WWE NXT Review - February 10, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Vanity Project Attacked NXT Champion Joe Hendry

Hendry is the perfect person to be leading this new era of NXT since he's already established and popular yet is still a fresh face. He cut one of his usual promos and I thought Jackson Drake did a really nice job generating heat from the crowd with his mic work. Having him stand tall was smart to make him feel like a threat heading into their NXT Championship clash later on.

Jaida Parker vs. Blake Monroe Ended in a Double Count-Out

This feud is a nice use of Parker and Monroe at the moment, especially since they're so drastically different from a character standpoint. They had a good match in the time they were allotted and I had no issue with the non-finish since it protected both women in defeat. The post-match brawl between them was also well done. I imagine we're getting a rematch with a stipulation per the typical NXT formula.

Eli Knight def. Josh Briggs in a WWE Speed Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Semifinal Match

Briggs being relegated to the Speed division (if there even is such a thing) sounds about right. I'd be concerned for my spot on the roster if I were him after losing here, that can't be an encouraging sign (and I can guarantee you he's not main roster bound). This was an average Speed-style matchup, but I'm looking forward to Knight vs. Lefleur in the finals of this tournament.

DarkState, The Culling, OTM, and Hank Walker & Tank Ledger Interrupted Each Other and Brawled; Tony D'Angelo Attacked DarkState

NXT does way too many of these segments where it's a bunch of people interrupting each other and nothing of note is said. I understand the purpose of this was to remind viewers that there is an actual tag team division in NXT, but it was a lot of talking that wasn't very interesting. D'Angelo attacking DarkState furthered that feud, but even that program doesn't do much for me, personally.

NXT Champion Joe Hendry def. Evolve Men's Champion Jackson Drake (Evolve Men's Championship Was Not Defended)

I can't imagine anyone honestly believed Drake was winning the title here (not to mention this was slotted in the middle of the show), but it was a solid first defense for Hendry. They had a quality contest and Drake had an impressive outing. Ricky Saints attacked Hendry afterward and that's a logical direction for both men to go in considering how the Ladder match ended, but there's no way they wait until Stand & Deliver over WrestleMania weekend to do the first one-on-one encounter.

The Vanity Project (Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes) def. Tank Ledger and Hank Walker

Vanity Project might be the brightest prospects in NXT's depleted tag team scene at the moment because at least they're fresh faces. Ledger and Walker have been doing the same shtick forever and it's never going to get beyond a certain level. This was a serviceable match that earned Vanity Project entry into next week's number one contender's Fatal 4-Way tag team bout.

Sol Ruca and Zaria def. Evolve Women's Champion Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair

As I've said before, all of the drama between Ruca and Zaria has gotten old and they desperately need to get to the next stage of the story. This made sense to serve as the main event with the stipulation being that whoever picked up the win would be the new number one contender to the NXT Women's Championship (and unsurprisingly it was Ruca). It was a well-worked match and Ruca going over was the correct outcome.

Overall Show

The story with Ruca and Zaria seems to be the focal point of NXT TV at the moment, which isn't necessarily a bad thing with how long it's been built up. However, they do need to move it along and I suspect we'll get a major development during Ruca vs. Jacy Jane in two weeks when they collide for the NXT Women's Championship. This was a thumbs-up episode with stuff feeling slightly more important compared to what we normally get.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews​