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NXT TV RESULTS
MAY 5, 2026
WINTER PARK, FLA. AT THE CAPITOL WRESTLING CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON CW NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
NXT Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Backstage Correspondent(s): Blake Howard
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
-Vic threw to last week, where Rob Stone, Matt Bloom and HBK had a clandestine (except it was filmed) meeting promoting a slew of new talent to stock the shelves made bare by a number of promotions (and exits).
-Afterward, Tony D was all up in the camera’s face and he said “These guys don’t want to wait? I don’t either.” He attacked Tavion Heights near catering and was held back by both members of OTM as Heights was held by a number of officials.
(1) JAIDA PARKER vs. KALI ARMSTRONG
Vic asked Booker why everyone seemed to challenge Parker, and Booker said “because she’s so close to stepping over to the other side,” so if we didn’t already suspect she’s majorly on the main roster radar, he just said the quiet part out loud.
Both women talked trash to start. Armstrong got in an early shove, then got in Parker’s face until Parker took her down with a pair of waistlock takedowns. Parker rolled through an attempt at an arm drag and snapped on a headlock. Armstrong hit a hip toss but Parker caught her in another headlock. Vic promoted the mixed tag as tonight’s main event.
Armstrong took over on offense in a corner but Parker dragged her and took her down with a suplex for two. Parker got in close to Kali and yelled at her, then dumped her with a lariat to the floor on the ramp side. Parker went out but Armstrong charged her to the apron. Jaida returned the favor. Parker rolled Armstrong into the ring and missed a lariat, but the two took each other down with simultaneous running clotheslines as the match went to split-screen. [c]
Parker fought out of a heat sequence but got charged to a corner. Armstrong did some push-ups to boos, then charged and got dumped to the announce table side. Armstrong hung up Parker’s neck on the top rope and flew in with a decent springboard high cross-body. Both got to their feet and Armstrong got in some boxing-style peppering punches. Armstrong dropped a knee on Parker’s head and taunted into the camera. Booker T dusted off WCW and said we used to call these influxes of talent “New Blood Rising.” Probably not the best era to call back to, but whatever.
Armstrong kept up the offense until Parker chop-blocked her, then hit a couple of back body-drops. Big boot by Parker. Parker set up Armstrong for the teardrop (she had to do it twice, as perhaps Kali needs more familiarity with the setup for the move) and she hit it. They went to the center of the ring and exchanged rights and other strikes. Armstrong went to the eyes, then hit a powerslam. Armstrong called for the end and hit the Kali Connection to win.
WINNER: Kali Armstrong at 9:53.
(Wells’s Analysis: I love Kali, for sure, but would it kill the booking team to put over one of their most popular babyfaces of the past couple of years? Despite Kali still figuring out her new environs, these two meshed well and had a nice, mean-looking match)
-Tony D went to Rob Stone, admonished him for interrupting him, and asked for Tavion Heights tonight. Stone relented and made the match.
-A 15 to 30-second video package caught us up on why Jasper Troy and Jackson Drake are facing off tonight. I’m always in favor of those spots. [c]
-Birthright hung out together and argued over the travesty of being attacked last week. Finlay, the father of Uriah Connors, walked in and said we can’t be outmaneuvered by gamers. He put William Regal on speaker and he said the group would be in a six-man tag match next week. He didn’t mention the opposition by name. I would ask why they had Regal do this via phone rather than Finlay in person, but Finlay seemed rusty – to be kind – on the mic, so they went the right way.
-The man formerly known as Evil spoke (in Japanese) about how he’s beaten a large number of great competitors, and now he’s ready to strike in a new environment. He said that Tony D’Angelo has the prize he wants. He said he didn’t present D with a gift, he presented him with a declaration. He said one day they’d battle for the NXT Championship, and it’s written in the Rising Sun. His name is now NARAKU, which translates to “the abyss.” I believe this is the first time the fact that I’m learning Japanese has ever helped with this particular recapping gig. Evil – er, Naraku – was pretty decent here, and he did his trademark stagey but amusing cackle at the end. He debuts next week.
(2) JASPER TROY vs. JACKSON DRAKE (w/Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes)
Baylor had a sweater tied around his neck like he was a 1980s film comedy villain. Troy dominated with power in the corner, then turned Drake inside out with a block right afterward. Drake sold it like death early, but he wriggled out of a slam and struck quickly with a series of kicks. Troy dumped Drake, but both other members of the Vanity Project distracted him long enough for Drake to recover and hit a knee from the top as the match went to split-screen. [c]
Troy dominated Drake upon return. Drake flipped backward out of trouble, then took down Troy with a big tornado DDT. Drake flew up in a corner, but as he was up there, Troy kipped up. Drake jumped right into a chokeslam. Troy landed a senton. Drake went out to his mates to regroup. Smokes went down to a hard right, and Baylor was…well, he was supposed to toss him over the top, but he didn’t make it. Drake’s date from the other night, Myka Lockwood, showed up and slammed Troy outside (!!!). She tossed him back in to eat Drake’s finisher.
WINNER: Jackson Drake at 7:17.
(Wells’s Analysis: I figured Drake would go over here but wondered how they’d protect Troy, who’s massive but is still in the early stages of his development. Lockwood’s appearance solved that, as she can believably kick asses on behalf of her new favorite faction. A nice enough match with strong character work all around)
-In a promoted segment, Tristan Angels said he was born into the seventh generation of a sheep farming family, but he knew he had gold running through his veins. He said he can shear a sheep in under a minute. He talked about some babyfaces like Shiloh Hill and Hank & Tank to say they’re beneath him. He said Mr. England, Tristan Angels, has arrived. Nice promo.
-A blurb played of Zaria winning the Last Woman Standing match. [c]
-NXT Origins: Rhea Ripley. We got some shots of the create-a-wrestler she looked like early on, and got a lot of shots of her moving on from there. from her winning the inaugural NXT: UK Women’s Championship as well as the NXT Women’s Championship where fans flooded the ring (look for former PWT Talks NXT cohost Tom Stoup in the ring!).
-Zaria’s music played her out. She got a mixed reaction; she’s doing good heel work, but she’s also coming off as cool as hell now, and some people are going to cheer that.
She said that NXT feels different, and there’s a change in the air. She said it’s anyone’s game. She said she’s standing in the middle of the women’s division with no one holding her back. No dead weight, no fake friend. She said this is how it always needed to be. Zaria…alone. She said now she has a clear path to the thing that started it all. The thing that came between her and Sol: the NXT Women’s North American Championship. She said the title is what finally woke her up. She said obsessing over it made her realize it should be hers.
Tatum Paxley went out to the ramp and said she realizes the belt shattered her friendship with Sol, but it had nothing to do with Paxley. She said trying to figure out who you are is hard, and she gets that more than anybody. She said if Zaria came at her championship, though, it wouldn’t matter if Zaria scorched the earth. She said it doesn’t end with Zaria.
Lizzy Rain’s music played her to the ramp. She told the two they’re right: NXT feels different. She said she’s the new blood in the locker room, and she wouldn’t mind joining in on this bit of fun. She said last week, Lizzy Rain was the talk of the town, and the championship was iconic, and it would be fitting if they added some heavy metal to the title.
Nikkita Lyons came out next. She said of course Lizzy was the talk of the town, because that’s the “Nikkita Lyons rub.” She told Rain to touch some grass because the new car smell is wearing off. She sang “excuse me” and said she’s not done, because she has more business with the mistress of metal. All four fought briefly. Lizzy and Nikkita were bumped to the floor, and Zaria took down Paxley with an F-5.
(Wells’s Analysis: I guess I’m about to weather another push of sorts of Lyons, who looked fine last week against Rain, at least. This was kind of a weird mission statement from Zaria. I felt like she was ready to go straight to the top – and Lola Vice – and I think the crowd agreed because when she called out the secondary singles championship it felt like some of the air went out of the room)
-Back in the pantry, the Vanity Project ran into an Evolve wrestler whose name I can’t remember, but he’s from Spain. They vaguely talked down to him, and out of nowhere, Noam Dar stepped into the scene to return to the brand after another long hiatus after an injury; he was figured in as a challenger to Trick Williams at the time of his last injury. Smokes said he was a big player “ten years ago or something.” Myka Lockwood showed up and said she’s with the Vanity Project. [c]
-Rob Stone said after Kam Hendrix attacked Tony D’Angelo, which I somehow didn’t see despite watching the entire show and not leaving the room, and now the Tony D-Tavion match is off, and the mixed tag match will have to happen now. Chaos was promoted as a selling point for the show, and they’re delivering, I suppose.
[HOUR TWO]
(3) LOLA VICE & MR. IGUANA vs. THE CULLING (Izzi Dame & Niko Vance) (w/Shawn Spears) – mixed tag team match
Vic said it wasn’t a title defense for Vice & Iguana’s AAA Mixed Tag Team Championships for some reason. The men opened. Vance blocked Iguana to the mat, and he played dead and Vance played along with slapping at his legs to see what was up. I love a heel who’s willing to act dumb. Iguana got in some basic strikes, and he trapped Iguana, but Vice handed him his stuffed iguana and he swung it at Vance. Spears grabbed the iguana away from Iguana but held it out like it was going to attack him.
The women tagged in and went next. Dame got in a big block in the corner, and Vice hit a big boot right after for two. Vice got in some palm strikes, then dragged Dame and booted her out to the floor with a kick. The men tagged in and Iguana dumped Vance. Vice tagged in and both faces hit Thesz presses to the outside and then posed together on the apron as the match went to split-screen. [c]
Vance had Iguana down for a two count. He laid in a headbutt. Iguana returned fire. Roundhouse right from Vance. Iguana crawled for a tag but when he was finally free, Dame yanked Vice to the floor to cut off the tag (she was a bit too early). Vance kept up on offense and Vic said the D’Angelo-Heights match is still on, but it’s later. Okay. Vice made the hot tag and she dominated Dame, then Vance, with quick kicks. Iguana and Vice bumped booties, then charged and hit hip attacks in opposite corners.
Vice hit a big roundhouse kick and was about to count three, but Vance held up the arm of the referee, who’s a new guy who looks like he’s around 12. He sent Vance off and Vice got back in control with an arm submission. Iguana caught Vance in the same move, but they rolled to the outside and Vance chokeslammed Iguana on the floor. Vice saw it and allowed herself to be distracted. Izzi hit a running knee on Vice to score the pin, which is great for getting her to be the next challenger for the Women’s Championship, but annoying in that we just saw a championship tag team lose when we almost never get to see them win.
WINNERS: Lola Vice & Niko Vance at 11:28.
(Wells’s Analysis: The restrictions WWE puts on mixed tag matches means they have to get by on pure fun, and this one went pretty well. I really don’t like teams losing when they hold the championship, but I get that they were hamstrung looking for a reason for Izzi to gain a title shot.)
-Tavion Heights talked to his old friend Myles Borne, who tried to calm him down because he was all ready to go and then the match went away. Rob Stone mentioned that the match was on again as the main event. Heights didn’t know this, so I guess he doesn’t watch the show. Stone then ran into Zaria, who complained about the people who interrupted her. He said there would be a tag match after the events of the scene. Zaria said she’s done with tag matches. Stone said if Zaria ever wants a shot at that title, she’ll do the match. Vic called out the more serious side of Stone.
-Hank & Tank made their entrance ahead of a match with DarkState. [c]
-Jaida Parker threw stuff around in the locker room, saying she’s over it. She finally sat down. Nattie, of all people, stepped into the frame. “I guess what they’re saying about Miss Parker is true. You’ve gotten soft.” She stepped out as quickly as she appeared. I was hopeful that Jaida would lose her mind after this; the character needs it to move forward.
(4) HANK WALKER & TANK LEDGER vs. DARKSTATE (Cutler James & Osiris Griffin) (w/Dion Lennox & Saquon Shugars)
Vic called out Booker saying a valuable Scrabble word and I really wish I could go back and listen to what word blew his mind, because it could be “methylchloroisothiazolinone” but it could also be “fallen” or “gave,” knowing Vic. James was in quite a bit early as Hank & Tank double-teamed him, but Hank took a nasty bump to the outside, nailing his tailbone on the apron on the way down. Lennox tried to use a chair, but Shugars stopped him to fight off the DQ. Lennox called out that Shugars is getting in his way every week. Griffin seemed to agree with the approach of Shugars and James seemed to side with Lennox, but this could be just so they could make it 2-2 going into split-screen break. [c]
James had Tank downed with a chinlock. The audience clapped Tank into it, or tried, anyway. Griffin tagged in and hit a corner lariat. James slammed Tank and Griffin covered for two. Griffin mocked the belly taunt of Hank & Tank to mild boos. He dominated Tank in the heel corner, but Tank started hitting rights and back elbows on both heels. Tank countered a gut-wrench suplex by James and Hank made the hot tag and dominated James. Suplex into a senton. He dumped an interfering Griffin, then went out and blocked him clear over the announce table. Hank & Tank hit a team move on James and covered for two, but it was broken up. James hit a nice backbreaker on Tank and fired up. Griffin tagged in, hit Wasteland, then a Vader Bomb, but Hank broke it up at the last moment. DarkState hit another team move on Tank, who did a great job making it a believable nearfall by playing dead until the last moment. James and Tank exchanged big rights. It went bonzo gonzo and action went to the ramp side. DarkState caught a suicide diving Tank andlaunched him onto Hank. Back inside, DarkState hit a finishing tandem slam.
WINNERS: DarkState at 11:58.
(Wells’s Analysis: A surprisingly satisfying tag match with a surprising result, given the problems DarkState is having in kayfabe. Dion and Saquon still stared each other down afterward. They’re slow-playing this one, which is fine, though I think people are eager for DarkState to get to the next chapter)
-Kendal Grey and Kelani Jordan both tried to make challenges to Lola Vice.
-A stagehand rushed up to Booker T, ripped off his headset, and put another one on him. I have no idea why we just saw all that.
-Emily Agard is the new backstage correspondent. She introduced herself and said her first assignment was to interview Keanu Carver. She knew it was a sink or swim moment. He wasn’t into it so she set the camera aside on the ground where it could still catch them to have a more real conversation. He said he was in it for the money and he had people to support. He said if this doesn’t work out he doesn’t know what to do. He said he wasn’t going to try to be glamorous; he just wants to be himself. Agard said she just wanted to ask one question to take it back to everyone. She asked why Keanu knew the symbol of war last week. Holy hell, I was wondering that! He said he went to college, and he wasn’t going to brag about it like these other clowns, but he’s smart as sh*t. He said when professors talked, he listened. Very strong segment for Keanu, and a nice start for Agard.
-Vic said the audio issues were solved and we’re ready for our main event. I think the previous scene of he and Booker was literally just to sell the idea of chaos, though they did a good job of making it look like a real issue. [c]
-Via socials, Shiloh Hill said it was weird that HBK said they should throw a stick of dynamite in the locker room since he was specifically told not to bring explosives into the locker room. He said Tristan Angels was up in his face, and asked for people to help with insults for pretty boys, Englishmen, and sheepherders.
-Vic promoted the debut of Naraku, predictably mispronouncing it, making the second vowel an “o” for some reason. It’s SIX LETTERS, man.
(5) TONY D’ANGELO vs. TAVION HEIGHTS
Non-title. This might actually be the first week without a championship match of some kind in a very long time, but I don’t keep all my notes in the same place so I can’t say for sure.
Waistlock takedown by Heights. He held on and kept D on the mat for a bit, but D managed a standing switch and his own waistlock takedown. The two exchanged some reversals until Heights press-slammed D’Angelo. They both went for slams at the same time and finally D’Angelo hit one. D exploded out of a corner with a lariat, then put Heights’ head into a corner. Bulldog and a lariat by D’Angelo for two. Heights go in some knees in a corner, then hit a gut-wrench suplex. Heights went up but D shoved him to the floor. D was in control heading to split-screen; interesting to have the face, who in this case is also the likely winner, in control at the break. [c]
Heights hit a rope-assisted gut-wrench suplex for two. Slam for another two. Vic threw to the break to show a miss in the corner by D’Angelo that created the opening for Heights. Heights hit a frog splash for two. Heights got in some rights but D no-sold a right and fired up. He hit a German suplex, then a second and a third. He tried a spear but ran into a near. Belly-to-belly by Heights. Exploder by Heights for two.
Both guys sold the effects of the match and went for a slow exchange of rights. D’Angelo ducked a clothesline and hit a spear. Heights hit a beautiful belly-to-belly, but Kam Hendrix, who was thrown out earlier, got involved. Heights dumped him. Myles Borne showed up and took Hendrix from the ring. D’Angelo used the opening to hit Dead to Rights on Heights.
WINNER: Tony D’Angelo at 10:19.
Heights and D’Angelo tried to share a moment of respect, but the huge dude from last week – Will Kroos previously – showed up and attacked D’Angelo to ruin the moment. He said into the camera that his name is Mason Rook, and he’s arrived in NXT.
(Wells’s Analysis: I continue to assume that a Tony D’Angelo-bot took the place of the previous D’Angelo because he’s so improved in every arena. It’s no secret that the man was an accomplished amateur wrestler, but he’s really been showing that off better lately, in addition to his power arsenal (granted, Heights was the perfect opponent to show off some amateur-style work). We again had a wild finish with a lot of moving parts, with the man now known as Mason Rook getting involved. Heights appears to still be a babyface, though one with edge, while Rook and of course Naraku will be heels that pester Tony D for the forseeable future.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: I liked the chaos, actually. I think they did a good job of making it feel organic and not manufactured, and it also felt earned, given the very large number of wrestlers that have shown up lately. It’s a very dangerous game to try to get over so many new talents at once, but they’re giving it a go, and so far I’m a little impressed at how many of the new names are sticking with me (granted, I watch Evolve, and that helps). It was also a weird show in that zero championships were on the line, but that would have been superfluous as the episode’s aim was clearly just getting new talent over and not constantly working toward the next championship. Nate Lindberg and I will talk about this one shortly on PWT Talks NXT, and I’ll really be able to test how well the new names stayed with me.
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