SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT TV REPORT
APRIL 1, 2025
ORLANDO, FLA.
AIRED LIVE ON THE CW
REPORT BY DAVID MILLER, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Backstage Correspondent(s): Sarah Schreiber
-Ricky Saints was shown entering the building, as was The Culling.
-Stephanie Vaquer’s music hit as the NXT crowd cheered wildly. They recapped her appearance at Mexico City’s Fight Night. Ava stood mid-ring with Vaquer and praised her accomplishments. To the crowd’s disdain, Ava said that she and Vaquer came to the agreement that both the Women’s NXT and North American championships deserved to be defended frequently, and it wasn’t fair for Vaquer to carry that burden alone, so they both agreed that it would be best for her to relinquish the North American Title. She announced that a new Women’s North American would be crowned at Stand and Deliver in a six-woman ladder match, with qualifying matches to begin tonight.
Vaquer told Ava she’d give up the North American title on the condition she could choose her challenger at Stand and Deliver. Jordynne Grace came out to challenge Vaquer, but was quickly interrupted by Jaida Parker, who made it clear she thought she deserved that spot. Grace and Parker got into a verbal exchange. Vaquer said it looked like they needed to work things out and stepped back to watch the fun as the two potential challengers started throwing punches at each other. Grace got the better of the exchange as security rushed out to gain control of the situation.
(Miller’s Take: I’m glad they gave Vaquer the chance to show her dominance by successfully defending both titles in the same night before making the ultimate decision to have her relinquish the North American Title. I’m fine with that decision, as it was a long-standing tradition in the territory days that if a regional champion won a World Title, he had to relinquish his regional title. WWE seems to have triple threat fever this WrestleMania season, so I expect that match to be made for Stand and Deliver.)
-In what looked like a cell phone video, Trick Williams talked about calling out Oba Femi. As Femi walked in the parking lot with the belt slung over his shoulder, he said Williams would regret calling him out. [c]
-In the women’s locker room, the ladies bickered about who would win the North American title.
(1) ZARIA (w/Sol Ruca) vs. LASH LEGEND (w/Jakara Jackson) – Qualifying match for the Women’s North American Title six-woman ladder match at Stand and Deliver
Power vs. power was the story here, with the ladies starting the match with takedowns and a test of strength. Zaria delivered a huge chop, with Legend responding in kind. At one point, with both women down, Legend performed a kip up and Zaria followed suit, but flubbed her kip up, which visibly frustrated her. [c]
Back from the break, both women were starting to wear down. Legend lifted Zaria into a Torture Rack as they showed Ricky Saints warming up in the back. Zaria slipped down from Legend’s shoulders, and both women bounded off the ropes and collided hard mid-ring, taking each other out. After rising to their knees, they began trading hard blows. They made it to their feet and traded suplex reversals, with Zaria finally nailing it. They continued with some intense back-and-forth action and teased some big moves. Zaria connected with a big spear on Legend and eventually hit what looked like an F5 variation on Legend for the pin.
WINNER: Zaria at 11:49 to qualify.
(Miller’s Take: This was a satisfying match. Both women got to show off their strength and I’m cool with Zaria coming out on top. I wouldn’t mind seeing these two women face off again sometime down the road. It will be interesting if Sol Ruca also makes it into the ladder match at Stand and Deliver.)
-In the back, Wes Lee, Tyson Dupont, and Tyriek Igwe confronted Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura, with Inamura challenging the big-mouthed Lee. [c]
-They plugged the upcoming NASCAR race at Darlington. I’m glad Hermie Sadler didn’t come out.
-Ava told a bickering Roxanne Perez and Kelani Jordan that they would face each other in the next qualifying match tonight.
-This week’s installment of the NXT drama series D’Angelo Family Values showed each family member give the Don a detailed report on each member of Darkstate, listing their academic and athletic accomplishments and making them appear to be an unstoppable force. Don said they weren’t just meatballs, but four legit badasses. Stacks wanted to take care of it, but Don said that didn’t work out so well the last time, so he needs to trust him. Don dismissed them and told them to keep their phones on.
(Miller’s Take: I really hate these cinematic segments. I didn’t like it with Undertaker vs. Styles or Rhodes and Reigns meeting in a football field and I don’t like it now. The first time I saw this type of segment with the D’Angelo family, I thought my cat had accidentally stepped on the remote and changed the channel.)
-Hank and Tank were shown dressed like Pretty Deadly in those disturbingly short shirts. Sure enough, the camera panned to show they were taking advice from SmackDown’s resident pretty boys. When the No Quarter Catch Crew passed by and mocked them, they quickly removed the shirts and headed to the ring. Pretty Deadly said, “You can lead a horse to water…”. Funny segment. [c]
-Back from the break, they plugged Stephanie’s Place with Cody Rhodes, followed by yet another cinematic segment with The Culling doing whatever it is that they do, which I conveniently ignored.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
Check out the latest episode of “PWT Talks NXT” with Kelly Wells and Nate Lindberg, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
(2) NO QUARTER CATCH CREW (Miles Borne & Tavion Heights) vs. HANK WALKER & TANK LEDGER
Hank and Tank were grounded early on by NQCC, but they came back with some quick double team maneuvers. Hank went for a pin after a running sandwich on Heights from each corner, but he only got a two count. There was just a lot of fast action with not a whole lot of rhyme or reason to it. Hank finally got the hot tag and, to quote the late, great Gorilla Monsoon, was a house of fire. Hank and Tank move much quicker than men their size have any right to. NQCC eventually hit a double-team maneuver for the victory.
WINNERS: No Quarter Catch Crew at 5:33.
(Miller’s Take: Yeah, not a whole lot to say about this one. It was fast-paced, but completely forgettable.)
-Trick Williams was shown walking to the ring, looking very serious. [c]
-A video package on Triple H was shown, hyping his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.
-Trick Williams made his ring entrance. He said he called out Oba Femi, but hasn’t heard from him. He said he’s still the man in NXT. He fought, sacrificed, and lost a brother for this (obviously referencing Carmello Hayes). He said everyone in the back doesn’t want to see him get back to the top. Je’Von Evans came out, and Trick said he understands why he’s upset, but he was collateral damage. Evans said this time last year, Trick was him. He said he wants that number one spot, and the difference is, he doesn’t have to break out of anyone’s shadow to do it. Oooh.
Evans told Trick he’s not Trick Williams, he’s Carmelo Hayes. That got a big reaction from the crowd. Evans said he dropped Oba Femi, which prompted The Ruler to come out and enter the ring. Evans said he’d jump Femi’s ass again. Femi told Evans he might be the future, but it wouldn’t come at his expense. Ava finally came out and (surprise) announced that it would be Femi vs. Williams vs. Evans at Stand and Deliver. Williams sucker punched Evans, then got taken out by Femi. The lights went out, and Darkstate came out of the crowd and decimated Femi. Williams stood in the ring surrounded by Darkstate. I was waiting for him to crack a smile and share a group hug, but they rushed him and beat the bejesus out of him, too. [c]
(Miller’s Take: It was an enjoyable segment and while the match that was made makes sense in the context of the storyline, WWE is triple-threating me out. I always appreciate when history is acknowledged, so the mention of Carmelo Hayes was a nice touch. At least Darkstate did something this week beside stand in the crowd looking menacing.)
-A trainer told Andre Chase he had cracked ribs from his match last week and asked if he had a ride home. He said he was all alone, but his fanboys excitedly came to his rescue. As they were wheeling him away in a wheelchair, Jordynne Grace and Jaida Parker brawled past them, with security in hot pursuit.
-In another area of the building, Fraxiom were talking to Hank and Tank, who scrammed when the tag champs started their obligatory bickering with each other. At this point, it looked like a couple of teenage boys walked up to ask for Fraxiom’s autographs, but it turns out they’re an Evolve tag team called Swipe Right. They cut an awkward promo and ogled Roxanne Perez as she walked by. I think I’ll swipe left.
(3) ROXANNE PEREZ vs. KELANI JORDAN – Qualifying match for the Women’s North American Title six-woman ladder match at Stand and Deliver
A couple of opening matchshoves were followed by a headlock takedown by Jordan. They engaged in some fast-paced chain wrestling before the break. [c]
As they returned, Roxanne was showing off, and Jordan answered with a hard slap to the face. She followed that up with a leg drop on Perez as she was draped across the ropes, but Perez came back with an eye rake. She draped Jordan’s arm over the rope and landed a painful-looking stomp on it. Jordan sold the arm as Perez kept working it over and sent Jordan shoulder-first into the turnbuckle. With Jordan face-down on the mat, Perez stood on her shoulder and pulled her arm backwards in an unnatural position. Ouch. They cut to a split-screen commercial break.
Perez stayed focused on the arm, but Jordan fought back with some wild forearms. Jordan fired up with some acrobatic offense, but Perez made a comeback with a cross-body dive through the ropes. Back from the split-screen, both women traded offense. Jordan went for a split-legged moonsault, but missed. Perez came back with a forward flip, landing a mean knee to the back of Jordan’s head as she was on all fours. A slap from The Prodigy brought Jordan back to life, and she threw wild haymakers at Perez. Soon afterward, a second split-legged moonsault paid off for Jordan and ended in a three count.
WINNER: Kelani Jordan at 14:46 to qualify.
(Miller’s Take: It’s always a pleasure to watch these two women work. Perez has great ring psychology and her athletic style meshes well with that of Jordan, who is also a superstar in the making. Perez’s character has evolved to the point where she can take a loss, and Jordan needs to rack up a few W’s. Plus, anytime you have the promise of Jordan in a ladder match, you know you’re going to be in for a treat.)
-Ava was in the back with Stevie Turner, who was apologizing for Swipe Right, and Rob Stone. Ava said she was more worried about Darkstate and announced a six-man tag team match for next week with three members of Darkstate vs. the main event of Stand and Deliver…Oba Femi, Je’Von Evans, and Trick Williams. That has the potential to be a fun trainwreck. [c]
-Zaria told Sol Ruca she wanted her in her corner at Stand and Deliver. Kelani came up and bragged about beating one of the greatest in the business, Roxanne Perez. Ruca proposed the name ZaRuca for their tag team. I’m kind of enjoying these two as a team. I’m getting a Kane & Daniel Bryan vibe from them that is endearing.
(4) SHAWN SPEARS (w/The Culling) vs. RICKY SAINTS – North American Title match
Spears immediately took a powder, but Saints dove out of the ring and took it to Spears. The announcers brought up the long history of bad blood between them. They briefly returned to the ring before taking it back outside, where Saints performed an Undertaker-esque old school, with the twist of walking the barricade while hanging onto Spears’ arm before leaping down on him. They cut to a split-screen commercial break. The action continued on the outside, with Saints getting dumped hard on the ring steps. This slowed the pace of the match considerably.
Spears chucked him back in the ring. As they returned from split-screen, Saints looked like he would come back in a hope spot, but was quickly overcome by Spears. Spears went to the top, but was pushed onto the turnbuckle by Saints, who delivered a crushing top rope jackhammer. That was pretty spectacular. Back on their feet, they traded fists and chops, with Saints getting the better of the exchange. The crowd was really into this match. With the referee distracted by Niko Vance, Izzy Dame slid the title belt into the ring to Spears, who smashed Saints in the face with it, but only got a two-count. Spears failed an attempt at a C4, and the male members of The Culling got knocked out of the picture by Saints, who nailed a spear and a Roshambo for the surprise win.
WINNER: Ricky Saints in 10:24 to become the new North American Champion.
-As Saints was celebrating amongst an ecstatic NXT audience, Ethan Page charged the ring, laid out Saints, and lifted the North American belt over his head as the show ended.
(Miller’s Take: They really packed a lot into the final ten minutes of this show. The crowd was hot and the wrestlers fed off them. I’ll admit to being surprised at the title reign of Spears ending so soon, but that North American belt fits Saints’s waist just as perfectly as the Women’s NXT belt fits Vaquer’s. Ethan Page, always the opportunist, found a way to quickly get his heat back after his recent loss to Je’Von Evans. I smell a North American Title match at Stand and Deliver.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: The show had good pacing and delivered some exciting action overall. I criticize NXT for the over-the-top cinematic spots with the D’Angelo Family, but I applaud the backstage segments where one angle is spontaneously interrupted by another, such as an unkempt and broken Andre Chase being wheeled by his overenthusiastic groupies right into the middle of Jordynne Grace and Jaida Parker trying to obliterate each other. Hank & Tank continue to be entertaining, but I think slowing their pace a bit might clean up their work. I’m intrigued by the possibility of The D’Angelo Family facing Darkstate in the near future. No TNA on this show, which is fine. Keeping the crossovers at a minimum makes them more special. I think this show was a solid entry in the buildup to Stand and Deliver.
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