WWE NXT - 4/28/2026: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

It's Tuesday once again, and that can only mean one thing: WWE NXT. After two weeks of Revenge, it was back to the usual NXT programming, with plenty of low-stakes, in-ring action, and plenty of chaos backstage. Enough about what happened, as that's been covered on the results page.

Now, it's time for the Wrestling Inc. Staff to delve deep into their hearts and decide what was "good" this week, and what was...well...you know...the other thing. Yes, we're loving, and we're hating in equal measure. 

There was plenty to love, such as the debut of Lizzy Rain, and plenty to hate, like the hideous AI-generated video about Sol Ruca and Zaria. Without further ado, the best and the worst of the last "WWE NXT" of April.

This was not the first time that "WWE NXT" aired an AI-generated video that featured weird approximations of NXT stars, going through a barely coherent series of over-the-top images, while an even less coherent voice over recited bad free verse poetry about what they've been through, but this was definitely an all-timer in god awful nightmares from the digital slop factory known as AI.

Zaria barely looked like Zaria. Sol Ruca barely looked like Sol Ruca. The animations has that awful, rippling effect, terrible vibrations, fear and loathing of the worst kind. It was a bad trip, and everyone involved looks bad by association. 

Also who made that? Am I supposed to believe that Zaria took time out of bench-pressing logs and being terrifying to make an artistic short film? It just didn't make any sense.

WWE video packages have been one of the few things the company has consistently produced at a high quality, and it has been disheartening to see the noble art reduced to bad montages of hype moments and aurafarming from digital hallucinations.

Written by Ross Berman

I started off tonight's episode of "NXT" really liking that they acknowledged they lost some major talent right off the bat. The first thing we saw was a meeting between General Manager Robert Stone, Matt Bloom, and Shawn Michaels backstage, with the "Heartbreak Kid" basically telling Stone that he could worry and think things over, and plan it all out, or he could throw a metaphorical stick of dynamite into the locker room and see what happens. Seems like the latter happened tonight, and I really, really enjoyed all the chaos.

Every new person we saw, whether it was a new face to WWE entirely, or someone who has performed on "WWE EVOLVE" before, was a man, but I actually thought it was fine that we didn't see any new, surprise women tonight. A Nikki Blackheart debut would have been cool, but I think WWE was smart to give Lizzy Rain her time to shine and really get over with fans.

The way the debuts happened felt so chaotic and was really fun. I didn't expect to see anyone after Myles Borne's successful defense over Saquon Shugars, since the story there is the dissension within DarkState, so when Tristan Angels appeared out of nowhere, I was surprised. I then didn't expect Kam Hendrix to appear behind Borne and take him out, all while I was pondering who the heck the first guy is. It set a nice tone for the chaos that was to come throughout the night.

NXT Champion Tony D'Angelo was set to address the crowd and his challengers after receiving a box marked with Japanese letters. He didn't have to wonder about the box for long, however, as former NJPW star EVIL's music hit, and he made his way down the ramp to confront the champion. The chaos was built even further after his big debut, however, with a bigger blonde man, identified as former Progress talent Will Kroos, who hit an impressive moonsault to D'Angelo. Tavion Heights also made his presence known, and though not a debut, after his backstage confrontation with Borne later in the night, I thought it was very effective. We also got Wilder involved in the tag match with BirthRight, and while I don't know much about him, it seems like the crowd already loves him.

While I kind of expected someone to come out and beat down Shiloh Hill after his win over Ricky Saints, I was glad that WWE let that one breathe. Immediately after, we were taken backstage again, with D'Angelo telling Michaels he also loved the chaos, and he was ready, which I think was a solid way to end an interesting and exciting edition of "NXT."

Written by Daisy Ruth

For every Bullet Club, The Elite, Original Bloodline, and Evolution in wrestling, there has been an Aces & Eights, House of Torture, The MFTs, and now it would seem Birthright. Well, that is more than a little presumptuous. But they're certainly showing that trajectory.

Some factions are destined to succeed, some are doomed to fail, but it doesn't have to be the case here. There just doesn't seem to be a direction for them. This week the faction came up short despite having the numbers advantage against EK Prosper and Sean Legacy, and while there can certainly be an argument that Lexis King is the WWE Men's Speed Champion, taking a loss here hearkened back to the days of 3MB or the Social Outcasts.

Obviously, the fact that they are all second-generation talents lends to the Birthright name, but what is the group's mission? What is the plan for either Stacks, Charlie Dempsey, or Uriah Connors? A group introduced by William Regal and Fit Finlay really felt like an opportunity to begin building something akin to an Evolution. But they seem to be a joke. And it doesn't really seem like they're destined to go far in anyway shape, or form.

Every wrestling promotion needs its low-to-middle players, but at the same time, it feels a little disappointing that they've been pigeonholed into that role so soon. It's also the manner in which they lose, they lose in a way where they just seem like a Wile E. Coyote caught out by the Roadrunner, the odds completely and utterly stacked in their favor, and yet they still fumble the play. But yeah, the very fact I am writing this as my Hated should demonstrate how fairly enjoyable the show was altogether. It's just a broader issue as to the creative direction of this group in particular.

Arianna Grace is the TNA Knockouts World Champion, and yet with her, the belt comes off as an accessory rather than an accolade. King has always felt like a parody act for better – blind fold match – or worse – pretty much everything else – so framing him as this leader of greater things feels a little off. Dempsey is pretty great and deserves better. Connors has yet to establish what it is he wants. And Stacks' entire personality appears to be Grace's boyfriend, which would be a cool subversion of expectations if this wasn't the guy that beat the reigning NXT Champion.

Written by Max Everett

Last week, I said that Izzi Dame wasn't a convincing challenger to Lola Vice's NXT Women's Championship, and right now, I still stand by that. However, there is potential for her to add a sense of legitimacy to her name in the near future.

This week, Dame's Culling stablemate Shawn Spears advised Vice to "stay one step ahead" if she wanted to hold onto her NXT Women's Title. Turns out, Vice did think one step ahead as her mixed tag team partner, Mr. Iguana, slithered into the ring when Dame and Niko Vance cornered her. Together, Vice and Iguana then beat down Dame and Vance, with Vice even nailing Vance with a spinning kick.

With Mr. Iguana in the picture, the possibilities for the Vice-Dame storyline widely expand. Vance and Dame (or perhaps Spears and Dame) have a natural opportunity to call out Vice and Iguana for the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championships. Even without those titles on the line, Dame scoring a pinfall or submission over Vice in tag competition would greatly boost her credibility in the ring, and in turn, set up a more believable NXT Women's Championship match down the road. Experience wrestling in Mexico would likely be a great personal benefit to Dame as well.

Moreover, adding Mr. Iguana (and his puppet La Yesca) into the mix inherently makes a storyline all the more fun. After all, the "E" in WWE stands for entertainment. And at this point in time, consider me entertained by the possibilities of the Dame-Vice feud.

Written by Ella Jay

While I love both Kelani Jordan and Wren Sinclair, I can't say I understand why their match tonight wasn't for Sinclair's Women's Speed Championship. Sure, you can say Jordan, a former TNA Knockouts and Women's North American Champion, is well above the Speed division, but so is Sinclair. Really, almost the entire "NXT" women's division is above Speed rules, and the title (as well as its male companion) should probably go down to "WWE EVOLVE" where they'd be much better suited. I'm truly surprised they have lasted this long on TV after moving from X.

Of course, I want to see a longer match between Jordan and Sinclair, but what's the point of having the Women's Speed title, then? Their match tonight, which was excellent and ended in a win by Jordan, went just over 11 minutes (including a commercial break), well over the five-minute time limit for Speed Championship matches.

I can't name a single woman on the "NXT" roster off the top of my head who would benefit from the Speed Championship and competing under its rules right now, but if the title is going to remain on the brand, it might as well be used. It seems like the belts are only good for the random Speed tournaments when there's nothing else to do in the undercard of "NXT," so I suppose it could benefit some of the newer stars coming in. Though, as we saw tonight, the only new debuts on the show were men. The women's division of the developmental brand has surpassed the need for a Speed Championship and its three or five-minute matches, and I wouldn't be upset if it just fizzled out, or was just defended on the "NXT" live show loop against green stars who need more exposure in short matches.

Written by Daisy Ruth

I'm one of those people who will almost always be drawn to any wrestler or gimmick that is different from what's become the standard in modern-day professional wrestling, so naturally, I became a pretty fast fan of Lizzy Rain after her match against Nikkita Lyons on this edition of "NXT".

This was the first time that I had seen Rain do her thing in the ring, and I thought she looked absolutely fantastic. Rain's heavy metal character instantly sets her apart from anyone else on the "NXT" roster, helping her to stand out from everyone else to keep her in the minds of me and other fans. I also really enjoyed watching her in this match, keeping the action feeling fast-paced and fun throughout its duration.

Aside from Rain, I'm admittedly not the biggest fan of Lyons and never really have been (as any of my lovely colleagues will attest to). I still have to give credit where credit is due though, Lyons kept up with Rain throughout the duration of this match and looked pretty smooth in the ring. The match didn't end up being as one-sided as I initially thought it would be, but I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing, given that Lyons is a pretty established talent on the "NXT" roster.

Written by Olivia Quinlan