The John Report: WWE NXT 06/17/25 Review
This week’s WWE NXT featured four big singles matches in the women’s division and Blake Monroe’s contract signing.
I’m posting this on Friday instead of Wednesday because there was a death in my family and I needed some time. I’m doing it now because writing about wrestling isn’t just a job for me, but it’s good for me to stay busy doing something I enjoy.
When I watch it on Netflix here in Canada, over a day after the show aired, they edit out the commercial breaks, including those with action during the breaks. I won’t be able to recap that part of the action, which is fine. There is usually not much happening there.
They are at the WWE Performance Centre in Orlando for this week’s show. Follow me on Twitter @johnreport, and check out my NXT TV review archive.
I’ll go play-by-play for one or two matches and summary style for the rest of the show. Let’s get to it.
A video package aired about NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne having to deal with several contenders vying for her title.
There are four Evolution Eliminator singles matches in the women’s division. The four winners meet in a 4-way match and the winner of that match gets a shot against Jayne for the NXT Women’s Title at Evolution.
The commentary team is Vic Joseph, Booker T, and Corey Graves. Mike Rome is the ring announcer.
Evolution Eliminator Match: Thea Hail vs. Jaida Parker
Hail attacked Parker in the aisle before the match. Parker got some offense for a bit, but then Hail hit a suicide dive. Hail hit a cross body block off the top for two. Parker was in control for a few minutes with a chinlock, which she turned into a spinning slam as well. After Parker hit a suplex, Hail came back with a suplex. Parker charged at Hail on the floor, Hail moved and Hail sent Parker into the steel steps.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Hail applying the Kimura Lock with a body scissors, but Parker was able to get out of it. Hail applied the Kimura Lock, Parker tapped on the thigh of Hail, but the referee was on the other side and never saw it. Hail felt it, so she let go. Hail spoke to the referee, but he said there was no tap. Parker hit the Hipnotic running hip attack on Hail for the pinfall win. The replay showed there was a tap that wasn’t seen.
Winner by pinfall: Jaida Parker
Analysis: *** A good match with both women bringing the intensity during the match. Hail does a nice job applying the Kimura Lock and making it look credible. I liked the creativity of the finish because Hail has a legit beef since Parker did tap, but the referee never saw it. Well done.
The trio of Josh Briggs, Elijah and Yoshiki Inamura were talking backstage. They talked trash about First Class and Trick Williams. After Elijah left, Hank & Tank talked to Briggs and Inamura, saying that they have a Tag Team Title match waiting for them. Oba Femi, the NXT Champion, walked up to them while Hank & Tank congratulated Oba on the win last week. Oba said that Jasper Troy was the most powerful contender he’s been in the ring with, but he’s still the ruler and it won’t change any time soon. Trick Williams, the TNA World Champion, walked up to Femi. Oba said his money is on these guys tonight, and Trick said he’ll be a broke ruler. Trick mocked Josh and Inamura for wearing leather. Hank & Tank said that was weird.
A video aired about Blake Monroe finding her dress for her contract signing, and she was on her way to the show.
Evolution Eliminator Match: Kelani Jordan vs. Lash Legend
Jordan avoided Lash’s attack and kicked Lash down. Jordan hit a headscissors and dropkick that sent Lash out of the ring. Jordan hit a springboard moonsault onto Lash on the floor.
(Commercial)
Lash was able to get some offense going after blocking a sunset flip, and Lash hit a pump kick for two. Jordan got out of a Torture Rack and hit a Codebreaker double knee attack. Jordan hit an impressive cartwheel elbow. Jordan hit a Frog Splash off the top for two. Lash went for a top rope suplex, but Jordan countered to fall on top for a two count. Jordan went for the 450 Splash, but Lash got the knees up. Lash put Jordan on her back and hit a spinning slam for two.
Winner by pinfall: Lash Legend
Analysis: **3/4 A solid match to put over Lash clean. The finish was one of those where Jordan went for a top rope move, missed it, and Lash capitalized to win. Is it time for a Lash Legend push? It might be after a few years of mostly being a tag team wrestler. I would be in favor of it, since she’s been with this brand for about four years and has grown significantly. Jordan is talented too, but I’m glad Lash won, and I want to see Lash continue picking up wins.
A video package aired about Tony D’Angelo getting turned on by Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, and Tony can’t trust Luca Crusifino.
Tony D’Angelo was standing backstage, Luca Crusifino walked up while on the phone, and Tony said he’ll see him in the ring.
(Commercial)
Let’s Hear from Tony D’Angelo…and Luca Crusifino
Tony D’Angelo was in the ring, saying that as The Don, you have to be prepared for everything, even getting stabbed in the back. Tony said all he wants from Luca Crusifino is his trust and loyalty, so he called out Luca to talk to him in the ring.
Luca Crusifino walked out, asking if this was how he really wanted to do it. Tony said yeah. Luca got in the ring with him, saying he’s not lying to Tony. Luca said that two guys put him in the trunk of the car and then they let him out. Luca said that Stacks took his phone, he left, and there wasn’t a human in sight. Tony said that Luca walked out at Battleground and stared at Tony like an idiot, so Tony wondered if he could trust Luca. Luca said yeah. Luca said that he’s a Consigliere who advises people, but now he had to make a decision on his own. Tony said that the eyes never lie, so he wanted Luca to stare Tony in the eye and tell Tony if Luca is with Stacks. Luca said I promise you…and here is Stacks.
Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo walked out with three dudes in white shirts. Stacks said that Luca is your Consigliere, yet Tony doesn’t believe in him. Stacks said that he’s known Luca for years and Stacks said he hasn’t questioned his loyalty. Stacks said there’s a reason why he saved Luca in the desert. Stacks said that Luca will never be good enough to be Tony’s Consigliere and he told Luca he knows what to do next. The white shirt dudes attacked Tony, who fought back, Luca fought with Stacks and Luca delivered a punch, but Stacks moved and Luca punched Tony to knock him down. Luca was stunned by it, Stacks was smiling and Tony was down to end it.
Analysis: It’s the classic “did he mean to do it or was it an accident?” story as we are left to wonder if Luca meant to punch Tony or was he going for Stacks? I think it makes sense for Luca to join Stacks, but I’m unsure where it’s headed. It’s not the most compelling story on the show by any means, although Tony D has been around for four years, and at some point, he either needs to go to the main roster or pull the plug on the mafia gimmick.
Trick Williams spoke with AJ Francis and KC Navarro, who were dealing with an injury in training. Francis said that KC can’t go tonight, so they found somebody who can. It was Wes Lee with The High Ryze group. Wes said that he has a history with Trick, and Wes said he knows TNA. Wes said that they had issues in the past, but tonight they are on the same page, and they were happy as a group.
(Commercial)
There was a Chase U video featuring Andre Chase talking to his class, which also featured Kale Dixon and Urijah Connors. Chase told the class to thrive under pressure. Chase told Kale that he has to adjust to Chase U because, to make it in this world, you have to do more than learn; you have to get tough. Kale and Urijah left. Urijah said, “What a shame,” to Chase, who swore back at them.
Blake Monroe was shown arriving at the building. Booker was excited, of course. I doubt he was the only one excited.
Elijah made his entrance with Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura.
(Commercial)
Tavion Heights was talking to Je’Von Evans and Wren Sinclair, who said she hasn’t talked to Charlie Dempsey. Evans spoke with Jasper Troy about how well he did last week and said he’s a future champion, but not before Jasper. Troy told Evans to get out of his face. Dempsey joined the chat with Heights, Sinclair, and Evans, who said Heights doesn’t want to be in the No Quarter Catch Crew group. Dempsey suggested Heights in a match with Evans, and if Heights wins, then he’s out of the group. Evans said that means Heights will remain in the group. Heights said no. Evans told Charlie he needed a hug, so Wren hugged Charlie, who is not a hugger.
Elijah, Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura vs. Trick Williams, Wes Lee & AJ Francis (w/KC Navarro, Tyriek Igwe & Tyson Dupont)
Lee attacked Inamura with dropkicks to the knee. Inamura came back with a shoulder tackle. Briggs tagged in, leading to a double team strike to knock down Lee. AJ tagged in with a shoulder tackle on Briggs. Trick tagged in, Briggs hit a sidewalk slam and a splash. Elijah worked over Trick with an armbar, Trick broke free, did a leapfrog and Elijah hit a jumping clothesline. Elijah did a rope walk, leading to a knee strike for two. Trick got back into it with a jumping sidekick. Elijah got a hold of Trick on the floor and Elijah sent Trick into the barricade. AJ teased a dive, but then he stopped. Inamura and Briggs knocked down AJ in the ring. Elijah jumped off the top with an elbow drop on AJ.
(Commercial)
It was AJ against Inamura, who hit some forearms and a shoulder tackle, but the big man AJ hit a Spear for a two count. AJ did a running corner attack and left the ring by going over the top, while Lee tagged in with a splash on Inamura. Lee kicked Inamura a few times, but Inamura hit a spinning powerslam. Briggs tagged in to hit a jumping clothesline, and Trick bumped too early, so it didn’t look great. Elijah was back in for his team with punches and kicks for Trick, along with a twisting neckbreaker suplex. Briggs sent Lee out of the ring, Elijah hit a knee to knock AJ off the apron. Lee hit a twisting splash on Trick, who had to move into position for it. Elijah threw Lee over the top onto High Ryze. Briggs splashed onto AJ on the floor. Inamura hit a top rope Superfly Splash on Trick for the pinfall win. It went about 11 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Elijah, Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura
Analysis: ***1/4 I liked the match, and I was surprised by the finish with Inamura pinning the TNA World Champion Williams. There were some spots where they were off a bit, but they recovered fine, and I thought the final few minutes were very good. Elijah worked well with Briggs and Inamura. Also, AJ Francis is a lot better now compared to when he was in WWE as Top Dolla, and Lee is consistently good, of course.
Sol Ruca was backstage with Zaria, and Sol was giving Zaria some words of encouragement ahead of her match. Tatum Paxley was watching them from the background.
(Commercial)
Ava, the NXT GM, was in her office with Robert Stone and Stevie Turner. There was noise outside, so Ava opened the door to show that it was Tony D arguing with Luca, who said his punch was meant for Stacks. Tony wanted Luca to face Stacks. Ava said she can’t give Luca a match against Stacks because Stacks is defending the NXT Heritage Cup against Noam Dar. Ava mentioned Stacks recently beat a former NXT Heritage Cup champion, Tony D’Angelo, so he earned a title shot. Ava said Stacks’ Consigliere signed off on it, Luca said it wasn’t him, and Tony left angrily.
Evolution Eliminator Match: Zaria (w/Sol Ruca) vs. Izzi Dame (w/Shawn Spears & Niko Vance)
Dame connected with a boot to the face early on. Zaria hit a splash on Dame and a suplex. Dame got a bit of offense with a shoulder tackle against the turnbuckle. Zaria came back with a headbutt.
(Commercial)
The match continued with Dame sending Zaria into the turnbuckle, and Dame hit a jumping knee smash. Dame hit a boot to the face and a body slam for two. Dame hit a Chokeslam for a two count. That was well done and it makes sense for Dame to use a match like that as one of the taller women in NXT. Zaria managed to get some offense going again with a hiptoss, two clotheslines and a pump kick. Zaria connected with a German Suplex. Tatum Paxley showed up to hug Ruca, who screamed, so Zaria was distracted by that and Dame hit a Sky High sitout spinebuster for the pinfall win after 8 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Izzi Dame
Analysis: **3/4 It was a solid match with Zaria getting a lot of offense, but Dame managed to pull out the win thanks to the creative finish involving Tatum Paxley hugging Ruca, which distracted Zaria so that Dame could finish her off. Zaria appears to be on the same page with Ruca, but I think that’s going to end soon with Zaria turning heel on her friend out of jealousy. Big win for Dame, who has a bright future.
Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura were backstage, with Briggs saying that Inamura deserves a TNA World Title match. Yoshiki said he was here for him, and he wanted Briggs to get the TNA World Champion. Yoshiki said Briggs can be the TNA World Champion while Yoshiki can be the NXT Champion. Briggs was excited about that.
Analysis: I don’t think Yoshiki’s prediction of both of them winning major singles gold is going to happen, but maybe the Tag Team Titles in the future.
Lola Vice was up next followed by Jordynne Grace, who has some new generic theme music. Grace used to have the siren music from her TNA days, as she was known as Big Momma Pump, like Scott Steiner. However, WWE changed the song because it was too similar to Bron Breakker’s music, and Bron is Scott Steiner’s nephew, so it makes sense for him to keep it. The new song Jordynne has is very generic, though.
Evolution Eliminator Match: Jordynne Grace vs. Lola Vice
Vice got some offense early with the kick combo to the ribs, followed by her “I’m a Latina” running hip attack against the turnbuckle.
(Commercial)
Grace got some offense going with a forearm to the jaw. Grace slammed Vice and tried a splash off the turnbuckle, but Vice caught Grace in a triangle choke around the head/neck. Grace hit a Powerbomb to get out of it to show off her power. Vice hit an armbar into a slam and Vice hit a spinning kick for two with the fans buying that as a nearfall. Grace hit an overhead suplex and Grace hit her Beast Mode sitout slam for the pinfall win that went about 8 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Jordynne Grace
Analysis: *** Good match that was fast paced and full of action. Vice got that nearfall with the spin kick where it looked like she might win it, but Grace kicked out and found a way to win.
That means the four-way match next week will be between Jaida Parker, Lash Legend, Izzi Dame, and Jordynne Grace. They replayed the finishes of those matches.
Zaria was backstage with Sol Ruca and Tatum Paxley. Zaria yelled at Tatum about costing her the match. Paxley said she didn’t mean to do that. Dame told Paxley that they aren’t Tatum’s real friends and they don’t include Tatum in their Tiktok videos. Dame said if it were her, she would include Tatum, who left. Blake Monroe was shown walking backstage.
(Commercial)
Noam Dar was featured in a video talking about how he’s the NXT Heritage Cup champion, and he’s the gold standard as the champion.
Next week on NXT:
* NXT Heritage Cup match: Noam Dar vs. Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo
* TNA World Championship: Trick Williams vs. Josh Briggs
* Evolution Eliminator #1 Contender’s Fatal 4-Way Match: Izzi Dame vs. Jaida Parker vs. Lash Legend vs. Jordynne Grace
Analysis: I think Dar and Trick will win. I’m going with Lash Legend in the four-way, but it may be Grace.
Blake Monroe Signs NXT Contract
Ava, the NXT GM, was in the ring with a table and chairs as she welcomed Blake Monroe to NXT for her contract signing. Blake’s song started by saying “Glamour is forever” and she got a standing ovation. Blake is a beautiful woman, so they are pushing the idea that she’s like bombshell.
Blake said that the moment is finally here. Blake said that this is the best women’s division in the world and she’s been dreaming of hopping into bed with the kind of talent in that locker room. Blake said that it’s no secret that WWE has always been her dream. Blake said now that she’s here, this women’s division is all hers. Blake said that she raises the bar, turns heads and redefines what it means to be a star. Blake said that the spotlight is firmly on The Glamour, Blake Monroe. Blake signed her contract with a pink pen.
Analysis: Good promo from the confident Brit, Blake. She is good in the ring and knows how to be an entertaining character who can talk too. Blake can do it all.
Jacy Jayne, the NXT Women’s Champion, arrived with her Fatal Influence friends Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx. Jayne and the girls got into the ring with Blake. Jayne complained about Ava giving attention to Blake since Fatal Influence has been running this division. Blake said that Fatal Influence are as insecure as they are bitches. Jayne said that this division doesn’t need Blake, who is a new flavor of the month. Blake cut her off with a slap to the face. Henley went after Blake, so Blake knocked her down with forearms. Jayne nailed Blake with an elbow smash. Jayne and Henley picked up Blake with a double spinebuster through the table in the ring. Jayne and Fatal Influence celebrated over a fallen Blake Monroe.
There was another rundown of next week’s show. Jayne and Fatal Influence celebrated in the aisle while Blake was selling on the broken table. Jayne held up her title. That was the end of the show.
Analysis: I thought it was an entertaining segment to establish Jacy Jayne as a jealous NXT Women’s Champion, who immediately turned Blake Monroe into a target. It could lead to Blake being the woman to take the title from Jayne. We saw women like Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer win titles within a few months of their debut, as WWE wanted them on the main roster within a year. This may be the case with Monroe, too. Jayne does a nice job as a heel champion.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Blake Monroe – Welcome to NXT
- Lash Legend, Jordynne Grace, Jaida Parker, Izzi Dame
- Elijah, Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura
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The Scoreboard
This week: 7 out of 10
Last week: 7.25
2025 Average: 7.42
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Final Thoughts on WWE NXT
The show was okay, with the women’s division featured heavily, as all four matches lasted around 8-10 minutes. They mainly had clean finishes, except for Zaria losing due to a distraction. The Parker/Hail match also had a creative finish. I like that wrestlers have to win matches to earn a title shot, which leads to the big four-way match next week. It makes the matches mean more, rather than just granting title shots.
They advanced some of the stories for the men, but they weren’t on as much since there was only one men’s match. I liked the six-man tag team match. Tony D’s story with Luca Crusifino and Stacks continued as Tony continues to have trust issues.
I liked the main event segment. I thought Blake Monroe would be a heel right away, but being attacked by Jayne and friends means Monroe could be a babyface and that’s fine with me.
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John Canton
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Twitter/X @johnreport