WWE NXT Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights Before Battleground 2025
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE NXT on May 20.
Here's a look at what WWE advertised for the final episode before Battleground:
—Joe Hendry performs a concert
—Trick Williams also performs
—Kelani Jordan vs. Zaria
—Je'Von Evans vs. Sean Legacy vs. Ashante Thee Adonis
—Josh Briggs vs. Shawn Spears
—Chase U vs. OTM
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's NXT.
Je'Von Evans vs. Sean Legacy vs. Ashante Thee Adonis
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NXT opened with a shot Ricky Saints arriving in the NXT parking lot and walking right to the arena as his music played. He wanted to see the first match up close and personal.
Evans was out first for his triple threat with Adonis and NXT's newest star, Legacy. Adonis threw his jacket at Legacy and went after Evans trying to get an early advantage, but he ended up being sent out of the ring instead.
Legacy was obviously looking to make a big impression in this match and showed some athleticism and enthusiasm. All three men worked hard to make this a fast-paced physical encounter. Nobody was the obvious winner ahead of time, which always makes the ending more fun.
While this match was a lot of fun, it also had a handful of moments that should have looked better. You can't chalk it up to Legacy's lack of experience because he wasn't involved in all of them.
Adonis almost stole the win after a super hurricanrana from Evans to Legacy that spawned a "This is awesome" chant from the crowd. Ethan Page attacked Saints from the crowd as the match was coming to a close, so Evans dove onto both men and several security guards.
Adonis tried to take advantage of Evans taking himself out of the match, but Legacy was able to hit a twisting suplex to get the win.
Result: Legacy defeated Adonis and Evans
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—Legacy's music sounds even more generic than most generic wrestling themes.
—Adonis asked a woman in the front row for a kiss on the cheek but then turned his head so he kissed her on the lips. It was obviously a plant.
—The way Adonis sold a punch from Evans was so weird. He slowly stumbled to the ropes and then acted like he was sent to the apron in the most unconvincing way.
—The spot when Adonis hit a spinebuster with Evans on top of Legacy was cool.
Josh Briggs vs. Shawn Spears
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After a quick backstage segment, Williams made his way to the ring for his rap performance. Hendry was shown watching from backstage and practicing on his guitar. The performance ended without anyone else getting involved.
Up next was Briggs vs. Spears, who had his whole crew at ringside with him, including the former partner of Briggs, Brooks Jensen. Briggs came out during the picture-in-picture part of the commercial break.
We returned to see the match already in progress. Briggs had a size and power advantage, but Spears is not a small man and had a lot more experience he could bring to the table, so the fight felt even.
This bout had a steady pace, but it never felt like they found their groove. Nothing they did looked bad, but nothing looked especially good either. Spears won with a rollup thanks to interference from his followers. Briggs tried to keep the fight going, but the numbers game caught up to him.
Hank and Tank made the save and helped clear the ring.
Result: Spears defeated Briggs
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
—Williams looked like he was fumbling words because he almost laughed at one point.
—The announcers mentioned Kiana James in passing, who is still signed to WWE but hasn't appeared anywhere in quite some time due to a leg injury.
Chase U vs. OTM
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Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors of Chase U took on Bronco Nima and Lucien Price in a tag match this week.
The Chase U students were giving up a lot of size and power to OTM, so this felt like a very lopsided matchup, especially since all four men are relatively inexperienced.
This match was short and predictable. OTM scored a pretty easy victory over Chase U. There wasn't much to this but it made OTM look like badasses.
Result: OTM defeated Chase U
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
—It's hard to tell what WWE's plan with Andre Chase is. He doesn't feel like he belongs on the main roster as a wrestler, but he might have a future as a manager.
Lola Vice vs. Fallon Henley
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Femi and Borne had their final confrontation before Battleground. The rest of NQCC was not present, which Femi said he respected. Borne talked about proving everyone who underestimates him wrong.
The men's winner of LFG attacked Femi after Borne left the ring. Borne ran back and scared him off, but Femi refused his hand when he tried to help him up.
The next match saw Lola Vice battle Fallon Henley, who had Jacy Jayne with her. As soon as they locked up, the were pushing each other all over the ring trying to get the upper hand.
Henley got in the first few hits, but Vice quickly took her down and applied a couple of different submissions. Jayne talked a little trash to her own teammate, which isn't surprising given their recent tension.
It was a little surprising to see Henley controlling the pace as much as she did. It was done to get the crowd behind Vice, which seemed to work at times. This went from being a so-so match to a pretty physical fight during the second half.
Jayne trying to help backfired and Vice was able to score the win with a spinning backfist for the win.
Result: Vice defeated Henley
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—Ava booked Page vs. Saints for the NA title next week. She was pretty pissed at them for continuing to get into fights.
—Henley's music does not feel like a wrestling theme, but it's not bad.
—Vice has some great looking kicks, but using a kick to block a punch is a very unrealistic move.
Kelani Jordan vs. Zaria
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Zaria took on Jordan with a shot at the women's North American Championship on the line. Sol Ruca accompanied Zaria to the ring.
Zaria had the power advantage and made sure to use it early on, but once Jordan got her footing, she used her quickness to take control and hit some impressive spots.
This was a well-paced match with some great physicality. It slowed down in places, but not to its detriment. It ebbed and flowed in a way that made sense.
Ruca caught Zaria falling off the apron, but Jordan kicked them into each other. In the confusion, Zaria knocked Ruca off the apron and Jordan took advantage with a rollup for the win.
Result: Jordan defeated Zaria
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—Jordan's hair was giving slight Auntie Entity vibes.
—Jordan hit a nice hurricanrana from the middle rope.
—The way Zaria swung Jordan into the barricade looked brutal.
—The tornado DDT Jordan hit looked very awkward. She almost landed most of her body on Zaria's head.
The Final Word
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The final segment on Tuesday's show was the musical performance from Hendry. He sang a song to taunt Williams before their match this weekend.
Williams came out upset and attacked Hendry, which seemed to establish him as the heel in this situation. Hendry hit him with a guitar and then chokeslammed him to end the show.
This week's episode did the job of hyping Battleground, but only one match from the show stood out as special.
Evans, Legacy and Adonis opened the show with a fantastic triple threat bout that made all three men look great, especially Legacy who was having his first real match on NXT after standing out on Evolve.
Grade: B-
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