WWE NXT Winners, Grades and Reaction From July 7

The NXT landscape has shifted considerably in the wake of The Great American Bash, and now the build begins toward Heatwave on Aug. 30.

Kendal Grey will face her first test as NXT Women's champion when she defends against Nattie, a formidable force from WWE's main roster with a long list of accolades to her credit. A win over the multi-time champ would go a long way in establishing her as the new female face of NXT.

A fresh batch of contenders will be crowned when two Fatal 4-Way matches determine the next challengers to NXT Tag Team champions The Vanity Project and NXT Women's North American champion Zaria.

In other action, Shiloh Hill will keep his momentum rolling as he battles Niko Vance one-on-one.

Here are the complete winners, grades and reaction for the July 7 edition of WWE NXT as it airs live on The CW.

Kali Armstrong, Lola Vice and Kelani Jordan Call Out Kendal Grey

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Kali Armstrong made her presence felt during last week's main event when she destroyed Kendal Grey at ringside, and she explained at the start of this show that it was her only way of getting attention and making a name for herself in NXT's women's division.

She isn't one to complain about getting overlooked for opportunities, she says, and puts the entire division on notice. That brought out the now-former NXT Women's champion Lola Vice, who calls Armstrong impatient before making it clear she wants the belt back.

Kelani Jordan also emerged to let both Armstrong and Vice know that neither of them deserve a shot and that she should be next in line following her win over Tatum Paxley last week. Chaos ensued and Armstrong stood tall.

No official announcement on where this is headed, but it's safe to assume the three of them will meet in a number one contender's Triple Threat match sometime soon.

Grade

C

Notable Moments and Observations

• This was very much a basic opening segment with the usual revolving door of promos. None of the women were given a ton of time to talk, so none of them were able to stand out.
• It's smart to give Armstrong more reps on the mic if she's going to be a player in this division. She did just fine and she's well on her way to super stardom if she can continue to improve.
• Vice's move to the main roster has to be imminent, right? It's slightly surprising she's sticking around for a little longer, but perhaps they want her to get her title rematch out of the way first and put over some other women on her way out.

NXT Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match

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Last Time in Action: OTM defeated The Culling (NXT, June 2); Birth Right defeated Hank Walker and Tank Ledger (NXT, May 5). Birth Right lost to Hank and Tank (NXT, June 23); First time teaming for Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux.

Combatants include OTM, DarkState's Osiris Griffin and Cutler James, Birth Right's Channing Lorenzo and Uriah Connors, and the dynamic duo of Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux. Standard Fatal 4-Way tag team rules.

OTM dominated prior to the commercial break, and Van Dux was impressive whenever he was on offense. After Bronco Nima of OTM went on a tear, Birth Right nearly clinched the victory with an awesome-looking neckbreaker/powerbomb combo.

Legacy, Van Dux, Uriah Connors and Osiris Griffin took turns going high risk and wiping out the field at ringside. A distraction from Saquon Shugars was enough to distract DarkState and earn Legacy and Van Dux the surprising win once Birth Right and OTM brawled to the back.

Legacy and Van Dux will challenge for the NXT Tag Team Championship on next week's NXT.

Result

Sean Legacy and Doran Van Dux won to become number one contenders to the NXT Tag Team Championship.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments and Observations

• As depleted as NXT's tag team division is, it's matches like this that serve of a reminder of how fun tag team wrestling can be when given the time to shine. Everyone came away looking good, and Legacy and Van Dux are off to a strong start as a team.
• The crowd was into all of the action but especially down the stretch. This was a quality clash of styles, and that should once again be the case when Legacy and Van Dux take on The Vanity Project for the tag titles next week.
• There really isn't a reason for Shugars' feud with DarkState to continue after he decisively defeated Dion Lennox at The Great American Bash, but I guess there isn't much else for them to do at the moment.

Keanu Carver vs. Tank Ledger

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Last Time in Action: Tank Ledger and Hank Walker defeated Birth Right (NXT, June 23); Keanu Carver lost to EK Prosper (NXT, June 30).

The commentators noted that this marked Ledger's first (televised) singles match in nearly two years, as he's usually relegated to the tag team ranks with Walker.

He had a brief flurry of offense before getting shut down by Carver. Despite busting out a Swanton Bomb a little later on, Carver quickly regained control, put down Ledger with a massive powerbomb and scored the victory not long after.

This was what it needed to be to get Carver back on track coming off his back-to-back losses to EK Prosper. It allowed him to re-establish his dominance and take out someone that can easily afford the loss.

Result

Keanu Carver defeated Tank Ledger.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments and Observations

• There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about what was a fairly standard squash for Carver, but to his credit, Carver played his role well.
• Carver desperately needed this victory to avoid losing the momentum he has right now. Presumably, he'll avenge those losses to Prosper eventually, so this was a solid step in the right direction.
• Walker didn't return to attempt to get revenge on Carver for what Carver did to him at The Great American Bash, so it's possible that's still coming as well.

NXT Women's North American Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Match

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Last Time in Action: Lizzy Rain lost to Zaria (NXT, June 2); Izzi Dame lost to Arianna Grace (NXT, June 23); Layla Diggs lost to Arianna Grace (NXT, June 16); Thea Hail lost to Izzi Dame (NXT, June 16).

Our second Fatal 4-Way match of the night featured Lizzy Rain, Izzi Dame, Thea Hail and Layla Diggs fighting for a future shot at the NXT Women's North American Championship.

This was similar to the other Fatal 4-Way we got earlier in the evening in that it was all action, just better. These four ladies worked really well together and ensured that there was never a dull moment.

Some highlights included Hail leaping off the top rope to the outside, Hail and Diggs simultaneously hitting splashes in the middle of the ring, and Rain connecting with a double cutter. Diggs' athleticism also stood out throughout the bout.

Diggs is the freshest face of the four, so it's admirable that they'd run with her as the next challenger to the title. Of course, she won't stand a chance against Zaria when the gold is up for grabs, but it will give her another opportunity to showcase her skills against a notable name one-on-one.

Result

Layla Diggs won to become the number one contender to the NXT Women's North American Championship.

Grade

B

Notable Moments and Observations

• All of these women have been regulars in the WWE Women's Speed Championship division as of late, so it was nice to see them fighting for something more meaningful for a change.
• Rain's finisher is still a thing of beauty even a few months removed from her debut, but the one she hit here on Hail wasn't quite her best. That said, the moonsault Diggs won with was practically flawless.
• A vignette aired for newcomer Reina Volcan (f.k.a. Nikki Blackheart) afterward, indicating she might soon factor into the Women's North American title picture.

Tavion Heights Attempts to Apologize to Myles Borne

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Tavion Heights was out in the ring to call out Myles Borne and apologize to him for not "acting like a brother" after failing to beat him for the NXT North American Championship at The Great American Bash.

Instead, he got The Vanity Project, who blamed him for costing Jackson Drake a recent win. Drake told Heights he would've gotten the job done against Borne had it been him in there and not Heights.

As you'd expect, Vanity Project started beating down on Heights before Borne made the save. This felt like where Heights might finally turn on Borne, but evidently not as they stood tall to close the segment.

That has to be where these never-ending interactions between Borne and Heights are leading, so perhaps they're saving it for after the looming tag team match.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments and Observations

• NXT's talking segments are so quick that they're never truly given time to breathe. Sure, this accomplished what it needed to, but it was so rushed that it was hard to be left interested in the teased tag team match.
• Heights just won't get over Borne it seems, despite falling short on multiple occasions. At this point, they're simply dragging out the inevitable.
• It's odd that Mason Rook wouldn't immediately target Vanity Project after they outnumbered him and got the better of him last week. You think he would've showed up here to give Borne and Heights an extra advantage.

Shiloh Hill vs. Niko Vance

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Last Time in Action: Shiloh Hill defeated Tristian Angels (NXT The Great American Bash, June 28); Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux defeated The Culling (NXT, June 23).

Shiloh Hill is riding a wave of momentum coming off his big win over Tristian Angels at The Great American Bash. That appeared to be the payoff to their program, or so it seemed.

Meanwhile, Vance came into this contest looking to establish some credibility for himself after he and Izzi Dame betrayed Shawn Spears to oust him from The Culling. Speaking of Dame, she came back out to be in Vance's corner, but Hill was without Tatum Paxley in his corner after what Reina Vulcan did to her last week.

They had a bit of a competitive contest in the time they were allotted. Hill had the upper hand until Angels showed up at ringside to ensure Vance emerged victorious.

Result

Niko Vance defeated Shiloh Hill.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Hill has been heavily protected in recent months, so Vance beating him (even if it was tainted) was notable. We'll see if that actually amounts to anything for Vance in the long run.
• What's the point of Hill and Angels running it back? This is another storyline that should have ended at The Great American Bash. There's little for either of them to gain from continuing to work with each other.
• Post-match, Shawn Spears laid out Vance with a chair, a nice callback to his "Chairman" gimmick in AEW. The real question is whether he will resurrect his Perfect 10 persona next.

Kendal Grey vs. Nattie: NXT Women's Championship

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Last Time in Action: Kendal Grey defeated Lola Vice (NXT The Great American Bash, June 28); Nattie defeated Jaida Parker (NXT, June 16).

Nattie has had no shortage of shots at the NXT Women's Championship dating back to 2014. This was more about whether Grey would be able to retain her title in her first defense than it was about Nattie, though.

Grey has gelled well with just about everyone she has shared the ring with since arriving in NXT and Nattie was no exception. This had a ton of submissions and smooth transitions, two things both women are exceptionally skilled at.

Nattie had Nikkita Lyons and Karmen Petrovic in her corner, but they were thwarted by Wren Sinclair and Lola Vice before the commercial break. That meant it was all about Grey and Nattie in the second half, culminating in an abrupt Shades of Grey to put Nattie away.

Result

Kendal Grey defeated Nattie to retain the NXT Women's Championship.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments and Observations

• Nattie was the perfect first challenger for Grey. The outcome was never in doubt, but they had a really good main event that set the tone for Grey's reign going forward.
• Nattie and Jaida Parker faced off while Nattie was walking off afterward, making it clear they have unfinished business and will meet in a rematch sooner rather than later.
• The show-closing visual of Vice, Kali Armstrong and Kelani Jordan scouting Grey from different sides of the ring was cheesy, but at least it established who's waiting in the wings for an opportunity at the NXT Women's title.

Overall Show

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Based on what we've seen on NXT the past two weeks, the women's division will likely what carries NXT through Heatwave. The NXT Women's Championship picture in particular is stacked and the NXT Women's North American Championship scene is heating up as well.

We briefly heard from Naraku in vignette form during this episode, but there wasn't much progression with the NXT Championship stuff otherwise. None of the backstage segments we got with the men were all that compelling, either.

Despite this being a taped show, it was certainly eventful thanks to the two number one contender's matches, and both bouts were fun. The NXT Women's Championship main event was the highlight of the night from an in-ring standpoint and was wisely saved for last.

NXT TV is far from must-see right now, but the building blocks are there for something special. This was an adequate episode that featured a few key developments but also unfortunately kept certain storylines going that have no business being extended.

Final Grade

C+

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.