WWE NXT Review - February 3, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT Women's North American Champion Izzi Dame def. Thea Hail and Lola Vice in a Triple Threat Match

This was a really well-worked Triple Threat with all three women having good showings and keeping the pace consistent throughout. Kelani Jordan attacking Vice and targeting her hand to cots her the win was a logical way to further that feud, and there was no reason to switch the title back to Hail here. Tatum Paxley not attempting to interfere (despite being "suspended") was the only surprise.

Tony D'Angelo Put DarkState on Notice

D'Angelo getting updated entrance music (though I liked the song he used before) was long overdue. It feels like they're trying to make D'Angelo out to be the Crow Sting of NXT, and while I don't know if that's going to work, I applaud their effort. Truthfully, I don't know what else he does assuming the main roster doesn't want him or doesn't have plans for him right now (if ever). This was a solid promo from D'Angelo to establish that he's coming after DarkState and tease whatever he's doing after that's over.

Elio Lefleur def. Charlie Dempsey in a WWE Speed Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Semifinal Match

I still hate that there's always tournaments to crown contenders to the Speed titles. The concept is stupid anyway and the constant tourneys don't help. Why not just tell stories or, better yet, not have the Speed titles at all? This was a nice little sprint from these two. If anyone should have Lefleur the men's Speed belt, it's Lefleur. This also gave him a win after he failed to beat Ethan Page for the NXT North American Championship in his debut two weeks ago.

TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champions The Elegance Brand (Heather and M by Elegance) def. Zaria and Sol Ruca

NXT and TNA are basically sharing the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship since the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is rarely defended on NXT these days, and that's fine with him. This was a fun match with more tension from Zaria and Ruca. They've been at odds for so long now that we desperately need to have Zaria turn on Ruca so they can finally feud.

Lexis King and TNA International Champion Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo def. Chase U (Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors)

King and Lorenzo are apparently putting together a faction of second-generation wrestlers, hence why Connors followed them out afterward. That's a far better use of Connors than whatever the hell he's been doing (or not doing) in Chase U, but Lorenzo still sticks out like a sore thumb because he's average at best. The match itself was decent, but it only existed to hint at Connors joining King and Lorenzo.

Zaria, Evolve Women's Champion Kendal Grey, Wren Sinclair and Sol Ruca Confronted Fatal Influence

Zaria's talented, but she's come across like a whiny complainer for so long now that it's difficult to care about her character. What the hell has she done to earn a shot at the NXT Women's Championship? Despite that, this segment set up a tag team match next week where whoever gets the winning fall will go for the gold next. Uhm, okay, sure. This feels more convoluted than it needs to be.

Joe Hendry def. Ricky Saints, Dion Lennox, Evolve Men's Champion Jackson Drake, Shiloh Hill, Keanu Carver and Sean Legacy in a Ladder Match to Win the NXT Championship

We've seen so many damn Ladder matches in NXT that I'm pretty much numb to them at this point and they don't feel remotely as special as they should, but to the credit of those involved, they worked hard here and delivered an entertaining main event. Everyone got some time to shine, but Saints and Hendry were the only realistic options to win and I'm glad it was Hendry. Saints vs. Hendry is an easy feud to book coming out of this and NXT should build up some other worthy challengers in the meantime.

Overall Show

As I've said before, you'd think they would have made this a special edition of NXT (like Roadblock, but it was also announced that's happening at the end of March I believe) given how loaded it was on paper. It was a thumbs-up episode thanks to the three title matches. Hendry capturing the vacant NXT Championship was especially notable along with Robert Stone being named the interim NXT general manager with Ava now gone from the company.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews