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NXT TV REPORT
JULY 22, 2025
HOUSTON, TEX. AT 713 MUSIC HALL
AIRED LIVE ON THE CW
REPORT BY DAVID MILLER, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Backstage Correspondent(s): Kelly Kincaid
[HOUR ONE]
-Ricky Saints, Oba Femi, and Trick Williams were shown entering the building.
-Vic Joseph and Corey Graves wondered aloud where Booker T was. At that moment, Booker was shown walking through the back, mic in hand, talking about how things in Texas were bigger and better. He passed by Hank & Tank and Sol Ruca & Zaria, who were shoving each other. At first I thought they were arguing, but maybe they were psyching themselves up. As Booker reached the stage, he ran down tonight’s card, including an appearance by “Monica” Monroe, and said they were kicking things off with an 8-person mixed tag team match. Joseph corrected Booker, saying he meant Blake Monroe.
(1) SOL RUCA & ZARIA & HANK & TANK vs. THE CULLING (Shawn Spears & Niko Vance & Izzi Dame & Tatum Paxley) – Eight-Person Mixed Tag Team Match
Hank & Tank carried Ruca and Zaria to the ring on their shoulders. Booker T continued to refer to Blake Monroe as “Monica” and was corrected again by Joseph. Graves joked that he heard Candice Michelle was here, too, referencing Michael Cole’s flub at Evolution when he continuously referred to Candace LeRae as Candice Michelle.
Ruca and Zaria bailed from the ring as The Culling made their way to the ring to attack Dame and Paxley. The men brawled inside the ring as the poor referee called for the bell. As the match officially started, Spears took control of Hank. The tag team champions utilized some teamwork to come back. Zaria and Ruca then showed off their teamwork against Dame and Paxley. A Pier 6 brawl ensued with all the competitors battling inside the ring. Niko was the victim of a quadruple-decker Hank & Tank & Sol & Zaria sandwich. That was a cool spot. [c]
Back from the break, Vance was battling Tank. Vance went for a top rope headbutt, but Tank moved. Ruca and Paxley made the hot tag and Ruca hit some spectacular offense. The four women began battling mid-ring. The men joined in. This is some crazy stuff.
Dame hit a flying press off the top turnbuckle to Vance and Paxley. Ruca followed suit with Spears. As Zaria and Paxley were in the ring, the lights went out. Four spotlights in the crowd illuminated the four members of Darkstate. The spotlights went off, the lights came back on, and Paxley had Zaria rolled up in the ring for the three-count.
WINNERS: The Culling at 10:55
(Miller’s Take: This was wildly fun. So much happened that I’m going to need to soak my hands in Epsom salts later after trying to keep up with this match. I have no idea what Darkstate had to do with it, but the announcers explained that the lights going out gave Paxley an opening to strike, so I guess that kind of makes sense. Great opening match.)
-A video recap was shown of Jacy Jayne winning the TNA Knockouts Championship from Masha Slamovich at TNA Slammiversary this past Sunday to become the first ever wrestler to simultaneously hold a WWE title and a TNA title. Don’t even get me started on this one.
-Fatal Influence were shown walking out to the ring, presumably to gloat. [c]
-”Earlier today”, Jordynne Grace was met at the arena entrance by Ava, who was flanked by security. She told Grace she was not allowed in the building after her attack on Robert Stone and Evolve PM Stevie Turner. Grace walked off, but said she would find a way to get her hands on Blake Monroe tonight.
-Well, here they come. Fatal Influence made their way to the ring. Jacy Jayne was announced as the NXT and new TNA Knockouts Champion. They gyrated as some people in the crowd chanted “Jacy Two-Belts”. Ugh. Jayne said, “Not so bad for a third wheel or the most beatable champion in history, right?” She said she did it all by herself, went to their biggest PPV in history and walked out with their belt.
-Thankfully, she was interrupted by Lash Legend. She congratulated a jubilant Jayne, then told her she was going to downward spiral real fast. She said it’s time for her to “lash” out. She boasted about her performance at Evolution in the battle royal. Legend was interrupted by Jaida Parker, who got a nice pop. Miss Parker had some words to say about her place in the women’s division.
-Jayne said she was going to let them hash this out, took a couple of steps back, and barked, “Go get ‘em!” at her teammates. Henley said, “Not a chance.”, as she and Nxy comically stared at each other. Jayne decided to lead the attack, which was quickly won by Legend and Parker. After they cleared the ring of Fatal Influence, they back into each other and got in each other’s face.
-The Progressive NXT Spotlight was…..mercifully, not a Chase U skit. Je’Von Evans was writing in a notebook when he was approached by Ricky Saints. He said he was trying to come up with new moves. I don’t know how he’s devising these moves in a notebook, but who am I to judge? They talked about Jasper Troy, stroked each other’s egos a bit, and that was that. [c]
-In the back, the No Quarter Catch Crew were talking amongst themselves when Myles Borne walked up. He said he may not be in the NQCC anymore, but he’s here to support them. They psyched up Wren Sinclair for her upcoming match. In the background, Lexis King was kicking and banging on random objects like he was testing their durability or something. Very strange.
(2) JASPER TROY vs. RICKY SAINTS
Saints looked a bit tentative to lock up with the hulking Troy. He punched at Troy for a bit, but got overwhelmed quickly by Troy’s brute force. He moved out of the way of a big splash, but Troy recovered and tossed him over the top rope like a sack of potatoes. [c]
Back from the break, Troy was still firmly in control. Saints leaped at him, but got caught in a big bearhug. Saints escaped by biting Troy in the head. He dove onto Troy on the outside, but didn’t even take him off his feet. He slammed Troy’s hand on the ring post, then hit a flying press inside the ring. He followed that up with a tornado DDT, but still only got a two-count.
Both men wound up laid out on the floor. Troy started to intimidate the referee, but Saints jumped on his back. They fought their way up the ramp. A loud crash was heard off-camera and the crowd reacted to something. The camera stayed on Troy and the referee, so it seemed like whatever happened off-camera wasn’t supposed to happen. It was finally revealed the the ramp collapsed under Saints, and he was shown lying on the floor. Troy hit a senton to the broken ramp onto Saints, then barely made it back into the ring before the count of ten.
WINNER: Jasper Troy at 10:47 by count-out.
(Miller’s Take: The story of the match was Saints trying to overcome the brute strength of Troy. I’m not entirely certain that Saints falling through the ramp was supposed to go down that way. I’m thinking perhaps the ramp was rigged for Troy to slam Saints through it, but Saints stood on the gimmicked part of the ramp and it didn’t hold up under his weight. They made the best of the situation, but a serious equipment malfunction ruined the highspot of the match.)
-In the back, TNA World Champion Trick Williams was talking to High Ryze. Je’von Evans was sitting on an equipment case laughing at him. Trick was not amused and said he was going out to handle his business. Evans followed him, saying he had to see this.
-Vic Joseph solemnly announced the passing of WWE Hall of Famer and heavy metal godfather Ozzy Osbourne. They showed a brief video of some of his appearances, starting with WrestleMania II, and showed pictures of him with The British Bulldogs, Captain Lou Albano, DX, The Miz, and Triple H. Joseph offered condolences to the family of “our friend”, Ozzy Osbourne. That was classy of them and very appropriate. [c]
-Trick Williams made his way to the ring, complete with TNA World title belt around his waist and a cowboy hat on his head because, you know, they’re in Texas. He talked about main eventing the biggest show TNA has ever had last Sunday at Slammiversary in Long Island. He claimed to be the greatest TNA champion of all time. He started running his mouth about LFG. He said they snitched on him to The Undertaker. He said he thought LFG made The Undertaker soft and then called him out.
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]
Bong. Lights out. Lights back on as the American Badass theme played and Taker came out. I’m not a big fan of the American Badass version of Undertaker, but whatever. He said Trick was a dead man walking. He complimented Trick’s look, then said he had everything but respect. He said he watched the NXT champion version of Trick scratch and claw, but said that’s not him now.
Undertaker said with his attitude, it’s not a matter of if he’ll lose the TNA title, but when. He started talking about LFG, but Trick interrupted him and said he didn’t give a damn about his LFG team. Taker said he’s a little too light in the ass to step to the OG. He said if he wanted to dance with the devil, he can flip that switch real quick and make him famous. Trick looked intimidated. Williams turned away briefly, then turned back to take a swing, but Undertaker grabbed him by the throat and delivered a thunderous chokeslam, much to the Houston crowd’s delight.
-Blake Monroe was shown sashaying her way to the ring. [c]
-In the women’s locker room, Jacy Jayne said, “Well, that didn’t go well.” to her partners. They debated about who was going to take Lash and who was going to take Jaida. Michelle McCool stepped up and suggested Jazmyn take Lash and Fallon take Jaida. They agreed and Jacy went to find Ava to make it official.
(3) WREN SINCLAIR vs. BLAKE MONROE
Monroe immediately went on the attack. Sinclair fought back with a single leg takedown and several pin attempts. She hit a beautiful spinning kick through the ropes. Blake landed an equally beautiful missile dropkick. Sinclair got in some blistering chops and very impressive offense. A headbutt and double underhook DDT led to a Monroe victory.
WINNER: Blake Monroe at 2:55.
(Miller’s Take: Very short, but pretty sweet. Both women were really impressive in the short amount of time they were allotted. The outcome was no big surprise, but I thought they’d have given Sinclair a bit more, being that she’s from Texas.)
-Monroe grabbed the mic and started to talk, but before she could utter a word, an enraged Jordynne Grace jumped the barrier, rushed the ring and tackled Monroe. Security immediately swarmed the ring, but Grace started beating the bejesus out of security. She made her way to the floor to go after Monroe, but ate a headbutt. Monroe then delivered a DDT onto a chair on the floor. Grace was laid out as announcers called for medical attention.
-Ethan Page was shown walking down the hallway before they cut to commercial. [c]
-Back from the break, Page was in the ring standing in front of a podium that had the North American Title emblem on the front. To his left was another podium with the NXT logo, and two flag stands behind him that were covered with a black cloth. He said today marks the 56th day as the greatest American to ever hold the North American championship. He said he wanted to bring more class to the title than the previous 17 before him.
He talked of his ancestry and all the places he’s seen on the continent, from bingo halls to big arenas. He then took the cloths off the stands to reveal Canadian flags. He said the title will no longer represent the continent of North America. The audio cut out briefly, but it came back on as he was saying he was born in Canada but made in America, which made him the greatest North American champion ever.
He then tossed the belt to the floor and unveiled a new North American belt, with the red and white strap emblazoned with the Canadian maple leaf. He talked about how much better Canada was than the U.S. The audio cut in and out really bad, but he was basically playing the Canadian heel. He began singing the Canadian national anthem, but was interrupted by TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella.
He told Page he had a big mouth. He said he was Italian, but currently lives in Canada and they don’t talk like that. He said the people from the U.S. and Mexico are good, hard-working people and insulted Page. The champ told him to go back to TNA. Santino said he was friends with Ava and the title should be held by someone with dignity, honor, class, and pride. He said Page has none of those things but he does and he’ll see him next week. Page said lets do it now, but bailed when Santino pulled out the cobra.
-A staggering and glassy-eyed TNA Champion Trick Williams came face to face with NXT Champion Oba Femi. NXT Women’s and TNA Knockouts Champion Jacy Jayne said, “Excuse me, boys.” as she walked between the two of them. That was actually kind of a cool moment. [c]
-Je’Von Evans was still writing in a notebook in the back when Yoshiki Inamura walked up and asked for advice. He said he was afraid he was a bad friend to Briggs because he didn’t fight like he wanted him to. He said sometimes he doesn’t like the way he thinks. Evans told him he could love someone but not like them. Kind of a pointless segment, but anything involving Inamura is entertaining.
-No Quarter Catch Crew were in the back. Borne told Dempsey he still thinks he knows it all. Dempsey told him to go away. Bubba Ray Dudley walked up from behind and told Borne to stay. He told Charlie to tell him to go away. He excitedly hugged Sinclair and told her he was proud of her in an over-the-top, giddy way. He turned back to Dempsey and Heights. He said he was going to go to Ava and set up another match between the two. If Heights wins, he’s out of NQCC. If Dempsey wins, Heights stays in NQCC with a smile on his face. They agreed and shook hands.
Lexis King walked up to Borne and accused him of not being deaf because he’s been wearing noise canceling headphones and he can hear everything. Borne said everyone wishes Lexis was mute.
-They showed a video that Roman Reigns posted on X. He said if Jey Uso would trust him one last time, he was challenging the Bron Brons to a tag team match at SummerSlam.
-A North American title match was announced for next week with Santino Marella challenging Ethan Page.
-Josh Briggs made his way to the ring before the commercial break. [c]
(4) OBA FEMI (c) vs. JOSH BRIGGS vs. YOSHIKI INAMURA – Triple Threat Match for the NXT Championship
Femi immediately went after Briggs. He backdropped Inamura. Briggs and Inamura pinballed Femi before he flattened them both with clotheslines. They appeared to be working together against Femi. Inamura went for a cover, but Briggs “accidentally” stepped on the referee’s hand before he could count to three. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. Femi wound up chokeslamming both of them at the same time before they cut to their one and only split-screen commercial break. [c]
After some dude was shaving while wearing a baseball cap and Dominos made me hungry, they went back to full-screen. Femi looked like he was going for a superplex on Briggs, but Inamura slipped underneath him and hoisted him onto his shoulders. All three men crashed to the mat. Briggs and Inamura started getting in each other’s way and apologizing to each other. Inamura began manhandling Femi. He tossed him like a small child, then rolled him to the ropes before covering him so he would be in position for Briggs to grab the referee’s leg to pull him out. Inamura still had Femi covered, and the referee slid back in to restart his count, but Briggs put Femi’s hand on the ropes for the break.
An incensed Inamura then went after Briggs on the floor. He hit his springing splash onto Inamura and covered him, but Briggs came off the top with a moonsault that squashed both men. That looked painful. Briggs covered Femi for two. The two friends slugged it out mid-ring. Some heavy clubbering followwed. Femi came in to take advantage of the beating the two friends were giving each other and hit an explosive sit-out powerbomb to retain. It looked as if Briggs attacked Inamura after the match on the floor, but the camera didn’t pick it up very well.
WINNER: Oba Femi at 9:34 to retain the NXT Championship.
(Miller’s Take: Even though this followed the same tired triple threat formula of the two babyfaces getting in each other’s way to allow the champion to retain, this was a hell of a good match. Three huge guys just beating the snot out each other. Inamura is scary strong and Briggs showed a lot here, too. Who is going to beat Oba Femi?)
-In the back, Je’Von Evans still had his head buried in his notebook. The Undertaker walked up to him and asked him if he was still trying to figure out what to do next. He suggested Evans continue going after the biggest dog in the yard.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The opening and closing matches stole a show that was very light on wrestling this week. 33 minutes of actual wrestling on a two hour show is too lopsided if you ask me. The storyline segments were good, though. It was fun seeing the LFG coaches interact with the NXT talent. That ramp failure during the match between Saints and Troy was really bad, and I could almost hear Shawn Michaels groaning in the back. I would be remiss if I didn’t express my frustration with WWE completely punking out TNA. The fact that perennial mid-carder Jacy Jayne was the pawn in this power play makes it even more insufferable. Matt and Jeff Hardy retained their TNA tag team titles against Fraxiom, but they’re high-profile WWE alumni. TNA is gaining more exposure with this working agreement, but I really hope WWE throws TNA a bone soon, because it’s making TNA look weak. I could rant about this more, but I don’t want to turn this into an editorial. See you for Evolve tomorrow night!
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