WWE NXT Review - August 11, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

EK Prosper and Lizzy Rain def. The Culling

I'm not sure if it was explained where Shawn Spears was, but Rain had to go at it alone (would she really have had to face Niko Vance if they were both legal?) until Prosper showed up halfway through. That was a bit random since he's had nothing to do with Rain and The Culling, but he was able to bounce back from his recent loss to Keanu Carver. This turned into a fun opener.

Kali Armstrong and Kelani Jordan Attacked NXT Women's Champion Kelani Jordan and WWE Women's Speed Champion Wren Sinclair

Armstrong and Jordan both demanded a show at the NXT Women's Championship, so I thought this was leading to a Triple Threat for the title at Heatwave, but only Jordan ended up being granted a shot. It's about time Jordan got a one-on-one opportunity at the title, so I'm fine with that being the bout for Heatwave, but I guess this means Armstrong will have to wait. Nonetheless, this was a decent segment to set that up as well as next week's tag team match with these four.

Dion Lennox def. Saquon Shugars

This was along the same lines as their original encounter at The Great American Bash, if not a little less interesting because it was significantly shorter. It was nothing out of the ordinary other than Lennox avenging his loss to Shugars. Surely this isn't the end of their rivalry, right? I mean, it should be, but they have to be building to some sort of a rubber match with a stipulation because it'd be lame if this was intended to be the payoff.

NXT Women's North American Champion Zaria def. WWE Women's Speed Champion Wren Sinclair (WWE Women's Speed Championship Was Not Defended)

This was definitely an improvement over their match from last week, largely because it lasted longer. Granted, I never actually expected Sinclair to win, but I enjoyed the match for what it was. I could have done without Shugars and Lennox brawling into the ring during it, especially since Zaria had the advantage before they came out and ended up winning, anyway.

Kam Hendrix def. Mason Rook

Remember when Rook arrived in NXT a few months ago with a ton of fanfare? Yeah, what the hell happened? I don't think he's won a televised singles match this entire time. I understand wanting to give Hendrix a win to put heat on him, but Rook feels way less special than he was when he debuted. This was okay, but there wasn't much they could do in only three or so minutes.

Lucien Price def. WWE Speed Champion Lexis King (Non-Title)

Well, this was, uh, something. They've been teasing something between OTM and Los Garza since Bronco Nima is pulling double duty between NXT and AAA at the moment, but Price competing on his own isn't exactly exactly. Combine that with the fact that the WWE Speed Championship is pointless and you have yourself a waste of time. This was enough to earn him an opportunity at the title on next week's show, and the best part is that he didn't have to go through a damn tournament to get it.

Cruz Montana vs. Grayson Waller in an NXT Championship No. 1 Contender's Match Ended in a No Contest

This main event was going well up until Zilla Fatu shockingly showed up and laid waste to both men. The crowd went nuts and understandably so considering Fatu has generated quite a bit of buzz for himself on the independent scene in recent years. He came off like a total badass here in his debut. Does this mean we're in for a Fatal 4-Way for the NXT title at Heatwave?

Overall Show

This was shaping up to be a fairly forgettable edition of NXT until that awesome ending with Fatu crashing the number one contender's main event. That's quite the way to add some excitement to the Heatwave build. The rest of the show was adequate with nothing really standing out, but the opener exceeded my expectations and some stuff was progressed.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews