WWE NXT 5/19/2026

WWE NXT 5/19/2026

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2026/05/wwe-nxt-5122026.html

We are the Performance Center in Orlando, FL. Vic Joseph and Booker T are on commentary.

We see various wrestlers arrive.

Myles Borne and Tony D'Angelo vs Kam Hendrix and Mason Rook

Kam and MB lock up. Kam backs him up in the corner and knees him in the gut. Kam shoulders him over then powerslams him. MB does a nice leapfrog then dropkicks Kam. MB powerslams Kam for 2. Tony hip throws Kam then short arm lariats him. Tavion Heights is watching in the back.

Tony and Rook get in and trade shots. Rook shoulders him over then corner splashes him twice. Rook lariats and sentons him for 2. TD hits corner splashes on Rook. Rook takes a double backdrop. Kam is back body dropped over the top. We go to PiP break and return.

MB hits shots on Rook. MB tries to slam him and Kam clips MB. Rook slams MB for 2. MB takes a Kam back elbow then a Rook splash. Kam short arm lariats MB for 2. Kam facekicks MB down. Kam suplexes him for 2. Rook boots MB then corner splashes him. Rook blue thunders MB for 2.

MB flips out of a double suplex. Rook is tripped into the buckles. TD tags in spears Rook. TD germans Kam twice. Tony spinebusters Kam. Tony hits a hard spear on Kam for 2. MB flying knees Rook then Kam showtime kicks MB. TD powerbombs Kam then lariats Rook over the top. Rook sends TD into the steps. MB tope con hilos Rook. 

Tavion Heights comes out, hits Kam from behind and that knocks Kam into MB. Rook backpack rolls MB into the buckles. Rook AA's MB and Kam steals the pin on MB.

Thoughts: It was alright. Rook's look is absolutely awful and he really does look like an older fat woman in a swimsuit. He needs some pants and maybe a shirt. I was surprised Rook didn't get the pin since this was his in-ring TV debut.

Dark State talk in the back. They say they can become 3x NXT Tag champs tonight. Cutler says Dion and Shugars aren't arguing. Dion says they put it behind them. Dion says Griffin says if they don't get this done they will make a change and inquires about it. Shugars interrupts and says not to worry about it. Shugars says they got each other at the end of the day and they will get what's theirs. 

Kelani Jordan comes out to talk. She asks what a girl has to do around here. She says she was a main player on NXT in 9 months and makes her the fastest homegrown talent in WWE. She says she beat Kendall Grey last week. She says she's better than all the women that got called up to the main roster. She says she's the only one to make Lola Vice tap out.

She says she has never gotten an NXT Women's Title shot. She says she had to watch women who are half as good as her fumble chances left and right. She says it's her time and says she's the biggest stand out in the locker room.

Izzi Dame comes out. She says she pinned Lola and booted her head off. She says if anyone will get a shot at the title, it's her. She tells her to get to the back of the line.

Lola Vice comes out. She says they both got wins but she won when it mattered. She says Kelani talks a lot. She says she wanted the title but couldn't handle her fists. She says Izzi hit her in the back of the head and she thought she would get away with it. Lola challenges her for the NXT Title next week. 

Kendal Grey comes out. She says he eyes are still on the NXT Women's Title. She comes in and says Jrodan won't get close to the title because she has bigger issues. Wren Sinclair then hits Kelani with a crutch and Izzi gets sent out as well.

Dorian Van Dux and Sean Legacy talk about last week with Tate Wilder. Dux tells him not to let one loss get him down. Sean says he and Dux are fighting next week in the Speed Tournament. Dux says he's too goo to let 2 losses get him down. Sean gets a little upset. They say hi to Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar. Romeo says Dar would have won last week if it wasn't for interference. Romeo asks him to be at ringside for his match vs Tristan Angels tonight. 

They show us clips from Busted Open Radio with Natalya yelling at someone. Jaida wants to talk to someone and Layla Diggs says she's running her mouth. Jaida says Natalya ran her mouth on a radio show and not to her face. Diggs puts over Natalya and says Jaida thinks the world is against her after losing. Jaida challenges her to a match next week and says she will drag her @ss. The other girls then separate them.

Romeo Moreno vs Tristan Angels

RM waistlocks him. TA sweeps him then RM waistlock takedowns him. TA slaps him and shoulders him over. RM slaps him then headscissors him from the mat. RM trips him and dropkicks him. RM back elbows him. RM is sat on the 2nd rope and TA double stomps him down. TA suplexes him for 2.

TA backbreakers him. We see Shiloh Hill in the crowd with a top hat and a sign that says "Mr. NXT". TA gets mad and yells at him. RM hiptosses him over the top. RM spaceman plancha's him outside. RM the poses on the rail with Hill.

We go to break and return. They trade shots. TA double throat thrusts him. RM flying lariats him twice. RM step up enzugiri's him in the corner. RM springboard dropkicks him for 2. TA double boots him out of the corner. RM headbutts him then top rope dropkicks him to the back of the head for 2. TA sweeps him on the pron then does a knee curbstomp and wins.

Thoughts: Tristan looked a little better here than he did in Evolve. His mouth got busted open some here. I feel like the break probably cut a lot of this up as the announcers were talking about how good it was. I was surprised Hill didn't get involved. I thought it was just average.

Tristan says Hill belongs in the crowd with the plebs. Hill says Tristan told him he couldn't outclass him but he says look at him now. Hill says he's starting his campaign to crown himself Mr. NXT. Hill asks if the crowd wants to see him or Tristan as Mr. NXT. He then shows a photo of Tristan with a top hat on.

Tristan says his opinions aren't valid and says it's impossible for him to understand real beauty. He says Hill will pay dearly for attempting to ruin his in-ring debut.

Lola and Tatum talk in the back. Lola says she doesn't know how Tatum dealt with Izzi. She says she wants to knock her out next week. Tony D and Borne argue about Tavion Heights. Tony says to keep Tavion out of his business. They wish Tatum good luck.

Naraku comes up to Tony. He says evil will strike when he least expects it. 

We see The Culling watching the OTM BBQ from last week. Shawn says they have a match vs OTM next week. Niko says Izzi has a title match next week. Izzi walks in and asks if they saw what Lola did to her. Izzi complains and Shawn says next week could be a big night for them.

WWE NXT Women's North American Title - Tatum Paxley (c) vs Lizzy Rain

They lock up and TP armdrags her. Rain kips up and armdrags her. Rain side headlock takeovers her. TP side headlocks her. Rain kimura takeovers her. Rain armlocks her and wristlocks her. TP suplexes her over then keylocks her. 

TP rolls her up and they stare down. They trade waistlocks. Rain side headlocks her. They criss-cross. TP dropkicks her out. Rain dropkicks her through the ropes. We go to PiP break and return. 

TP goes up and over her. They crossbody each other at the same time. We see Kali Armstrong watching in the back. They trade forearms and chops. They forearm each other at the same time and lariat each other at the same time. 

TP superkicks her in the gut. Rain high kicks her. TP high kicks her and is hit with an enzugiri. Rain hits lariats then suplexes her. Rain hits chops. Rain running samoan drops her for 2. Rain tries to dropkick her through the ropes and is hit with a step up enzugiri. Rain headbutts her. 

TP superkicks her. Rain germans her then flying headbutts her in the face. They trade pin attempts. TP hits a cemetery drive/tequila shot and wins.

Thoughts: It was pretty even here with them both being in it. It wasn't great but tried hard and it was alright. I didn't expect Rain to win here and she did not. This got a lot of time to play out.

They hug after. Zaria comes out and spears both. Zar F-5's both.

Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair talk about the fight earlier. She say she didn't want to be distraction to her and says KG would have beaten Kelani if it wasn't for her. Robert Stone comes in and says KG can't hit Kelani with crutches. Wren wants a match with Kelani next week. Stone says she can have it if she gets cleared.

Keanu Carver vs Tate Wilder

Tate stands on the rails and the post for his entrance. He then walks the top rope.

KC goes for him and misses twice. KC throws him to the apron. KC hits headbutts. Tate goes up and over then KC back body drops him. Tate enzugiri's him. KC sleepers him. Tate sends him over the top to escape. Tate 2nd rope asai moonsaults him outside. 

KC sends him into the post and clubs his chest. KC suplex throws him. KC clubs on him on the 2nd rope. KC germans him. KC busts Tate's eye brow open. KC hits a hard short-arm lariat. KC face shoves him.

Tate hits some shots to the gut. KC knees him in the gut. Tate top rope dropkicks him. Tate slingblades him then knocks him down with forearms. Tate flying shoulders him. KC misses a corner charge and goes into the post. Tate lariats him over the top. Tate then jumps off the steps and ddt's him on the floor.

Tate top rope splashes him. Tate is crotched up top and KC pounces him. KC lifts him into a spinebuster and wins.

Thoughts: It was a decent bout here with Tate being bloodied up and getting thrown around by KC. KC roughed him up. Tate needed to show a little more fire though.

The Vanity Project talk in the back. Drake says Smokes and Brad are the most solid team in NXT. Brad and Smokes are concerned. Brad says there's 4 of them and 3 of us. Myka Lockwood says she's got Osiris and Cutler and they do their hand signal.

OTM talk. Shiloh Hill comes up to them and asks if they will sign his petition to become Mr. NXT. They do. Hill asks Birthright about it. We see Tavion and Borne arguing in the back. Grace says he's not pageant material. Dempsey asks what this is all about. Dempsey says Hill embarrasses himself every week. He says they should fight next week and he will show him what a proper wrestler is. 

Kam Hendrix is interviewed in the ring. Kam says he beat 2 champs in his debut match tonight in NXT. He says he wants to be #1 and the best way to do it is to win the big one. He says Tony D's title looks prime for him. 

Mason Rook comes out. He says Kam acts like the win tonight was all him. Rook says Kam took the win. He says he will give him a chance to give credit to him. Kam tells him no one will remember him and tells him to get with it or get lost. He pats his stomach. Rook lariats him then backpack cannonballs him into the corner.

WWE NXT Tag Titles - The Vanity Project (Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes) vs Dark State (Sayquon Shugars and Dion Lennox)

Darkstate attacks The Project in the aisle. RS is dropped on the rails. Dion hits shots on Brad and side headlocks him. RS spears Dion off the bottom rope. The Project are sent into each other and Dion slams Brad. Dion shoulders Brad over for 2. SS dropkicks Brad when they go for a double team. SS hiptosses Brad into an armlock. Brad throws SS down by backwards. 

SS hiptosses RS. Dion corner spears RS. SS flying knees RS for 2. RS side headlocks SS. Dion hiptosses RS then hiptosses SS onto RS. Brad comes in and SS monkey flips him. SS catapults Brad out. SS double boots him through the ropes. 

RS takes punches from Dion's team. RS is double lariated over the top. We go to PiP break and return. SS hits punches on Brad. Brad corner spears RS on accident when SS moves. SS goes out near the rail. RS charges him but goes into the rail. 

Dion comes in and lariats and back elbows Brad. Dion northern lights suplexes both opponents. Dion powerslams Brad for 2. Brad pumping knees DL. SS trips RS into the ropes and slides down him to dropkick Brad outside.

SS gets a 2 count on RS. RS smokes SS then chops him. SS enzugiri's him. Brad takes a slingshot sitout backdrop. SS flying springboard lariats RS. Dion double lariats his opponents. Jackson Drake yells at SS. Myka, Cutler and Osiris get involved. Dion spinebusters RS and tries to get a pin but SS tags himself in. SS top rope elbow drops RS.

SS punches Brad over the top. RS cradles SS and pins him.

Thoughts: It had a lot of action and a fast pace. The Project bumped around a lot. We didn't have clear faces here but they made it work. Booker said Smokes was out after a charge into the rails...then he was up 20 seconds later. Dark State lost as expected here, essentially off a miscommunication between Dion and SS. It was an entertaining main and I liked it.

Dark State all in the ring after. They look at Dion. Cutler and Griffin then beat up on Shugars. Cutler and Griffin stare down at Dion. Dion then joins in and beats up Shugars. Dion spinebusters Shugars. Shugars slaps Dion. Shugars then is thrown into a powerbomb through the commentary table. 

Thoughts: The turn was rather telegraphed and I was sure it was happening. We haven't really seen Shugars as a face yet so that'll be interesting.

Overall thoughts: NXT is throwing stuff at the wall right now and seeing what sticks. It feels like someone is riding them with a whip and telling them to make something happen now. I think it's a bit too much too soon, but it's developmental and their goal is to produce stars. The show was fine in-ring wise with nothing being bad. There was a lot going on outside of the ring as well. I would say the main was the best match on this show. I'd give it a higher 5 out of 10 as I'm still not sold on the current direction and there was a lot of rushing on this show. It was average.