops and wrenches. Monroe reversed Hail into a corner and kicked her a few times, then whipped Hail into the corner twice. After the second, she picked up Hail on the rebound for a tilt-a-whirl side slam for two. Hail hit a PK and a standing moonsault for two. Monroe bailed and Hail nailed her with a tope suicida. Back inside, exploder suplex by Hail. Monroe stretched Hail’s arm over the top rope for as long as the ref would let her, and was firmly in control heading to split-screen. [c]
Monroe was controlling with a slow heat sequence but Hail reversed a spot and…hit a springboard senton and she covered for what very obviously should have been a two, with Monroe shooting her arm up, but the ref just counted it. There was a real bit of confusion and Monroe’s music played for a second, but then stopped, and the ref gave the belt to Hail. What an absolute mess.
WINNER: Thea Hail at about 8 minutes.
(Wells’s Analysis: Clearly this was going to get a couple more minutes, and maybe a Kimura Lock? Monroe’s music playing suggests that maybe she was meant to win, but the sound guy may have been just as taken unaware as the rest of us. So this is how Monroe loses after a very short reign, and this is what it looks like when Hail finally gets to win gold in WWE? None of this was on the talent, mind you: the ref, who I don’t think has been there long, is going to be talked to backstage)
-Izzi Dame talked big to her stablemates ahead of a segment. [c]
-NXT did some damage control and showed that Monroe’s arm didn’t come up (which is a whole different problem, as many wrestlers don’t actually get their shoulders up in the current era, and just trust that shooting an arm up will be enough). You could perhaps convince people this was intentionally awkward, but it was frankly too awkward to be intentional.
-Ethan Page got on the mic, so the CW censor got early work in on some “asshole” chants. He said everyone was too busy caring about a wrestler quitting his job last Saturday than caring about him. He said there was zero provocation for last week’s attack from Tony D’Angelo and he didn’t care where he was lurking, he wanted answers.
Instead, Stacks and Arianna Grace showed up. Grace was looking like Drea De Matteo in The Sopranos, decked out in expensive-looking clothing. Stacks said she has expensive tastes and what she wants this Christmas is more gold. He said he wants to add to his TNA International Championship by taking the AAA Mixed Tag Team Championships.
A surprising segment got more so when Moose walked out to his music. He walked Stacks back into a corner and said “Once again, an NXT talent has a TNA Championship. The boys back home are pissed.” He said it was Stacks’ lucky day, though, because he’s laser-focused on Ethan Page. Page, who was trying to leave, told people not to cheer this because we actually have rules here. Moose said Ava already signed off on it, and on the December 30th NXT Awards Show, Page will defend his title. Page tried to sucker-punch Moose, who blocked it and knocked Page on his back. Page skinned out, complaining.
-Leon Slater tried to calm down Je’Von Evans and get him focused. He wanted Evans to have his back in the four-way tonight, and said it was too cold to be hanging outside waiting for Ricky Saints anyway.
-Hank & Tank entered ahead of the next match. [c]
(2) HANK WALKER & TANK LEDGER vs. OUT THE MUD (Bronco Nima & Lucien Price)
I’m getting old, so don’t quote me, but I’m pretty sure this was the first use of OTM’s new music. Nima and Tank opened, and there was a pretty heavy “OTM” chant for the heels. Nima laid out Tank with a block, and Hank tried to fire up Tank. Tank charged Nima to the face corner and tagged. They made another quick tag and while Hank was crotch-chopping to take Nima’s focus, Tank laid him out. Price tagged in and he and Nima teamed up for a kick/curb stomp for two. Price charged Tank to a corner, then hit a power slam and kind of growled over his last flurry.
Tank got in a quick kick and made the tag, and he and Hank teamed up for a back elbow into a cover for two. In an inset, someone was arriving in a big Chevy truck. Booker claimed he didn’t know anyone who drove a Chevy. I hope they aren’t a sponsor for Booker’s sake. OTM slowed it down and leaned on Hank for a couple of two-counts. Hank & Tank fired up and dominated Price with a simultaneous splash in the corner, and then took each OTM guy to a corner for a punch count-along. OTM each lifted an opponent, though, and nailed them into one another and were in control as the show went to commercial. [c]
Tank nailed Nima with a tope suicida the moment we came back from commercial. Inside, Price took Hank up in a corner and hit a superplex. Tank was able to tag in and he and Nima did a little strong style exchange of rights. Tank managed a big knee and Nima made a “feed me” motion. He evaded a kick but ate a clothesline for two. Tank worked an arm submission, but Price slammed Hank onto the pile to break it up. Myles Borne was shown working out ahead of the four-way main event.
OTM isolated Hank and hit him with an interesting team slam that looked enough like a finisher that I found it surprising that it only got two. OTM tried to slam Tank on the announce table and Booker said “Do it! Do it, man!” but Tank fought it off and charged Nima to a post. Back inside, he hit a rolling senton from the top on Price. Hank & Tank pancaked Price, then set something up, but Nima broke it up. A bit of a mess ensued, and Hank got the win with an inside cradle.
WINNERS: Hank & Tank at 13:45.
(Wells’s Analysis: THIS match got almost 14 minutes? That runtime has become very rare on NXT and this was a really weird match to get it, though it occurs to me we probably had minutes to fill given the bizarre opener. A weak win with an inside cradle after that long a match is a bit silly, but Hank & Tank beating OTM is silly in the first place, so at least they protected them a little. With both teams returning somewhat recently after layoffs, neither can really absorb many losses right now)
-Ricky Saints walked out of the vehicle that parked in the parking lot earlier. Was he watching the tag match on his phone, or is his vehicle-exiting ritual just super elaborate? [c]
[HOUR TWO]
-An internet blip robbed me of the beginning of Ricky’s talk segment. He said his entire career, he’s played it safe. He said now he takes what he wants, when he wants, and if he has to stab someone in the back or the front to get it, so be it. He said he isn’t getting stuck behind Je’Von Evans, and he’s going to prove Evans is in a class way below him. He said there are superstars in the back chasing clout when he’s standing in the ring like a real champion. He said he’s the only one who will do what it takes to get to the top, and keep the top spot. Evans slipped through a sea of security and laid out Saints, but the backup (which arrived with Saints) held Evans in place for Saints to get in his shots. Saints took Evans outside and beat him around the announce table side. He mocked the “6, 7” taunt that Evans sometimes does and hit the Ro Sham Bo through the table, sending Vic’s candy flying. There was even a candy cane in there, so Vic treats his confections seasonally. [c]
-Sol Ruca and Zaria tried to talk to Ava, but Ethan Page showed up and complained about all the injustices happening to him. Chelsea Green showed up for the first time in a while, Alba Fyre in tow, and poured it on. Ava said all the bad things happening to her aren’t Ava’s fault. Ava used Page’s words against him and said as the greatest NXT North American Champion of all time, he shouldn’t be worried about Moose. She added that next week, Chelsea Green will defend her US Title against Sol Ruca. Why does she have the power to book that? Eh, whatever.
(3) KENDAL GREY & WREN SINCLAIR vs. FATAL INFLUENCE (Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid) (w/Jacy Jayne)
Jacy sat in on commentary, which is a statement that would’ve filled me with dread a while back. She sat in the open spot next to Vic, and said “I’d rather be next to Book than your crusty butt,” becoming a babyface in my eyes.
Fatal Influence jumped the faces to take the early advantage. They booted Wren to the outside while dominating Kendal in the ring. Reid slowed it down as she leaned on Grey, but she distracted herself by swinging and missing at Sinclair, and then she and Grey went to a nice series of evasions before a bridge by Grey for two. Grey rolled into a cover for one, then tagged Sinclair, who hit a bulldog for two. Reid booted Sinclair and tagged Henley. Sinclair nailed Reid with a nice double-underhook suplex but the match went outside and Fatal Influence caught Sinclair to take control heading into commercial. [c]
Reid hit Sinclair with a facebuster for two. Jayne said Reid is like a sponge and soaks up everything they tell her. All four women got involved for a moment and at the end of the schmoz, Fatal Influence was still in control. Henley put knees into Grey in the corner, but Grey managed a scoop slam. She covered and Reid broke it up. They all got involved and Grey rolled Henley into an arm submission, but Reid broke it. After yet another bit of bonzo gonzo, Grey caught Henley in a Fujiwara armbar and got the tap.
WINNERS: Kendal Grey & Wren Sinclair at 9:35.
(Wells’s Analysis: A typical NXT tag mess, though with strong work by all four ladies involved. I’m really digging Reid’s all-around game early in her career and she fits the group so seamlessly. Grey continues to win as she gears up for a title shot at Jayne)
-Kelly Kincaid interviewed Thea Hail after her title win. Hail freaked out in her fashion and got emotional. Jordynne Grace showed up and said Hail figured it out faster than she did. Blake Monroe showed up, broken, and told Hail to give her the championship back. She wants a rematch and she wants the referee fired (well, she might get that one). Grace told Monroe to go away and let Hail enjoy it. Monroe said she’d be regaining the belt and told Hail to enjoy her “new muscle muffin.” Hail hugged Grace hard after Monroe left. [c]
-Izzi Dame showed up in the locker room and there was a Shawn Spears action figure in her space. She got on the phone and said she had to deal with Tatum again. Lola Vice showed up and said Izzi felt bad for Spears and Niko Vance because now they have to watch their back for Tatum. Kelani Jordan was in the background putting all her things back, after Vice kicked her out weeks ago. Jordan said she was taking the spot back after weeks of being out of there. Seriously, kicking someone out for representing a company was a super heelish thing for Vice to do, and the biggest issue with WWE invasions has always been that they just call themselves the babyfaces when there are already faces and heels.
-Shiloh Hill talked to the women’s LFG winner of season two, Dani Sekelsky, whose name I definitely had to look up. She could stand to spend way, way less time in the tanning booth. Stacks and Arianna Grace showed up with sullen looks after their failure to secure a tag match, and they talked down at the LFG winners until it was clear a match was brewing. All four members of DarkState powered past them ahead of the main event.
-Leon Slater was introduced first, followed by Myles Borne and then Joe Hendry. Booker got super weird and sang along to Hendry’s theme music despite not knowing many words. Apparently Dion Lennox will be introduced off camera. [c]
-Vic recapped the “controversial” finish to Hail-Monroe and the Saints-Evans fiasco.
-Dion Lennox did indeed get introduced on camera, so this was one of those awkward things live where three guys wait in the ring for five minutes before the last one is introduced.
(4) JOE HENDRY vs. LEON SLATER vs. MYLES BORNE vs. DION LENNOX – Fatal Four-way to determine Oba Femi’s challenger at New Year’s Evil
Borne and Lennox paired off early as the others were dumped. They threw and mostly missed rights, and Hendry showed up next. Borne nailed Lennox with a powerslam for two, broken up by Slater. Slater got an early shine as he struck quickly and a couple of the guys over-sold for a match just over a minute old. Hendry dumped Borne and laid out Slater with a block, then an arm drag. DDT by Hendry onto Slater got two.
The crowd seemed heavily into Hendry early on. Slater put down Lennox with a kick, then dumped Hendry and went out and hit him with a plancha. Back inside, beautiful high cross-body on Lennox got two. TNA has to know WWE is signing Slater the second he’s available, right? Lennox got back into it with some basic strikes, but Slater reversed an Irish whip and laid in a chop. Lennox held the ropes to fend off another whip, so Slater just chopped him instead. Borne and Hendry have been out of this for way too long to be believable now. Another high cross-body by Slater got two.
Slater went up and Lennox rolled away and out of the ring. Slater measured him and tried a dive, and he tweaked his knee pretty bad (legitimately, I think). He tried to wake it up and he hobbled into the ring. Everyone got involved and Lennox & Borne ended up doing the DarkState Doomsday Device on Slater. Everyone got in a shot and sold on the mat as the match went to split-screen. [c]
Borne nailed Hendry with a lariat when we returned. Slater was kicking his foot out, still dealing with the tweak from earlier. The fact that nobody’s stopped him might suggest he’s just selling really well. Slater went up, but his bad leg slowed him down, and Lennox went up and set something up. Borne laid in some rights and went up, and then Hendry went up for the tower spot. I guess there was a “holy sh*t” chant because there was a long mute. Slater snuck down and hit the powerbomb on the tower and covered Hendry for two. Production showed the tower spot from a couple different angles as a “this is awesome” chant went out.
Slater laid in kicks to the chest on all three men, all on their knees. He isn’t winning tonight, but his showcase has been very strong. Hendry fired up and hit Lennox with a German suplex. Slater hit Utopia on Hendry. Lennox tried to stop Slater by pulling him outside, but Slater fought him off and slowly climbed to the top. Lennox rolled away again, but Slater smiled and hit a rolling senton from roughly a mile out. Slater went up again but Borne dropkicked him off the top. Hendry hit a uranage on Borne. Hendry and Borne exchanged rights. Hendry hit a fallaway slam on Borne, then on Lennox. Fireman’s carry slam on Borne. Hendry caught a flying Slater and threw him out onto Lennox. Hendry hit Borne with a finisher but Lennox dragged him out. Lennox and Hendry fought up the ramp. Hold up…is this happening? Slater went up and hit his Swanton 450 on Borne ton finish.
WINNER: Leon Slater at 16:27.
After the match, Oba Femi hit the ramp and held up his belt. Hey, nice to see him, if only for about five seconds!
(Wells’s Analysis: This is what a really strong four-way looks like from a storytelling standpoint. Slater had to sell his leg all the way through the match and fight from an even bigger underdog position, and the other guys allowed Slater to be the star of the match for a great deal of its runtime. Slater of course has no chance against Femi, but it’s going to be a really fun big-small affair, and it’s easy to see how it can possibly play into the eventual rematch and win for Je’Von Evans at Stand & Deliver)
FINAL THOUGHTS: A tale of two shows here, as the first hour had a botched finish and a seriously overlong tag match, but things picked up with segments by Ethan Page and Ricky Starks, all leading to a four-way that’s been surpassed by a workrate standpoint but truly is one of the better ones I’ve ever seen at elevating a single player when he needed it most. I’ll gush about Slater on PWT Talks NXT with Nate Lindberg post-haste. Thanks for reading.
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