The NXT PLE calling card these days is taking a show that shouldn’t be memorable thanks to mediocre builds and predictability, but turning it into a fun night of pro wrestling. NXT Vengeance Day 2025 is a shining example of that reality.
This card was about as paint by numbers as it gets. The two main championship matches involved multiple opponents — all of whom had less than ideal reasons to actually win the titles. The rest of the show had an out of left field stipulation match, a random tag team title bout, and a David vs. Goliath mid-card title match in the women’s division.
See what I mean? On paper, it’s skippable, but all of these matches delivered on some basic level and storylines were furthered along inside of a tight show that didn’t overstay it’s welcome.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. Period.
Fallon Henley vs. Stephanie Vaquer - NXT Women’s North American Championship
Vaquer absolutely needed to win this match and she did. The action was pretty smooth and everything built to the Vaquer “I’m gonna bash your head into the mat with my knees” spot and the audience popped huge for it. Guilia has the top billing in NXT right now, but as I’ve said for weeks — if you’re watching the show, Vaquer seems to have a higher upside.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Fraxiom vs. Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura - NXT Tag Team Championships
An exciting match from an in-ring perspective, but zero drama throughout it. Because Fraxiom has so much going on in TNA and with a match against The Hardys seemingly on the horizon, there was no way they would lose here. It made it difficult for the near falls to feel meaningful with that kind of psychology to deal with. Briggs and Inamura is an odd pairing. They are trying, but I don’t sense a lot of chemistry there.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
Trick Williams vs. Eddy Thorpe - Strap Match
These two men have history, but the Strap Match gimmick was two chapters ahead of where the actual story was. Williams doing the job here was a big surprise. With Stand and Deliver coming up, a match between him and Oba Femi looms. This loss doesn’t change that trajectory much, but it does make you wonder. Eddy Thorpe has an “it” factor that doesn’t get talked about enough. With the book getting behind him now, they have a chance to keep elevating him. All that said, just an ok match. The strap spots were few and far between and it lacked an edge that other Strap Matches usually have.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/4
Ethan Page vs. Je’Von Evans
The match of the night. NXT has done a great job building a story between these two and this match served as a strong next chapter in it. Evans is a perfect babyface who should remain as such for at least ten years. He’s an easy guy to root for and this match was designed to show a grittier side of him. He lost, but showed that he could be so much more than a high flying wrestler. Evans added layers to his game, which included storytelling, aggression, and character. Page was the foundation for all of that and the program clearly isn’t over.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Oba Femi vs. Grayson Waller vs. Austin Theory - NXT Championship
Way too long. Femi got his big-man spots in. Waller and Theory both sold them well, but this had zero drama. The match could not get the audience to believe that Waller and Theory actually had a shot. The Waller vs. Theory teases were there, but nothing about them made it seem like their team was falling apart. As for the mysterious faction that took Femi out at the end, I’ll believe they are worth that spot when I see it. As of now, they came across as another Retribution-like faction and we know how that went. Time will tell, but we’ve seen this type of thing play out before in WWE.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO
Guilia vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Bayley vs. Cora Jade - NXT Women’s Championship
Better than the men’s title match, but lacked about as much drama. All four women worked hard and the ambitious stuff they tried worked for the most part. Guilia and Bayley missed spots with one another all match long, but were both big enough pros to work through it and made it make sense. With Guilia winning and then being joined by Stephanie Vaquer and Jordynne Grace in the ring, it felt like NXT officials were showcasing a turning over of the top of the women’s division roster on the brand.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
What did you think of NXT Vengeance Day 2025? Let us know in the comments!
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