Champion
It’s a big deal any time we get new champions on top of a division. It’s an even bigger deal now considering NXT’s been a bit adrift since the great talent purge of 2026. Joe Hendry became the man after Oba Femi vacated his throne, while Jacy Jayne maintained her crown. Stand & Deliver often acts as the season finale for storylines. Think of this as NXT’s new season where some stories will continue with new layers, while new ones
will emerge. Tony D’Angelo and Lola Vice as champions are the latter. My biggest curiosity going into this week is how the territory positions them within their respective divisions and what the beginnings of their reigns look like.
So far, my biggest conclusions are A. The men’s division either needs a talent infusion or needs to raise more guys into the championship picture and 2., Lola has her hands full with several potential challengers that should make for interesting matches and stories, considering her past.
Let’s get this out of the way: Tony D looks good as champ. His current demeanor seems more befitting the guy at the top of the mountain than his former Italian stereotype come-to-life. I liked The Don, don’t get me wrong, but I really like this version. He’s less cartoonish and more sincere. He’s all business, all passion, and a man of few words. That means when he does speak, it’s worth paying attention to the words he chooses and when he chooses to use them. His impassioned opening promo was all about fulfilling his destiny as champ and doing what he set out to do. That of course bought out the usual suspects of challengers, which gets me back to point A. There’s something about Ethan Page, Ricky Saints, and Joe Hendry that feels stale for me. There’s nothing wrong with either of them! I don’t think Joe was a great champion and believe he’s better chasing, but that’s not a huge knock on the guy. Ethan and Ricky have this frenemy thing going that’s funny at times but also maddening since I know the territory is prolonging the inevitable match between them. Ricky and Ethan are seemingly permanently etched into the title picture; Ethan got that championship on one of his first nights in NXT while they always made it seem like Ricky was destined for it.
Putting the four of them together against DarkState paid off Dion Lennox’s promise to make a move to benefit his whole crew, which I appreciated. What I appreciated even more was Myles Borne interrupting the eight man tag match. His DarkState brethren questioned why Dion attacked Myles at Stand & Deliver and looked uneasy listening to his rationale. Dion’s recklessness came back to bite them all as it turned four on four into four on three. This group loves when the numbers are on their side, so putting them on the opposite side of the fair equation in this way was poetic.
That, along with all the tension between the three challengers and the champ, made this an important and intriguing tag match. This finish is a part of that, and set up next week’s championship match between Tony D and All Ego:
Across the locker room, we got Vice City. Lola’s promo also dripped with honesty as she admitted she wasn’t ready for this moment when she first got to NXT, despite thinking she was. The business humbled her, she retooled, went to AAA, got better, and now she reigns supreme. Her celebration didn’t last long because Jacy interfered and we’re getting a rematch next week. I don’t expect Jacy to win so I’m probably unfairly looking past her. The women behind her are impressive. NXT’s done a substantial job cranking out a list of credible challengers: Kelani Jordan, Jaida Parker, Kendal Grey, Sol Ruca, Zaria, Izzi Dame, Blake Monroe, Tatum Paxley, and yes, Jacy herself. These women are either former champs or get enough spotlight to credibly be the champ. Lola, like Tony, fashions herself a fighting champion. She’ll have more than enough fights to choose from with that lineup and the territory will be better for it.
The men’s division isn’t that deep. I’m not interested in watching Tony fight the same three guys in different configurations for the next few months. Every season premiere brings something fresh to the table. Now is the time to elevate some guys so that Tony’s reign doesn’t fizzle before it can bang.
B-Sides
- I should’ve known Zaria wasn’t finished with Sol Ruca. I mean, duh, right? There’s far too much bad blood between them, especially flowing through Zaria’s veins, to let this end in a regular match. Zaria interfered during Sol’s mach with Izzi Dame, which helped give Izzi a win over Sol. As this was established as a stepping stone to facing Lola Vice, this seemingly puts Izzi on the path to a championship match. Unfortunately for Sol, she can’t even sniff that title until she’s done with her former best friend. According to Zaria, this ends when she says it ends, which means Sol has to truly take her out back and put her down if she wants to further her career. A Last Woman Standing match at NXT Revenge sounds right
- Birth Right finally has a little momentum on their side! Lexis King defeated Chazz “Starboy” Hall in a Speed match. Birth Right needs to stack more wins, even if it’s in the Speed context. They put this group together with a story involving Fit Finley and William Regal. That has to mean something rather than just being a meaningless gesture. I want to see them stack wins. GM Stone said we’re crowning a new Speed champ next week, so here’s hoping it’s Lexis. Does the Speed Championship hold a lot of prestige? Not really. But let’s see if this group and their unofficial leader can elevate it.
- Blake Monroe is one step closer to getting back the real Women’s North American Championship. Vanity Project gifted her a custom one, which, yeah, not the real thing but let her cook. We got a mixed tag that put Tatum Paxley & Shiloh Hill against Blake & Jackson Drake. This was a fun mixed tag all about Blake and Tatum while also giving Jackson and Shiloh some shine.
This was a nice reset after Stand & Deliver. I liked the energy, like the follow-up on stories, and liked the general sense of chaos. It wasn’t perfect but an improvement over previous weeks.
What say you, Cagesiders? Who should get elevated in the men’s division?
