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NXT TV REPORT
MAY 13, 2025
ORLANDO, FLA. AT THE WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON THE CW
REPORT BY DAVID MILLER, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentators: Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Backstage Correspondent(s): Sarah Schreiber
[HOUR ONE]
-A recap was shown of Myles Borne winning last week’s battle royal to become the number one contender to Oba Femi’s NXT title.
-Myles Borne and the rest of No Quarter Catch Crew were introduced. The crowd chanted his name. Borne talked openly about his disability. He said he’s partially deaf, and it affects his speech. He said he wanted to be judged by his ability and not his disability. He said he may be the underdog, but he’s fighting for all the disabled kids out there.
Ethan Page interrupted and said he was going to give Borne a reality check and called his victory a fluke. The crowd chanted, “Myles can’t hear you”. That was funny. Page continued to make fun of him and challenged him to put his contendership on the line against him tonight. Charlie Dempsey encouraged it, and Borne went along with it. Ava came out and made it official, but told Dempsey his match against Oba Femi is right now.
(1) OBA FEMI vs. CHARLIE DEMPSEY (w/Tavion Heights & Myles Borne & Wren Sinclair)
Dempsey rushed in with a waistlock, but Femi reversed it and took him down. Barely a minute into the match, they cut to their first split-screen commercial break. [c]
The match continued while a grown man tried to convince a toddler that “Liberty” is pronounced “Biberty”. That commercial stopped being cute after the first time I saw it. Back to full-screen, Dempsey took control with a knee, followed by some good old-fashioned scientific wrestling. Femi backdropped Dempsey into the lights, but he recovered quickly and grappled with the champ. Femi used his power to escape, but Dempsey went back to working the arm. A slugfest ensued, which Femi won. He continued to weaken Dempsey, then set him up for the Fall From Grace for the pin.
WINNER: Oba Femi at 8:34.
(Miller’s Take: This was a fine opening match. It was a story of Dempsey’s skill vs. Femi’s power. Dempsey’s encouragement of Borne to put his contendership on the line later tonight seems to stem from his jealousy over Borne winning a shot at Femi.)
-In the back, Thea Hail was walking with Karmen Petrovic, who was thanking Hail for having her back last week in her match with Jaida Parker. They encountered Tatum Paxley, who was throwing a huge temper tantrum. She ranted about how she’s lost everything and has nothing now (without referencing by name the recently released Gigi Dolan). She told Petrovic that Hail would abandon her because that’s what friends do. She abruptly turned and bolted off, shouting for Ava.
-Tony D’Angelo entered the ring as they cut to commercial. [c]
-Ethan Page was warming up in the back as he was approached by North American Champion Ricky Saints, who commented that he sure likes to rain of people’s parades. Page admitted he does, and said he needs to restore balance by winning the NXT Championship from Oba Femi so Saints can play second fiddle to him again. Saints replied, “Good luck with that.”
(2) TONY D’ANGELO vs. WES LEE (w/Tyson Dupont & Tyriek Igwe)
The match started slowly, with a feeling-out process. Lee hit some quick kicks and attempted a flying press off the turnbuckle, but D’Angelo caught him and delivered some massive uppercuts to the midsection. Dupont and Igwe stuck their noses in on the match. D’Angelo hiptossed Lee over the top rope, but he was caught by his entourage. D’Angelo hit a flying press on all three of them on the floor. Split-screen number two. [c]
Back to full-screen, Lee had taken control in the ring. He trash-talked D’Angelo, who fired up and headbutted Lee’s brains out. On the floor, The Don clotheslined Dupont and Igwe. Back in the ring, D’Angelo hit a high belly-to-belly suplex. He continued to pummel Lee and hit a powerslam for a two-count. Lee went for a cardiac kick, but was speared by D’Angelo. Stacks Lorenzo appeared on the screen in front of a house that he claimed was the Rizzo safe house. A distracted D’Angelo fell victim to a cardiac kick and was pinned. Stacks said now he’s thinking like The Don and said, “I think I’ll go pay Rizzo a visit.” D’Angelo staggered toward the back, presumably on his way to the Rizzo house.
WINNER: Wes Lee at 10:15.
(Miller’s Take: This had decent action, but the match itself was simply an avenue to get to the threat of Stacks invading the Rizzo house. I sure hope the camera crew filming Stacks stops him from doing anything bad.)
-NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer was shown walking in the back. The announcers said she was up next. [c]
-NXT Focus presented by Progressive featured a video of OTM (Bronco Nima & Lucien Price) walking through a parking garage and talking tough.
-To the crowd’s delight, NXT Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer made her way to the ring. A “La Primera” chant broke out. She began talking about Jordynne Grace, but was interrupted by Fatal Influence, minus Jazmyn Nyx. Fallon Henley and Jacy Jayne talked about Fatal Influence taking the NXT title off her hands before they were interrupted by Jordynne Grace. WWE booking 101 dictates that a tag team match will be set for later tonight. Where’s Ava?
Grace told Henley and Jayne they couldn’t even get out of each other’s way. She said she was out there to protect her investment. Vaquer took offense to that remark. Henley and Jayne started stirring the pot. The champion and challenger both predicted victory, but Fatal Influence said no matter who won, they would be ripe for the picking.
-In the back, Borne was getting ready for his match as Dempsey was being held up by Heights. He told Heights to take Dempsey to medical while he goes out there to take care of business. [c]
-In the back, Bubba Ray Dudley and The Undertaker were with LFG talent Tyra Mae Steele and Zena Sterling. Dudley congratulated them on being in the finals of LFG at Madison Square Garden. He emphasized that only one of them would win. Izzi Dame and Nikkita Lyons walked up and sarcastically wished them good luck lasting in their locker room. Lola Vice and Lash Legend joined them, with Legend telling them that if they even think of coming for her spot, they will wish they were on another season of LFG. Undertaker told them whoever wins will have her work cut out for her.
-Tony D’Angelo was shown leaving the Performance Center. He told the cameraman to get in the car, and told the driver to go to the Rizzo house now.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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[HOUR TWO]
(3) MYLES BORNE vs. ETHAN PAGE – #1 Contender Match
Borne took Page down to the mat to start the match. Page soon turned the tide with some fists and elbows, then settled into a rear chinlock. The pace was slow and methodical. Borne backed Page into the corner and hit some vicious forearms, then clotheslined Page over the top rope as they cut to the third split-screen commercial break. [c]
Back to full-screen, Page hit a superplex on Borne for a near fall. Borne fought his way out of a Boston Crab and hit a quick powerslam. The crowd chanted “RKO”, but that didn’t happen. Page somehow countered a dropkick. I’ll have to back that up to see how he did that. Borne missed another powerslam. Page went for the Twisted Grin, but Borne shoved him off, hit a dropkick, and rolled him up for the pin.
WINNER: Myles Borne at 11:09 to remain #1 contender to the NXT Championship.
(Miller’s Take: I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure how this one was going to turn out, but Borne pulled off the popular victory. It was kind of funny when the fans chanted “RKO” , but Borne is starting to come into his own and slowly shedding his Randy Orton Lite image, so I really think he should avoid doing that snap powerslam. On a side note, it was confirmed during the match that Fatal Influence would face the team of Grace & Vaquer later tonight. What’d I tell you?}
-A social media video from Evolve’s Sean Legacy aired. He challenged Je’Von Evans to a match. Evans was shown in the locker room looking at his phone. Ashante “Thee” Adonis told him he was too big of a star to be worried about that Evolve talent from the indies. Evans told him to worry about his pickup lines and forget what he’s doing. Adonis said he’d smoke both of them. An eavesdropping Ricky Saints said he’d like to see that. He said he’d go talk to Ava, and maybe the winner could see him on the other side of Battleground.
-A spot aired for Stephanie’s Place featuring The Undertaker aired.
-Thea Hail made her ring entrance before the commercial break. [c]
-Tony D’Angelo arrived at the Rizzo house, but was attacked by a tire iron-wielding Stacks, who stood over him and said he was going to put an end to the D’Angelo family once and for all.
(4) THEA HAIL vs. TATUM PAXLEY
Paxley’s makeup was running down her cheeks. Hail looked very apprehensive. Paxley hit a flip kick to the back of Hail’s neck for a near fall. Paxley was unhinged. Hail went for the Kimura lock, but Paxley reached the bottom rope for a break. She got the Kimura lock again, but Paxley reached up and started digging at Hail’s eye, resulting in the referee disqualifying her. After the match, she went for Hail’s eye again as a slew of referees ran to the ring to pull her off.
WINNER: Thea Hail by disqualification at 4:37.
(Miller’s Take: This was a little klunky at times, but the story here is Paxley losing her ever-loving mind over being left alone following the departure of her friends, who remain nameless even though everyone knows who they’re talking about. Only Lyra Valkyria was mentioned, as she’s obviously still with WWE.)
-Jaida Parker was watching the monitor in the dressing room as Sol Ruca and Zaria were talking to each other in the background. Kelani Jordan walked in looking for them. Parker excused herself, saying she wasn’t listening to them bitching just like Thea Hail. Jordan challenged Zaria to a rematch, and Ruca agreed to a title match if she won, which Zaria seemed upset by. [c]
-In Ava’s office, TNA World Champion Joe Hendry and Trick Williams sat down for a contract signing. Ava touted the TNA World Championship being defended on a WWE PLE for the first time ever. Williams said he’s bigger than NXT and TNA combined. Hendry told Williams that his 15 minutes of fame was about to expire. They both signed the contract. Williams looked miffed as Hendry got up and left. Good exchange between the two. [c]
-Hank & Tank approached Josh Briggs and told him they felt bad for him. Briggs felt he pushed Inamura away. Shawn Spears walked up and said he’s a cancer to relationships. Briggs said he didn’t need his wisdom and he had a good idea how to clear his head.
-Kale Dixon & Uriah Conners told Ava that Chase U was back in full force. Ava told them they would have their debut tag team match. They giggled delightedly like a couple of teenage girls. Andre Chase walked up and asked what was going on. They said they were going to have their first tag team match next week, then asked Ava who their opponents would be. She replied, “A returning OTM.” Chase exclaimed, “Guys, what the (censored by a Chase U emblem over his mouth)?” They looked terrified.
(5) FATAL INFLUENCE (Fallon Henley & Jacy Jayne) vs. JORDYNNE GRACE & STEPHANIE VAQUER
Grace started the match against Henley. As expected, Vaquer hate-tagged herself in, but Henley caught her as she was getting fancy on the ropes. Jayne tagged in and delivered a suplex for a one-count. The two women traded pin attempts before Fatal Influence worked together for some sloppy teamwork. Henley hit a flying press off the ring apron to Grace and Vaquer on the outside before they cut to the last spit-screen commercial break. [c]
Back to full-screen, the heel team remained in control of Vaquer. Jayne connected with a stiff pump kick to the face. She put Vaquer on the turnbuckle, but Vaquer slipped underneath her and landed a superkick. She made the hot tag to Grace, who immediately went into destruction mode. She got a near fall after a rolling Death Valley Driver and a sliding forearm.
All four women brawled mid-ring, with Fatal Influence getting the best of the exchange. They went for a double team maneuver on Vaquer, but Grace shoved her out of the way, taking the bullet. Vaquer tried to re-enter the ring, but was knocked off the apron by Henley and kicked by Jayne. They went back after Grace, but she headbutted Henley and back-fisted Jayne. She hit the Beast Mode on Jayne for the pin.
WINNERS: Jordynne Grace & Stephanie Vaquer at 10:56.
(Miller’s Take: Although I’m tired of WWE 101 booking where future opponents team up to face a common enemy, this wasn’t bad. Aside from Grace and Vaquer trying to show up each other early in the match, there was no dissension between them. Still, some spots in the match appeared a little off. The story being told was Grace “protecting her investment” by saving Vaquer from a double team attack toward the end. Not the best performance from any of the ladies involved.)
-The announcers ran down the card for Battleground as Grace and Vaquer stood victorious in the ring. They abruptly cut to the back, where Ethan Page had attacked Ricky Saints. An official was calling for medical attention.
FINAL THOUGHTS: I really felt the star of the show tonight was Myles Borne. His promo was excellent and well-received by the NXT faithful. He has an inspirational story that people will get behind and it will help him stand out. Where was Jazmyn Nyx? Ethan Page continues to be a slimeball that you love to hate. As usual, they packed a lot of short promos into one show. Hendry vs. Williams is being made into a very big deal, so we’ll have to wait and see if it can live up to the hype. See you next Tuesday.