WWE NXT Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights After Battleground 2025
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE NXT on May 27.
Battleground saw Trick Williams shock the wrestling world as he won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Joe Hendry.
This is the first time since WWE and TNA formed a partnership that someone under contract with one company has won a title in the other, so it was an important moment for both the promotions and Williams.
Tuesday's episode featured all of the fallout from Battleground while also continuing the buildup for Worlds Collide on June 7.
Let's take a look at everything that happened on this week's episode of NXT.
Ricky Saints vs. Ethan Page
1 of 7
NXT opened with a video package recapping what happened at Battleground before Ricky Saints made his way to the ring to defend the North American Championship against Ethan Page.
They didn't wait for the official introductions and began brawling before the bell. Security pulled them apart as the crowd chanted "Let them fight." The announcer said the match would begin immediately. And once the bell rang, security cleared out and they started throwing hands again.
After a few minutes, security had to get involved again when they tried to use weapons. NXT general manager Ava came out and said they wanted a clear winner. The announcers said it wasn't necessarily a No DQ match, but the referee was given more discretion.
We returned from a break to see them both go flying over the announce table as they continued to brawl. Again, security got involved. All Ego dropped Saints across a chair with a neckbreaker, and the ref spent a long time checking on him.
WWE did everything it could to make this match feel like it was about more than just the title, and it worked. This felt like a bitter rivalry that could only end with one man going to the hospital.
Saints managed to kick out of the Ego's Edge, but Page still beat him in the end to become the new North American champion.
This was a fun match, and it was going to be hard for anything else on the show to top it. It might have been better in the main event slot.
Result: Page defeated Saints to win the North American Championship
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—Page's music is both awful and somehow perfect at the same time.
—For once, WWE actually listened to the crowd and let the two men fight.
—The way Page dropped Saints on the chair looked nasty. Saints sold it perfectly.
Mike Santana vs. Tavion Heights
2 of 7
TNA's Mike Santana made his in-ring debut for WWE this week when he took on Tavion Heights.
Santana made his way through the crowd and looked hyped.
They locked up and fought for control. Heights used his amateur background to score a couple of takedowns, but Santana used his veteran experience to keep up with him.
This was a highly physical and competitive match. Both guys are versatile athletes who have as much agility as they do power, so they found their groove quickly.
Heights put up a good fight, but Santana was able to get the win with a spinning clothesline. This was far from perfect, but the crowd loved it.
Santana showed Heights respect after the match, but Charlie Dempsey looked furious.
Result: Santana defeated Heights
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—It's wild to see Santana in a WWE ring, but he deserves it.
—Santana was rolling around the ring and moving quickly, but it may have been too quick. He tried a sunset flip and ended up tripping on the landing.
—The way Heights picked up Santana with a rolling fireman's carry was very impressive.
Let's Talk About It
3 of 7
Williams came out after the break to the crowd chanting "Whoop that Trick" as he celebrated winning the TNA world title from Joe Hendry. He turned on the crowd a bit and said since NXT didn't appreciate him, he was going to go to TNA.
Santana came out and gave him props, but he said Trick is not his champion. He said the titleholder made a bad impression by trying to tear down TNA in his promo. He called Trick a pretender.
TNA director of authority Santino Marella appeared and told Williams he already had his first title defense set up against Santana.
This was a pretty standard promo segment to set up a title match. Nothing surprising was said, but it was fine for what it was. Williams trying to be a heel felt forced at first, but he is going to be good in this role like he was before.
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
—Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors were shown totally misunderstanding what Andre Chase told them about taking risks, so they ended up in a match against DarkState next week.
Tatum Paxley vs. Jaida Parker
4 of 7
After a backstage segment last week, Jaida Parker ended up in a match against Tatum Paxley, who has been more emotional than usual since Gigi Dolin was released and Shotzi went off the radar.
Parker backed her to the corner, but Paxley quickly fought back and got aggressive. Parker had the power advantage and used it whenever she could.
This was a competitive back-and-forth contest. Parker used one of Paxley's dolls to distract her so she could hit her finisher for the win, but Thea Hail attacked Parker as soon as the match was over.
There wasn't much to this one, but it had god energy and made Parker look tough.
Result: Parker defeated Paxley
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
—Vaquer and Lola Vice appear to have formed some kind of alliance during a backstage segment with Ava.
—Having Paxley carry around dolls made to look like released Superstars is certainly a choice.
Dante Chen vs. Jasper Troy
5 of 7
The winner of WWE LFG season one, Jasper Troy, made his official NXT debut against Dante Chen.
Troy made an impact when he attacked Oba Femi recently, and he was looking to prove he deserved to go after a champion by dominating his first opponent.
This match only lasted a few minutes and saw Troy control the pace 90 percent of the time. Chen made a brief comeback, but Troy eventually ran him over and hit a Black Hole Slam for the win.
Femi's music hit and he appeared in the crow's nest. He said Troy's five seconds of fame are over, so they will obviously have a match soon.
Result: Troy defeated Chen
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
—Corey Graves didn't do Chen any favors on commentary by saying he doesn't have what it takes to make it.
—Chen did a good job selling for Troy.
Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jacy Jayne
6 of 7
Page came out to celebrate winning the NA title, but he was interrupted by Je'Von Evans and Laredo Kid from AAA. Rey Fenix also showed up, so it looks like Worlds Collide will feature a Fatal 4-Way for the belt.
After a break, Jayne and Vaquer came out for the main event women's title match. The latter rushed to the ring and the former attacked her as soon as she rolled in, so the ref skipped the intros and called for the bell.
A couple of women from AAA showed up, but Vice came to fight them off. The distraction almost led to Jayne getting the win, but the champ kicked out and hit a springboard crossbody.
Other than the interference, this was a solid bout. Jayne is someone who has developed into the kind of talent who can work with anyone, and Vaquer continues to prove why she belongs at the top of the mountain.
Jayne got into an argument with Fallon Henley at ringside, but it didn't matter because she still helped Jayne score a surprising win to become the new NXT women's champion.
Result: Jayne defeated Vaquer
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
—Laredo Kid made a few appearances for All Elite Wrestling and even worked a match in WWE a long time ago without a mask.
—It's shocking that Jayne has not been called up to the main roster. She has been in NXT for a long time and is good enough to hang with the Raw and SmackDown rosters.
—Jayne hit a nice running knee at one point.
The Final Word
7 of 7
Tuesday's NXT as a whole was pretty average, but there were a few moments that will have people talking.
The buildup for Worlds Collide continued, and we even got a couple of matches booked for the show.
The big news coming out of this episode is the two title changes. Page winning the North American belt and Jayne winning the NXT Women's Championship were both shocking outcomes.
Being surprised is rarely a bad thing in pro wrestling, and both winners will carry the titles well. It's just shocking that WWE would take the belt off of Vaquer so close to its show with AAA.
All in all, this was a good follow-up to Battleground, but it had a few matches you could skip and not miss much.
Grade: B
.jpg?w=600 "Live Grades for SmackDown 🔡")
