WWE NXT Vengeance Day 2025: 3 Things We Hated And Three Things We Loved

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s annual review of WWE NXT Vengeance Day, the show that saw an NXT Women's Championship match main event over an NXT Championship match for only the third time in history! Don't worry, we're not going to put a "loved" on that — if you've been following this column for any length of time, you saw that one coming. We are, however, going to break down and analyze everything that went down at Vengeance Day — including all six matches and a double attack from a very sinister-looking new stable — and even some things that didn't.

If you like your PLE recaps more objective and less opinionated, you should probably bounce out of here and check out our Vengeance Day results page. If you want to know what the WINC staff (well, a couple of us, anyway) thought about the show, you're in the right place. Here are three things we hated and three things we loved from WWE NXT Vengeance Day 2025!

Yes, you read that correctly — let me explain. There was a weird thing that happened in the middle of this show, where for three consecutive matches, there was an inverse relationship between how much I enjoyed the match itself and how I felt about the result going forward. The tag team championship match was the first example. I really enjoyed it, and I don't usually say that about matches that involve Josh Briggs! But that's just kind of where we are with Axiom and Nathan Frazer — from an in-ring standpoint, it doesn't seem to matter who you put them out there with. Worst case scenario the match is going to be good; best case scenario it's a Match of the Year contender. Pretty much every time.

But as much fun as I had while watching the match itself, I can't help but wonder how long we're going to keep doing this. "NXT" still doesn't have anything resembling a functional tag division. It's great that they can bring in people from TNA and everything, but at a certain point you have to come to terms with the fact that you won't have Fraxiom forever. If not for the 19 days that Andre Chase and Ridge Holland spent as champions in August, we would be approaching a year-long reign at this point, and while the matches have generally been phenomenal, this model is far from sustainable. They haven't lost the titles (again, except that one time), they haven't turned on each other or break up — they've just kept going, doing the same thing. Since that thing is "put on good-to-great matches," it's fine for now, but one of these days Fraxiom will either split or get called up, and speaking personally, I'm not convinced the solution to the tag division's woes is "heel stable made up entirely of new guys" (more on them later).

Written by Miles Schneiderman

In contrast, I didn't particularly care for Trick Williams vs. Eddy Thorpe or Ethan Page vs. Je'Von Evans. No shade on them — I'm not a fan of strap matches and I sometimes have a hard time with Page, even when the work is objectively good. But in both cases, I was pleased with the outcomes and in one case I was downright pleasantly surprised.

I had a feeling Page was going to beat Evans, but it was nice to see them actually go through with it. I don't love the Page/Evans feud in general, but it would be irresponsible at this point to have Evans beat Page in February, and while I think the whole injured jaw/mouthpiece thing is a little corny, I like the finish with the punch to the jaw because Page didn't technically cheat — he was just a jerk. He won in a way that tells you something about his character but doesn't undermine his abilities. The same is actually true of Eddy Thorpe's surprising win over Trick Williams — since it was a Strap Match, Thorpe's low bow (using the strap, I might add) didn't break any rules, it just makes him a d***. That, to me, is a one of the most effective ways to build and push a heel.

To be clear though: These are both conditional loves. Evans really needs to beat Page at Stand & Deliver now, and Thorpe should be booked like a big deal after picking up an effectively clean win over arguably the brand's biggest star. I have to assume "NXT" put Thorpe over because they're considering the inevitability of a Trick-less world sooner rather than later, and he's as a good a talent as any to try and take that spot. But you have to stick with it now, just like you have to pay off what you're setting up with Evans and Page. Otherwise none of this matters.

Hopefully Stand & Deliver can pair good matches with good decision-making!

Written by Miles Schneiderman

There was little joy to be extrapolated from the match between Oba Femi, Austin Theory, and Grayson Waller for the NXT Championship in the event anything else happened but Femi retaining. But thankfully he did and that's why it falls under this side of the column. Let's look at it for what it is, WWE has consistently rated Waller and Theory highly throughout their careers, with Theory lifting the United States Championship twice before teaming with Waller for his maiden title run as WWE Tag Team Champion last year. They continue to be used prominently on main roster programming, and there was no reason for either of them to walk out with the title. But there was a story for them to be in the bout, their motive coming for the fact neither managed to break their title duck in the developmental territory, and the champion's motive to make the match coming in the fact he just wants to dominate every one that stands in his way.

It's the same mentality that has propelled Gunther to level of WWE World Heavyweight Champion going into WrestleMania, the idea that any and everyone in the way – specifically those with bigger name value – is on the list and that doesn't change when they become the champion. So often the trope is a heel reaches the top and does everything within their power to avoid dangerous opponents (the Jon Jones way), and it does make it special when that trend is broken and someone embodies the classic fighting champion (the Tom Aspinall way). That idea was extended throughout the bout too, with Femi legitimately fighting a two-on-one handicap match for two thirds of the contest. Then naturally the story lent into the popular calls for Theory to turn on Waller – or vice versa – and that proved to be their ultimate undoing. It was done well and the result was the right one, cementing Femi with two hefty scalps as this title run starts to gather steam.

Written by Max Everett

From the New World Order to the Nexus, the Shield to Bullet Club, Retribution to the Death Riders, there have been numerous attempts across all timelines of wrestling to flash debut a collective of names – new or old – to run roughshod over the roster. Some, like the Shield, become solidified points in time where stars are born, others, like the Aces and Eights, deserve to be left in the ashes of time. Now it may be far too early to say which is the case for the new quad of Dion Lennox, Cutler James, Saquon Sugars, and Osiris Griffin, but there was something that spoke more to the forgettable side of things throughout Vengeance Day. It's clear to see where this is going with them coming out to attack both the NXT and NXT Tag Team Champions, and I can appreciate that there at least appears to be a credible motive to the attacks.

But I cannot stress how much I feel this way of introducing talent has been milked like the Fast and Furious franchise, thus building up an immune response of eye rolling and yawns. It breaks the logic of a wrestling show, the idea that we have these staged matches that have to be sanctioned by a governing body surrounded by fans who infamously get dog piled on by security if they jump the rail, and yet on a regular basis the laughable security division emerges far too late to stop a random set of talent from running in. Wrestling is a little goofy in its sheer premise, so it doesn't need help in de-legitimizing itself. It would be nice to have a group truly break the mold and do something no one else has yet to have, because weekly wrestling already has enough of them just doing what they want while officials point and cry. At least this could be cool if it's led by Ricky Starks, because otherwise this feels like yet another band of heels to fall to a champion establishing his reign.

Written by Max Everett

I'm actually shocked Ricky Starks didn't appear on Vengeance Day. When he put out a video on social media saying he'd be "watching on Peacock," I just assumed that was misdirection, especially since he'd been pulled from an indie date the same night. But then he actually didn't show up. They ran his social media video on the broadcast, said he'd be there Tuesday, and that was that.

Maybe I'm overreacting, but is this not blatantly insane to anyone else? A prominent AEW star finally got his release, he immediately comes to "NXT" days before a PLE, there's huge buzz around him, he cancels an indie appearance on the same day — and then he doesn't get used? I get that there was probably a previous plan and everything before the release, and Jordynne Grace needed her moment and everything, that's fine, but I just find it really hard to justify not finding something for Ricky to do on the PLE.

And here's what makes me want to claw my own eyes out: There was a built-in place to do it. Did the special new heel group really need to attack after the tag title match and then also attack Oba Femi after the NXT title match? What, is Dion Lennox going to challenge Femi for the title at Stand & Deliver? Give me a break, man. You put Starks in that spot, you immediately have your Stand & Deliver title match, you make a big splash while still giving Grace her main event placement, and you keep the buzz behind Ricky going strong. Ethan Page challenged for the NXT title basically right after he debuted, and Starks was way more prominent on AEW TV than Page. It just seemed like the perfect place to fit Starks in, and instead we got the New New Nexus, Take Two.

Written by Miles Schneiderman

If there is a single wrestling entity out there getting women's wrestling right up and down the card then it's definitely "WWE NXT" under the leadership of Shawn Michaels, and yet again that was the story coming out of Vengeance Day. First off, Stephanie Vaquer opened the night with a North American Championship win, becoming the first South American-born champion in WWE history and cementing her place in the company as she belongs. Later, it was Giulia's turn to turn on the style with her win over Roxanne Perez, Bayley, and Cora Jade, retaining the NXT Women's Championship and ending the night with both members of the International Dream Team holding titles aloft. Both were excellent bouts that cast the spotlight on several established and potential stars on the roster, from Fatal Influence's Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne, and Jazmyn Nyx to the main-roster bound Perez and an already cemented veteran in Bayley, even in defeat.

It wasn't about the quantity of the women's division matches on the card but the quality, the show opened and closed with the very best of what's on offer for "NXT," and there was still plenty of room left for the future. Perez took the pin in the main event, but given she has a chance to go into the Elimination Chamber and enter the conversation on the road to WrestleMania, it's not as though that's going to hurt her; it also allows for Jade to continue her pursuit of an elusive first singles title and keeps Bayley strong ahead of her already-confirmed place in the Chamber. It also leaves a loose end with the stories specifically between Jade and Perez, as well as Perez and Bayley, allowing for those arcs to continue and yield further stories. Then, of course the cherry on top of the cake was Jordynne Grace emerging to face off with both Vaquer and Giulia as the closing shot. The entire night felt like both a pay-off and an advertisement for what's to come in the next few months, and it was thoroughly enjoyable throughout.

Written by Max Everett