The Great American Bash might be over, but "WWE NXT" continues on. Tuesday's show gave the big winners from Sunday little time to breathe, as plenty of new contenders made their cases to the various champions, and Nikki Blackheart debuted under a new name to throw the rankings into disarray. If you want to know more, I direct you to the WWE NXT 6/30/2026 Results Page.Now, it's time to break down what the Wrestling Inc. Staff loved and hated from the final "NXT" of June. There were plenty of highs, like the earnest, endearing opening promo by new Women's Champion Kendal Grey, or the tag title match between The Vanity Project and two of AAA's heavy hitters. There were also precarious lows, like the way El Hijo Del Vikingo was pulled out of his advertised Latin American Title match. As always, the comments section will be open, if you want to keep the conversation rolling.Without further ado, here's what the Wrestling Inc. Staff loved and hated from Tuesday's show. Starting with what they hated...
Tonight's "NXT" episode featured a singles match between two of the brand's brightest stars, Mason Rook and Jackson Drake. Unfortunately, we weren't able to fully immerse ourselves in it as a random video call from Kam Hendrix disrupted its flow.As Rook stretched Drake's arms behind his back in the ring, a call from "NXT" commentator Booker T's phone began echoing throughout the WWE Performance Center. A gleeful Booker casually answered it, revealing Hendrix as the caller. Hendrix, who's been absent from "NXT" programming in recent weeks, claimed that he was "60 [or] 61-and-a-half percent" cleared to return to the ring after being laid out by Rook. Hendrix additionally promised that upon his return, he'd deliver the "light, Kam, action" to the fans. The end of the "Kam Cam" segment then saw fellow commentator Vic Joseph ask Booker how his phone was magically hooked up to the production truck, to which Booker stated that he "got people" to make it happen.I'll admit that I'm not totally against the idea of the "Kam Cam." It's an avenue that could keep Hendrix on television even if he's not medically cleared to compete. It would also give him an opportunity to sharpen his promo skills, whether by targeting Rook or other potential opponents. When it comes at the expense of someone else's match moments and flow, though, I can't say that I'm a fan. If anything, it proved to be more of a distraction than a benefit to the story going on between Rook and Drake in the ring tonight.Written by Ella Jay
A lot of promo segments that WWE tends to feature on its programming these days can feel overproduced and heavily scripted. It's rare to feel like a promo segment is coming from the heart of the superstar who's cutting it, but that was the exact feeling I got from Kendal Grey after being crowned as the new NXT Women's Champion, and it was an incredibly welcomed one.Grey may not have said too much in her opening segment, but she really didn't have to. It was a simple, but effective way to kick off her reign as NXT Women's Champion with some words that felt like they were from her heart as she kept it real about the self doubt and insecurities she's faced while still acknowledging her confidence in herself when she's under pressure. I also loved the little added touch of Grey acknowledging she doesn't have the traditional "look" of a women's champion in WWE and noted that she doesn't enjoy wearing tons of makeup, adding just that much more authenticity and realness to this segment.It was also refreshing to see a heel wanting a title shot not even make it inside the ring to begin a brawl when Kelani Jordan confronted Grey. Jordan has largely had very similar segments over the last couple of weeks, looking for a title shot, so it was a nice change of pace to see Tatum Paxley waste no time sneaking up behind her to take her out in a matter of seconds as Grey and Sinclair (quite literally) ate their cake in the ring. From top to bottom, I just adored everything about this segment and thought it made for a really great opener on this edition of "NXT".Written by Olivia Quinlan
When I wrote in last week's edition of this column that Keanu Carver was feeling directionless, I didn't mean for "NXT" creative to take that direction in weird, seemingly meaningless ways, just for something to do with him. This week, instead of taking out EK Prosper, who beat him last week, Carver took out Prosper's opponent ahead of his match for the AAA Latin American Championship, El Hijo del Vikingo.Right off the bat tonight, Carver looked pretty dumb for taking out the champion, rather than Prosper, to potentially put himself in line for a championship shot. Obviously, he doesn't care about a AAA title, which doesn't look great for him or the promotion. I guess he'd have to be sneaky in taking out Prosper to potentially get that title shot, and sneaky isn't exactly the name of Carver's game.Instead of a Latin American Championship match tonight, General Manager Robert Stone booked Carver vs. Prosper, round two. But Carver had gotten himself involved with Hank and Tank during the pre-show of Great American Bash, or during the show, outside during the celebration in the Performance Center parking lot. He took out Hank, and tonight, we saw Tank get his revenge by taking out Carver during his match.Tank sent him through the LED board at ringside, and instead of Prosper getting the count-out victory, Carver got back in the ring to eat a moonsault, and his second loss to Prosper in two weeks. So, in addition to looking silly by taking out the champion rather than the challenger tonight, Carver looks extra ridiculous by taking yet another loss to a much smaller (though very talented, don't get me wrong there) star.Now, he also seems to be involved in a feud with a tag team rather than going after say, Myles Borne and the North American Championship after stacking up a few wins. Carver's direction in "NXT" is just plain ridiculous, for lack of a better way to even begin to describe it. He's a monster of a talent, and he looked so promising in "WWE EVOLVE" that I have no idea what happened, especially when "NXT" was bringing in new guys following all the WrestleMania 42 call-ups. I'm baffled why Carver wasn't among those pushed hard. "NXT" booking hasn't been the strongest lately when it comes to its men's division, and Carver is sadly a prime example of that.Written by Daisy Ruth
The "NXT" tag team division is finally getting some love, and the issue of Vanity Project's Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor rarely defending the NXT Tag team Championships seems to finally be getting addressed. While the champions defended their gold against AAA's Dr. Wagner Jr. and Galeno tonight, there were plenty of other teams shooting their shot backstage in Robert Stone's office.I believe it was BirthRight's Uriah Connors and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo who brought up the fact that Vanity Project has only defended their titles about three times since winning them from DarkState back on the February 24 edition of "NXT." They also noted that only one of those defenses was against a team from the developmental brand, and, by a quick peek at Baylor's Cagematch page, BirthRight was surprisingly correct. The fact that those titles have been defended so little across four months is pretty ridiculous.So, BirthRight, OTM, DarkState's Osiris Griffin and Cutler James, and Sean Legacy, who was without his partner, Dorian Van Dux, though the pair linked up in a later backstage segment, all complained that they wanted a shot at the gold to Stone. The general manager decreed that the teams will face off in a four-way match next week to determine the next number one contender to Vanity Project's titles.As we all know, with "NXT," even if a clean winner emerges from that match, the other three teams are going to be waiting in the wings for their shot. If they even go as far as waiting, as it's just as likely that the title match, or even the contendership match itself, descends into chaos.I actually really like Vanity Project, and I think they're good heel champions. They just need to defend the titles more often. I think it's a good idea to keep the belts on them and have them score some wins over a few teams, as some of the babyfaces, like Van Dux and Legacy or Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar, establish themselves a bit more. I'm glad the division seems to be getting some more shine, and I hope that continues after this impending tag title match, after the contenders are determined next week.Written by Daisy Ruth
Kendal Grey winning the Women's title this past weekend meant that Tuesday's show would establish how her reign gets started, and, namely, who would step into the role of first challenger. The "WWE NXT" women's division boasts so many great options, whether that be an established rival in Kelani Jordan, a turn from a friend like Wren Sinclair, or a trilogy to wrap up with Lola Vice.Jaida Parker, Tatum Paxley, Thea Hail, Izzi Dame, Lizzy Rain, Kali Armstrong, or even tonight's debutant, Nikki Blackheart (Nicole Martinez). Imagine if Myka Lockwood did something other than stand around bouncing for the Vanity Project.But no, Grey's first challenger will be Nattie. A veteran of the sport who really does deserve respect, a proponent of the women's revolution before it ever became a catchy tagline, and undoubtedly a future Hall of Famer. But someone who really belongs on the main roster if anywhere, deepening the ranks as someone reliable in the ring and versed in the business. Not the first challenger for the new Women's Champion of the developmental brand.It was an issue when she tapped out Parker after establishing their feud on the basis that she was "soft." Now that win is being used to perpetuate this challenge, the issue feels a little more glaring. There is very little doubt that Grey will win the match over Nattie, and maybe there is a chance it's used as a vehicle for Parker to get involved and restart their issue. But then, surely just book that match and let Grey continue to work with the other women that weren't really getting up to much on this show.Even as someone who doesn't particularly click with her character or body of work, Evolve Women's Champion Nikkita Lyons was present this week and has been flanking Nattie alongside Karmen Petrovic as of late. And it feels like the current Evolve Women's Champion challenging the former Evolve Women's Champion, who has since stepped up to become NXT Women's Champion, has legs to it.And then, when Grey presumably wins the match, it will have been of benefit to just the victor. Like a developmental system should work.Point being, bringing in someone well-established to be Grey's first challenger feels like an opportunity missed.Written by Max Everett
With former NXT Women's Champion Tatum Paxley seemingly on her way up to WWE's main roster soon, a new name and face has rushed in to balance the scales in "WWE NXT." That, of course, is the former Nikki Blackheart, who marked her "NXT" debut by attacking Paxley in the closing moments of tonight's broadcast.Paxley suffered a loss to Kelani Jordan in the "NXT" main event. In the moments after, Blackheart then made her presence known by clubbing Paxley from behind, dropping an elbow, and trapping her in a torture rack. "NXT" commentator Vic Joseph claimed that "we all know who that is" when referring to Blackheart, which is technically untrue, though he did bounce back with a statement that was very true.Blackheart is indeed one of the most talked-about women in the wrestling industry today. In fact, she went viral on social media in 2025 for her impressive look on the indies. Blackheart is jacked. She, like Paxley, also takes on a darker aesthetic, which I, and many others, are generally a fan of.If we were excluding NXT Women's Champion Kendal Grey, Tatum Paxley is probably the best person to target upon one's debut, especially if they're looking to make an immediate impact. Paxley herself has held the NXT Women's and Women's North American Championships. Moreover, she remains a highly beloved member of the WWE roster. So if WWE is positioning Blackheart (whom I assume will soon take on a brand new ring name) as a heel, tonight sets her up for instant heat the next time we see her.Written by Ella Jay
