WWE NXT 8/18/2026
Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2026/08/wwe-nxt-8112026.html
We are in the Performance Center in Orlando, FL. Vic Joseph and Booker T are on commentary.
Cruz Montana comes out to talk. He asks where Zilla Fatu is. He says he's here to come after the NXT Title. He says he'd be #1 contender if it's not for Fatu. Cruz says he won't let him take what's his. Cruz is told Fatu isn't here.
Rey Fenix then comes out for some reason. Rey says he's happy to see him again. He says he's here to see who he will defend his title against next week. He says if someone costs him a title shot, he's ready for them too. He says he understands him. Cruz says they've gone to hell with each other in various promotions. He says he respects him.
Cruz says the most dangerous place in NXT is in the parking lot and he will meet Fatu out there.
#1 Contender to the AAA Cruiserweight Title - EK Prosper vs Trist Angels vs Romeo Moreno vs La Parka
EK shakes hands with Rey Fenix as he comes out. Vic brings up Parka being in WCW.
TA lariats Parka over the top. TA takes a double superkick. EK flips over RM's back then flips out of a fireman's carry. They try to dropkick each other at the same time and headflip up together. EK topes TA outside. RM PK's EK from the apron. RM spinning reverse headscissors Parka, then dropkicks EK, making him ddt Parka.
TA drops RM face first on the apron. Parka goes up and over TA then dropkicks him. Parka tilt-a-whirl armdrags RM and lariats him. Parka flapjacks RM. EK spin kicks Parka in the gut then flying lariats him. EK dropkicks RM into a moonsault on Parka for 2. TA pushes EK off the top int othe rails. RM hiptosses TA over the top. RM spaceman plancha's TA and EK outside. Parka 2nd rope moonsaults the other 3 outside. We go to PiP break and return.
RM boots TA out of the corner. EK superkicks TA then Parka springboard enzugiri's TA. Parka and EK high kick each other at the same time and RM top rope double dropkicks them. EKO tornado ddt's RM off of TA.
EK enzugiri's Parka from the apron. TA 2nd rope superplexes EK for 2. TA double throat thrusts RM. RM rolls him into a suplex. RM goes up top, Parka walks up the buckles and spanish flies him. EK breaks up the pin with a top rope splash.
EK flying kicks RM. TA facekicks EK. EK flying knees TA and RM falls on TA for 2. Parka forearms RM and belly to belly overhead suplexes him in the corner. TA throws Parka out and gets a 2 count on RM. EK jumps off RM's back and leg lariats TA. EK top rope moonsaults RM and pins him.
Thoughts: It was all flying here and full of action. They didn't sell squat and nothing meant anything, but it had a lot of cool moves. I was okay with it though as they didn't get too wild here and it was a step above what we usually see.
Rey Fenix then gets in and shakes hands with EK.
Kendal Grey and Wren talk. The Vanity Project come in. Brad says he heard Grey is feeling off balance and asks if she needs anyone to take care of her. Grey says he has a hard time growing facial hair. Smokes says they want to offer them advice in their match tonight. They then talk about Borne, Tavion and Shiloh. Wren calls them tools and says they spend too much time in the mirror. Wren and Grey say Myka is the vanity and the boys are the project. Grey says they will walk out with all the gold. Smokes says that was hot but Drake disagrees. Myka says the girls cooked them.
Nattie vs Thea Hail
Nat takes her down and tries to pound on her. Nat takes her down again and Thea rolls her. Nat side headlock takeovers her. Nat hits her in the corner and they slap each other. They shove each toher and Nat shoulder throws her. Nat side headlock takeovers her.
Nat shoulders her over. Thea thesz presses her with shots. Thea topes her, Lyons and Petrovic at one time. We go to break and return. Thea rolls her up for 2 and goes for the kimura. Nat rams her in the corner and clubs on her. Thea backslides her for 2. Thea exploders her. Thea hen flipping neckbreakers her for 2. Thea rolls her up for 2 and they trade pin attempts. Thea headbutts her down.
Thea slams her then misses a springboard back splash. Nat hits mounted shots and Thea kimura's her. Nat slams her down to break it. Nat sharpshooters her. Thea taps out.
Thoughts: It was a shorter one and it was fine. They made it competitive and grappled over the little things which kept it interesting.
Lyons and Petrovic hold Jaida Parker and make her watch Nat sharpshooter Thea.
OTM talk. Price says he got it done last week and will get it done tonight in the Speed Title match.
WWE NXT Men's Speed Title - Lexis King (c) vs Lucian Price
Price superkicks him for 2 when King's buddies pull King out. The ref goes nothing about it. Price throws King in and King tries to avoid him. King hides behind Birthright and runs more. King leapfrogs him and goes out again. Price throws him in again.
King kicks him from the apron. Price chops him in the body. Price corner splashes King. King superkicks Price. Price chops King down. King pulls Price's throat down over the top. Price throws him in. King upkicks him and short ddt's him.
King kicks him in the chest. Price short arm lariats im and headbutts him down. Price uranage's him. Price sits him up top and chops him. Price is tripped by King's buddies. King hits a coronation neckbreaker and pins him.
Thoughts: King evaded Price all match and cheated to win. What he did made sense at least, just maybe it wasn't super exciting.
Birthright pound on Price after. Bronco Nima comes in and cleans house. Price throws Uriah out hard. OTM hug in the ring after.
Grayson Waller comes out. He says Zilla Fatu made a mistake. He says he's not scared of him or his family and has been fighting with uce's all his life. He says he's happy Zilla is here as he can take the ankle monitor off and roam free. He says Zilla chose the wrong night. He says Zilla can't handle this version of Waller. He says he was going to be the #1 contender last week until Zilla interfered.
Tony D'Angelo comes out. Tony says they keep lining them up and he keeps knocking them down. Waller asks if he's gonna do something because he's been talking about him for weeks.
Cruz Montana comes out. He says Waller was looking at the lights before Zilla jumped him. Cruz says him and Waller could finish their business, then him and Tony can fight. He says he can put his foot in Zilla's @ss if he shows up.
Robert Stone comes out. He says he will do what's fair. He says it'll be Tony vs Cruz vs Waller in a triple threat for the NXT Title at Heatwave. He says he will handle Zilla then he gets here.
Lizzy Rain and Shiloh Hill talk. Hill says he would have helped last week if he was cleared. Rain says EK can win the cruiserweight title next week. Myles Borne comes in and wants to talk to Shiloh. He says if Hill can beat Jackson Drake, he will give him a North American Title shot.
Robert Stone talks to Zilla Fatu on the phone and says he will see him in 30. Keanu Carver is in Stone's seat. He wants to be in the main event of Heatwave. Stone says he can't just put him in it. Keanu says he knows how it is and he just made him coffee. Keanu makes him drink coffee.
Kam Hendrix walks in and wants in the title match too. Keanu says him and Stone are having a moment. Keanu leaves without a problem.
Wren-QCC (Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair) vs Kelani Jordan and Kali Armstrong
KJ side headlock takeovers Wren but Wren holds on and side headlocks her. KJ side headlocks Wren then Wren dropkicks her. Wren trips Kali and front facelocks her. Wren spin kicks her in the gut and headscissors her into the ropes. KG slingshot stomps Kali for 2.
KJ back elbows KG then superkicks her in the head. KG trips her and they bridge up together. KJ back elbows her and side headlocks her. KJ is double hiptossed then Kali is as well. Kali is double dropkicked out. KG diving headscissors Kali from the apron. Wren top rope plancha's both opponents outside.
Kali standing blue thunders Wren. KJ asai moonsaults Wren for 2. Wren evades the heels. KG comes in and hits back elbows and belly to belly overhead suplexes. KG suplexes her opponents. KG ankle locks Kali. KG cradles Kali for 2. KG spinning back elbows her. Wren chops KJ and elbows her down.
Wren is pump kicked over the 2nd rope. KJ slingshot neckbreakers Wren. Wren spinning drops Kali on her chest. Wren does cattle mutilation her. KG hangs from the top rope and headscissors KJ out. KJ trips KG into the buckles. Wren and Kali try pins on each other. Kali powerslams Wren. Kali runs the ropes and flying shoulders Wren over hard. Kali then pins Wren.
Thoughts: It was an okay tag match here with a fast pace. Kali's finisher the end looked good. This had a lot of action and went pretty well.
Kali does her dance after and Kelani isn't happy.
Dion Lennox and Saquon Shugars do a split screen talk. They start talking trash from the start. SS says he would mop the floor with him 100 times out of 100 if they go one on one. Dion says SS will always be in his shadow. SS challenges him to a steel cage match. Dion agrees and says let's throw weapons in there too. SS says Dion doesn't want that. Dion says he won't just beat him next week but will embarrass him. He says Dion will see why he's up next and Dion is up never. Dion says what he does next week will make sure the sun sets on Dion. He says 2 of them will walk into the cage and he will walk out only.
#1 Contender's Match - Shiloh Hill vs Jackson Drake
JD leg kicks him and hides between the ropes. JD piefces him and Hill chops him down. Hill wristlocks him. Hill slams him then hits a corner spear. Hill misses a corner spear. JD pele kicks the arm. Hill neckbreakers him and JD side headlocks him.
Hill fireman's carries him and forearms him. Hill backrolls him and Brad Baylor hits Hill form the outside. Smokes and Drake pound on Hill. Drake flying knees him in the face. We go to break and return.
JD claymore kicks Hill for 2. Hill throws him over by the arm. Hill double chops him. JD enzugiri's him. Hill rebound lariats him. Hill facekicks JD and forearms him down. Hill standing inverted flip dives him for 2. JD kicks him in the back. Hill pop up forearms him. Smokes and Brad pull Hill out. The ref catches them going to hit Hill and ejects them. Hill tope con hilos Smokes and Brad.
Hill flying shoulders JD. JD is knocked off the 2nd rope and goes into the ref. Naraku appears from under the ring and mists Hill. JD top rope 450's Hill and pins him.
Thoughts: This match was half-shenanigans here. There was so much interference and other nonsense going on all match long. JD was also flipping all over the place here. This had issues and I didn't really like it.
Stone talks to Zaria about her Speed Title/NA Title Unification match then Kali Armstrong comes in. Kali wants a match but not a Speed Tournament match. Zaria tells Kali there will be no Speed Title to challenge for soon when wins the title unification match. Stone says Zaria's match will turn into a triple threat with Kali if she Kali wins.
Zilla Fatu arrives in the parking lot.
Robert Stone brings out Zilla Fatu. Tony D'Angelo appears on the riser. Fatu says it's a big moment for him to be signing with the #1 wrestling company in the world. He says he never thought he would be here but he is. He says he wants to show he's not another nepo baby. He says he wants to let his talents show. He says he knows he made people mad last week and says to get used to it. Grayson Waller and Cruz Montana then try to come out and he invites them. Braxton Cole and Shady from Evolve are two of the guards. Stone reveals that Fatu's first match will be a title match. Fatu says the triple threat will be a four-way at Heatwave. Fatu then signs the contract.
Thoughts: This was a dumb segment after Stone just said he doesn't give out title shots to Keanu. Fatu didn't exactly impress here.
Overall thoughts: It was a busy NXT as usual with a lot going on. The opener was a high flying 4-way and it was okay. Nattie vs Thea was a fine match. King's match with Price made sene but wasn't the most exciting. I liked the women's tag match. Hill/Drake had too much interference for me. I'd give the show a 6 out of 10 overall but there were way too many random title shots and title matches being made here. This was okay overall.
