WWE NXT Review - November 11, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Fatal Influence Confronted The Culling

They're telling the story that Tatum Paxley is the beloved and extremely giving champion and that The Culling (specifically Izzi Dame) don't approve, leading to Paxley agreeing to title matches without their consent. To Jacy Jane's credit, she did earn a rematch for the NXT Women's Championship by winning last week's tag team match, so Paxley vs. Jane next week makes sense. This segment did a solid job of setting that up.

Jasper Troy def. El Grande Americano to Win the WWE Speed Championship

Americano has been presented as such as a threat on Raw this year (outside of his recent loss to Penta on Raw) that it was strange to see him lose in a matter of minutes to someone who hasn't done a lot of winning since debuting on NXT TV. That said, the title change wasn't all that surprising since you had to know they wanted the Speed title on an NXT wrestler now that the belt is property of NXT. This is one of the better Speed matches I've seen since the concept debuted on NXT, but I still don't give a single shit about the Speed title.

Thea Hail def. Alba Fyre

I know Hail referenced Fyre being a former NXT UK Women's Champion during a backstage segment, but a win over Fyre doesn't mean nearly as much as it would have a few years ago. She was essentially a stepping stone for Hail here before Hail and Joe Hendry challenge Chelsea Green and Ethan Page for the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship. This was a well-worked, competitive contest, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Je'Von Evans and TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater Attacked DarkState

Evans had Slater up on the big screen, which was meant to trick DarkState into thinking he wasn't in the building when he actually was. I appreciate that Evans wasn't made to look like an idiot, but they were still outnumbered four to two, so DarkState were the ones who looked like idiots. Nonetheless, they established that it will be Evans and Slater challenging DarkState for the NXT Tag Team Championship on Night 1 of Gold Rush next week.

Fallon Henley def. Skylar Raye in a WWE Women's Speed Championship Tournament Semifinal Match

Raye won Season 2 of WWE LFG as Dani Sekelsky. I thought she improved on the show but wasn't a standout and definitely wasn't ready for NXT TV. That proved to be the case here. She didn't have an awful showing, but Henley very much had to carry her to a competent contest. Bless Henley for being as experienced (and as talented) as she is. By the way, why wouldn't Reid be in this tournament since she earned a shot at the WWE Women's Speed Championship for No Mercy but never got it because of her "injury"?

Tavion Heights def. Josh Briggs

This has been a basic feud, but for as little as I care about Briggs these days, at least they can use help to elevate others when necessary, such as Heights in this case. Personally, I believe Heights has the higher ceiling. He just needs more opportunities to shine and develop his character. As a match, this was decent, but I wouldn't be shocked if Briggs continues to target Heights and we get a rematch eventually.

NXT Champion Ricky Saints def. Trick Williams in a Last Man Standing Match

Last Man Standing matches can be a bit boring depending on how they're laid out and who's involved, but this was a super enjoyable brawl between these two. They kept the action interesting throughout and made the most of the stipulation by taking their fight all over the arena. I figured this would've been saved for Gold Rush, but we found out why afterward with Oba Femi returning and him likely challenging Saints on one of those two nights instead (or at Deadline in a few weeks).

Overall Show

The amount of championship matches they announced for Gold Rush really illustrated how many titles there are between NXT, AAA, TNA and Evolve (too damn many). At any rate, this was a serviceable show that set things into motion for both nights of Gold Rush and was capped off by an above-average main event. There's been zero talk about Deadline, but in typical NXT fashion, my guess is that they'll rush into that once the weeks of Gold Rush are over with.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews