The John Report: WWE NXT 02/18/25 Review
This week on WWE NXT featured a Jaida Parker-Karmen Petrovic-Kelani Jordan triple threat match, a 6-woman tag main event, a contract signing, and more.
The NXT Vengeance Day PLE took place last Saturday with plenty of good matches. I liked the show quite a bit. Stephanie Vaquer became the new Women’s North American Champion while Oba Femi, Giulia, and Nathan Frazer & Axiom retained their titles. The NXT brand is on the road to the big Stand & Deliver show on April 19th in Las Vegas, so they have two months to get there.
I will do a review that is summary style for most of the show and then full play-by-play for a few matches. I am watching the Netflix version of the show here in Canada.
They are at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando for this week’s show. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport, friend me on Facebook, or chat with me on the Bluesky App as well. Let’s get to it.
A video package aired showing NXT Vengeance Day highlights.
The commentary team was Vic Joseph, Booker T, and Corey Graves as usual.
Let’s Hear From Oba Femi
The NXT Champion Oba Femi made his entrance for a promo. Femi was attacked by four men at Vengeance Day after Femi retained his title. Femi said that they made a mistake because they didn’t finish him and Femi said he’s standing here unfazed. Femi dared the four fools to come out to try to finish what they started.
The TNA X-Division Champion Moose made his entrance in dress clothes. The fans chanted “Moose” for his song. Moose is also a former TNA World Champion and he’s a big dude like Femi is.
Moose said that he burst the bubble that Oba is living in because he is the one man that Femi can’t rule over. Femi told Moose that TNA is his bubble and over here, Femi is inevitable. Moose said that this has to happen: Femi vs. Moose. Femi said it will happen. Each man held up their titles.
Analysis: That was a nice surprise to have Moose show up in NXT for the first time. It’s also smart to have a Femi-Moose confrontation since they are both taller, powerful athletes and that’s a match a lot of fans are going to want to see. I assume they do it on a NXT TV show rather than Stand & Deliver because I think Femi is going to be against Trick Williams at Stand & Deliver in two months.
They showed Jordynne Grace walking around earlier in the day. Ricky Starks was also shown arriving earlier in the day.
Jaida Parker made her entrance for a triple threat match.
(Commercial)
An “earlier today” video was shown of Eddy Thorpe talking to NXT GM Ava saying that Thorpe was done with Trick Williams. The duo of Kale Dixon & Urijah Connors walked in to invite Ava to a party. It led to an argument about Chase U and they said that Chase would face Thorpe later. Ava questioned if they could speak for Chase, but they claimed that they could.
Kelani Jordan vs. Jaida Parker vs. Karmen Petrovic (w/Ashante Thee Adonis)
The winner of this match gets a shot at the NXT Women’s North American Title. There are no countouts and no disqualifications in WWE triple threat matches.
Karmen went for multiple pin attempts early on. Jordan dropkicked Parker out of the ring. Jordan hit a springboard moonsault onto both opponents on the floor. Parker decked Jordan with a forearm smash and a couple of suplexes. They went to break for some fans as the action continued here on Netflix. Parker slammed Jordan’s leg into the ring post a few times. Karmen grounded Parker with an armbar. After Parker got out of that, she wrenched on Jordan’s left knee. Karmen applied a submission using her legs to tie up Parker’s arms and Jordan applied a Crossface on Karmen, but Parker broke that up. Parker bodyslammed Karmen onto Jordan’s left knee.
The match continued with Parker hitting an inverted suplex on Jordan. After Karmen hit a hurricanrana on Parker, Jordan hit a springboard leg drop on Karmen. Jordan hit a leg drop across the throat of Parker for two. Parker hit a fallaway slam on Karmen, but Jordan hit a Frog Splash off the top rope to break up the pin attempt. It was Karmen’s turn for a 2-for-1 spot with a hurricanrana on Jordan onto Parker. Parker hit a running Hipnotic hip attack to knock Jordan out of the ring. Parker gave Karmen a hip drop against the turnbuckle and a high step. Adonis pulled Karmen out of the ring to save her. Parker hit a superplex on Jordan and a hip drop on Jordan. Ashante put Karmen back into the ring and while Parker was high stepping, Karmen did a jackknife pin on Jordan for the three count. It went about 12 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Karmen Petrovic
Analysis: ***1/4 Good match that was full of action. I thought Karmen may win because of the issues that Jordan and Parker have had recently. It’s a big win for Karmen even though I doubt she’s going to win the Women’s North American Title. Karmen has been getting a bit of a push in the last month or so and even though they aren’t decisive wins every time, it still helps Karmen.
After the match, Parker slammed Karmen into the turnbuckle. Jordan went after Parker and they went fighting backstage.
Analysis: The Jordan-Parker feud will continue, which is a good thing for both women.
It was announced that next Tuesday in Cincinnati, Stephanie Vaquer will defend the NXT Women’s North American Title against Karmen Petrovic.
Jordynne Grace was shown walking backstage.
The Fatal Influence trio of Fallon Henly, Jacy Jayne, and Jazmyn Nux went into the ring to attack Karmen. Henley did a fallaway slam to Karmen. Adonis was calling for help for Karmen. They went to break for some fans as the action continued. Jacy Jayne left the ring and hit Adonis in the back with the chair. There was only one referee at ringside trying to stop this. I could hear the referee say “Throw her out” and Karmen was thrown out of the ring. Jayne hit a discus punch on Karmen to knock her down on the floor.
Analysis: There are some fights on this show that get broken up within ten seconds, but this lasted a few minutes. It’s not very consistent.
Fallon Henley said she forgot to congratulate Karmen on being the number one contender for the Women’s North American Title. The women’s North American Champion Stephanie Vaquer made her entrance and got into the ring while also joining the NXT Women’s Champion Giulia. I guess they were too busy to make the save for Karmen when she was getting beat up. The Fatal Influence trio of Jayne, Henley, and Nyx were able to beat up Vaquer and Giulia due to the numbers game.
The show returned from a break as Jordynne Grace went into the ring to help the champions. Grace nailed Jayne with an elbow smash. The trio of Giulia, Vaquer, and Grace cleared the ring. Grace said that you three clearly want a fight and so do they, so Grace said tonight, they should fight.
Analysis: That’s an easy way to set up a six-woman tag team match with two champions and the newcomer Grace joining her fellow babyfaces. I thought it was set up well even though nobody tried to help Karmen Petrovic after getting beat up for a few minutes.
Stacks was shown getting ready telling Adrianna Rizzo and Luca Crusifino that he was ready to handle some business tonight.
Meta Girls – Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson vs. Sol Ruca & Zaria
There was a spot early on where Zaria and Lash each slammed opponents off their shoulders at the same time. Ruca hit a hurricanrana on Lash to send them both out of the ring. Jackson hit a missile dropkick on Zaria. Jackson hit a suicide dive onto both opponents on the floor. The action continued during a break. I’ll take a break for a few minutes.
The Meta Girls were in control with Lash battling Sol, but Sol managed to hit a springboard forearm. The powerhouse Zaria was aggressive with kicks and running splashes. Zaria crushed Lash with a Spear. Sol was legal with multiple superkicks and Zaria hit a German Suplex. Lash broke up a pin attempt to save her partners. Lash caught a leaping Sol and tried a slam, but Sol countered with an armdrag along with a dropkick. Jackson was legal with a DDT on legal opponent Zaria for two. Zaria and Lash hit dueling pump kicks to knock eachother down. Zaria sent Jackson into Lash to send Lash out of the ring. Zaria hit a Spear and F5. Sol got the tag and hit the Sol Snatcher off the ropes for the pinfall win after about 12 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Sol Ruca & Zaria
Analysis: *** It was an entertaining match with Zaria and Ruca looking impressive as a team. Lash and Jakara continue to impress every time they are out there. They have come a long way over the last year and are a consistently good team. I liked the finish of the match with Zaria hitting some big moves leading to the Sol Snatcher finish. The story for Zaria and Ruca is that they haven’t gotten along as a team in the past due to personality differences, but they certainly know how to put on a good match.
Wes Lee was backstage with Tyreke and Tyson so Sarah Schreiber was there to do an interview. Lee said that anything can happen at any time in NXT. Ricky Starks was walking in the backstage area, so Sarah left Wes and welcomed Ricky to NXT. Ricky said it was great to be at NXT and he left for his contract signing.
There was a clip shown of WWE LFG that airs Sundays on A&E. I liked the first episode and I’ll keep watching in the weeks ahead.
(Commercial)
Official NXT Contract Signing
Ricky Starks walked out for his contract signing in the ring. The NXT GM Ava was in the ring with a table and a contract on it. Ava welcomed the hottest free agent in pro wrestling without saying his name. He said that he hasn’t been here for too long, but NXT is amazing.
Ricky said that standing right here is reality. Ricky said that the main event of every NXT PLE is reality and winning the NXT Title is reality and the absolute truth is that he’s the man in NXT. Ricky said that he’s going to do what he does best because right now the revolution begins. (They still haven’t said his name.)
Ethan Page interrupted the contract signing, which drew boos from the crowd. Page said he was impressed since you shocked the world by appearing in NXT and now you’re about to sign your NXT contract. Page said that in that contract, it probably says your first match here is going to be for an NXT Championship. Page told him he was following the Ethan Page playbook. Page said that he wants to tell him as his friend that there’s only one Ethan Page.
Ricky said that Page knows that the spotlight isn’t big enough for both of them. Ricky said that Page is wearing his insecurity as tight as he has that jacket on. Ricky said that he’s here to take this place to another level. Page told Ricky that he wouldn’t be able to reach the bar that Page had set for NXT. Ricky said that this should be a celebration of his signing with NXT. Ricky said that Page should be celebrating his win over Je’Von Evans while Ricky said that Evans is the kind of guy that is going to come back. Page suggested that Evans couldn’t even walk out of the venue on Saturday night…and here comes Evans! Evans went after Page with punches and they went fighting up the steps to leave the building. Ricky said it was time to do what he was here to do.
Analysis: Great work by Page as one of the best heels on the brand. Ricky had some good lines responding to him. Evans showed a lot of babyface fire going after Page. The Evans-Page feud is going to continue and I see Evans winning over Page at Stand & Deliver.
There was another interruption and this time it was Wes Lee telling him there are rules around here. Lee said that a rule is you shouldn’t disrespect Lee. Lee wanted to face Ricky in his first match. Ava was okay with that. Ricky told Lee he could face him next week on NXT. Lee tried a punch, so Ricky signed him and Ricky clotheslined Lee over the top to the floor. Ricky signed the contract and the contract showed that his name is Ricky Saints.
Analysis: The contract is officially signed. I like the idea of Ricky against Lee next week. I am sure that wrestling fans who have been used to knowing him as Ricky Starks are going to complain about Ricky Saints, but I don’t mind it. I get why WWE does it because they want to trademark names and since his real name is Ricky Starks. We have seen many wrestlers change names including the World Heavyweight Champion Gunther, who was known as Walter, and guess what? We got used to it. We’ll get used to Ricky Saints too.
The NXT Tag Team Championships Nathan Frazer & Axiom were interviewed by Sarah Schreiber backstage, who mentioned the champions getting attacked by four newcomers. Axiom said that they are still trying to figure out what that was about and Frazer was fired up about it. No Quarter Catch Crew’s Tavion Heights, Myles Borne, Charlie Dempsey, and Wren Sinclair interrupted. Borne said that they are chasing gold to face the best team in the world and possibly of all time. Heights said that they are calling the TNA Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz. The fans popped for that. Borne said next week in Cincinnati, let’s make it happen.
Analysis: That’s awesome to have Heights and Borne challenge The Hardy Boyz like that. TNA is live on Thursday in Orlando, so I assume the story will develop there and set up a match on NXT next week.
Shawn Spears walked out to the ring for a match up next and he was joined by his group.
(Commercial)
Ricky Saints was shown walking backstage when some wrestlers were down backstage so we are left to assume they were attacked by the mystery four guys. Saints said that this place was crazy and left.
Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo (w/Luca Crusifino & Adrianna Rizzo) vs. Shawn Spears (w/Brooks Jensen, Niko Vance & Izzi Dame)
Stacks hit a boot to the face for a two count. Spears got a hold of Stacks and dropped him with a DDT off the ropes. Spears hit a neckbreaker for a two count. Stacks hit a double knee attack along with a massive spinebuster. Stacks went up top and hit a missile dropkick. Spears came back with a suplex onto his knee. Spears hit the C4 neckbreaker slam for the pinfall win after about five minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Shawn Spears
Analysis: **1/4 It was an easy win for Shawn Spears over Stacks, who really doesn’t get many singles matches in NXT. I thought maybe some of Spears’ allies at ringside might help him cheat to win, but it was a clean victory. It makes sense to give Spears a win since he’s feuding with NXT North American Champion Tony D’Angelo and I can see Spears getting the title from Tony too.
Moose was walking backstage when Heritage Cup Champion Lexis King saw him. King bragged about beating Moose’s buddy JDC last week. King kept on talking, he mentioned the X-Division Title and Moose told him to shut up. Moose said he’ll put the X-Division Title on the line against King next week on NXT and King said that’s all it took? Moose said yeah. King claimed he was undefeated in his hometown of Cincinnati. Moose left and that match is on next week.
Analysis: I assume that Moose will beat King since they are going to build up Moose for a match with NXT Champion Oba Femi soon.
Andre Chase was talking to Kale Dixon & Urijah Connors wondering why they booked him a match. They said that Eddy Thorpe was trashing Chase U and Chase said that Chase U is dead. Chase left for his match.
(Commercial)
Eddy Thorpe vs. Andre Chase
Chase hit a hurricanrana to send Thorpe out of the ring. Booker was laughing about Chase’s ring attire and his cheap looking shoes. Chase dove off the apron onto Thorpe on the floor. Kale Dixon and Urijah Connors showed up with Chase U shirts. Chase hit a suplex while Dixon and Connors went to ringside. Chase hit a Side Effect slam for a two count. Chase teased doing his CHASE U stomp, but then he stopped himself. Thorpe kicked Chase and hit a German Suplex. Thorpe hit an Impaler DDT for the pinfall win after four minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Eddy Thorpe
Analysis: ** The winning ways continue for Eddy Thorpe. It was all about the story involving Andre Chase not being able to come back after the ending of Chase U and when he wanted to his Chase U stomp, he stopped himself. When Chase hesitated, Thorpe capitalized to hit a few moves that led to the victory.
After the match, Trick Williams appeared on the video screen. Trick said it ain’t over until he says it’s over and he said he’s going to bring Thorpe down with him.
Analysis: It’s another feud that will continue after Vengeance Day. Thorpe beat Trick in a Strap Match while using a low blow before the finish. I expect Trick to beat Thorpe in a rematch and Trick will go on to Stand & Deliver against Oba Femi for the NXT Title. That feels like the right match for the S&D show.
(Commercial)
Ricky Saints was talking to Ava backstage saying this is crazy around here and Ava said you’ll get used to it. Ethan Page and Wes Lee interrupted. Je’Von Evans showed up, so Ava booked them in a tag team match.
The TNA Tag Team Champions Matt & Jeff Hardy responded to the challenge from Borne & Heights. The Hardys accepted the challenge. Matt invited Fraxiom to watch the match against Borne & Heights. Jeff said people always wonder what’s next and maybe it’s a Hardy Party at NXT.
Analysis: Good stuff. It will be fun to see The Hardys in a WWE ring again. They are still putting on entertaining matches in TNA after three decades as a team.
UNREAL! 🤯@JEFFHARDYBRAND and @MATTHARDYBRAND have accepted the challenge, and will face NQCC NEXT WEEK in Cincinnati! 😲#WWENXT
🎟️: https://t.co/SgW52D7KkXpic.twitter.com/aDZMNtOD3Y— WWE (@WWE) February 19, 2025
Next Tuesday on NXT:
* The Hardy Boyz – Matt & Jeff Hardy vs. No Quarter Catch Crew – Myles Borne & Tavion Heights (It’s not a title match.)
* NXT North American Women’s Championship:
* TNA X-Division Championship: Moose vs. Lexis King
* Ricky Saints & Je’Von Evans vs. Ethan Page & Wes Lee
The babyface trio of NXT Women’s North American Champion Stephanie Vaquer, Jordynne Grace and NXT Women’s Champion Giulia made their entrance in that order.
(Commercial)
Fatal Influence – Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley & Jazmyn Nyx vs. Jordynne Grace, Stephanie Vaquer & Giulia
Vaquer sent Henley into the turnbuckle and tried to get a pin attempt, but Henley avoided it. Henley hit Vaquer in the throat followed by some shoulder tackles. Nyx tagged in with a boot to the throat of Vaquer. Vaquer hit a boot to the face of Nyx to break free. Giulia tagged in with a forearm on Nyx. Giulia hit an overhead suplex for two. Grace tagged hit a reverse Alabama Slam and a German Suplex on Nyx, so Jayne tagged in. Jayne rolled up Grace for two. Grace went for a lifting move, but Henley and Nyx saved Jayne. All six women were in the ring so it turned into a brawl. Giulia and Vaquer each hit moves to clear the ring. They tossed Jayne out of the ring as well. Grace hit a suicide dive on her three opponents on the floor. Back in the ring, Grace got a two count on Jayne. Vaquer did her repeated knee smash on Jayne with Booker getting excited for the ten of those as usual. Henley got a hold of Vaquer to stop a move and Jayne kicked Vaquer. They went to a break for some fans as the action continued. Jayne hit a cannonball on Vaquer against the turnbuckle for a two count. Henley was back in to send Vaquer into the turnbuckle and Henley hit a splash along with a suplex. Henley nailed Vaquer with a forearm. Henley hit a sliding forearm for two. Nyx tagged in with a bulldog into the turnbuckle and Nyx hit a Perfectplex for two. Jayne kicked Vaquer in the back.
The action continued with Jayne working over Vaquer. Jayne tried a corner splash, but Vaquer blocked it and Vaquer sent Jayne into the turnbuckle. Vaquer hit a dropkick. Vaquer got a rollup for two, but Jayne came back with a running neckbreaker. Nyx was back in with a trip, Jayne with a kick and Henley hit a spinning bulldog-style move for two. Vaquer and Henley each hit a slap. Grace got the tag against Jayne leading to Grace hitting shoulder tackles and body slams for each opponent. Grace hit a double overhead suplex, atomic drop, and a clothesline. Grace hit a clothesline and a Muscle Buster for two. Grace hit from a front slam and Grace kicked Henley off the apron. Jayne came back with a jumping knee on Grace for a two count. Henley and Nyx each made tags leading to a blockbuster neckbreaker and Nyx hit a Nyx kick for two because Giulia and Vaquer broke up the pin. The referee was giving time cues to all the women. Henley suplexed Vaquer across the ring and Giulia hit a slam on Henley. Giulia gave Jayne a belly-to-back suplex. Henley and Jayne sent Giulia into the steel steps. Vaquer hit a cross body block of the top on Jayne and Henley. Grace hit a back fist on Nyx and a Grace Driver for the pinfall win after 13 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Jordynne Grace, Stephanie Vaquer & Giulia
Analysis: ***1/4 It was the official NXT in-ring debut of Grace as a WWE superstar, so of course she was going to get the win and it’s not a surprise that Nyx took the pin. They worked this like a traditional tag where Vaquer was the face in peril for most of the match, Giulia got plenty of offense after that and Grace got the win. It makes Grace look impressive right away in NXT.
The trio of Giulia, Grace, and Vaquer stood tall together in the ring. Grace looked at both of the titles that were held up in the ring.
There was a backstage scene showing the four mystery men leaving the building. The camera showed Mr. Stone looking like he was beaten up in a room that was destroyed. There was writing on the wall that said: “No One Is Safe.” Ava the NXT GM ran in to check on Stone and she asked: “What the hell happened?” That was the end of NXT.
Analysis: The foursome of mystery men didn’t appear in the arena during the show, but they still made their presence felt. I like that there’s still a lot of mystery surrounding the group.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Ricky Saints
- Jordynne Grace, Stephanie Vaquer & Giulia
- Karmen Petrovic, Sol Ruca & Zaria
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The Scoreboard
This week: 8 out of 10
Last week: 7.25
2025 Average: 7.46
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Final Thoughts on WWE NXT
A lot was going on in this episode and I enjoyed it. I thought it was one of the better shows that NXT has had this year. It wasn’t necessarily because of the matches. There was just a lot of action throughout the night. I also enjoyed the TNA impact (see what I did there?) with Moose confronting Oba Femi and The Hardy Boyz are going to be wrestling on NXT next week, which is great.
The women’s division was heavily featured throughout the show with the opening match, a tag team match in the middle and a main event tag team match. The women’s division is so deep right now in all of WWE while NXT has gotten stronger with the addition of Jordynne Grace. The two men’s matches on this show totaled about 10 minutes while the three women’s matches totaled 27 minutes. Girl power!
Ricky Starks is no longer because he is now Ricky Saints. I’m sure fans on social media will whine about it, but like I said in the review, we’ll get used it. I’m glad he’s there. The tag team match next week should be fun. They have a strong lineup for NXT in Cincinnati next week. Great job by NXT all night. It was a fun show.
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Thanks for reading. My contact info is below.
John Canton
Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X @johnreport