WWE NXT Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights From April 21

NXT Revenge continued with a second week in the WWE Performance Center for its April 21 show including more championship action.

Sol Ruca and Zaria looked to settle their issues in a Last Woman Standing match. Tatum Paxley agreed to fight Blake Monroe again in a Casket match for the Women's North American Championship.

Myles Borne put his North American Championship against Dion Lennox. Joe Hendry fought Keanu Carver in a match to determine who was up next for NXT champion Tony D'Angelo.

What would NXT Revenge bring in its second week? Would championships change hands, and could this be the final appearance for Ruca and Hendry in NXT?

North American Championship: Myles Borne (c) vs. Dion Lennox (w/ DarkState)

Last Time in Action: Dion Lennox alongside Saquon Shugars, Cutler James and Osiris Griffin lost to Tony D'Angelo, Joe Hendry, Ethan Page and Ricky Saints (NXT, April 7); Myles Borne successfully defended his North American Championship against Johnny Gargano (NXT Stand & Deliver, April 4).

The rest of DarkState backed Lennox on his way to the ring. They distracted Borne on the outside, allowing Lennox to turn the tide and throw Borne's back into the metal frame of the ring.

Lennox kept control for a while, but Borne's experience allowed him to make the comeback. Another distraction from Shugars set up a Superplex.

Borne refused to allow a pin attempt and began to exchange strikes. Shugars tried to get involved again but bumped heads with Lennox, followed by a Borne Again for the champion to retain.

The pacing of this match was all over the place, heavily affected by the three men at ringside. DarkState showed no trust in Lennox, leading to a messy title bout.

For the story, this makes sense, but Borne and Lennox tried to make this collision feel epic down the stretch unsuccessfully.

NXT could keep this angle going with Shugars challenging Borne next, but it might be best to first get Shugars some in-ring experience on TV.

While he is the most charismatic member of the group, he is also one of the least established as a singles performer. It would be odd for him to jump the line.

There is also too much talent on the NXT roster to repeatedly run Borne vs. DarkState for the next couple months. Let Shugars and Lennox settle their issues first before either goes after the gold again.

Any member of BirthRight or The Vanity Project can fill in the time while Borne likely continues to build a formidable title reign.

Result

Borne def. Lennox by pinfall to retain the North American Championship.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments and Observations

The show started with a hype package for the night, particularly focusing on the two dramatic women's stipulation matches.

Shugars continues to play leader when Lennox is not calling the shots and failing spectacularly, which begs the question why he gets to make those calls.

Backstage, afterward, Shugars asked Robert Stone for another DarkState title opportunity.

Joe Hendry vs. Keanu Carver

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Hendry lost his likely final match in NXT by referee stoppage.

Last Time in Action: Keanu Carver defeated Josh Briggs and Jasper Troy (NXT, April 7); Joe Hendry lost in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (SmackDown, April 17).

Carver started strong but was quickly sent to the floor by Hendry, frustrating the NXT newcomer.

Hendry continued to build momentum until he called for the Standing Ovation. Carver blocked it and landed a huge Spinebuster.

He followed up with a series of elbow smashes on Hendry until the referee called for the bell because Hendry could not defend himself.

This was a decent match with the right booking for the future. Carver and Hendry did not have the chemistry to sell a lengthy heated match but could work to build Carver up as a threat.

Hendry is on his way to the main roster, so this was all about establishing Carver as a serious threat, defeating a former NXT champion.

It is a shame that Hendry ultimately ends his run in NXT without fully establishing himself following a short title reign and some notable losses to his name.

Still, what matters most to NXT is that a new monster is building his reputation while Hendry can get himself over through words and song on Raw starting next week.

Result

Carver def. Hendry by referee stoppage.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments and Observations

While Hendry came out to his usual entrance with Booker T singing along, Hendry did not smile at all, preparing for a fight.

Carver's final elbow strikes did not connect at all, playing it too safe to look like they had truly finished off a former NXT champion.

NXT showed a hype vignette for Lizzy Rain, who will debut next week. All signs point to her quickly becoming one of NXT's best women.

Men's Speed Championship Tournament Final: Lexis King vs. EK Prosper (w/ BirthRight)

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Lexis King captured the Men's Speed Championship with the help of the rest of BirthRight.

Last Time in Action: In Speed Tournament action, EK Prosper defeated Dorian Van Dux (NXT, April 14), and Lexis King defeated Chazz "Starboy" Hall (NXT, April 7).

Prosper almost caught King with a pin attempt right at the start of the match.

King found an edge by using Arianna Grace as a shield on the outside. When King tried to use the Coronation though, Prosper fought it off.

Prosper went for a Moonsault but was knocked off the top by King. He countered a Coronation on the apron with a Back Body Drop then Moonsaulted onto BirthRight.

Grace avoided the Moonsault and slapped Prosper, who walked right into a Coronation for the King victory.

Once again, the distractions played too big a role for the match to flow, especially for a contest that was only able to go four-and-a-half minutes.

Prosper's style works well for the Speed format while King is to methodical for this style. He had control of the match for too long for any story to develop beyond BirthRight's interruptions.

Still, the right man likely won for the moment. BirthRight is in desperate need of credibility, and King had the easiest track to gold.

Prosper has a reason to fight back to a rematch, which gives the Men's Speed Championship a clearer direction than it has had in recent months.

Hopefully, when the time comes for the rematch, these two will pace themselves more around Prosper's strengths and move faster.

Result

King def. Prosper by pinfall to become the new men's Speed champion.

Grade

C

Notable Moments and Observations

Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo almost caused himself and King injury when he jumped on him in celebration.

Backstage, Saquon Shugars told Dion Lennox that he had the next shot at Myles Borne next week. Lennox was not happy.

Women's North American Championship: Tatum Paxley (c) vs. Blake Monroe

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Tatum Paxley successfully defended her Women's North American Championship against Blake Monroe.

Last Time in Action: Blake Monroe alongside Jackson Drake defeated Tatum Paxley alongside Shiloh Hill (NXT, April 7).

Tatum tried to throw Monroe into the casket within seconds of the match starting, but The Glamour ducked out.

The champion brought out her dollhouse as a weapon, but it was Monroe that Dropkicked her into it.

The two battled in and out of the Casket until they fought on top of it. Monroe went for a Glamour Shot, but Tatum countered into a Spanish Fly.

Monroe fired back with a fire extinguisher and an elevated Glamour Shot. Tatum used Monroe's fake title to block the Casket door closing.

The Glamour dragged Tatum out of the Casket with the title and whipped the champion repeatedly before revealing a bag full of diamonds.

Tatum countered a Glamour Shot into a Cemetery Drive on the diamonds then closed the lid on Monroe to successfully defend her gold.

This was a spot-fest plunder match, delivering on the spectacle over pure in-ring action.

This led to a less complete match than their first but an appropriately dramatic finish to their story.

Tatum needed this retention to solidify her reign, and it is now possible she could lose against any future challenge.

Combined with distracting The Vanity Project throughout the night, this may truly signal the end of The Glamour in NXT.

This is for the best as she is more than ready for the main roster jump. She did well in NXT for the time she had, but NXT needed her more than she needed NXT.

The only shame is that Tatum could also use the call-up as she has done all that she can in NXT. Hopefully, there is a path to Raw or SmackDown once she loses the Women's North American Championship.

Result

Paxley def. Monroe to retain the Women's North American Championship.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments and Observations

Earlier in the night, The Vanity Project went across the street as Drake had a date. He was stood up on that date but did run into Myka Lockwood.

Shiloh Hill told Tatum that he distracted Vanity Project with a fake date to make sure she had a fair match.

Monroe and Tatum both arrived in funeral attire, and Monroe brought flowers.

After the match, Lockwood saw that Drake was "stood up" by an AI and left with him to get some real dinner.

Izzi Dame Lays Out Lola Vice

Lola Vice talked about finding out what it means to be NXT women's champion. She was ready for anyone to step up but promised them all a serious fight.

Izzi Dame arrived to make clear she wants the next shot before Shawn Spears and Niko Vance surrounded Vice, allowing Izzi to lay Vice out with a boot.

While this segment focused the NXT Women's Championship scene down to one clear challenge, that was about all it accomplished.

Vice and Dame did not sound confident on the microphone, leading to a flat performance from all involved.

It was odd that Kali Armstrong and Kendal Grey did not appear as both also called their shot last week.

At least Grey got a NXT Chronicle video, but Kali was nowhere to be seen this week.

Vice may need a lengthy run as NXT women's champion to learn through this title reign. Hopefully, she can learn from the feedback in these spots.

Grade

D

Notable Moments and Observations

Izzi came out in the boldest fashion statement of the night with gigantic red boot and black spurs.

Lexis King refused to take blame for the interference. EK Prosper and Dorian Van Dux both called out BirthRight's bad behavior and challenged them.

Kendal Grey talked about her history, going over her bad luck and injuries, promising nothing stopped her from competing.

Ricky Saints attacked Shiloh Hill in Robert Stone's office while he checked on Vice backstage.