WWE NXT Review - April 15, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ethan Page def. NXT Heritage Cup Champion Lexis King, Wes Lee and Eddy Thorpe in an NXT North American Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Match (Non-Title)

All of these guys being heels and Ricky Saints being a babyface added some uncertainty to the outcome, but it was still pretty predictable that Page was winning considering the seeds were planted weeks ago. Nonetheless, this was a fun Fatal 4-Way filled with entertaining action. I was worried at one point that it would turn into a Fatal 5-Way at Stand & Deliver when Thorpe collided with Saints at ringside, but I'm glad that wasn't the case.

Lola Vice def. Tatum Paxley to Qualify for the NXT Women's North American Ladder Match at Stand & Deliver

As much as I would've wanted Paxley in the Ladder match, it's clear she's just a tag team wrestler for right now with Gigi Dolin, whereas Vice has been a standout singles star in the division for the last year. In fact, I can certainly see Vice walking out with the title at the event. This was a quality contest from these two. Paxley will end up on Stand & Deliver anyway as it was subsequently announced that there will be a Fatal 4-Way tag team match involving her and others with a shot at the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship on the line for next week's episode.

Hank Walker & Tank Ledger def. Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura, No Quarter Catch Crew (Tavion Heights and Myles Borne), The Culling (Brooks Jensen and Niko Vance) and Tyriek Igwe & Tyson Dupont in an NXT Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Gauntlet Match

This may have been slightly more effective if we didn't just have a tag team Gauntlet match with a similar format on last Friday's SmackDown. To the credit of Hank and Tank, though, they put forth a strong effort here and got over with the crowd big time. That immediately made them a threat to the NXT Tag Team Championship at Stand & Deliver. I would've preferred Nathan Frazer and Axiom running it back with The Hardy Boyz (this time for the NXT's tag titles), but at least they've told a story with Hank and Tank in recent weeks.

The D'Angelo Family and DarkState Brawled in the Parking Lot

The booking and presentation of DarkState has improved in recent weeks, but I'm still not completely sold on the stable. NXT's parking lot seems to be a place of chaos, so it made sense for this big brawl to happen there as opposed to in the ring or in the arena. It was perfectly fine and didn't overstay its welcome. Three members from each faction will face each other in a six-man tag team match at Stand & Deliver.

Thea Hail def. Karmen Petrovic to Qualify for the NXT Women's North American Ladder Match at Stand & Deliver

Hail was a surprise opponent for Petrovic (even though they revealed her in a graphic followed by a backstage segment right before the bout). She hadn't been seen since late last year when Chase U disbanded, and you'd have to go all the way back to last July to the last time she wrestled on TV. Needless to say, this was long overdue. This was brief, but it was what it needed to be.

Je'Von Evans Attacked NXT Champion Oba Femi and Trick Williams

There's been a lot of talking from these three throughout this feud, so while this was nothing new, it was a solid segment to serve as a final sell for their Triple Threat title match. They all had nice promo work and I liked that Evans was the one standing tall in the end considering he's the least likeliest to walk away with the belt this weekend. DarkState didn't make their presence felt, but that doesn't mean they won't help Williams win and reveal him as their leader, which has been the leading suspicion for a while now.

Overall Show

Finalizing the Stand & Deliver lineup at what feels like the last minute wasn't ideal in my opinion, but it's been an annual issue for the NXT brand, mostly since they insist on multi-person matches across the card to feature as many people as possible. As a go-home show, this was an adequate effort and it was newsworthy in the sense that a majority of the matches were meaningful. The video packages for the four stars involved in the NXT Women's Championship match were by far the best part of the night.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews