Can’t Knock The Hustle: NXT Battleground 2025 Review

AEW Double Or Nothing hasn’t even been off the air for 15 minutes, and it’s already time for me to get back to work. I love it.

It’s time for NXT Battleground. It’s a six-match card, with four of those matches being title matches, including the TNA World Title being on the line.

I can’t waste any more time, so let’s get to work.

Sol Ruca vs Kelani Jordan – NXT Women’s North American Title Match

Two of the most athletic women in all of wrestling, kicking a pay-per-view off with a title on the line. This one should be fun.

Sol comes out being pushed on her skateboard by Zaria. Don’t tell Darby Allin that yet another woman in NXT isn’t being super duper true and skating on their own like Tony Hawk.

Sol is announced as being from Honolulu, Hawaii. Maybe I haven’t been paying attention, but how long has she been billed from there? That’s where I’m from! As far as I know, though, she doesn’t have any legit connection to the islands.

The rivalry these two have already built has been a lot of fun to watch. They arrived at the Performance Center within months from each other, and are already tied together with their rise within NXT. Of course this is a bit early, but their rivalry is beginning to remind me of the early days of Trish Stratus and Lita. If Sol and Kelani achieve even half of what Trish and Lita were able to do, they’ll be set for life.

Man, these two are so entertaining in the ring. Like I said, they both make an argument for being the most athletic woman in the entire sport.

What. In. The. World. Did. I. Just. Witness.

From the top rope, Sol performs an inverted 450, like Mustafa Ali does, and hit the Sol Snatcher smoothly out of it to get the win. That was absolutely gorgeous. Really entertaining match here. Both women looked great in the process, and this ended up being a great choice for a show opener. I’ll go 3.75 Stars, and some might say I was too tough.

Josh Briggs, Hank Walker & Tank Ledger vs Shawn Spears, Brooks Jensen & Niko Vance

…aaaaand the show has come to a crashing halt already. I’m only half-kidding. The match could, and should, be pretty decent. I just can’t find myself caring about anything Shawn Spears does. The man is so boring to me. Hank and Tank have proven to be entertaining with their recent push. Josh Briggs has shown that he can step up when called upon. I just don’t trust the other side of the match.

It’s crazy how far Hank and Tank have come in such a short amount of time. They’re a treat to watch, and the NXT crowds have fallen in love with them.

Honestly, Hank and Tank (and to a lesser extent, Briggs) saved this match. There was a lot of entertaining moments, but that heel side was just… there. 3 Stars

After the match, the heels get some revenge and attack the face team. Izzi Dame goes to grab a steel chair from ringside, but an arm appears from off-camera to stop her. The arm ends up belonging to Yoshiki Inamura, who we all thought was heading back to Japan to work for Pro Wrestling NOAH again. Either his American excursion is going to be longer than we initially thought, or he has signed with WWE altogether. I’m good with either option, really. He and Briggs have been a joy to watch as a team.

Tony D’Angelo vs Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo

I don’t know how much more legs the Tony D’Angelo gimmick has. Technically, I guess that means the same goes for Stacks. Once this feud comes to an end, what happens then? Tony D has basically done the exact same thing in every feud he’s been in, with zero character growth, even as he continues to get better in the ring. I have a hunch that it’ll be the same case for Stacks down the road.

So far, this has been physical, but nowhere near what you would expect based on what the storyline has been. With all of the mafia stuff, Tony should’ve had Stacks and the entire Lorenzo family murdered for his act of betrayal. Instead, that has led to not much more than a regular wrestling match. That’s the problem with a silly gimmick like this. There’s only so much you can do.

Luca Crusifino is alive! Luca Crusifino is alive?!? He shows up at ringside, and it distracts everyone. This allows for Stacks to hit Tony D in the little Tonies, then deliver a knee to the back of the head for the win. The match was decent enough. 3 Stars. I just felt that it should’ve been something more heated, more violent, and more personal. The feud is clearly going to continue, so maybe we’ll get that before it’s all said and done.

Stephanie Vaquer vs Jordynne Grace – NXT Women’s Title Match

It has been a long night. I need these two to get things back on track after two back-to-back decent enough matches. Give me something approaching the “great” level again, please.

I don’t know how else to say this, but Stephanie Vaquer is absolutely hypnotizing. As soon as you see her, she captures your attention, and you just can’t look away. It isn’t just because she’s beautiful, either. She has a presence about her… an aura… that you can’t ignore.

These two are having themselves a banger. Very good clash of styles, with both women working their own style to perfection.

Great stuff from both women here, but the champion retains after a great-looking Spiral Tap from the top rope. 4 Stars. Like I said, both women were able to show off here, and they were given 15+ minutes to work with.

Oba Femi vs Myles Borne – NXT Title Match

Can Myles Borne shock the world?

Another nice clash of styles here. Borne is going to need to use his technical prowess and athletic ability to try and counter the champion’s elite strength and power game.

The match has been put together well to this point. Oba is slowing the pace at every chance he gets, and the challenger continues to hang in there and fight back time and time again.

“R-K-O” chants from the crowd after Borne hit Oba with a Randy Orton-like scoop power slam. Cute.

These two are having a good’n! Borne just kicked out of Fall From Grace, getting a big pop from the crowd. The challenger is working his ass off here.

That was such a good time. Two more Fall From Grace power bombs get the win for Oba Femi. Another really good performance for Oba Femi in a big match, but Myles Borne really showed off. NXT has something special in Borne, who proved that he belonged. I’m hoping he doesn’t get pushed too far back down the card after this. 4 Stars. The match was put together brilliantly.

Joe Hendry vs Trick Williams – TNA World Title Match

An NXT pay-per-view is being main evented with a TNA World Title match, a month or so after that TNA World Champion competed in a match at WrestleMania. What a timeline we’re in.

LOL @ Trick looking over at Booker T, then performing a Trick-A-Rooni, only to get up and get nailed with a Rock Bottom/Book End. Oopsie.

Trick continues using a few of Booker T’s moves and mannerisms. Makes sense. As soon as I finished typing that, Trick hits a Book End, putting Hendry through the announce table.

New champion! After bringing the TNA World Title into the ring, Trick has the title confiscated by the ref, who foolishly tosses it on the mat instead of out of the ring. Trick hits Hendry with a Flapjack, and Hendry lands face first on the belt. One Trick Shot later, and Trick Willy is your brand new TNA World Champion.

Good stuff from both men in an enjoyable title match. 3.5 Stars. Again… what a timeline we’re in. An NXT wrestler is the TNA World Champion. Wild.

While not on the level of Double Or Nothing, Battleground was still a fun show. This one gets a recommendation from me. Check it out if you haven’t already done so. It will be interesting to see what happens with Trick’s TNA World Title reign.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to take a bit of a break before returning with my usual weekly column later today.