The John Report: WWE NXT 03/18/25 Review
This week on WWE NXT featured Trick Williams battling Eddy Thorpe, Chelsea Green facing Sol Ruca, and more.
It’s NXT back home in Orlando after last week’s awesome Roadblock show in New York City. I’ll do summary style for most of the show and play-by-play for one or two matches.
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 Roadblock highlights.
There was some earlier in the day walking shown of Stephanie Vaquer, Trick Williams, Eddy Thorpe, and Ricky Starks.
The commentary team was Vic Joseph and Booker T. No Corey Graves since he was on Raw in Belgium, so he’s off NXT for this week.
WWE Women’s United States Championship: Chelsea Green (w/Piper Niven & Alba Fyre) vs. Sol Ruca (w/Zaria)
Sol pinned Green in a recent tag team match, so Sol gets a title match. Green went for a monkey flip out of the corner, but Sol landed on her feet and Sol hit a spinning slam. Fyre distracted the referee, so Niven grabbed Sol’s leg, Sol jumped off the top, Green avoided it and Green hit a chop block on the left knee. They went to a break for some fans as Green continued on offense working on the left knee.
The match continued with Sol making the comeback by hitting a missile dropkick off the top to knock Green down. Sol hit a shoulder tackle, but when Sol went for a springboard attack, she collapsed to sell the leg injury. Sol tried it again and knocked Green down. Green hit the Rough Ryder leg lariat that her husband Matt Cardona (fka Zack Ryder) uses and it got a two count. Sol did a cartwheel DDT off the top for two because Fyre put Green’s foot on the bottom rope for a two count. Zaria hit a Spear on Fyre on the floor and Niven knocked down Zaria on the floor. Sol did a moonsault onto Niven on the floor. This allowed Green to recover with double knees and Sol rolled up Green for two. Green hit the left leg again followed by Green hitting the Unpretty-her for the pinfall win after about 10 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Chelsea Green
Analysis: *** A good match that saw the heel champion Green win thanks to the assist from Fyre. Sol got plenty of offense in the match, but this was all about giving the heel champion Green a win. Sol sold the left leg injury well for most of the match. Ruca has a bright future for sure, but I didn’t expect a title change in this match. The way this was booked is how most of Green’s defenses will be where she gets the cheap win because of allies outside the ring.
The Men’s locker room was shown with Je’Von Evans going up to Trick Williams saying he understands what Trick has been saying as Evans talked about getting attacked by four guys who have taken out other people. Trick said that he’s on his way to getting back the NXT Title. Trick told Evans just because they have dreads doesn’t mean they have to be friends and told Evans to tighten up. Trick left. Lexis King, the NXT Heritage Cup Champion, talked to Evans to say look on the bright side that he can eat solid food again. Evans punched King and left.
Stephanie Vaquer, the NXT Women’s & NXT Women’s North American Champion, was shown walking backstage for a segment up next.
A commercial aired for WWE Backlash on Saturday, May 10th.
(Commercial)
The D’Angelo Family was backstage getting ready. Stacks suggested that Tony D’Angelo stays in the back for the match because they need Tony to be 100% and Tony said he liked it. Tony said if the Underboss Stacks says it’s handled then he knows it is handled.
Let’s Hear from Stephanie Vaquer
The NXT Women’s Champion and NXT Women’s North American Champion Stephanie Vaquer made her entrance to a good ovation from the crowd. The fans like her and respect her.
Stephanie said that this is difficult for her since English is not her first language and she said that wrestling is her first language. Vaquer said she could have signed anywhere, but she chose to go to NXT to make it the best women’s division on the planet. Vaquer said she proved why she’s La Primera so the fans chanted “La Primera” for her. Vaquer said holding these two titles make her the best of the best. Vaquer said she was looking for her first opponent to look her in the eyes.
Jordynne Grace interrupted while wearing these massive boots that had about six-inch heels. They make her look a lot taller at least. Grace said that last week she beat Roxanne Perez, who elevated that NXT Title to a different level. Jaida Parker showed up at ringside and knocked Grace down. Parker hit a running hip attack to knock Grace down.
Parker said that the line starts after Parker and said she is not waiting until Stand & Deliver to make her point. Parker congratulated Parker on her win. Parker went into the ring and told Vaquer to bask in her glory and maximize being a double champion. Parker said that she’s looking Stephanie dead in her eyes and Parker will make her reap what you sow.
Analysis: That’s a nice tease of a championship match with Vaquer and Parker. I thought Vaquer might have to give up the Women’s North American Title, but it doesn’t appear that will be the case, at least for now. The Parker attack on Grace will probably lead to the two of them facing up for a shot at Vaquer’s title or maybe both titles. I certainly don’t mind Parker in this spot because she’s a star on the rise. Also, Vaquer did just fine in terms of speaking English as her second language. Vaquer has quickly become one of my favorite women’s wrestlers not just in NXT, but all of WWE as well.
The team of Hank & Tank were in the locker room hyping eachother up for their match coming up. They were talking about being “extreme” after a pep talk from The Hardys recently.
(Commercial)
Hank Walker & Tank Ledger vs. Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura
Briggs hit a running clothesline on Hank early on. Tank tagged in with a shoulder tackle on Inamura. Hank sent both opponents out of the ring. Hank & Tank tried to jump onto their opponents on the floor, but Briggs and Inamura moved out of the way. Inamura was in control of Tank with a spinning body slam. Briggs was back in with a boot to the face. After Tank hit a clothesline, Hank got a hot tag. Hank was on fire with a running splash and bulldog on Briggs. Hank hit a Bossman Slam on Briggs. Tank tagged in for the double team splash and double team spinning Powerbomb combo for two. Tank went for a Swanton Bomb trying to take it the extreme, so Briggs moved and Inamura sent Hank off the turnbuckle to the floor. Briggs hit a running clothesline on Tank. Inamura hit a Superfly Splash off the top for the pinfall win after about six minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura
Analysis: **1/2 I thought this would be the start of Hank & Tank getting a push by picking up a big win, but it didn’t happen. Instead, the story was about Hank & Tank going for top rope moves, which they are not used to doing, and it was a mistake because Briggs & Inamura capitalized to get the win.
It’s a six-person tag team match up next with The D’Angelo Family against The Culling group.
(Commercial)
Eddy Thorpe was shown in the Men’s Locker room where people walked away from him. Ridge Holland talked to Thorpe, who said they have some stuff in common. Thorpe said that they don’t accept them no matter how hard they try. Ridge said he liked that attitude. Ridge trashed Ricky Saints and Thorpe said that Ricky is a sports entertainer like Trick Williams. Ridge said he’ll take care of his opponent while Eddy should take care of his opponent. Eddy agreed.
The D’Angelo Family – Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, Luca Crusifino & Adrianna Rizzo vs. The Culling – Brooks Jensen, Niko Vance & Izzi Dame (w/Shawn Spears)
It’s men against men and women against women in this match. The Family attacked The Culling on the floor and the women started the match as Rizzo hit Dame with a dropkick. Stacks worked over Brooks with punches while Tony D was watching on a TV backstage. Niko tagged in and cleared the ring. Dame and Rizzo each hit double knee attacks. Stacks was back in with a springboard forearm on Niko. Luca and Stacks each hit dives on the floor. Dame dove onto The Family’s guys. Rizzo hit a suicide dive onto Dame on the floor. They went to a break for some fans as the action continued. The ladies were in action during some of the break with Rizzo in control, but Dame tagged out to bring the guys in. Brooks was in control of Stacks with a kick to the head. Brooks hit an elbow drop off the turnbuckle for a two count.
The Culling remained in control of Stacks as the face-in-peril. Brooks hit some hard slaps, and a top rope bulldog and a scissors kick for two. Stacks managed to break free and Rizzo dove onto Dame to take them out of the ring. Luca got the hot tag with uppercuts, clotheslines, and a shoulder tackle. Luca was impressive with a flip over the turnbuckle leading to a shoulder tackle. Rizzo tackled Dame out of the ring. The Family hit the Shatter Machine double team move. The four mystery guys called the “four rogue athletes” attacked Tony D backstage and gave him a Powerbomb through a table in the back. It was shown on the screen in the building, so The Family was distracted. Niko hit a spinning slam off the shoulders on Luca for the pinfall win after 11 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: The Culling – Brooks Jensen, Niko Vance & Izzi Dame
Analysis: **3/4 A pretty good match that was chaotic by the end of it. They did the distraction finish with the wrestlers in the ring looking at Tony D getting attacked on the floor and by focusing on that, it cost The Family the match while The Culling continued their positive momentum. I was really impressed by Brooks Jensen in this match. It looks like he has improved a lot.
Ava the NXT GM told Stephanie Vaquer that she will defend the NXT Title against Jaida Parker next week. Fallon Henley walked in saying she wants her rematch for the NXT Women’s North American Title. Fallon said she wants the match next week. Ava didn’t like that because Stephanie had a match already, but Stephanie said to give her the match. They said Fallon’s match would be second. Fallon left while Ava said it was a big night for Stephanie with two tile matches next week.
Analysis: That could mean that Vaquer loses the title back to Henley since Vaquer likely isn’t going to keep both titles for a long time.
Karmen Petrovic entered with Ashante Thee Adonis for a match up next.
(Commercial)
There was a replay of Tony D’Angelo getting attacked backstage.
Jacy Jayne (w/Fallon Henley & Jazmyn Nyx) vs. Karmen Petrovic (w/Ashante Thee Adonis)
Karmen was in control early on with a sweep kick and a dropkick. Booker was claiming Adonis is going to leave Karmen. Jayne came back with a kick to knock Karmen down along with a senton splash. Jayne hit a cannonball against the turnbuckle. Karmen and Jayue did a double clothesline spot. Adonis grabbed a chair from under the ring and he slid it to Karmen while the referee saw the chair. Karmen gave the chair back. Karmen jumped over Jayne by the turnbuckle and Jayne hit a rolling elbow smash for the pinfall win after five minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Jacy Jayne
Analysis: **1/4 There were some recent wins for Karmen, but this time the story was that Adonis wanted Karmen to cheat and Karmen didn’t want to do it, so Jayne took advantage to get the win. I’d like to see Jayne get a push, but it feels like they always want to push Henley as a singles wrestler in this group instead.
Hank & Tank were talking in the locker room about how they got advice from The Hardy Boyz and they still came up short. Hank said maybe they needed more advice. Wes Lee walked in with Tyson & Tyriek, who made fun of Hank & Tank saying they should stick to what they are good at – eating contests. Wes and his buddies laughed and they left.
Ricky Saints made his entrance for his first singles match in NXT after a break.
A commercial aired about WWE NXT Stand & Deliver on Saturday, April 19 with the early 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT start time.
(Commercial)
Jaida Parker spoke into a camera backstage saying she was done waiting around. Karmen Petrovic was shown walking away from Ashante backstage. Parker said that she wants to walk into Stand & Deliver as NXT Women’s Champion and she said she was going to beat Stephanie Vaquer to be the new champion.
Ridge Holland vs. Ricky Saints
There was a dropkick from Ricky early on and then Ridge came back with a forearm. Ridge hit a powerslam. Ridge was in control for another minute until Ricky hit a running elbow smash, but Ridge tripped up Ricky on the turnbuckle. Ridge hit a backbreaker onto the shoulder. Ridge suplexed Ricky over the top to the floor. They went to a break for some fans as the action continued. Ridge was on offense for about three minutes working over Ricky, who was selling a back injury.
Ricky countered Ridge by jumping onto Ridge’s back and floating over for a pin attempt for two. Ricky tried to fight back with punches, but Ridge hit a backbreaker across the shoulder again. Ridge lifted up Ricky for a move, Ricky kicked off the turnbuckle to break free and Ricky hit a back body drop. Ricky hit an enziguri kick so Ridge did a flip bump and Ricky hit a swinging neckbreaker. Ricky managed to hit a Tornado DDT off the ropes. Ricky powered up Ridge for the spinning slam not exactly like his Rochambeau finish but more like a reverse powerslam for the pinfall win after 12 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Ricky Saints
Analysis: ***1/4 I enjoyed the match that was done to put over Ricky Saints in his first singles match. That result was never in doubt because it’s not like Ridge is going to lose a match like that. The match had a lot of Ridge on offense and he’s not the most exciting guy to watch. Ricky did a nice job with his comeback on his way to the ring.
There was a plug for “Stone Cold” Steve Austin appearing at WWE World during WrestleMania 41 weekend for signings in Las Vegas on Saturday and Sunday of WrestleMania. It’s Stone Cold, so those signings won’t be cheap.
The Trick Williams-Eddy Thorpe match was next.
(Commercial)
A video aired for the Roast of WrestleMania on April 20th (after WrestleMania Sunday) in Las Vegas with comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. It’s not televised.
There was a replay of Tony D’Angelo getting attacked earlier in the night.
Dion Lennox and his friends were there without bandanas on their faces. It was Dion Lennox, Culer James (from WWE LFG), Saquon Shugars and Osiris Griffin. Dion said that waiting around got them nowhere, so they are taking their spot. Cutler said that they aren’t built to sit on the sidelines. Cutler said that they are four game changers and difference makers. Griffin said that the landscape of NXT didn’t work for them, so they are reshaping it how they want it. Shugars said when Darkstate strikes, ain’t nobody safe and the chaos is going to continue. Shugars felt like they haven’t made their statement yet, so they went back into the building.
Analysis: It’s nice to know this group finally has a name – Darkstate. I’m glad that they have a name and they got to do a promo. Good job by them. I’m excited to see how Darkstate develops.
"When Darkstate strike, ain't nobody safe!"
Attention to everyone in the locker room, Darkstate is here to create chaos… 😮💨#WWENXTpic.twitter.com/Ryp74ASVhM
— WWE (@WWE) March 19, 2025
Next week on NXT:
* NXT Women’s Championship: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jaida Parker kicks off the night
* NXT Women’s North American Championship: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Fallon Henley in the main event
* NXT Heritage Cup Match: Lexis King vs. Je’Von Evans
Ricky Saints was interviewed by Kelly Kincaid backstage. Ricky said that every win counts and every moment matters. Ricky said that he was going to bring a revolution and The Culling group interrupted. Niko Vance said that the revolution was happening before his eyes. Izzi Dame said that Ricky has charisma and star power, but she doesn’t think he measures up. Ricky said he always measures up in the right places and the crowd let out an “ooohhh” reaction to that. Shawn Spears, the NXT North American, scoffed at Ricky and walked away.
Analysis: Nice line by Starks there. This teases the idea of a Spears-Starks match for the NXT North American Title soon.
Eddy Thorpe made his entrance for the NXT Underground Match in the main event.
(Commercial)
There were wrestlers from WWE Evolve and WWE LFG at ringside to watch the main event match from ringside.
NXT Underground: Trick Williams vs. Eddy Thorpe
There are no counts, no pinfalls and the only way to win is by knockout, TKO, or submission. The ring ropes are not there for this match either.
It started with Thorpe getting a takedown around the waist and they rolled out of the ring to the floor. Trick sent Thorpe into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Trick punched Thorpe with an uppercut and Thorpe landed on some wrestlers on the floor. Trick went for a forearm strike, but Thorpe avoided it. Back in the ring, Thorpe hit a running knee strike. Thorpe gave Trick a belly-to-back suplex through the commentary table. They went back into the ring where Trick unloaded with punches and two body slams. Thorpe came back with a Triangle Choke around the head/neck of Trick until Trick managed to pick Thorpe up and Trick tossed Thorpe onto some wrestlers on the floor. Trick went for a kick, Thorpe avoided it and Trick hit a Trick Shot knee. Trick got onto Thorpe with hammer fists so the referee stopped the fight. It went 4 minutes.
Winner by TKO: Trick Williams
Analysis: ** It was shorter than most NXT Underground matches since it was kept under four minutes. I think they booked it that way to show that Trick won the feud decisively by knocking Thorpe out and it’s time for Trick to move on to something else. The win by Thorpe in the Strap Match was a way to prolong the feud, but it was obvious that Trick would win the feud. Trick didn’t get much offense other than one move with the jumping Trick Shot knee. This match being only four minutes will likely upset some fans who wanted to see a longer match, but I get why WWE did it to put over Trick in a big way.
Trick Williams did a promo saying it was Stand & Deliver season, so he wanted NXT Champion Oba Femi to bring his “punk ass” out here and he told Oba to bring Trick’s title. Oba Femi went down to the ring with the NXT Title. Femi got into the ring with Trick for a staredown. The lights went out in the building. The Darkstate foursome was shown in the crowd.
Je’Von Evans went into the ring to get between Trick and Femi, so Trick shoved Evans down. Trick and Femi got into a fight as they exchanged punches. Other wrestlers around ringside tried to break it up. Trick and Femi beat up the guys that were trying to break up the fight. Evans got back into it with a Cutter on Femi to put him down. Evans had a staredown with Trick to show that Evans was focused. The Darkstate group remained in the crowd watching what was happening. There was a replay of Evans dropping Femi with a Cutter. Vic plugged the two title matches next week.
Trick and Evans continued to have a staredown. Vic asked: “Does Je’Von Evans have your attention now?” Evans kept staring at Trick and that was the end of the show.
Analysis: I liked this as a show-closing angle to tease the idea of a Femi-Trick-Evans triple threat match, but they might go with Trick vs. Evans in singles to see who will challenge Femi for the NXT Title at Stand & Deliver. They have a few options there.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Ricky Saints
- Chelsea Green
- Trick Williams
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The Scoreboard
This week: 7 out of 10
Last week: 9
2025 Average: 7.52
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Final Thoughts on WWE NXT
It was a step back from last week’s outstanding show, which is not surprising because the lineup last week was a lot stronger than this week.
Trick Williams looked impressive with a quick, decisive win and I’m not surprised by Ricky Starks winning his first singles match. Plenty of other stories were advanced as well. It was nice to see the Darkstate group finally get a name instead of having to call them “four rogue athletes” repeatedly.
Next week has two Stephanie Vaquer title defenses, so it’s cool to see her getting a lot of attention.
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John Canton
Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X @johnreport