WWE NXT Results, Winners, Live Grades, Reaction, Highlights From May 26

WWE NXT refuses to slow down, promising a heated NXT Women's Championship collision and plenty of Speed action for its May 26 show.

Lola Vice finally fought Izzi Dame one-on-one with her NXT Women's Championship on the line. NXT champion Tony D'Angelo was unlikely to stay quiet after his latest collision with Mason Rook and Kam Hendrix.

Shiloh Hill hoped to keep his growing momentum against Charlie Dempsey. The next Men's Speed Championship tournament began with the return of Nathan Frazer.

Who would deliver on the night? Could fans see a brand new women's champion by the end of the night?

Kelani Jordan vs. Wren Sinclair (w/ Kendal Grey)

Last Time in Action: Kelani Jordan defeated Kendal Grey (NXT, May 12); Wren Sinclair lost to Jordan (NXT, April 28).

Jordan attacked Sinclair mid-entrance to start this match with control. As Sinclair tried to rally, her knee buckled.

While Jordan's initial attack on the knee was thwarted, she quickly got a hold of the injury and wrenched away at the knee with various submissions.

Sinclair refused to tap out for a while, even dodging the One of a Kind Moonsault into a near-count pin, but she ran out of answers.

Jordan locked in an elevated inverted reverse figure-four (similar to the Haas of Pain) for the tap-out.

The dynamic of this match was an easy sell to this crowd that wanted to fully support Sinclair. Jordan went after the established knee injury and got steady heat.

This was as good as Sinclair has ever looked in an NXT ring. Her selling was tight and gave Jordan a fantastic vehicle to build heel heat with the crowd.

While Jordan is always at her best as the high flier, she pulled out a variety of strong leglocks throughout this match that showed off her technical chops.

By the end, it became clear though that Sinclair was once again the loser for the sake of Grey's rise, and she lost more credibility as the current Women's Speed champion.

Result

Jordan def. Sinclair by submission.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments and Observations

To start the match, the crowd chanted "Happy Birthday" in honor of Sinclair, who celebrated her 31st birthday yesterday.

The crowd was completely behind Sinclair, finding new chants to root her on throughout.

Booker T though was all for Jordan, allowing him and Vic Joseph to easily argue over who was right in this match.

Kali Armstrong mocked Sinclair in the trainer's room and warned Lola Vice to watch out for her.

DarkState Explains The Attack on Saquon Shugars

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DarkState (before the betrayal)

DarkState called out Saquon Shugars' lack of athletic traits next to their collegiate background, mocking his independent wrestling background.

Cutler James called Shugars reckless while Dion Lennox admitted that he could have been the odd man out as well.

Osiris Griffin refocused the group on their goal to take down champions and capture gold.

This was a solid follow-up to last week's attack, though it was odd for Lennox to reclaim the lead mic role for the group so easily.

This could have been the moment to test Griffin and see if he was ready to stand out as the lead man of DarkState.

Instead, Lennox brushed past his recent mistakes and claimed to be the reason DarkState even exists despite not being the leader.

Whatever happens next, NXT has clearly chosen Lennox and Shugars as the driving forces behind this story while Cutler and Griffin likely remain the tag team.

Grade

B

Notable Moments and Observations

The modified tron of DarkState showed one skull mask crossed out.

The crowd started with a DarkState chant but quickly turned against the trio, especially Lennox, though there were some hating on Shugars as well.

Backstage, Shiloh Hill went Zaria hunting with Lizzy Rain, who was looking for revenge from last week's attack.

Men's Speed Championship Tournament: Sean Legacy vs. Dorian Van Dux

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Dorian Van Dux

Last Time in Action: Sean Legacy alongside EK Prosper and Tate Wilder lost to BirthRight (NXT, May 12); Dorian Van Dux lost to Prosper in the last Men's Speed Championship Tournament (NXT, April 14).

Legacy and Van Dux were rushing from the start, trying to find a way to catch one another, but they always had an answer to the other man's offense.

The three-minute time limit ran out as Legacy laid out Van Dux with a Superplex, and both competitors were left frustrated. They showed each other respect afterward.

These two are phenomenal athletes, but this format had them rushing from the outset. It led to multiple sloppy mistakes.

This is the risk of the Speed format. Even good wrestlers are going to struggle to get in all their offense over three minutes.

With the time-limit draw though, hopefully a rematch can come out of this without a clock, allowing them both to show out.

It is honestly surprising by NXT standards that time-limit draws are mostly rare. This time it made sense to protect both men and fuel a potential friendly rivalry.

Result

Legacy vs. Van Dux goes to a three-minute time-limit draw.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments and Observations

Van Dux carries himself with a heel edge despite playing nice with the faces for now. This is probably why Booker T likes him.

Both men have great looks and unreal athleticism that should carry them far if they can move beyond the Speed Tournament format.

NXT should consider raising the standard time limit to five minutes for Speed matches since that gives more room for talent to recover from mistakes.

Jaida Parker vs. Layla Diggs (w/ Nattie)

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Jaida Parker

Last Time in Action: Jaida Parker lost to Kali Armstrong (NXT, May 5). This was the NXT TV debut of Layla Diggs.

Diggs tried her best to duck and dodge the offense of a focused Jaida, but she was not ready for Miss Parker's unrelenting offense.

She dodged a Moonsault then hit the Hipnotic followed by a Chokebomb for the win.

This was more or less an extended squash, and it probably should have been less than that. The crowd only wanted to see Miss Parker dominate.

Diggs is athletic and finding her character enough to get TV time. However, she did not come off as a real challenge for Jaida despite the way this match played out.

The real story here is that Miss Parker and Nattie are on a collision course, and that should be a fun test for one of NXT's most popular women.

Result

Jaida def. Diggs by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments and Observations

Nattie showed appreciation to Diggs' respect for her backstage and asked to be in her corner.

Booker T was laughing at Diggs' confident dancing entrance, warning that she was in trouble against a no-nonsense Miss Parker.

Jaida added a small addition to her usual ring attire, wrestling with her hair in a bandana to sell a more dangerous edge to her offense.

The crowd only cared about Jaida in this match, barely reacting to any offense from Diggs.

Tony D'Angelo Calls Out Naraku and Faces Down Kam Hendrix

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Naraku

NXT champion Tony D'Angelo arrived to call out the man he saw as a true threat to his title: Naraku.

He arrived to make clear he would protect the champion until they reached their destiny and went to war for the NXT Championship.

Kam Hendrix arrived to mock D'Angelo ahead of their match next week. The champion was not phased by the challenger.

When Hendrix tried to sneak attack D'Angelo again, Naraku stopped him and Clotheslined him out of the ring.

This was a really good segment on paper that suffered a bit from Hendrix's acting. While he is clearly not supposed to be a threat to D'Angelo, he came off even less credible than intended.

He also interrupted a genuinely intriguing dynamic between the champion and Naraku. This is the story that the NXT Championship should be all about.

Mason Rook is also still a threat, but D'Angelo and Naraku have an instant chemistry from their presentation that needs to be explored.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments and Observations

Backstage, Myles Borne and Tavion Heights argued about last week's miscommunication until DarkState laid out both men.

The Vanity Project mocked Tate Wilder backstage about his injury courtesy of Keanu Carver. Wilder challenged Jackson Drake for next week.

Mason Rook questioned Robert Stone's decision to give Hendrix the match next week. Naraku warned Rook to stay out of that match.

Men's Speed Championship Tournament: Nathan Frazer (w/ Axiom) vs. Romeo Moreno (w/ Noam Dar)

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Fraxiom

Last Time in Action: Romeo Moreno lost to Tristan Angels (NXT, May 19, 2026). This was Nathan Frazer's first match in NXT since he and Axiom lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to Hank and Tank (NXT Stand & Deliver, April 19, 2025).

These two men started the match running, going back and forth around the ropes, but Frazer continued to answer Moreno's best offense with confidence.

At the 30-second mark, Moreno knocked Frazer outside, who tweaked his ankle on the fall. Frazer fought back with a Superplex, but Moreno caught him with a small package to win with two seconds on the clock.

The two men showed each other respect afterward as BirthRight watched from the elevated stage.

In an inverse result to the other tournament match of the night, this contest perfectly used every second to maximize the talent involved.

The flow of this match was unreal, highlighting two phenomenal high-fliers that trusted one another through every second of action.

The way Frazer never hesitated in the closing seconds made Moreno's win all the more impressive and shocking.

While he is only two matches into his NXT run, Moreno might have just made enough of an emphatic statement to have earned the chance to dethrone Lexis King next week.

It is a shame to see Frazer back in NXT losing, but he was protected by the true shock of a result in a match he mostly controlled.

Result

Moreno def. Frazer by pinfall to earn a shot at men's Speed champion Lexis King next week.

Grade

A

Notable Moments and Observations

Before the match, Frazer interrupted BirthRight backstage and promised to show up King next week.

Kali Armstrong talked confidently about her future in front of the women's locker room. Thea Hail warned her not to aim too high.

Shiloh Hill vs. Charlie Dempsey (w/ BirthRight)

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Shiloh Hill

Last Time in Action: Charlie Dempsey alongside Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo and Uriah Connor defeated EK Prosper, Sean Legacy and Tate Wilder (NXT, May 12); Shiloh Hill defeated Ricky Saints (NXT, April 28).

Hill laughed in the face of the best offense Dempsey could throw at him, demanding he hit harder to take down the big man.

While Dempsey utilized his technical acumen to take over the action down the stretch, Hill managed to reverse a Dragon Suplex into a Bridging Suplex of his own for a surprise three count.

Afterward, Tristan Angels interrupted the celebration and announced a Mr. NXT Pageant in two week's time. Both men promised to embarrass the other.

This honestly did not work. It felt like these two men were working different matches entirely, and Dempsey was awkwardly no-sold in moments he needed to look stronger.

Still, it is clear that Hill is NXT's priority, so there was no way he could lose to a man that barely feels relevant these days.

The goal was to get Hill a win and set up the Mr. NXT Pageant announcement. That was accomplished.

Perhaps the side goal was to move Hill past BirthRight because at this point, he seems completely uninterested in dealing with them any more.

Result

Hill def. Dempsey by pinfall.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments and Observations

Angels wished Hill bad luck against Dempsey backstage.

Just before his match, Hill distracted Zaria for an attack by Lizzy Rain. Security had to separate the two women.

Despite Dempsey's wealth of experience, Hill already comes off as the bigger star in NXT.

NXT Women's Championship: Lola Vice (c) vs. Izzi Dame (w/ The Culling)

Last Time in Action: Izzi Dame alongside Niko Vance defeated Lola Vice alongside Mr. Iguana (NXT, April 5).

Shawn Spears and Niko Vance started in Izzi's corner, but Bronco Nima and Lucien Price arrived to brawl with The Culling to the back.

While Izzi was distracted at first, she refocused and began imposing her will and strength against Vice.

When the champion tried to lock in an Armbar, the challenger reversed into a Modified Boston Crab.

Izzi accidentally laid out the referee with a Running Knee. The two women exchanged strikes until Vice connected on a Spinning Back Fist, but the referee's groggy count allowed a kick-out.

Izzi booted the NXT Women's Championship into the face of Vice, but the champion still managed to kick out. The champion followed up with another Spinning Back Fist to win.

This was heavily overbooked down the stretch, including a poorly timed referee bump that only made Izzi look worse in defeat.

With The Culling taken out of the equation early, this match could have played much more clean, especially since the challenger had already pinned the champion in the past.

Instead, the solid action was interrupted by a messy home stretch that simply made it clear that the champion was several steps above the challenger.

Especially given all the build, this could have been better, though the chemistry between these two is likely too limited to force a rematch any time soon.

Vice has multiple interesting challengers on the horizon (Kali Armstrong, Kelani Jordan and Kendal Grey), and all are likely to give her a better match when the time is right.

Result

Vice def. Izzi by pinfall to retain the NXT Women's Championship.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments and Observations

Earlier in the night, Izzi questioned where Spears was ahead of the two Culling matches announced for the night.

Spears attacked OTM with a steel chair from behind, leaving the two unable to compete.

After his sneak attack on OTM, Izzi continued to question Spears' judgment, further favoring Niko.

When Izzi Booted the championship into Vice, she pulled the referee awkwardly right next to the evidence of the crime, which the ref ignored.

The show ended with DarkState in the parking lot promising more destruction was coming while Saquon Shugars watched from above.

Overall Show

Beyond the main event, this was a building-block show, highlighting growing rivalries with matches that were mostly forgettable.

The exception was the Men's Speed Championship Tournament contest between Romeo Moreno and Nathan Frazer that delivered about as perfect a three-minute match as possible.

Beyond that match, nothing is likely to be talked about in one month's time. Even the main event of Lola Vice vs. Izzi Dame was a good TV match but hardly lived up to the month-long build.

Tony D'Angelo will be next up to deliver a title match conclusion to a filler title challenge with Kam Hendrix. Lizzy Rain will also be back in action against Zaria, which is the likely match of the night.

As a whole, this week was forgettable but did enough to set the stage for better to come, forgiving some sloppy moments across the night.

Overall Grade: B-