NXT’s final stretch toward New Year’s Evil (Jan. 6, 2026) got turned upside down on Tuesday night from the WWE Performance Center—and it happened in the kind of messy, controversial, “you’re going to be talking about this all week” way that only pro wrestling can deliver.
Before the bell even rang, the show had a pulse: Je’Von Evans stationed himself in the parking lot like a man on a mission, refusing to be talked down by Ava, because his issue wasn’t a “later tonight” problem—it was a Ricky Saints problem.
And by the time the night ended, two truths were impossible to ignore:
- NXT’s women’s division just had its axis shifted by an ending that left everyone stunned, and
- Oba Femi’s next challenger isn’t just coming from inside the house—he’s coming from TNA, and he’s coming fast.
Here are the full results
- Thea Hail def. Blake Monroe (c) — NXT Women’s North American Championship (NEW CHAMPION)
- Hank Walker & Tank Ledger def. OTM (Lucien Price & Bronco Nima)
- Kendal Grey & Wren Sinclair def. Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid)
- Leon Slater def. Joe Hendry vs. Myles Borne vs. Dion Lennox — Fatal 4-Way No. 1 Contender Match (NXT Title)
WWE NXT Dec. 16, 2025 recap
Thea Hail vs. Blake Monroe was intense… then it became infamous
The night opened with a championship match that immediately felt like it mattered. Thea Hail came out with purpose—no wasted motion, straight into submission hunting—and the story of the early minutes was simple: Hail kept isolating Monroe’s arm, snapping it down, grinding it, and repeatedly trying to drag the champion into a trap she couldn’t wriggle out of.
Monroe fought back like a champion who refused to be panicked. She turned momentum with offense built around punishing Hail’s shoulder—exactly the kind of targeted counter you’d expect from someone trying to survive a limb-work specialist.
Then the finish happened… and the building (and the broadcast) felt like it froze.
The pin sequence unfolded with visible confusion, and the aftermath only amplified it: there was hesitation, there was uncertainty, there was even a moment where it sounded like the wrong music hit before the call was corrected. The show later replayed the finish and confirmed the decision, but the damage was already done—because it looked like the kind of ending that wasn’t supposed to happen.
Whether deliberate or not, it didn’t change the history: Thea Hail became the NEW NXT Women’s North American Champion, and Blake Monroe was left furious and heartbroken in the fallout.
That’s the thing about championship moments: sometimes they’re clean, and sometimes they’re chaos. Tuesday’s was chaos—gold, shock, and controversy braided together into one messy, unforgettable opening statement.
Moose storms into NXT and “calls his shot” at Ethan Page
If the opener tilted the night off balance, the next big swing came when Ethan Page tried to talk like the center of the universe—only to find out NXT had a new problem roaming around.
Moose arrived and made it painfully simple: approvals were already handled, and on Dec. 30 at the NXT End Of The Year Award Show, Page will defend the North American Title against him. Then Moose backed it up physically, flooring Page and sending him spilling over the top rope.
It wasn’t just an interruption. It was a statement: the borders are open, and Page’s “my kingdom” energy just got challenged by someone who hits like a wrecking ball.
Je’Von Evans waits all night… and Leon Slater tries to pull him back from the edge
One of the smartest through-lines of the show was how it kept cutting back to the parking lot—because Je’Von Evans wasn’t just “angry.” He was locked in. He believed he should be champion right now, and he was willing to let the whole night burn down to get his hands on Ricky Saints.
Enter Leon Slater, trying to talk like a friend and move like a teammate: get inside, be at ringside, focus on what matters tonight. Je’Von didn’t want to hear it. He wanted retribution. Slater wanted support. And the tension in that handshake said everything—two guys pointed in two different directions, with the same storm cloud hanging over both of them.
Hank & Tank steady the night with grit against OTM
After the early chaos, the tag match played like a necessary exhale—still physical, still intense, but grounded in that “win-and-advance” NXT energy.
OTM controlled long stretches with heavy offense and tandem sequences, keeping Hank & Tank from building momentum. But when the match finally opened up, Hank & Tank surged—dives, big-body offense, and the kind of rally that feels like a team remembering exactly who they are.
The finish came down to opportunism and timing: Hank Walker scored the pin with an inside cradle, giving Hank & Tank a win that felt earned and badly needed.
Ricky Saints doesn’t apologize… he escalates
When Ricky Saints finally arrived with security, it didn’t feel like a man coming to work—it felt like a man arriving to make sure the night belonged to him.
In the ring, Saints refused the easy route. No apology tour. No softening. He framed his actions as obsession, ambition, inevitability—arguing that he became “the guy” by doing what others wouldn’t, and that Je’Von was living off crowd belief instead of championships.
Je’Von charged, and for a second it looked like the whole thing might become a brawl that security couldn’t contain.
But Saints is called “Absolute” for a reason: he turned that chaos into punishment. He drove Je’Von into the steps, cleared the announce area, and ended the segment with a Rochambeau through the announce desk, the kind of exclamation point that isn’t just a beatdown—it’s a warning.
This wasn’t about winning an argument. This was Saints making sure nobody forgot who he is, and what he’s willing to do to stay on top.
Ava makes it official: Chelsea Green vs. Sol Ruca next week
Backstage, the tension spilled into management mode.
With Ethan Page fuming and Chelsea Green stirring up chaos in Ava’s office, the GM cut through it: Chelsea Green will defend the WWE Women’s United States Championship against Sol Ruca next week on NXT.
No stalling. No debating. Just a match announcement that adds even more heat to an already loaded final run toward year’s end.
Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair outwork Fatal Influence—right in front of Jacy Jayne
This was one of those matches that quietly did a ton of storytelling. Jacy Jayne—set to defend the NXT Women’s Championship against Kendal Grey at New Year’s Evil—had a front-row seat on commentary as Fatal Influence tried to soften Grey up and break Sinclair down.
Fatal Influence jumped them before the bell and controlled the pace, using the numbers and the distractions to keep Grey from stringing offense together. But the moment Grey got space, the match changed—crisp counters, urgency, and that feeling that she’s already wrestling like the next big thing.
The finishing stretch was pure grit: Grey shook off the interference, re-centered the match, and locked in an armbar to force the tap—Grey and Sinclair with a submission win, and Grey leaving Jayne with the exact kind of visual you don’t want before a title defense: a challenger who looks calm, sharp, and inevitable.
Leon Slater wins the Fatal 4-Way and earns Oba Femi at New Year’s Evil
The main event answered the headline question: who gets Oba Femi next?
A Fatal 4-Way is chaos by design, and this one leaned into it—Joe Hendry, Myles Borne, Dion Lennox, and Leon Slater all taking turns looking like they had the moment in their hands. Hendry got the crowd rolling, Lennox powered through collisions, Borne found openings, and Slater kept slicing through the madness with speed and aerial risk.
The closing minutes were a storm: big slams, near-falls, bodies flying, and alliances forming for half-seconds before collapsing into more violence. Then the endgame hit: Hendry fought away with Lennox, the path cleared for just long enough, and Slater landed the Swanton 450 to win—punching his ticket to New Year’s Evil for an NXT Championship match against Oba Femi.
Femi appeared to stare down his newest challenger… and the camera also made sure you noticed Tony D’Angelo watching from above, because NXT rarely lets a title story stay simple for long.
What’s next
Between a controversial women’s title change, Moose officially stepping into Page’s world, Saints leaving Je’Von in splinters, and Slater earning the biggest shot of his career, this episode didn’t just “build” to New Year’s Evil—it kicked the door in.
And next week only adds more fuel: Chelsea Green vs. Sol Ruca for the Women’s U.S. Title, Lola Vice vs. Izzi Dame, and the start of a new Men’s Speed Championship Tournament.
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