SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT TV REPORT
AUGUST 25, 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
Correspondents: Blake Howard, Sarah Schreiber
[HOUR ONE]
-They opened with the camera panning the crowd as Vic Joseph introduced the show. As usual, they then showed various wrestlers on tonight’s show as they entered the building. The pulsating beat that accompanies the beginning of a big-time match played as they showed the “weaponized” steel cage around the ring.
(1) DION LENNOX vs. SAQUON SHUGARS – Weaponized Steel Cage Match
As soon as Shugars entered the cage, Lennox chucked a trash can at him, which he ducked. The former teammates began clubbering each other, with the half-shirted Shugars getting the better of Lennox. That stopped when Lennox blasted him in the back with a chair a couple of times. He then threw Shugars headfirst into the cage a few times, then pulled Saquon’s belt off and blistered him with it. Lennox got a two-count before wedging a chair in the cage, which soon fell off. So much for that idea.
Lennox continued to beat on Shugars until he took a trash can to the gut. Shugars put the can over Lennox’s head and slammed the can with a lid a few times, then hit a springboard dropkick onto the can while Lennox was still wearing it. Shugars wound up and smacked Lennox hard in the back with a chair. Lennox placed one chair upside down with the legs up on top of another chair, then slammed Shugars through it before they cut to the first split-screen commercial break of the night. [c]
The match continued as an angry old lady crashed through a door, bearing gifts of Panda Express. That was followed by a Jack Daniels ad (doesn’t seem like a wise combo). Anyway, when they returned to full-screen, Shugars tried to turn the match in his favor by pitching a kendo stick in his face, then bouncing him off every wall of the cage. Shugars hit a high cross body off the ropes that flattened Lennox, threw him throat-first into a kendo stick, then hit a massive backbreaker into a faceplant on a chair.
Lennox came back with a huge spinebuster onto a trash can, but Shugars kicked out of the pin attempt. Shugars went to work on the throat again, but Lennox went after the knees, smacking him squarely in the knees with a chair while Shugars was tied in the tree of woe. That looked painful. Still, Lennox couldn’t keep him down for three seconds. Shugars escaped a submission hold by bouncing Lennox’s head off a trash can lid that was on the apron. Shugars attempted a top rope sunset flip, but his knees gave out and he crumpled to the mat. He managed to sit Lennox on a table and cover his head with a trash can again, then superkicked the can. As Lennox simply leaned backward onto the table, it broke. Shugars climbed to the top of the cage and sailed off to land a high and long cross body that demolished Lennox. He then covered Lennox for the easy pin.
WINNER: Saquon Shugars at 14:48.
(Miller’s Take: Other than the Slim Jim table letting them down, this was a pretty darn good match. I’ve never been a big fan of the trash can over the head spot, as it’s always come across as hokey to me. Other than that, they laid them in, and Shugars got his revenge with that breathtaking cross body from the top of the cage. Hopefully, Shugars and DarkState can go their separate ways now.)
-Nattie and Jaida Parker were shown walking in different areas in the back. Thea Hail was running and jumping behind Parker to get her geeked up for her face-to-face with the Low-Key Legend. [c]
-Blake Howard interviewed NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo. He put himself over a bit by reminding us he beat Oba Femi. He said Zilla Fatu didn’t go to the main roster and join The Bloodline because he wanted his title. He declared that he needed to re-introduce himself to some people. Decent promo.
-In a pre-taped segment, Sarah Schreiber met up with The Vanity Project at their favorite hangout…a bowling alley. They were each shown bowling, while the others hovered over Sarah and put themselves over. Unlike the brilliant Emily Agard segments, this fell flat as a pancake.
-Nattie stood mid-ring with a mic. She said she came to NXT because she wanted to fight Jaida Parker. She put her over big-time and admitted that Parker could knock her on her ass. However, she said she also saw wasted potential. She said Jaida had all the tools, but didn’t know what to do with them. She told the crowd that Jaida lost a couple of matches, got soft, and was then exposed by her. She said it was the best thing that ever happened to her, because she stepped up, and now she’s wrestling better, speaking better, and believing she could run this division. She finished by saying she gave Jaida the most valuable asset in all of women’s wrestling; her attention, and that she turned a possibility into a reality. That was an outstanding promo!
-Miss Parker stepped out with a mic and a purpose. She said she saw through her and knows that Nattie didn’t do anything out of the kindness of her heart, but saw a woman coming up that she tried to break. She sarcastically thanked Nattie for reminding her who Jaida Parker is. She told Nattie she didn’t need her acceptance or anyone to tell her who she was. She then told Nattie she should be the one thanking her for getting attention by picking on the right woman.
-Nattie jumped up and down mockingly while exclaiming joy at seeing the real Jaida Parker come out. She told Parker she wanted a submission match with her at Heatwave and called her a bitch. Parker shoved her out of her face, cut a scathing promo on her, called her a bitch back, then turned and left Nattie standing there. Nattie is actually right. Parker is looking and talking better than ever. If she loses to Nattie at Heatwave, I don’t know what it would take for her to come back. [c]
(2) KAM HENDRIX vs. KEANU CARVER
Before the match started, they showed Carver being polite to Robert Stone, then scary, then back to polite. This gimmick he’s doing right now has really added depth and dimension to his character, which had been pretty flat before he started losing matches to E.K. Prosper. Hendrix didn’t look overly anxious to tie up with his opponent. Carver steamrolled over Hendrix until he got tripped throat-first onto the second rope. Hendrix utilized his superior speed to take over on his larger and scarier foe, then slowed the pace by sinking in a rear chinlock.
Carver struggled to get back to his feet, but Hendrix cut him off. Carver hulked up and delivered two of the most crushing German suplexes I think I’ve ever seen. He then pounced him halfway across the ring. Hendrix rolled to the outside, where he was squished with a cross body by Mason Rook while the referee was tending to Carver. He scraped his carcass off the floor and shoved his remains underneath the bottom rope. Carver executed a perfect German suplex into a bridge for the win.
WINNER: Keanu Carver at 3:40.
(Miller’s Take: Carver was a monster when he first arrived in NXT. Now he’s a monster on a mission. Seeing him being nice, thoughtful, and willing to play by the rules is like seeing The Incredible Hulk sitting a table and sipping tea while reciting poetry. This is a different kind of scary and I like it.)
-The Progressive NXT Spotlight was on Kelani Jordan, who bragged about not needing a name, the indies, Evolve, or AAA. She basically considers herself better than everybody else. [c]
-A video package of Zilla Fatu was shown. He talked about the splash he’d made and bragged about getting a title shot right out of the gate.
(3) ZARIA vs. KALI ARMSTRONG
Vic Joseph noted that this was a non-title match, but if Armstrong wins, she’ll be added to the Speed and North American title unification match. This, of course, virtually guarantees that our monster champion is going to get punked out again. Wait and see if I’m right. The two literally butted head mid-ring like a couple of bulls. They struggled to put each other down until Zaria finally got the job done. Armstrong recovered quickly, but then got dragged and tossed around the ring by the North American champ. She got up and started throwing those amazing punches of hers en route to taking the match to the floor so they could squeeze a commercial break in, this one of the split-screen variety. [c]
I tried making my left eye pay attention to the action on the left while focusing my right eye on the commercials. Gave me a headache. Back to full-screen, Armstrong delivered a giant superplex from the top rope that rocked Zaria.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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[HOUR TWO]
They crawled over to each other and began throwing hands. Armstrong delivered a very sloppy powerbomb for a two-count. Zaria delivered a flurry of offense, but took a powerslam from Armstrong. Zaria speared Armstrong in half as she reached peak speed off the ropes for an attempted Kali Konnection. Zaria lifted her up for an F5, but Armstrong rolled her up for a three-count.
WINNER: Kali Armstrong at 9:13 to earn a spot in the Speed/North American Championship unification match.
(Miller’s Take: I love me some Kali Armstrong, but did they give Zaria the belt just so they could bury her along with the Women’s North American title? I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so.)
-In the back, NXT Women’s Champion Kendal Grey, who was, for some odd reason, accompanied by NASCAR driver William Sawalich, walked into medical and introduced him to one of the doctors, who told her she was treading thin ice by competing, despite being technically cleared to wrestle. Wren Sinclair walked up and got all worked up over having to wrestle in a triple threat match. That got Grey all geeked up over Kelani, and Sawalich coached them on some deep breathing to settle them down.
-BirthRight made their ring entrance before they cut to the next series of thrilling and educational commercials. [c]
(4) BIRTHRIGHT (Stacks Lorenzo & Charlie Dempsey & Uriah Connors & Lexis King) (w/Arianna Grace) vs. SEAN LEGACY & DORIAN VAN DUX & NOAM DAR & ROMEO MORENO – 8-Man Tag Team Match
Dar and Depmsey began what will certainly be a spotfest with some decent chain wrestling. DVD tagged in, as did King. They traded forearms, chops, and armdrags before Legacy tagged in to be used by his partner as a battering ram. Connors and Moreno were up next, and traded blistering chops before Connors leveled him with a high dropkick. Dar & Moreno cinched in dual anklelocks on Stacks and Connors. The fight went to the floor with BirthRight taking control before the next of what has been a wonderfully entertaining night of commercial breaks. [c]
Back from the break, Connors was bullying Moreno as Grayson Waller was shown entering the building. Moreno slipped away from BirthRight long enough to make a hot tag to DVD, who began cleaning up the ring. After pitching Stacks to the floor on top of his opponents, he leaped out onto all of them. Moreno and Dar hit their double team finisher for a near fall. Everyone came in and the spotfest began. Moreno flew to the floor before DVD slingshot Legacy off the ropes for an ultra high cross body to the floor. Dempsey got pitched back into the ring and covered by Dar for a near fall, but slipped free and delivered a belly-to-back fisherman suplex for the win.
WINNERS: BirthRight at 11:30.
(Miller’s Take: This was entertaining enough for what it was, but the multi-person trainwreck is seen nearly every week. A better story could have been told than a bunch of guys beat on a bunch of other guys until one of the guys got pinned, but we got what we usually get from these types of matches. It made sense that the cohesive unit, BirthRight, got the big W here.)
-In the back, GM Robert Stone was giving referee Victoria D’Errico some last minute instructions before the upcoming Heatwave summit before Keanu Carver walked up. Stone told him that Rook interfering in the match was cheating. Carver said a win was a win and the referee’s decision was final. As Carver walked off satisfied with his victory, Shiloh Hill sneaked up behind Stone and startled him. He complained that Naraku cheated him out of a chance at the North American title. He said his vision came back faster than Tony’s because of the difference in chemical composition between the red mist and the green mist, and explained it in hilarious detail to Stone, who blankly agreed. Stone gave him his match against Naraku.
-E.K. Prosper and Rey Fenix were shown preparing for their match before the next commercial break. [c]
(5) REY FENIX (c) vs. E.K. PROSPER – AAA World Cruiserweight Championship Match
The two men showcased some eye-popping maneuvers with a couple of blistering chops thrown in for good measure. Prosper dropkicked Fenix to the floor, then hit a high moonsault to the outside, which, naturally, led into a commercial break. [c]
When they returned from the break, both men were staggering around the ring before meeting in the middle to trade chops and kicks. Prosper turned a powerbomb into a modified X-Factor for a believable near fall. Fenix shook off the cobwebs to hit his spectacular ropewalk into a kick, then a super high cross body for a two-count. A frog splash also got him no further than a two-count. He went for a cutter, but got caught with a German suplex by Prosper. The crowd went from an NXT chant to a “Triple A” chant in appreciation.
With Fenix standing on the top rope, Prosper leaped to the top rope to deliver a stunning top rope hurricanrana. A few moments of silence were observed by the team in the production truck as the fans chanted a naughty word. Prosper missed his floating moonsault, which allowed the champ to deliver a Mexican muscle buster to keep the belt.
WINNER: Rey Fenix at 11:08 to retain the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship.
(Miller’s Take: Good energy throughout, as you’d expect from these two aerial specialists. They turned the volume up a couple of notches toward the end of the match and kept the crowd fully engaged with some near falls that could have went either way, but it just wasn’t Prosper’s time. I think the first thing he needs to do to regroup and refocus is get a new ring name.)
-After the match, Fenis helped Prosper up off the mat and they raised each other’s hands in a show of sportsmanship.
-In the back, the NASCAR invasion of NXT continued, as another random driver, this time O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Sam Mayer, in full racing gear (minus the helmet), was seated between NXT Tag Team Champions Myles Borne and Tavion Heights in the locker room. Tavion ranted about Borne being his best dude and how he wouldn’t know what he would do if they ever lost the tag straps, which guarantees they’re going to lose them soon so we can see what he will do. Borne reassured him while trying to settle him down.
-Hank and Tank walked in to shake hands with Mayer. In their usual, over-the-top manner, they asked for a title shot. A calmer, more collected Heights told them their plates were full with Heatwave looming, and said they’d see them around as he winked at Borne, seeking approval from his partner for his show of restraint.
-The WrenQCC were shown walking in the back before the next commercial break. [c]
-Vic Joseph ran down the card for Heatwave this Sunday, including Nattie vs. Parker, the Women’s Speed and North American title unification triple threat match, Borne vs. Drake, Borne & Heights vs. The Vanity Project, and the fatal four-way match for the NXT belt.
-The WrenQCC entered the ring to NXT Women’s Champion Kendal Grey’s music. Grey took the mic and talked about Kelani Jordan’s excessive whining, then ran down a list of her own accolades. She said there are champions in the company who go hundreds of days without defending their title, but not her.
-Jordan, of course, came out and claimed victory before the fact. Sinclair told Jordan that they were going to take home all the gold. She was interrupted by Women’s North American Champion Zaria, who called her delusional. She said she’d take that Speed title that has been haunting her forever. Kali Armstrong came out and told Sinclair and Zaria that she already beat both of them back to back.
-The women were then interrupted by Grayson Waller, who called them great to look at, but hard to listen to. He told them they were the highlight of the show until he came back. He ran down the “losers of AAA with their stunt show”, then said he’d emerge from Heatwave the new NXT Champion. This prompted NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo to come out, who told Waller he’d always be a disappointment.
-Cruz Montana crashed the party, emerging among the crowd to cut a promo. As security tried to get him to keep his distance, he said they came to talk, but he came to throw hands. With that, he slugged security and rushed the ring. The men and women engaged in an all-out brawl as more security entered the ring in an attempt to keep the peace, but they were thumped by the rumbling wrestlers. Zaria hit an F5 on Armstrong, then got taken down by Sinclair with an X-Factor. Jordan took a swing at Sinclair, missed, and ate a harsh back elbow from Grey.
-Zilla Fatu made his anticipated arrival to pick the bones clean. He climbed to the top and dived off to the floor, taking out the men. He grabbed the NXT title belt and held it high over his head as Grey displayed her belt while Sinclair posed with her Speed title and the North American strap. Joseph wondered aloud who would walk out victorious at Heat Wave.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Low on matches, high on hype this week. I must admit that I’m not as excited about Heat Wave as I am about most NXT PLE’s. I could be proven wrong, but everything seems very predictable. If Parker loses to Nattie, her credibility will be ruined.
Heights and Borne dropping the tag straps back to The Vanity Project is practically a foregone conclusion, with Heights teasing instability if he loses his championship, which will most certainly lead into a fiery feud with his current BFF. Match order will pretty much determine how that plays out.
If Borne is up first, I’d say he’s likely to retain his belt, but be left with an injury that causes his team to lose the belts. If the tag match is first, I look for them to lose, then purposely cause Borne to lose his title to Jackson Drake, which would make The Vanity Project and the NXT version of Fatal Influence, with all three men holding all the gold. I’m leaning towards the latter scenario.
In a perfect world, Zaria would win the Speed title from Sinclair, vanquishing her demons in the process by duplicating the accomplishment of former friend Sol Ruca, who is the only woman to hold both belts simultaneously. Either way, we’re getting rid of an unnecessary title that few people care about.
To me, Tony D’s title reign has gotten a bit stale already, so I wouldn’t mind seeing the hierarchy shaken up a bit. My pick for the winner…Grayson Waller. There, I said it. See you next week to find out how good my armchair booking is!
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