SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT TV REPORT
JULY 7, 2026
ORLANDO, FL 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: Emily Agard
[HOUR ONE]
-Kali Armstrong was already in the ring waiting to speak as the show began. She called Kendal Grey her target and said that seemed to be the only way to get attention. She said she created her opportunity last week when she attacked Grey, and she’s tired of waiting. AAA Mixed Tag Team Champion Lola Vice interrupted her and called her impatient. She reminded Armstrong that she hadn’t received her rematch yet.
-Kelani Jordan interrupted next to run down both Vice and Armstrong. She played the “poor me” card again. Jordan shoved Vice before the two began exchanging blows. Armstrong delivered a double clothesline to both women, then followed that up with a double Kali Konnection that flattened both of them. I’m so thankful Stone didn’t come out and make a triple threat main event.
-Nattie & entourage were shown seated in the women’s locker room. Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair were shown walking through the parking lot.
-DarkState and OTM made their ring entrances before the first commercial break of the night. [c]
(1) DARKSTATE (Cutler James & Osiris Griffin) vs. OTM (Bronco Nima & Lucien Price) vs. SEAN LEGACY & DORIAN VAN DUX vs. BIRTHRIGHT (Stacks & Uriah Connors) (w/Lexis King & Charlie Dempsey & Arianna Grace) – NXT Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Fatal 4-Way Match
Legacy, Connors, Nima, and Griffin started the match. I’m seriously debating whether I even want to try to keep up with this match. As expected, there were a ton of quick tags among all four teams throughout the match. Price put down DVD and Stacks simultaneously in an impressive double slam. DVD and Legacy hit a nifty double standing moonsault. DarkState took their turn at dominance, then BirthRight got their turn before they cut to the next commercial break. [c]
When they returned from the break, DarkState was back to steamrolling over their opponents. All four legal men in the ring laid themselves out, then made a quadruple hot tag. Nima began singlehandedly thumping all of his opponents. BirthRight went on the offense, followed by DarkState. After a bunch of guys rolled out to the floor, DVD kicked out of a BirthRight pin. Griffin flew over the top rope with a press to all 27 wrestlers who were standing on the floor. That got a huge pop, and rightfully so.
As if enough wasn’t already going on in the ring, Saquon Shugars made his way down through the crowd. Dion Lennox ran out, which Shugars responded to by backing off and taunting him. OTM and BirthRight began brawling their way to the back, minus Connors, who was left in the ring to absorb a top rope splash from DVD and a springboard 450 splash from Legacy, resulting in the pin.
WINNERS: Sean Legacy & Dorian Van Dux at 14:12 to become the new #1 contenders to the NXT Tag Team Championship.
(Miller’s Take: Well, that was faster than a speeding bullet and more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Ring psychology was not a factor in this match at all. This match was a demolition derby. Not something I want to see a lot of, but entertaining once in a blue moon.)
-The Progressive NXT Spotlight was on Jaida Parker, who admitted that Nattie was in her head. She said Nattie made her stale career fresh again. She vowed to take her down.
-Tank Ledger and Keanu Carver were shown in a split-screen making their way to the ring [c]
-Emily Agard was in the back with Saquon Shugars, who said he was being smart and picking his spots. He lamented that he could probably use a friend.
(2) TANK LEDGER vs. KEANU CARVER
Before the match, they showed a replay of Carver causing Hank to go through a table at The Great American Bash, then Tank getting some revenge last week. Carver started out strong and fast, and Tank followed suit. He rocked Carver with a headbutt, knocked him out of the ring, then landed a suicide dive to the floor. Back in the ring, Carver shook it off and began mauling Tank in the ropes. He delivered stiff elbows and a short-arm clothesline before Tank slowly fought his way back into the match. Carver hit a sloppy powerbomb that the announcers chalked up to his taped right knee. Tank recovered to land a huge swanton for a near fall. Carver struggled to get out of a full nelson, threw a high dropkick, and delivered an Alabama slam for the win.
WINNER: Keanu Carver at 4:47.
(Miller’s Take: This was what it should have been. Tank got in a respectable amount of offense, but Carver needed to bounce back like a rubber ball after suffering two defeats in a row to the man with the most unfortunate name in wrestling, E.K. Prosper.)
-Vic Joseph announced that an inside look at Naraku would air after the break. [c]
-In a pre-taped promo, Naraku promised NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo that pain and torture were in his near future.
-In medical, Tate Wilder and Kam Hendrix were exchanging lighthearted barbs with each other, despite having been mortal enemies just a couple of months ago in Evolve. Mason Rook walked in, and Hendrix hid behind Wilder. Tate egged Rook on a bit, prompting Hendrix to back off. Wilder told Rook he’d been dealing with Hendrix for a long time.
-In the women’s locker room, Nattie told Layla Diggs she wanted to send Nikkita Lyons and Karmen Petrovic to ringside with her for her match. Diggs politely declined and said she would handle this on her own. Nattie was a bit miffed but let it slide.
-Lizzy Rain, Thea Hail, and Izzi Dame made their ring entrances before the commercial break. [c]
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]
(3) LIZZY RAIN vs. THEA HAIL vs. IZZI DAME vs. LAYLA DIGGS – NXT Women’s North American Championship #1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Match
Dame took control early in the match with a couple of shoulders in the corners. Diggs, Rain, and Hail all took turns with pin attempts. Dame yanked Diggs out of the ring, then started beating on Rain and Hail. Rain backdropped Hail out of the ring and to the floor. Diggs and Rain fought for a bit before Dame got back in the ring. Diggs got in a double pele kick before flying over the top rope with a cross body to Rain and Dame. Hail flew off the top into the other three women before they cut to the next commercial break. [c]
Back to the match, Dame delivered a crushing superplex to Rain. Hail and Diggs flew off opposite top turnbuckles with stereo splashed for a simultaneous two-count. Hail started throwing women around the ring, the delivered her springboard senton on Diggs and Rain for a two-count. Dame then got a two-count on them both. Diggs flipped out of a clothesline attempt by Rain but got caught with a stunner as she came off the ropes. They traded pin attempts that were all broken up before the four women laid each other out. Dame hit a second rope codebreaker on Hail. Lots of moving parts here as it seemed like they were trying to out-action the fatal four-way tag match earlier, and they did a fantastic job doing it.
Rain went for Thunderstruck on Dame but got caught by Hail before taking a Thunderstruck from Rain. Dame took out Rain with a running knee, leaving Hail lying in the middle of the ring. Diggs climbed to the top and executed a beautiful floating moonsault on Hail to score the pin.
WINNER: Layla Diggs at 14:27 to become the new #1 contender to the Women’s North American Championship.
(Miller’s Take: This match followed the familiar formula of the women taking turns getting short rests and big spots with quick near falls. Like the fatal four-way tag match earlier, the action was 100 m.p.h. I must say I’m thrilled to see Layla Diggs get the nod in this one. I’ve seen so much improvement in her since the infancy of WWE’s Evolve rebranding, and she has superstar written all over her. Am I the only person who sees the resemblance between Lizzy Rain and Dr. Frank-N-Furter?)
-A pre-taped promo from Nikki Blackheart aired. She called herself a natural disaster with purpose before revealing her new name as Reina Volcan. [c]
-Vic Joseph and Booker T were hyping the upcoming AAA/NXT show in Texas when they noticed that Tavion Heights had entered the ring. Heights admitted to the fans that he’d been a “bad brother”. He also admitted that he had a bit of an ego and had become jealous of Myles Borne’s success. He revealed that he came to apologize to Borne.
-The Vanity Project interrupted to talk trash to Heights. Jackson Drake belittled Heights for dropping the ball in his title match. After Heights heard enough and slugged Drake, Baylor and Smokes put the boots to Heights. North American champ Myles Borne ran out for the save, seeming making amends with his former NQCC partner.
-In the back, Romeo Moreno was expressing his admiration for Legacy and DVD. Noam Dar assured Moreno they would get there after a little more experience.
-Shiloh Hill made his ring entrance before the next break. [c]
(4) SHILOH HILL vs. NIKO VANCE (w/Izzi Dame)
Dame stuck around to be in Vance’s corner, despite being a little beaten up. Hill nailed a tilt-a-whirl slam right out of the gate for a two-count. A clothesline from the top turnbuckle earned him another near fall. Hill stayed on Vance, but The Culling’s only remaining male member made a strong comeback. At some point, Hill’s partial came out and was shown lying in the ring. Hill was distracted by Tristan Angels, who came out and picked up Hill’s partial (while wearing a white glove, of course), which allowed Vance to take advantage with a gut-wrench suplex, followed by a flying elbow for the win.
WINNER: Niko Vance at 4:47.
(Miller’s Take: Short but explosive match. Hill and Vance are a couple of bulls, and everything they did looked stiff and painful. Vance needed this win more than Hill, to be honest, especially after ousting the leader of The Culling. It made perfect sense for Angels to cost Hill the match, given their current storyline.)
-After the match, Hill chased Angels to the back. While Dame and Vance were celebrating in the ring, Shawn Spears slid in behind them, steel chair in hand, and blasted Vance in the back. Vance howled in pain as Spears stood over him. Dame’s expression shifted from shock to angry defiance as Spears gazed in her direction.
-Vic Joseph ran down next week’s card, including Jordan vs. Vice vs. Armstrong in a #1 contender’s triple-threat match (at least they put it off until next week), The Vanity Project defending against Legacy & DVD, Diggs challenging Zaria, and Wilder vs. Naraku.
-Nattie and her underlings made their ring entrance before the break. [c]
(5) KENDAL GREY (c) (w/Wren Sinclair) vs. NATTIE (w/Nikkita Lyons & Karmen Petrovic) – NXT Women’s Championship Match
As expected from a couple of mat technicians like these two women, they went straight into a series of reversals and takedowns. Nattie offered a brief handshake out of respect, which Grey acknowledged. It got a little rougher from there, with Grey pie-facing Nattie, then slipping in an anklelock that Nattie struggled to escape. On the floor, Sinclair tangled with Lyons and Petrovic. Former champion Lola Vice ran out to assist, and she and Sinclair fought to the back with Lyons and Petrovic before they cut to the last commercial break of the night. [c]
When they returned to the action, Nattie had an abdominal stretch cinched in. Grey escaped, but ate a discus clothesline from Nattie. Grey backed Nattie into the corner with some rabbit punches to the gut, then dropped her straps and went to work on the low-key legend. Nattie fought off the onslaught and locked in a sleeper. Grey slipped out, but Nattie stayed on her. Both women attempted armbars, but couldn’t quite lock it in.
Grey got caught on a dropkick attempt by Nattie, who turned the champ over into a sharpshooter. Grey made it to the ropes to break the count, then sneaked in a Shade of Grey to successfully retain the title in her first defense.
WINNER: Kendal Grey at 12:08 to retain.
(Miller’s Take: This was as good a match as you’d expect out of these two. The extracurricular activities on the floor were not a factor in the outcome, thankfully, as Grey needed a clean win in her first defense. I don’t see anyone dethroning Grey anytime soon, but I do look forward to what would essentially be a rematch if Kali Armstrong comes out on top next week.)
-After the match, Jaida Parker walked out to confront Nattie. Lyons and Petrovic ran out in defense of Nattie, but were promptly put on their backsides by Miss Parker, who continued her stare down with Nattie. Meanwhile, in the ring, Vice, Armstrong, and Jordan surrounded Grey on the ring apron, making their presence known to the champ.
FINAL THOUGHTS: These opening segments have become way too predictable. You can bet the farm that if somebody interrupts a promo at the beginning of the show, the interrupters and the interruptee are going to be booked in a match, usually in the main event slot. It’s actually become so predictable that it’s eyeroll-inducing. I’d have preferred only one trainwreck fatal four-way match tonight, but I’ll admit that both of them were fun to watch if you were successful in turning off the part of your brain that processes ring psychology. Nikki Blackheart got her WWE name. Shawn Spears got a measure of revenge. Shiloh Hill lost his tooth. Jaida Parker looked strong standing up to Nattie at the end of the show. See you next week!
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