The stars of "WWE NXT" were out for Revenge for one more week, and the show was a raucous night of action in the WWE Performance Center. The show had a Last Woman Standing match, a Casket Match, and other madness that can be read about on the results page.It's now time for the weekly Tuesday Warriors of Wrestling Inc. to get deep in their feelings and discuss what worked and what didn't. There was plenty to love, like the main event, and there was plenty to hate, like Lexis King succeeding yet again. We praise the hype video for Lizzy Rain, hate the logic behind Darkstate's latest rematch.You get the picture, let's break it down.
I understand that "WWE NXT" is potentially losing two big heels in Jacy Jayne and Blake Monroe, but couldn't Lola Vice's next Women's Championship challenger be someone more convincing?While no match has been made official yet, Dame made her intentions to pursue that NXT Women's Championship clear in a backstage segment at "NXT" Stand & Deliver. Tonight, she reiterated them by nailing Vice, the reigning champion, with a big boot, then raising her title high in the air.Looking back at Dame's recent history, "NXT" fans know that she's coming off major back-to-back losses to Tatum Paxley, one of which was contested in a steel cage. Yes, she did defeat Sol Ruca on April 7, but that was largely due in part to interference from Shawn Spears, Niki Vance, and Zaria. Dame's last arguably legit win came on February 3, when she successfully retained the NXT Women's North American Championship in a triple threat bout. But even then, it was outside involvement from Kelani Jordan that neutralized Vice, and in turn, left an opening for Dame to pin Thea Hail.I'm not saying that Dame can't be a worthy challenger to Vice's NXT Women's Championship. At this point, though, WWE hasn't presented her in a way that gives me, as a viewer, confidence that she matches up with Vice.Going into their presumed title match, I believe that Dame would have no shot of dethroning Vice. Had someone fresher like Kali Armstrong or Lizzy Rain stepped up to Vice instead, I at least would have the benefit of unpredictability, as both of those names are rather unfamiliar to me in WWE.Written by Ella Jay
On Tuesday's episode of "WWE NXT," Tatum Paxley put her "WWE NXT" Women's North American Championship on the line against Blake Monroe in a Casket Match, and it was a killer contest.Before I start to beat a dead horse with these death-related puns, Paxley and Monroe's match was genuinely a stand-out match, even amidst a card stacked with talented showings from Zaria, Sol Ruca, Myles Borne, and Dion Lennox. In WWE's first-ever title-related Casket Match since 1998, Paxley and Monroe left no stone unturned in their do-or-die fight for Paxley's title. This match had everything: interesting use of weapons, crazy women, and a whole lot of symbolism to sell the story.Tuesday's match saw weapons that you seldom if ever see in a ring. I knew this match was going to be awesome when Paxley pulled out a dollhouse from underneath the ring. While I'm a bit upset Monroe didn't end up going through it, I quickly forgot about it when Monroe literally picked up the dollhouse and smashed it over Paxley's back. I know that people critique WWE for not innovating enough, and while I'm not saying a dollhouse in a Casket Match is the pinnacle of innovation, I'm saying that nobody in recent memory has done that before. Even aside from the dollhouse, though, we got plenty of lesser-used weapons. The fire extinguisher always looks great, and Monroe's diamonds are iconic, if rare. It was also great to see these two use the casket itself in capacities greater than "let's slam her head against the wood." Spanish Fly off of the casket? They're performers after my own heart.I love women who are always a little bit hysterical. Obviously, Paxley is a nutcase (that's a compliment). Paxley's insanity, however, was great at pulling out similarly unhinged reactions from Monroe. We've seen glimpses of "The Woman From Hell" in "NXT" so far, and while I always think Monroe could be a little crazier, she looked the most unsettling she has been in a while. It only makes sense that Paxley was the one to elicit that out of her.The symbolism! Obviously, the dollhouse and diamonds are clear nods to each woman's gimmick, but I loved the detail of Monroe initially failing to notice her title in the casket. For a woman so obsessed with this title, it's odd that she wouldn't notice her baby was gone. She really wanted to hurt Paxley. This wasn't an ego-fueled feud: this was personal. Her custom title being the one thing that stopped her from claiming the real thing? Vanity will be Monroe's downfall. Vanity will bring Monroe to her demise.Even in a stacked card, Paxley and Monroe killed it tonight.Written by Angeline Phu
I thought we were long enough into Robert Stone's tenure as general manager of "NXT" where he'd be a little smarter. Sure, things continue to be chaotic backstage at the WWE Performance Center, but he's got some time under his belt, and I'd assume he would at least have the basics down. That's why I was rather confused when he apparently granted DarkState another shot at the North American Championship and Myles Borne. However, the title opportunity isn't going to Dion Lennox, who Borne defeated tonight, thanks to DarkState interference, but rather, Saquon Shugars, who interfered the most in the match.Don't get me wrong, I'm ready to see a DarkState breakup as much as the next person, and this story helps further that, but this doesn't make much sense. Stone said to Shugars as he was beginning to plead his case, that Shugars "knows he hates interference," to which Shugars replied that he "was the one who fumbled the bag." So, how is it that Shugars ended up with the title match? Stone is usually up in arms about everything else that goes on on his show, so why award this bad behavior?When that backstage interaction started, I figured Shugars would prolong the DarkState breakup and get Stone to award Lennox a rematch, where the rest of the faction was banned from ringside or something. And, again, while the breakup of this stable is much-needed at this point, we're just going to get a repeat of this week's North American Championship match, where Lennox costs Shugars the title match.At least Shugars and Lennox are the more interesting characters of DarkState and the ones involved the most in this, with the most to benefit from a feud. I'm not sure exactly where Osiris Griffin and Cutler James even fit in on the "NXT" roster once the breakup does happen. But, I do hate that Borne is caught in the middle of this when he should probably be facing some more interesting opponents, and hopefully, next week is where his involvement in the DarkState breakup angle ends.Written by Daisy Ruth
With names such as Sol Ruca, Jacy Jayne, and Blake Monroe being considered for call ups to WWE's main roster, "WWE NXT" will have some slots to fill in for its own talent lineup. Last week, we saw the "NXT" debut of Kali Armstrong, the inaugural Women's EVOLVE Champion and three-time NCAA All-American. Now, we have Lizzy Rain on deck for next week.Rain, formerly known as Rayne Leverkusen on the indie wrestling scene, is a new name to WWE, having reportedly signed a contract just this year. As a teaser of Lizzy Rain, WWE shared a vignette showing off her signature messy, curly hair and spunky attitude. Add in the guitar riffs, drum beats, and concert crowd silhouettes, and I think fans got a solid first look at who the Lizzy Rain character is.Rain herself sent a strong message in her introductory promo by noting that, despite detractors calling her "too loud, too gritty, too unapologetic," she would never apologize for who she is. And who is she exactly? "Heavy metal, baby," in her words.In all my time watching WWE, I don't think I've seen a truly heavy metal-based persona within the women's division. Jacy Jayne had shown inklings of it. WWE Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley has a more punk metal aesthetic, while Ruby Riott's presentation more so aligned with punk rock culture. That's why I'm even more excited to see Rain, a full-fledged heavy metal entity on "NXT."A fresh face with an even fresher character? Sign me up all day.Written by Ella Jay
Did Lexis King really need another WWE Speed Championship?Let me be clear: I'm a firm believer that the WWE Speed Championship is meaningless and stupid in principle. Unless you're the dangerous siren song of YouTube Shorts/TikTok doomscrolling, I just don't know how you can get me invested in anything in three (or five) minutes or less. Despite my disdain for this pointless title, however, I can acknowledge that high-flying wrestlers like EK Prosper have been doing their part to make the matches entertaining. Despite my disdain for this pointless title, I can acknowledge that Prosper's WWE Speed Championship Tournament Final match against Lexis King was fun! Fun is where the compliments end, however. When the WWE Speed Championship doesn't really matter, was it really worth it to strap up Lexis King over Prosper?I acknowledge that Prosper might be another "NXT" flash in the pan. He might be, as Jacy Jayne once said in describing Kendal Grey, "NXT's" new flavor of the week. However, even if he is, he has done far more to entertain and impress me in a few short weeks than Lexis King has done...uh, ever. I'm racking my brain for instances in which I truly cared positively or negatively about King, and they're not there. His die-cut beard, maybe? When he was being ableist towards Myles Borne? The Birthright is extremely corny and is hard to take seriously. Did he even do anything with the "WWE NXT" Heritage Cup, aside from giving Charlie Dempsey (who is now his Birthright stablemate) daddy issues? When Prosper has shown great promise in just a few short weeks post-debut, and has entertained the WWE Universe far more than King has, does it make sense to give this title, however pointless it is, to King over Prosper?I can't think of anything that King could do to elevate this title. He's already an "NXT" has-been, and he hasn't even left "NXT" yet. Prosper's backstage segment following the loss seems like WWE is building to a title feud between Prosper and Birthright, which is, I suppose, better than absolutely nothing. It still feels like a double whammy, though. What are we doing, putting such an inconsequential title on an equally inconsequential man?Written by Angeline Phu
"WWE NXT Revenge" finally lived up to its name as Zaria sent her former tag team partner, Sol Ruca, presumably, away from the brand after her "WWE Raw" appearance on Monday.Following on from Ruca's win over Zaria, three Sol Snatchers later, at Stand & Deliver, she was tasked with going one step further and trying to keep Zaria down over three times as long as she could the last time. And as one might expect, that turned out to be much easier said than done.The pair fought and fought through extremity after extremity, and eventually both looked to be out for the count after exploding through the balcony board. Ultimately, they rose, and Zaria set up tables beneath the balcony, Ruca taking the advantage and setting her up on the tables.The camera focused on Ruca as she made her ascent, with Zaria disappearing both out of fame and off the tables and joining her rival up top. Zaria ran for a spear. Ruca jumped. Zaria teetered on the edge. But then Ruca reached out, and Zaria spoke the barbed words of endings of yore: "I'm sorry, I love you." Ruca obviously took that as a yielding. A surrender to the fact that things had gone too far. But it wasn't. It was never going to be. Yet for a suspended moment in time, only the audience knew that.They shared a moment that looked like an impossible forgiveness, rising back to their feet and embracing. Then Zaria pushed Ruca off, sending her crashing through one of the tables in a gnarly yet fitting way to cap this feud. It worked for "The Lion King" when Scar made that fateful decision to drop Mufasa. It also worked here.Zaria is now positioned as the top heel on the brand, having knocked off legitimately the women's MVP of the brand for the past two years. Ruca has a memorable send-off if that is the case, which it definitely should be. It was melodramatic, as the feud and the entire partnership before that had been. But melodrama can be and often is very entertaining, especially when coupled with a crescendo that sees someone crashing through furniture. A really good way to close an enjoyable enough show, and finally, at least something vaguely resembling vengeance.Written by Max Everett
