By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live June 3, 2025, on The CW Network
[Hour One] Highlights from last week’s NXT TV show aired… Vic Joseph, Booker T, and Corey Graves were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer… Separate shots of Fatal Influence, Mike Santana, and Trick Williams were shown as they were arriving to the WWE Performance Center…
Je’Von Evans made his entrance. Laredo Kid was already in the ring with a mic. NXT North American Champion Ethan Page made his entrance with a mic and dressed in a suit. Page said the summit they are trying to have is a farce. Page noted that Fenix was stuck on a plane and wasn’t able to be here tonight. Page said that Evans and Laredo should be celebrating Page’s win and stomping on the memory of Ricky Saints.
Page ranted about having to defend his title against Laredo, Fenix, and Je’Von, and Ava booking ahead by giving an Evolve guy a future title shot. Laredo said that Page has no huevos. Evans talked about Page costing him a match on Smackdown. Page said Evans should have kept out of his business. Evans said that he’ll put a foot up Page’s ass. Sean Legacy made his entrance and gave Laredo Kid and Evans props.
He said he hopes that Page doesn’t win. Legacy’s promo was cut off by The Vanity Project, who hyped up how Jackson Drake was going to beat Legacy on Evolve to go after the Evolve Men’s Championship. A brawl ensued. Laredo, Evans, and Legacy dumped the heels from the ring and hit them with stereo dives…
Chase U vs. DarkState was hyped for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: It looks like they had a segment planned, but then it turned into a standard build to what looks to be a television six person Teddy Long classic tag team match with six of the wrestlers involved in this segment. Travel issues happen, and unfortunately, they kept Rey Fenix off this show. Meanwhile, WWE seems REALLY high on this Sean Legacy guy, giving him a lot of TV time and setting him up as the cream of the crop on Evolve.
New AAA Mega Champion El Hijo Del Vikingo was shown in the crowd with his championship belt (He defeated former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio for the belt over the weekend)…
The Chase University team made their entrance with Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors looking hyperactive while Andre Chase looked annoyed. DarkState then made their entrance. Chase U and DarkState brawled with Chase U retreating to ringside due to DarkState holding ground in the ring. ..
1. “Chase University” Andre Chase, Kale Dixon, and Uriah Connors vs. “DarkState” Cutler James, Dion Lennox, and Osiris Griffin (w/Saquon Shugars). Connors and Cutler started the match with Cutler dominating. Lennox tagged in and gave Connors some ground and pound after a double leg takedown. Lennox put Connors in a Boston Crab. Dixon caught a tag and rallied a bit with quick strikes. Dixon hit Lennox with a side slam.
Dixon and Lennox ran into each other and took each other out. Connors and Griffin tagged in with Griffin running through Connors. Griffin dodged a leg drop. Connors caught Griffin with a gamengiri. Dixon and Connors caught Griffin with stereo superkicks. They also hit Dion with superkicks and then dumped Cutler to ringside. Griffin recovered and suplexed Connors and Dixon at the same time. Lennox hit Connors with a Pop Up Shield Bomb for the win.
DarkState defeated New Chase U via pinfall in 3:27.
John’s Thoughts: Not sure what to make about this new Chase U yet. So far it feels like the weakest iteration of the charming group, but I’m still willing to give this time, given how well Chase has turned things around in the past. I do like DarkState holding down, similar to The Shield days, a pseudo-Trios division where it becomes the world trying to topple the DarkState king of the mountain. They look impressive. I still hope they give them more mic time to flesh out their characters. At least give the mic to the talented Saquon Shugars and let him cook.
NXT GM Ava met up with Laredo Kid, Sean Legacy, and Je’Von Evans and booked them in an eight person tag against Vanity Project and Ethan Page. Ava told them they need to find a partner. Dragon Lee showed up and volunteered to be the 4th person of their team…
Sarah Schreiber interviewed Trick Williams about his upcoming match against Mike Santana. Trick said he agrees that Mike is the Standard of TNA, and Trick is going to raise that. Trick continued to talk about how he’s trying to turn TNA into TrickNA…
Sarah Schreiber hyped Myles Borne vs. Charlie Dempsey in a Rounds Match for later in the show…[c]
Several developmental wrestlers and Tyra Mae Steele were chatting in the locker room. NXT-TNA Liaison Arianna Grace wondered if Tyra’s Olympic Gold Medals were even 100% gold? Grace said nobody likes a show-off. After Grace left, Steele said she thinks she knows who her next opponent…
No Quarter Catch Crew made their entrance together with Mike Rome announcing Dempsey and Borne separately…
2. Charlie Dempsey vs. Myles Borne in a Rounds Match. Borne went for a quick pin for a one count. Borne got another one count after a shoulder tackle. Borne and Dempsey traded some ground game holds. Dempsey put Borne in a leg scissors armbar. Borne rolled around to alleviate the pressure. Dempsey countered a counter into a Sunset Flip for a nearfall. Both men traded rapid pin attempts. Borne sat down to pick up the first pin. [End of Round 1]
Myles Borne pinned Charlie Dempsey 2:54 into Round 1 to go up 0-1.
Round 2 started during the break. The show cut back with about 25 seconds left on the 2nd round clock. Both men worked methodically during the break. Both men ran the clock out. Dempsey gave Borne a cheap shot after the bell. [End of Round 2]
Borne worked on Dempsey with Orton Uppercuts. The crowd started to chant “What’s up” In honor of R “The Truth” Killings. Dempsey hit Borne with a Regal Plex for the pinfall. [End of Round 3]
Charlie Dempsey pinned Myles Borne 0:25 into Round 3 to tie the match 1-1.
Borne deadlifted Dempsey to escape a hold. Dempsey gave Borne a knee to the injured ribs. Borne gave Dempsey a back body drop. Borne rallied with right hands and a few Belly to Belly Suplexes. Borne hit Dempsey with the Angle Slam for a nearfall. Bourne and Dempsey traded quick pin attempts. Borne took down Dempsey with a dropkick and picked up the win.
Myles Borne defeated Charlie Dempsey via pinfall 2:46 into Round 4 to free himself from No Quarter Catch Crew.
Borne asked for a handshake from Dempsey, but Dempsey respectfully refused…
Izzi Dame hit Brooks Jensen with a steel chair, which confused Shawn Spears and Niko Vance. Dame said if you’re not fully committed to The Culling, you’re out. Spears agreed…[c]
John’s Thoughts: NXT hasn’t done a great job establishing the style of the UK Rounds matches. They came off better in UK where they were hard hitting sprints. Here they come off as a bit soft with wins coming off usually rudimentary moves (Again, that’s not wrong, but they need to establish what makes these matches fun to watch). So far, the only person to thrive in NXT US with the rounds format is Tony D’Angelo, who got to show off some good grit and amateur wrestling prowess. A bit surprised they simply had Bonre win just like that. Looking forward to his next steps. Also looking forward to Wren, Tavion, and Charlie all rising to another level given their potential.
WWE LFG winner and Olympic Gold Medalist Tyra Mae Steele made her entrance. Steele gave a replica gold medal to a fan in the crowd, who put it on her doll. Arianna Grace made her entrance, back in Sharpay from High School Musical mode…
John’s Thoughts: I like they gave Steele more of a hip hop theme as opposed to patriotic trumpets that other Olympians in WWE get. Gable Steveson was dead on arrival when they laid on the Kurt Angle expectations thick to levels he could never live up to. Let Steele be Steele. There’s always room for another non-Kurt Gold Medalist.
3. Tyra Mae Steele vs. Arianna Grace. Steele tossed Grace across the ring. Grace came back with methodical strikes and a clothesline. Grace got a two count after a big boot. Steele no-sold a slap and ran through Grace a few times. Steele gave Grace a release Death Valley Driver. Steele picked up the win with a Bridged German Suplex.
Tyra Mae Steele defeated Arianna Grace via pinfall in 2:23.
John’s Thoughts: Solid debut for the gold medalist on NXT. You can’t help but think of Kurt Angle when thinking of pro wrestling and gold medals, but I like NXT trying to establish Steele as her own women instead of what they did with Gable Steveson unsuccessfully. She didn’t get to show too much here, and I haven’t watched LFG, but I was really impressed based on what I saw of her time on the now-defunct NXT Level Up show, where she showed good aptitude for the craft and was putting on solid matches. As for Arianna Grace, it’s in her case and Robert Stone where it’s jarring that some wrestlers maintain their characters on NXT and Impact, but in Stone and Grace’s case, they play polar opposite characters when going back and forth between NXT and Impact.
The show cut to a sponsored video package that recapped Jacy Jayne’s shocking Women’s title win last week. The video showed shock fan reactions from Instagram…[c]
Sarah Schreiber interviewed Mike Santana about his upcoming match against Trick Williams. Santana said he’s about to be in the main event of a WWE NXT show, fighting for the TNA Championship, which is crazy. Mike said he didn’t see a fighting champion in Trick. He saw a pretender. Mike said he’s going to fight for every person in TNA. He said he’s going to fight for his people. He said ultimately he’s going to fight for his daughter and won’t break his promise. He said he knows how good Trick is, but Santana is going to be 3 seconds better…
[Hour Two] New NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne made her entrance with Jazmyn Nyx and Fallon Henley. Jayne said nobody supported her for the last four years, and they can’t jump on the bandwagon now that Jacy Jayne is champion. Jayne said all is right in the universe because Fatal Influence is at the top where they belong. She said she put on the most shocking moment in NXT history last week.
Jayne said the fickle fans looked shocked with their jaws to the floor. Jayne said she wasn’t shocked because while everyone underestimated her for years, while everyone called her a third well, she got better and stayed ready. Jayne yelled at the crowd to allow her to talk. Jayne talked about how she and Fallon started in wrestling together, and Fallon was like a sister to her. She said after a long discussion, they both decided to run the play. The crowd tried to drown Jayne out.
Lainey Reid showed up and interrupted Jayne. Reid is a Level Up wrestler who’s been wrestling in dark segments recently. Before Reid could really say anything of substance, Lola Vice made her entrance to interrupt. Jordynne Grace quickly interrupted Vice, saying that she had a plan when coming to NXT, but she sees that anything can happen. She was quickly interrupted by Jaida Parker who got the most positive reaction.
Kelani Jordan and Lash Legend then interrupted each other. Legend said everyone already had their turn, and Lash is coming after the title. The women at ringside started to brawl. The lights went out outta nowhere. Former AEW Women’s Champion Mariah May made her entrance with a spotlight on the Crow’s Nest. May said she has finally arrived. So far, they haven’t named her yet.
May said you can call her the next NXT women’s champion. She said the best women’s division in the world just got a lot more glamorous…[c]
John’s Thoughts: That segment was a bit messy. I don’t really see why they had to stuff every woman in this segment. It just came off as contrived. Good to see Mariah May find her way out of AEW creative purgatory. She’s someone who makes the most of her TV time, and I’m looking forward to seeing what she brings to WWE. WWE is quick with these AEW releases in terms of getting them on TV, as May was removed from the AEW roster page only a few days. She will definitely help NXT after NXT lost Stephanie Vaquer and Giulia to the main roster (though, if May looks good enough, she might not be long for developmental either). Now, will they let her keep her name? It seems like they might go the Ricky Saints direction because they signed her, and her not having a name now probably means they are going to take their time to run the random name generator.
Stevie Turner was in the Evolve women’s locker room to give the women a pep talk…
A replay was shown of Ricky Saints eating a Twisted Grin by Ethan Page on a steel chair. Vic said that Saints has a larynx injury…
The show cut to Vanity Project and Ethan Page in the locker room gloating. Page bragged about taking Ricky’s voice and taking Je’Von’s smile…
Evans, Laredo, and Sean Legacy were already in the ring. Dragon Lee got a full televised entrance. Aerostar, Octagon Jr, and Mr. Iguana from AAA were shown in the crowd. Ethan Page and Vanity Project made their entrance to Page’s theme…
4. Je’Von Evans, Laredo Kid, Sean Legacy, and Dragon Lee vs. Ethan Page, Brad Baylor, Jackson Drake, and Ricky Smokes. Kid took down Drake with a shoulder tackle and huracanrana. Lee tagged in and worked on Drake with right hands. Lee and Kid swarmed Drake with rapid strikes. Evans tagged in with Smokes. Evans hit Smokes with a springboard armdrag. The heels gave Legacy cheap shots when the referees were distracted.
Legacy slipped away from an Ego’s Edge attempt and dumped all the heels from the ring. Legacy hit Swipe Right with a Suicide Dive. Dragon and Evans hit stereo planchas on the heels. Page gave Kid a big boot to end the babyface rally.[c]
Back from break, the heels were cutting the ring in half on Evans. Evans got a window of opportunity after giving Page a superkick. Dragon tagged in and hit Smokes with a Superkick to the throat, followed by a hesitation dropkick. Baylor dragged Smokes away from a power bomb. Lardo botched a flip dive on Baylor. Dragon hit Smokes with a Power Bomb. Page broke up Dragon’s pin.
Drake hit Legacy with a Swanton. Page hit Legacy with a power slam. The face team hit the heels with stereo kicks to break the pin. All the men took their time to recover. Evans jumped over Kid to hit the heels with a flip dive. Kid hit Swipe Right with an Asai Moonsault. Legacy and Page traded hands and boots. Baylor tagged in and ate a boot from Dragon Lee. Dragon and Baylor brawled to the top.
Dragon put Baylor in a Tree of Woe and hit him with a double stomp. Dragon Lee hit Brad Baylor with Destino for the victory.
Dragon Lee, Je’Von Evans, Sean Legacy, and Laredo Kid defeated Brad Baylor, Ricky Smokes, Jackson Drake, and Ethan Page via pinfall in 13:30.
Trick Williams was shown warming up backstage. Mike Santana was shown getting locked in…[c]
John’s Thoughts: That botched dive by Laredo looked scary, but thankfully he looked okay afterwards when he performed that Asai Moonsault. This was a fun spotfest for the live crowd, but I think it was not really productive for the television audience. NXT was trying to promote both Worlds Collide and Evolve at the same time, and all that’s doing is making things messy with nobody getting over. I would have preferred maybe not pushing Evolve tonight and try to push the Luchadores? Konnan is someone I would pitch for this role since he’s with the company now, but can they maybe have someone do a profile video package to introduce the AAA talent, rather than have they just run out there and you are supposed to just assume they’re worth watching?
Oba Femi was with Stevie Turner and Robert Stone, with Stone holding the contract for a Oba Femi vs. Jasper Troy match. Jasper Troy showed up to confront Oba. Both men shared words, and Oba signed the contract…
Sol Ruca and Zaria were hanging out backstage. They ran into Tatum Paxley, who was lying down with a naked doll, looking despondent. Izzy Dame showed up to talk trash…
Luca Crusifino met up with Tony D’Angelo in the NXT lounge, saying he understands that Tony D doesn’t trust him. Luca said he got Tony and him a match against High Ryze to prove that Tony can trust him. Tony D didn’t like that Luca jumped the gun and didn’t give him a heads up. Luca said with all due respect, they aren’t a family anymore…
Oba Femi vs. Jasper Troy for the NXT Championship and Sean Legacy going against the North American Champion for the title were advertised for next week…
Mike Santana made his entrance through the crowd. Santana fist bumped with the artist formerly known as Elias Sampson, Elijah, in the crowd…[c]
The commentary team hyped up a few World’s Collide matches…
TNA World Champion Trick Williams made his entrance. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship match introductions…
5. Trick Williams vs. Mike Santana for the TNA World Championship. Trick paintbrushed Santana in the corner. The crowd was largely behind Santana. Trick tackled Santana to the ground. Santana ate a slap and grinned at Trick. Santana tackled Trick into the corner and gave him alternating hands. Santana gave Trick a front slam for a nearfall. Santana gave Trick a Senton. Trick came back with a jumping neckbreaker for a nearfall.
Trick hit Santana with a Suplex for a nearfall. Santana showed fighting spirit by fighting through Trick’s strikes. Santana used a front dropkick to take down Trick. Trick stepped aside to avoid a possible dive from Santana. Santana caught Trick with an impressive Flip Dive heading into break with ten minutes left at the top of the hour.[c]
The show cut back with seven minutes left at the top of the hour. Santana went for Ten Punches in the Corner, but Trick gave Santana a Snake Eyes and a discus boot for a nearfall. Trick floored Santana with a Crescent Kick. Trick put Santana in a Cravate with five minutes left at the top of the hour. Santana no-sold a few chops with fighting spirit.
Santana caught Trick with a Superkick. Both men traded enzuigiris. Trick rallied with jabs. Santana caught Trick with a Death Valley Driver. Santana did a kip up. Santana rallied with right hands. Santana hit Trick with the Rolling Buck 50 Cutter for a good nearfall. Santana hit Trick with a Cannonball for a close nearfall. Santana hit Trick with a 450. Trick got a finger on the bottom rope for a break.
Trick rolled to ringside to avoid Spin the Block. Trick stole Elijah’s guitar and broke it on the steel steps. The referee held Elijah back. Top Dolla and KC Navarro showed up. Dolla chokeslammed Santana on the announce table that didn’t break. Trick hit Santana with a Trick Knee for the victory.
Trick Williams defeated Mike Santana via pinfall in 12:23 to retain the TNA World Championship.
Vic noted that Trick will defend the title against Elijah at the TNA+ Against All Odds show on Friday. Trick backtracked up the ramp with AJ Francis and KC Navarro to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: A solid television main event and I’m glad they decided to keep the belt on Trick while also protecting Santana enough to keep Santana being the person to dethrone Trick still being in play. With Trick recently mentioning how he wants luxury accommodations and first-class airfaire, if that means Trick is fully aligning with the First Class tag team of AJ Francis and KC Navarro. That wouldn’t be a bad thing, as AJ and KC have been good midcard heels in TNA recently. Even though it’s outta left field, I still would like to see Santana team up with Out Tha Mud given how all three of them’s mission statements are getting out tha mud.
This week’s NXT was really messy for me and a bit below average in my personal opinion. And that’s coming off one of the best NXT’s of the year with last week’s good matches and shocking moments. It’s like they wanted to promote Evolve, TNA, and World’s Collide and ended up not promoting any of them because all it did was muck things up and come off as convoluted. They should have just picked World’s Collide to promote, given that’s the show this weekend.
Is Mariah May a good wrestler? I don’t watch AEW because I have Fubo and it does not have any of the Turner channels.
She was one if the best AEW had actually.
*of
NXT is turning into AEW when it comes to just throwing wrestlers out there from other companies and hoping we know who they are (AAA).
Gable Steveson was the reason Gable Steveson didnt do well/stay in wwe. He never seemed all in on it.
Nxt felt they needed to make the first Evolve men’s championship match a big deal. Hopefully they have they stop promoting Evolve/AAA on nxt soon. Other than Vikingo, I have 0.00% interest in anyone in AAA.