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NXT TV REPORT
FEBRUARY 17, 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
Correspondent: Sarah Schreiber
[HOUR ONE]
-Vic Joseph welcomed everyone to NXT as they showed an excited crowd.
(1) LOLA VICE vs. KELANI JORDAN
Vice’s right hand was heavily taped. As Jordan was walking down the ramp, Vice bolted from the ring to attack her. Jordan missed a clothesline and was met by a few spin kicks before being rolled into the ring by Vice. After the referee called for the bell, Vice continued her attack. Jordan slammed Vice, then slammed her injured hand on the mat a couple of times. She continued working on the right hand until Vice locked her in a bodyscissors, then transitioned to an interesting armbar variation.
When the ladies got back to their feet, Jordan applied a hammerlock to the right arm, then slammed her arm-first into the corner. Vice fired up and smacked Jordan in the gut with her right hand, then winced in pain. The fight went to the floor, as Jordan threw Vice into the steps, then kneed her in the face. She ripped the brace of Vice’s hand and slammed it against the ring steps before they cut to a split-screen commercial break. [c]
After being brainwashed to buy Gillette and Tide on the right screen, they returned to full-screen to show Vice catching Jordan in a sleeper. Jordan escaped and went back to Vice’s injured right hand. Vice threw some very believable left jabs and then kicked her about two dozen times. She hit a hip attack in the corner and bounced off Jordan’s face a few times for good measure.
Kelani got out of the ring after ducking a roundhouse kick, but Vice followed her out. Vice missed a back fist and drove her hand through the wall that NXT wrestlers have a habit of being thrown or speared through. Jordan quickly rolled her into the ring but got caught in a submission by Vice as she attempted a 450 splash. Jordan made it to her feet and stomped on Vice’s hand to break the hold. Jordan applied a unique armbar in which she was not only bending the elbow backwards, but the wrist as well. After screaming in pain for a few seconds, Vice had no choice but to tap.
WINNER: Kelani Jordan by submission at 11:42.
(Miller’s Take: This knocks Jordan down a rung or two in my opinion. Jordan can use the injured hand as an excuse, but she really needs to be racking up wins. Here, you have a brand-new champion (albeit tag team), and she immediately loses a singles match. On the flip side of the coin, Kelani Jordan is getting herself over as an aggressive, cheating heel, a role she is slipping into very nicely. I really can’t say much more about Jordan that I haven’t already said. She’s a blue-chipper for the main roster, but I’d give her plenty more time here on NXT before unleashing her. Great action and good psychology in this one.)
-After the match, Vice groaned, “It’s broken” in Spanish while Jordan gloated.
-Tony D’Angelo was shown walking down a city street at night in a cinematic promo video. He told DarkState that they took everything away from him, and he’s going to take everything away from them, starting tonight.
-In the back, DarkState dismissed D’Angelo’s stern warning to them.
-Ricky Saints was shown walking through the parking lot when Joe Hendry attacked him. Fortunately, several security members must have been taking a smoke break in the parking lot, because they were right there to separate the two men. [c]
-In the men’s locker room, Sarah Schreiber was with Jason Voorhees, who was revealed to be Shiloh Hill after he took off the mask and grinned. She asked him about his upcoming title match against Ethan Page. Hill said he was ready for everything Page had to dish out. Hank & Tank approached and said Hill does well under pressure. Hill claimed it wasn’t pressure, but quantum physics, then spouted off some scientific equation that led to him becoming champion. After an overly enthusiastic Hill left, Tank told Hank that Hill was weird, but in a good way.
-An angry Joe Hendry hate-walked to the ring, grabbed a mic, and called out Ricky Saints. A spotlight shone on Saints, who was up in the NXT balcony. He accused Hendry of stealing the title and called him a meme. Saints mocked him and called him a phony. Hendry called him a whiny little bitch and called him to the ring. Saints proposed a title match at Vengeance Day, which Hendry readily accepted. [c]
-In complete darkness, Izzi Dame was watching the cinematic promo from Tatum Paxley last week (the one that Dame, herself, was in). Shawn Spears and Niko Vance joined her and asked her what was on her mind. She dismissed Paxley’s warning, then Spears and Vance talked of winning the tag team titles.
(2) CUTLER JAMES (w/Dion Lennox) vs. TONY D’ANGELO
I must admit, Tony D has a very cool new ring entrance. D’Angelo immediately went to work on James, who soon turned the tide with some shoulder drives in the corner. D’Angelo came back with some right hands, followed by three German suplexes, a spear, a spinebuster, and a three-count.
WINNER: Tony D’Angelo at 1:20.
(Miller’s Take: Well, Tony D made quick work of James, harkening back to the days when numerous prelim wrestlers would get their lunch eaten by the stars. If they wanted to make Tony look like he means business, this did the trick. Tony wrestled shirtless, showing off a good physique.)
-As soon as the bell rang, Lennox ran in to jump on D’Angelo but got speared for his trouble. Tony D pitched both DarkState members out of the ring like they were a couple of bags of trash. He speared Lennox into the wall, then drove his head into the ring steps. He slammed Lennox up against the lower ring steps, then picked up the upper steps to slam down on his leg, but James managed to pull Lennox to safety. A throng of security ran out to keep everyone separated.
-North American Champion Ethan Page was in the locker room praising The Vanity Project when Myles Borne walked up. Page said he would never change his mind about giving him a title shot. Borne took that as a challenge and said, “We’ll see”. He left the room while Ricky Saints walked in. He said he got what he wanted: an NXT title shot at Vengeance Day, then said they’d all be champions.
-OTM and The Vanity Project made their ring entrances before they cut to a commercial break. [c]
(3) OTM (Lucien Price & Bronco Nima) vs. THE VANITY PROJECT (Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes) (w/Jackson Drake) vs. THE CULLING (Shawn Spears & Niko Vance) vs. HANK & TANK – #1 Contenders Fatal 4-Way Match
OTM toyed with Spears until Smokes tagged himself in, only to get nearly decapitated with a clothesline. Tank tagged in and took the fight to Smokes. Nimo and Vance went at it like a couple of rams butting heads, with Nima getting the upper hand. Smokes and Baylor hilariously grabbed OTM by the throats as if to go for a double choke slam, which OTM reacted to with mild indifference. They grabbed Baylor and Smokes by the throats and chokeslammed them over the top rope and onto the other four men, who happened to be huddled together on the outside. Split-screen commercial time. [c]
The larger screen on the right treated us to animated characters asking if we’d eaten yet, a kid aging 15 years in 5 years, Mr. Clean Magic Sponge (which I do sometimes buy), and another annoying Liberty insurance spot with some dork and a big bird. When they returned to full-screen, there was a bit of chaos on the outside while Hank & Tank sandwiched Nima. A pin attempt was broken up by everyone, leaving bodies strewn on the canvas. They climbed all four corners at the same time as Hank & Tank, and OTM delivered quadruple superplexes.
Everyone took their turn getting in spots in the ring, then bodies started getting thrown to the floor. Spears got a near fall on Baylor, but Jackson Drake yanked on Baylor’s leg from the outside to break it up. An enraged Spears reached through the ropes and grabbed Drake by the hair, but OTM delivered a double stomp to him. Hank & Tank yanked OTM off the ring apron and delivered stereo spinebusters through the announce desk while Vance took out Drake. In the ring, Baylor staggered to his feet and fell against the ropes. Smokes shoved Baylor from the outside, and his limp body fell on top of Spears for the one, two, three.
WINNERS: The Vanity Project at 11:33 to become the #1 contenders to the NXT Tag Team Championship.
(Miller’s Take: This was wild fun. All four teams did a great job with this. The Culling really needed this win the most, as the menfolk in this trio are beginning to look like Dame’s inept lapdogs at this point. Hank & Tank had their title run, but continue to be a couple of loveable, entertaining goofballs who can really get around the ring for their size. OTM looked powerful and dangerous. As for The Vanity Project, I can’t think of two guys I’d rather see holding the tag team titles. I’m seeing Tony D’Angelo costing DarkState the tag straps, causing The Vanity Project’s heads to swell to the size of hot air balloons. They’ve evolved (pardon the pun) into a top-notch heel trio whose antics lead to them not being taken seriously, but then they get in the ring and get the job done. I have to admit to being very pleasantly surprised by the outcome.)
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]
-Speaking of Evolve, the Progressive NXT Spotlight was on Keanu Carver, who talked about growing up in DC and playing football so he could tackle people and see them blow snot bubbles. That was descriptive. He told Sean Legacy he would find out next week.
-In the back, NXT Champion Joe Hendry was asking Interim GM Robert Stone where Ricky Saints was. Stone said he threw him out of the building, and in all fairness, he asked Hendry to leave as well. After Hendry complied, Sol Ruca came up and asked Stone if he had seen Zaria. She turned and spotted her sitting on an equipment case. She approached Zaria, who told her to piss off. She accused Ruca of stealing her championship match last week. She told her the friendship had been one-sided from the beginning, and she was done being used and done with their friendship. She poked her finger in Ruca’s forehead and growled at her to go to hell. [c]
-Fatal Influence came out to their ring entrance, posing and preening the entire way to the ring. Jacy Jayne said she was actually looking forward to wrestling Sol Ruca next week. She admitted to being jealous of Ruca because everyone says that Ruca is a bigger star than her. She ran down her accomplishments, pointing out that she defeated the woman who is walking into WrestleMania as the World Champion this year. She complained about Ruca representing NXT for John Cena’s final match at Saturday Night’s Main Event, then about having to hear about Ruca’s performance in the Royal Rumble on the 13-hour flight back home.
-Ruca finally interrupted Jayne’s rant. She said her stocks might grow if she stopped comparing herself to everyone else, then told her to stop talking about her friendship with Zaria. Jayne called it an act and said she finally realized that to get ahead, she’d have to dump her best friend. Ruca said real friends fight, and Zaria doesn’t stand in anyone’s shadow like Jayne does. She told her she came in toxic and turned fatal, then said she’d beat her for the title. Jayne slapped her in the face, then all three of them pounced on her. Zaria ran to the ring and instructed Fatal Influence to hold Ruca. They tentatively complied, but Zaria speared Fallon Henley instead. She proceeded to decimate Fatal Influence, then threw Jayne over the top rope and onto her teammates. She turned to a stunned Ruca and extended her hand. She pulled Ruca up, and the two embraced in a show of unity. The longest breakup in pro wrestling history continues.
-In the men’s locker room, Sean Legacy, Elio LeFleur, and Eli Knight talked of taking on the monstrous Jasper Troy and Keanu Carver. [c]
(4) ELIO LEFLEUR vs. ELI KNIGHT – Speed Tournament Match
As expected in a Speed match between these two, they started the match going 100 mph. Knight hit a beautiful springboard moonsault to the outside. LeFleur got a near fall but soon ate a knee from Knight. The clock ran out before either man could gain a pinfall.
WINNER: Time limit draw at 3:00.
(Miller’s Take: What is there to really say about these matches. They flew around for a few minutes, and it was exciting while it lasted.)
-After the match, Robert Stone came out and declared that as a result of the draw, next week’s Speed Championship match would be a triple threat with an extended 7-minute time limit.
-In the back, Shiloh Hill asked Myles Borne to stay out of his match tonight with Ethan Page, and said he’d be happy to offer him a title shot after tonight. Borne said it has to be Page. Hill said that would be kind of hard to do if he wins the title tonight. Borne said they’ll have to see about that. Before the two could come to blows, security separated them. [c]
-Uriah Connors was shown chatting with Charlie Dempsey. Dempsey expressed doubt in what Lexis King was telling Connors, but Uriah said he was making sense and mentioned the friendship between King’s and Dempsey’s fathers. He reminded Dempsey that they had known each other since they were kids, rolling around in his dad’s ring. He told him to think about it. As Dempsey left, King, Arianna Grace, and Stacks walked up. Connors told King that Dempsey was still thinking about it. King told him he arranged with Robert Stone for him to have a match with Kale Dixon next week to prove himself. Stacks and Arianna bragged about her winning the TNA Knockouts Championship and said this was just the start.
-Fallon Henley was in Stone’s office. He told her he was trying to get a Speed women’s tournament going to get her some challengers. Blake Monroe interrupted and started talking about Jaida Parker. Stone told her Parker was suspended for beating up officials last week. He said she was out with a neck injury and not cleared to wrestle but added that he was starting to wonder if it was an accident or not. Henley got his attention again, and he said he needed someone, then looked at Monroe and told her she would face Thea Hail next week in a Speed tournament match as Henley chuckled. Monroe left with a frown on her face.
-Joseph plugged next week’s card, including the triple threat Speed match, tag title match, women’s NXT title match, and Legacy vs. Carver.
-Ethan Page made his way to the ring before they cut to commercial. [c]
-In the back, DarkState tried talking themselves up after having somewhat of a bad night.
-Elsewhere in the back, Sol Ruca thanked Zaria for helping her and asked why she changed her mind. Zaria told her she knew what she said, but they make a great team. She said things hadn’t been the same since Ruca lost her titles, and if she wants things to be the same, the first step would be Ruca winning the NXT title. As they hugged, Myles Borne walked by. Ruca asked him if he was okay. Borne said he was, and he knew exactly what he was going to do tonight.
(5) ETHAN PAGE (c) vs. SHILOH HILL – North American Championship Match
Page applied an arm twist out of a lockup, but Hill reversed the move. Hill continued to outwrestle Page with some takedowns and another arm twist. Page shoved Hill, who shoved back. Page grabbed a chair, but Hill grabbed the chair and threw it back out of the ring. Joseph talked up Hill’s intelligence at removing the chair so Page couldn’t get himself disqualified. Hill continued to thump on Page, who rolled to the outside, grabbed his belt, and tried taking that into the ring. Once again, Hill grabbed the belt and put it back on the podium. As Hill controlled the action on the outside, The Vanity Project made their way to the ringside area before they cut to a split-screen commercial break. [c]
Hill continued his assault on Page on the mini screen on the left while on the right screen, three guys with weird haircuts walked down the street, another dude mopped his floor with a Swiffer, and that dweeb who pronounces “Liberty” as “Biberty” took up most of the screen on the right. Back to full-screen, Page had taken control while being cheered on by The Vanity Project. Page nailed a powerslam off the second rope for a count of only two.
Page told The Vanity Project to pull back the mats on the floor, which they promptly did. He attempted an Ego’s Edge on the floor, but Hill escaped. Back in the ring, Page had Hill down in the corner, but Hill yanked out his tooth and stood behind Page as he was posing. Hill went to town on everyone. He threw Balor and Smokes into the barricade, then pitched Drake onto the announce desk. Page grabbed him from behind and hit a Twisted Grin on the bare floor. Page rolled him back in the ring and hit another Twisted Grin for the victory.
WINNER: Ethan Page at 12:30 to retain the North American Championship.
(Miller’s Take: This was a good outing for Hill. He looked very strong at the beginning of the match, and then had to fight four guys enroute to a loss. Page was his usual self. He’s not spectacular in the ring, but he cuts great promos and is a phenomenal heel. I really love him as the mentor for The Vanity Project, whose egos align with Page’s. Baylor and Smokes were bumping for Hill like a couple of superballs, but they can also dish it out when the time comes for them to do so.)
-After the match, Page instructed The Vanity Project to beat on Hill some more, which they eagerly did. Myles Borne ran out and clotheslined all The Vanity Project, then punched Page in the nose. Bourne relocated The Vanity Project from the ring to the floor, then a recovered Hill performed a cannonball over the top rope onto them. Bourne got on top of Page and started hammering him with right fists while demanding a title match. He continued punching Page in the face and asking him what it was going to take.
-Shiloh Hill slid a chair into the ring for Bourne, who grabbed it and put Page’s ankle into it. He threatened to stomp on it if Page didn’t give him a title shot. Page screamed back at him that he wouldn’t. As Bourne jumped, a panicked Page relented and agreed before Bourne stopped short of coming down on his ankle. Page begged him not to break his ankle and agreed to give him a title match next week. A satisfied Bourne turned to walk away when Page sat up, smiled and shouted at him that he knew he couldn’t do it. Bourne proved him wrong by immediately turning around and stomping on the chair with Page’s ankle wedged in it. Page screamed in agony as officials rushed in while Bourne held the title belt over his head.
FINAL THOUGHTS: I thought this was a very good show leading up to next week’s big card that was scheduled to take place in Atlanta, but was canceled due to logistical reasons. So, we still get four big title matches next week, and I’m looking forward to all of them.
The Zaruca breakup is going to last longer than a Roman Reigns title run. The Vanity Project was all over this show, and that’s a good thing. Having watched them evolve in, uh, Evolve, I know that they make a great addition to the NXT roster, and thus far, it looks like the higher-ups are ready to push them to the moon. It makes good sense to make the Speed match a triple threat, as I don’t think anyone can see either Knight or LeFleur beating Troy in a one-on-one match. My bet is on LeFleur. I am also looking for Tony D to cost DarkState the tag team titles next week.
Finally, I have no clue what’s going to happen with Ruca vs. Jayne. Personally, I would love to see Ruca elevated, but this match could also be a vehicle to continue the eternal breakup of Zaruca, so who knows? I guess we’ll have to wait until next week to find out.
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