NXT 4/28/2026
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
Opening the show in the ring is a title match.
Myles Borne vs. Saquon Shugars (with DarkState) for the NXT North American Championship
***
Thumbs Up
Fast start with a quick pace. Shugars powders, which leads to Borne doing a flip dive over the top rope to the floor on DarkState. Shugars’ cohorts try to interfere, but Borne fights them off. He is soon cut off, and Shugars has momentum. Shugars works over Borne during the break.
As they fight on the ring apron, Shugars pulls Borne into a turnbuckle. On commentary, Vic Joseph claims the metal turnbuckle was exposed. Borne sells his throat from the spot as the show cuts to a commercial break.
Soon after the show returns from the break, Borne comes back as they trade near falls. Borne with a rally and his is fired up. Dion Lennox tries causes a distraction to allow Shugars to gain an underhanded advantage. Shugars lands on is own head on a modified Northern Lights suplex.
Cutler James and Osiris Griffin distract the referee as Lennox stalks Borne with a metal folding chair. Before Lennox can use the chair as a weapon, Shugars rushed out the ring to stop him. Shugars yells at Lennox as he takes the chair away from Shugars. As they argue, Borne shoves Shugars into Lennox. Borne thwarts the interference of Lennox, and Borne soon thereafter uses his Borne Again finisher on Shugars. Borne then covers Shugars to win the match.
Match result: NXT North American Champion Myles Borne defeated Saquon Shugars via pinfall to retain his title.
In a post-match angle, Tristan Angels debuts with a microphone to cut a promo on Borne. Angels introduces himself as “Mr. England”, and he says we will see much more of Angels on NXT.
As Angels is cutting his promo, Kam Hendrix from LFG runs in to ambush Borne. Hendrix lays out Borne as Angels looks on from afar.
WWE Women’s Speed Champion Wren Sinclair and Kendal Grey are talking backstage when Kelani Jordan interrupts them. They bicker until Sinclair challenges Jordan to a match for later tonight.
EVIL debuts to confront NXT Champ Tony D
NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo enters the sound stage for an in-ring monologue. The main focus of his promo is the mystery box he received last week. This leads to the surprise debut of EVIL. A cloaked and hooded figure appears through fog to confront D’Angelo in the ring. The mysterious figure offers a shirt with something written in Japanese on it.
The figure then reveals himself as EVIL, although he was never called by that name. On commentary, he is referred to as a former IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Vic Joseph wonders aloud if the gift is given to Tony for admiration, or if it is “gift of pure evil.”
EVIL leaves the ring with Tony D holding the gift, and the impact of the debut is immediately lessened when Tavion Heights ambushes D’Angelo. Heights gives Tony D a belly-to-belly suplex. Heights is fired up as he leaves the ring. While he is leaving, an unidentified individual in a WWE hoodie climbs the turnbuckles and does a moonsault press on D’Angelo.
Tatum Paxley and Shiloh Hill are featured in an outdoor skit where they are burying Blake Monroe’s casket in a wooded area. They hope her soul find peace wherever she ends up. The conversation shifts to Hill’s match tonight against Ricky Saints. Hill ran a series of simulations on how to defeat Saints. Hill then leaves, and Paxley lays down next to the grave.
Out comes BirthRight for an in-ring promo. WWE Speed Champion Lexis King speaks while flanked by Arianna Grace, Stacks and Uriah Connors. King throws to a video clip from earlier today where Grace films BirthRight attacking Dorian Van Dux in an injury angle. That leaves EK Prosper without a partner for a tag team match against BirthRight.
Prosper storms the ring and takes the fight to BirthRight. They gang up on Prosper until Sean Legacy runs in for a save. Prosper has a tag partner after all.
EK Prosper & Sean Legacy vs. BirthRight (Uriah Connors & Stacks with Lexis King & Arianna Grace)
***
Thumbs Up
Hot start by the babyfaces, and a lots of high spots and dives before a commercial break. BirthRight with an advantage as the show cuts to commercials. Legacy is being worked over as the show returns from the break. Legacy creates separation after an avalanche backdrop.
Hot tag to Prosper, and he runs wild on the heels. Near fall for Prosper with a Michinoku Driver. Connors with a swanton bomb for another near fall. Parade of high spots down the stretch. Legacy executes a crazy finisher that combines a Burning Hammer with a twisting neckbreaker. Legacy then covers Stacks for a pinfall. On commentary, the outcome is called an upset.
Match result: Sean Legacy & EK Prosper defeated Uriah Connors & Stacks when Legacy pinned Stacks.
In a post-match angle, BirthRight gang up on the babyface team for a beat down. Tate Wilder runs in to make a save. Wilder marks another debut on the show, and I have already lost count on the run-ins so far.
Kali Armstrong has words with Jaida Parker in a locker room skit, which sets up a match between the two for next week. The match is later made official for next Tuesday on NXT.
Shawn Michaels voices over a plug for the new deal with CW to air NXT premium live events. Not exactly a “premium” for the shows when the supercards air on free broadcast television, but the supercards are nonetheless begin airing on CW this summer.
Robert Stone has an encouraging words with Tate Wilder backstage. NXT Women’s Champion Lola Vice walks by and she vows to call out Izzi Dame.
NXT Women’s Champ Lola Vice & Mr. Iguana thwart The Culling
Vice storms the ring and calls out Dame. Shawn Spears appears on the Titantron, which serves as a distraction while Izzi Dame and Niko Vance sneak up behind Vice. The heels have the tables turned on them when Mr. Iguana sneaks up on them with La Yesca. Of course, Iguana and Vice are the AAA Mixed Tag Team Champions.
Mr. Iguana and Vice send the heels packing. The Culling flees, and this would seem to set up a mixed tag match for the near future. Later in the show the mixed tag is made official for next Tuesday, albeit it appears to be non-title.
DarkState argue among themselves in a backstage skit. Shugars argues with Lennox, and they are yelled at by Griffin and James. Besides teasing dissension, the point of the skit is DarkState is going for tag team gold again.
Lizzy Rain vs. Nikkita Lyons
**1/2
Thumbs Up
Rain debuts with a voiceover that proceeds her ring entrance in which Rain vows that she and heavy metal will never die. The heavy metal gimmicks very much fits Rain as she is the niece of Iron Maiden’s original drummer Clive Burr.
Lyons in a pretaped promo vows to ruin Rain’s debut, only for Lyons to put over Rain in her in-ring debut in NXT. In the match, Lyons briefly gets heat on Rain. Comeback by Rain, and she is fired up. She chops Lyons while the studio audience chants “make it rain” in unison.
Rain is briefly cut off, but she soon makes another comeback. Rain executes her finisher, which is called “Thunderstruck”. Rain then covers Lyons for a pinfall to win her debut match in NXT. Fun debut for Rain, and she brings a ton of energy.
Match result: Lizzy Rain defeated Nikkita Lyons via pinfall.
Myles Borne bickers with Tavion Heights over Heights’ run in from earlier. This teases a potential match between the former associates. Borne turns around to find Keanu Carver confronting him. Carver issues a warning to Borne.
Vanity Project is backstage chatting, and they agree that Jackson Drake should make an impact. Jasper Troy then confronts Drake. They get face-to-face, and Troy challenges Drake to a match next week. The match is made official in a plug later in the show.
WWE Women’ Speed Champion Wren Sinclair (with Kendal Grey) vs. Kelani Jordan in a non-title match
**3/4
Thumbs Up
Being a non-title match, no Speed time limit. Thus, they were given a lot of time. They made the most of it. The match goes through a commercial break. Doing a dive before the break, Sinclair looks to have apparently tweaked her left knee. She shrugs off concern while telling the ref she can continue.
Jordan is working the left leg as the show returns from the break. Sinclair sells the leg but still makes a comeback. They go back-and-forth. Sinclair goes for her “Final Wrench” submission hold (cattle mutilation), but Sinclair’s knee buckles. She sells big before taking an Olympic slam from Jordan. She follows up a split-legged moonsault, and Jordan covers Sinclair for a pinfall. With Jordan pinning the Speed champ, this would seem to set up a title match.
Match result: Kelani Jordan defeated WWE Women’s Speed Champio Wren Sinclair via pinfall in a non-title match.
Zaria is focus of a video package, along with Sol Ruca. Zaria voices over the package, which was heavily edited with special effects and such. Seemingly, this is meant to get Zaria over as a killer heel.
Shiloh Hill vs. Ricky Saints
***
Thumbs Up
They are having a decent enough match when Hill goes under the ring. Saints goes to pull out what he thinks is Hill. Instead, Saints puts out a dummy dressed like Hill with a hockey mask similar to horror movies monster Jason. With the clothing, the dummy may have looked more like Casey Jones from TMNT fame. Regardless, Saints is distracted by the bait and switch tactic. Hill then leaps off the ring steps with a somersault senton.
AS the show cuts to a commercial break, Hill props the dummy on the barricade so it can watch the rest of the match. Saints cuts off Hill during the break, but Hill fights back. When the show returns from the break, they are having a slugfest.
They trade numerous near falls down the stretch. Saints bumps into the referee, who hits the ropes. That causes Shiloh to crotch himself on the top rope. Ref bump leads into Saints executing a superplex for yet another near fall.
They soon go home after an “Old School” spot. Saints first slaps Hill across the face, and Hill’s false teeth go flying. Saints then attempts to walk the top rope like he is The Spoiler. Hill losing his false teeth only serves to hulk him up.
Saints cuts off Hill to give him a Dominator on the floor. Saints tries to use a metal folding chair, only for that to backfire on Saints. Hill trips Saints, and Saints takes a bumps on the chair. Hill executes his falling neckbreaker finishing move, and he covers saints for a pinfall.
Match result: Shiloh Hill defeated Ricky Saints.
A fired up NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo cut a promo on the recent choas. D’Angelo appears to yell “let’s f****** go!” That was censored, and the show goes off the air.
Overall: Thumbs In The Middle Pointing Up
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