SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT TV REPORT
AUGUST 4, 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 graphic honoring the legendary Dory Funk Jr., who passed away today at the age of 85.
-A recap of the shocking pipe bomb by Grayson Waller last week was shown, along with the debut of Cruz “Mike Santana” Montana. After the short video package, Lola Vice and the WrenQCC were shown walking into the building.
(1) JAIDA PARKER & THEA HAIL vs. KARMEN PETROVIC & NIKKITA LYONS (w/Nattie)
Parker seemed genuinely amused with Hail’s enthusiasm during their ring introduction. Petrovic & Lyons had a pretty cool ring entrance and seemed full of confidence. Lyons mocked Parker before stepping out of the ring to let Petrovic start for their team. Parker and Petrovic worked some basic wrestling moves before Hail took the tag. A quick tag to Lyons led to Hail falling victim to some double teaming. Parker and Hail did a quick little dance routine before taking the action to the floor. Parker missed a Hipnotic on the outside and crashed into the ring steps shortly before they cut to a split-screen commercial break. [c]
We were entertained by people dancing for fast food chicken, the magical absorption powers of Bounty, and dudes admiring their freshly scraped faces before returning to full screen. Hail fought from underneath to make the hot tag to Miss Parker, who began dismantling Team Nattie. She draped Petrovic in the corner, but Lyons pulled her to safety before Parker could nail her with her springboard hip attack. The heel team hit a Hart Attack for a near fall on Parker, but Hail broke up the pin. As Hail and Petrovic slugged it out on the outside, Parker connected with a Hipnotic on Nattie, who had hopped onto the apron to complain. Parker nailed Lyons with her hip drop in the corner, then took out Petrovic before Hail landed her springboard senton on Lyons for the pin.
WINNERS: Jaida Parker & Thea Hail at 9:18.
(Miller’s Take: Solid opening match. I like the team of Parker and Hail, where attitude meets frenetic energy. Normally, I’m not keen on a champion being pinned in a tag team match, but they’re obviously playing into the fact that Hail tapped out Lyons in the 8-woman tag team match on Evolve last week. Hopefully, this will lead to Hail challenging Big Kat Kita for her Evolve title.)
-After the match, Parker & Hail fought off a sneak attack from Team Nattie, who licked their wounds on the way to the back.
-In the men’s locker room, Tavion Heights told North American Champion Myles Borne that he doesn’t know what he’ll do if they don’t win the tag team titles tonight. Borne reassured him as the two reinforced their bromance. Somehow, I think I know what Heights will do if they don’t win.
-NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo was shown walking in the back before they cut to a commercial break. [c]
-Joseph and Booker plugged WWE’s new SiriusXM channel, where they called the action for this past weekend’s SummerSlam. They showed a recap of Brock Lesnar giving Oba Femi his flowers after their brutal Hell in a Cell encounter, followed by a humble Lesnar announcing his retirement on The Pat McAfee Show.
-Tony D made his ring entrance and grabbed a mic. He said Grayson Waller insulted the entire brand last week and said he wasn’t going to allow Waller to use him as a stepping stone. He dismissed Waller and began talking about Cruz Montana before Waller interrupted him from the balcony. D’Angelo called him a bitch for talking trash from afar. He talked about teaming with Waller at WarGames back in the 2.0 days. He mentioned that “Brown” Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, and Trick Williams, all former champions, were involved in that match, but Waller was a nothing.
-Waller continued to run down the men’s locker room before Cruz Montana interrupted. He questioned Waller’s methods of getting attention through words rather than action. He said he spent years proving he belonged here while Waller spent years trying to get noticed. Montana said having people depend on him to feed them is what will make him unstoppable. Tony D finally heard enough and told them to see Robert Stone and make a match for the number one contender to his title.
-A video package highlighted some of the history between Lola Vice and Kendal Grey. Afterwards, Wren Sinclair was shown pacing the locker room and talking a mile a minute. Grey told her to calm down and that everything would be fine.
-Women’s North American Champion Zaria made her ring entrance before they cut to a commercial break. [c]
(2) WREN SINCLAIR (c) vs. ZARIA – Women’s Speed Championship Match
Per Speed Championship rules, there were 5 minutes on the clock for this match. Joseph reminded the viewing audience that a title retention by Sinclair would earn her a North American title shot. Zaria went for a quick F5, but Sinclair slipped out. After a brief flurry, Zaria pounded Sinclair in the corner. With four minutes remaining, Sinclair shook it off and fought back, but Zaria soon overpowered her. With three minutes left, Zaria was bouncing her elbow off Sinclair’s shoulder. She hit a big pump kick for a near fall. With two minutes remaining, Zaria inadvertently bounced the back of her head off Sinclair’s face.
The Speed champ fired up and hit an X-Factor for a near-fall. With one minute left, Sinclair stayed on her challenger. She hit a high cross body off the ropes, but Zaria rolled with it and hoisted Sinclair on her shoulders, set her back on her feet, then speared her through the ropes. Zaria frantically threw Sinclair back into the ring with only a few seconds remaining and attempted an F5, but Sinclair slipped free and attempted a Final Wrench as the time limit expired. An angry Zaria clobbered Sinclair after the match, then delivered an F5 for good measure.
WINNER: Time limit draw; Wren Sinclair retains the Women’s Speed Championship.
(Miller’s Take: Typical Speed fare. Sinclair lived up to her end of the deal by retaining her championship without actually defeating Zaria, thus earning a future North American Championship match.)
-In the back, OTM made nice with each other. Lucien Price told Bronco Nima that just like he has a backup plan in AAA, he has to have a backup plan of his own in NXT. Before Nima could question him, BirthRight interrupted. Lexis King stirred the pot of dissension with OTM. When Price challenged him to a match, King said he thought OTM was a team and questioned why he would want a singles match. Price said, “singles” then commented that he just found his backup plan and walked away from a confused Nima.
-NXT Tag Team Champions The Vanity Project made their way to the ring before the next commercial break. [c]
-In the back, Grayson Waller, whose sweatshirt read, “Soft, Lazy, Complacent, Happy to be here”, bumped into Kelani Jordan, who said she appreciated his honesty and said he was right about the 10% being ready for the main roster, but he’s had plenty of chances while she’s still waiting for one. She said she would do what he couldn’t by winning the title on her very first attempt. Waller encouraged her as she left. Mason Rook walked up and took issue with Waller calling the men’s roster soft. Kam Hendrix attacked Rook from behind and the two brawled until security ran in to break it up, much to Waller’s amusement.
(3) THE VANITY PROJECT (Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes) (c) (w/Jackson Drake & Myka Lockwood) vs. TAVION HEIGHTS & MYLES BORNE – NXT Tag Team Championship Match
An extremely fired-up Heights immediately took control of Smokes before tagging his partner, who picked up where Heights left off with some high-intensity offense. The former NQCC stablemates showed off their teamwork by clearing the ring of Baylor and Smokes before they cut to a split-screen 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]
Unsurprisingly, KFC was featured during the commercial break. I’ll be surprised if someone doesn’t use a bucket of KFC drumsticks as a weapon before the month is over. Anyway, back to full-screen, Baylor was working over Borne. The champs utilized their excellent teamwork to keep Borne away from his corner as Booker T growled incoherently. Borne finally made the hot tag to Heights, who furiously ripped into the champs. Perhaps too quickly, he tagged Borne back in. All four men got laid out in the middle of the ring. Back to their feet, Heights and Borne took control while the referee ejected Drake and Lockwood for sticking their noses into the match. The champs inadvertently collided with each other before Smokes took a Borne Again. Tavion quickly followed up with a Height of Glory for the victory.
WINNERS: Tavion Heights & Myles Borne at 10:50 to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions.
(Miller’s Take: Borne’s complacent attitude mixed with Heights saying this was basically do-or-die for him led me to believe, using WWE logic, that they would lose, and Heights would find a way to blame Borne for it. The opposite happened, with Borne becoming a double champion and an overjoyed Heights wearing NXT gold for the first time. I didn’t see this one coming and was quite pleasantly surprised. I believe I could watch these two stellar teams wrestle for the entire show.)
-More of the history between Kendal Grey and Lola Vice was shown.
-A furious Vanity Project stormed through the back when they crossed paths with Keanu Carver. Lockwood stopped to blatantly check him out with a noticeable grin on her face before Drake reeled her back in. She may be looking to upgrade. [c]
-In the back, Lizzy Rain got cornered by The Culling. Izzi Dame tried to intimidate her and told her last week’s outcome would have been different if not for Shawn Spears. Lizzy gave it back to her and said she lost to the maiden of metal. Spears appeared with a chair in hand and informed his former charges that he cleared it with Stone that they would face him and Rains next week. The Culling threatened him before walking away, then Rain told Spears she didn’t trust him, and if anything went south, it would be three on one next week. Spears muttered, “smart girl” as she walked off.
(4) KEANU CARVER vs. E.K. PROSPER
Joseph brought up how calmly Carver asked for the match last week just as he astonishingly broke clean out of the corner in an uncharacteristic show of sportsmanship. After Prosper executed some high-flying maneuvers, Carver showed off some high-flying of his own with a beautiful dropkick. On the outside, Carver stopped short of colliding with Booker T and apologized profusely to him before Prosper leaped off the barricade with a double stomp that sent Carver crashing to the floor. I can’t think of any better time to take a commercial break, can you? [c]
Back from the break, the announcers were touting the new, calmer approach by Carver, who showed patience and technical ability. Prosper fought out of Carver’s grasp with his typical aerial assault. He appeared to be bleeding from the mouth from a particularly brutal face-first whip into the bottom turnbuckle. Carver laid it on heavy but couldn’t put the unfortunately named Prosper away. E.K. hit a pop-up dropkick and a shining wizard before climbing to the top turnbuckle. He attempted a moonsault, but Carver caught him and rolled him up with a small package for the win.
WINNER: Keanu Carver at 10:57.
(Miller’s Take: Nice follow-up to Carver’s overly polite request for this match last week. He showed a new, calmer, controlled side instead of his usual Hulk smash attitude that was costing him matches against his smaller opponent. Prosper looked genuinely stunned that he lost in that manner. Carver is most definitely a star in the making, and I love that they’re showing another layer to his character. Prosper is super talented, but the biggest thing dragging him down right now is that horrid ring name. Whoever is responsible for the name E.K. Prosper should be blackballed from wrestling. As my podcast cohort, Nate Lindberg, pointed out last week, somebody had to say, “Yeah, E.K. Prosper, that’s good…let’s go with that.”, which is quite concerning.)
-After the match, a calm, cool, and collected Carver walked over to a stunned Prosper and gave him an approving and sportsmanlike pat on the shoulder before leaving the ring. Joseph wondered aloud which version of Carver was scarier.
-In the back, Cutler James and Osiris Griffin spoke to each other while Dion Lennox sulked in the background. They said that even though they won the 6-man tag team match, Lennox seemed to be in a worse mood. Lennox piped up and complained about being put through a wall by Saquon Shugars. He said winning a match against a thrown-together team while Shugars was still walking was nothing to brag about. He said Grayson Waller wasn’t right about DarkState and vowed revenge against Shugars.
-The Progressive NXT Focus was on Kendal Grey’s NXT title victory against Lola Vice and the Underground challenge. [c]
-An Instagram post from Shiloh Hill was shown in which he explained that he suffered a rare facial fracture during his match with Tristan Angels and will likely be out of action for a while. He said since he isn’t cleared to work out, his boredom has led to excessive random research. He shared his recent discoveries, such as Kali Armstrong’s world record in the sprint medley, the curious fact that there’s no record of the Intercontinental title tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil that Pat Patterson supposedly won, and that The Great Kabuki originated the use of poison mist in Texas in the 80s, then brought it back to Japan, where it was adopted by the likes of The Great Muta, Tajiri, and more recently, Asuka, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Naraku. As usual, funny stuff!
-A somber Vic Joseph and Booker T announced that earlier today, the WWE family suffered a loss with the passing of WWE Hall of Famer Dory Funk, Jr. A respectful and informative video package was shown of the legendary Texan and the mark he left on the business through his accomplishments and the many wrestlers who sat under his learning tree. The NXT crowd chanted “Dory” at the end of the segment.
-In the back, a busy GM Stone informed Cruz Montana that he would be facing Grayson Waller next week. As Stone departed, Tristan Angels walked up to run his mouth. He called Montana a newcomer who walked into a title shot. Cruz reminded him that he was here long before Angels. Perhaps the name Cruz Montana confused him.
-Vic Joseph ran down next week’s card, including the #1 contender’s match between Montana and Waller, Zaria defending against Sinclair, The Culling vs. Spears & Rain, and Shugars vs. Lennox.
-The Evolve roster surrounded a darkened, ropeless ring in preparation for the main event Underground match before the commercial break. [c]
(5) KENDAL GREY (c) vs. LOLA VICE – NXT Women’s Championship Underground Match
Vice was dressed in her usual Underground gear, while the champ had her fists taped up and looked extremely focused. After Mike Rome made the official ring introductions, the referee called for the bell. The Evolve roster pounded the mat as the lights went down and the ladies went to work. They both scored takedowns before Grey took the fight to the floor with a flying headscissors that drove Vice into the announce desk. In a very scary-looking spot, Vice yanked Grey’s feet out from under her, and the side of her head slammed into the ring steps on the way down. Grey was bleeding profusely from the ear as the referee and a medical crew ran to ringside to check on her before they cut to a split-screen commercial break. [c]
During the break, medical technicians shined a light in Grey’s eyes and wrapped her head in a bandage in an attempt to stop the bleeding so Grey could continue the match. Back to full-screen, Vice was working over Grey, who could barely stand and seemed not okay. Vice bounced her hard off the ring apron, and the champ tumbled to the floor. Grey gamely applied an anklelock, but Vice reversed it. After Grey escaped the hold, Vice threw multiple rapid-fire kicks to Grey, then landed a backfist that sent Grey into a Nestea plunge toward the floor. She was caught by Hank & Tank, who shoved her back to her feet and headfirst into Vice, knocking both women to the mat.
Vice came to life and applied a sleeper, but Grey reversed it into an armbar. After they rose to their feet, Vice threw another wild back fist that Grey ducked, and referee Adrian Butler ate the blow, knocking him into La La Land. Vice went back into the sleeper as Grey seemed out of it. A frustrated Vice released the hold to go wake up the referee. In the meantime, Grey’s BFF, Wren Sinclair, shouted words of encouragement to Grey and slapped her in the face a couple of times to wake her up. Grey rose to her feet and nailed Vice with a superkick, but Vice answered with a roundhouse kick, then pounced on a fallen Grey and started raining blows to the head. Grey quickly grabbed Vice’s arm and leaned back into a tight armbar with her leg pressing Vice’s neck back sharply, leaving Vice with no choice but to tap out.
WINNER: Kendal Grey at 10:32 to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.
(Miller’s Take: That was brutal. While I give props to Grey for toughing it out and finishing the match, I have to question the decision to let her continue the match after such a devastating injury that was obviously very real. The match did go on, however, and Grey got her Becky Lynch moment. It was almost as if Grey was sending a message to Raquel Rodriguez to hold her beer. Vice looked incredible in defeat, and this was a fitting sendoff for her as she reportedly is packing her bags and moving to the blue brand. One word. Three letters. Wow.)
-After the match, an emotional Vice embraced Grey and raised her hand in victory as the crowd showed their appreciation for the spectacle they just witnessed.
FINAL THOUGHTS: After that main event, it’s hard to think about anything else that happened, but there was some noteworthy stuff. Borne & Heights became the new tag team champions, Myka Lockwood got another eyeful of the newer, gentler Keanu Carver, Dion Lennox got mad. Kelani Jordan whined, and WWE let Shiloh Hill make fun of the imaginary IC tournament that Pat Patterson won. The whole show was well worth watching, and the main event was a must-see. See you next week!
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