WWE NXT Review - June 16, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT Women's North American Champion Zaria, Kelani Jordan, Kendal Grey and NXT Women's Champion Lola Vice

It was logical to start the show with Zaria addressing her NXT Women's North American Championship win considering that closed last week's episode. I thought her promo was perfectly fine, but it wasn't long before she was interrupted by Jordan, followed by Grey and Vice. It was standard stuff on the whole to set up the tag team match for the main event.

Tavion Heights def. Jackson Drake

Between Drake racking up wins in recent weeks and Heights losing his reunion match with Myles Borne, I thought for sure Heights would lose here, but apparently not. I'm a fan of the outcome because it keeps the story with Heights and Borne going (Borne offered an assist) and possibly gets us closer to them facing each other for the NXT North American Championship. The matchup itself was well wrestled.

Izzi Dame def. Thea Hail in a WWE Women's Speed Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Semifinal Match

It's insane to me that NXT has had the Speed concept on the brand for a bit now and that Hail has yet to hold the WWE Women's Speed title. It fits her chaotic character so well, yet she's been directionless for so long. What a shame. Dame and Hail have clashed before and this wasn't much different than their other encounters. Dame's issues with The Culling should have cost her the win here, but they might be saving that for either the finals or if she challenges for the title at The Great American Bash.

Natalya def. Jaida Parker

These two have been building toward this bout for so long that I'm surprised this wasn't saved for The Great American Bash. That said, this was good. It told the story of Parker giving Natalya a hell of a fight before eating defeat, presumably to "humble" her. I'm sure the feud isn't over and that this will eventually lead to Parker avenging the loss, possibly in an NXT Underground match.

Arianna Grace def. Layla Diggs in a WWE Women's Speed Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Semifinal Match

It's clear that officials are high on Diggs based on how she's been presented as of late, but I'm personally not seeing the potential yet. She's definitely improved from when I watched her on NXT Level Up, but to say she's a work in progress would be an understatement. Grace wasn't the strongest opponent for her, either. The match was passable. As I've said a million times before, the Speed concept continues to do nothing for me.

NXT Women's Champion and AAA World Mixed Tag Team Champion Lola Vice and Kendal Grey def. NXT Women's North American Champion Zaria and Kelani Jordan

While there wasn't anything out of the ordinary about the action, all four women worked hard and it was a quality contest. Vice and Grey successfully "coexisted," even though Grey accidentally laid out Vice with the NXT Women's Championship belt afterward. The only thing I could've done without was Zaria getting pinned. Jordan was right there and didn't have to be protected, so why couldn't she have eaten the pinfall loss instead?

Overall Show​

For an event that was announced a little later than it probably should have been, I will say that NXT has done a decent job of putting together a solid card for The Great American Bash on such short notice. The women took center stage this week (more than usual), but it was only an adequate episode. I enjoyed Natalya vs. Parker, and Tony D'Angelo's cinematic face-off with Naraku was well done, but everything else felt pretty pedestrian.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews