WWE NXT Review - July 14, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT Tag Team Champions The Vanity Project (Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor) def. Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux

Much like last week, Legacy and Van Dux had great chemistry as partners and worked well with Vanity Project. I appreciated that this was given an ample amount of time as it was a very enjoyable opener. I never truly thought Legacy and Van Dux were going to take the titles, but in being made to look credible in defeat, I wouldn't mind them sticking together as a tandem for a little longer.

Shiloh Hill Interrupted Tristan Angels

Both Angels and Hill are talented talkers, but this segment was too goofy for me. Angels' promo was perfectly passable, but Hill's was way too over-the-top, right down to the manic laughing. The lights flickering didn't help, either. Hill is at his best when he's in serious mode, and whatever they're doing with him isn't working for me. I also don't see why this rivalry needed to continue after Hill beat Angels decisively at The Great American Bash.

Naraku def. Tate Wilder

We found out later in the night that Naraku will challenge Tony D'Angelo for the NXT Championship in a Street Fight on next week's show, so it was logical to give Naraku a straightforward win before then. I'm just surprised that this wasn't more of a squash considering Wilder has been a glorified stepping stone so far in NXT. The match was average at best.

NXT Women's North American Champion Zaria def. Evolve Women's Champion Nikkita Lyons, Izzi Dame and Lizzy Rain in a 4-Way Match

Layla Diggs became number one contender last week, but she had to be pulled from this show after getting injured at a live event over the weekend and not being cleared to compete. Instead, Robert Stone awarded Dame and Rain title shots despite them both losing last week's number contender's match and Lyons getting awarded a title shot because... well, I have no idea. This was another fun four-way from the women, even if it was rather random.

Jackson Drake def. Tavion Heights

Vanity Project is pretty prominently featured on NXT TV and justifiably so. They're a strong faction with some very promising performers. Drake should be in line for a shot at the NXT North American Championship coming off this victory. He and Heights had a good match with the story being that Heights was simply outnumbered by Vanity Project, which might create tension between him and Myles Borne because Borne wasn't in his corner to help him out.

AAA World Mixed Tag Team Champion Lola Vice def. Kali Armstrong and Kelani Jordan in an NXT Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat Match

This benefited from having an unpredictable outcome as any one of these women could realistically won. Although they rushed some spots and it made for a slightly-sloppy final few minutes, the overall match was enjoyable and nicely paced. I have no issue with Vice getting a rematch with Kendal Grey for the title if the idea is for her to put over Grey again on her way out of the brand.

Overall Show

NXT really needs to tone it down with the multi-person matches. We got two Fatal 4-Ways last week and another one this week along with a Triple Threat. Just focus on telling individual stories! Otherwise, this was a thumbs-up edition of NXT. The two title matches and the number one contender's match all delivered and we got some significant stuff lined up for next week.

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