WWE NXT Homecoming 2025 Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights
Welcome to Bleacher Report's live coverage of WWE NXT Homecoming on September 16.
For the first time in several years, WWE returned to Full Sail University, the original home of NXT. The company wanted this to feel like a big episode, so we got some title matches in addition to some returning stars.
Here's a look at what was advertised for Tuesday's show:
- Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley vs. Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair (Women's tag titles)
- Ethan Page vs. Tyler Breeze (North American Championship)
- Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes vs. DIY
- Rhea Ripley, Stephani Vaquer and Lyra Valkyria vs. Fatal Influence
- The Grayson Waller Effect with Oba Femi and Ricky Saints
Let's take a look at everything that happened at NXT Homecoming.
Homecoming
1 of 7NXT Homecoming opened with a video looking back at the history of the brand. The intro to the show was also the classic song NXT first used but with updated images of current stars.
Triple H came out and gave a speech about how it all started at Full Sail University. He gave the fans credit for making NXT as special as it has been. Shawn Michaels came out to join him in the ring.
They teased some tension with the idea of Triple H wanting to take over NXT again, which brought out William Regal. He made a quick joke before Charlotte and Alexa made their way out for the first match of the night.
Triple H likes to pat himself on the back a lot for the success of NXT, so it wasn't surprising that the show opened this way. The segment had a couple of funny moments, but it lasted way longer than it needed to.
Grade: C
Notable Moments and Observations
- They made a clear effort not to show anyone who might be in AEW too much in the video package. We did see brief moments with some current AEW stars, but not many.
- It's kind of funny that it took this long for fans to sing entrance songs. HBK was caught off guard.
- Regal coming out just to say "WarGames" was hilarious.
Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss vs. Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley (Women's Tag Titles)
2 of 7Last Time in Action: Flair lost to Piper Niven (SmackDown, August 22), Bliss defeated Chelsea Green (SmackDown, August 29), Nyx and Dame won a Fatal 4-Way to earn this title shot (NXT, September 9)
Bliss and Flair stayed in the ring after the opening segment. When we returned from the break, Dame and Paxley made their entrance with Nike Vance and Shawn Spears in tow.
Paxley and Bliss both had their dolls in their hands as they started the match, but the ref made them set them aside before locking up. They had a brief exchange before Flair and Dame tagged in.
The champions sent the challengers out of the ring with a double-team combo as the show cut to a break. We returned to see The Culling momentarily in control.
You could see a clear difference in how each team worked due to their levels of experience. Bliss and Flair were much smoother in their offense, which made Paxley and Dame's inexperience more obvious.
This wasn't a bad match, but it's hard to say it was good. A lack of experience working together could be a factor, but it mostly felt like they were going through the paces.
Bliss and Flair got the win when The Goddess hit Sister Abigail on Paxley. Dame looked furious that she lost for their team.
Result: Flair and Bliss defeated Dame and Paxley
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Paxley was super excited to see Lyra Valkyria backstage.
- It's kind of weird how multiple characters in WWE have dolls and puppets now.
- Dame is one of the few women in WWE who stands a bit taller than The Queen.
- Shayna Baszler made an appearance backstage.
DIY vs. Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes
3 of 7Last Time in Action: Williams lost to Je'Von Evans (NXT, August 19), Hayes lost to the Street Profits (SmackDown, August 29), DIY lost to the Street Profits (SmackDown, August 15).
Following their confrontation last week, Williams and Hayes teamed up for the first time since the finals of the 2024 Dusty Rhodes Classic. They took on Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa in what was billed as the biggest tag team match in NXT history.
Melo and Johnny Wrestling started the match with a fast-paced exchange, but Williams quickly tagged in to hit a dropkick. Ciampa came in and sent both opponents out of the ring so Gargano could hit a suicide dive to send them both into the announce table.
We returned from a break to see Ciampa and Trick tagging in Gargano and Hayes. They went back and forth until Gargano hit a slingshot spear for a near-fall.
Williams was preparing to hit his finisher when Melo tagged himself in and hit his move instead. Williams teased turning in Hayes but ended up saving him from Ciampa.
This was a fun, fast-paced match with a lot of great moments. All four guys looked great, but Gargano and Hayes were definitely the standouts. The Miz showed up and attacked Gargano, helping Melo and Williams steal the win. Even with the dirty ending, this was a really entertaining match.
Result: Melo and Williams defeated DIY
Grade: A-
Notable Moments and Observations
- It's still kind of wild to see the TNA title in a WWE ring. Nobody would have through that was possible a few years ago.
- Bringing back old music for Gargano and Ciampa was great, but it was also a reminder of how much better it was than their current theme.
- Hayes and Gargano need to have a series of singles matches. They work so well together.
- This match illustrated how Gargano and Ciampa are rarely given the opportunity to show out on the main roster.
- The Shatter Machine from DIY was a nice callback to FTR/The Revival.
Ethan Page vs. Tyler Breeze (North American Title)
4 of 7Last Time in Action: Page lost to Dr. Wagner Jr. (NXTxAAA Worlds Collide, September 12), Breezango defeated Imperium (NXT, June 15, 2021).
Breeze returned to NXT to wrestle for the first time in four years to challenge Page for the North American title. The selfie aficionado came out in his old gear with his classic entrance music.
They wasted no time locking up and getting into the match. After their initial exchange, All Ego nailed Breeze with a stiff right hand that grounded him as we went to a break.
We returned just in time to see Breeze counter the Twisted Grin and begin making a comeback. The first half was all Page, but the second half was much more competitive and saw both men come close to winning a few times.
Breeze put up a good fight, but Page ended up hitting the Twisted Grin while his opponent was hanging from the top rope to get the win.
Result: Page defeated Breeze
Grade: B
Notable Moments and Observations
- Sami Zayn made an appearance backstage. Josh Briggs got in his face but Evans went after Briggs.
- Hearing Breeze's old music brought back so many memories. He is one of those guys who always felt like he was capable of more than WWE gave him.
- Dr. Wagner Jr. was shown in the crowd taunting Page.
- Breeze hasn't wrestled much over the past few years but you wouldn't know it from this match. He looked great.
The Grayson Waller Effect
5 of 7Grayson Waller was in the ring when we returned from a break for a special edition of his talk show with Oba Femi and Ricky Saints.
Waller did his usual routine of stirring the pot and trying to create controversy. Femi said he doesn't think Saints is special and has been underwhelming since arriving in NXT.
Saints said Femi has been pampered since being recruited right out of college and is nothing without the NXT title.
Williams came out and said the title still belongs to him. Waller suggested a title vs. title match between the two for next week with the winner defending against Saints at No Mercy.
This was kind of a bland segment that only got interesting at the end with the prospect of a double champion next week.
Grade: C+
Notable Moments and Observations
- Damian Priest was shown telling Tavion Heights he will get a shot at the North American title.
- Waller calling Saints the Temu version of himself was kind of funny.
- We got a funny segment backstage with Bobby Roode and Joe Hendry.
Fatal Influence vs. Rhea Ripley, Roxanne Perez and Lyra Valkyria
6 of 7Last Time in Action: Ripley defeated Roxanne Perez (Raw, August 25), Vaquer defeated Kairi Sane (Raw, September 15), Valkyria defeated Perez (Raw, September 15), Jayne lost to Ash by Elegance (NXT Heatwave), Henley and Nyx lost to The Culling (NXT, September 9)
Lexis King came out and gave a promo about how overrated the black and gold era of NXT was. He also insulted Myles Borne a bit before Finn Balor made a surprise appearance. Borne attacked King from behind and Balor joined in with a Coup de Grace.
The main event this week was a six-woman tag match with Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx taking on Ripley, Vaquer and Valkyria.
Fatal Influence attacked their opponents as they were making their entrance to get an early advantage. Once they had Vaquer alone, they triple-teamed her and almost won moments after the bell rang.
This match had a lot of energy and some entertaining double and triple-team moments. It seemed a little disorganized in places, but that tends to happen in most matches with six or more competitors.
With a little help from Lola Vice, Ripley was able to get the win for her team with the Riptide.
Result: Ripley. Vaquer and Valkyria defeated Fatal Influence
Grade: B-
Notable Moments and Observations
- It's kind of weird how DIY and Balor acted like babyfaces when they are heels on the main roster.
- Bianca Belair was shown in the crowd moments after Montez Ford had a segment with DarkState backstage.
- Henley and Jayne have both grown into good performers. Nyx is on her way but still has some work to do.
The Final Word
7 of 7The homecoming episode of NXT had plenty of callbacks to the past, but there were a lot of important people missing due to being signed to AEW and unable to appear.
It wasn't surprising that the show opened with a promo from Triple H, but it lasted longer than most of the matches we got on the show.
Having Breeze return for a title bout against Page was one of the bigger highlights of the night, especially since he hasn't lost a step.
All of the bouts on the show were decent, but the tag match with DIY taking on Melo and Williams was the best thing on the entire show.
Gargano and Ciampa are two of the most important figures in NXT history, so having them put over two younger guys was the right call.
All in all, this was a slightly above-average episode of NXT. The cameos felt well-placed and didn't overtake the show.
Grade: B+
