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NXT TV REPORT
JANUARY 20, 2026
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
[HOUR ONE]
The show opened with a recap of Keanu Carver destroying everyone last week after Ava’s announcement that an upcoming ladder match will decide the new NXT Champion. Ricky Saints said he was too good to qualify and would already be in the match. Tony D’Angelo was shown attacking random wrestlers in the last couple of weeks.
-Ava told security to be on the lookout for Tony D tonight.
(1) ETHAN PAGE (c) vs. ELIO LEFLEUR – North American Championship Match
The match started with a tie-up, followed by a shoulder block by Page, who then condescendingly patted LeFleur on the head. The challenger took Page down and returned the pat on the head. LeFleur then exploded with some unbelievable offense that stunned Page. The champion caught LeFleur as he attempted a move from the top turnbuckle and delivered a backbreaker across said turnbuckle. Ouch. Page took control before they cut to a split-screen commercial break. [c]
On the larger right screen, we were subjected to Burger King, Universal Orlando Resort, and people staring at three dudes walking down the street because they had subliminal messages shaved into the backs of their heads. Back to full-screen, Page was still thumping on LeFleur. Members of Fatal Influence were shown sitting in the makeup chairs before LeFleur caught his second wind and delivered a twisting suplex for a two-count.
LeFleur missed a 450 splash, then got turned inside out by a Page clothesline for a two-count. Page yelled at him to stay down, but LeFleur slapped the taste out of his mouth. Page yanked him into a fireman’s carry, but LeFleur countered with a DDT. He hit a springboard knee to the side of Page’s head for a two-count, then landed a coast-to-coast for another near fall. Page went for an Ego’s Edge, but LeFleur slipped out. Page rolled up LeFleur and grabbed a fistful of tights to secure the pin.
WINNER: Ethan Page at 10:17 to retain the North American Championship.
(Miller’s Take: To look at him, LeFleur seems very indyriffic to me. His appearance, ring gear, and demeanor aside, the kid has some spectacular moves in the ring. I half expected LeFleur to take it because they’ve been building him up, and losing his debut match, whether it’s for a title or not, doesn’t seem like a very good start to me. Page, of course, was his wonderfully heelish self.)
-As Page was walking up the ramp, Ricky Saints came out to his music. He looked at his hand, then commented that he and Page were the glue holding this all together. Page said he must have knocked some sense into him the last time they wrestled. Saints continued kissing Page’s backside before he said he was going to ringside to sit in with the commentary team. [c]
-Vic Joseph again recapped Keanu Carver beating up half of Orlando last week. He said that after winning the breakout tournament, Carver never made it to NXT for disciplinary reasons. The camera zoomed in on Booker T being uncharacteristically somber as Joseph threw to the video package.
-In the video, LFG trainer Booker T was shown getting into a shouting match with trainee Keanu Carver. After the clip, they cut to Carver walking behind a Kam Hendrix promo shoot, shouting incoherently. Joseph asked Booker if he had any comments about the video or the incident with Carver. A stoic Booker paused a few seconds, then replied with, “Nah, I’m good.” Saints shook his head while Joseph tried to compose himself after getting the hint that the subject needed to be changed.
(2) SHILOH HILL vs. JOSH BRIGGS – NXT Championship Ladder Match Qualifier
Hill came out to a great reaction from the NXT faithful. Briggs came out with Papa Shango’s smoking skull on his right shoulder. Briggs swung at Hill first, but he ducked and threw some hands at Briggs. The two men traded some standard offense for a bit until Hill fired up with some impressive moves. They took it to the floor, with Hill initially in control before Briggs began clubbering on him with a meaty forearm. They again cut to a split-screen commercial break. [c]
Some food commercials and people wearing clothes on only one side of their bodies were featured on the right as Briggs continued thumping Hill on the left. Back to full screen, Hill mounted a comeback, albeit short-lived. Both big men just beat on each other. Once Briggs began pie-facing him, Hill came to life, acted crazy, and started thumping Briggs. He nailed a standing shooting star senton for a near fall. Briggs caught Hill with a huge boot to the head as they crisscrossed the ropes. Hill barely kicked out after being chokeslammed. The announcers showed a replay, which revealed that the boot to the head knocked Hill’s false tooth out. Briggs missed a beautiful moonsault, which allowed Hill to perform a suplex neckbreaker for the win.
WINNER: Shiloh Hill at 10:50 to qualify for the ladder match.
(Miller’s Take: I may give Briggs a hard time over his ring jacket, but he’s just so good. Hill was very impressive here as well. Both men are way too big to pull off some of the things they do. Hill continues to connect with the crowd. I hope they can find something meaningful for Briggs to do soon.)
-They cut away from replays of the match to show that Tony D’Angelo had entered the ring and attacked Hill, then took out Briggs. He jumped to the floor and briefly acknowledged a wary Saints’ existence before continuing to the back.
-In the women’s locker room, Sol Ruca sat next to a dejected Zaria, who asked where her best friend was at the end of her TNA Knockouts title match at Genesis this past weekend. Sol sheepishly said she was fighting off the Elegance Brand. Zaria told her that her shoulder had taken a beating and if they lose tonight, not to blame it on her.
-The Vanity Project made their way to the ring before they cut to a commercial break. [c]
(3) THE VANITY PROJECT (Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes) (w/Jackson Drake) vs. CHASE U (Kale Dixon & Uriah Connors) (w/Andre Chase)
Baylor & Smokes seem to have dropped the “Swipe Right” moniker in favor of the now-trio of The Vanity Project. Works for me, although the name “Swipe Right” is beautifully heelish. In what had to have been a production snafu, they returned from the commercial break with the match already in progress and the announcers in mid-sentence. They were going full steam, with both teams showcasing their incredible athleticism and agility.
Joseph cracked me up when he called Baylor an “evil Matt Damon”. Both teams continued to show off in the ring, putting on a fantastic display of tag team wrestling. Dixon landed a chop to Baylor’s back that sounded like a shotgun went off. With Baylor and Smokes both on the floor, Dixon leaped over the top rope onto both, rolled Smokes in the ring, and landed a beautiful spinning splash off the top rope for a near fall.
Chase U hit a kneelift/cutter combo for another believable near fall on Smokes. Baylor broke the pin, dragged his partner to the corner, and tagged in. All four men traded kicks to each other. Baylor hit a knee to Dixon, who was distracted by Smokes yanking Connors out of the ring and to the floor. Baylor and Smokes followed that up with an assisted stomp off the top rope for the win.
WINNERS: The Vanity Project at 5:07.
(Miller’s Take: As I mentioned earlier, this match was joined in progress, and it was nonstop fun for the next 5 minutes. Chase U are extremely talented and highly underutilized, while The Vanity Project reminds me of a very young Midnight Express. Baylor’s pretty boy looks, and Smokes’ insufferable clownishness make you want to see them get their brains beaten in, but they’re just so good in the ring. Right call here. Chase U are very good, but The Vanity Project is money.)
-As Andre Chase seemed to be talking over what went wrong with Dixon, Connors was shown looking down on his partner in what could be construed as disapproval.
-In the back, Ava told Robert Stone that Orlando’s finest were on their way to cuff and stuff Tony D. Lola Vice interrupted and wanted to talk about Izzi Dame. Thea Hail then burst in like an out-of-control bundle of energy and asked for her rematch. Vice argued with her over it before Ava told them it would be a triple threat match.
-Jaida Parker was shown walking the hallowed hallways of the Performance Center before they took their next commercial break. [c]
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]
-Vic Joseph explained that after Keanu Carver was shown storming out of Shawn Michaels’ office, Blake Howard caught him for an interview. Howard thanked him for joining him. Carver said he was only here because he had to be and wasn’t here to answer any of his “dumb-ass questions”. Howard mentioned the disciplinary actions in LFG, to which Carver responded by yanking off his mic and walking away.
-Jaida Parker walked out to a rousing “Miss Parker” chant. She thanked the fans and smiled genuinely at the warm reception. She said she heard about this new era in the women’s division and gave props to Kendal Grey and Lola Vice. She cut a very good face promo that got the crowd going. Her voice cracked a bit as she recalled some of the criticisms that she heard about her, but then said she knows her self-worth. The lights went off in the middle of her promo. I briefly thought DarkState might be coming out there to get their butts kicked by Parker, but after a few seconds, a spotlight shone on Blake Monroe, who was in the balcony area. Monroe told Parker she was just talk. Parker cut a great promo on her and left to more “Miss Parker” chants.
-In the back, Elio LeFleur interrupted a conversation between Ava and Myles Borne to thank her for the opportunity tonight. As Borne welcomed him to NXT, Ricky Saints brushed past them all, telling Ava the commentary team needed him, but, unlike Tony, he’s only watching. Borne caught up to him and told him he’d see him in the ladder match. Ethan Page walked up and said that it would depend on which version of Borne we would get. He told him he knew what he had to do, then walked away as Borne appeared to be seriously considering his words. [c]
(4) SEAN LEGACY vs. ELI KNIGHT – NXT Championship Ladder Match Qualifer
Joseph mentioned that both men recently signed NXT contracts from Evolve. During the ring entrances for each man, a small inset in the lower left of the screen featured promos from both new NXT signees. Saints talked up the potential of Knight. Fatal Influence was again shown, preparing for their upcoming match. They kicked the pace of the match into high gear from the bell. Legacy hit a springboard press for a two-count. Knight came back to show his incredible athletic ability. They showed a replay of Knight grazing Legacy with a springboard moonsault to the floor before they cut to a commercial break. [c]
Back from the break, they were in the middle of the “slugging it out” portion of the match. Legacy turned Knight inside out with a clothesline. They traded rollups before Knight ate a superkick from Legacy. He hit a 450 splash for a believable near fall. Saints said Knight had heart. Legacy lifted him into a backbreaker, but Knight escaped. Legacy moved out of the way of a moonsault, but Knight performed a standing moonsault to hit him anyway. They continued trading nail-biting near falls until Legacy hit Shambles for the win.
WINNER: Sean Legacy at 10:57 to advance to the ladder match.
(Miller’s Take: We’ve seen some really good wrestling tonight, and this match was certainly no exception. Knight has shown me a lot in the short time I’ve seen him. I’ve been watching Legacy since the first newly branded episode of Evolve and have been a proponent of his since the beginning. I look for big things from “Super” Sean.)
-After the match, Legacy helped up Knight in a show of respect before Tony D again hit the ring to decimate what was left of the two men after their hard-fought match. He tossed Knight out of the ring, then yanked Legacy out to chokeslam him on the announce desk. Saints screamed at Tony and picked up his chair like he was going to chuck it at him, but Tony slid back in the ring. Ava, accompanied by three supposed policemen, came out to get Tony. He smiled at them, then turned around and put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed. The “policemen”, who had no emblems or identification of any kind on their uniforms, escorted Tony D out of the ringside area as Ava watched. [c]
-The Progressive NXT Focus was on The Culling. North American Champion Izzi Dame was seated in the dark with her male counterparts. Niko Vance told Izzi she did her part, and now it’s time for him and Shawn Spears to do their part and go after the NXT Tag Team Titles.
-In the back, D’Angelo was escorted past Ava, who told him he gave her no choice, and into an unmarked black SUV as Blake Howard unsuccessfully tried to get Tony to utter a single syllable. As the SUV drove off, OTM walked up behind Howard and shoved him out of the way so they could challenge DarkState to a title match.
-The Vanity Project were hanging out in the back with a couple of unidentified women. They bragged for a bit before Robert Stone walked up and told Jackson Drake he would be in a qualifying match next week against Joe Hendry. The name having been said, the music played, and the camera panned to the right to reveal that the blonde that Smokes had his arm around had disappeared, and his arm was around Joe Hendry. After Hendry cut a brief promo about the ladder match, a frantic Smokes was looking for the blonde, pondering if he had kissed Joe Hendry instead of her. That was really funny.
-Fatal Influence made their ring entrance, followed by Zaruca, followed by a commercial break. [c]
(5) FATAL INFLUENCE (Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid) (w/Jacy Jayne) vs. ZARIA & SOL RUCA vs. WREN SINCLAIR & KENDAL GREY – TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Triple Threat Match
Reid, Ruca, and Grey started the match with some crazy good three-way offense. Zaria tagged herself in as the tension between her and Ruca was noted by the announcers. All three teams took turns showing off some double-team offense, but when Ruca tried her assisted handstand into a splash, Zaria’s bad shoulder gave out. They took the action to the floor, where WrenQCC stood triumphantly after a flying press by Sinclair and a moonsault by Grey. With all six women on the floor, WWE protocol dictates that’s the time for a commercial break. [c]
Back to full screen from the split-screen commercial break, Sinclair, Ruca, and Reid all made a simultaneous hot tag, with Sinclair getting the better of the exchange. Reid surprised Grey with a sit-out powerbomb for a two-count. Jayne took a swing at Grey from the outside, but Grey ducked it and cinched in an armbar on Reid, but Ruca broke up the pin. They went into a series of lightning-quick near falls.
Zaria again tagged herself in as Ruca shrugged her shoulders, then hit a double spear on Grey and Reid. She delivered a headbutt to Reid but got caught with a Shades of Grey by the Evolve Champion. Reid broke up a pin attempt, and when Grey rolled out of the ring, she met a Rolling Encore from Jayne. Sinclair then hit a missile dropkick on Jayne, but was pitched into the barricade by Henley. Back in the ring, Henley covered Zaria after a DDT, but Ruca pulled her out of the ring by her feet, dropped her with a shoulder block, then threw her back in to Zaria. Reid entered the ring to help her partner, but Ruca came in as well and delivered a stunning double Sol Snatcher on Fatal Influence. She threw Henley to Zaria, who lifted her and delivered her F5 variation for the victory.
WINNERS: Zaria & Sol Ruca at 12:31 to become the #1 contenders to the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship.
(Miller’s Take: This was outstanding. Six extremely talented women gave the crowd quite a show. The big story throughout the match was Zaria not necessarily hate-tagging herself in, but definitely showing some impatience. She did a great job selling her shoulder injury throughout the match, and I like that she was the one to pick up the fall for her team. After the match, a very sore Zaria seemed mildly pleased, and Ruca was careful not to be overly exuberant in celebrating with her. Despite WWE’s love of having their wrestlers win TNA titles, I don’t see this one coming to pass, as the self-destruction of Zaruca once again seems imminent.)
-Joseph announced Hendry vs. Drake, Chase vs. Carver, and Lennox vs. Borne in NXT Championship ladder match qualifiers next week. Also, OTM will challenge DarkState for the tag team titles. In the ring, Zaruca hugged each other as the Personal Concierge of TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Elegant Brand, who had been shown watching from the stands, looked on.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Not only was this show wrestling-heavy, but the action was top-notch. They’ve played out the Tony D’Angelo angle, so now it’s time to hear from him about what his agenda is. Maybe we’ll get an answer as to what happened the last time we saw him in his Italian restaurant, or maybe they will just ignore it and assume we’ve forgotten about it since it was so long ago. This was one of NXT’s better shows in recent memory. Everything made sense, and the action was superb. If you didn’t catch it, I’d highly recommend this one.
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