WWE NXT Review - July 8, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ricky Starks def. The Vanity Project (Brad Baylor, Ricky Smokes and Evolve Champion Jackson Drake) in a Gauntlet Match to Earn an NXT North American Championship Opportunity at The Great American Bash (Non-Title)

I know Vanity Project has been associated with Page for the last month or so, but was there really any doubt that Saints was winning here, especially since a rubber match with Page was always the endgame? There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about any of the mini matches, but each of them told the story of Saints having to fight from underneath and ultimately surviving. Saints informed Page afterward that their match at The Great American Bash 

Charlie Dempsey def. Tavion Heights

Had Heights won, he would've been able to leave No Quarter Catch Crew like Myles Borne did. Heights didn't have the same success, but he gave it a valiant effort. They had a quality contest and Wren Sinclair throwing in the towel for Heights was a nice touch. I thought Dempsey might cheat to ensure his group didn't lose another member, but no such luck. I'm curious if this was just a one-off or if Heights will continue to pursue freedom and if Borne will factor in at all.

Mike Santana and Joe Hendry def. The High Ryze (Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe)

This was all about Santana and Hendry proving they could work as a cohesive unit, even though they'll be opponents in the three-way for the TNA World Championship at Slammiversary. High Ryze are a good team and are improving, but this wasn't their match to win. Trick Williams, Santana and Hendry will have a contract signing at The Great American Bash, which I know sounds exciting (and yes, I say that sarcastically).

NXT Champion Oba Femi Attacked Josh Briggs Before Yoshiki Inamura Attacked Femi

I would preferred this segment just be between Femi and Inamura. Briggs' involvement was not only unnecessary but it also makes me worried he'll interfere in their NXT Championship match on Saturday. This segment was still fine and it accomplished what it needed to. I'm sure the match itself will deliver, but I'm only so interested because it came together on such short notice and I don't see Inamura having a chance of actually winning.

Kelani Jordan def. Lainey Reid

I appreciate that Laid is getting consistent television time. Hopefully that helps her get over. This was a fairly basic bout that didn't last long, but Jordan winning was the correct call and I'm glad Thea Hail went after Reid afterward instead of costing her the win. Congrats on Jordan on recent engagement to Carmelo Hayes, by the way. I believe she was wearing the ring during this match.

Je'Von Evans Attacked Jasper Troy

Troy attacked Evans backstage earlier in the episode and came out to the ring demanding that he be entered into the NXT Championship match at The Great American Bash, only for Evans to emerge and take the fight to him. This was a short and sweet segment, but it was well done. It was later announced that they'll go one-on-one on Saturday's show. I'm happy with how Troy has been handled thus far in NXT.

NXT Tag Team Champions Tank Ledger and Hank Walker def. The Culling (Shawn Spears and Niko Vance)

For a match I didn't care much about on paper, this honestly exceeded my expectations and ended up being quite the enjoyable encounter. Hank and Tank have shown that they can be a fun team when given some time (though their underdeveloped characters still don't do a ton for me) and The Culling held their own as well. In retrospect, I'm surprised this wasn't saved for The Great American Bash, but I'm not complaining about getting a five-match card.

The Evolution Summit Descended Into Chaos

You had to know this "summit" would turn into the typical revolving door of promos that we tend to see way too often in NXT. It was an absolute mess, but the crowd was certainly happy to see Stephanie Vaquer show up and I liked that Ava established who will be representing NXT in the Battle Royal at Evolution. I hated the layout of this segment and it didn't make for great television, but I understood what they were going for.

Overall Show

This wasn't exactly a strong go-home show ahead of The Great American Bash and it was a mixed bag on the whole. They completed the card for Saturday, but it's easily the weakest NXT premium live event lineup so far in 2025. They rushed into it just so it could air opposite of AEW All In, and ultimately, only NXT will suffer from that, not AEW. The build was largely lazy, so fingers crossed the show itself will be entertaining.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews