NXT Review: 05/05

Linus O'Howell
1 hour ago
5 min read

Jaida Parker VS Kali Armstrong

After Tony D’Angelo attacked Tavion Heights in the back, this week’s edition of NXT kicked off with Jaida Parker going one-on-one with Kali Armstrong! The first part of 2026 felt like NXT was building up Jaida Parker to be NXT Women’s Champion at some point this year, and whilst there’s still a long way to go, it feels like she’s lost quite a lot more than perhaps she should’ve! However, on the flip side to that, Kali Armstrong should be winning her first few matches on NXT, particularly given the fact that she was the inaugural Evolve Women’s Champion! So, because of all of that, whichever way you went here was always going to be both good and bad, with this match eventually ending with Armstrong getting the win! This is a big win for Kali, whilst Miss Parker needs a new direction!

Grade: C+

Jackson Drake VS Jasper Troy, Zaria Calls Her Shot

Mr. Stone wasn’t at all happy with Tony D’Angelo’s actions towards Tavion Heights, but Tony didn’t care as long as he got his match with Tavion! Fit Finlay and William Regal then made it clear to Birth Right that they need to do a lot better than last week, before we got a video recapping last week’s debut of EVIL, now known as Naraku (which is actually quite a cool name)! The Vanity Project were then out next as Jackson Drake was tasked with having to take down Jasper Troy! In fairness, this match was all Jackson’s doing, with the former Evolve Champion stating last week that no one could beat him, leading to Jasper stepping up to him! It definitely seems like NXT have turned Troy Babyface, and I personally don’t mind that as his Heel act wasn’t working at all! It would’ve been a pretty safe bet to predict Jasper to win here, and that’s exactly how this match was going up until the arrival of Myka Lockwood! The former Bayley Humphrey body-slammed Troy on the outside, an impressive feat of strength, leading to Drake hitting a lovely 450 Splash to cause an upset! Jackson Drake is so damn good, man!

Grade: B-

After a bizarre video which saw Tristan Angels call himself “Mr. England” (he did also have a great line about Myles Borne), Zaria came down to the ring for the first time since her brutal Last Woman Standing Match against Sol Ruca at NXT Revenge! Zaria said that the waves in NXT are changing (a very good use of words), and that it feels great to finally be standing on her own with nobody holding her back! Zaria’s eyes are now firmly set on going after the thing that tore ZaRuca apart in the first place: the NXT Women’s North American Championship! This brought out Tatum Paxley, who is more than willing to defend her Title, only for both Lizzy Rain and Nikkita Lyons to also shoot their shot, with Lyons making it clear to Rain that she isn’t done with her! This then started a brawl, with Zaria eventually standing tall following a Z5! I’m honestly very surprised to see Zaria in this position; I was almost certain that she would be pushed into the NXT Women’s Title scene!

Grade: C+

Lola Vice and Mr. Iguana VS The Culling, DarkState VS Hank and Tank

The Vanity Project ran into Romeo Moreno backstage, antagonising him until Noam Dar made his first NXT appearance in nearly a year! Myka Lockwood then stepped up to Noam after Dar challenged Jackson Drake to a match, before Tony D’Angelo was getting ready to head down to the ring to face Tavion Heights, only for Kam Hendrix to attack him! This caused Mr. Stone to call an audible in the show, pushing the D’Angelo-Heights match back, meaning we instead got some Mixed Tag Team action as Lola Vice and Mr. Iguana took on The Culling! The lineup for The Culling was Izzi Dame and Niko Vance, and honestly, the thing that I was most impressed by here was the fact that all four performers were in their gear, even though this match started more than 45 minutes earlier than planned! On a serious note, this was a decent match, with the crowd very much into Lola and Mr. Iguana! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; Izzi Dame is a good first challenger in Vice’s reign, with them having the capability to Main Event a secondary PLE! In the end, after Vance ruthlessly dealt with Iguana, Dame took advantage, nailing Vice with a Running Knee to get the three, meaning Izzi has now pinned the NXT Women’s Champion!

Grade: B-

Myles Borne and Tavion Heights continue to be frenemies backstage, with Tavion having his match with Tony D’Angelo confirmed for the Main Event, before Mr. Stone told Zaria that she’s going to be teaming with Nikkita Lyons to take on Tatum Paxley and Lizzy Rain next week! As expected, Zaria was rightly pissed! Jaida Parker then had a crash-out in the NXT Women’s Locker Room, leading to a surprise appearance from Nattie (she lasted on Raw long), before Hank and Tank were back in action, taking on DarkState! This match was definitely advertised as Hank and Tank VS Dion Lennox and Shaquon Shugars on multiple occasions, but for some reason, it was actually Osiris Griffin and Cutler James that represented DarkState! I mean, that makes sense, but I feel like seeing Dion and Shaquon team together would’ve been quite interesting given recent storyline developments! To be fair, they still weren’t getting on even at ringside, with Shugars intercepting a steel chair off Lennox, but despite all of that, DarkState would eventually prevail over Hank and Tank with an awesome-looking Tag Team finisher!

Grade: B- (just for that finisher alone)

Kelani Jordan very much enjoyed rubbing her earlier defeat to Izzi Dame in the face of Lola Vice, whilst Kendal Grey stepped up to Kelani after Jordan injured Wren Sinclair last week! Emily Agard then made her NXT Correspondent debut, interviewing Keanu Carver in a segment that was completely unique to anything I’ve seen in a long time! Firstly, the camera work was really cool, with them putting the camera on the floor after Keanu snapped at them, whilst this entire interview felt like we were talking to the person who plays Carver, not the character himself! More of this please! Oh, and Shiloh Hill then decided that it was okay to trespass whilst reflecting on his big victory over Ricky Saints! This guy is unbelievable!

Tony D’Angelo VS Tavion Heights

And in the Main Event of the 5th of May 2026 edition of NXT, Tony D’Angelo and Tavion Heights would finally collide after last week’s altercation! Tony and Tavion fought with a good amount of aggression, with both men showcasing their strong technical and grappling backgrounds! After a really well-fought bout, Kam Hendrix, who was supposed to have been kicked out of the arena, jumped onto the apron, leading to Myles Borne taking care of him! However, this seemingly distracted Heights, allowing D’Angelo to hit Dead to Rights to get the win! After the match was over, Will Kroos attacked both men to end the show standing tall, although his name has also been changed to Mason Rook! It’s kind of a shame given that the crowd were chanting his actual name, but it’s already a major positive that he’s getting those types of reactions!