As America nurses the hangover from a World Cup loss and a 250th birthday, another "WWE NXT" has come and gone. Much of Tuesday's show was spent setting up future title matches. The tag champions have new challengers, the Women's North American Champion has a new challenger, and Kendal Grey is being circled by the women's division like Sharks. You can read more about the episode in our handy WWE NXT 7/7/2026 results.With another "NXT" comes plenty to love and plenty to hate, and, as always, the Wrestling Inc. Staff is happy to share their thoughts with you. There was plenty to love, like the main event, or the chaotic tag team contender match, and there was also plenty to hate, like Izzi Dame's strange booking, or Tavion Height's terminal babyface push. If you have anything to add, the comment section will be open, as always.Without further introduction, here's the best and the worst of the July 7 edition of WWE NXT.
I will always love seeing a newcomer to "NXT" on Tuesday nights be given time on television to show off what they can do to a new audience. It's one of my favorite parts of watching the show on a weekly basis, and it makes an already solid show that much more enjoyable for me. However, it does take time to get performers established on the brand, and onscreen "NXT" General Manager Robert Stone has made clear his stance that performers should earn title shots by working hard and winning matches. With that in mind, I wasn't a fan of Kali Armstrong calling her shot for the NXT Women's Champion in the opening segment of this edition of "NXT".I didn't even mind that Armstrong called her shot and actually thought it was a great move for her character. I didn't really enjoy that most of what she said in this segment came off as though Armstrong had been a longtime talent on "NXT" that had won a ton of matches. As of right now, Armstrong has only had a total of five matches on "NXT" since July 2025, with only two of those being from this year, and just needs a little more time getting established for a segment like this one to work. It came off as really awkward and confusing to watch as a viewer.I also don't really think that Lola Vice or Kelani Jordan really added much of anything to this. I'm a fan of both women, but they both kind of just said the exact same things they've been saying for the last week or two. I know that "NXT" needed a way to set up the NXT Women's Championship Triple Threat Number One Contenders match for next week and had to get all three women involved, but Vice and Jordan's portions felt really repetitive and have already been done by them. I could've used something a little fresher from them, and just didn't feel like this entire thing quite landed as it was intended for me.Written by Olivia Quinlan
Last week, I loved the fact that the tag team division in "NXT" seemed to be heating up, and tonight's four-way match to determine the next number one contender for Vanity Project's gold further proved that. OTM, BirthRight, Dorian Van Dux and Sean Legacy, and DarkState put on one heck of a fast-paced bout that I really enjoyed, and it was a great first match on tonight's show.I thought every team got their spots in and had near-equal moments to shine, even OTM's Lucian Price and Bronco Nima, who I feel like sometimes fade into the background when up against a lot of more high-flying stars. I thought BirthRight's Uriah Connors had a great showing tonight, too, alongside partner Lexis King. There were plenty of wild spots throughout the match, which didn't feel like it slowed down at any point until some outside involvement at the very end.Van Dux and Legacy hit double moonsaults to the other teams on the outside at one point, but DarkState's Osiris Griffin wasn't to be outdone and hit a big flying cross body to everyone. It was around that time that Saquon Shugars appeared in the crowd to distract Dion Lennox at ringside, thus distracting Griffin and Cutler James, as well, and Charlie Demspey and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo pulled OTM out of the ring to brawl to the back. I actually didn't even mind all of that, however, as it allowed for more room for Legacy and Van Dux to work against Connors, who was left in the ring.I'm really interested in the team of Legacy and Van Dux, and I want to see them work more, both together and in singles matches. The pair got the win tonight with a Van Dux frog splash, followed by Legacy's 450, and I'm glad to see them move on to face Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes for the gold, though I'm not too confident they'll win on their first shot. I've seen their cute little back-and-forths on social media, and I think they work really well together, so I hope "NXT" gives them some more mic time or segments to show off their personalities and how they're going to continue to work as a team, if that's the plan going forward.The men's tag team division on "NXT" remains cooking, all while still including newer talent like Van Dux and Legacy. I think they should put on more of these multi-team matches in the future, because this action tonight was really, really fun.Written by Daisy Ruth
I didn't think it was possible to do everything and nothing at the same time. Yet that's exactly what Izzi Dame's "WWE NXT" booking has looked like in recent months.In May, Dame challenged for the NXT Women's Championship. Last month, she advanced to the semi-finals of the WWE Women's Speed Championship tournament. Tonight, she then moved back into the Women's North American Title picture by competing in a four-way number one contender's match.Three different championship scenes, but for Dame, all three produced the same result: a loss.I will give kudos to Dame for staying booked and busy. When she's not competing, she's frequently featured in backstage or promo segments on "NXT." In recent weeks, she's even appeared twice on the show, first for her own match, then in support of her Culling stablemates.With multiple "NXT" talents being called up to the main roster lately, it's clear that "NXT" is trusting Dame to fill in some gaps while new names familiarize themselves with the brand and the fans. Other than television time, though, I fail to see how it all benefits her.Dame's recent booking is lacking the substance I need in order to be able to sink my teeth into it. I want to invest in Dame as a WWE character. Her mic work has improved, and she's an easy heat magnet. Unfortunately, I can't because there's no momentum backing her. She's just traveling from place to place within the "NXT" women's division, with no firm ground or story to stand on.Perhaps The Culling's split from Shawn Spears will change that, but for right now, it's like Dame is just there, existing on "NXT."Written by Ella Jay
Kendal Grey was making her first defense of the NXT Women's Championship against Nattie in this week's show, and while there may have been a plethora of better options for the role of challenger, the match turned out to be some classic wrestling fun.Nattie, being a Neidhart, and Grey, having an amateur wrestling background, gave way to a battle of grappling. The veteran got the better of the champion for much of the bout, with Grey surviving and having to rely on a selection of openings throughout the contest. Both sought to end the match on the mat with armbars, ankle locks, and Sharpshooters, but it ultimately wound up a Shades of Grey out of nowhere, going against the grain of the match, that secured victory for the champion.Grey was just that little bit quicker than her challenger, and that means her first defense is in the books. One would hope that she is done with Nattie now, and this was just an isolated title bout, because on its own, it was a good little main event and rep for the new champion.The post-match sequence with those vying for that next challenger spot standing on the apron was a great segue in that regard. Lola Vice is hunting the rematch she has yet to have. Kali Armstrong is looking to make her mark on "WWE NXT." Kelani Jordan is after the title she feels she has earned. That's an exciting pool of challengers for Grey and cements the title as sought-after.The main event delivered on both a fun match and a hook for episodes to come, and as the women's division continues to be the best thing "NXT" has to offer at this current time, it's a good call to have them front and center, closing the show.Written by Max Everett
I thought "NXT" was headed somewhere interesting with Tavion Heights' character, even after his North American Championship loss to, and then handshake with, North American Champion Myles Borne at Great American Bash. Last week, the pair had a backstage segment where Borne didn't exactly blow him off, but seemed like he wasn't interested in being friends again after the way Heights had been acting.However, after tonight and Heights' promo, then in-ring confrontation with the Vanity Project, it seems like Heights is back to being a good ol' babyface, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he and Borne got a shot at Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes' NXT Tag Team Championships at some point.Borne went out tonight and basically just apologized to the WWE Performance Center crowd for how he had been acting and took accountability for it all. Vanity Project interrupted Heights' promo to yap a bit about Dorian Van Dux and Sean Legacy ahead of their title match next week. Then, Jackson Drake complained that Borne just handed Heights a title shot, then said Heights' recent victory over him had been a fluke, due to Borne's involvement.Heights got in Drake's face and said they could have a rematch, which of course led to a brawl, with Heights outnumbered three to one before Borne once again came out to make the save. While the "old" Heights of recent weeks would have been furious with Borne's involvement, he was right back to being buddy-buddy with the champion, and they embraced in the ring.I guess that's all well and good, because I really like Borne, but his championship reign hasn't been anything interesting, and now he may just be involved in his friend's feud with Vanity Project, not really doing anything on his own with his own storylines for his title. Heights' character really needs something to make him interesting, and I thought his heel edge was leading somewhere.This is all just pretty boring to me once again, and I can't say I'm even slightly interested in where this is going for Heights and Borne. The champion needs a solid storyline of his own, as it feels like he hasn't done anything since he feuded with Ethan Page to win the title in February. I don't want to say Heights is hopeless, but I'm not sure why his attempts at developing a new character have seemingly gone by the wayside.Written by Daisy Ruth
Tonight's number one contender match to the NXT Women's North American Championship featured two names already familiar with the title, Izzi Dame and Thea Hail, and one that's recently come close to it in Lizzy Rain. Layla Diggs, on the other hand, had yet to even look at the title.Considering the above, I was thrilled to see Diggs pull out the win and secure herself a future shot at the championship. Much like the NXT Women's Championship, it appears that the NXT Women's North American Championship is poised to meet some fresh challengers now, starting with Diggs.Don't get me wrong, Dame, Hail, and Rain are perfectly capable and exciting potential challengers in their own right, but considering the former two already held the title this year and the third just vied for it two months ago, it's nice to see someone else get a shot at the gold. It's even nicer knowing that Diggs will provide a good contrast to the in-ring style of the defending champion, Zaria.Zaria will undoubtedly utilize her strength and size advantage. Meanwhile, Diggs will bring the fast pace, high-flying action, and her beautiful moonsault (the height and precision of tonight's on Hail was truly a magnificent sight!). How exactly these styles will clash has yet to be seen, but the possibilities alone have me extremely hype for it.Written by Ella Jay
