The John Report: WWE NXT 07/08/25 Review
This week’s WWE NXT featured Hank & Tank defending the Tag Team Titles against The Culling, plus a Women’s Summit in the main event.
It’s the final NXT episode before the Great American Bash on Saturday. 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.
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. They taped this episode a week earlier so that they could give the talent and staff some time off.
The commentary team was Vic Joseph, Booker T and Corey Graves. Mike Rome was the ring announcer.
Gauntlet Match: Ricky Saints vs. The Vanity Project (w/Ethan Page)
Ricky Saints vs. Brad Baylor
Saints connected with a dropkick, followed by a backbreaker. Baylor hit a suplex onto the knee for two. Baylor is just 20 years old, and he looks it. Baylor hit a double underhook suplex for two. Ricky came back with clotheslines and a back body drop. Ricky hit an impressive Tornado DDT off the ropes for the pinfall.
Ricky Saints vs. Ricky Smokes
Smokes hit a spinning suplex for two. They went to a break for some fans as the action continued on Netflix. Saints hit a huge move when he suplexed Smokes over the top onto the floor. Jackson Drake attacked Saints by throwing him into the barricade while the referee wasn’t looking.
The match continued with Saints hitting an overhead belly-to-belly suplex across the ring, and a reverse DDT followed. Saints hit an atomic drop and a jackknife pin for the win.
Ricky Saints vs. Jackson Drake
Drake is the Evolve Champion and is skinny like the other two guys. Drake was in control with a kick to the back. Drake hit a roundhouse kick to the head and a double knee attack to the ribs for two. Ricky hit a spinning slam off the shoulders. Drake hit a superkick, but a springboard Swanton didn’t work because Ricky got the knees up. Ricky hit a clothesline, followed by the Roshambo powerslam for the pinfall win after about 12 minutes.
Winner of the Gauntlet Match: Ricky Saints
Analysis: *** A good performance from Ricky Starks in a match that he was obviously going to win. I liked how three falls took place with Saints doing different moves to win. The trio of Drake, Smokes, and Baylor all have bright futures as guys in their 20s who are going to get better as they get more time in the ring.
The win means that Ricky Saints gets to pick the stipulation for the North American Title match against Ethan Page at the Great American Bash.
Ricky Saints said that at Great American Bash, he said he’ll dogwalk Ethan Page’s ass around Atlanta. Ricky said it will be a Falls Count Anywhere Match. Ricky’s music played to end it.
Analysis: That Page-Saints match could be a title change. I have said that I think Page is more than ready for the main roster, but so is Saints. Anyway, it should be a great match, as usual, by two guys who are familiar with eachother.
Zaria & Sol Ruca were in the women’s locker room talking about their Women’s Tag Team Title match at Evolution. Lainey Reid walked in to trash talk them, so Kelani Jordan and Lola Vice reminded Lainey she got there. Ruca wished good luck to whoever is in the battle royal. Ried and Jordan argued so they will probably have a match.
Analysis: The Zaria-Ruca team was added to the Women’s Tag Team Title match at Evolution, even though they lost a tag team match last week on NXT. That’s lazy booking on WWE’s part.
There was a commercial for NXT Great American Bash, Saturday Night’s Main Event, and Evolution taking place this Saturday and Sunday. A lot of writing for me!
(Commercial)
There was a video shown from earlier today featuring Jordynne Grace working out. Blake Monroe called, so Grace said that Blake was supposed to be training. Blake told Grace they’ll have a Glamour Workout. Grace agreed to go.
Tavion Heights vs. Charlie Dempsey (w/Wren Sinclair)
If Heights wins, then he can leave the No Quarter Catch Crew. Heights was wrestling with a facemask on due to a previous injury.
Heights hit a dropkick that knocked Dempsey out of the ring. Heights applied an armbar on Dempsey on the mat. Dempsey took the facemask off Dempsey and slapped Heights in the face. Heights attacked Dempsey with punches and a leaping clothesline. They did a collision spot on the floor, so both guys were down. They went to a break for some fans as the action continued. Heights hit an impressive powerslam, followed by a suplex. Dempsey suplexed Heights over the top to the floor, so Heights hit the apron hard before he hit the floor. Dempsey was in control with a headlock.
There was a great counter move as Heights bounced Dempsey off the top rope, leading to a powerslam in the ring. Heights and Dempsey tumbled out of the ring to the floor again. Dempsey trapped Tavion’s leg against the steel steps and Dempsey stomped on the leg repeatedly against the steps. Dempsey had a single leg crab on the left leg. Dempsey wrenched on the left leg, and then Dempsey locked his hands while bending Tavion’s neck. Wren Sinclair threw a white towel in the ring, so the referee called for the bell. It went about 9 minutes.
Winner by submission: Charlie Dempsey
Analysis: **3/4 When I saw Wren with the white towel during her entrance, it didn’t surprise me that the match ended with the towel being thrown in. Heights sold the leg and hip injury well throughout the match, while Dempsey was relentless. It gives Dempsey a big win while not allowing Heights to leave the NQCC yet.
The NXT Tag Team Champions Hank & Tank talked about how they are going to take care of The Culling tonight. Lexis King was in the background. Je’Von Evans walked in, saying that he was excited to see them fired back. Evans discussed how he exacted revenge against Jasper Troy and wanted to see Hank and Tank do their thing. Troy attacked Evans and Troy splashed Evans into the garage door. Hank & Tank held Troy back to stop it.
Analysis: That is obviously building to an Evans match against Troy. It has been built up well.
The TNA team of Mike Santana and Joe Hendry entered for tag team action.
Mike Santana & Joe Hendry vs. The High Ryze – Tyson Dupont & Tyriek Igwe (w/Wes Lee)
The team of Joe and Mike were in control to start the match, and they went on a break for some fans after one minute. The match continued for us on Netflix. Mike and Joe worked well together, as Joe hit Igwe with an elbow. The heels took over after Lee caused a distraction, so Hendry was the face in peril.
It was Dupont in control with a running uppercut on Joe. Igwe had Joe trapped in a tight headlock until Joe hit a suplex to break free. Mike got the hot tag and was on fire with slams on both opponents, followed by Mike hitting a somersault dive over the top onto Dupont. Joe did his high jump leap over the top onto Igwe. Mike went up top, Lee was on the apron to distract and Trick Williams showed up to send Joe into the steel steps. Mike avoided Dupont, who hit the turnbuckle, and Mike hit Spin the Block for the pinfall win after about 9 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Mike Santana & Joe Hendry
Analysis: **3/4 A solid tag team match to put over Santana and Hendry since they’re in the TNA World Title match at Slammiversary. Tyson and Tyriek have improved a lot over the last year as heels with Lee, but they weren’t there to win this match. Santana is very good after getting the hot tag. The fans believe in him, just like Hendry.
After the match, Trick Williams and The High Ryze boys beat up Santana and Hendry. Trick nailed a Trick Shot knee. Trick stood tall to end it.
Analysis: The numbers game was in play here since it was a 4-on-2 attack. I like Trick working with Lee’s group, but I’m not sure if it will be a regular occurrence moving forward, or if it’s just a convenient arrangement following the match that took place.
A replay was shown last week when Yoshiki Inamura beat Jasper Troy to earn an NXT Title shot at the Great American Bash. There were encouraging words from The Great Muta, Iyo Sky, and other Japanese wrestlers, all of whom encouraged Inamura to win.
Yoshiki Inamura and Josh Briggs were shown walking backstage since they were up next.
(Commercial)
Darkstate was featured in a video where Dion Lennox talked about how they attacked Matt Cardona in TNA Wrestling. Saquon Shugars said that they’ll see TNA again soon. Cutler James thinks they should have a close look at the Tag Team Title match. Osiris Griffin issued a warning. Lennox said that you don’t know when they will strike, and Shugars said that when they strike, nobody is safe.
Face to Face: Yoshiki Inamura (w/Josh Briggs) and Oba Femi
The NXT Champion Oba Femi walked out second to join Inamura and Briggs in the ring. Inamura said he beat Jasper Troy just as he had beaten Trick Williams. Inamura called Femi his greatest challenge, but Inamura said that he is ready. Inamura said he has the support of the fans, Briggs, and his family and fans back in Japan, so he must make them proud. Inamura said at the Great American Bash that he’ll fight with honor and become the new NXT Champion.
Oba Femi said that at least Inamura has the support of many people, so maybe they’ll pick up Inamura when Femi beats him. Femi wonders if Inamura can lose with honor. Femi said that Inamura wasn’t worthy enough to take the title from Femi.
Briggs spoke up, saying that Inamura beat Troy more easily than Femi did. Briggs said he’ll do the same thing to The Ruler (Femi). Briggs said that at The Bash, Inamura will beat Femi’s ass. Briggs said that Inamura is a man of honor while Briggs is a man of mayhem. Briggs said he’ll do everything in his power to ensure Inamura leaves with the NXT Title, as this is their only chance. Femi told Briggs this was not his fight. Briggs and Femi got into a fight as they exchanged punches. Femi punched Inamura too. Femi clotheslined Briggs out of the ring. Inamura hit a powerslam on Femi. There were security guys to break it up before it escalated.
Analysis: It was a decent way to promote the Inamura-Femi match. As much as I like Yoshi, he is not a strong opponent for Femi, despite having won a couple of matches recently. The comments by Briggs make it seem like he might cheat to help Yoshi win, but I doubt there’s a title change. The men’s NXT Title picture just isn’t that interesting right now.
A video aired from earlier in the day showed Blake Monroe and Jordynne Grace having a spa day. The idea was that Grace was awkward about it, while Monroe encouraged Grace to enjoy it. Grace admitted she liked it. Grace said that they’ll beat Fatal Influence at Bash, and Grace will beat Jacy at Evolution. Grace thanked Monroe for this.
Analysis: There used to be a lot of cheesy vignettes in NXT, but they have cut way back on them, which is good. This wasn’t necessarily cheesy. It was a way to show off the differing personalities of Grace and Monroe.
Kelani Jordan made her entrance for singles action.
(Commercial)
Lainey Reid vs. Kelani Jordan
Congrats to Kelani Jordan and Carmelo Hayes getting engaged over the last week. Good people. I’m happy for them.
Jordan gave Reid a monkey flip across the ring. Reid wrenched on Jordan’s leg while on the apron. Reid applied a single leg crab, and then a Boson Crab to keep Jordan grounded. Jordan got some offense with a handspring back elbow. Jordan went for a move off the turnbuckle, but Reid kicked her to stop that. Jordan managed to knock Reid down, and Jordan hit a split-legged moonsault from the middle rope to the top rope, and Jordan pinned Reid to win. It went about four minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Kelani Jordan
Analysis: *3/4 Impressive finisher by Jordan. That’s not an easy move to do – jumping from the middle rope to the top rope and hitting a split-legged moonsault. I thought Reid would win to continue her momentum, but it was not to be.
After the match, Thea Hail ran into the ring and punched Reid. They went fighting to the back.
Analysis: Reid cheated to beat Hail last week, so that’s why Hail was there for revenge.
Je’Von Evans was shown getting looked at in the trainer’s room. Jasper Troy attacked Evans again, but security showed up to get Troy out f there.
(Commercial)
Tony D’Angelo Meets The Family
Tony D’Angelo was seated backstage somewhere in a darkened room with Angela Rizzo, Luca Crusifino, and the NXT Heritage Champion, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo. Rizzo said she called this sitdown. Rizzo said they saw them lose focus on everything they accomplished in NXT. Rizzo spoke about how they had a legacy in NXT. Rizzo said they destroyed it all. Luca questioned why Rizzo brought them together. Rizzo said she knows Stacks thinks he deserves better, and Luca wonders if Tony believes in him. Rizzo said that Tony wonders if he’ll be trusted. Rizzo said that she had spoken to Ava, so she got them a triple threat match for next week. Ava said that this is the final battle. Stacks said that he thinks they are setting him up. Tony called Luca a rat. Luca said that Stacks turned on the family. Stacks said that he is bigger than this family, and next week, he’ll prove it again. Luca said that if he does anything in NXT, he needs to get away from Stacks and out of Tony’s shadow. Tony said good talk, and it’s over. The three guys had a staredown. Stacks warned Tony not to let him catch Tony by himself. Luca said this was one time he tried to do things by himself.
Analysis: It’s good to see Rizzo back after being away for a few months. This triple threat match seemed inevitable based on recent storylines, so we’ll see it next week. Tony D has been on this brand for about four years, which could mean it’s time for him to go to the main roster soon. I thought the triple threat might be at the Great American Bash, but putting it on TV next week is fine too.
Jasper Troy was in the ring saying he was through with Je’Von Evans. Troy said that Ava should put him in the NXT Title match at the Great American Bash. Evans went into the ring to fight with Troy. Evans knocked Troy out of the ring. Security guys tried to break them up. Evans dove over the top rope onto Troy on the floor. Security took Evans to the back.
Analysis: That Troy-Evans rivalry was building for several weeks, so it’s not a surprise to see them brawling like that. That should set up Evans and Troy for a match.
The Culling’s Shawn Spears, Niko Vance and Izzi Dame welcomed Tatum Paxley to the group. Vance said that they would become the Tag Team Champions. Vance was fired up, so Spears told Vance to calm down. Dame said Spears & Vance will win the Tag Team Titles and Dame said she’ll win the Women’s North American Title. Paxley said her new friends will all have titles. Dame said that The Culling always prevails.
Analysis: I’m happy for Tatum Paxley being in The Culling. Her unique personality fits the group.
The Culling made their entrance for tag team action.
(Commercial)
NXT Tag Team Championships: Hank Walker & Tank Ledger vs. The Culling – Shawn Spears & Niko Vance (w/Izzi Dame & Tatum Paxley)
Hank & Tank were wearing USA colors. Hank splashed Spears and hit a clothesline. Hank hit Vance in the back to knock him down on the floor. Spears worked over Hank with punches, along with a boot to the face. Hank broke free, Tank tagged in and hit a shoulder tackle on Niko. Hank and Tank did a double team splash onto Niko for two. Niko headbutted Hank and Spears tagged in with a neckbreaker, followed by a leg drop. Niko was back in with punches to the body of Tank. Tank came back with a kick and Hank tagged in with bulldog. Tank hit a senton splash on Niko. Hank left the ring, where he was distracted by the girls. Niko hit a Pounce on Hank on the commentary table and Hank knocked down Booker T as well. They went to a break as The Culling was in control against Hank for a few minutes, including a dropkick from Spears. Hank came back with a clothesline to knock Spears down. Vance fought with Hank on the turnbuckle.
The match continued with Hank hitting a top rope clothesline to knock Vance down. Tank got the hot tag against Spears, leading to an atomic drop and a shoulder tackle. Tank hit a suicide dive onto Niko on the floor. Spears hit two superkicks. Vance tagged in and hit a top rope headbutt on Tank for two because Hank made the save. Paxley distracted the referee, Dame hit a boot to Tank’s head and Spears hit an Impaler DDT on Tank for a two count. Great play for a two count. Sol Ruca and Zaria showed up to fight with Dame and Paxley to the back. The four guys were in the ring as Tank sent Spears out of the ring. Tank hit a clothesline. Hank and Tank hit their double team splash on Spears and clotheslined Vance out of the ring. Hank and Tank hit their powerslam/shoulder tackle combo move as Tank covered Spears for the win. It lasted about 12 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Hank Walker & Tank Ledger
Analysis: ***1/4 It was the best match on the show, with a lot of good action throughout the match. The Culling had a couple of moments where it looked like they might win, so the fans bought into it, and a title change appeared imminent, but kudos to Hank & Tank for finding a way to win. I like Hank & Tank as champions, although I would also add that the NXT Tag Team division right now is weak compared to how strong it used to be.
There was a rundown of the NXT Great American Bash card on July 12th.
* NXT Women’s North American Championship: Sol Ruca (c) vs. Izzi Dame
* NXT Championship: Oba Femi (c) vs. Yoshiki Inamura
* Falls Count Anywhere Match for the NXT North American Championship: Ethan Page (c) vs. Ricky Saints
* TNA World Championship Contract Signing with Trick Williams (c), Joe Hendry and Mike Santana
* Jasper Troy vs. Je’Von Evans
* Jordynne Grace & Blake Monroe vs. Fatal Influence – NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne & Fallon Henley
Analysis: The Troy/Evans match was just added to the show. It makes sense.
Ava the NXT GM was shown walking backstage for main event promo time.
(Commercial)
A video aired from earlier tonight featuring Kale Dixon in the trainer’s room saying he’s not ready to have a match. Urijah Connors and Andre Chase were with him. Kale was very nervous, so Chase said they’d figure this out.
WWE NXT Women’s Evolution Summit
The NXT GM, Ava, was in the ring discussing how, in October 2018, the first Women’s Evolution PLE took place. Ava said she was in high school at the time. Ava said that Iyo Sky was in the finals of the Mae Young Classic, and now she’s the Women’s World Champion. Ava mentioned the Charlotte Flair-Becky Lynch classic and Nikki Bella in the main event. Ava said that she is so proud that NXT will be all over Evolution. Ava went over some of the matches.
Ava said that six women from NXT will be in the battle royal. Ava said those six women are Jaida Parker, Lola Vice, Kelani Jordan, Lash Legend, Izzi Dame, and Tatum Paxley. Ava said that they’ll show why NXT shows up and shows out.
Fatal Influence showed up, led by NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne, joined by Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx. Jayne said that her match would be the highlight of Evolution. Jayne trashed others in the women’s division.
Jordynne Grace interrupted her Evolution opponent Jayne. Grace said that Evolution is about the women who paved the way for them. Grace said she’ll be the one steering this division into the future.
Lash Legend said they can fight over that NXT Women’s Championship. Legend said she’ll be the talk of Evolution when she wins the battle royal in her hometown of Hotlanta, and then go on to win a Women’s Championship Title at Clash in Paris.
Stephanie Vaquer got a huge ovation, as she said it was amazing to be back. Vaquer said she respects Jayne as the NXT Women’s Champion, and on Sunday, Grace is getting the victory. Vaquer said she’ll win the battle royal, and go on to become a new champion.
Natalya and Maxxine Dupri were next to join the promo party. Dupri talked about how one of them will win the battle royal and become the WWE Women’s Champion. Natalya said they’ll be the last two women in the battle royal. There were more women at ringside, including Ivy Nile, Lola Vice and Zelina Vega. Jaida Parker did a promo saying she’s going to be on point at Evolution and she’ll throw their asses out while she’s doing it. Giulia, the Women’s US Champion, was there as well. Parker said that in Atlanta, it’s her time.
The women went into the ring and got into a brawl. Candice LeRae was there as well. It was about 15-20 women out there. Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley watched from the aisle. There were referees in the ring to try to break up the fighting as the women exchanged punches. The chaos continued in the ring. That was the end of the show.
Analysis: I used the phrase “promo party” because that’s literally what it was. Ava announced that the six NXT women in the battle royal at Evolution will also have women from Raw, SmackDown, and maybe some legends, too. We see those kinds of segments often to promote multi-person matches where people take turns saying they are going to win. It was also a way to incorporate Jacy Jayne and Jordynne Grace as well. Anyway, it was fine for what it was and ending the show in a brawling segment puts over the idea that the battle royal could be chaotic at Evolution on Sunday night.
History will be made and legends will be born.
The women take the spotlight SUNDAY at WWE Evolution! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/MJtauAWFNn
— WWE (@WWE) July 9, 2025
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Three Stars of the Show
- Hank & Tank
- Ricky Saints
- Joe Hendry & Mike Santana
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The Scoreboard
This week: 6.75 out of 10
Last week: 6.75
2025 Average: 7.35
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Final Thoughts on WWE NXT
I think the show was okay, but it didn’t feel like a great show to me. They did a solid job promoting the Great American Bash and Evolution, but some aspects felt rushed as well. They also promoted the Trick-Hendry-Santana match at TNA Slammiversary too. There’s a lot going on. I liked the Evans-Troy stuff to set up their match at GAB.
It’s hard for me to say that the NXT brand is “hot” right now. The men’s singles division is lacking top title contenders, and the tag team division doesn’t have a lot of teams. The women’s division is still strong, but it was stronger earlier in the year when Roxanne Perez, Giulia, and Stephanie Vaquer were also there.
The GAB PLE should have some solid matches, but I don’t think the lineup is as strong as some of the NXT PLEs from earlier this year. I may have a preview for that show, but there is a lot is going on, so I may skip the preview. My review of GAB won’t be on Saturday because I’ll be covering AEW All In Texas live. I’ll do GAB either Sunday afternoon or Monday.
The next NXT PLE is the NXT Great American Bash on July 12th. Here’s the lineup.
* NXT Championship: Oba Femi (c) vs. Yoshiki Inamura
* Jordynne Grace & Blake Monroe vs. Fatal Influence – NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne & Fallon Henley
* NXT Women’s North American Championship: Sol Ruca (c) vs. Izzi Dame
* Falls Count Anywhere Match for the NXT North American Championship: Ethan Page (c) vs. Ricky Saints
* TNA World Championship Contract Signing with Trick Williams (c), Joe Hendry and Mike Santana
* Jasper Troy vs. Je’Von Evans
You can watch NXT Great American Bash on Saturday, July 12, at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT, streaming live on Peacock in the United States and on Netflix everywhere else.
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Thanks for reading. My contact info is below.
John Canton
Email [email protected]
Twitter/X @johnreport