NXT Battleground 2025 Review
- Linus O'Howell
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
NXT Women’s North American Championship: Sol Ruca VS Kelani Jordan
NXT Battleground 2025 kicked off with the NXT Women’s North American Championship on the line as Sol Ruca looked to retain against the Titles’ inaugural Champion, Kelani Jordan! This was a really good way to start the show, they had a good match back at NXT Heatwave last year, but I honestly feel that this was better! Both women are really good, two of the best NXT has to offer right now, and it was overall a fun spectacle to watch! Zaria got involved at one point to help save Sol, and this resulted in her being sent to the back, but also cost Jordan who missed her attempt at her Split-Legged Moonsault! Ruca then took advantage of this to nail Kelani with an amazing Sol Snatcher to get the win! What a great start to the show!
Grade: B+
Josh Briggs, and Hank and Tank VS The Culling
The next match saw Josh Briggs align with Hank and Tank to take on The Culling! I thought this was a totally fine NXT TV match, except it was happening on a Premium Live Event! There really wasn’t any need for this to be here, it wasn’t bad in the slightest, but it just felt completely out of place! If this was NXT’s way of putting Hank and Tank on the show, just have them defend their NXT Tag Team Championships! Anyway, Hank and Tank were able to get the win before The Culling attacked them post-match, only for Yoshiki Inamura to return and wipe them out with a steel chair! Inamura then embraced Briggs after the match which was a nice moment!
Grade: C+
Tony D’Angelo VS Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo
After a genuinely good video package, Tony D’Angelo was looking to get some revenge as he went one-on-one with Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo! Unfortunately, the video package was by far the best part of this as the match itself never really got going! It just didn’t click, it was too slow, and that’s not even that surprising when you consider the fact that neither guy is that great in the ring! There was a good moment story-wise when Tony D hesitated to go for the kill, and then he was cost the second time as he got distracted by a returning Luca Crusifino! This opened the door for Stacks to deliver another low blow followed by a kick to the back of the head to earn his biggest singles victory to date!
Grade: C
NXT Women’s Championship: Stephanie Vaquer VS Jordynne Grace
In what felt like Part 1 of the show’s Main Events, Stephanie Vaquer and Jordynne Grace collided with the NXT Women’s Championship on the line! With Roxanne Perez and Giulia now officially Main Roster Superstars, Stephanie and Jordynne are without a doubt the two top stars in the NXT Women’s Division, and they showed why here! Stephanie Vaquer has been absolutely brilliant since she arrived in NXT last autumn, but I’ve also been very impressed by Jordynne Grace! This became a fight as the match went on, simply because both women were spent, they had no idea what else they needed to do to get the job done! I mean, Grace even kicked out of an SVB at one point which never happens, but in the end, it was Vaquer who was able to retain her Gold following a lovely spiral tap! I would happily see this match again down the line!
Grade: B+
NXT Championship: Oba Femi VS Myles Borne
The NXT Championship was the next Title to be defended as Oba Femi looked to ruin the dreams of Myles Borne! I felt this match got better as it went on, I think once Oba started to become more and more angry, I feel like that’s when the action picked up! I think this match was lacking a bit of jeopardy, I actually think this would’ve worked better in the Performance Center because I feel that the NXT crowd there would’ve got a lot more behind Myles and his underdog story, but it was still good overall! Ultimately, despite kicking out of 1 Fall From Grace, Borne would come up short after Oba delivered a couple more to keep us well and truly in the era of The Ruler!
Grade: B-
TNA World Championship: Joe Hendry VS Trick Williams
And in the Main Event of NXT Battleground 2025, Trick Williams looked to make history as he took on Joe Hendry for the TNA World Championship! The video package, the entrances, the introductions, and the crowd reactions made this feel like one of the biggest NXT Main Events in a while, it felt big time, and that is wonderful! The match itself started off hot with both guys going at it, but it was Joe Hendry who landed his big shot first, only for Trick to put his long leg on the ropes! Williams then delivered a Trick Shot for a near-fall, but we then went into shenanigans territory as Trick brought the TNA Title into the ring, only for the referee to pull it off him! However, the Championship wasn’t chucked out completely, and this led to Williams “accidentally” dropping Hendry face-first onto the Title before he nailed Joe with a second Trick Shot to pick up the win and absolutely stun the crowd! The fact that Trick Williams, an NXT Superstar, is the TNA World Champion is absolutely insane, but also exactly what we’ve been asking for out of this partnership! Trick is probably the best person from NXT to hold TNA Gold, it will do both shows a lot of good, and I think all of this overall was a success!
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